# Sony A7 photo sample - share Sony A7 series photos here



## Dylan777 (Oct 22, 2013)

Found this photo @ http://www.cameraegg.org/sony-a7-a7r-rx10-sample-images/

Taken with Zeiss 55mm @ f2.2

This photo has been resized to post here. More photos are on the their site.

Edit, more photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/102423606899805747607/A7Samples#

Oct 23, Add A7r photo: http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/some-new-superb-a7r-images-by-ijsvogel/


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## eml58 (Oct 23, 2013)

Thanks for that Dylan777, I like the look of this as a second small Camera, seems a little more incognito than the 1Dx and the 200-400.

Spooky Girl shot though.


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## Dylan777 (Oct 23, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Thanks for that Dylan777, I like the look of this as a second small Camera, seems a little more incognito than the 1Dx and the 200-400.
> 
> Spooky Girl shot though.



To me, A7 series will be a great walk-around-the-town camera. I'll look forward to see what Sony/Zeiss has to offer in prime lenses next coming years.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Oct 23, 2013)

Interesting sharpness - terrible photo. That is a really awkward perspective. I think those of you interested in the camera will find this very interesting; I always enjoy these guys reviews and they not only shoot the A7 and A7R (preproduction), but shoot the whole review on them, too.

Sony A7 & A7R Hands-On Field Test


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## Dylan777 (Oct 23, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Interesting sharpness - terrible photo. That is a really awkward perspective. I think those of you interested in the camera will find this very interesting; I always enjoy these guys reviews and they not only shoot the A7 and A7R (preproduction), but shoot the whole review on them, too.



I was so focus on the IQ and didn't notice about photo composition ;D

I saw this video the following morning, after the A7 series annoucement.

I like their reviews. He described the RX1 prefectly.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Oct 23, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > Interesting sharpness - terrible photo. That is a really awkward perspective. I think those of you interested in the camera will find this very interesting; I always enjoy these guys reviews and they not only shoot the A7 and A7R (preproduction), but shoot the whole review on them, too.
> ...



The angle of view and shallow focus gives the impression of a lazy eye. Terrible!


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## Ruined (Oct 23, 2013)

re: http://www.cameraegg.org/sony-a7-a7r-rx10-sample-images/

From my experience with image processing, I can tell you that these images were slathered with EE either in camera or post - so many EE artifacts its not funny. Hopefully it can be disabled if in camera.


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## J.R. (Oct 23, 2013)

Ruined said:


> re: http://www.cameraegg.org/sony-a7-a7r-rx10-sample-images/
> 
> From my experience with image processing, I can tell you that these images were slathered with EE either in camera or post - so many EE artifacts its not funny. Hopefully it can be disabled if in camera.



Sorry ... but what is EE?


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## J.R. (Oct 23, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > Interesting sharpness - terrible photo. That is a really awkward perspective. I think those of you interested in the camera will find this very interesting; I always enjoy these guys reviews and they not only shoot the A7 and A7R (preproduction), but shoot the whole review on them, too.
> ...



Gearhead blues .. ;D ;D ;D


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## Ruined (Oct 23, 2013)

J.R. said:


> Ruined said:
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> > re: http://www.cameraegg.org/sony-a7-a7r-rx10-sample-images/
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EE = Edge Enhancement/sharpening. If you look at any of the high contrast borders there is massive artifacting showing that substantial artificial sharpening was applied to the point where it looks unnatural IMO.

I.E. on this picture look to the on the left border of the model's arm and leg and you can see a thick outline/ghosting caused by the edge enhancement processing, you might need to zoom in a bit:
http://www.cameraegg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sony-A7R-Sample-Image-2.jpg


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## J.R. (Oct 23, 2013)

Ruined said:


> J.R. said:
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Thanks ... I see it too. In fact, it looks like her skin on the legs has a horizontal pattern to it


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## Dylan777 (Oct 23, 2013)

J.R. said:


> Ruined said:
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I hope that is a bad PP skill there . I'll keep an eye on it when my combo arrive.


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## J.R. (Oct 23, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> I hope that is a bad PP skill there . I'll keep an eye on it when my combo arrive.



Good luck! Wait to hear your experience of using the A7.


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## bholliman (Oct 23, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> To me, A7 series will be a great walk-around-the-town camera. I'll look forward to see what Sony/Zeiss has to offer in prime lenses next coming years.



The A7+Zeiss 35mm (594 grams) falls between a 6D+40mm (900 grams) and EOS-M+22 (403 grams) for weight making it a very portable FF option. 

http://camerasize.com/compact/#380.345,487.394,351.349,ha,t

The weight advantage will be less percentage wise with larger lenses, as the A7 and A7R will still require large heavy lenses, just like a DSLR. So the size and weight advantage will just be with the camera bodies (A7 - 474 grams, 6D - 770 grams). Using the small lenses above, the A7 is 34% lighter than the 6D kit. Using a larger zoom, the 6D + 70-200 F4 IS weighs 1,530 grams, the A7 + Sony FE 70-200 F4 G OSS weighs 1,314 grams, so only 14% lighter.

http://camerasize.com/compact/#380.294,487.392,ha,t


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## Pi (Oct 23, 2013)

J.R. said:


> Thanks ... I see it too. In fact, it looks like her skin on the legs has a horizontal pattern to it



I see some other artifacts. The texture of the coat has some "bold" spots, perhaps aggressive NR or moire suppression. On the other hand, you can see some aliasing as well. They could have just put an AA filter.


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## zim (Oct 23, 2013)

J.R. said:


> Ruined said:
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more like she's wearing tights?


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## Dylan777 (Oct 23, 2013)

bholliman said:


> Dylan777 said:
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> > To me, A7 series will be a great walk-around-the-town camera. I'll look forward to see what Sony/Zeiss has to offer in prime lenses next coming years.
> ...


I dont walk around with 70-200 lens. 35 or 50mm is what I like to have. I prefer shooting long telephoto lens with dslr. Much better balance.


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## msm (Oct 23, 2013)

I think people just try to interpret too much from these heavily processed JPGs directly from the camera. Have you all forgotten the totally horrible 5D3 pictures Canon used at the launch? Just sit back, relax and wait for some proper tests.


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## Roo (Oct 23, 2013)

Ruined said:


> EE = Edge Enhancement/sharpening. If you look at any of the high contrast borders there is massive artifacting showing that substantial artificial sharpening was applied to the point where it looks unnatural IMO.
> 
> I.E. on this picture look to the on the left border of the model's arm and leg and you can see a thick outline/ghosting caused by the edge enhancement processing, you might need to zoom in a bit:
> http://www.cameraegg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sony-A7R-Sample-Image-2.jpg



Thanks - that's why I love this forum. It is a great place to learn


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## J.R. (Oct 24, 2013)

msm said:


> I think people just try to interpret too much from these heavily processed JPGs directly from the camera. Have you all forgotten the totally horrible 5D3 pictures Canon used at the launch? Just sit back, relax and wait for some proper tests.



Most here are just commenting on the images that are shown as a sample and hardly dissing the camera. As always, the proof will be in the pudding


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## eml58 (Oct 24, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> 35 or 50mm is what I like to have.



I'm giving it a go, ordered the a7r Body with the Zeiss 35 & 55.


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## Eldar (Oct 24, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Dylan777 said:
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> > 35 or 50mm is what I like to have.
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Looking forward to your views on how it works.


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## eml58 (Oct 24, 2013)

Eldar said:


> Looking forward to your views on how it works.



Probably end December, looking forward to it.

My flirt with the Leica M9 was a tragedy, for me, lovely Camera, sort of, but you need young eyes for a Rangefinder, or at least good old ones. Clunky 1980's Menu system, but wonderful Glass.

Hopefully the Sony ticks some of the box's the M9 didn't (for me, I have friends that love the Leica M system and produce amazingly good Images from it), at least the a7r should be a reasonable smallish camera when the 1Dx is just to much for the job.


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## Dylan777 (Oct 24, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Dylan777 said:
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> > 35 or 50mm is what I like to have.
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Awesome eml58 ;D

I would add 35mm as well if my wife willing to give up her RX1, I just don't see how that going to happen though. 

We really enjoy our RX1 as walk around camera. The Zeiss FE 35mm looks quite small compared to 55mm, which I think it will be perfect for small body like A7r.

I placed my pre-order(A7 + Zeiss 55mm) 20mins after the announcement. I hope to hand on this x-mas.


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## eml58 (Oct 25, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> Awesome eml58 ;D
> 
> I would add 35mm as well if my wife willing to give up her RX1, I just don't see how that going to happen though.
> 
> ...



Ha Ha Ha !!! Good to see you feeding that NGAS Dylan777, like my own, seems alive & healthy.

Enjoy your Xmas Present to yourself.


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## Dylan777 (Oct 25, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Dylan777 said:
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You too eml58. Life is short - why wait for Canon ;D

If things work out right, I plan to rebuild my gear in early 2014. I don't photography for living, just family photos. Will see how A7 performs first though.

Below is my plan for 2014.


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## drjlo (Oct 25, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Dylan777 said:
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> > 35 or 50mm is what I like to have.
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Nice.
If that Zeiss 35 was f/2 at least, I would have so much easier time pulling the trigger on A7r/35 f/2 combo, foregoing the 55.


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## eml58 (Oct 26, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> Below is my plan for 2014.



That is a serious endeavour at Planning, I salute you Sir, I generally buy by default something I like, but this planned spread has me re thinking how serious I should take my NGAS, well done Dylan777.

On your Zeiss WA, I purchased last year the Zeiss Distagon T 2.8/15, this is a truly supreme Lens, I have yet to put it into my Underwater Housing on the 5DMK III, but it totally blows away my 8-15 @ 15 which is my current go to WA lens for underwater photography, you give up Auto Focus, but that hasn't been an issue for me to date, price, like all Zeiss Lenses is a killer, but you do get what you pay for with these Lenses.

I've ordered the Zeiss Otus 55 1.4/55 as well, intend using this on the 1Dx to replace the Canon 50 1.2 L II.

The a7r, if it lives up to expectations, will hopefully become the walk around/general Body, I'll also be keen to see if I can get it into an Underwater housing, with the Zeiss 15 & 35 it should work excellent, just need a good Macro Lens for it, Hmmmmm.....

I would add on the Zeiss 15, the reason I've not put it into the Underwater Housing, is the really PIA Hood attachment, completely boneheaded idea on an otherwise remarkable Lens, getting the Hood off, is doable, but a bit scary and not for the feint hearted, unfortunately the Hood Petals protrude far enough they come up against the Glass on the WA Port of my Housing set up, bummer.


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## CarlTN (Oct 26, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> Found this photo @ http://www.cameraegg.org/sony-a7-a7r-rx10-sample-images/
> 
> Taken with Zeiss 55mm @ f2.2
> 
> ...



Kind of looks like what Angelina Jolie would have looked like as a teenager, if she had been born with one eye out of focus.


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## Lichtgestalt (Oct 29, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> You too eml58. Life is short - why wait for Canon ;D



my advice then.. spend less time on internet forums.... ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 4, 2013)

Sold my Nikon D7100 & 18-300 today morning and ordered the Sony a7 with the kit lens (28-70mm) a few minutes ago ... will try to get the metabones EOS adapter when it becomes available. I had stopped buying sony products a very long time ago due to abandoned product lines ... hope they keep to their word this time and are committed to the FF mirrorless lens line up without any rude shocks.


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## Albi86 (Dec 7, 2013)

I ordered the a7 and a Novoflex adapter for my Nokton 58/1.4. I also preordered the Zeiss 24-70 zoom.

I'll play with the a7/Nokton combo over christmas. Let's see if I can get good results focusing at f/1.4.

Anyone has used the new Metabones smart adapter, the one supporting AF? I imagine it would be slower, but I'm interested to hear about accuracy.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 8, 2013)

Just got the a7+kit lens (24-70) delivered to me ... camera feels good, so does the lens ... but I did not get to use it as the battery needs to be charged for 310 minutes (that's over 5 hours without being able to use the camera)
Sony should have supplied a battery charger with this thing.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Dec 8, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Just got the a7+kit lens (24-70) delivered to me ... camera feels good, so does the lens ... but I did not get to use it as the battery needs to be charged for 310 minutes (that's over 5 hours without being able to use the camera)
> Sony should have supplied a battery charger with this thing.



