Category: Articles

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Sorry, Sony Australia – 2 out of 20 simply isn’t good enough!

The Overrated Photographer

Sony released its list of Sony Advocates, and the list was a little surprising. Two out of the twenty were female, one out of fifteen at the time of going to press! A year ago Nikon was taken to task because put together a list of photographers that included no females. Sony’s marketing department must have a short memory because this situation was always going to cause problems for them. That works out at 10%, hardly a real representation of their clientele. Continue reading “Sorry, Sony Australia – 2 out of 20 simply isn’t good enough!”

Articles, Instructionals2 Comments

Solving ONA’s glaring omission

The Overrated Photographer

We all know ONA bags. Awesome, incredible, beautiful, I have the Prince and Bowery in antique cognac and I love them. The craftsmanship is amazing and the leather is beautiful.

But water doesn’t love them. Leather and water is always a bad combination, like mixing medicine and heavy machinery, or alcohol and skydiving. If you want to destroy a leather bag quickly, take it out into the rain. I have no doubt your equipment will survive, the leather is thick and it will take a while for the water to penetrate, but that’s only part of the problem. When you are paying the sort of money you are for ONA bags, I expect the bag to survive unscathed as well. Continue reading “Solving ONA’s glaring omission”

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The warning signs of bad photographic advice

The Overrated Photographer

People make money off the web, and I get that. I don’t have an issue with that, and I don’t have an issue with people making a living. People make money in a variety of different ways, and everyone is entitled to make a living…honestly.

What I do have an issue with is when people spread misinformation to make money, under the guise of it being accurate, because this distorts the perception of brands and camera gear, in some cases leaving users with a bad perception of the gear, or giving them the idea that they are somehow to blame because gear doesn’t work the way they expect. What annoys me more is when these people are quick to call out others as charlatans for promoting gear for money when in reality, producing videos with inaccurate information with the sole purpose of making money, is the pot calling the kettle black. Continue reading “The warning signs of bad photographic advice”

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Dear Sony Users: Not everyone needs a $2000 Zeiss prime or G Master lens.

The Overrated Photographer

There is one thing I find amazing about Sony users: they seem to have bought into the Sony marketing pitch hook, line and sinker. In fact, I would go as far as to say they took the whole fishing rod.

Any time I see a question about a new lens on the facebook sites, the first responses back point to G master lenses or $2000 Zeiss lenses. It’s like every other lens in Sony mount has rabies. Beginner looking for a first lens: G Master. Intermediate looking for a new lens: G Master. Part-time macro user: G Master. Street lens? G Master. Portrait lens with a $300 budget. Save for longer and get a G Master or the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4. I even had someone try to argue with me that a complete beginner would progress more quickly with a G Master lens. They won’t even have their composition right but apparently, they can master DOF. Continue reading “Dear Sony Users: Not everyone needs a $2000 Zeiss prime or G Master lens.”

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The era of the fanboys – are sony fanboys the worst?

The Overrated Photographer

You have to love the internet, it’s an incredible place where you find all sorts of people….and the fanboys. Lots of fanboys.

Yes, they love to hide around every corner justifying every issue their technology may have on the basis that the average consumer is either wrong, or the company in question put it there on purpose. Continue reading “The era of the fanboys – are sony fanboys the worst?”

Articles, Instructionals1 Comment

A7riii Settings Spreadsheet

The Overrated Photographer

You have to love the internet, it’s become a treasure trove of information and people create and share content all over the place that they have taken the time to create. The best part about it, is that the majority of this content is free, you just have to decipher between the bull#$%@ (like some of the youtubers who have absolutely no clue).

I can’t claim the credit for this, it came complements of someone by the name of Dennis from Florida (included a screenshot) from DPreview who has created a spread sheet which covers every single setting on the A7Riii along with links to the help files for the various settings, along with some links to videos from the likes of Mark Galer. File is downloadable. Continue reading “A7riii Settings Spreadsheet”

Articles, Instructionals6 Comments

How to carry a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 or Sony 100-400mm (or any other brand for that matter)

The Overrated Photographer

I often cringe when I see the responses to a forum post on how to carry a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 or Sony 100-400mm. People seem completely oblivious to the damage they are doing to the mounts on their cameras. Worst yet, they are happily advising other users to do the same.

How do you know whether to reconsider how you carry your camera/lens combination? If it comes with a lens collar that allows for attachment directly to the lens, the rule of thumb is to use the lens attachment as these lenses are likely to be heavier than the camera body. Continue reading “How to carry a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 or Sony 100-400mm (or any other brand for that matter)”

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The Full Frame Myth – Mini Rant

The Overrated Photographer

This started as something of a:

Dear Full Frame users, stop saying you need Full Frame to “grow”, “take good photos” or whatever other crap you feed yourself at night to make yourself feel better.

Yes, to be clear…it’s a myth. You don’t need a full frame sensor to be producing professional world class photos. There are many, very good, professional photos who use APS-C, whether that is Sony, Fujifilm, Nikon or Canon. Continue reading “The Full Frame Myth – Mini Rant”

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Capture One 12 released…and then the upgrade/new price shock

The Overrated Photographer

Yeah, that’s right, if you were unfortunate enough to buy Capture One for Sony in the last month or two, you’re stuck with an upgrade headed your way along with a price to boot. Not only have the prices jumped substantially, but the upgrade cost is substantially higher than a normal purchase.

As a recent switcher to Capture One, I have to say I love the software, but honestly, what the hell were you guys thinking on the price? You would have a lot more luck if you came in with something close to Adobe’s pricing model on the subscription. Continue reading “Capture One 12 released…and then the upgrade/new price shock”