I'm confused why there isn't more raging love for the FPS! 
To me its really quite a breakthrough camera, allowing Tech camera work or straight shooting capabilities, and full access to those wonderful lenses, but with a quiet & fast modern Focal Plane Shutter. Auto bracketing, 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 stop control, HDR, time lapse, multi exposure, etc, etc.
I've been using mine as a walk-around camera, and am knocked out by the difference from using a TC or STC. You don't need to take your eye away from the finder to set the shutter each time, which is HUGE, plus the shutter is very quiet and reliable. I seem to even get sharper images as the button is an electro-magnetic coupling, not a physical plunger, and -not seen anyone mention this- is pushed in the direction of the optical axis, not perpendicular to it, so any movement is not blur inducing.
Its a quirky looking body, due to Alpa's desire to allow you to stitch with it as a shutter unit on a Max/STC etc. But once you get used to that, its really a great camera to use. It is also much smaller and lighter than you might think from online images. I haven't begun to explore its ability to put a huge range of other lenses on there - Nikon, Canon, Hasselblad, Olympus, Leica, etc.
Of course there are a few things Alpa should maybe tweak - the choice not to take power from the back, requiring its own batteries and charger. They also prioritized stitching compatibility over straight shooting in this form-factor, something I hope will change with a future model. It also has led to some lens barrel confusion as the new body thickness (due to shutter unit) is a change from the rest of the system, meaning SB lenses only.
I really love mine, and its becoming my default option. I'd honestly suggest anyone into Alpa here try one out. It's an amazing tool.
To me its really quite a breakthrough camera, allowing Tech camera work or straight shooting capabilities, and full access to those wonderful lenses, but with a quiet & fast modern Focal Plane Shutter. Auto bracketing, 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 stop control, HDR, time lapse, multi exposure, etc, etc.
I've been using mine as a walk-around camera, and am knocked out by the difference from using a TC or STC. You don't need to take your eye away from the finder to set the shutter each time, which is HUGE, plus the shutter is very quiet and reliable. I seem to even get sharper images as the button is an electro-magnetic coupling, not a physical plunger, and -not seen anyone mention this- is pushed in the direction of the optical axis, not perpendicular to it, so any movement is not blur inducing.
Its a quirky looking body, due to Alpa's desire to allow you to stitch with it as a shutter unit on a Max/STC etc. But once you get used to that, its really a great camera to use. It is also much smaller and lighter than you might think from online images. I haven't begun to explore its ability to put a huge range of other lenses on there - Nikon, Canon, Hasselblad, Olympus, Leica, etc.
Of course there are a few things Alpa should maybe tweak - the choice not to take power from the back, requiring its own batteries and charger. They also prioritized stitching compatibility over straight shooting in this form-factor, something I hope will change with a future model. It also has led to some lens barrel confusion as the new body thickness (due to shutter unit) is a change from the rest of the system, meaning SB lenses only.
I really love mine, and its becoming my default option. I'd honestly suggest anyone into Alpa here try one out. It's an amazing tool.
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