There's no charger? Do you have to charge the battery in the camera?


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 8, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Just got the a7+kit lens (24-70) delivered to me ... camera feels good, so does the lens ... but I did not get to use it as the battery needs to be charged for 310 minutes (that's over 5 hours without being able to use the camera)
> ...


That is correct ... there is no charger provided with the purchase ... so I have to charge it in camera and it takes 310 minutes to charge each battery ... I am now charging my 2nd battery, will keep the 3rd battery for charging before I go to bed ... now that's almost *16 hours* to charge 3 batteries and I *cannot use the camera* during that time. But Sony is releasing a charger for $50 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1008167-REG/sony_bctrw_w_series_battery_charger.html)

But I made a mistake, I did not realize that there is a third party battery charger, by Watson, for $20 that works with these batteries (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/837444-REG/watson_c_4228_compact_ac_dc_charger_for.html) ... oh well :'(


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 8, 2013)

Does anyone know how to change the focus point in a7? ... I read the 95 page manual provided with the camera but cannot find how to change the focus points. Also, the manual is probably written by a 2nd grade student, it is really that basic and bad ... it hardly feels like a manual fit for a camera of this price range. As I went through each page, my reaction was WTF!


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 8, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Does anyone know how to change the focus point in a7? ... I read the 95 page manual provided with the camera but cannot find how to change the focus points. Also, the manual is probably written by a 2nd grade student, it is really that basic and bad ... it hardly feels like a manual fit for a camera of this price range. As I went through each page, my reaction was WTF!


OK, I figured out how to do it ... a bit long winded, but it works. In doing so I found that the sides of the images are horribly soft ... I guess it might be the weakness of the kit lens ... but the center is stunningly sharp.
For those who are like me searching how to change focus points:
Hit "Fn" button, choose "Focus Area" and select "Flexible Spot M" ... then you can use the Control Wheel on the back of the camera to select the focus point. 
If anyone knows a faster way, please do share. Thanks


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Dec 8, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
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> 
> > Does anyone know how to change the focus point in a7? ... I read the 95 page manual provided with the camera but cannot find how to change the focus points. Also, the manual is probably written by a 2nd grade student, it is really that basic and bad ... it hardly feels like a manual fit for a camera of this price range. As I went through each page, my reaction was WTF!
> ...



I hope your experience gets better from here. We do a lot of complaining about Canon products around here, but this has been a little reminder that there a lot of things that Canon DOES do right. Looking forward to seeing some of your images from the new kit.


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## tcmatthews (Dec 8, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
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If you need a charger now you also have the following options.
The charger is currently available Direct from Sony store. 
The previous version of the Sony charger is still available from Best Buy.
ttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/battery-charger/2702788.p?id=1218346635697&skuId=2702788&st=Sony%20charger&cp=1&lp=2#tab=specifications

I have the same version as the one at Best Buy in fact I bought it there because Sony wanted $79 for the old charge.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 8, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone know how to change the focus point in a7? ... I read the 95 page manual provided with the camera but cannot find how to change the focus points. Also, the manual is probably written by a 2nd grade student, it is really that basic and bad ... it hardly feels like a manual fit for a camera of this price range. As I went through each page, my reaction was WTF!
> ...



Hit the "ok" button, select the AF with "wheel" button, hit "ok" again.

Face and eye AF detection work really good with portrait. Very easy to compose the shot.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
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I hope so too ... but I do like the full frame awesomeness of the a7, I guess its just the cheap kit lens that is not able to take full of advantage of this glorious full frame sensor. I'm sure better lenses will deliver excellent results ... I'll post a couple of (lame) photos I made while testing the camera a few minutes ago.
Very true, some people complain about Canon without having used camera gear from other manufacturers ... I've been using Canon & Nikon for many years and currently I use a Canon 5D3, EOS-M, G1X, Nikon D610 & this Sony a7 cameras ... in my limited experience, for me, Canon has the best and easy menu system and they provide stuff that really matters. Take for example, the lens hood which Canon does not provide with non-L lenses, lots of people crib about it ... but look at the stuff that the other manufacturers do not provide ... Nikon does not provide any software worth talking about and their their QC lately has been horrendous and Sony menu system is nothing much to talk about and they keep changing their mind about what they want to implement in their gear almost every year and leave their customers in the lurch and now this really stupid decision not to include a batter charger ... so none of the camera manufacturers are perfect ... I guess we just need to use what we have and work around gear limitations .... but over all I prefer Canon eco system ... its like Apple - everything just works.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

tcmatthews said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
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Thanks ... I made a mistake in not getting the charger ... now its a bit too later to order online as it may not reach before my vacation ... so, I'll try and see if the local Sony store has it or spend almost twice as much in Australia for this stupid f#@$ing charger, which Sony should have included with the purchase  :'(


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## Albi86 (Dec 9, 2013)

I ordered the charger from a brand called Lemix - I'll let you guys know.

BTW, the Sony kit lens has been widely reported as terrible and subpar. If you want to really enjoy the sensor you have to get the Zeiss 35/2.8 or adapt something from Canon/Nikon/Leica etc...


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

Albi86 said:


> BTW, the Sony kit lens has been widely reported as terrible and subpar. If you want to really enjoy the sensor you have to get the Zeiss 35/2.8 or adapt something from Canon/Nikon/Leica etc...


True, it is sharp only in the center ... gets progressively worse as you go off center and plain miserable anywhere near the corner. I'm waiting to pick up the ZEIS 24-70 f/4 version.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
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As promised, here are a couple of lame photos (there is a small dust storm outside) and the only photos I could manage were these. 
Note: the first image of the Red Car is taken through a dirty double glassed window (the second image shows the double glassed window). Both images are straight out of the camera (the first one is cropped heavily and at 70mm f/6.3, 1/60sec, ISO 100) ... second one is just to show the dirtily double glassed window (straight out of the camera and at 28mm, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 100). Both images taken out of my office window. After having tried at least 2 dozen shots, I finally got the passing red car image at least in focus ... all the rest of them were much worse ... but I can get at least 70% success ratio with my Canon G1X even at 1/40sec (with all the rest of the settings being same as the Sony a7) ... I'm pretty sure it is the 28-70 kit lens which is the bottle neck for this camera.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

Few more, straight out of the Sony a7 camera, with the 28-70 kit lens ... (these images are nothing worth talking about, but it might give you some idea of what to expect from this camera to any of you who are interested ... the weather here sucks right now with a small dust storm, so only few lame indoor pics from stuff in my office ... I'm hoping to put the Sony a7 to good use during my vacation next week).
I would not recommend this camera (especially with the kit lens), unless you have a specific limited need like I do.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

The below both images are the same ... first one is straight out of the camera and the second one is after pulling the shadows to +85, Whites to +49 & Blacks to +90 in Lightroom 5.2 (no other changes to the image).


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Dec 9, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Few more, straight out of the Sony a7 camera, with the 28-70 kit lens ... (these images are nothing worth talking about, but it might give you some idea of what to expect from this camera to any of you who are interested ... the weather here sucks right now with a small dust storm, so only few lame indoor pics from stuff in my office ... I'm hoping to put the Sony a7 to good use during my vacation next week).
> I would not recommend this camera (especially with the kit lens), unless you have a specific limited need like I do.



I suspect things will get better for you as become more familiar with the camera. Your comments so far have reminded me a bit of when the D600 was coming out and it looked so much better on paper than the 6D, but the actual camera was a bit of a letdown.

I hope for your sake and the others posters here that are investing in this camera that it isn't a "paper tiger".


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Few more, straight out of the Sony a7 camera, with the 28-70 kit lens ... (these images are nothing worth talking about, but it might give you some idea of what to expect from this camera to any of you who are interested ... the weather here sucks right now with a small dust storm, so only few lame indoor pics from stuff in my office ... I'm hoping to put the Sony a7 to good use during my vacation next week).
> ...


My posts might have given a wrong message that the a7 is not a good camera ... It is an excellent camera but not to the extent its made out to be ... anyone who thinks that this full frame mirrorless camera is going to "kill" Canon 5D MK III or the 6D, is definitely living in a fools paradise (or they've never used the 5D MK III or the 6D). Without sounding immodest, I am very good at selling my used gear, so I am not too concerned about having spent this money, coz I'm pretty confident I can sell it off, if I don't like it (after I've tried it with better lenses, like the Zeiss 24-70 f/4 & 35 f/2.8 ) ... but for anyone who is planning on buying it as the sole full frame camera might be disappointed quite quikcly ... one would be better off buying the Canon 6D or the Nikon D610 and a kit lens for just a couple hundred dollars more ... and you would also have the peace of mind that you are dealing with camera manufacturers who are dedicated to their product line. But as a second full frame camera, for times when you don't want to carry a big DSLR, the sony a7 makes perfect sense as it has great low light AF especially for people photograpy and with the right lens I'm pretty sure you can make awesome images.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

When you spend 2 thousand american dollars on a mirror less camera, you have to take some photos (even if the weather outside is sh!tty) ... so here is a miniature pumpkin, (smaller than a Coke can diameter), which I've been hoarding for more than 2 months ... I have a habit of buying colorful fruits and vegetables to take photos, but most of the time I forget about them and my wife gets on my case for buying stuff that we don't eat and the stuff ends up lying around in the house ;D ... anyway today she threatened to cut up the pumpkin for dinner as she was getting p!ssed with it just lying around in the house (I had promised her that I'll take the photo of that pumpkin and then she could use for cooking after that ... now, that was 60 days ago) ... anyway she threatened to dismember the pumpkin, so I had no choice but to take the photo, before it is killed ... sorry, this is the best I've got as I cannot go outside to take photos due the bad weather. 
By the way, as unfortunate as it is, there was no happy ending for neither the pumpkin nor our dinner, when we cut the pumpkin (after I took the photo) we found it rotten :-[


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## Albi86 (Dec 9, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
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> > Few more, straight out of the Sony a7 camera, with the 28-70 kit lens ... (these images are nothing worth talking about, but it might give you some idea of what to expect from this camera to any of you who are interested ... the weather here sucks right now with a small dust storm, so only few lame indoor pics from stuff in my office ... I'm hoping to put the Sony a7 to good use during my vacation next week).
> ...



The D600 is far from being a letdown. In fact, with the D610 being released, buying a D600 could be a damn good bargain.

No one thinks that the a7's are going to kill DSLR. However, as I've recently read in a review, the a7's Mk II could. It's impossible not to see the potential, when you consider that they are a world first vs a decades-old, mature, established tech. Possibly surpassed tech? Time will tell.

They have class leading sensors, good tech inside, excellent (though momentarily few and a tad pricey) Zeiss branded AF lenses, and they can take pretty much any lens ever made. And they're small like a MFT camera - something that people like me, who take lots of planes, will be thankful for.

I don't have anything against your post in particular, but I've seen lots of nitpicking going around. Recent reports also mentioned that when you turn wifi and NFC off the battery life can get to 600+ shots.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

Albi86 said:


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When I spend $2000, on a camera I expect certain things to be provided e.g. at least a measly charger so I don't have to wait 16 hours to charge 3 batteries (while I can't even use the camera during that time) ... I think I am entitled to "nitpick ... no?  By the way I am not sure which reports are mentioning about battery life of 600+ shots, but I've had both WiFi and NFC turned off the whole time and the battery does NOT even give 300 shots ... maybe they've got some special kind of a7/a7r, or maybe my a7 is defective.


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## Albi86 (Dec 9, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


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> > TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> ...



I agree wholeheartedly on the battery charger front. In fact I thank you for your observation, which led me to buy a 20 quids third-pary charger.

