Moving from Canon 6D MkII to the Sony a7R III

[mollyc]

Have you looked at any of the Fuji offerings? I say this only because your primary objective is weight/size. Full frame mirrorless is often not that much smaller than full frame dSLR because typically the lenses are over engineered and end up adding back bulk that is lost in the body. Although maybe Sony doesn't suffer this fate since the mount is so small. At any rate, a lot of street shooters love Fuji bodies. And I don't mean the super hyped X100V, but one of their ILC bodies.

I'll be honest and say I don't know a ton about Sony, but I have read complaints on multiple boards over the years that Sony generally "forces" you to upgrade bodies rather than adding things in via firmware to existing bodies. Nikon and Fuji are great with trickle down firmware updates, to the extent that older hardware can handle it.

Realistically for Nikon you'd be looking at the Z8 or the new Zf. However, Nikon lenses, while best in class, aren't small, so likely not the way you want to go.

But most people love their Sonys so I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you end up with.

 

[Citysnaps]

Have you looked at any of the Fuji offerings?

I haven't, but will. Thanks!

 

[mollyc]

I haven't, but will. Thanks!

I forgot to finish my thought. Fuji is smaller because it’s an ASP-C sized sensor, and this also helps to keep lens size down overall.

 

[Citysnaps]

I forgot to finish my thought. Fuji is smaller because it’s an ASP-C sized sensor, and this also helps to keep lens size down overall.

Hah! I haven't used my Fuji XT-1 in so long (around 8 years) that I forgot it's APS-C. Need to think about that some more - APS-C vs FF (which I'm more used to and have always used for past projects) and the tradeoffs.

 

[Clix Pix]

My post on this thread from 2 years ago:


Seems "next year" has turned into two years. I haven't purchased a new camera or lens since around 2010, and am now noodling a new photography project and considering a few Sony options for bodies and lenses.

The possibilities I'm considering include a Sony a7R V, a7CR, and an a7C II. Lens would be either a Sony 35mm f/1.4 or a 35mm f/1.8. That's a wide range of capabilities, size/weight, and cost.

Since there seems to be a lot of Sony owners here, was wondering if people might share their experiences with their Sony gear - both what you like and (especially) what you don't like.

Thanks!

Sony owner here! I have three FF Sony camera bodies: the A7R V, the A1, and the A7C. I bought the A7C for its smaller, compact size in anticipation of doing some traveling, which unfortunately never happened. While I like the A7C it lacks a couple of things which are important to me: the front dial and a joystick, and the EVF is much smaller and in a different position than I'm accustomed to using with the other two cameras. Anyway, when the A7C II and the A7CR were announced, I sat up and took notice. While I like that they finally have put the front dial in the body and also have increased the megapixels in the A7CR and made other beneficial changes, I was disappointed to see that there is still no joystick. However, it's not all that difficult to set the focus by touch, of course.

I haven't gotten around to going to a camera shop to actually look at and handle the A7CR or A7C II yet, but one of these days I will....... Or I may simply trade in the A7C on a lens instead, as rumor has it that Sony will be launching something big and special in early November, and I'm hoping it's either the 300mm f/2.8 or the 85mm f/1.2....... I would get more use out of either of those than I would either the A7CR or A7C II, since I use both of my other cameras all the time and rarely remember to take the A7C out for a spin. I like the A7C for its compact size and weight, but it isn't really all that much smaller than the A7R V or A1.

Lenses: I have both the 35mm f/1.4 GM and the 35mm f/1.8 (the latter I bought early on when starting out with Sony). They're both excellent lenses, but especially the 35mm f/1.4 GM. It is worth the extra money and the extra weight. That 35mm f/1.8, though, is a darned good little lens, too, and a real bargain. The image quality in the 35mm f/1.4 GM is truly outstanding, and that can make a difference in the long run. It is definitely a versatile lens, close-focuses quite nicely when desired, and would be ideal for street shooting as well as landscapes and other scenes.

Definitely it makes sense to put a high-quality lens on the A7R V. That camera body is very capable and really shines when there's a GM lens mounted on it.

The A7R V features Sony's current menu so many of the complaints people had in the past are moot now, and also the method for installing new firmware has been significantly improved, much to Mac users' relief. Now we can install the update on a memory card first and then simply insert it into the camera to run the update. In earlier bodies, the process was a bit more complicated and there were issues for Mac users.

Overall, I have been very, very happy with my Sony gear and feel that I definitely made the right choice four years ago.

