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The Sony A7 thread [Merged]

dmclalla

By dmclalla
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viramati

viramati

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Thanks. I do realize that you can fiddle around with the dial and move the focus area around and that adds several more steps to focusing with the A7R. By the time I do all of that the moment can be gone. I'm sure it will work fine for tripod and slower types of shooting.

 

The beauty of the M240 is that I can hit the mag button instantly because, it is under my middle finger and I don't have to hunt around for the button. I have instant one button mag. The mag is right where I point the camera too... I don't have to (or want to) do the fiddly ring dial and click it around which is so slow. The M is just such a quicker and simpler way to approach the focus mag assist.

 

Also, the M shutter release button has a better feel and operation in the sense that I can leave my finger on the shutter button without triggering the "off" of the focus mag, which is a pain in the ass with the poor A7R shutter button design. I can not leave my finger resting on the A7R shutter button without inadvertently turning the focus mag off. The design of the shutter button on the A7R is poor, for me.

I agree about the shutter and magnification button on the M. I have added a little rubber bump to the button on the front of the M which makes the whole process really easy. BUT what kills it for me on the M is the black out time after taking a shot when using the EVF on the M which makes the whole thing useless for any sort of reportage/documentary type shot (great for landscape, architectural work etc). The layout on the A& is not good from this point of view and I keep hunting for the magnification button but I presume I will get used to it. Also it is a pain having the 2 magnification sizes and that you can't limit it to just one

 

As an aside I tried out the 55/f1.8 today and it seemed really good

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ModernMan

ModernMan

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Ah- yes. But what camera will give you the better results? Nowadays at least a dozen cameras will take images that are in practice indistinguishable from one another. And medium format will be "better".

Is it not the camera you are most comfortable with?

 

Then I should stick with my IIIg (w/ Leicavit). :)

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jaapv

jaapv

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Well we knew that the M240 with the ad on EVF and the way that Leica decided to use a band aid fix for the R lenses was only going to be a compromise R "Solution".

 

Rich[/QUOTe]

And we also know that Mr. Daniel said that the R solution " would not be built by Leica". As far back as 2007...

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michali

michali

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Mike, I'm considering the option. I was looking for such a camera for a long time. The 240 with EVF did me just fine this year and no complaints about the image quality. The only thing stopping me is carrying a double system again.

 

Jaap- I "Leitaxed" all my R lenses and was using them with a Sony α 850 and achieved satisfying results.

The problem was that I was always carrying 2 systems, Leica M and the Sony. The Sony 850 like all DSLRs, is on the bulky side and to sum it up, a real PITA when carrying 2 systems!

On some trips I've even lugged my Hasselblads around as well :eek:

 

I'm aware that you've spent enough time flying around Africa in light planes to understand the restrictions and weight limitations with all of this gear.

 

There's no question in my mind that the A7r offers a far more elegant solution, in that firstly you could conceivably travel with only 1 camera (A7r), 2 adapters (M to E & R to E) and an assortment of M & R lenses.

 

Even if you have to travel with 2 systems, say a Leica M and the Sony A7r, they're both fairly compact. One of my overriding impressions in playing around with the A7r this week is how compact and lightweight the camera is, even with a heavyweight lens like the Vario Elmar 105-280 attached.

 

I fully agree with the comments here about the M240 being a "compromise" R solution. This little Sony in my view, offers a real and practical R solution with additional options for other lenses as well, and no messing around with external viewfinders etc.

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thighslapper

thighslapper

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....... Hmmm ..... My conclusion would be that Sony decided that getting the full potential out of this little camera was going to take Leica like prices and have decided on a selection of compromises to keep the system in a particular price range .......

 

As is often the case with Sony products there seems to be an element of woolly thinking in the precise market they are aiming at.....

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Rick

Rick

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I agree about the shutter and magnification button on the M. I have added a little rubber bump to the button on the front of the M which makes the whole process really easy. BUT what kills it for me on the M is the black out time after taking a shot when using the EVF on the M which makes the whole thing useless for any sort of reportage/documentary type shot (great for landscape, architectural work etc). The layout on the A& is not good from this point of view and I keep hunting for the magnification button but I presume I will get used to it. Also it is a pain having the 2 magnification sizes and that you can't limit it to just one

 

As an aside I tried out the 55/f1.8 today and it seemed really good

 

I agree with you that the gotcha with the M is that the mag-focus works great, but the VF is isn't good enough (only ok) and the real killer is the blackout time. It just kills any possibility that I would shoot the M in this manner except for landscape (and there the movable focus point would help). By the way, the Sony has much, much faster OVF refresh after the shot, but still it hinders.

 

These cameras don't seem to be substitutes for each other. The one is better than the other comparison is an exercise in frustration...

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algrove

algrove

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Mike, I'm considering the option. I was looking for such a camera for a long time. The 240 with EVF did me just fine this year and no complaints about the image quality. The only thing stopping me is carrying a double system again.

 

It is not to me a double system. Two different bodies, M or MM for M lenses and a7r body for R lenses.

