I’ve been looking at sample images from the Sony A7 and A7R and can state — without hesitation — that the best 35mm CMOS sensors right now are being manufactured by Sony.
—Peter.
I’ve been looking at sample images from the Sony A7 and A7R and can state — without hesitation — that the best 35mm CMOS sensors right now are being manufactured by Sony.
—Peter.
Prosophos 
I’ve been really interested in this one. I just bought one and will pair it with my M9 to share my M mount lenses.
Let me know how you like the “usability” of the A7(R). It’s the one area that Sony, IMHO, needs to work on. The Sony RX1R seemed more of a computer gadget than a camera when I used it.
Having “smaller” hands, I don’t seem to be having too much trouble with the ergonomics, but it should improve with later generations of the camera. The M9 is my main camera for my candid and lifestyle shots so I thought that the A7R offered more to me than the A7, particularly for landscapes. We’ll see…
Peter I put this on Mark’s site as well this evening. After handling the Df today and the a7 the other day, here are some thoughts. It is VERY personal off course but keep in kind I love the ergonomics of the MM, so some relativity here.
Df vs. a7 ergonomics…Obviously a personal opinion.
“Handled one of these today in store and the a7 late last week. Obviously very different. The a7 too small for my liking with a sore thumb knuckle after a few minutes, though obviously small and light. The Df felt better in the hand and although big not heavy.
View finder on Df in my opinion bigger and brighter, though won’t get you that live view adjustment like a7. Really a personal preference.
AF zone selection on Df seemed quicker and a bit more intuitive due to ergonomics than a7. I have no doubt both will “miss” at certain times.
Verdict – one’s too small ergonomically imo and the other is closer (Df) though could be cut down a bit more. Controls on both seems fine and the speed dial on the Df is akin to older manual camera. Aperture dial DSLR like as you’d expect (same as a7). Manual focus on a7 with native Ziess lenses is not as fast or smooth as Df and 1.8 kit lens manual focus. That said though with a nice M mount lens on a7, I’m sure it be pretty smooth!
As for image quality no idea…but that’s not my first concern anyway and given both have FF top quality sensors in them expect them to be pretty close really. I do like what I’ve seen on the a7 though can not comment on D4 (same sensor as Df).
Neither feel as balanced as a Leica RF, though that is me being biased I use one now. Hope this helps if you are thinking about either. I’m not buying either so not justifying one over the other. just curious.”
Great comments Andrew, thank you. I too won’t be buying either. My experience with the RX1R made me want to pass on this round of Sony cameras, and I only own one Nikon lens now that I keep for sentimental reasons (along with my Nikon D70).
PS on early images I’d buy an M240 with the Sony sensor in it. Some talk about “smearing” and soft edges but I haven’t really noticed that as yet.
Here is a sample of Df at 6400 ISO on Facebook. Throw this into the mix?
Sorry should add don’t worry about all the comments in the thread, it was a post to show a couple of examples of images with this camera at 6400ISO.
Agreed.
But their lenses aren’t very inspiring in my opinion. Hopefully they address that.
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I have just finished shooting a whole series with my A7R and Leica glas. I find the IQ to be VERY good. The Shutter of the A7R is loud, and the A7R lacks the simplicity of the M9 but it is an amazing camera. My setup now is the M9 with a 35 and the A7R with a 50. Great team !
here are 2 samples, i am processing more today.
A7R with Nocti
http://www.flickr.com/photos/103photography/11167515404/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/103photography/11157746656/
Dear Marc, thank you so much for providing examples.
The images you link to are certainly very nice. I will say, however, that this image of the same model but taken with your Leica M9 has the little extra “pop” I find so appealing with the CCD sensor:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/103photography/11157118205/in/photostream/
Peter.
I have ZERO interest in the A7/r. I believe it to be a gadget freaks dream who is willing to spend endless hours pixel peaking and praying their third party adapters and lens combos somehow justify not buying the body they’re really designed to work on.
What I’ve seen and read there are even issues with the two FE lenses that are currently available. This is another “experimental” system that Sony has released hoping the end user’s publicly published experiences can help them prove their product. Just because you make a great sensor does not make you a great camera company.
Then there’s the true size this camera represents. With even the current 3 FE lenses that are and will be available by the end of December make this not a small camera. Plus looking at their crystal ball lens roadmap I don’t see any lenses faster than the 55mm f/1.8 which is huge compared to even the Leica M 50mm Lux combo. Even the Noctilux compares and it’s several stops faster.
Then there’s the whole ergonomics issue.
Sorry for the rant but this has been one seriously hyped camera that one will find hard to shoot with slower than 1/250 handled on the A7r due to its shutter as compared to A7.
I completely agree with you Duane as well as you Peter. The Sony cameras should not be used whole heatedly with Leica lenses. For that get an M. The Sony’s menu’s are a pain in the butt. They are built by technicians for technicians and not meant for simplicity of use. The A7(r) requires extensive key re-mapping to become more user friendly.
BUT this camera is absolutely perfect for what I do for work. Being able to take a body this small and adapt Zeiss ZF lenses and Schneider tilt-shift lenses for on set surveying makes this system substantially more portable than a D800(e). I spent 3 months in Ireland lugging around a D800 with 24-70, 70-200, and a 24 PCE to surveying actors, set buildings, props and I can tell you having that strapped to my back for 12h a day is not fun. This camera is ideally suited for that kind of work as the lenses would be smaller in ZE format.
The Sony is for sure an over hyped camera but for the right user it’s an amazing camera, and I’m currently debating purchasing one of these just for the reason’s I specified above.
Excellent feedback backed by an informed perspective. Thank you Dominic.
For those who haven’t already done so, check out D’s work at his website: http://blog.wakingmist.com/
—Peter.
I am not familiar with the Zeiss ZF lenses especially how big they may be in comparison to what Sony/Zeiss has planned for the FE line.
But Lloyd Chambers over at his blog digitalloyd just wrote a short blurb about adapting large third party lenses on to the A7/r body and what impact that may have on torque, sag and possible lens mount damage.
http://diglloyd.com/blog/2013/20131201_2-SonyA7R-Zeiss-Leica-lens-options-support.html
He also mentions what has done to avoid that issue with the new M by making their own adapter that will fully support Leica R lenses.
Hi Duane,
The ZF versions of the lenses are bigger than the current Leica equivalents but definitely smaller than standard SLR lenses. The torque issue is a concern for me, which is why I’d make sure to purchase adapters that contain a tripod mount on them, especially for the Schneider lenses.
Thanks for sharing the link to Lloyd Chambers I haven’t seen that one and it was a great read.
-Dominic
Dear Duane, no need to apologise. You are civilly discussing the issues at hand and I welcome your comments.
A link to the site of a quite demanding English landscape photographer who’s done an interesting non scientific personal evaluation of Leica lenses on the A7r. I understand from past posts, Peter, you’re OK with this sort of referral.
http://tashley1.zenfolio.com/blog
Yes, you’re correct, I have no objections to external links (if they are relevant to discussions here). Thanks Greg.