As for the report: 
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/battery-life-a7-a7r_topic103190_page1.html

Seems a good idea to keep autoreviewing off.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Dec 9, 2013)

Albi86 said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



I think the fact that the D610 already exists is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that the D600 WAS a bit of a letdown.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 9, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> When you spend 2 thousand american dollars on a mirror less camera, you have to take some photos (even if the weather outside is sh!tty) ... so here is a miniature pumpkin, (smaller than a Coke can diameter), which I've been hoarding for more than 2 months ... I have a habit of buying colorful fruits and vegetables to take photos, but most of the time I forget about them and my wife gets on my case for buying stuff that we don't eat and the stuff ends up lying around in the house ;D ... anyway today she threatened to cut up the pumpkin for dinner as she was getting p!ssed with it just lying around in the house (I had promised her that I'll take the photo of that pumpkin and then she could use for cooking after that ... now, that was 60 days ago) ... anyway she threatened to dismember the pumpkin, so I had no choice but to take the photo, before it is killed ... sorry, this is the best I've got as I cannot go outside to take photos due the bad weather.
> By the way, as unfortunate as it is, there was no happy ending for neither the pumpkin nor our dinner, when we cut the pumpkin (after I took the photo) we found it rotten :-[



A7 series is weather sealed, so let see some raining photos ;D

The "GAS" for 300mm f2.8 IS II has went away. I'm now itching for 600mm. A7 now? or use that $$$ toward to 600mm? :


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> I think the fact that the D610 already exists is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that the D600 WAS a bit of a letdown.


Yes I totally agree ... it let down oil and dirt specks on to the sensor ;D ... that was one of the reasons why I skipped it and got a Nikon D610


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > When you spend 2 thousand american dollars on a mirror less camera, you have to take some photos (even if the weather outside is sh!tty) ... so here is a miniature pumpkin, (smaller than a Coke can diameter), which I've been hoarding for more than 2 months ... I have a habit of buying colorful fruits and vegetables to take photos, but most of the time I forget about them and my wife gets on my case for buying stuff that we don't eat and the stuff ends up lying around in the house ;D ... anyway today she threatened to cut up the pumpkin for dinner as she was getting p!ssed with it just lying around in the house (I had promised her that I'll take the photo of that pumpkin and then she could use for cooking after that ... now, that was 60 days ago) ... anyway she threatened to dismember the pumpkin, so I had no choice but to take the photo, before it is killed ... sorry, this is the best I've got as I cannot go outside to take photos due the bad weather.
> ...


In my home town (Goa) we stay indoors, coz there is so much of it during monsoons ... but here in Qatar, we come out in rains, coz it only reains once in a few years, that too for a few minutes at best ... so no chance of rain photos for the next 8 months.
Oh yes, the GAS! ... it is a strange feeling, the moment I come to Canon Rumors I get it real bad and it takes a very long time for it to go away ... only to come back when gentlemen like you influence me into buying Sony a7 ... you said you were buying it and then you go get the 300 L IS, not cool man  (just kidding) ... the 600 L sounds awesome.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 10, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



Keep in mind, the Zeiss 55mm is not arrive at local sony store yet  I might not yet done with my "GAS" for 2013


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Dylan777 said:
> ...



;D ;D ;D ... I see you've added "*Waiting for FF-Retro-Mirrorless*" under your avatar 8)


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

Albi86 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Albi86 said:
> ...


Thanks for the link, I read it and 1 person made that claim ... also it was not 600+ "shots" ... let me quote what he said "_And I ended up with... 777 images... (RAW + JPG)_" ... basically it was 380+ shots (i.e. 777 shots divided by 50% RAW and 50% JPG fo the same shots) ... also he made those shots " images in rapid succession" and that is the reason he probably got 380+ shots ... so basically turning off auto-review and firing off in rapid succession gave him around 80 more shots ... pretty good and a very good idea ... thanks for sharing. 
But I am a little sceptical about one guy's claim that he tested and got 560+ RAW+JPG images and the battery was only 60% down ... for some reason I find that hard to believe. 
There was one comment which I really liked there, which I quote here:
"* It doesn't seem too long ago I was changing rolls of film every 36 exposures or less. Now some are peeved at only getting 300 shots before changing a battery*" ... how true ... the digital age has spoiled us. :-[


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## Random Orbits (Dec 10, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> ...
> 
> "* It doesn't seem too long ago I was changing rolls of film every 36 exposures or less. Now some are peeved at only getting 300 shots before changing a battery*" ... how true ... the digital age has spoiled us. :-[



True, but we don't have to wait hours to "charge" rolls of film either. :

It reminds me of my first digital camera, a Nikon coolpix 990. It chewed through 4 AAs in about 30-50 shots. Horrid. And the NiMH batteries of the day did not keep their charge for long. Getting a 20D, whose battery lasted hundreds of shots, was a revelation.


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## CarlTN (Dec 10, 2013)

Random Orbits said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > ...
> ...



NiMH batteries STILL don't hold their charge for very long, especially compared to lithium ones, even if those lithium are 2/3 the physical size! In my opinion the very best battery there is, is the 18650, rechargeable lithium. The 1DX's pack uses 3 of these cells. They're very light for their size, and last forever, especially in an LED flashlight.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

Random Orbits said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > ...
> ...


Not too bad if you put it for charging before going to bed ... digital photography is a hell of a lot more convenient than film.


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## rpiotr01 (Dec 11, 2013)

Albi86 said:


> No one thinks that the a7's are going to kill DSLR. However, as I've recently read in a review, the a7's Mk II could. It's impossible not to see the potential, when you consider that they are a world first vs a decades-old, mature, established tech. Possibly surpassed tech? Time will tell.
> 
> They have class leading sensors, good tech inside, excellent (though momentarily few and a tad pricey) Zeiss branded AF lenses, and they can take pretty much any lens ever made. And they're small like a MFT camera - something that people like me, who take lots of planes, will be thankful for.



Good thoughts. I just recently found out these cameras existed and my initial thought was, holy crap this could actually replace a DSLR for most of my purposes. Reading reviews it seems they're not all the way there in some areas - AF sensitivity, handling, shutter blackout, battery life, lack of lens selection all seem like little annoyances that would add up. That doesn't mean that the next generation of these cameras won't address those concerns. Sony needs to stick with this platform, listen to users and develop it. Should be a real winner.

One other note on the A7 - I only handled one for a few minutes at B&H, but I have to say my little EOS M feels more rock solid than the A7. I'm sure it's built well but it just doesn't FEEL built well, if that makes sense.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

rpiotr01 said:


> Reading reviews it seems they're not all the way there in some areas - AF sensitivity, handling, shutter blackout, battery life, lack of lens selection all seem like little annoyances that would add up.


I have the Sony a7 and this is my observation:
*"AF sensitivity":* Excellent ... if its the a7 (I'm told the a7r is not as good, but I've never tried it)
*"Handling":* Very Good
*"Shutter blackout":* Yes, it blacks out for a good part of a second after each shot.
*"Battery life": *Sucks cow n!pples ... lack of a charger sucks ever more.
*"Lack of Lens selection":* Yes, for the time being ... but *if* Sony delivers on their promise, we could see a good selection of lenses within 2 years.



rpiotr01 said:


> One other note on the A7 - I only handled one for a few minutes at B&H, but I have to say my little EOS M feels more rock solid than the A7. I'm sure it's built well but it just doesn't FEEL built well, if that makes sense.


You are absolutely right, I have the EOS-M and it *is* built rock solid ... the a7 is highly unlikely to survive a fall that an EOS-M can survive. Just yesterday, I got the Sony HVL-F43M flash and it hotshoe foot is made of *very thin* plastic, which can easily be ripped off with very little effort (it is probably the worst flash foot I've ever seen ... even my cheap $62 Sunpak RD2000 has stronger/thicker plastic feet that can outlive the Sony HVL-F43M). God forbid, but if my a7 along with the HVL-F43M falls even from 3 feet height on a hard surface, the damage could be severe. But I hear the a7r is very robust with better build quality.


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## rpiotr01 (Dec 11, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> rpiotr01 said:
> 
> 
> > Reading reviews it seems they're not all the way there in some areas - AF sensitivity, handling, shutter blackout, battery life, lack of lens selection all seem like little annoyances that would add up.
> ...



Thanks for all that. Regarding AF sensitivity I've read that in low light it's a couple stops (for lack of correct words, perhaps) less sensitive than the 6D and even the 5DIII. Have you put it through it's paces in dim lighting?

Also seems to me many of the complaints out there could be fixed in firmware.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

rpiotr01 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > rpiotr01 said:
> ...


I did not use it in dim light before, but after having read your post I just compared it with the following combination:
5D MK III + 24-70 f/2.8 VC
5D MK III + 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II
The Sony a7 + 28-70mm lens was faster to AF in extremely dim light *ONLY if* the AF Illuminator was on ... but when the AF Illuminator is turned off, the a7 is slower than the 5D MK III + the above-mentioned lenses, to me the a7 (with AF Illuminator is turned off) seemed half as slow as my 5D MK III ... but with the AF Illuminator on, the a7 definitely has the edge.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 12, 2013)

OK, I've been cribbing quite a bit about this camera, so let me at least post a photo ... unfortunately, the weather here still sucks with dust all around ... so this is the best I can get at the moment ... image taken through a double glassed office room looking into the main road. This image is especially for Surapon as we once had a discussion about pink cars ;D ... sorry Surapon, my photos are not as nice as your photos ... in my defense, I blame the bad weather, but give me one or 2 weeks and I'll post some nice photos of Australia ... till then enjoy the pink car without Elvis  this was a quick image made with Sony a7+28-70


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## surapon (Dec 12, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> OK, I've been cribbing quite a bit about this camera, so let me at least post a photo ... unfortunately, the weather here still sucks with dust all around ... so this is the best I can get at the moment ... image taken through a double glassed office room looking into the main road. This image is especially for Surapon as we once had a discussion about pink cars ;D ... sorry Surapon, my photos are not as nice as your photos ... in my defense, I blame the bad weather, but give me one or 2 weeks and I'll post some nice photos of Australia ... till then enjoy the pink car without Elvis  this was a quick image made with Sony a7+28-70



Ha, Ha, Ha---Deasr Rienz.
At least, Some one still love Pink car, After Elvis move to live in Hawaii , and Change his name. No That Pink car is too small for Big size Elvis now, It must to be Cadillac only.
Thanks again my friend.
Surapon


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 13, 2013)

surapon said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > OK, I've been cribbing quite a bit about this camera, so let me at least post a photo ... unfortunately, the weather here still sucks with dust all around ... so this is the best I can get at the moment ... image taken through a double glassed office room looking into the main road. This image is especially for Surapon as we once had a discussion about pink cars ;D ... sorry Surapon, my photos are not as nice as your photos ... in my defense, I blame the bad weather, but give me one or 2 weeks and I'll post some nice photos of Australia ... till then enjoy the pink car without Elvis  this was a quick image made with Sony a7+28-70
> ...


OK Sir, from now on, I will keep an eye only for Pink Cadillic, we don't want large Elvis to have trouble squeezing into small pink cars ;D ... spotting a pink Cadillac might be difficult, but not impossible in Qatar. However, the challenge would be to have my Sony a7 at hand, when I spot a Pink Cadillac, so I can post it here.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 14, 2013)

Finally the dusty weather cleared a little bit ... made some images when out for shopping with the wife (sneaked outside the mall to quickly put the Sony a7 to test) ... here are a few Sony a7 ISO 6400 images ... focal length of all the images is 28mm


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 14, 2013)

a few more ISO 6400 samples


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## CarlTN (Dec 15, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Finally the dusty weather cleared a little bit ... made some images when out for shopping with the wife (sneaked outside the mall to quickly put the Sony a7 to test) ... here are a few Sony a7 ISO 6400 images ... focal length of all the images is 28mm



Were these shot as jpegs? I see a block noise pattern than looks like jpeg compression. If so, then it also must be using in-camera noise reduction...anyway that's my guess...having never compared images from that camera before. Not bad results, decent colors too!


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 15, 2013)

CarlTN said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Finally the dusty weather cleared a little bit ... made some images when out for shopping with the wife (sneaked outside the mall to quickly put the Sony a7 to test) ... here are a few Sony a7 ISO 6400 images ... focal length of all the images is 28mm
> ...


Hi Carl,

Yes they are jpegs ... except for the first image (with the aeroplane flying by) all other images are out-of-the-camera ... I deliberately underexposed the first image, to pull shadows and blacks (+100) in Lightroom 5.3 just to see how far I could push the limits. Unfortunately, I did not shoot RAW, as I had given the camera to my wife for a few candid shots, so I had changed it to jpeg and put it in Auto mode for her and when I "escaped" from the mall, I had to rush back (lest I face the wife's wrath for ditching her while shopping), so I had just a few minutes ... in the hurry, I forgot to change to to RAW. But I plan on putting it to its paces, in a few days time, when I'm off for a long awaited vacation. 8) 
I was planning on making some more images with the a7 at the beach today, but the weather has gone from bad to worse, with heavy winds and $h!t loads of dust.