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jaapv

jaapv

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Jaap- I "Leitaxed" all my R lenses and was using them with a Sony α 850 and achieved satisfying results.

The problem was that I was always carrying 2 systems, Leica M and the Sony. The Sony 850 like all DSLRs, is on the bulky side and to sum it up, a real PITA when carrying 2 systems!

On some trips I've even lugged my Hasselblads around as well :eek:

 

I'm aware that you've spent enough time flying around Africa in light planes to understand the restrictions and weight limitations with all of this gear.

 

There's no question in my mind that the A7r offers a far more elegant solution, in that firstly you could conceivably travel with only 1 camera (A7r), 2 adapters (M to E & R to E) and an assortment of M & R lenses.

 

Even if you have to travel with 2 systems, say a Leica M and the Sony A7r, they're both fairly compact. One of my overriding impressions in playing around with the A7r this week is how compact and lightweight the camera is, even with a heavyweight lens like the Vario Elmar 105-280 attached.

 

I fully agree with the comments here about the M240 being a "compromise" R solution. This little Sony in my view, offers a real and practical R solution with additional options for other lenses as well, and no messing around with external viewfinders etc.

 

I quite see where you are coming from. I once took a M6 and a Mamiya 645 system, including a 500 lens….Once -never again…:o

I think the M and A7 are not too bad combined, just the very long stuff on the Sony and the rest on the 240. What I have seen up to now it should be a nice complementary set, interchangeable lenses for backup and each for the purpose it is best suited to. Hmmm. I might even find a little corner for the MM…;)

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viramati

viramati

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Where was that? In London? I'm really interested in that lens and would like to get a look at it.

Sony were doing a presentation day at classic cameras but personally I will not be going back there again because of the owners attitude. Len in RG Lewis said the Sony rep should be in his store next Friday but I would check with him first

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AlanG

AlanG

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I don't want them to buy the more expensive camera. I want them to buy the camera that fits their needs.

 

I wasn't implying otherwise. But I also feel that anyone who uses pretty much any camera for a long time gets comfortable using it. I used to use a folding Linhof Technikardan view camera so much that I could instinctively open it up, center the standards and be framing my shot extremely quickly. After a few years of not using it, I barely remembered the steps required.

 

I have used 5 different model Canon DSLRs and with every model change several buttons or features have been moved, changed, or added to the point that I can't easily work even with 2 similar models - the 5DII and 5DIII.

 

In the days of manual focusing film camera, things were much simpler and I could easily switch between a Leica, a Nikon S3, a Retina IIIc, a Nikon F, an F2, a Hasselblad, a Nikonos, a Widelux, and various technical and view cameras that I had. (I was a total camera geek at one time.)

 

Modern cameras have so many more specialized functions than those cameras had that being really fluid with more than a couple of cameras is somewhat taxing on me and distracts from the process. (Yes I can use pretty much any camera, but I may be slow and not always get the most out of some specialized features.)

 

I think it is easy to understand that someone who has been using a Leica for decades would find a lot of comfort in the continuity of functions for a number of controls when learning the features on a new model. The A7 has only been in photographers' hands for days or a couple of weeks. .

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CaptZoom

CaptZoom

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...Also, the M shutter release button has a better feel and operation in the sense that I can leave my finger on the shutter button without triggering the "off" of the focus mag, which is a pain in the ass with the poor A7R shutter button design. I can not leave my finger resting on the A7R shutter button without inadvertently turning the focus mag off. The design of the shutter button on the A7R is poor, for me.

 

Seems like a minor thing, but this would get annoying real fast (for me). Maybe Sony can fix/add it with a FW update?

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Thomas Chen

Thomas Chen

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A mixed bag? The closer shots look ok to me, but as soon as you get to near infinity such as 544 the dges look poor.

 

Gerry

 

Gerry,

 

Thnaks! You might be right. As a matter of fact, the environment of when taking the 544 is different, no sunshine and a little bit of foggy in the dusk.

 

As to me the 35Cron ASPH is used as an on-the-go lens, I never try focusing at dead infinity, no idea what it really works out there. And I'm not sure the 35Cron ASPH on the Hawk Ver.3 adapter enables focusing at the infinity (without adjustment), if not, the Hawk Ver.3 allows for adjustment so as to be able to focus to the infinity as described in the link #3297. Although I've no experience doing so.

 

I will use R lenses with A7R to make landscape photo that often needs focusing at the infinity, thus will not concern that much about the capability of 35Cron ASPH in this regards.

 

Best Regards,

 

Thomas Chen

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Thomas Chen

Thomas Chen

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I didn't see any smearing but why there is so much noise in the dark areas (even on darker leaves) for #520? I see that it is shot at ISO800. I would have expected it to be relatively clean (since it is a modern sensor).

 

Thanks for your comment.

 

I'm more tolerant toward noise than resolution and sharpness, therefore the "High ISO Noise Reduction" and "Long Exposure Noise Reduction" in the A7R as the default functions has been set as "off" by me.

 

Browsing with a 27" monitor, it is fine for me as an amateur.

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