Should serious photographers forget APS-C cameras?

[Rooz]

its not radio control and triggering per se, its actually the functionality of the system. the full ttl cls system nikon has is just incredible.

[Elisha]

Sony's wireless TTL is the same. The only thing missing is ratio control within the bodies itself which is what i believe Nikon has.

So far the only unit that can do ratio control to other Sony flashes is the Sony 58 which is a pain in the butt.

My Sigma can do ratio control as well but only to other Sigmas.

[dr4gon]

nope. for a few reasons that come to mind:

1. i dont think it can happen, (being miles better)
2. hi iso isnt that important to me
3. i dont like using sony bodies
4. not sure if i trust sony in the hi end dslr market just yet; i get the feeling they want to make low-mid range products.
5. the glass lineup isnt where i want it to be
6. no CLS or access to nikons flash system
7. lack of support

Add to that: slower AF speeds and so far a lack of movie mode and that pretty much sums up my gripes about Sony.

Nikon has built in ratio control?! I didn't know that! Now that's a handy feature to have built in.

[Elisha]

Add to that: slower AF speeds and so far a lack of movie mode and that pretty much sums up my gripes about Sony.

I dunno about slower AF speeds. the a700 and a900 are blazing fast.
And it is pretty fast in low light as well.
Maybe yours is slower since it doesn't have the AF assist beam?
The a700 shares the same AF motor as the a200/300/350. It only seems faster cause the a700 is more precise especially with F2.8 or faster lenses.
You can change the AF speed on the a700 to Slow or Fast. Slow is supposedly more accurate. On the 200/300/350 is is defaulted to Fast only.

I however wish it had more AF points like on the D300. Don't need 51, but 20 would be nice.

[dr4gon]

I dunno about slower AF speeds. the a700 and a900 are blazing fast.
And it is pretty fast in low light as well.
Maybe yours is slower since it doesn't have the AF assist beam?
The a700 shares the same AF motor as the a200/300/350. It only seems faster cause the a700 is more precise especially with F2.8 or faster lenses.
You can change the AF speed on the a700 to Slow or Fast. Slow is supposedly more accurate. On the 200/300/350 is is defaulted to Fast only.

I however wish it had more AF points like on the D300. Don't need 51, but 20 would be nice.

They're really not. I've come to realize the Sony lenses with SSM (70-200mm, 24-70mm) do not AF as fast as the Nikon AF-S lenses. I don't think this can be overcome with the bodies, it's a lens design. The 70-200mm wasn't much faster on the A700's motor. I've heard the screw drive on the A900 is pretty powerful though. But let's face it, SSM is where the future will be at for high-end glass.

If you look up videos on Youtube, the Nikon lenses seem to blow right through the entire focus range. I don't think they are any less accurate than Sony's lenses. On the Sony SSM lenses, it's more of a gentler sweep (still fast, but not as fast) through the focus range. I'm not sure about Canon's lenses. I would like to see all of these in person though.

[Rooz]

Nikon has built in ratio control?! I didn't know that! Now that's a handy feature to have built in.

no, only IR.

[Elisha]

Rooz, then how do you guys control ratio grouping?
I keep hearing about ratios on Nikons. If the body doesn't do it, then it is no different than Sony's implementation at all!
Or is it just that the flashes are smart enough to know how close they are to the subject and control the flash output dynamically rather than a preset ratio?
I know that CLS has something extra that Sony doesn't.

[Elisha]

They're really not. I've come to realize the Sony lenses with SSM (70-200mm, 24-70mm) do not AF as fast as the Nikon AF-S lenses. I don't think this can be overcome with the bodies, it's a lens design. The 70-200mm wasn't much faster on the A700's motor. I've heard the screw drive on the A900 is pretty powerful though. But let's face it, SSM is where the future will be at for high-end glass.

If you look up videos on Youtube, the Nikon lenses seem to blow right through the entire focus range. I don't think they are any less accurate than Sony's lenses. On the Sony SSM lenses, it's more of a gentler sweep (still fast, but not as fast) through the focus range. I'm not sure about Canon's lenses. I would like to see all of these in person though.

SSM is a whole different beast. Doubt the body has anything to do with it.
The first time i used my 70-300G, i though it was broken cause it was silent.

I think SSM is like the CVT transmission. We just think it is slow compared to screw drive but it probably isn't!
So far lens AF speed has not bothered me yet!

[dr4gon]

I've used both the 24-70mm CZ, 70-300mm, and 70-200m G's (SSM) and they really didn't impress me that much as far as AF speed was concerned. They're probably plenty usable out in the field, but it's just that the Nikon's I see are wicked fast.

[Elisha]

I rarely need the range of my G. I'm considering getting rid of it and getting the CZ 24-70mm or the Sigma 24-70mm HSM.