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April 2025 Q&A Forum (Premium+ Members) (Patreon)

Published:
2025-03-31 16:00:13
Imported:
2026-06
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April 2025 Q&A Forum (Premium+ Members)

Please ask all of your questions during the month of April 2025 using this forum.

IMPORTANT: When replying to a post that is more than three days old it will help me enormously if you start a new discussion thread. It will be easier for me to find your question (Patreon has a habit of burying old discussion threads).

Quick Answers to Basic Questions: The answers to many questions that I get asked by some Patrons can easily be found by searching the eBook or the Online Web Manual for your camera. Please try to limit your questions to ones that cannot be found by a simple search of the exisiting learning resources. Thank you.

Weekend Questions > I am usually unable to answer questions at the weekend (so that I can either rest or take time for personal shooting), so questions arriving in my Inbox on Saturday and Sunday will be answered on Monday morning. I am 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) here in Melbourne, Australia, so this means that questions asked on Friday from the USA are not arriving with me until Saturday, while questions asked from the USA on Sunday evening will get a much faster response.

PLEASE NOTE > Questions asked via the Patreon Message service will only be answered by my Admin Staff (who are not photographers). The current Q&A forum always appears directly below the banner image of the Orange Tori Gates in Japan (when using a web browser on a computer).

If you are unsure where to locate the learning resources on this Patreon site you are advised to watch this video: https://youtu.be/A47kjbjOoPI

It is easier to navigate/find the Patreon resources when using a web browswer rather than the Patreon app on a mobile device.

Forum Image: Melbourne, Victoria
Sony A7CR + FE 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II
1/125 Second at F4, ISO 1600

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Comments

Paul

Hi Mark, What are your impressions of the newly released Sigma 16-300 lens for use with my Sony A7CR camera as a good “walk about” lens/camera set up?

Richard Levy

Mark" , Hi I'm sure I've asked this before. I'm trying to load your CAMSET for my A7 CII (and next my A7 CR). I've done everything in the instructions and keep getting the message " This file can't be loaded" or " The file does not exist" I'm replacing the extracted Sony folder. You say not to load the Settings, but the new CAMSET settings are in the Settings folder within Sony. What am I doing wrong. I've tried it in the camera and also using a card reader. No luck. Thanks in advance for your help.

Mark Galer
>>172499831

I haven't reviewed this lens but have watched a review by Chris Nichols. Its focal range is really impressive, its close focusing magnification ratio is excellent and it is priced around the same price point as Sony's 18-135 lens. I can see why it would be attractive to many Alpha APS-C camera owners looking for a one lens travel approach. I own and have reviewed Sony's 18-135 lens (which has a full-frame equivalent of 27.5mm to 202.5mm zoom range) and have used this lens on occasions when I want to carry just one lens (most of the time I am travelling with at least one other lens). As Sigma won't loan me any lenses for extended periods of time, I have had to purchase the three Sigma lenses I have wanted to use for in order to create my travel seminars - the 90mm F2.8 DG DN, the 56mm F1.4 DC DN and the 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN. I am happy with the quality and performance of all of these lenses. I will most likely, however, not want to purchase the 16-300 lens as I nearly always travel with two camera bodies and two or three lenses - so I don't really need one lens to meet all of my imaging needs, e.g., I will take a Sony E 11mm F1.8 APS-C or Sony E 15mm F1.4 G lens for ultra-wide low-light photography and a wide-aperture portrait prime (Sigma 56mm F1.4 or Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA) on a second body if I am using a standard zoom (Sigma 18-50 F2.8 DC DN or Sony E 16-55 F2.8 G). I also own the E 70-350 G telephoto zoom for those times I need reach beyond the 135mm capability of the Sony E 18-135 lens. As well as keeping the camera bag below 4 kg or 9 lbs in weight I also like to keep the camera in my hand as light as possible. The weight of the new Sigma 16-300 is 615 g (21.7 oz) while the weight of the Sigma 18-50 is just 210 g (7.4 oz) and the Sony 18-135 lens weighs in at just 326 g (11.5 oz). When I don't need a zoom longer than 135mm a lighter weight in my hand is my preferred choice. The length of various lenses also impacts on the way these cameras are carried in sling/messenger bags. Most of my compact lenses used for travel allow for the camera to be placed sideways in the bag while longer lenses such as the 70-350 or this new Sigma lens has to lowered vertically into the messenger bag. When working with two cameras it is much faster to access a camera that is placed sideways in the bag. I have just returned from a 3-week trip to Vietnam where my Full-Frame walkabout lenses were 440 grams and 290 grams. I don't tend to think of zoom lenses with a reach greater than 135/200mm as walkabout lenses. I put these longer foil length into the category of wildlife and/or sports where the focus of the trip or photoshoot is more considered and focused on these longer focal lengths. If this were to happen with my APS-C camera I am more than happy with the performance of my E 70-350 G lens. There is no one 'best lens', so everyone will come to their own decisions about the type of gear they want to travel with and that meets their own imaging needs. I hope this information is helpful in your own decision-making process.

Mark Galer
>>172506285

Sorry to hear you are having issues loading the CAMSET Richard Here are the problem solving tips we can offer you: PROBLEM SOLVING / CAMSET ISSUES Please make sure you have watched the 'Save/Load (CAMSET) Video Tutorial': https://youtu.be/iL3FvEbwE3w Possible CAMSET loading errors we have helped Patrons resolve recently include: 1) The camera you are loading the CAMSET to has not been updated to the current Firmware Version Downloading the incorrect CAMSET for the model owned, e.g., A1 instead of the A1 II or the A7RIV instead of the A7IV 2) Having a SONY folder already in the computer's downloads folder when the SONY folder gets downloaded to the users's computer. This can lead the computer having to rename the folder to SONY 2 - which the camera will then not find. 3) The user mistaking SLOT 1 for SLOT 2 (Slot 1 is now the uppermost camera card slot but in older models used to be the Lower slot). The card slot with my CAMSET must be in the upper slot for the camera to find the CAMSET. 4) Not replacing the SONY folder but taking the CAMSETMG file out of the SONY folder that was downloaded or going into the SONY folder on the Cloud sharing site to retrieve the CAMSET data file. 5) Skipping the step which required the user to save the current settings of the camera before ejecting the card from SLOT 1 and putting the card in their card reader. 6) Failing to turn the Shoot Mode Dial to P, A, S of M will result in the Save/Load settings being ‘greyed out’ in the camera menus. Some users reported success when leaving the cards in the camera and connecting the camera to the computer rather than using a card reader. This is not a common workaround but has worked for one or two users. Some Patrons reported success when they used a different card. NOTE > Most Patrons are able to load my CAMSETs without issue, but a few Patrons will struggle for one reason or another. If the loading of a CAMSET proves frustrating then I recommend setting up the camera manually as outlined in the eBook. You do not necessarily need to install a new CAMSET every time you install new firmware. Only in rare instances when the camera is ‘Initialized’ with the firmware update (returning the camera to factory settings) will you need to use a new CAMSET version. NOTE > I may not be able to create new CAMSET versions for older cameras as I do not own, or have access to, all of the older cameras. I do, however, strive to support a new camera with CAMSET files for at least 2 years from when the camera was first announced. If you update the firmware of an older camera the CAMSET may still be OK - but only if the camera did not Initialize after the firmware update (rare instances). If the CAMSET cannot be successfully loaded for your camera, please use the tables of settings in the eBook to configure your camera.