Sony A7RIII review in Cameracraft

Read David Kilpatrick’s review of the Sony A7RIII

Cameracraft January/February started the A7RIII test report, and March/April 2018 continued it. Both are free to read here. In the second issue you’ll also find the review of the 24-105mm f/4 FE G OSS lens. In the first issue, Gary Friedman looks at the RX10 series and one-inch sensor quality as well – and David tests the Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.2 Aspherical FE manual focus lens, Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DN DC, and Samyang 35mm f/2.8 AF FE.

Part 1

Part 2



Gary Friedman workshops in UK, September 13-16th

Gary Friedman, who is well known for his excellent e-books on the Alpha system (new one just out, Alpha 37 and 57) lives on the sunny, foggy, funky coast surrounded by surfing dudes and dudesses, just south of the vast conurbation of Los Angeles.

But having several million photo enthusiasts on his doorstep is not enough. He’s hitting Britain’s shores in September to give one talk near Portsmouth on the 13th (the commute will be a refreshing experience after the multilane highways of home) and two full day seminars in Kingston-on-Thames (15th and 16th). We are, I’m afraid, responsible for Gary locating these in the little-known but lovely Antoinette Hotel, a conglomeration of former houses in a quiet residential area only a short walk from the Thames and some rather good waterfront pubs. It has a large car park, you can walk from the station, and you can even get there by riverboat if you can work out how on earth to plan the journey.

Whatever the case, Gary’s talks are not to be missed. He has agreed to join us as US Associate Editor on a new publication venture – Cameracraft, a quarterly magazine which may follow in the wake of Photoworld, but has no affiliation to camera brands or clubs. You can find a subscription link to Cameracraft, which should be in print just in time for Gary’s dates, on our left hand sidebar (there’s much fuller info in our Links).

So, check up on Gary’s web page – even his taster and programme for the seminars can teach you more than you think.

Gary Friedman publishes NEX-7 ‘beyond the guide’ book

As Gary says, his e-books do not replace the camera manual and also don’t replace Camera Controls 101 – he writes for the user who already knows which end of the lens fits a screw filter and which end goes on the camera body. His new NEX-7 book fast-tracks into many key features of the camera before backtracking into depth and detail, a great way to introduce owners to making better use of the advanced functions they have bought.

http://friedmanarchives.com/NEX-7

NEX-7 book cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only downside to the book is the cover, which features a new addition to the long line of bald heads Gary has used for his cover shots (always in the same style) – a penalty for visiting Gary just before the book was going to e-press!

The $26.45 download (PDF, full colour, with additional resources for Kindle and other bw reader platforms) now strikes me as even better value after the last week of wandering through California by car in search of images. The USA is now fairly expensive compared to much of Europe, not affordable as it used to be – and this comes as a surprise, because things like the camera prices at B&H do not give much clue, they are still generally lower. In California at least things like motels (except the most basic), beer, coffee, snacks, entry or parking fees are maybe 50% more than UK costs – so to all our US readers, be assured, now is a very good time to use your NEX-7 skills and take a trip across the pond. You can find an award-winning b&b with one of the best full breakfasts in Scotland for under $75 (£=$1.60) in our home town with a pretty good photographer running it!

– David Kilpatrick