• Welcome to Focus on Photography Forum!
    Come join the fun, make new friends and get access to hidden forums, resources, galleries and more.
    We encourage you to sign up and join our community.

Sony Lounge Thread GM-CR MK IV-A

David A said:
That is soooooo cool Eddie, a dream trip for sure! The closest I’ll ever get to Japan is where I’m at right at this moment: in front of my TV playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows. ;) Seriously though, that is going to be absolutely incredible, so congrats. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks David! You also just reminded me about the release of shadows! How’s the gameplay? Worth the purchase?
 
Eddie said:
Thanks David! You also just reminded me about the release of shadows! How’s the gameplay? Worth the purchase?
Click to expand...
I’m loving it! I’ve not been an AC player before…just a little time in Odyssey, which I’ll come back to at some point. Shadows is truly a gorgeous game. Everyone has such differing tastes or wants in games, so I’m not able to say about worth of purchase. However, I bought it and I’ve been obsessed with it.

AC Shadows perfectly hits some of my favorite game experience types (e.g. stealthy assassin gameplay). My favorite setup for gaming is having Youtube playing on my iPad, usually live coverage of an interesting criminal trial (currently the Karen Read trial) while I play. Dialog/story heavy games, like some RPGs and story based linear games make that setup difficult. Shadows, being open world, allows long stretches between dialog breaks, and the dialog is never too long.

The Japanese setting that they’ve created in Shadows is just so freaking gorgeous that it’s pure pleasure just being immersed in the game.

My suggestion is to watch some gameplay footage and maybe some reviews and see if it suits your interests.
 
Thanks David, watched a couple of YouTube vids on it there and it does indeed look beautiful. I think I’ll probably give it a whirl
 
Eddie said:
Excellent Flickr set Paul, I’m only 4 pages in but I’ll go through the rest later tonight when I have a min. That’s the kind of shots I want to be taking, really try and capture daily life there. How did you manage so many people free shots of the Kyoto temple with the red poles (sorry forget the name). I was expecting that to be a swarm of tourists.

Would love to see the monkeys but I think I’ll be out of season for the snow there? I’m going sep 29th - oct 12th.

Gear wise, I’ll be defo taking my x100vi as I’m loving that thing just now. A7cr wise I need to decide on what lenses. Do you think I’d benefit from my 16-35? Would likely be 16-35 & 50GM with the Sony and then the x100vi (plus my osmo pocket 3 and osmo action for the trip videos I like to take. Still need to check the drone laws to see if I can take my DJI mini).

The main struggle I’m having GAS wise and have been for a while is the absolute lust for the Fuji GFX 100RF! If it wasn’t for the f/4 maximum aperture I’d probably have pulled the trigger on that already. That’s what might keep me from going for that as the iso would be getting high at night with that.
Click to expand...


What I can say is this...... the tori gates are so busy....... we got their about 9am and I wish I had gotten there at 7.... by the time we were half way up it was wall to wall but of course I was there just a week early for the bloom and so was everyone else.... Any of these places go early is my best advice.. on the gates I just stood their and waited for breaks but it took a lot of time and patience. 16-35 is going to get most of what you want I used the 50 and the 70-200 at gardens and monkeys only.... didnt "really" need it. I took my insta360 and had it on my shoulder...... only a couple of shrines was I asked to not use it (some places do not like photos i.e. THE FISH MARKET of all places. I heard a couple of drones but the rule in Japan is politeness and noise like that is invasive. I didnt get any good shots of Bamboo areas because of the crowds but we were there in the afternoon and again it was the bloom season. The bamboo shots I did get were from another place and that is really it. There is a temple everywhere and dont get hung up on having to hit a certain one. keep an eye on the monkey forcast.... https://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/ they are there year round but more so in the cold and it may be cold by then. Bus from Nagano and entry fee were about 20 usd.