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## Gino (Dec 15, 2013)

Nasim Mansurov over at the Photography Life website did an ISO comparison with the *Sony A7R v. Nikon D800E*:

http://photographylife.com/sony-a7r-vs-nikon-d800e-iso-comparison

and the *Sony A7 v. Nikon D600*

http://photographylife.com/sony-a7-vs-nikon-d600-iso-performance

He had to use the kit lens on the Sony cameras, so it's hard to say if the Nikon sensors are better, but Nikon has slightly better results in his comparison.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 15, 2013)

Gino said:


> Nasim Mansurov over at the Photography Life website did an ISO comparison with the *Sony A7R v. Nikon D800E*:
> 
> http://photographylife.com/sony-a7r-vs-nikon-d800e-iso-comparison
> 
> ...


Gino, thanks for sharing the links ... yeah, it is a bit early to compare the high ISO performance with only the kits lens ... once the Zeiss 24-70 comes out, it would probably give a better idea. I am not very keen on getting the 35mm f/2.8 or the 55 f/1.8 lens as I probably won't use them that much ... coz it doesn't make sense for me to get the current 2 prime lenses (35mm & 55mm) when their size works out equal to (or bigger than) the Zeiss 24-70mm zoom lens.


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## eml58 (Dec 16, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> I am not very keen on getting the 35mm f/2.8 or the 55 f/1.8 lens as I probably won't use them that much ... coz it doesn't make sense for me to get the current 2 prime lenses (35mm & 55mm) when their size works out equal to (or bigger than) the Zeiss 24-70mm zoom lens.



Only issue Rienz is the Zeiss Zoom will be f/4, not too bad I know, but the 35 is f/2.8 & so far I'm impressed with the Lens, hope to have the 55f/1.8 by Xmas, and I pick up the Otus 55f/1.4 tomorrow on the way to Australia.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 16, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > I am not very keen on getting the 35mm f/2.8 or the 55 f/1.8 lens as I probably won't use them that much ... coz it doesn't make sense for me to get the current 2 prime lenses (35mm & 55mm) when their size works out equal to (or bigger than) the Zeiss 24-70mm zoom lens.
> ...


Congratulations! ... I would have picked up the Zeiss 35 f/2.8, but I tend to use the primes a lot less (TBH, hardly ever ... the only prime that gets a lot of work from me is the EF 100 L IS), as I'm more of a "run n gun" kind of hobbyist, so I prefer the zoom lenses. Also, I'm not as good as you, when it comes to getting the best out of the lenses ... I follow almost all of the images you post and they are stunning. I really envy your artistic images. By the way I'll be in Australia on the 18th Dec, where are you getting the Otus 55 f/1.4 from, I might want to go to the same store and check it out. 
Edit: Never mind, I just saw the price of that lens  ... can't afford it.


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## xps (Jan 13, 2014)

I was allowed to shoot with the Alpha 7 and 7R last weekend. Impressive Camera with an great IQ. I just got the 28-70 kit lens to shoot with. Bust the pictures are really impressive!
As we did this in an guided workshop it will take some days to get my pics to post here.
But if Sony will release some better lenses, this Camera will be a hit!

My personal impressions: Really superb IQ. We shot e.g. dancing childrean without flashlight at high Iso. And I found no noise! Great colours, really sharp. Superfast AF, even at low light. The Cam is not the fastest at continuous shooting, I think about 3-4 pics a second. But, most of them are super sharp. 
A tricky situation will be to change the lens, ´cause of the uncovered sensor. This might be an problem if you are outside...
But simply the best IQ I have seen in the last month. Much better than my 7D and better than my 6D.

Canon will do hard to meet the IQ at this range of price (1400€ body)

If Sony releases some more lenses, a definitive competitor to the Canon and Nikon DSLRs.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 13, 2014)

xps said:


> I was allowed to shoot with the Alpha 7 and 7R last weekend. Impressive Camera with an great IQ. I just got the 28-70 kit lens to shoot with. Bust the pictures are really impressive!
> 
> 
> no noise! Great colours, really sharp. Superfast AF, even at low light. The Cam is not the fastest at continuous shooting, I think about 3-4 pics a second. But, most of them are super sharp.
> ...


+1


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## Dylan777 (Jan 16, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> a few more ISO 6400 samples



I was testing out A7 & A7R with Zeiss 55mm f1.8 yesterday @ local Sony store. I'm now leaning more to A7R + Zeiss 55mm over my original plan A7 & 55mm. I'm not DR or pixelpp guy, however, looking at JPEG photos from A7R, I'm *REALLY* impressed. In term of AF speed, I didn't see the diff between A7 and A7R when shooting with Zeiss 55mm + Zeiss 35mm.

If Canon 600mm II wasn't on my wishlist for this year or so, I would be shooting with A7r + Zeiss 55mm f1.8 at this moment

DAM "G.A.S" ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 16, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > a few more ISO 6400 samples
> ...


I can understand the pain brother so much gear that we want but not enough ready cash ;D ... over $12000 for the 600 L II is some serious money, I envy you.
By the way, I ordered the Metabones Canon EF Lens to Sony NEX Smart Adapter (Mark III) adapter a few days ago, it should be arriving on Saturday morning ... I had a chance to test it out in Melbourne last month and really liked how it works, unfortunately they only had a demo version, so I couldn't buy it ... will post some images once I get on this Saturday morning.


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## Dylan777 (Jan 18, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



How is AF speed? 

I'm interested in their native lenses. The Zeiss 35 & 55mm seem very nice and solid. I want to see what Sony/Zeiss has to offer on FE wide angle lenses up coming year. I really like their 55mm. I might be the odd one here, but I like to compose the shot with backscreen over the Op-viewfinder. My eyes get tired after couple hrs shooting with Op-viewfinder. My current compact FF is 5D III + 40pancake, NOT BAD at all ;D

Below was my plan for 2014. As of today, it still on the table for consideration:


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## bholliman (Jan 18, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Below was my plan for 2014. As of today, it still on the table for consideration:



Looks like you plan to keep your Canon gear for 70mm and up and switch to Sony for the shorter focal lengths. This does play to the advantages of both systems. Let us know how this works out!


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## sdsr (Jan 18, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > By the way, I ordered the Metabones Canon EF Lens to Sony NEX Smart Adapter (Mark III) adapter a few days ago, it should be arriving on Saturday morning ... I had a chance to test it out in Melbourne last month and really liked how it works, unfortunately they only had a demo version, so I couldn't buy it ... will post some images once I get on this Saturday morning.
> ...



I've owned an A7 for a week and for the past couple of days have been trying the Metabones EF adapter using, as it happens, the 40mm pancake along with the 85mm 1.8, comparing it informally along the way with the same lenses on the 5DIII. I've not had a chance yet to process more than a few of the images, let alone look at all of them closely, but so far I'm inclined to conclude that - somewhat to my surprise - these lenses both create better images on the Sony than on the Canon, including greater sharpness and detail across the frame. The difference isn't huge, and would doubtless seem less on smaller monitors, but on a 30" monitor it's quite noticeable even without zooming in. (I now feel tempted to rent an A7r for comparison.) I also get the impression that the camera meters better, among other things. A remarkable image-generating device, and engagingly light, too (I've been using it, a Fuji xe-1 and an OM-D for the past few weeks, after which the 5DIII felt heavy and bulky), and, with its excellent EVF and magnification, a great vehicle for manual focus lenses. 

BUT - using the adapter you don't want to be in a hurry. I find it oddly engaging, but it feels a bit as though the AF mechanism was designed by Heath Robinson (do a google image search of you don't know his work) - the lens strolls towards the right place, arrives, looks around a bit to admire the view, moves a tad further, returns to the right place, whereupon it announces that you may press the shutter, assuming you haven't lost interest (in very low light you may need to try more than once, but I was generally pleased by how well it did walking home from work last night after dark). I'm exaggerating, of course, but if there's a chance your subject will soon move, let alone is moving, good luck. On the other hand, when the camera thinks it's in focus, it really is - as precisely accurate as it is with the (much faster) native kit lens or as the (extremely fast) AF on OM-Ds.

You should know, by the way, that not all Canon lenses are supported (with the 50mm 1.4 you get aperture control but not AF), and that the list of supported lenses on metabones' site is incomplete (e.g. they don't mention the 28mm IS, 40mm or the 100mm L, but mine work just fine). And, of course, you can forget about automatic corrections based on lens profiles in LR, DxO etc., so while the 24-105L works too, correcting all that distortion at the wide end might be rather a bore.

So it's rather frustrating in some ways - you may get better-looking photos from Canon lenses on the Sony A7s than you do on Canon bodies, but the process for doing so is slower and a bit more convoluted. And once you've spent $400 on the adapter, they're no longer the cheapest FF cameras you can buy. Then again, its versatility is marvelous (and if you have a bunch of x->EF adapters, you can just add them to the metabones). Unless you're patient and willing/able to buy the native lenses, the most sensible route to take for those who need fast focusing is presumably to get an A-mount adapter and some A mount Sony/Minolta AF lenses which, I've read, focus even faster via that adapter than they do on A-mount bodies (though I've no idea if lens profiles in LR etc. still work for any of them).

Unless you're happy with the kit lens (which seems to be surprisingly good for something so cheap and light) and don't want/need wider or longer lenses, I doubt there are many for whom this would likely be their only camera. If you want to read about a professional photographer's attempts to make it his, this blog is worth looking at:

http://soundimageplus.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Sony%20A7r


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## sdsr (Jan 18, 2014)

xps said:


> A tricky situation will be to change the lens, ´cause of the uncovered sensor. This might be an problem if you are outside...



I've been using an Olympus OM-D for at least 9 months and, as I almost always use it with prime lenses, change lenses a lot, both inside and outdoors. So far I haven't seen a hint of sensor-dirt on any photo I've taken; based on what I've read online, this seems typical (I don't know whether this is true of other mirrorless cameras). Whether Olympus use some special coating or other technology that is unique to them I don't know, but maybe it's grounds for optimism.


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## Dylan777 (Jan 18, 2014)

sdsr said:


> I've owned an A7 for a week and for the past couple of days have been trying the Metabones EF adapter using, as it happens, the 40mm pancake along with the 85mm 1.8, comparing it informally along the way with the same lenses on the 5DIII. I've not had a chance yet to process more than a few of the images, let alone look at all of them closely, but so far I'm inclined to conclude that - somewhat to my surprise - these lenses both create better images on the Sony than on the Canon, including greater sharpness and detail across the frame. The difference isn't huge, and would doubtless seem less on smaller monitors, but on a 30" monitor it's quite noticeable even without zooming in. (I now feel tempted to rent an A7r for comparison.) I also get the impression that the camera meters better, among other things. A remarkable image-generating device, and engagingly light, too (I've been using it, a Fuji xe-1 and an OM-D for the past few weeks, after which the 5DIII felt heavy and bulky), and, with its excellent EVF and magnification, a great vehicle for manual focus lenses.
> 
> BUT - using the adapter you don't want to be in a hurry. I find it oddly engaging, but it feels a bit as though the AF mechanism was designed by Heath Robinson (do a google image search of you don't know his work) - the lens strolls towards the right place, arrives, looks around a bit to admire the view, moves a tad further, returns to the right place, whereupon it announces that you may press the shutter, assuming you haven't lost interest (in very low light you may need to try more than once, but I was generally pleased by how well it did walking home from work last night after dark). I'm exaggerating, of course, but if there's a chance your subject will soon move, let alone is moving, good luck. On the other hand, when the camera thinks it's in focus, it really is - as precisely accurate as it is with the (much faster) native kit lens or as the (extremely fast) AF on OM-Ds.
> 
> ...



