Sony Alpha 7 Review at dpreview

[Godfrey]

Yeah, I've heard this before... but it's not exactly accurate. With Auto ISO, I can choose the shutter speed and aperture I truly want to use and then let the ISO run up and down. I still made the choice on shutter speed and aperture... so I made the decision.

With the A7, Manual exposure with Auto ISO provides excellent control. It's equivalent to the Pentax TAv mode as you can set the Auto ISO range limits and let sensitivity wander through a useful range while you have complete control of exposure time and focus zone. Nicely done ... I suspect I'll use it quite a bit.

G

 

[Michael Markey]

Yeah, I've heard this before... but it's not exactly accurate. With Auto ISO, I can choose the shutter speed and aperture I truly want to use and then let the ISO run up and down. I've still made the choice on shutter speed and aperture... so I made the decision.

Yes ,that`s what I do with the GR V.

It allows me more control because I can afford to be generous with either aperture or shutter knowing that the ISO will pick up the tab.

 

[cosmonaut]

A7 isn't exactly DSLR , I find this camera to be too small actually , and it is thin. Lenses are bigger because sensor is very close to the lens mount , M lenses mounted with the adapter wouldn't be that much smaller.

Do you have the grip? I highly recommend it. Not to mention added battery life.

 

[rbelyell]

no one thinks the 'banding' and 'posterization' issues presented in the review merit some discussion? i agree sony auto iso implementation is absurd, and the solution is to make it useable, not to dismiss it, but arent these IQ issues a tad more troublesome? i thought folks'd be all over those problems in $2-3000 cameras...

 

[ELS]

Do you have the grip? I highly recommend it. Not to mention added battery life.

+1 = Grip Highly Recommended for sure... 🙂

Ed

 

[cosmonaut]

A7 isn't exactly DSLR , I find this camera to be too small actually , and it is thin. Lenses are bigger because sensor is very close to the lens mount , M lenses mounted with the adapter wouldn't be that much smaller.

 

[ELS]

Nice Combo...

Nice Combo...

🙂 - Nice looking rig....

 

[PaulDalex]

Cosmo,
this is the MKII metabones adapter.
What is your opinion on this adapter?
Unfortunately I am unable to find it here in Europe.
Cheers
Paul

 

[funkydog]

Just got the A7 yesterday. The Auto ISO is not broken.
The Auto ISO range is user selectable from a minimum of 100 to a maximum of 25600.
At the default setting, the camera tries to use 1/60 as whenever possible in LOW LIGHT or indoor situations before going to a lower shutter speed. The shutter speed is higher in intense sunlight.

Anyone who wants to shoot higher shutter speeds in low light can force the camera to select higher ISOs by setting a smaller ISO range.
E.g. For a given daytime indoor scene with subdued sunlight through the window.
At Auto ISO range 6400-25600, the metering is 1/1250 f/2.8 ISO 6400
while at 100-25600, the metering is 1/60 f/2.8 ISO 320
For reference, the shutter speed at fixed 100 ISO is 1/20 at f/2.8.

The same thing works for outdoor shooting at small aperture in bright light.
E.g Auto ISO 100-25600, f/22 , 1/60 ISO 200
Auto ISO 1600-25600, f/22, the shutter speed is given as 1/500 at ISO1600
For reference, the shutter speed at fixed 100 ISO is 1/30 at f/22.

And if you happen to be coming in from the outdoors to indoors but left the aperture at f/22 in which case the metered scene is out of your selected ISO range, the camera will set the appropriate shutter speed lower than 1/60 so you still get the shot (if you're holding the camera steady and the subject is immobile).

So the conclusion is - set a higher & narrower Auto ISO range if you want to shoot at higher shutter speeds.


FWIW I'm basing my comments on using a Konica Minolta A mount AF slr lens + LAEA4 on the A7. The Leica M to Nex adapter hasn't arrived yet.

 

[Lss]

Anyone who wants to shoot higher shutter speeds in low light can force the camera to select higher ISOs by setting a smaller ISO range.

This is merely an inconvenient workaround for the unfortunate design error. One should be able to use auto-ISO reasonably in all situations by setting it once and then forgetting about it. Of course that should not, and does not, limit more demanding and use case specific tweaks.

 

[Lss]

no one thinks the 'banding' and 'posterization' issues presented in the review merit some discussion?

These are basically JPEG issues, correct? There is lossy compression of the RAW files, too, but I haven't so far seen problems with them. I browsed through the review very quickly, so I may have missed some comment or example on the topic. In conclusions, they are however saying that RAW is all good and JPEG not really.

