Personal Comments on the A7r

For discussion of the E and FE mount mirrorless system
peterottaway
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Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by peterottaway »

There are contributors here that regard the A7r with scepticism and cameras like the A77 and A99 as the devils spawn,well I can't help that.

It is still very much a work in progress and yes it is compromised by using the parts Sony had available when the camera was developed. This needs to be rectified by an updated model quickly if negative perceptions aren't to damage its future. But the A7 and A7r are not all singing and all dancing general purpose cameras and were not designed to be.

But it is interesting that even without having the near instantaneous AF of enthusiast or pro level DSLR what can be achieved with some knowledge and preparation. A point here is that most reviewers are not newbies to photography but can have limited experience with mirrorless cameras. And when you look at some of the questions and comments on forums like DPR it is obvious that a number of buyers have little experience with more sophisticated cameras,

I purchased the A7r well aware of what it lacks as it does meet most of my requirements for what I bought the camera for. And I do agree with DK about many of the software issues raised in his initial comments. There is a need for a ongoing firmware updates to fine tune its performance especially as this is an AUD2499 camera and not an AUD 500 stock clearance item. And as well to protect the interests of those of us who were prepared to buy the initial offering.

With the concept of apps and software extras well established,it is obvious that Sony is no Apple. Sony has been criticized for lack of hardware support in the past. And it seems at present that it is unaware of what modern expectations are of it in regard to the level of software support it should be providing at this price. It is more than 6 months since release and there should be a lot more becoming available. Small simple one purpose apps should be being made available at no cost or a token cost.

Stabilization.
Yes nice have. I also prefer in body to in lens - just a personal preference. But then again I have a Nikon D700 with the AF-S 28, 35, 60 and 85 lenses, the Af 180 and the AF 80-200 (N) zoom most don't have stabilization.A7r is usually tripod mounted.

Small Battery and Single Memory Card.
Prefer the current size camera to a somewhat larger one. I have two battery chargers ( always misplacing the b...things ) 6 batteries and plenty of memory cards. I am not a machine gunner in my work methods and swap cards and batteries on a regular basis.

Battery Temperature Range.
0 to 40 is normal temperature range for around here. Yes it can go to -5 overnight and up to 45 in the middle of summer but not a concern to me when I would be out and about photographing.

EVF Problems with Tropical and Arid Climate.
I have lived in such climates pretty all my life and in all but the most extreme conditions it is just my normal conditions and a part of my normal working pattern.
peterottaway
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Re: Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by peterottaway »

Just a few more comments

1. I actually use the A850 more than the D700 - I was still hedging my bets when I bought the D700. I use the Nikon prime lenses much more on the A7r than on the D700.

2. As well as the SonyLA-EA4 adapter I have Nikon F-G, Minolta MD and Contax C/Y adapters. I don't consider the Metabones EF to be adequate to consider purchase.

3. The Sony RX 10 has become my "normal" camera.

4. With the A7r my usual kit is a Surui NX carbon fibre tripod with either a ball head or geared head, CLM=V55 LCD monitor, Sekonic c-500 colour meter and the Sekonic L-758D meter. Also 77mm infa red, ND and circ pol with an adapter ring set. I use a Cokin Z Pro adapter with a set of hard and soft break ND filters when the lighting demands them.

5. My studio and flash technique even after years of trying is pretty mediocre. So apart from from some basic fill flash it isn't of great interest to me. But as a personal opinion I think all higher end cameras should be expected to come with a decent "commander" function.

6. I don't need GPS a lot but it should be a required function. Although I suppose there would be many photojournalists that would require a quick and easy way to strip their data of this information.
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Birma
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Re: Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by Birma »

Interesting to see your thoughts and approach Peter.

Which geared head do you use? I've have the Manfrotto 405 junior geared head which is great but a beast to carry around.
Nex 5, Nex 6 (IR), A7M2, A99 and a bunch of lenses.
peterottaway
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Re: Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by peterottaway »

I use the Manfroto 405 as well - every now and then. It is useful but I certainly couldn't justify the expense on a per photograph basis compared to the ball head. It is definitely not an everyday walkabout item.

It is like the Sekonic meter, not necessary but a useful extra. I am not a great fan of the grand or heroic landscape but more intimate landscapes. So after looking around and metering the general area to become aware of my exposure options, the geared head is both a more demanding but a more precise head for more macro landscapes.
David Kilpatrick
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Re: Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

I have some interesting views now after spending a week shooting in southern India with the A7R, then returning and acquiring an LA-EA4. I had already done some interesting shots using the Samyang 24mm TS loaned on test, and my own Canon FD 20mm with a Kipon shift adaptor (I find that a landscape frame shift of 7mm or a portrait shape shift of 5mm are within the abilities of this old lens).

Today I decided to risk shooting my required work using a 50mm f/1.4 unstabilised of course, and my old 70-210mm f/4 beercan, though for this I had good light and could use faster shutter speeds. The results are so good, and so surprising, that I'm rethinking stabilisation as a necessity. It's now VERY clear to me that the 'shutter jolt' effect on the A7R is 100% down to wrong timing or control signals for stabilised lenses.

I am amazed by the quality of the 70-210mm on full frame 36mp; I honestly can't see how the Sony 70-200mm is likely to be any better, given the pretty awful performance of every other zoom lens available in FE mount except the 10-18mm which is really only an E lens anyway.

Most of my problems with the A7R have been caused by the 28-70mm, 18-200mm on crop, and attempts to use stabilisation on my Sigma. The answer may well be just to turn OSS/OS off. There really is something wrong with the A7R and stabilised lenses and it's not caused by shutter shock as such - the same shock won't ruin a decent unstabilised hand-held exposure, but can easily make a stabilised hand-held one unsharp.

David
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pakodominguez
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Re: Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by pakodominguez »

David Kilpatrick wrote: Today I decided to risk shooting my required work using a 50mm f/1.4 unstabilised of course, and my old 70-210mm f/4 beercan, though for this I had good light and could use faster shutter speeds. The results are so good, and so surprising, that I'm rethinking stabilisation as a necessity. It's now VERY clear to me that the 'shutter jolt' effect on the A7R is 100% down to wrong timing or control signals for stabilised lenses.
I have zero "shutter jolt" with the FE 24-70 f4, and I haven't notice anything wrong with the SEL 50 f1.8 or the 10-18 4. But before the 24-70, I was using my old Minolta MC/MD lenses and I was not 100% happy with the results. I think I had improve my shooting technique with this camera since then, avoiding motion blur.
Samples were taken at 180 f7.1 at dusk.
David Kilpatrick wrote: I am amazed by the quality of the 70-210mm on full frame 36mp; I honestly can't see how the Sony 70-200mm is likely to be any better, given the pretty awful performance of every other zoom lens available in FE mount except the 10-18mm which is really only an E lens anyway.

Most of my problems with the A7R have been caused by the 28-70mm, 18-200mm on crop, and attempts to use stabilisation on my Sigma. The answer may well be just to turn OSS/OS off. There really is something wrong with the A7R and stabilised lenses and it's not caused by shutter shock as such - the same shock won't ruin a decent unstabilised hand-held exposure, but can easily make a stabilised hand-held one unsharp.

David
My only poor lens is the 55-210 (that is also OSS) and it doesn't behave better even with stabilization set on OFF. My wife is using it on the NEX5 she got when I bought the NEX7, along with the 18-55 (I don't use any of those lenses)

This is my second A7R body (I had to sell the first one after a couple of month of use, and I re-buy it few weeks ago) and I find some differences between the first and the second sample, even before the Firmware upgrade...
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Personal Comments on the A7r

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

I have seen in lens IS cause problems with the Nikkor 18-105mm not always but it did happen. I'm not the first one to spot VR issues at times (you are better off turning it off in good light) I've very rarely seen AS/SSS cause problems (a handful of times though out of many many thousands of frames)

DK's article is useful but ultimately would put me off of going anywhere near the A7 cameras (I appreciate his upfront thoughts)
The 70-210mm f4, some call it over rated. The more I use this lens the more I like it, is has flaws (CA at times) it's wickedly vulnerable to flare (a lens you must use the hood on IMO) but it's output and rendering are first class and it's now my go to portrait solution most of the time (the Tamron 90mm is also a top performer here)

For the prices the beercan sells at it's about as good as you can get bang per buck. Sony's E mount equivalent might be good, but you work out the price difference and free IBIS on A Mount then I'm no longer annoyed they didn't bring it to A mount, spending £1200 on a 70-200mm f4 is as close to loopy as you will ever get.
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