Thanks sdsr for the info

To me, using native lenses is the way to go.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 18, 2014)

sdsr said:


> BUT - using the adapter you don't want to be in a hurry. I find it oddly engaging, but it feels a bit as though the AF mechanism was designed by Heath Robinson (do a google image search of you don't know his work) - the lens strolls towards the right place, arrives, looks around a bit to admire the view, moves a tad further, returns to the right place, whereupon it announces that you may press the shutter, assuming you haven't lost interest


;D ;D ;D ... just got the lens an hour ago and your description perfectly accurate.
[/quote] 


sdsr said:


> the list of supported lenses on metabones' site is incomplete (e.g. they don't mention the 28mm IS, 40mm or the 100mm L, but mine work just fine).


+1 ... I tried a few EF lenses with the Adapter on Sony a7 and the following is what I found:


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## Dylan777 (Jan 18, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> sdsr said:
> 
> 
> > BUT - using the adapter you don't want to be in a hurry. I find it oddly engaging, but it feels a bit as though the AF mechanism was designed by Heath Robinson (do a google image search of you don't know his work) - the lens strolls towards the right place, arrives, looks around a bit to admire the view, moves a tad further, returns to the right place, whereupon it announces that you may press the shutter, assuming you haven't lost interest
> ...





sdsr said:


> the list of supported lenses on metabones' site is incomplete (e.g. they don't mention the 28mm IS, 40mm or the 100mm L, but mine work just fine).


+1 ... I tried a few EF lenses with the Adapter on Sony a7 and the following is what I found:
[/quote]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Rienzphotoz


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 18, 2014)

Having tried the 16-35 f/2.8 L II on the Sony a7 with the Metabones adapter, I am *very impressed* ... now I am pretty set on getting the a7*R*, sometime in the next 6 months ... will look for price drops, or a refurbished one ... I would like to have it permanently mounted with the 16-35 f/2.8 L II for landscape work.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 18, 2014)

OK, back to sample images made with Sony a7 ... this one is made from a moving car at 28mm, f/4, ISO 3200, 1/160 sec.


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## Dylan777 (Jan 18, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> OK, back to sample images made with Sony a7 ... this one is made from a moving car at 28mm, f/4, ISO 3200, 1/160 sec.



Photo looks AMAZING Rienzphotoz.

I'm assuming it taken with kit lens?  -- never mind, I saw the tittle. 

If you don't mind(when ever you have time), would you pls snap some photos with 16-35? Thanks in advance.

A7r + Zeiss FE 55mm + Zeiss FE UWA prime(prefer between 16 - 21mm) combo is what I'm really looking for in compact system. I'm standing by to see what coming down Zeiss FE series pineline coming years. However, the new Zeiss 24-70 f4 OSS helps my decision one step closer to this compact system. Still prefer UWA compact prime.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 18, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > OK, back to sample images made with Sony a7 ... this one is made from a moving car at 28mm, f/4, ISO 3200, 1/160 sec.
> ...


Thanks Dylan,
I'll definitely be posting some images with the a7+16-35 f/2.8 with metabones (hopefully before the next weekend coz the weather guys say its gonna rain for the next few days here) ... I did take a couple of stupid shots from my front door (as it is raining here today) and even though the subject matter is pretty lame, I am blown away by the details a7 +16-35 is able to produce. With the a7R, I can only image even crisper shots ... I think it'll be a perfect combo for landscape work.

I too would prefer a UWA compact prime for the FE mount from Sony (ZEISS would be even better), but I doubt it will show up anytime in 2014, especially with Sony's slow pace in releasing the 2 new f/4 zoom lenses :'( 

My plan is to have the ZEISS 24-70 f/4 OSS permanently mounted on the a7 and the 16-35 f/2.8 L II permanently mounted on a7R ... which will allow me to keep my 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II always on the 5D MK III (as I live in a desert country, with frequent dust storms, changing lenses is a bit long winded, so, keeping the lens ) ... if and when the FE UWA compact prime comes out, I'll probably sell the 16-35 ... also contemplating on getting the EF 2X III convertor or the EF 400 f/5.6 for the occasional bird photography ... well that's my plan for 2014, lets see how it pans out ... but if the 7D MK II comes out, my plans might have to change. ;D ... serious GAS problems ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 18, 2014)

Here is another image from the same day ... more than the nice sky, I thought it was cool that they have a place called "*Batman*" in Melbourne 8) ... image made from a moving car and same settings as the previous image.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Jan 18, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> OK, back to sample images made with Sony a7 ... this one is made from a moving car at 28mm, f/4, ISO 3200, 1/160 sec.



That's more like it! Beautiful image.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 19, 2014)

This one is shot by my 12 year old son on full auto mode with Sony a7 + 28-70 at 28mm


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 21, 2014)

Sony added Time-Lapse App for the a7 & a7R ... one of the nice features I like about this camera.
Sony A7 Alpha Time-Lapse App has Landed!


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 21, 2014)

Here are a few more opinions on Sony 10-18 wide angle lens on Sony a7/R full frame cameras.
http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2013/12/03/using-the-10-18mm-oss-zoom-on-full-frame/
The same person who posted that also said this on DPreview:
"If I have any concerns with the A7R, they must be that very few lenses actually work well on the full frame - at least, any that I want (35mm and 55mm don't inspire me - those are what I left behind around 40 years ago). I have now got a decent copy of the 28-70mm OSS but it's an inferior lens really even when free from faults, and loses the point of having 36 megapixels. The 10-18mm used full frame does better, if anything, at 13-16mm covering full frame cleanly than the 28-70mm covers at 28mm.

David"


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 21, 2014)

This one is even better, he has several samples images made )with Sony 10-18mm f/4 lens mounted on Sony a7R) at every focal length from 10-18
http://briansmith.com/sony-a7r-10-18-e-mount-lens/


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## Dylan777 (Jan 21, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> This one is even better, he has several samples images made )with Sony 10-18mm f/4 lens mounted on Sony a7R) at every focal length from 10-18
> http://briansmith.com/sony-a7r-10-18-e-mount-lens/



My co-worker(located in Hong Kong) bought A7r and Zeiss 35mm. He mentioned AF does hunt in lower light. 

I might just stay with my original plan A7 + Zeiss 55mm + Zeiss 24-70 f4 OS(until they have something wider). I don't see much of saving if I go with 10-18mm over newly Zeiss 24-70 f4 OSS. 24mm is decent on FF. I hope they release 21mm compact prime.

Dylan


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## Dylan777 (Jan 22, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Dylan777 said:
> ...



I'm officially done with my 2013 G.A.S

Played with this combo *!!!AGAIN!!!* in HongKong. Went back to the hotel. Turn on my laptop and went to BH site. Got my American Express out. Pushed the purchase button. I'm now feel better ;D ;D ;D

I'm stand by to see what Sony/Zeiss has to offer in 2014, otherwise, the new 24-70 f4 OS looks really nice

Will sell some of bulky Canon lenses soon...except the big white 400mm ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 22, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


Glad to see that you did not betray my trust ;D ... also glad that you have not gone astray in your wayward quest of a great white ;D
Congratulations! ... hope to see some pics with your new ZEISS 55 f/1.8 lens ... having seen some of your work, I am sure they'll be awesome. For a short while I did think of getting the ZEISS 55, but I'm not really a prime lens type of guy as I also don't have the skill and patience required for a prime lenses, so the few prime lenses that I do have, just stay in the camera bag most of the time as back up, for my zoom lenses (with the exception of 100 IS Macro).
About the 10-18, I'm still thinking to get it or not ... but I might have a customer who wants to buy my EOS-M (with kit lens, 22mm, adapter, extra batteries and a flash), so if I sell it off, then the 10-18 is definitely coming in.


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## Dylan777 (Jan 22, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Glad to see that you did not betray my trust ;D ... also glad that you have not gone astray in your wayward quest of a great white ;D
> Congratulations! ... hope to see some pics with your new ZEISS 55 f/1.8 lens ... having seen some of your work, I am sure they'll be awesome. For a short while I did think of getting the ZEISS 55, but I'm not really a prime lens type of guy as I also don't have the skill and patience required for a prime lenses, so the few prime lenses that I do have, just stay in the camera bag most of the time as back up, for my zoom lenses (with the exception of 100 IS Macro).
> About the 10-18, I'm still thinking to get it or not ... but I might have a customer who wants to buy my EOS-M (with kit lens, 22mm, adapter, extra batteries and a flash), so if I sell it off, then the 10-18 is definitely coming in.



I'll post some photos Rienzphotoz. 

I can't believe you selling the "BEST" mirrorless camera for a Sony ... :... ;D
I sold my lovely Fuji x100s, lost about $175. I hope I don't have "seller's remorse" for that.

You know LR5.3 supports A7 + new FE lenses?


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 22, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> You know LR5.3 supports A7 + new FE lenses?


I didn't even think of it, until I saw your post ... so I just fired up LR 5.3 now to check some of the test images I had taken on Saturday when I got the Metabones adapter ... lo and behold LR 5.3 does support A7+EF lenses .. here is an image made with EF 85mm f/1.8 at f/1.8 ... the first one is straight out of the camera, the second one is the same image without any post processing other than tick mark "Profile" in "Lens Corrections" of LR 5.3 ... as you can see it does take care of vignetting.
Due to bad weather I was only able to test my lenses (with A7+metabones) at home ... so I have more such "test" images with EF 40 f/2.8, 50 f/1.4, 100 f/2.8 L IS Macro, 16-35 f/2.8 L II, 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II & Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC ... basically all of them are supported in LR 5.3
*EDIT: Sorry my bad, it does not support automatically, I was too excited to check if it supports or not, so in the excitement I forgot that I was selecting Custom Lens Corrections Profile in LR5.3 ... Moral of the story: too much excitement can will lead to embarrassment :-[ *


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## Dylan777 (Jan 22, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > You know LR5.3 supports A7 + new FE lenses?
> ...



What about zeiss FE lenses? Thanks


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 22, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Dylan777 said:
> ...


With LR 5.3 release, all the 3 below lenses are supported:
1. Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
2. Sony ZEISS FE 35mm F2.8 ZA
3. Sony ZEISS FE 55mm F1.8 ZA


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## Dylan777 (Jan 22, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



Thanks Rienzphotoz.

Can't wait to fly back home to see the kids, wife and NEW TOYS


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 23, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Dylan777 said:
> ...


I understand, new toys are lots of fun coz they are *new*  ... but wife and kids ... you know, same ol, same ol ;D... I'm just kidding ... my wife will kill me if she sees this post. :-X ... more than that I am scared she might stop her once a year gift of buying me a lens for my birthday ... last year she didn't buy a lens as we had gone on a holiday and she promised to give it next month ... so I better not make stupid comments like these else I might lose the gift :-X ;D


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## Dylan777 (Jan 23, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks Rienzphotoz.
> ...



LOL... ;D

The #1 reason that I got all these *stupid* FF camera gear is my kids. They are my #1 treasure in my life. 

If I have no kids, I think would still be shooting with little Canon $99 P&S. Back in 2006, my wife and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. Can you guess, what camera that I bought and brought with us?


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 23, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> If I have no kids, I think would still be shooting with little Canon $99 P&S. Back in 2006, my wife and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. Can you guess, what camera that I bought and brought with us?


I'm bad at guessing ... but I'll give it a shot ... its a $99 Canon P&S


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## ClayStevens (Jan 24, 2014)

I think I have more interests in the A7 now. ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

While cleaning out my cupboard today, I found the Kenko Extension Tubes, which I had bought many years ago and haven't touched ever since I bought a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro (which was sold to make way for the EF 100 f/2.8 L IS) ... anyway, since I unexpectedly found these extension tubes, I thought why not check it out with with my Sony a7 & EF prime lenses. So, I took a few shots of a metal turtle, which my niece was playing with ... I was quite surprised to find that the the EF lenses auto focus slightly faster with the Metabones adapter+Kenko extension tubes, than when mounted only with the metabones adapter. Anyway here are the images, straight out of the camera ... they are not pretty images, its just to show my setup for this little (unplanned/unexpected) test ... also, my niece was playing with the turtle in the backyard ... so its a bit dirty :-[ 
The first image is just to show what I was shooting - a metal turtle (sitting on the Kenko 12 & 20mm extension tubes) ... this is made with just the Metabones adapter+EF 85mm f/1.8 lens mounted on the Sony a7 ... the subsequent images show the set up and the image captured. All images are photographed at 2 second exposures, f/22 aperture & ISO 800 (the higher ISO was an oversight, I thought it was ISO 200 as I was not wearing my reading glasses).