My friend Mo from Ace Photo is telling me I HAVE to get the Fugi RF.... I was concerned about no IBIS and F/4 but with noise reduction what it is today in processing I am not worried about a higher ISO and min shutter at 1/60 -125

I am off to Hawaii on Friday only taking the 20-70 f/4 and 70-200 debating on a7crii or A1 or just both

Sorry for the rambling post
 
Eddie said:
Booked a trip to Japan today for September. Absolute bucket list destination for me that I’ve always wanted to visit. Now the 4 month “what gear should I take” internal deliberations begin 🤣
Click to expand...
Congrats! Which cities are you visiting? I’ll be there end of the year as well!
David A said:
That is soooooo cool Eddie, a dream trip for sure! The closest I’ll ever get to Japan is where I’m at right at this moment: in front of my TV playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows. ;) Seriously though, that is going to be absolutely incredible, so congrats. :)
Click to expand...
I’m almost done with Shadows but you should try Ghost of Tsushima, also set in Japan and on its own level with how good it is!
 
PhotosByDlee said:
Congrats! Which cities are you visiting? I’ll be there end of the year as well!

I’m almost done with Shadows but you should try Ghost of Tsushima, also set in Japan and on its own level with how good it is!
Click to expand...

I was so close to buying a PS5 Pro of late…and playing Ghost of Tsushima was one of the games I’d love to play. And even more exciting is the upcoming October release of Ghost of Yotei. Looks so cool. Sadly the only Playstation I’ve got is a PS4 Pro and I’m not keen on buying games for the last gen console.
 
David A said:
I was so close to buying a PS5 Pro of late…and playing Ghost of Tsushima was one of the games I’d love to play. And even more exciting is the upcoming October release of Ghost of Yotei. Looks so cool. Sadly the only Playstation I’ve got is a PS4 Pro and I’m not keen on buying games for the last gen console.
Click to expand...
I don’t blame you regarding getting last gen games. Do you have a PC? GoT is now on there too and honestly since I’ve played both I’d say GoT still wipes the floor with Shadows so if you enjoy the latter you’d love for the former. I find GoT does both stealth AND combat much better, you also have a realistic mode where like 1 sword strike and you’re dead.

Ghost of Yotei looks good but I’m disappointed it has a different character, I won’t say more to avoid any spoilers.
 
PhotosByDlee said:
I don’t blame you regarding getting last gen games. Do you have a PC? GoT is now on there too and honestly since I’ve played both I’d say GoT still wipes the floor with Shadows so if you enjoy the latter you’d love for the former. I find GoT does both stealth AND combat much better, you also have a realistic mode where like 1 sword strike and you’re dead.

Ghost of Yotei looks good but I’m disappointed it has a different character, I won’t say more to avoid any spoilers.
Click to expand...

I’ve got xbox series x and my pc is a macbook pro, so not viable way of playing it.
 
Last edited:
PhotosByDlee said:
Congrats! Which cities are you visiting? I’ll be there end of the year as well!

I’m almost done with Shadows but you should try Ghost of Tsushima, also set in Japan and on its own level with how good it is!
Click to expand...
Hey Daniel, just finalising the itinerary over the next few days but looking like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with day trips to places like lake Ashi for a boat trip to view Mount Fuji. Typical tourist locations mainly, so much to try and see having never been
 
David A said:
I’ve got xbox series x and my pc is a macbook pro, so not viable way of playing it.
Click to expand...
I was actually tempted to get an Xbox Series X recently but I got a PS5, Switch (soon to be Switch 2) and PC so I don't think I should. You're lucky as you can get AC Shadows through Ubi +!
Eddie said:
Hey Daniel, just finalising the itinerary over the next few days but looking like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with day trips to places like lake Ashi for a boat trip to view Mount Fuji. Typical tourist locations mainly, so much to try and see having never been
Click to expand...
Osaka is good for day trips, Kobe is worth going as they have THE BEST beef you can find there.



