. . . a bunch of random stuff.

Much as I have taken to the a7rV, even its sensor, I still miss the SL2 when it comes to manual focus lenses. The Sony has two levels of focus magnification that are not adjustable, unlike a couple of other previous alpha models, which had one adjustable level.

There are options for the duration of the magnification, but short ones never worked for me. And when it’s set to stay magnified, whatever custom button is assigned to the function must be pressed three times, once for each of the two levels of magnification and once more to return to the whole frame image for proper framing.

With the SL2, it’s one press, and—IIRC—a choice between two magnification level options. Half-pressing the shutter button returns the full frame to the display. And that’s only part of why I’ve said many times that it’s the best camera for manual focus I’ve ever used.

Another thing I sorely miss in the SL2 is perspective control. I can fiddle with images from other cameras in Lightroom, but they never come out the same as the perfectly aligned .jpg images the SL2 produces. And when using the R-Adapter-L with ROM-equipped zoom lenses, the camera adjusts perspective control by focal length on the fly. Less time tweaking images on ipad means more time in the field or on other productive pursuits.

When Sony came out with the 70-200mm f2.8 GM II, reviewers raved about how much lighter and smaller it was. When I got mine, all I saw was that it seemed HUGE in comparison to the R 180mm f2.8 APO, which also weighs around 200 grams less.

Under heavily overcast skies yesterday I used the GM II without the hood, and suddenly—it didn’t seem so big! Wondering whether I might lose some contrast or encounter some other optical compromise, and mulling the possibility of omitting the hood even under sunny skies, it occurred to me that 90% of my shots with the R 180 over the years have been made with the pull-out hood retracted.

So I guess there’s my answer for that conundrum.

The 24mm f2.8 G lens has been designated “outbound” due to some mind boggling distortion that cannot be corrected. It’s as though Sony said “Let’s make the software corrections for the outer parts of the image mostly rectilinear and maybe nobody’ll notice the center and mid-frame.” Guess again. I should have known better, as most of Sony’s wides are underdesigned with hideous distortion before in-camera corrections are applied.

Its intended replacement, a ROM copy of a 24mm Elmarit-R, has been located, the only question being whether it’ll still be available when I’m next in the ant farm. No chance of any gear changes at the moment, as I’m on very firm Canikony turf.

Oh, well, something to look forward to. Actually, several changes to look forward to . . .

a7rV/Viltrox 75mm f1.2 . . .