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

Here is the image made with Sony a7+Metabones Adaptor+Kenko 36mm Extension Tube+EF 85mm f/1.8 lens ... the second image is just the set up


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

Here is the image made with Sony a7+Metabones Adaptor+Kenko 36mm Extension Tube+EF 50mm f/1.4 lens ... the second image is just the set up.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

Here is the image made with Sony a7+Metabones Adaptor+Kenko 36mm Extension Tube+EF 40mm f/2.8 lens ... the second image is just the set up.


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## bholliman (Jan 24, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Sold my Nikon D7100 & 18-300 today morning and ordered the Sony a7 with the kit lens (28-70mm) a few minutes ago ... will try to get the metabones EOS adapter when it becomes available. I had stopped buying sony products a very long time ago due to abandoned product lines ... hope they keep to their word this time and are committed to the FF mirrorless lens line up without any rude shocks.



Rienzphotoz - Looks like you have had the a7 for over a month now, do you recommend it? How does image quality, AF and the overall user experience compare with you Canon and Nikon DSLR's?


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## stochasticmotions (Jan 24, 2014)

Here is a shot I took a few weeks ago using A7r with metabones adapter, 70-300L at ISO 1600 hand held on a rather dark, very cold (almost -30) day. Fun subject since we don't get Mandarin ducks on the north shore of Lake Ontario very often 







Also one from last week this one using the canon 100-400L at 400 ISO also handheld but only at -10 degrees so I was only shaking a little.





So far everything works very well, autofocus is very slow as expected but focus peaking works amazingly well (at least with the 70-300, the 100-400 I have always found changes focus with way too small of a movement to work for me). Can't wait to get out in something other than cold grey, white and beige to play with it with more wide angle lenses.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

bholliman said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Sold my Nikon D7100 & 18-300 today morning and ordered the Sony a7 with the kit lens (28-70mm) a few minutes ago ... will try to get the metabones EOS adapter when it becomes available. I had stopped buying sony products a very long time ago due to abandoned product lines ... hope they keep to their word this time and are committed to the FF mirrorless lens line up without any rude shocks.
> ...


Hi bholliman ... for me the Sony a7 is a compliment to my existing Canon & Nikon gear, not a replacement. For me photography is a fun hobby, so I just eyeball the images that my gear is able to produce in real normal situations rather than get into reading test charts and stuff ... so take my opinion with a pinch of salt. 
*1.* Image quality is on par with 5D MK III 
*2.* AF is definitely not as fast as 5D MK III
*3.* Great Wifi connectivity with almost no lag between the photo/video on cam and phone.
*4.* I can use all my current Canon, Tamron & Sigma lens on a7 (using a small adapter) with Auto Focus (except for 50 f/1.4 which does not AF with the metabones adapter).
*5.* Lot more fun than the 5D MK III, bcoz it is light weight and the apps make complex editing easy and fun.
Let me elaborate a bit with an example on the last part ... I like timelapse, but with 5D MK III I had to take the photos, import to LR5, edit, then take to another software to complete the timelapse and export/publish it ... but with the a7 the timelapse app does everything for me i.e. taking photos to editing and converting them into a timelapse video, so I don't need to do a lot work for editing and still get some great timelapse footage ready to be shared with my family and friends.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

stochasticmotions said:


> Here is a shot I took a few weeks ago using A7r with metabones adapter, 70-300L at ISO 1600 hand held on a rather dark, very cold (almost -30) day. Fun subject since we don't get Mandarin ducks on the north shore of Lake Ontario very often
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Fantastic photo ... looks just as good (if not better) as a photo taken with a Canon camera and the 70-300 lens.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 24, 2014)

Forgot to mention, the EF 50 f/1.4 does not AF on Sony a7+metabones adapter ... but when I mounted the Kenko Extension tubes on Sony a7+metabones adapter+50 f/1.4, the lens actually auto focused ... I am not sure what happened there but the Kenko extension tube is doing something to this combo and enabling it to auto focus ... thought some of you might be interested to know and those of you who have that combo, might want to give it a try and share your feedback. Cheers.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 26, 2014)

Here is something I learned about this camera. One of its weaknesses (no battery charger included in the purchase) could be one of its strengths ... I carry my camera every day to office and I work for about 10 hours a day ... obviously I can't go around leaving my day job to just photograph, so most of the time my camera just sits there on my desk ... today I just plugged it in to my office PC to check how fast it charges and was surprised to find that to fully charge the battery from 0 to 100% takes 200 minutes ... which is significantly faster than the supplied power adapter. Of course a dedicated charger, which I purchased separately, is even faster, but it is still nice to have this option to just charge it with a generic cable connected to the PC ... I always have a USB cable readily available in the office and the a7 charges without taking up any "shooting time" ... it may not make sense to many people, but if you are like me who carries the camera everyday to your day job, this is very useful.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 26, 2014)

Another review and a video for Sony a7R+Sony NEX 10-18mm f/4 lens with sample photos (I'm getting more and more tempted by this lens)
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2013/12/30/sony-nex-enses-on-the-sony-a7r/
Sony NEX Lenses on the Sony A7r


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## bholliman (Jan 26, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> for me the Sony a7 is a compliment to my existing Canon & Nikon gear, not a replacement. For me photography is a fun hobby, so I just eyeball the images that my gear is able to produce in real normal situations rather than get into reading test charts and stuff ... so take my opinion with a pinch of salt.



Thanks! 

I never considered the Sony software options, the timelapse ap sounds pretty cool.


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## HankMD (Jan 26, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> OK, back to sample images made with Sony a7 ... this one is made from a moving car at 28mm, f/4, ISO 3200, 1/160 sec.


Stunningly good image!


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 29, 2014)

bholliman said:


> I never considered the Sony software options, the timelapse ap sounds pretty cool.


Here is one I made today morning ... actually I didn't, the camera did  ... all I did was put the camera on my office windowsill, lens tilted upwards with the help of a lid (of a Jam bottle), went into the menu selected "Sunrise Timelapse" from the application list and let the camera do its thing ... this is unedited footage, straight from the camera (other then whatever youtube does to it while uploading) ... did not use any PP or editing software (I pulled out the SDXC memory card from the Sony a7, inserted it in the laptop and uploaded it to youtube).
By the way, this is a dry and dusty desert country, so we don't get any magnificent sunrises that one gets to see in most countries ... in fact what you see in this video is one of the very few good days that we have in a year.
Short Timelapse with Sony a7+28 70 f:4 lens Straight out of the Camera


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## sdsr (Feb 4, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Forgot to mention, the EF 50 f/1.4 does not AF on Sony a7+metabones adapter ... but when I mounted the Kenko Extension tubes on Sony a7+metabones adapter+50 f/1.4, the lens actually auto focused ... I am not sure what happened there but the Kenko extension tube is doing something to this combo and enabling it to auto focus ... thought some of you might be interested to know and those of you who have that combo, might want to give it a try and share your feedback. Cheers.



Very interested to know - I've not used extension tubes before, but I'm rather tempted now. The only native A7 lens I have is the kit lens, which I don't use because it doesn't do justice to the A7s sensors (the Canon 24-105L is plainly better); I've been using Canon EFs and a few legacy primes from various companies (I've become so accustomed to the slow focus of Canon lenses on A7s that it's rather a shock to revert to using them on FF Canon bodies (or using Olympus my OM-D, for that matter)).

One might ask - why bother at all if they focus faster on Canon bodies? For me, it's not about the weight difference, it's because I'm pretty sure the lenses make images that look better, even though an adapter is involved, than they do on a Canon FF body. Whether this is because of the sensor, metering, software, the fact that focusing is done directly via the sensor rather than a convoluted system of mirrors, or some combination of these factors, I'm not sure, but (at least when pixel peeping) the images seem a bit sharper, have a bit more "pop", and, of course, the files have better dynamic range (not just in terms of lifting shadows but in making shadows that don't go as dark as fast in the first place - or is that a metering thing?). 

I liked the results so much with the A7 that I'm currently trying an A7r; the detail obtainable via even a cheap prime such as the 85mm 1.8 is pretty amazing on that sensor - it's nice to see that such a relatively elderly lens can do so well (the Sony kit lens doesn't come close), but now I want to try the Sony/Zeiss 55 1.8 - hard to imagine it would be much better. I haven't encountered the lens-slap-vibration problem yet (though I've not had a chance to scrutinize the photos I've taken on it with the 24-105; and today I'm trying the 70-200 f4 IS, so we'll see...), but for now I'm inclined to keep it instead of the A7.

By the way, have any A7 users reading this encountered the sensor reflection problem (which doesn't seem to affect that A7r)? See here:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52986111

I've not noticed that (probably because I use wider apertures at night), but I have noticed rather large halos around some bright lights that I'm pretty sure I don't get from Canon sensors.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Feb 4, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> bholliman said:
> 
> 
> > I never considered the Sony software options, the timelapse ap sounds pretty cool.
> ...



That is very, very cool to be able to do that in camera. I'm impressed.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 5, 2014)

Here are a couple of images I had posted on an another thread ... thought this might help those who are considering this camera+the metabones adapter to use their EF lenses ... basically showing the size advantage for certain situations ... I removed the lens cap & the B+W XS-Pro filter to show how small size of the metabones adapter.


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## MichaelHodges (Feb 5, 2014)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > bholliman said:
> ...




Very cool.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 5, 2014)

Here are some images comparing the size difference between Sony a7 & 5D MK III and EOS-M. Some of the images look a bit wonky because of the barrel distortion caused by my mobile phone camera.
The first few images are to establish the size difference (or the lack thereof) of the EF-EF-M adapter for the Canon EOS camera & the Metabones adapter for the Sony a7 camera. 
As you can see the Canon EF-EFM adapter is a tiny bit bigger than the Metabones adapter


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 5, 2014)

Now for the size comparison of EOS-M (a crop sensor camera) with a7 (a full frame camera) ... if you are wondering what is the round black thing behind the EOS-M, it is a lens cap I had used to prop the EOS-M up, coz the longer tripod mount was causing it to fall backwards.


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## Dylan777 (Feb 5, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Now for the size comparison of EOS-M (a crop sensor camera) with a7 (a full frame camera)



Thanks for sharing Rienzphotoz, 

This is good for those interested in A7 series. I completely forgot that I have EOS-M + 22mm pancake.

My 2 cents: the adapters kill the compactness of these cameras :-\


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 5, 2014)

... and finally 5D MK III and a7 ... but the first image is of the EF 50mm f/1.4 & EF 40mm pancake lens with the Metabones EF adapter ... this is to show that when the Canon EF 40mm pancake lens is mounted on a Metabones adapter, it is almost similar in size to EF 50mm f/1.4 lens (with the EF 50mm being a tiny bit bigger ... because I did not align the 2 lenses properly, the 50mm looks a tiny bit bigger than it actually is)... my idea was to basically show 2 "similarly sized" lenses mounted on 5D MK III and a7. Sorry about the bad barrel distortion ... I blame the camera in my mobile phone ;D
Also, one thing to remember here is that while you can "dismantle" this Sony setup (shown here) into 3 small parts for space saving storage (while travelling with it as hand luggage in flights), my 5D MK III takes up a lot more space. Once again, this is not a Canon bashing thingy, coz I like my 5D MK III and will never get rid of it (until the 5D MK IV is released) ... this is only to show that even though we are "alleged Canon fanboys", we can still play with other cool & awesome cameras from the other manufacturers.
Peace


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 5, 2014)

Couple more with slightly bigger f/2.8 lenses
The 5D MK III is mounted with Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens and the a7 is mounted with Metabone adapter + EF 16-35 f/2.8 L II lens (with AF functionality).
The first image is only to show that both the lenses are similar in size.
Once again, the wonky shots are due to my mobile phone camera.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 5, 2014)

MichaelHodges said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


Thanks for the kind words Dustin and Michael ... here is another one made with the same set up (a7 on the windowsill with the lens slightly tilted with the help of a jamp bottle cap ... 5 seconds into the vid you can see that the camera slipped off the lid a little) ... and uploaded directly from SDXC card to youtube.
Timelapse with Sony a7 & Kit Lens


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 10, 2014)

Just got the FE ZEISS 24-70 f/4 OSS lens ... didn't get a chance to take it for a "spin" but here are a few images of how the lens looks like


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 10, 2014)

couple more ... sorry for the image distortion, these images are made with a mobile phone


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## Dylan777 (Feb 10, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Just got the FE ZEISS 24-70 f/4 OSS lens ... didn't get a chance to take it for a "spin" but here are a few images of how the lens looks like



Compared to the kit lens, it seems like a bit thinner & a bit longer :

Pls let us know how you like it? from handling to IQ


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 10, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I haven't made any worthwhile photos with it yet, but the build quality is not at all appealing ... my EF 50 f/1.4 has better build quality than this "ZEISS" 24-70 f/4 lens ... the build quality of this lens is a bit of a let down for me ... but I suppose they had to keep the weight down and thus the feeling of cheaper build quality :-\ ... or am I just unfairly comparing it with Canon L lenses :-\ ... but again, to me, it does not even seem to match even the build quality of my EF-M 18-55 IS STM.
I'll shoot some images in the morning and see how it performs optically.


