Відео

Some lovely shots, Mark. Always nice to see yellowhammers.

I would have preferred a 400mm F4 lens instead of the 300mm, allowing you to get 800mm F8 with a 2x converter. I'm sure they could make it a similar size and weight. Sony were missing a 300mm prime so I guess they had to make it

Enjoyed the comparison. I own the 300/2.8 and love it, and I have rented the Sigma. I think the size and weight difference is understated here because you need a teleconverter on the 300 at 1.5” and .5 pounds to approximate the reach of the Sigma. I’ve packed each of them for air travel, and the Sigma has a definite advantage there at 500g less weight, 75mm sorter and 16mm narrower. If you aren’t carrying them on a plane, then the Sony wins, no contest.

I now use a6700 and A7IV, but the 100-400Gm is a bit to short and doesn't balance well. I was thinking about 200-600, but it's heavier and probably balances even worse. This Sigma definitely attracts my attention.

Hi Mark, I am just about to purchase the A9iii ,thank you for a brilliant video ,look forward to seeing your work with this camera

Well done for getting out Mark, we have had a lot of dull days this year that's for sure.

Personally, and just my opinion, I would have stayed with the A1 and waited for the upgrade. We all need to crop more times than not, so pixels are a wildlife photographer’s friend. That said, the A9iii is an amazing bit of kit.

Thanks for the video Mark, nice to see someone actually using the gear on a typical day out walking around. The crops and noise looked pretty good on your pictures, and pre-capture pics are always cool.

Form what I have read all new cameras with global shutter are going to be around the 25 mp mark.

Great video, thank you! Went out this morning at 4.15am and photographed some newly fledged Marsh Harriers (been watching them/the nest for months from afar. Happy I was not disturbing them as they are Schedule 1 species) and so glad I had my trusty Sony A1 and a 200-600 handheld. Difficult shooting with dark birds and dark backgrounds, but no problems with autofocus at 30fps. Close flight shots but still needed cropping...would have been devastated if I had used a lower pixel camera in this instance. Jury still out on the A9iii, for me, at least. Worth checking out Arash Hazeghi's video on the Sony A1 v A9iii for bird in flight photography, he's done some great work in the past.

very decent sighting. lovely stuff

Very brave move Mark and thanks for your honest views.

Nice episode and congrats on the new "toy" Mark 😊

Good on your mother!

25 years in the waiting, its purchase represented a much-dreamed about reality for me. Superb lens which I shoot wide open at f4. Great bokeh, great resolving power when used with an A1. f4 is the way to go and I will keep on using it as long as I can carry it. Don't forget the resolving power of the lens...crop in, crop in and keep going!! Richard Bedford, RSPB Agency Bird Photographer.

Yeah, thank you hit it n the head with your parting comment - it’s an expensive purchase, you don’t want to get it wrong. Same with lens choice too. Many thanks chaps!

“I have no intention of buying the A9iii”…..next video “I’ve bought the A9iii”…..this turned out to be an expensive video 😂

Really appreciated the observations in this video, especially the comparison to the 400 2.8 & use with teleconverters. Picking up on Jonathan’s comment about Africa & taking the 600/4 & 300/2.8 as a combo, & the general comments about the 300/2.8 being so good partly due to its weight…..I couldn’t help but think that for the price of the 600/4, you could get two 300/2.8’s & have the 2x on one on them…..& have a much lighter combo. Also, very interesting & appreciated comments re most of your long end shooting being at 600, partly due to difficulties in keeping subject in frame at greater focal lengths, and partly due to atmospheric effects progressively impacting results as you use longer focal lengths & shoot through more atmosphere. I’ve lusted after a super tele since my Canon days, but could never decide which to get, and struggled to justify the purchase, so I never purchased one. I pretty much concluded that the 400/2.8 was the ‘optimal’ option for me (on the Canon), because it was the longest 2.8 which I could mate with 1.4 & 2x converters, and I had the 70-200/2.8 to cover below 400mm (with maybe 1.4x converter)….the 300mm didn’t feel like it gave me a big enough step up from the 70-200/2.8 natively. So, yeah, very interesting to hear that the Sony 400/2.8 doesn’t play so well with the converters.

Interesting part of the review at the end re cropability. So, in summary, with the A1 you can shoot from a greater distance, or shoot smaller birds and rely on cropping to fill the frame…..but, there is a high probability that you won’t capture the ideal ‘moment’ (due to lack of pre capture and super high fps)…..OR you can capture the moment, but risk not having enough pixels covering your subject. It’s maybe also worth keeping in mind the advances in upscaling technology, which might help mitigate the lower MP count on the A9iii, but there is nothing that can mitigate missing the ideal shot (excluding Ai to ‘make stuff up’) Equipment choice is often a compromise, it’s about choosing what is the least compromise for you & what you wish to shoot. This is why I run multiple systems & pick the most appropriate one when I go out to shoot - you usually have some idea of what you expect to encounter. The last shot shared in this video was quite a crop on the A9iii image, and it still looked great. I also note that my A7Siii, with its minimal 12MP, can still be used to shoot stills that look more than acceptable. Maybe it’s worth experimenting on how much you can lower the resolution of a shot before it becomes significantly noticeable…..or, to put it another way, at what point do you stop really noticing more MP’s? Another way to consider it is if you are Printing on A4 paper (or there abouts, 8.3”x11.7”) & at the often recommended 300 DPi, then your image resolution needs to be ~ 3500 x 2500 (11.7x300 & 8.3x300) which equates to ‘only’ 8.7mp!….so, the A9iii provides some cropability IF your shot is intended for an A4 print. Just a thought.