 

[Citysnaps]

Sony owner here! I have three FF Sony camera bodies: the A7R V, the A1, and the A7C. I bought the A7C for its smaller, compact size in anticipation of doing some traveling, which unfortunately never happened. While I like the A7C it lacks a couple of things which are important to me: the front dial and a joystick, and the EVF is much smaller and in a different position than I'm accustomed to using with the other two cameras. Anyway, when the A7C II and the A7CR were announced, I sat up and took notice. While I like that they finally have put the front dial in the body and also have increased the megapixels in the A7CR and made other beneficial changes, I was disappointed to see that there is still no joystick. However, it's not all that difficult to set the focus by touch, of course.

I haven't gotten around to going to a camera shop to actually look at and handle the A7CR or A7C II yet, but one of these days I will....... Or I may simply trade in the A7C on a lens instead, as rumor has it that Sony will be launching something big and special in early November, and I'm hoping it's either the 300mm f/2.8 or the 85mm f/1.2....... I would get more use out of either of those than I would either the A7CR or A7C II, since I use both of my other cameras all the time and rarely remember to take the A7C out for a spin. I like the A7C for its compact size and weight, but it isn't really all that much smaller than the A7R V or A1.

Lenses: I have both the 35mm f/1.4 GM and the 35mm f/1.8 (the latter I bought early on when starting out with Sony). They're both excellent lenses, but especially the 35mm f/1.4 GM. It is worth the extra money and the extra weight. That 35mm f/1.8, though, is a darned good little lens, too, and a real bargain. The image quality in the 35mm f/1.4 GM is truly outstanding, and that can make a difference in the long run. It is definitely a versatile lens, close-focuses quite nicely when desired, and would be ideal for street shooting as well as landscapes and other scenes.

Definitely it makes sense to put a high-quality lens on the A7R V. That camera body is very capable and really shines when there's a GM lens mounted on it.

The A7R V features Sony's current menu so many of the complaints people had in the past are moot now, and also the method for installing new firmware has been significantly improved, much to Mac users' relief. Now we can install the update on a memory card first and then simply insert it into the camera to run the update. In earlier bodies, the process was a bit more complicated and there were issues for Mac users.

Overall, I have been very, very happy with my Sony gear and feel that I definitely made the right choice four years ago.

Thanks for your assessment and insight - I appreciate it!

I think the A7C II is out of the running for me as the other two options have almost twice the pixel count. Not that I need that in most situations. But when making impromptu street portraits with a 35mm lens, I have to be mindful of perspective distortion when shooting (too) close, which can greatly exaggerate the size of hands/noses/purses/hats/etc. Stepping back a few extra feet, and then cropping out the extra environmental context portions I don't need or want, I'll still have decent resolution starting with 60 MP and cropping down. My theory, anyway.

Many would say a 50 or 85 would be better for portraits (which is true, for regular portraits made in a studio), but for me I need the wider field of view a 35 offers to have decent urban environmental context that compliments subjects. Ditto for street shooting in general where there are lots of people I want in the frame, and/or more urban environmental context.

Also... on the A7RV I like the idea of a much better and more flexible articulating display, which would allow me to easily shoot low to the ground when photographing dogs and their owners. Or, any urban photo shot from low to the ground. That extra dimension of articulation on the screen is a big plus, and not available on the two compact A7C cams.

I think the 35mm f/1.4 GM is a given. Now it's just deciding between the A7RV and the A7CR, and how much I care about weight and bulk.

As an aside... I understand Adobe has yet to update Lightroom handling A7C II and A7CR RAW files. No doubt that will be coming soon. Not sure if that's true with the A7RV. One can apparently use a Sony utility to convert their RAW images to TIFFs and then use LR.

 

[Clix Pix]

The A7R V has been around a while and DXO PhotoLab handles its RAW files and provides profiles for the camera and various lenses, including recent lenses. I would guess that Adobe's PS and LR also by now have the means to handle A7R V RAW files, too.

I rarely use the articulating display on the A7R V -- guess that's why I forgot to mention it in my other post, but, yes, it is a very convenient feature.

I really appreciate the extra Megapixels in the A7R V, since I do a lot of closeups and macro shots with that camera, and, yes, it is also good when shooting wildlife to have extra flexibility in cropping, which is precisely why I bought the A1 when it was released, since it has 50+ MP. The A1 I primarily use as my speed camera, when I'm shooting wildlife and using Continuous High+ to capture fast movement in the water or on land, BIF, etc. The A7R V isn't quite as fast; I think it offers 10 fps as opposed to the 20 or 30fps of the A1, but since most of my macro subjects aren't moving or move only slightly if blown by the wind or something, high speed is not as critical on that camera.

I think the combo of the A7R V and the 35mm f/1.4 GM would be just terrific for the kind of shooting you do....

 

[Clix Pix]

Oh, this is cool...... Clearly Sony is doing something right!

Sony Alpha 7R V: The 200 Best Inventions of 2023

Find out why Sony Alpha 7R V made this year's list

time.com

 

[Citysnaps]

I think the combo of the A7R V and the 35mm f/1.4 GM would be just terrific for the kind of shooting you do....

