# This has me tempted to try a Sony A7 camera. :)



## PhotographyFirst (Feb 4, 2016)

There is a lens adapter being made that allows for drop-in filters on Sony A7 cameras. If I put a Nikon 14-24 on there, I could use filters without having to carry a huge and clunky front filter kit. The weight saving of the entire camera would come down by a large margin. Very tempting to look into for my long-distance landscape photo hikes. Now to just get over the poor battery life and poor controls of the A7 cameras... 

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20160204_742226.html?ref=prss


----------



## 3kramd5 (Feb 4, 2016)

PhotographyFirst said:


> Now to just get over the poor battery life and poor controls of the A7 cameras...



Regarding poor controls, if you look back at my posts over the years (previous A7R owner, current A7R2 owner), I have lambasted the controls time and again. With the A7R2, however, there is a significant level of customization available, to the point that the controls become reasonable (as opposed to how it is out of the box). If Sony merely added a joystick, the controls would, IMO, be "good."


----------



## candc (Feb 4, 2016)

That's a brilliant idea. Does a drop in polarizer affect the photo any differently than one in front of the lens? Would it be better on an uwa like a fisheye? I like to use a polarizer but it can make the sky look uneven sometimes.


----------



## privatebydesign (Feb 4, 2016)

Now that is a great and innovative idea, if you only use solid filters, I can see people thinking it is a complete waste of time and money if they use split and grads.........


----------



## candc (Feb 4, 2016)

privatebydesign said:


> Now that is a great and innovative idea, if you only use solid filters, I can see people thinking it is a complete waste of time and money if they use split and grads.........



Yes, I didn't look at it too close. It would need to have the ability to rotate like canons drop in polarizer. I don't have one but I think it has a little wheel on the outside to rotate it.


----------



## privatebydesign (Feb 5, 2016)

candc said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > Now that is a great and innovative idea, if you only use solid filters, I can see people thinking it is a complete waste of time and money if they use split and grads.........
> ...



That would be fine for the use of a polarizer, a circular filter, but still no use for splits and grads where you need to adjust where the line comes in the image.


----------



## candc (Feb 5, 2016)

True, I don't suppose its very useful for a clear protective filter either


----------



## privatebydesign (Feb 5, 2016)

candc said:


> True, I don't suppose its very useful for a clear protective filter either


For the sensor, yes! For the front element, no! ;D


----------



## candc (Feb 5, 2016)

privatebydesign said:


> candc said:
> 
> 
> > True, I don't suppose its very useful for a clear protective filter either
> ...



All kidding aside: it would prevent dust entering when changing lenses. That is a benefit from having a speedbooster on the camera.


----------



## PhotographyFirst (Feb 5, 2016)

privatebydesign said:


> Now that is a great and innovative idea, if you only use solid filters, I can see people thinking it is a complete waste of time and money if they use split and grads.........


Grad filters are a waste of time no matter where they are mounted. 

Blending exposures or lifting shadows is the best way to go these days. 

I would use this system for solid ND filters and a polarizing filter.


----------



## privatebydesign (Feb 5, 2016)

PhotographyFirst said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > Now that is a great and innovative idea, if you only use solid filters, I can see people thinking it is a complete waste of time and money if they use split and grads.........
> ...



No grad filters are still popular amongst many landscape shooters, though I haven't used one since the '80's, but there are a lot of people out there still using them. Sure some people might prefer exposure blending, but that eliminates you from a lot of competitions and changes the 'ethics' of your shooting.


----------



## candc (Feb 6, 2016)

privatebydesign said:


> PhotographyFirst said:
> 
> 
> > privatebydesign said:
> ...



Sony has a camera app that works like a graduated nd filter. Looks useful, I think I am going to give it a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NNt920HN7g


----------



## privatebydesign (Feb 7, 2016)

candc said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > PhotographyFirst said:
> ...



That is just exposure blending, indeed you get the worst of both worlds like that. You get the disadvantages of a traditional filter in that you get a line even if that doesn't fit your composition whereas post capture blending allows for incredibly detailed luminosity masks, and you get the disadvantage of it being multiple exposures.

Nice as a headline feature, not so good when you drill down into the way it actually works.


----------



## candc (Feb 7, 2016)

I think it might be useful on a trip and you want to do it in camera. Might be good for a more casual user that doesn't know much about post processing. I think that's who a lot of these apps are targeted at.


----------



## Zv (Feb 7, 2016)

Can't remember which version of Lr it was (v6?) but when they introduced the ability to use the adjustment brush to edit your grad filter it made the use of physical grads all the more obsolete. I love this feature on Lr. 

But back to the original post about the adaptor with drop in filter, for ND filters it looks pretty useful. I wonder if a variable ND filter could be used with it for video work too?


----------

