IkarusJohn Posted January 21, 2014 Share #4201 Posted January 21, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well, if you wish to sell, send me a pm. I finally succumbed and read the green-grocer's review of the A7R. I regretted it as soon as I started scrolling through that dreadful Flash site. I was intrigued, though, at how little useful information was there (compared to some of the gems on this thread). I was interested in this comment in the conclusion: The Leica M has an excellent 24 MP full frame sensor but it doesn't offer auto-focus and, as I think we'll see in my future controlled testing, it can't match the Sony at high ISO levels (because the Sony is not especially prone to banding at high ISO and the Leica is). Now, what were you saying, Rick? I must have misunderstood you earlier as I thought you were saying that the Sony had high ISO and banding problems ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 Hi IkarusJohn, Take a look here The Sony A7 thread [Merged]. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
steveclem Posted January 21, 2014 Share #4202 Posted January 21, 2014 That kind of statement gets you labelled a troll don't you know? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 21, 2014 Share #4203 Posted January 21, 2014 That kind of statement gets you labelled a troll don't you know? Which statement? Correcting what must be a misunderstanding? I think you might be making that accusation in the wrong direction, Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclem Posted January 21, 2014 Share #4204 Posted January 21, 2014 Which statement? Correcting what must be a misunderstanding? I think you might be making that accusation in the wrong direction, Steve. Speaking from personal experience John, but a light hearted post need not descend into anything sinister. I know what I said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 21, 2014 Share #4205 Posted January 21, 2014 Speaking from personal experience John, but a light hearted post need not descend into anything sinister. I know what I said. Too oblique for me, sorry Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4206 Posted January 22, 2014 FWIW: Using third-party lenses on the Sony a7 / a7R: Digital Photography Review Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_livsey Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4207 Posted January 22, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) FWIW: Using third-party lenses on the Sony a7 / a7R: Digital Photography Review Thank you for that, my polite question above was apparently drowned out by infighting, the moderation appears to be on holiday. Very useful article but does not answer the central question A7 or R and why for legacy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4208 Posted January 22, 2014 Sure. Just seems a fairly balanced piece written from a user's perspective. I'm not interested myself in the a7/r, as I did a brief hands-on and realized I can't live with the noisy shutter or busy ergonomics. Perhaps the a8, or equivalent products from Fuji, Nikon or Canon - which are bound to appear on the market sooner rather than later - will better meet my needs. I must commend Sony for making such an impressive camera, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jankap Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4209 Posted January 22, 2014 Thank you for that, my polite question above was apparently drowned out.Very useful article but does not answer the central question A7 or R and why for legacy. Chris, you cannot ask here, what you should buy. That remains your case. I admit, that there are not many serious reviews. Kind of "Super, my Summilux works fine with the A7 at f/8". You have an M8, rangefinder, APS-H format, no live view. The A7s are completely different cameras. You didn´t write too, what you are doing with your M8. Why don´t you try a Nex 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 first. Or better a Ricoh GXR M mount. The Ricoh is out, I know. Also, Leica seems to be preparing something new. Live view, no rangefinder, M-mount compatible, probable APS-H, perhaps autofocus. Jan Solms is not too far from my house, but I hear nothing. Perhaps the NSA knows more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim sink Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4210 Posted January 22, 2014 You find a set of pictures of the A7R made with the Canon 17mm TS-E on the new Metabones adapter here in my flickr album:Canon 17mm TS-E tilt/shift - a set on Flickr Most of the images are stitched from 2 or 3 shifted images. For me the ideal combo for architecture in and outdoors. As this is the Leica forum, you find also images made with the TS-E on the Leica M9 and MM. Thanks for the images shot with A7r and 17ts lens, thats exactly what I'm about to do Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim sink Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4211 Posted January 22, 2014 You find a set of pictures of the A7R made with the Canon 17mm TS-E on the new Metabones adapter here in my flickr album:Canon 17mm TS-E tilt/shift - a set on Flickr Most of the images are stitched from 2 or 3 shifted images. For me the ideal combo for architecture in and outdoors. As this is the Leica forum, you find also images made with the TS-E on the Leica M9 and MM. One question, were some of those images shot in "HDR" high dynamic range ? Very , very well done ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jankap Posted January 22, 2014 Share #4212 Posted January 22, 2014 +1 Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JonathanP Posted January 23, 2014 Share #4213 Posted January 23, 2014 Hello, I know this is my first post here but I've been reading the very useful contributions in this thread and the site in general for a while. Time I said hello My background is a long time amateur photographer with some experience shooting most formats from 4x5 down, most recently with a 5DmkII but whilst it was a very capable platform it never really inspired me much, and I got a bit fed up lugging all the bulk around. I bought one of the first A7R's in the UK and have been very pleased in general with its performance. I started out with a mixture of manual lenses (CV 50/1.5, Contax 35-70/3.4 and my remaining Canon lens a 24 TS-E mkII) and the native FE35mm. What I quickly found however was that I really enjoyed manual focusing again, and *really* disliked the fly-by-wire manual focus on the FE35, to the extent that I sent it back. I've found that I've really jelled with rangefinder sized lenses - I like the short focus throw and real aperture and focus scales - and have now added 2 more