Thanks. Any thoughts/comments on battery life?

 

[Citysnaps]

I was disappointed to see that there is still no joystick. However, it's not all that difficult to set the focus by touch, of course.

With respect to the A7RV... when using the EVF, and you don't want to use one of the automatic focus options, how do you select the focus point? Can you simply focus by pressing the shutter button halfway while the center point of the EVF is over the object you're focusing on, and then recompose, followed by further pressing the shutter button down?

 

[Cmaier]

With respect to the A7RV... when using the EVF, and you don't want to use one of the automatic focus options, how do you select the focus point? Can you simply focus by pressing the shutter button halfway while the center point of the EVF is over the object you're focusing on, and then recompose, followed by further pressing the shutter button down?

As far as I know, with all Sony’s cameras you can do that, and you can also assign a button to focus (back button focus), lock focus, etc.

 

[Eric]

Thanks. Any thoughts/comments on battery life?

Speaking for the 7RIII I can say it's excellent, I also keep two batteries at full charge at all times anyway as a normal practice so it's never a concern but you can run one all day and never have an issue.

 

[Cmaier]

Speaking for the 7RIII I can say it's excellent, I also keep two batteries at full charge at all times anyway as a normal practice so it's never a concern but you can run one all day and never have an issue.

A1 is also excellent - ever since they went to the bigger battery (FZ100), people have stopped complaining about sony battery life. The smaller batteries in the older 7-series models didn’t last very long.

 

[Citysnaps]

Thanx Cmaier and Eric...

Shooting solely with a phone for so long, it's going to be/feel weird using a conventional camera again.

 

[Clix Pix]

The "joystick" is the button on the back of the a7R V and many other Sony cameras which makes it really easy to go right to the area in the scene and select where one intends to focus. Sorry, I should have made that clear early on! In the absence of a joy stick, such as on the A7C, one can use a finger with touch control, but that feels a bit more awkward to me. I'm addicted to the joy stick, which is available on the A1 and the A7R V (and previously on the A7R IV as well).

Battery life has not been much of an issue to me, as I have several spare batteries and I always carry at least one extra one with me when going on an excursion. At home, if just planning to walk around our little lake, I'll usually check the battery before leaving the house and if it looks fairly low, just go ahead and swap it out for a fresh one before setting out on my walk. In general, the battery life is pretty good on the FZ100 compared to the batteries that were used with earlier models and I don't worry a lot about battery life at all.

Yes, I also use BBF (Back-button Focus) all the time, too, on both the A1 and the A7R V. Been using it for years and can't imagine not using it now. It has always been useful. There are times, though, when I particularly want to focus in one area. BBF really helps narrow that down. Also, of course, when shooting people, birds or animals and I guess a couple of other things, too, Sony's excellent AF system will nail the shot right off the bat by focusing quite precisely on the eye..... That's a huge, huge benefit!

Particularly when shooting wildlife or any living creatures for that matter, sharpness is definitely important, along with speediness in acquiring accurate focus in the first place. This is just not the time or situation for taking a slow, leisurely approach towards obtaining focus or desiring and aiming for softness, a "dreamy" effect or blurriness in the image. That's a different kind of shooting experience. With wildlife, domestic animals and people, it's usually about nailing sharp focus in the eye(s) right from the get-go.....

 

[Citysnaps]

The "joystick" is the button on the back of the a7R V and many other Sony cameras which makes it really easy to go right to the area in the scene and select where one intends to focus. Sorry, I should have made that clear early on! In the absence of a joy stick, such as on the A7C, one can use a finger with touch control, but that feels a bit more awkward to me. I'm addicted to the joy stick, which is available on the A1 and the A7R V (and previously on the A7R IV as well).

Battery life has not been much of an issue to me, as I have several spare batteries and I always carry at least extra one with me when going on an excursion. At home, if just planning to walk around our little lake, I'll usually check the battery before leaving the house and if it looks fairly low, just go ahead and swap it out for a fresh one before setting out on my walk. In general, the battery life is pretty good on the FZ100 compared to the batteries that were used with earlier models and I don't worry a lot about battery life at all.

Yes, I also use BBF (Back-button Focus) all the time, too, on both the A1 and the A7R V. Been using it for years and can't imagine not using it now. It has always been useful. There are times, though, when I particularly want to focus in one area. BBF really helps narrow that down. Also, of course, when shooting people, birds or animals and I guess a couple of other things, too, Sony's excellent AF system will nail the shot right off the bat by focusing quite precisely on the eye..... That's a huge, huge benefit!