 

[funkydog]

This is merely an inconvenient workaround for the unfortunate design error. One should be able to use auto-ISO reasonably in all situations by setting it once and then forgetting about it. Of course that should not, and does not, limit more demanding and use case specific tweaks.

Various camera manufacturers have their own implementations of Auto ISO. I have/had a Panasonic GH-1, Olympus EPL-1, Nikon D700, Ricoh GXR and the Auto ISO on each one is slightly different. Panasonic's Auto Iso is even more lame. Both Olympus and Nikon (IRRC) cameras have user selectable limiters on the threshold shutter speeds for Auto ISO. The Ricoh has two Auto ISO settings, for low and high speed shooting. It's just too bad that Sony hardwired the speed threshold instead of giving users the option to select it. Perhaps this will feature in the next new and improved iteration of the A7 MkII (as and when there will be one). Then again, I seem to recall from reading Akio Morita's autobiography years ago that the Sony philosophy was to lead consumers, not react to them. Ya votes wid ya dollas' and makes da bes't a whut ya gets.

 

[Michael Markey]

Various camera manufacturers have their own implementations of Auto ISO.
The Ricoh has two Auto ISO settings, for low and high speed shooting. It's just too bad that Sony hardwired the speed threshold instead of giving users the option to select it.

This is a weak point with all these cameras if you need high shutter speed in low light.
I`m in that situation frequently and use the TAv setting.

The Richo high and low ISO options are useless.

 

[jsrockit]

This is a weak point with all these cameras if you need high shutter speed in low light.
I`m in that situation frequently and use the TAv setting.

The Richo high and low ISO options are useless.

Why is the Ricoh useless? If you need a higher shutter speed just pick one... you don't even need TAv then...you just use shutter priority for the speed you need.

 

[dcsang]

I don't get what the big deal is with AutoISO - maybe it's because I don't use it but stick to the "old fashioned" method of selecting your ISO based on your lighting situation. Lighting changes then you change your ISO - I don't recall ever being in a situation (and I've shot many a wedding where we move from "indoors" to "outdoor blinding sunlight") where it was absolutely necessary that I use AutoISO.

Then again.. I never use "LiveView" either on DSLRs (or the A7.. unless looking through the viewfinder is "LiveView")... dang new fangled gadgetry...

😀

Cheers,
Dave

 

[jsrockit]

Dave as with anything in photography... it depends on what you expect from a camera, what works for what you need to accomplish, and what you choose to ignore. However, it's all just what works for you. I like auto ISO and believe me, I think about my shutter speeds and apertures.

 

[dcsang]

Dave as with anything in photography... it depends on what you expect from a camera, what works for what you need to accomplish, and what you choose to ignore. However, it's all just what works for you. I like auto ISO and believe me, I think about my shutter speeds and apertures.

I get that - I guess what I don't get is, and this is more to do with the topic in general and less to do with the Alpha 7 or any other camera directly, when we get features or options like AutoISO it's as though photographers have forgotten how to deal with situations where the AutoISO isn't to their liking. It's as though all the basics have been completely forgotten to some.

Again, maybe it's just me though 🙂

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Samouraï]

I think Sony has missed an opportunity to integrate leaf shutters into their high end FE and E lenses.

 

[Godfrey]

no one thinks the 'banding' and 'posterization' issues presented in the review merit some discussion? i agree sony auto iso implementation is absurd, and the solution is to make it useable, not to dismiss it, but arent these IQ issues a tad more troublesome? i thought folks'd be all over those problems in $2-3000 cameras...

I haven't seen banding or posterization in my use of the A7 so far.

I just did a corner evaluation test for the Leica Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 with the A7. No sensor-derived smearing that I can detect, just the usual wide-open softness and light falloff at corners that I see with any fast wide-angle lens even on film, all of which sharpens up beautifully two stops down (f/5.6) and holds steady to f/11, after which diffraction starts to take its toll. It looks for all the world the way I expect it will on film ... I'll be testing that ... so I'm feeling that my hunch to buy the A7 rather than the A7r for more compatibility with these old lenses might be truth.

Here's the corner test clip ... It's big (5000 pixels wide, 1.5M) so I'll link to it rather than embed it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/sony_A7-elmarit-r_24-corner-performance.jpg


G

 

[jsrockit]

I get that - I guess what I don't get is, and this is more to do with the topic in general and less to do with the Alpha 7 or any other camera directly, when we get features or options like AutoISO it's as though photographers have forgotten how to deal with situations where the AutoISO isn't to their liking. It's as though all the basics have been completely forgotten to some.

Again, maybe it's just me though 🙂

Cheers,
Dave

Once you start to rely on something, you look for it in every camera. However, I would never let the lack of this feature stop me from using a camera.