Stuart B.

These are mic systems with specific differences. The W3 is a simplified lavalier microphone designed to record voice from chest level. It comes in a case that doubles as a charger. It automatically pairs and connects fluidly to most Alpha cameras, meaning no cable. A lapel mic can be connected to the transmitter if you want to hide the mic behind a collar or tie. The sound quality is very good. I have used it from a distance of 30 feet with no problems. The S1 is a whole different animal. This mic will most likely be used in the shot. It can be plugged directly into the USB input on a computer and uses a direct receiver connected through the hot shoe on an Alpha camera. The S1 has three different patterns: Cardoid, Omni, and Stereo. Stereo recordings of live music heard through headphones have great presence, separation, and spatial integrity. I am unsure why it would need to be connected 30 feet away, but it could. Sony says the mics will transmit further than 30 feet away, but I have not encountered a situation where I needed to test that. I suspect that line-of-sight and conflicting RF would alter how far the transmitter can be placed. Both these systems are made with the usual Sony ergonomics and quality. Best of all, they work fluidly with Sony Alpha Cameras. SonyECMS1.m4v SonyECM_W3 - SD 480p.mov

I travel to New Orleans regularly for a week of jazz and food. I usually carry my Sony A7s with two primes a 24mm and a 75mm. This trombonist was shot with a 75mm. ISO 6400 | 1/4 | f2

I just spent over an hour with Sony customer service, and he thinks it's a hardware issue. We tried many possibilities, including doing a full initialization of the camera. I will have to send the camera to Sony to be repaired. Fortunately, it is still under warranty.

I use an A7CM2, but the focus mechanism is the same. I don't trust the autofocus because it doesn't know what I want to focus on, but it's usually pretty good with people. You may want to look at your focus settings and ensure the human eye focus is turned on. Select [Subject Recog in AF] → [On]. Select [Human], [Animal/Bird], [Animal], [Bird], [Insect], [Car/Train], or [Airplane] for [Recognition Target]. That said, I prefer to leave the autofocus set to center. I took the default focus, which is on the shutter button, and put it on the AF Button. This popular method is called rear button focus. (There are Youtube videos on this subject.) The advantage is that I come up to your subject, quickly put the subject in the center, click the rear button focus, and the lens adjusts. I then reframe and click away until the subject changes distance, and then I click the rear button again. The advantage is that you are not refocusing every time you click the shutter. It takes some getting used to, but it is quite effective.

I do a lot of Real Estate photography and live by my Zeiss FE 4/16-35. There are many cases when it's nice to go really wide. It makes rooms look bigger, and landscapes look vast. I found the trick to hiding the distortion is to look for shots with a lot of curves. But it's hard to justify carrying a very wide prime lens with me; it feels like a specialty lens.

I primarily use a Samyang AF24mm 1.8FE with my Sony 7AC2. The lens case is plastic but has superb optics. It is very lightweight and performs well in low light. The mid-century street photographers like Alfred Eisenstaedt and Henri Cartier-Bresson tended towards 35mm lenses. Mobil phones are pretty much defaulted to about 35mm (sometimes 28mm). I find the 24mm is a good contrast to the ubiquitous mobile phone. That said, I usually have a nifty-fifty or a 75mm in my pocket. Attached is a shot of Mike Kuchar inside a very dark movie theater shot at ISO 8000 1/3 second hand held with the 24mm.

I am running Ver. 1.02 on my Sony 7CM2. I am trying to pair the camera with my iPhone 13. However, the camera does not show up on the iPhone's Bluetooth list and will not connect through the Creator App. Is this me, or is this a current software limitation?

This shot of the Golden Gate Bridge took several trips to the same spot to get the right conditions. I took several different exposures and layered them to balance out the color.