Facebook Groups - Sony A7 Mark II and Sony A6000

I recently started a couple Facebook groups for amateurs and pros who use a variety of Sony DSLT and mirrorless cameras. Use the links below to join one of them...

Sony A7 Mark II Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/386959531486701/

Sony A6000 Facebook Group -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/a6000photos/

Sony A99 Facebook Group - 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sonyA99/

So far, the A99 group has been the most active but that's because I've only just recently launched the other two within the last week or so.

The Facebook groups have been a fun place to share photos and exchange tips, tricks and links. I've got a great group of photography enthusiasts participating! Check it out.

Go to Songdo Park and Your Wildest Dreams Will Come True

I had been enjoying numerous photos of Songdo Park taken by a variety of Korea-based photographers and new quite well that what awaited me was something very special. But nothing could have prepared me for just how visually and architecturally amazing this place really was. It is simply breathtaking. I plan to go back pretty soon because although I was able to capture quite a number of nice photos, I didn't get as much as I wanted due to my lack of packing a warm jacket. The weather was still quite chilly, which I hadn't anticipated. It's fine, the grass was still dead and the flowers have yet to bloom. I think spring time will be the best time to go.

But Songdo Park was just the beginning. Incheon is a wonderful city, colorful and thriving with a number of photo-worthy attractions including Chinatown, Wolmido Island, Port of Incheon and Freedom Park just to name a few.

Cameras and lenses used:

Sony A99
14mm Rokinon
70-400mm Sony SAL G
24-70mm Zeiss

Sony A6000
16-50mm
70-200mm

New Lens - Rokinon 14mm

I hope, I think, I believe I have finally found a suitable lens for wide angle photos for my full-frame Sony A99. I already have a few wide angle lenses but I haven't been totally happy with them and several of them are not compatible with the full-frame A99, such as with my Tokina 11-16mm which is for cropped sensor cameras like my A77. It will work with my A99 but only when I'm fully zoomed in at 16mm.

I also have a couple of nice Minolta lenses but they are at 20mm and 28mm respectively and while the Zeiss 24-70mm is a good all around lens that I've captured some nice landscapes with, I really want something just a little bit wider without breaking the bank.

I stumbled across a pretty good deal on eBay today for a used Rokinon 14mm lens. The seller had it listed for $279 USD (buy it now), I found it too difficult to resist and went ahead and bought it, my decision helped with the knowledge that brand new ones go for around $500 USD.

Here are a few photos of the actual lens. As always, I'll be sure to share some images as soon as I get it in my hands!

Rokinon 14mm wide angle lens

Han River, Seoul - Panorama and more

Took another trip down to the Han River and the Seoul Techno Mart. A friend of mine wanted to buy a few photography accessories and well, I love looking at all the cameras and gear as well.

The 9th floor of the Seoul Techno Mart offers a stunning view of the Han River. We braved the frigid temperatures for as long as we could and were able to snap off a few nice shots including this panorama.

Shot with the Sony A99 and Zeiss 24-70mm lens.

Grand Olympic Bridge. Seoul, South Korea

New Camera Purchase (A Slight Upgrade)

I'm a frugal bastard, everyone knows that. But when it comes to my cameras, I believe in my logical reasons for not buying the top of the line, flagship models. In the case of Sony those would be the A99 and the A77. So when it came to upgrading from my current Sony A35, I went back and forth between upgrading to the similar A37 or going to an A65 or A77. I was really torn, but when I looked at price versus features, I had to stick with my so-called entry level professional DSLR or what Sony calls their SLT.

Why would a former professional photographer go with a so-called entry level DSLR and not something like the A77 or A99? I'll tell you why, first and foremost, I'm no longer a professional. I don't need to wow potential clients with my expensive gear and secondly, after shooting with the A35 for over a year now, I have to say, I am overwhelmingly impressed with the results. I am getting better quality images out of this awesome A35 than I did out of my top end Nikons that I shot with from 2004-2007.

Technology has come a long, long way. I remember the first good digital camera I shot with was 5 megapixels. Granted, the A99 and the A65 boast 24.3 megapixels, but the A35 and A37 hold their own as far as image quality at 16.7 megapixels. And that's more than enough for producing even large, print quality photos. Most of my content is still shot for publication on the web, so 16.7 mp is more than enough.

I'm also a believer in waiting for a year or so until after a new product is released to get it at a better price. So, eventually I'll upgrade to the A77 or A99 but for now there's no justifiable reason. I have 3 cameras for less than the price of one and that brings me to my final reason for going with the A37 as my latest purchase. I am allowed an amazing amount of creative flexibility because I can carry 2 cameras (now 3) in my bag. I can have each with a different set up, ready to capture any kind of action at a moments notice. I can have an assist on a second camera and the third camera shooting video, the options are almost limitless and that's because I can afford three, high-quality cameras for less that the price of one A77 or A99.

My next purchase will hopefully be one of my "dream" lenses, either the Sony Zeiss 18-70mm and/or the Sony SAL 70-400mm but I will probably wait to buy those when I also upgrade to either the A77 or the A99.

Anyway, I placed my order on eBay about an hour ago. Purchase price for a "New Other" mint condition Sony A37? $300 minus a $20 loyal customer discount from eBay, net cost $280. Not bad eh?