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## Dylan777 (Feb 10, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



O-no :-\

I hope you can return it if thing doesn't work out. As an owner of 50mm f1.4, I know the build quality of this lens(not that great).

The Zeiss FE 55mm is solid - from build quality to IQ.

Should I cancel my pre-order?


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 10, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Dylan777 said:
> ...


I am not going to return the FE 24-70 f/4, coz from the random shots I did today, the image quality is definitely a lot better than the kit lens ... its just that the build quality that is bugging me ... maybe its just me, so don't go by my word. 
But I did ask my eldest son to hold both the lenses in his hand and asked him about which he thinks has better build quality ... I did the same thing with my wife ... both of them (son & wife) felt the EF-M has slightly better build quality. 
Maybe its because of the shiny/slippery plastic used for this lens ... don't go by my word ... you may want to actually hold it in your hands at your local store, and then make up your mind. Personally, as far as build quality is concerned, I was expecting a lot more from a lens that cost me $1047 :-\


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 10, 2014)

I just found this review on FE ZEISS 24-70 f/4 lens ... maybe you might find it useful, before you buy this lens. http://phillipreeve.net/blog/rolling-review-carl-zeiss-vario-tessar-t-fe-424-70-za/

Personally, I feel it should be priced around $750-$800


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## tomscott (Feb 10, 2014)

At £1049 in the UK thats a hell of a lot for a F4 zoom… It better be good, makes the camera seem pretty pointless its huge!!


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 10, 2014)

tomscott said:


> At £1049 in the UK thats a hell of a lot for a F4 zoom… It better be good, makes the camera seem pretty pointless its huge!!


I agree that its quite pricey ... to me it feels like a lens worth $800 max ... but the lens is not huge, maybe its the way I've photographed it with my mobile phone that is making it look big ... on my a7 it looks well balanced and complements well with the camera body ... personally I would have preferred a third of an inch shorter.


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## Dylan777 (Feb 10, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> I just found this review on FE ZEISS 24-70 f/4 lens ... maybe you might find it useful, before you buy this lens. http://phillipreeve.net/blog/rolling-review-carl-zeiss-vario-tessar-t-fe-424-70-za/
> 
> Personally, I feel it should be priced around $750-$800



It's nice to have feedbacks from hand-on user 

I read some reviews, most of them didn't give positive feedbacks as much as FE 35mm & 55mm. Looking at your photos, I feel this might be a bit bulky for this system already(i have shot with kit lens).

I'll look forward to see more FE primes in wider end. I heard Sony/Zeiss got some issues with this lens and they delay the shipment in US to late Feb. Not sure is a design issue or just some minor ones. 

I don't mind spending $1100 to $1300 - as long the lens can deliver high IQ.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> I don't mind spending $1100 to $1300 - as long the lens can deliver high IQ.


Unfortunately, the FE 24-70 f/4 is not worth spending that much  ... I think you'd be better served with the FE 35mm f/2.8
As I said earlier, it is better than the 28-70 kits lens, but not so much that one would want to spend $1047 (in USA, it costs $1198). 
Sometime in the near future I may get the Canon EF 24 f/2.8 IS, EF 35 f/2 IS and use them with the metabones adapter ... that way I get lenses that can be used on both the systems and still get Image Stabilization ... also I've seen some images of people using those lenses on the a7 and am pretty much convinced.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

These are the first few photos I've made while testing the FE ZEISS 24-70 f/4 OSS lens (mounted on Sony a7) ... today as usual is a dusty day here ... but one of my neighbors grew this sunflower in front of the house (this is very unusual for this part of the world as you only see them during flower exhibitions and not in anyones house as they do not survive in this dry/hot weather) ... anyway with not so nice weather, I had to make do with this beautiful sunflower. 
*All the images* are shot as *jpg* at *70mm* and *handheld* and in slightly windy condition ... I've posted 16 of the same images but shot at different apertures (starting from f/4 to f/22). 
The first two here are at f/4 (1/500sec, ISO 100) & f/4.5 (1/400sec, ISO 100)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/5.0 (1/320sec, ISO 100) and f/5.6 (1/250sec, ISO 100)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/6.3 (1/200sec, ISO 100) and f/7.1 (1/200sec, ISO 100)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/8.0 (1/125sec, ISO 100) and f/9.0 (1/125sec, ISO 100)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/10 (1/100sec, ISO 100) and f/11 (1/80sec, ISO 125)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/13 (1/80sec, ISO 125) and f/14 (1/80sec, ISO 200)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/16 (1/80sec, ISO 250) and f/18 (1/80sec, ISO 320)


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

these are same as above but at f/20 (1/80sec, ISO 400) and f/22 (1/80sec, ISO 500)


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## J.R. (Feb 11, 2014)

Reinz ... Not to sound like an ass but ... what are you trying to prove here?

I'm interested in the A7 + a kit/prime lens and have the special luxury of getting approx 20% discount on almost all Sony products so I'm wondering whether it is worth the plunge. Somehow I feel that a 55mmm prime + a A7 will be a great tool while on my travel. 

I am however, NOT AT ALL interested in using one with an adapter. For me, the only point in the Sony is the smaller form factor that I can use while I'm traveling. For anything that requires a Canon lens, I'll happily use my DSLR.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

J.R. said:


> Reinz ... Not to sound like an ass but ... what are you trying to prove here?
> 
> I'm interested in the A7 + a kit/prime lens and have the special luxury of getting approx 20% discount on almost all Sony products so I'm wondering whether it is worth the plunge. Somehow I feel that a 55mmm prime + a A7 will be a great tool while on my travel.
> 
> I am however, NOT AT ALL interested in using one with an adapter. For me, the only point in the Sony is the smaller form factor that I can use while I'm traveling. For anything that requires a Canon lens, I'll happily use my DSLR.


Hi J.R, actually, I'm not trying to prove anything here ... I just got the FE ZEISS 24-70 f/4 lens, and I wanted to take it out for a spin, but as I mentioned earlier, the weather sucks big time today (I'll have to invite you to Qatar to see what the weather is like here), so the only interesting thing I could find was this sunflower (which as I mentioned is very unusual in this part of the world) ... anyway, so I decided why not shoot the flower at all apertures of this new lens, just to see/show how it looks ... nothing more and its not meant to be a test or anything.
Yeah, I saw the 20% discount thing ... pretty cool. 
I did not go for the FE ZEISS 55 f/1.8 and got the Metabones adapter, because:
1. I'm not into prime lenses (but with the a7, I'm beginning to appreciate small prime lenses)
2. FE 55 f/1.8 is not small, in comparison to the f/4 zoom (55 f/1.8=70.5mm vs 24-70 f/4= 94.5mm)
3. Metabones adapter turns my a7 into a second/back-up FF camera body for my Canon lenses
4. The adapter also allows me to use EF 40mm & EF 50mm on a7 and still keep the small form factor ... I'm now thinking of getting the EF 28mm f/1.8 or 24 f/2.8 IS & 35 f/2 IS ... also considering the Voigtlander 15mm and/or 20mm, due to their very compact size ... if I do get them, I'll have the very slim Photodiox adapter permanently mounted on them.


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## Dylan777 (Feb 11, 2014)

J.R. said:


> Reinz ... Not to sound like an ass but ... what are you trying to prove here?
> 
> I'm interested in the A7 + a kit/prime lens and have the special luxury of getting approx 20% discount on almost all Sony products so I'm wondering whether it is worth the plunge. Somehow I feel that a 55mmm prime + a A7 will be a great tool while on my travel.
> 
> I am however, NOT AT ALL interested in using one with an adapter. For me, the only point in the Sony is the smaller form factor that I can use while I'm traveling. For anything that requires a Canon lens, I'll happily use my DSLR.



Unless you plan to shoot sports with A7 ;D, Otherwise, I highly recommend the A7R. Side by side, I compared the AF speed between A7 or R version @ local sony store, I didn't see much diff. 

The Zeiss 55mmm is very friendly to use, in term of handling. It's smaller than the kit lens. However, if you are 35mm type of guy, then Zeiss FE 35mm has the best fit in A7 series - so far. 

To give an ideal how Zeiss 55mm + A7r combo looks like:
1. Compared to 5D III + 24-70 II
2. Compared to 5D III + 40mm pancake


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## jrista (Feb 11, 2014)

@Rienz: I'm curious about the JPEG quality. You say these are strait out of camera JPEGs? When you move into the green backgrounds, the posterization and artifacting is really bad. Really quite bad, especially at the lower ISO settings. Any chance you could take a RAW and save it at maximum quality JPEG?


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## Dylan777 (Feb 11, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> these are same as above but at f/13 (1/80sec, ISO 125) and f/14 (1/80sec, ISO 200)



Thanks Rienzphotoz for sharing.

I'm going to take your advice on Sony e-mount 10-18mm. I'll keep you posted


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

jrista said:


> @Rienz: I'm curious about the JPEG quality. You say these are strait out of camera JPEGs? When you move into the green backgrounds, the posterization and artifacting is really bad. Really quite bad, especially at the lower ISO settings. Any chance you could take a RAW and save it at maximum quality JPEG?


Hi Jon,
Unfortunately, I only shot them in JPG (as I had forgotten to change it back to RAW, after my recent timelapse session with the camera) ... also they are not straight out of the camera, I used LR 5.3 to add a bit of vibrance and saturation (with the brush tool), only to the flower ... as well as reduce the files sizes for posting here ... would the file size conversion cause the posterization and artifacting to the background? I'm not an accomplished photographer like you, so user error cannot be ruled out ... but I'll upload the full size JPGs (straight out of the camera) to dropbox or my Smugmug account and post the link, for your scrutiny ... but no harsh comments on user error please, I can't take it ;D (just kidding, any comments on how I could improve the image, is always welcome).


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 11, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > these are same as above but at f/13 (1/80sec, ISO 125) and f/14 (1/80sec, ISO 200)
> ...


Cool! ...let me know your feedback, when you get it ... I'll be getting it before 6th March (hopefully) ... if I get it before you, I'll give you my feedback.


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## jrista (Feb 11, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> jrista said:
> 
> 
> > @Rienz: I'm curious about the JPEG quality. You say these are strait out of camera JPEGs? When you move into the green backgrounds, the posterization and artifacting is really bad. Really quite bad, especially at the lower ISO settings. Any chance you could take a RAW and save it at maximum quality JPEG?
> ...



I don't need to scrutinize if you resaved them with a higher compression ratio. That's what did it. Resaving any jpeg, even at high quality, has a pretty severely detrimental effect, especially with poserization. I thought the images were strait out of camera JPEGs, which is why I was surprised by the amount of posterization in the OOF background.


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## sdsr (Feb 11, 2014)

jrista said:


> @Rienz: I'm curious about the JPEG quality. You say these are strait out of camera JPEGs? When you move into the green backgrounds, the posterization and artifacting is really bad. Really quite bad, especially at the lower ISO settings. Any chance you could take a RAW and save it at maximum quality JPEG?



