A7, A7R, A7S, or wait until after Photokina?

A7, A7R, A7S, or wait until after Photokina?

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goo0h

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I don't have that many rangefinder lenses:
  1. ZM 50/F2
  2. ZM 35/F2
  3. V 35/F1.2 II
  4. V 75/F2.8
  5. ZM 28/F2.8
  6. Oh, and somewhere I have a Jupiter 3. 😉
I still have my ZI and don't intend on selling it. (I also have the Fuji 670 which I've really enjoyed, and at times have wondered about getting it's wide angle sibling.)

However, I did briefly rent the A7R with the Voigtlander close-up adapter and had a blast with it. I used primarily the 50/F2 and the 35/F1.2. Using the close-up adapter with the 50/F2 to get some closeups in the garden was a ton of fun. I didn't seem to have any issues learning to use the focus peaking pretty quickly. In fact with my slightly aging eyes, in low light I found that I could more rapidly and accurately manual focus with the focus peaking than I ever could with the rangefinder spot or with a SLR.

So yes, I was impressed, and am now chomping at the bit to buy one! But which one???

I like my rangefinder glass, but I'm not that hung up on only using legacy glass. The native lenses out so far sound stellar, and I would probably buy them eventually. Though, I was also thinking of getting the ZM 50/F1.5 since I wouldn't have to worry about focus shift. 🙂

Yes, the shutter on the A7R was pretty loud, especially considering there's no mirror flapping around. However, I wouldn't consider that alone as a deal breaker. I didn't really notice any shutter blur that I've heard about, but then again I didn't rent it very long. Not sure I really need that large of an image file, though.

The silent shutter mode of the A7S is very intriguing, as is the ability to shoot at ISOs I could never realistically consider with film. I get the impression some even consider that the A7S produces more pleasing images, but I don't know if that's just being caught-up in the excitement of new gear. 🙂 While I suspect I would learn to appreciate flash a bit more with digital because of the ability to verify the correct balancing of light immediately, I've always tended towards natural, available light, so that would seem to point me towards the A7S. I must admit the reviews by Nick De Marco regarding the A7S has pretty much sold me.

Still....
 
At the going price you can easily get a fully accessorized A7, with a nice case, adapter and 2-3 spare batteries at the price of an A7S body. I would consider that the main differentiator.

The A7S is better with RF wides, but only marginally so over the A7, and has about a stop to 1.5 stops of high ISO performance advantage. IMO the difference only shows at around 3200, and becomes substantial at 10,000 and above. The question is, how often do you shoot at such levels?

The silent shutter has rolling shutter issues. Perfectly fine for stills but problematic with moving objects.

I consider myself one of the more demanding high ISO users on RFF (I regularly shoot concerts, nighttime protests and such), but I've held back on an A7S purchase - I rarely work at over 8,000 ISO, like what I can do with 24MP, and I don't have any wides that have issues with the A7. Maybe I'll get one when the price comes down a bit, though...
 
Rumour is that Zeiss is about to release a new range of MF lenses for the FF Sony mirrorless mount, somewhat romantically named "Loxia" (whoever comes up with these names?). No matter which Sony you buy, looks like the range of lenses might be improving.
 
Looks like I'll have to revise this thread after Photokina 😉

Yeah, the affordability of the A7 is certainly attractive. Could perhaps even spring for it and the 24-70/F4 zoom with it. I'm generally not too much into zooms, but I could see having one in that range could be handy.

The rumors I've seen so far seem to point to the Zeiss announcment and perhaps an A99 II, but I'd be surprised if they fiddle further with the A7* line too much since it hasn't even been out that long. But we'll see....

Along with the rather cool Nick DeMarco review, did y'all see this one on the A7S?

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2014/08/07/why-cameras-are-important-by-rudiger-wolf
 
I've been using the A7 since January. It's the best bang for the buck in the A7 line ... I paid $1300 new for it, body only.

It works brilliantly with all my SLR lenses—Leica R and Nikkors.

So far, I've now tested the M-Rokkor 90/4, Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH (LTM), M-Rokkor 40/2, Nokton 40/1.4 MC, Ultra 28/2, and Color-Skopar 28/3.5 with it. The two M-Rokkors, and the Nokton 50 work well. The Nokton 40 shows some smearing. The Color Skopar 28 shows some color shifting. The Ultron 28 seems a bit lackluster. All are usable, just need to be careful in certain circumstances; sometimes, switching to B&W is all that's needed (say, for the Color Skopar 28).