lenses that work well with the A7R; the CV35/1.2 and a M-Hexanon 90/2.8. So thats great, I have a nice light walk-around camera with the 35/50/90 lenses. But using this over the last few weeks has really made me realise that what I enjoy is getting back to basics with my photography - I don't want lots of tiny buttons and menus. I like being able to dial in as much of the basic settings as I can before the camera reaches my eye. I don't want to be fiddling with menus whilst looking through the EVF. I've realised that ergonomics are at least as important as the technical image quality (as I said I'm not a pro, so I don't have job requirements forcing my choice). Shamefully its taken me until into my 50's to really grasp this. So what's the conclusion that I'm coming to? I really appreciate the A7R for what Sony have achieved, its not perfect but is a nice camera that has re-ignited my enthusiasm for photography. But its not really where I want to be in terms of usability, its just too 'busy'. I have a very demanding technical job, I don't need my hobbies to be over complicated, if that makes sense. I've never owned a Leica but I have recently spent a little time using my son's M6. I really jelled with the rangefinder. So I think at some point in the not too distant future I will be rationalising the rest of my camera gear, selling the A7R and going M+35/50/90. Which is not the outcome that I expected when I ordered the A7R! Hopefully that ramble makes some sense, Jonathan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 23, 2014 Share #4214 Posted January 23, 2014 Hi Jonathan, Look out for a low mileage, secondhand M9. You will be amazed! Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JonathanP Posted January 23, 2014 Share #4215 Posted January 23, 2014 Thanks John, yes I haven't quit decided between M9 & M yet - got an idea of the pluses and minuses but need to get some hands-on before making a final decision. My nearest dealer is Reddotcameras in London who were very helpful when I rang them last year, so I feel a visit coming on before too long Jonathan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MikeN Posted January 23, 2014 Share #4216 Posted January 23, 2014 I don't want lots of tiny buttons and menus. I like being able to dial in as much of the basic settings as I can before the camera reaches my eye. I don't want to be fiddling with menus whilst looking through the EVF. I've realised that ergonomics are at least as important as the technical image quality ... Your arguments sound reasonable. The only thing I'm wondering is the statement above. I mainly operate the camera by using the two custom slots at the program dial. That's it. One thing I'd have wished is a lens aperture ring instead of choosing the aperture by a dial. I hardly use the menu at all. From time to time just to format the sd card. So my "workflow" usually is: Finding a subject, looking through the finder, composition, focus, click. Maybe sometimes adjusting aperture. So now I'm interested: What are you fiddling about between subject and click? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyalf Posted January 23, 2014 Share #4217 Posted January 23, 2014 ... So what's the conclusion that I'm coming to? I really appreciate the A7R for what Sony have achieved, its not perfect but is a nice camera that has re-ignited my enthusiasm for photography. But its not really where I want to be in terms of usability, its just too 'busy' ... Jonathan Thanks and welcome, You have just summarised my conclusion on every mirror-less camera I have tried (except for the Ms) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JonathanP Posted January 23, 2014 Share #4218 Posted January 23, 2014 So now I'm interested: What are you fiddling about between subject and click? Good question, thinking about it I use the camera in manual mode pretty much all the time and with manual lenses the only 2 things I need to adjust on the camera are shutter speed and ISO. There's a couple of issues for me, one of which could be fixed by a firmware update: - one of the control dials is permanently allocated to aperture, which I don't need. I use it for ISO, but have to press a button first to toggle it into ISO mode. - both control dials are anonymous, so I can't tell what they are set to prior to using the EVF/monitor. Perhaps its a sign of getter older, but I forget what I've set them to Same reason I didn't like the anonymous fly-by-wire focus ring on the FE35 lens. Ideally I'd like to have just a dedicated shutter and ISO knobs on the camera (don't really need the exposure compensation). Then I could quickly get the camera into roughly the right ballpark as I take it out of the bag, leaving just final focus, composition and possibly a exposure tweak when its up at my eye. I guess its just that I was brought up on manual 35mm cameras as a boy and I hadn't fully appreciated how much I prefer just a simple camera. I enjoyed using 4x5 but not lugging it around! Jonathan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimKasson Posted January 24, 2014 Share #4219 Posted January 24, 2014 Good question, thinking about it I use the camera in manual mode pretty much all the time and with manual lenses the only 2 things I need to adjust on the camera are shutter speed and ISO.<snip> Ideally I'd like to have just a dedicated shutter and ISO knobs on the camera (don't really need the exposure compensation). Then I could quickly get the camera into roughly the right ballpark as I take it out of the bag, leaving just final focus, composition and possibly a exposure tweak when its up at my eye. Given that the a7R is pretty darned close to ISO-less, I don't understand why you need to access the ISO settings so often. Or are you opposed to adjusting Exposure in post? Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JonathanP Posted January 25, 2014 Share #4220 Posted January 25, 2014 Given that the a7R is pretty darned close to ISO-less, I don't understand why you need to access the ISO settings so often. Or are you opposed to adjusting Exposure in post? Thanks Jim for the link to your blog, very interesting reading. I hadn't fully appreciated how ISO-less the A7R is. I've just done a very quick check (set exposure to give almost ETTR at 3200, then drop the ISO) and I'm happy that I can at least recover 4 stops in Lightroom - at 200 results pushed 4 stops are visually identical to the 3200 one. At 100 I get an unacceptable cast, but fully accept your point that I don't need to be spending time tweaking up the ISO in camera if I want to more quickly get the image. I'll be working my way through your blog, thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.