Particularly when shooting wildlife or any living creatures for that matter, sharpness is definitely important, along with speediness in acquiring accurate focus in the first place. This is just not the time or situation for taking a slow, leisurely approach towards obtaining focus or desiring and aiming for softness, a "dreamy" effect or blurriness in the image. That's a different kind of shooting experience. With wildlife, domestic animals and people, it's usually about nailing sharp focus in the eye(s) right from the get-go.....

Sounds good, thanx! It's going to be interesting and fun exploring all the features. Quite a bit different and a lot more advanced than my Canon 6D.

 

[Clix Pix]

Oh, one more thought: if you purchase the A7R V you will get an external charger in the box. I don't think that there will be one in the box with the A7CR. I know I didn't get one with the A7C, but didn't need it anyway since I already had one. It seems that Sony provides external chargers only with the top-of-the-line flagship models. They do, however, provide the appropriate cable so that one can charge the battery while it is still in the camera. Personally I don't like this method, as I prefer to charge the batteries externally, especially when preparing for an excursion where I will want to carry along a spare or two. Aside from that, at home I find it is more convenient to simply pull out the exhausted battery, stick it right on the charger, grab and put a freshly charged one into the camera and continue with shooting.

Sony does sell external chargers separately, too, of course, and I think most camera shops would have them available along with extra batteries. I have not used third-party chargers or batteries so can't speak to how well that works.

As for memory cards, I use Sony Tough CF Express Type A -- in the A7R V, two 80 GB ones, and in the A1, two 160 GB ones, with automatic rollover from the card in Slot 1 to the card in slot 2, and especially with the A1 I appreciate that capability. I shoot only in RAW, not RAW plus .jpg.

 

[Citysnaps]

Oh, one more thought: if you purchase the A7R V you will get an external charger in the box. I don't think that there will be one in the box with the A7CR. I know I didn't get one with the A7C, but didn't need it anyway since I already had one. It seems that Sony provides external chargers only with the top-of-the-line flagship models. They do, however, provide the appropriate cable so that one can charge the battery while it is still in the camera. Personally I don't like this method, as I prefer to charge the batteries externally, especially when preparing for an excursion where I will want to carry along a spare or two. Aside from that, at home I find it is more convenient to simply pull out the exhausted battery, stick it right on the charger, grab and put a freshly charged one into the camera and continue with shooting.

Sony does sell external chargers separately, too, of course, and I think most camera shops would have them available along with extra batteries. I have not used third-party chargers or batteries so can't speak to how well that works.

As for memory cards, I use Sony Tough CF Express Type A -- in the A7R V, two 80 GB ones, and in the A1, two 160 GB ones, with automatic rollover from the card in Slot 1 to the card in slot 2, and especially with the A1 I appreciate that capability. I shoot only in RAW, not RAW plus .jpg.

Thanx for the heads up on that. Looks like I'm going with the A7RV.

Regarding 80 GB CF Express Type A cards, how many full RAW shots can you typically get on a card?

 

[Cmaier]

Oh, one more thought: if you purchase the A7R V you will get an external charger in the box. I don't think that there will be one in the box with the A7CR. I know I didn't get one with the A7C, but didn't need it anyway since I already had one. It seems that Sony provides external chargers only with the top-of-the-line flagship models. They do, however, provide the appropriate cable so that one can charge the battery while it is still in the camera. Personally I don't like this method, as I prefer to charge the batteries externally, especially when preparing for an excursion where I will want to carry along a spare or two. Aside from that, at home I find it is more convenient to simply pull out the exhausted battery, stick it right on the charger, grab and put a freshly charged one into the camera and continue with shooting.

Sony does sell external chargers separately, too, of course, and I think most camera shops would have them available along with extra batteries. I have not used third-party chargers or batteries so can't speak to how well that works.

As for memory cards, I use Sony Tough CF Express Type A -- in the A7R V, two 80 GB ones, and in the A1, two 160 GB ones, with automatic rollover from the card in Slot 1 to the card in slot 2, and especially with the A1 I appreciate that capability. I shoot only in RAW, not RAW plus .jpg.

There are many third party battery chargers which work great and are often much cheaper than Sony’s, FWIW. I use one by Manfrotto (a rebadged Hahnel pro cube which comes with inserts that let me charge each kind of Sony battery I have, as well as AA’s), and I recently picked up this one for travel and so far it’s working great:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C57ZCG5T?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

That one comes with two generic batteries, which I haven’t tried yet (and I probably won’t use).

I also have a few very generic chargers which came with various bundles, and they all work fine, though some are better than others at charging the last few percent.

 

[Citysnaps]

Different subject, but since everyone is here ...

Anybody here have experiences, good or bad, selling used gear to B&H?

I have a couple of bodies and lenses that go back 10 years that I can't see using again. Time to clean up my drawer.