It's not cheap but it;s literally the best you'll ever try and super close to Osaka. Nara is a short day trip too from Kyoto if you want to see deer which is a popular thing a lot of people do



You have to try Gyukatsu Motomura as well, it's essentially beef katsu and is amazing. ALthough if you don't eat beef or meat, all my suggestions are bad haha

Jon M said:
Daniel, I finally got myself some Nikes! I mentioned the NFL themed Pegasus before, I realised after those websites didn't have the best reviews! So I went for the custom colours - these are quite bright!

Nike Air Pegasus by Jonathan Millard, on Flickr
Click to expand...
Congrats on finding them Jon, they look really good! They look great and do you find them comfy? I been really enjoying mine!
 
Kudzu was originally imported to the US from Japan as an ornamental garden plant, and it's a great example of good ideas can turn out really really really bad. This vine has over the many decades since introduced to the US has become an absolute menace in the SE US where the vine aggressively grows 1 foot (.3 meters) per day. It takes over everything; it swallows whole mature trees. And here it is in downtown Columbus, Georgia trying to take over a city park.

This railroad track is no longer in service, but seeing cats out and about in a downtown urban setting breaks my heart. I wish I could save every single kitten and cat we come across, but alas - we now have three and that's our limit. I wasn't a cat-interested person until just a few years ago, but now I love them more than dogs (and we dearly love our two dogs).

a7C II with FE 85mm GM II:
 
I totally caved under the pressure. It seems like the evil TikTok algorithm has conspired to fill my FYP with accounts live-streaming the Last of Us games...I really want to play those. And Rockstar's latest GTA 6 reveal looks absolutely INSANE. Also super-excited about Mafia: The Old Country. Sooooooo, I've gone ahead and ordered a PS 5 Pro. This will be the very best platform for GTA 6 next year, so may as well be ready for it now - especially as the gaming industry looks like they're starting to really hike up prices.


a7C II with 85GM II:
 
David A said:
I totally caved under the pressure. It seems like the evil TikTok algorithm has conspired to fill my FYP with accounts live-streaming the Last of Us games...I really want to play those. And Rockstar's latest GTA 6 reveal looks absolutely INSANE. Also super-excited about Mafia: The Old Country. Sooooooo, I've gone ahead and ordered a PS 5 Pro. This will be the very best platform for GTA 6 next year, so may as well be ready for it now - especially as the gaming industry looks like they're starting to really hike up prices.


a7C II with 85GM II:
Click to expand...
Congress on the PS5 Pro! Even more exclusive games you can play now like Spider-Man/Spiderman 2 which are amazing games. I’m a bit skeptical for GTA, it looks good but both Leslie Benzies and one of the Houser brothers are gone and they’re quite influential on past games so I’m worried it won’t have that same magic the older games had.

I’ve played all the previous Mafia games so Old Country is an easy buy for me too!
 
ErieT30 said:
Howdy...... long time no see. Had a lot of changes in life. Changed jobs to at an amazing job at first then it became political and I became a target so lost that. Also lost my 32 year marriage and all the fun that comes with that. And got diagnosed with prostate cancer (not bad yet) so.... yeah having fun.

I lost my passion for photography for about 2 years or so. It was hard to pick up the camera even film cameras....... However I took a trip to Japan and....... I found my love for photography. It just sorta came back, I am so glad I didnt push and let it find me.

Anyway.... a few pics - good to see you all!
7C203276-2 by Paul, on Flickr

7C207378-2 by Paul, on Flickr



7C209195-Edit by Paul, on Flickr

7C206071-2 by Paul, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear of your troubles Paul. All the best for the future :)
 
Eddie said:
Booked a trip to Japan today for September. Absolute bucket list destination for me that I’ve always wanted to visit. Now the 4 month “what gear should I take” internal deliberations begin 🤣
Click to expand...

Just buy something new for it mate (y):ROFLMAO:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom