Post about the A7R II up now

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classiccameras
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by classiccameras »

For Sony to take on Canikon and may be even move one of them from pole position is not going to happen over night if at all. Canikon are experiencing marked fall off of DSLR sales world wide and I suspect Sony are as well, but for the time it might take Sony to catch up is equally time that Canikon will have had to bring out more new toys to keep Canikon users on board, that's of course they get their finger out and stop being complacent.
peterottaway
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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You could say that Sony wins whatever happens. Neither Nikon or Canon have the fabrication facilities or IP that Sony has accumulated,
let alone the broad range of sensor packages whether for phones, video or still photography.

The camera production is not of absolute critical importance but does give them extra insight into market end use, development cycles and such like. Which is harder to evaluate if you are simply a parts supplier or a developing sensors to the perceived needs of another manufacturer. It means that even though Sony is a smaller player in the market - rather more of a boutique manufacturer than a mass marketer, they are setting the agenda as much as anyone else is.
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Dusty
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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the_hefay wrote:Sorry, but I don't want to see an entire 100% camera system from China. They can't even make vice-grips properly. Vice-grips have had two major flaws since being made in China and not in the USA. I know, because my boss purchased 80 new vice-grips of various sizes and styles shortly after the move to China and every one was flawed in the exact same two ways and needed fixed. My opinion is that if they can't make a vice-grip correctly, which pattern is fairly simple and has been in existence for years and years, then they can't make a camera system that would be better than the competition. It simply is not possible.
LOTS of things are better made in the US (Europe and Japan, too!) than in China. They always seem to try to cut corners somewhere. Many are the people who look for tools - AS WELL AS OTHER DURABLE GOODS - made before the move to Chinese manufacturing.

Dusty
An a700, an a550 and couple of a580s, plus even more lenses (Zeiss included!).
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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Can't comment much on the tools side of things but electronics wise China has improved massively, yes still some weaker points but they are becoming masters of cloning products and producing them far cheaper.

Areas like flashes in particular the price of OEM flashes is ridiculous (when you think about it the materials and costs are not high) they are quite simple items but many top end units sell for over £300 that's quite a lot of money for a tube and bits of plastic. I think it's great people have a choice now it's not just about saving money but partly about not being "ripped off" OEM flashes are one example, grips another massive margins on those so who can complain third party makers are offering buyers much better prices (granted at not as good quality but in many cases still decent)

As far as cameras go they are hugely overpriced for what they are, they are trying to buck the electronics trend and it's fallen flat on it's face. People have just stopped buying them, or update far less often. I'm a good example A99 too expensive I'm not spending £1500 on it so I won't buy it, A77II don't really need it could be useful down the road it's not a "bad" price as such but it's not really that important for me if I buy one it will be a rock bottom prices. I'm not buying Sony lenses because they don't offer what I want. Why pay £450 for an ancient re-badged Tamron which was "not bad" but 10 years ago when other makers can provide more suitable alternatives.

Even looking at E mount why would anyone buy into the lenses, you can't use them on other bodies and they are expensive (and slow some of them) I know not everyone shares my view but I've built up a system and spent quite a bit of money over the years, but far far less than I would have if I had been using Canikon. Sony don't want customers like me because they can't make money off me.
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pakodominguez
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by pakodominguez »

bfitzgerald wrote: Why pay £450 for an ancient re-badged Tamron which was "not bad" but 10 years ago when other makers can provide more suitable alternatives.
I will tell you about my experience with a Tamron lens that I love: the SP 70-200 f2.8 macro. This was about 5 years ago: during a really cold January here in NYC, I went to one of my favorite places, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. I love that place specially during the winter, when I can find refuge at the Conservatory (greenhouse) with the tropical plants. I got from Adorama Rentals the Sony 70-200 f2.8 and the idea was to compare it with my brand new Tamron.

The Tamron had everything for wining (except for the AF speed) until I went back outdoors. While chimping, I realized all the photos taken with the Tamron were underexposed. I changed lenses and tried the Sony 70-200 and the photos were fine. I tried the lovely Minolta 35-200 Xi and the photos were fine. I put back the Tamron on the camera and the photos were one more time overexposed.
I went back to the greenhouse, waited until condensation disappeared and shoot again and now, the photos were fine. Went out, took a couple of photos and the third one was overexposed again... the Tamron is optically great, but it is not build for work under, lets say, -10 Celsius. I knew DK had the very same lens for test and asked him to tried outside, he told me that they never endure -10 Celsius in Kelso, so no way for him to reproduce the issue.

At that point I understood why Tamron lenses are less expensive that the "re-badged" Sony version. Lenses are more than just the glass. In your everyday shooting situation, you will probably never need the lens to perform at -17 Celsius, but here in the North East or the Midwest USA we can have few weeks during the winter were the temperature goes to that extreme.
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bakubo
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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bfitzgerald wrote: My dream would be a 100% China company with a system top to bottom they'd charge half the price you'd get maybe 90% of the quality (maybe a few bits needing some work) and happy days all round. I'd dump my entire inventory on such a company.
I trust that your Kodak Pixpro S-1 (made and sold by JK Imaging, a Chinese company) is working out well for you. Hope you got good prices on all your previous stuff that you dumped! :lol:
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the_hefay
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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:lol:
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Mark K
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by Mark K »

David, thank you for your nice review. I ordered mine and is arriving in September, hopefully quicker enough before I leave Turkey for three weeks.
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bakubo
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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Mark K wrote:David, thank you for your nice review. I ordered mine and is arriving in September, hopefully quicker enough before I leave Turkey for three weeks.
Enjoy your trip to Turkey. I was there last year and it was great. I posted about it here:

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/vie ... 44&p=91907

Post some photos when you get back!
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by Mark K »

Thank you Henry....
Now I am starting to worry about what cameras and lenses to carry.
My last trip to Tibet I carried a7r and a6000. It turns out..a6000 is not as fast as dSLR..so the newer A7rII's AF makes me hesitate. My last year's Tibet great turned out to be better by having a 5D3 for street shooting.
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

Don't even be concerned by the AF - the A7R MkII is an entirely different thing from anything before. The very shallow superstructure of the BSI sensor means the phase detect pixels are maybe two to four times as effective, and they have taken full advantage of this. It focuses like a DSLR especially with the 24-240mm (which is now winning me round, because despite its size it is a stunningly good lens, much better than the 24-70mm CZ), the 28mm, various A-mount lenses with SSM motors, etc. It's even pretty fast with some Canon lenses on adaptors.

I have just taken delivery this morning of a secondhand version 1 Leica screw thread Voigtlander 12mm and... it's perfect on the MkII. No shading. Not a trace. I've just ordered an s/h 77mm filter adaptor from B&H to be able to use my polariser and ND etc.

I will now be selling my Canon HSM Sigma 12-24mm with E mount adaptor, which works fine but is of course much larger. I always wanted to use the VSL 12mm or 15mm (in fact, bought the 15mm with the A7R when I got it and sold because of the yellow patch and the purple corners). Now I can. In fact, this sensor behaves like film. You can use ANY lens on it and get perfect sharpness and colour across the entire field. And, if they are AF, extremely fast active AF.
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by peterottaway »

Interesting as I kept my 15mm and 35mm VSL plus my Contax RF 21mm and 28mm but for the last few years they have been little more than paperweights since I went mostly digital. The 28 was somewhat disappointing on film but I will give it another try when I do get the A7r11. I must admit to still having sticker shock over the price tag though.

Also eager to try out my Olympus OM 24 and 100 which I kept largely for sentimental reasons and the fact that prices were at rock bottom when my OM-2n finally expired.
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

Peter - all these lenses become 100% useful on the A7R II. You can even get an AF adaptor for the Contax G lenses. I've been shooting today with the Canon 5DS and the A7R II, using my Sigma 12-24mm at 12mm on the Canon, and the VSLT 12mm on the Sony. Both need some CA correction, both are softer at the extremes than the centre, but the VSL is better than the Sigma at f/11.

Here's one of today's shots on the VSLT - http://www.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick/image/160985940

Go to this URL and select 'Original' to see the monster full sized file!

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bakubo
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

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Mark K wrote: Now I am starting to worry about what cameras and lenses to carry.
My last trip to Tibet I carried a7r and a6000. It turns out..a6000 is not as fast as dSLR..so the newer A7rII's AF makes me hesitate.
Fortunately, my Olympus E-M10 and E-M5 focus very fast (I only use S-AF) and as fast or faster than any DSLR I have had so that has never been a problem with them.
Mark K wrote: My last year's Tibet great turned out to be better by having a 5D3 for street shooting.
Please show us your Tibet photos! I have not been there, but would love to see your photos. Thanks!
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Re: Post about the A7R II up now

Unread post by Mark K »

Went to a wedding last night, with my A7r, 16-35 and 90mm with big flash nicely packed in a neat "executive" bag. A7r performs great with good lights and hunts a lot at low light. So did the 90mm. The two primes are incredibly sharp. AF remains the main concern for my Sony system because I shoot a lot under adverse conditions like underwater...where low light focusing speed is required. There is still one moth for my a7rII to come...and I cannot stop worrying until it arrived

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_k/
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