Rant: why make things hard, or, render unto Caesar

[sevres_babylone]

I have the A7SII which I love for its low light capability, and compatibility with my existing m-mount and ltm lenses. I have since bought used, the Batis 25mm, Sony-Zeiss 35mm F2.8, and the Sony 85mm F1.8 (the last is my favourite). I don’t shoot video. From what I have read, in pretty cursory skims on the web, most of the improvements seem to be on the video end, though I believe the auto-focus, which I don’t think is that good on mine, is much improved. I also believe the rolling shutter problems with silent mode have been reduced or eliminated.
I don’t find the 12mp a problem, but I don’t print larger than on 13 x 19 paper anymore. Someone wanting commercial grade sports photographs may well insist on bigger than that. I am very happy having chosen Sony. While the 9 series would be the best for sports, it is expensive. I think the A7III would be a better choice for you than the A7S series. The autofocus I supposed to be pretty good. (So good that sometimes I try to convince myself that I need a second body🙂 )

 

[p.giannakis]

I am not a professional photographer so I don't fully appreciate your difficulties but is it clients expectations that the image quality from these cameras as not good enough or your own ?

 

[Archiver]

I am not a professional photographer so I don't fully appreciate your difficulties but is it clients expectations that the image quality from these cameras as not good enough or your own ?

A bit of both. I haven't received negative feedback about the quality of the files themselves, but generally, you don't give clients files with banding or lots of shadow noise. And given that I've got a foot in the door but not a solid gig yet, I want to create the best impression I can. There are a fair number of pros still using Canon 5D somethings and Nikon D7x0 and D8x0 somethings, but this is changing all the time.

As long as I deliver good quality files in a timely manner, that's my end taken care of. My quest in this situation is to improve my hit rate (autofocus), file quality and composition. Composition is always ongoing, but I want to make it easy for myself to get the desired images.

 

[Michael Markey]

I used a 5D2 and still have a 5D3 but both are glacial in terms of AF compared to the latest cameras .
The hit rate contains a large element of uncertainty .

Last weekend I took a 5D3 (70-200/2.8) and my new to me Leica CL with an equivalent lens (55-135) to a cross country equestrian event .

I wasn`t expecting the CL to keep up with the action but it did better than the 5D3 .

The Sony cams have better high ISO though.

 

[nightfly]

Sounds like you get the previous generation Sony and be happy.

I would think an A7RII would be pretty affordable. One thing about digital is that once a new one comes out the old ones get thrown out like yesterdays news.

 

[Archiver]

Sounds like you get the previous generation Sony and be happy.

I would think an A7RII would be pretty affordable. One thing about digital is that once a new one comes out the old ones get thrown out like yesterdays news.

I'm now looking at building a kit around the sony A7 III, given that the Canon R6 has revealed itself to overheat for 4K video. The codec isn't the best, but it's enough for my purposes. The main factors for me in stills are autofocus speed and reliability, high ISO performance, and file quality. The A7 III ticks pretty much all the boxes, and the Canon R6 was looking like the top contender until the overheating issues came to light.

The A7S III would be amazing, but the 12mp sensor probably won't be high res enough for what clients will want for stills.

 

[Michael Markey]

I'm now looking at building a kit around the sony A7 III, given that the Canon R6 has revealed itself to overheat for 4K video. The codec isn't the best, but it's enough for my purposes. The main factors for me in stills are autofocus speed and reliability, high ISO performance, and file quality. The A7 III ticks pretty much all the boxes, and the Canon R6 was looking like the top contender until the overheating issues came to light.

The A7S III would be amazing, but the 12mp sensor probably won't be high res enough for what clients will want for stills.

I think that`s a sensible decision .... you won`t be disappointed .