You can read more about that problem here:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-a7/13

I don't use JPEGs, so for me that's not an issue. What does bug me - because I like taking urban photos at night - is a sensor flare/reflection problem, some of which is discussed in this thread:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52986111

I don't think I ever noticed that particular problem, presumably because I never shot slower than f4 at night (but perhaps I should scrutinize my images more closely; I won't be taking more photos with it because I returned it), but I did notice large halos around just about any significant point of light - headlights, streetlamps, etc. - regardless of JPEG or RAW and regardless of whether I was using a native lens or, say, a Canon. I have never seen such halos via the A7r I've been playing with for a couple of weeks. (If I decide to keep either of them, it will be the A7r, whose main problem for me is the shutter vibration, which is easy enough to avoid - shoot slower than 1/100 or faster more than 1/125).

By the way, in case anyone reading this who cares and doesn't know: in the US at least you can take $200 each off the price of up to three of Sony's native lenses for the next couple of weeks or so if you buy them with an A7/r, and they're almost giving away a Sony flash that normally costs c. $500. The two primes are certainly worth it....


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## sdsr (Feb 11, 2014)

J.R. said:


> Reinz ... Not to sound like an ass but ... what are you trying to prove here?
> 
> I'm interested in the A7 + a kit/prime lens and have the special luxury of getting approx 20% discount on almost all Sony products so I'm wondering whether it is worth the plunge. Somehow I feel that a 55mmm prime + a A7 will be a great tool while on my travel.
> 
> I am however, NOT AT ALL interested in using one with an adapter. For me, the only point in the Sony is the smaller form factor that I can use while I'm traveling. For anything that requires a Canon lens, I'll happily use my DSLR.



I get not wanting to attach a Canon zoom, but it's perhaps worth pointing out that you retain a small form factor if you attach one of the smaller Canon primes (I've used the 40mm pancake and 85mm 1.8). Of course, focusing may not be fast enough....


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

sdsr said:


> I get not wanting to attach a Canon zoom, but it's perhaps worth pointing out that you retain a small form factor if you attach one of the smaller Canon primes (I've used the 40mm pancake and 85mm 1.8). Of course, focusing may not be fast enough....


I agree! ... I have been using it with 40mm, 50mm & 85mm ... I find focusing with 'foucs peaking' to be a lot more accurate and faster. Sometime in the near future, I do plan on adding the EF 24 IS, 28 f/1.8 and 35mm IS lenses.


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## J.R. (Feb 12, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> sdsr said:
> 
> 
> > I get not wanting to attach a Canon zoom, but it's perhaps worth pointing out that you retain a small form factor if you attach one of the smaller Canon primes (I've used the 40mm pancake and 85mm 1.8). Of course, focusing may not be fast enough....
> ...



Thanks for the tip. The only lens available as a kit lens in India is the 28-70 . The zeiss 55mm f/1.8 is almost 2/3rd of the Canon 50L price  while the other lenses are coming soon  

Scrambled brain ???


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

J.R. said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > sdsr said:
> ...


You may want to check out Amazon Japan (see the link below) ... they've got some awesome low prices (due to the weak Japanese Yen) ... I got my FE 24-70 f/4 from Amazon Japan ... you'd obviously have to work out your shipping and customs charges ... I didn't have to pay any shipping or customs charges, as my ex-boss brought it with him from Japan. Anyway, here is the weblink:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Sony+FE+24-70


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

I just saw this video, over at Sonyalpharumors and I'm hooked ... I'll be ordering the a6000 soon along with the 10-18mm f/4 OSS lens ... my Canon G1 X is going on sale soon to make way for the a6000+10-18 lens
Sony a6000 Review and AF Testing First Look


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## xps (Feb 13, 2014)

*Alpha 7 R Review*

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-a7r


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 14, 2014)

*Re: Alpha 7 R Review*



xps said:


> http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-a7r


Good one ... thanks for sharing


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 21, 2014)

Sony released this interesting bluetooth mic ... I think it also works with the a7/a7R
According to http://store.sony.com/microphone-transmitter--zid27-ECMW1M/cat-27-catid-All-Camcorders-Accessories;pgid=YaVekzJizz1SRpzpWbJT83BP00000kmVtP9f?_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26SearchTerm%3DECM-W1M 
... this is what it can do:
"Special moments right at the source with this Bluetooth® wireless microphone. Not only can you record crisp, clear sound up to 300 feet away, but you can also enjoy two way communications between you and your subject. This unique feature enables you to give your subject direction while capturing only their voice, or you can chose to capture both their voice and yours while filming".


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## drjlo (Mar 9, 2014)

Sony A7R with FE55mm




DSC00080ps by drjlo1, on Flickr


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 9, 2014)

drjlo said:


> Sony A7R with FE55mm
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Impressive details for f/2.2 ... btw, what is the black ball thingy in the sky?


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## drjlo (Mar 9, 2014)

It's "New Homes" Sale balloon 
I so wish this sensor was inside my 5D III.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 9, 2014)

why couldn't that shot have been taken with a 5Dmk3?


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 9, 2014)

drjlo said:


> It's "New Homes" Sale baloon
> I so wish this sensor was inside my 5D III.


I think its a good thing that this Sony sensor is not in the 5D MK III ... the Nikon/Sony cameras (with 24 or 36MP 
Sony sensors) that I own(ed) and/or tried, do not have the same versatility, speed and accuracy of AF like the 5D MKIII ... from my limited experience I feel Sony sensors are "specialty" sensors, that are good for great image quality & DR but they are not good "all rounders".


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## drjlo (Mar 9, 2014)

Woke up this morning with this sunrise, so I took a shot with Sony A7R with FE55 and 5D III and 24-70 f/2.8 II both at around 55 mm and at f/3.2 The 24-70 is a bit disadvantaged as it's barely stopped down, and the auto white balance of both cameras yielded very different WB, so I did my best to match WB. 




Sony A7R, FE55mm by drjlo1, on Flickr




5D III white balance match by drjlo1, on Flickr


For the curious, this is how 5D III WB looked before matching. Recalling what my own eyes saw, I would say the sky looked like somewhere between Sony and Canon but more towards Canon.




Canon 5DIII WB, exposure match by drjlo1, on Flickr


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 10, 2014)

drjlo said:


> Woke up this morning with this sunrise, so I took a shot with Sony A7R with FE55 and 5D III and 24-70 f/2.8 II both at around 55 mm and at f/3.2 The 24-70 is a bit disadvantaged as it's barely stopped down, and the auto white balance of both cameras yielded very different WB, so I did my best to match WB.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice images ... they look very similar, except the Sony looks a a tiny bit more saturated/underexposed maybe ... but probably that has something to do with capturing (or not capturing) the small water body below? ... actually, not sure I can't really tell the difference, but I like the images.


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## Neutral (Mar 14, 2014)

Just got my a7R, very pleased with the convenient controls, very fast AF - expected that it would slower
Did some tests with ZEISS 55 1.8 and below are some samples - one full image- small size, the other 100% crop with 100% Jpeg quality, all handheld
Very good addition as walk around camera to 1Dx


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## Neutral (Mar 14, 2014)

Couple of more samples.
All shots are processed in Phase One Capture One with default setting, only shot with flowers has highlights slider set to 5 % to show more texture on white flowers
I tried a7R with Lightroom 5.3, DXOOptics Pro 9.1 and Capture One and the last gives more pleasant results for a7R files compared to DXO and Light room.
DXO also very good - with default settings output looks better then LR5.3
May be this is personal perception but to my eye C1 do much better rendering for a7R raw files than LR5.3
Now waiting Metabone adapter to test it with Canon TSE 17 glass


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## Albi86 (Mar 16, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> drjlo said:
> 
> 
> > It's "New Homes" Sale baloon
> ...



Agreed.

Recipe for the perfect camera: take a 5DIII, add the a7 24 MP sensor with the BionZ processor and the VF of the D600/800. Done.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 16, 2014)

Albi86 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > drjlo said:
> ...


The a6000 (although APSC sensor) seems to fit your description ... that's why I eagerly look forward to getting the a6000 ... who knows maybe one day we will see an a6000 incarnation in a full frame camera.


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## Albi86 (Mar 16, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Albi86 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



The EVF is not as good as that in the a7/r - which is good, but still improvable. I'm OK with either a very good EVF or OVF. The OVF in Nikon cameras imho is much better than in Canons.

I also like the form factor of a reflex. It would be nice if it was mirrorless and with the shape/form-factor of the RX10.


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## drjlo (Mar 17, 2014)

Albi86 said:


> The EVF is not as good as that in the a7/r - which is good, but still improvable. I'm OK with either a very good EVF or OVF.



I think tolerance for EVF's is a very person-dependent thing. I find even A7R's EVF to be intolerable, and my dislike is not due to the lag or refresh rate but color. I found the EVF color to be too lumpy, warm, saturated, and cartoonish. There is a temperature adjustment; however, when I adjusted it cooler for some parts of the frame, other objects then became too cool, and all this changed with slight change in available light/type of light, being worst indoors in evening under mixed light. I would say dump the EVF and lower the price, but the problem is the rear LCD is not viewable in sunlight


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 17, 2014)

drjlo said:


> Albi86 said:
> 
> 
> > The EVF is not as good as that in the a7/r - which is good, but still improvable. I'm OK with either a very good EVF or OVF.
> ...


Not only is the LCD not viewable in sunlight, sometimes when I turn off the camera (a7), the LCD screen still stays on for a few more seconds ... it bugs the hell out of me, but the excellent image quality from the camera lets me tolerate the lag and the issue of slow start-up and turn-off.


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## drjlo (Mar 30, 2014)

Unfortunately, The Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 OSS lens has received disappointing reviews at both photozone and SLRgear.

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/24-70mm-fe-zeiss-gets-tested-by-photozone-and-slrgear-doesnt-meet-the-expectations-from-the-reviewers/


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 30, 2014)

drjlo said:


> Unfortunately, The Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 OSS lens has received disappointing reviews at both photozone and SLRgear.
> 
> http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/24-70mm-fe-zeiss-gets-tested-by-photozone-and-slrgear-doesnt-meet-the-expectations-from-the-reviewers/


I read those reviews and that's pretty much what I feel about the FE 24-70 f/4 lens ... it is a good lens to have for about $700 (maybe $800 max, but no more) but for close to $1200 it is just not worth it, one might as well stick with the kit lens.


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## Albi86 (Mar 30, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> drjlo said:
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately, The Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 OSS lens has received disappointing reviews at both photozone and SLRgear.
> ...



In fact I've read the kit lens is actually quite good for a "kit lens". Charging this premium for the Zeiss certainly makes people expect quite a bit more. 

However, to my knowledge this is not a "Zeiss" lens. They only provide QC to Sony. In fact some new real Zeiss ZFE (or whatever they will be called) primes should be announced at the next Photokina.


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## drjlo (Mar 30, 2014)

Albi86 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > drjlo said:
> ...



Is the FE 50 mm f/1.8 then not a real "Zeiss" lens, either? Pretty darn good if it's a Sony with only Zeiss QC.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 31, 2014)

Albi86 said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > drjlo said:
> ...


The optics of FE 24-70 f/4 are very much from ZEISS made by ZEISS, including the anti-reflective coating ... its just that the lens isn't all that good for the money they are charging, because of which some people speculate that ZEISS "only provide QC to Sony".


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 31, 2014)

drjlo said:


> Albi86 said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


The optics for all E mount lenses branded with ZEISS logo, are very much made by ZEISS ... there are some silly rumors (that ZEISS only provides QC to Sony), to justify the not so good lenses like the FE 24-70 f/4 ... which unfortunately is my very first "ZEISS" lens I ever bought


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## Albi86 (Apr 2, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> The optics of FE 24-70 f/4 are very much from ZEISS made by ZEISS, including the anti-reflective coating ... its just that the lens isn't all that good for the money they are charging, because of which some people speculate that ZEISS "only provide QC to Sony".



It's a bit more than a speculation.

I did some research, and Zeiss/Sony lenses are indeed designed by Zeiss, but in close collaboration with Sony, which is then the sole responsible for production and distribution. This means that Zeiss engineers are restricted to what Sony is able or willing to produce. 

In fact it's not a contradiction that Zeiss will announce some manual focus primes for the FE mount. Those will be 100% Zeiss lenses like the ZE or ZF primes.


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