ADVICE needed going from A77 to Nex 7

Hello there,

Due to a health issue I have to give up my Sony A77 kit with a G 70-300 zoom lens because of the weight issue.

I tried the Nex 7 today and really liked the feel of the camera.

I do alot of bird photography and would like advice as to which zoom lens would best suit my needs.

Thanks

Trysh

For bird photography, although I say this without having used one, I doubt NEX 7 (or any other mirrorless) would work, unless you are dealing with stationary birds...

Thanks m, not what i wanted to hear   Thot this might be a good option for myself...

Really

Interesting.



Danny.

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Birds and macro. NEX and m4/3
http://www.birdsinaction.com

lol. someone just got pwned. i'm really surprised someone would say something about next7 when he hasn't used it.

its just like saying a food doesn't taste good when he hasn't tasted it before. just don't get it.

and by the way Danny. those are spectacular shots.

They are web-sized, very small size. I can't see if they are in focus or not. I can post images that are going to look sharp at this size, but at 100 % they are not in focus at all. I highly doubt your keeper rate will be high for anything other than stationary or slow moving birds. You can't pretend NEX-7 is an action camera made for taking shots of birds though. Let's be realistic...

Feel free to prove me wrong on this though.  I am just trying to be realistic....

2? I didn't get pwned. These are small-sized images... how can you judge how fast AF is on NEX-7 for that size. Are these birds fast?

I mean, it all depends on your expectations I think.  Why don't you try the smaller SLT cameras?

I agree with m_appeal.   Not to say that you can't use the NEX 7 for BIF or action or just about anything you want but I doubt many would recommend it ahead of other options.

The Nikon V1 or V2 might be worth a look.  The autofocus is PDAF and is really good and the 2.7x crop factor can be great for bird photography.

Don't you get the full-meal-deal alpha PDAF with one of these adaptors?  Of course the kit won't be any smaller.

Bart

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http://bhimages.zenfolio.com

Never tried the speed of a kingfisher have you ??. Slow you think, ahhh nope, faster than any sparrow or Swallow. Not AF either.

Danny.

--
Birds and macro. NEX and m4/3
http://www.birdsinaction.com

Good for you, I guess, but NEX 7 is still not a bird camera as far as autofocus is concerned.

Just wanted to say, excellent work, Danny.

Also, could you identify this bird? (super crop as it was a long, long, long, long way away!!).

I think this is a sea-eagle of some kind

The bird has just plucked a huge fish out of the Gulf of Thailand.

To the OP, get an NEX-7. It's excellent.

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http://www.martinirwinphotography.com

For telephoto work, I don't think the NEX will save all that much weight for you since you'll pretty much need to keep that 70-300 lens and then buy the adaptor to keep the same reach.

If it's a health issue to carry the heavier gear, I think you'll have to compromise.  The micro-4/3 is the only system that comes to mind at the moment.  You'll lose reliable focus for a bird racing towards you, but it'll be fine for many other situations (panning or up/down or stationary).

Bart

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http://bhimages.zenfolio.com

Trysh, I know where you're coming from I have arthritis in my hands.  I own a Canon 7D with the large L lenses.  For me too much weight unable to handle the camera pain in my hands to much to deal with.  I bought the Nex-7 and it was light day and night.  The wieght is a fraction of my Canon.  Even with the SEL 55-210 lens i have no problem.  So, from someone with arthritis get the Sony Nex-7.  Plus the picture are great.

Well you blew that comment out of the water Danny, excellent shots......which lens are you using?

Thanks

Thot about the adaptor to use my current Zoom but is heavy and might as well keep the A77 to use the zoom...........trying to cut back on the weight factor.....shoulder won't take it anymore

If you are satisfied just by looking at these, then that's fine. As I mentioned, these are very small photos...I don't know if they were done in manual focus? But they don't speak about the autofocus performance of the camera, and you can't judge the results from this size. I guess if you feel like you can manuallly focus with these birds, then go for it. If from viewing photos at this size you are happy, then yes, maybe the NEX-7 will do it for you.  It doesn't really "blow" my comment out of the water in any way though.  I would try and rent the camera if I were you to see how it behaves

Well what you won't get is full sized images posted here at DPR.

What I can do is post FF images and crops from those. Might not be up to your standards, but I'm happy with them.

A simple sea gull shot



FF from the NEX-7

Crop from above shot, noise and all. Auto settings using Photoimpact.

Like I said, I'm happy with them. You might not be. Keeper rate, no issue with that and around 80-90% of my shots are in flight.

I would be interested in seeing a few of your in flight shots as well. Hey, I love birds. If you have a Kingfisher in flight, any species, that would be excellent. I love them.

All the best.

Danny.

--
Birds and macro. NEX and m4/3
http://www.birdsinaction.com

Two ways you can tackle this, Justin and Jack use the 55-200 zoom lens with an add on to the front of it.......... and before someone jumps in that wouldn't have a clue and says it doesn't work, it does !!. I've seen some great shots from them.

Trysh, I tend to cheat and us manual focus lenses with no OIS and use the NEX focus peaking. Again I hope someone doesn't jump in and says it doesn't work

I use long fast legacy lenses, Canon FD 300 F/2.8L and a Canon FD 500 F/4.5L. Both expensive, so I would always suggest for MF lenses for birding a Canon FD 300 F/4L. Now thats not that expensive. You can pick those up for what I would call a reasonable cost, around $500 - $600 US. For that cost you are getting a serious birding lens and its sharp !!

I use settings of full manual on the NEX-7, around 1/2000 - 1/4000 and ISO 200 on a fine day. Lenses are used wide open with that glass. Focus peaking takes a little to get used to, but once you have it set up right, well I just love it. Some don't though, so its a personal thing and thats all fair enough.

All the best Trysh and if you love birding and are stubborn, it simply works for me anyway and only IMO.

Danny.

--
Birds and macro. NEX and m4/3
http://www.birdsinaction.com