I haven't seen anything out of the A7s that was appreciably better. I'd buy an A7s for other reasons (full electronic shutter, 4K movie capture) if those things appealed to me. I'd buy an A7r if the additional resolution was extremely important. But I'm quite happy with the plain A7. 🙂

G
 
goo0h said:
Looks like I'll have to revise this thread after Photokina 😉

Yeah, the affordability of the A7 is certainly attractive. Could perhaps even spring for it and the 24-70/F4 zoom with it. I'm generally not too much into zooms, but I could see having one in that range could be handy.

The rumors I've seen so far seem to point to the Zeiss announcment and perhaps an A99 II, but I'd be surprised if they fiddle further with the A7* line too much since it hasn't even been out that long. But we'll see....

Along with the rather cool Nick DeMarco review, did y'all see this one on the A7S?

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2014/08/07/why-cameras-are-important-by-rudiger-wolf
Click to expand...

Rumor has it that Zeiss will have a manual 35mm 2.0 and 50mm 2.0 planar for the FE mount. Not as interesting an announcement as I expected, but a nice addition to the native lineup.

the 2470 F4 is a mediocre zoom, not worth it's markup over the 2870. I would wait for a better 4x or 5x zoom for an everyday lens.

I am led to believe that Sony will come up with a cheap, EVF-less full frame E-mount that undercuts the entire A7 line. I can't imagine doing serious photography without a viewfinder, but then again maybe others won't mind. Maybe they'll announce it in September, but also maybe later in Q4.
 
YYV_146 said:
the 2470 F4 is a mediocre zoom, not worth it's markup over the 2870. I would wait for a better 4x or 5x zoom for an everyday lens.

I am led to believe that Sony will come up with a cheap, EVF-less full frame E-mount that undercuts the entire A7 line. I can't imagine doing serious photography without a viewfinder, but then again maybe others won't mind. Maybe they'll announce it in September, but also maybe later in Q4.
Click to expand...

OK, makes sense to wait on the zoom.

Yeah, I love that EVF and wouldn't be interested in something without it. I can see at times using the back display, but I wouldn't want to entirely forgo the EVF.
 
Well, a 28-135/4 is on the roadmap according to SonyAlphaRumors, but that is a powerzoom aimed at videographers. No mention of another zoom. The 24-70/4 does poorly in reviews, but users seem happy.

Anyway, I would go for the plain A7.
 
If u have waited this long already.. U might as well wait for photokina. The price of the existing models may drop more depending on the type of Sony announcement.

Digital cameras these days are just like any digital product. A technology merry go round. There is no right or wrong time to jump on.. So long as u are happy w/ what u got, just stick w/ it.. Within the same camera family from any given maker, it is the lens roadmap that is more important IMHO.

Gary
 
A7s is the one for RF glass wider than 50mm. I don't think that will change at photokina, but as others mentioned the price may drop.

It has been selling for 2k in Australia already, which is alot lower than here.
 
For me, if they did a 24f2 or f2.8, I would seriously consider buying an a7r. I hate changing lenses in the field, 10-12mp worth of info is actually all I need given what I normally print at (8x10, occasional 13x19).. W/ a 24 start point and 36mp of sensor, I can crop easily to 75 fov perspective w/ very usable images. So far, not been that impressed w/ what I have seen of the zooms and I don't like how big they are.

I am not stuck on ff, if Fuji did the same and came out w/ something around 36mp, I would do the same.

Anyway..this is just me, being lazy 😛
Gary
 
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Same here wrt zooms so I've held off until Sony releases a WA FE prime. A 24/25 would be fine by me as well, but at this time, the AOV of a 28mm just seems perfect for my world view. Been using the 28/1.8 on my D800E and the 28 Hex-M on my A7R. And a thought just occurred to me... I've never even thought of using the 28/1.8 Nikon lens on the A7R. I do have a Nikon to NEX adapter. Hmmm......
 
I'm hoping for the release of competitors for the Sonys at Photokina. Surely Nikon and Canon, at a minimum, will be releasing such? It they won't, maybe Sony itself will announce a successor line.
 
I'm about to get an A7. I mainly want to use it with my 50 summilux. I also like the look of the 35 nokton with it. Not to mention my Nikon lenses and Super Takumars. The A7s might be the better camera, but I have seen the A7 going for $1100 and that just seems like a no brainer.
 
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