I was a long term Canon shooter ever since they introduced the Eos system ~1987, when I got the Eos 620 film camera. Various upgrades along the way culminating in an Eos 5Dii in 2008. Year after year went by as I waited for Canon to introduce something that compelled me to upgrade (I really wanted a moveable LCD). In 2017 i finally upgraded, but to a Sony A7Riii & Metabones adapter so i could instantly have a full lens line up adapting my Eos lenses to the Sony….without that, i doubt if i would have switched systems. Over the subsequent years, i have added some Sony native lenses. Im now looking at upgrading the A7Riii, and have been considering the A9iii & the A7Rv oh, I have picked up an A7Siii for low light work a few years back. I also shoot with a GFX 50r, which I really do enjoy & it’s my preferred camera when shooting static subjects (typically landscapes) where I’m on a tripod, manual exposure & manual focus. This results in the Sony being reserved when I’m shooting high speed subjects where good AF & image stabilisation & maybe longer lenses are required, & the AF systems on the latest Sony’s have moved on a bit since the A7R3 now, AND the LCD is more flexible in its articulation, which is something that has always appealed since my 5D2. Im torn though, due to the ‘only’ 24mp of the A9iii, vs the 60mp of the A7Rv, purely due to the flexibility it gives to crop….however, I keep Reminding myself that 24mp was enough on my old 5D2 for many years, and the A9iii would have been my ‘perfect’ camera not so long ago due to its LCD articulation & great Af….with the massive added bonus of pre capture. I think, if the A7Rv had pre capture, then I’d probably be more tempted with that. Pre capture feels like one of those ‘enabler’ technologies which will allow you to capture shots without requiring luck of lots of attempts to get, in short, it opens up new opportunities.

Hi mate, pre capture is an absolute game changer. Enjoy!

A9iii is not shown on Castle Cameras website.

Thanks, great video showing pre-capture, and great footage Both very cool! Thanks!

Is precapture likely to appear on the A1 do you think? Sounds like another firmware update might be likely.

The pre-capture is such a great feature and I think you will love the potential to capture the unexpected or unpredictable. I use Fujifilm cameras, they call it ‘Pre ES’ and and along with bird tracking AF it’s opened up wildlife photography as a new interest for me. I have been an amateur photographer for 35 years- but these steps forward in technology are making wildlife photography so much more rewarding and enjoyable.

The pre-capture is such a great feature and I think you will love the potential to capture the unexpected or unpredictable. I use Fujifilm cameras, they call it ‘Pre ES’ and and along with bird tracking AF it’s opened up wildlife photography as a new interest for me. I have been an amateur photographer for 35 years- but these steps forward in technology are making wildlife photography so much more rewarding and enjoyable.

Magic mate I've never seen so much lapwing action 😊

this Len is not designed for Sony, it is more for Lumix FF camera. maybe you test it with S5II for wildlife it with a 1.4X

I had rented that Sigma 500 and used it at an airshow along with the 100-400. Later I did careful test bed shots back at home comparing it to my 200-600 and my 600 f4 and in all cases, even against the zooms, the Sigma was simply not as sharp. I had great hopes for it as I loved the 'flickability' of it compared to my main birding lens, the 600 f4. I've been watching the reviews of the 300 f2.8 'stack up' and I pick up my 300 f2.8 tomorrow. It was interesting that your face off mentioned at the beginning of your video matches my own experience as well. Thanks for the fun and well done review!

To us OM1 users pro capture is old hat lol. But I'm still getting the a9iii though.

Hi Mark, Great to see you are getting good use from the A9iii and some really good images. I am now back from photographing bears in Slovenia and will be good to meet up with you and go through Photo Mechanic.

Lots of negativity about only being 24mp could you do a video on what you think about cropping small birds

Great video mate !!! Great to see the A9III in action

Stunning pictures! Have you noticed some overheating while using pre-capture? Some of my clients do.

Great work, really interesting to see how you're getting on with it.

you got the a9iii ?

get the Lumix S5II + sigma 500mmL + TC1411, you can get the pre-capture mode too. It is one of the cheapest birding gear. Sigma should come out with a 400mm f4 with 1.4X will be great

Really beautiful! Thank you for sharing, Mark. Well filmed. I wish you a pleasant evening. Kind regards, Knut.

Nice😊

Thoroughly enjoyed watching your video.

I have ordered a used Sony A1 for 3800 pounds coming tomorrow. I have only A mount lenses at the moment like 70-400GSSM 2 Zeiss-24-70 G SSm 2 and so many other Minolta AF lens. I can not wait to see the Sony A1

Very nice colours on that A9iii.

This week I just got the Sony A7RV, with the new EVF, the new IBIS and the Bird and Animal eye detections combined with the 61 megapixels, I will say it is superior to both the A1 and the A9III !

Very normal to see Kestrel on all the Cornish coastline. You can get close to them.

Cornwall's national bird, the Chough. I was lucky enough to assist the RSPB and the NT in taking some images of them for promotional work down at The Lizard in 2005-2006.

As a Canon shooter l think the A9iii is the best wildlife camera on the market but l am surprised you were prepared to take the megapixel hit for crops sake.😂😂

Hi there i am quite new to this wildlife photography and currently use the combination of A7RV and the 200-600mm . Would love the A1 and 600f4 ! Can i ask what raw filles you shoot in please ? Compressed or uncompressed ? Many Thanks and really enjoy your videos. Thank you for taking the time to make them .

Can't get over the fact that you swapped your A1 for the A9iii. Surely, the best all round single Sony camera is still the A1? Good luck with it, what a brave move!