Updated: Fresh from Tennessee - Sony A7R real-world samples

Dear Thamnophis, would it be worth it to lead by good example?

Oct 31, 2013permalink

For the supremely intelligent who hate the stupid people here, and for the rest of us too, Shawn is back from the Sony PR event, this time with beautiful pictures of some great sexy models in excellent lighting conditions (sunny indoors - where is the cashier?) :-)
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/10/31/tennessee-in-full-frame-sony-alpha-7-real-world-samples

Oct 31, 2013permalink

name here

The pictures are stunning from a technical point of view! This is medium-format quality in your palm.

DPR: Did you use a tripod to get optimal sharpness?

Some people who commented here don't know the difference between camera review and photographic art. With tripod or not, the pictures are super sharp. And this is only jpg so far. The IQ, which is what's evaluated here, is very impressive. Thank you DPR!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Spectro

another photographer took sample shots of the A7r in Tennessee also. Looks like the same people on horse. Sony must be in TN for some reason. He got some better shots indeed, but with a better lens.

Steve Huff:
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/10/30/day-two-sony-a7-and-a7r-with-zeiss-otus-and-more/#respond

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

ET2

He has cropped and edited images, and selected just a few from his collection. You can make DPR images a lot more creative too if you do the same to DPR gallery.

This has nothing to do with lens used.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

DPReview Staff

Steve let me try his Nocti-whats-its (Voitlander, whose name I can't remember) with which I captured a picture of a glass on the table (so exciting) because I didn't want to bogart his lens. Yes, it's very impressive. I don't know one way or another what Steve did to his images, but mine are posted unmodified, as we almost always do, which raises the bar quite a bit for point-of-capture. Getting it right in camera is always a good idea.

After the disparaging comments from other galleries, I looked around at the 47 other journalists crowding around our few subjects and didn't feel at all bad that my images are less than art. We were all doing what we could to capture staged, yet fleeting moments while not stepping on each other. As usual, I'd see a shot, and someone else would see it too, often getting there before I did. Normally I'm the only photographer in the room; this was something other.

Nov 1, 2013permalink

temm

I'm very impressed by the low light photos. It's got me thinking if i should switch from my current classic dsrl.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

who cares, its a sony ^^ i rather buy a camera of some other tv companies like panasonic or samsung then a walkman camera ..

Oct 30, 2013permalink

sdribetahi

At least they won't be out of business in 5 years. Enjoy your bankruptcy Nikon.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Photomonkey

For all the big talk about how indifferent the photos are I am quite sure that they far exceed the quality of the average photo that will be taken by these cameras.
The closest so many of you will get to these cameras is to put your fingerprints on one at a camera store and go home to your Casio P&S.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Has a single camera sample gallery ever been posted on DPR without someone saying how unimpressed they are with whatever camera it is. Ever?!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

blohum

I think we all know the answer to that!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

johnvr1

It's interesting to see the reports of the almost 50 bloggers and journalists who are on this press trip. I sympathize with them for being herded around and under pressure to outdo each other each night by posting late at night and trying to come up with something that separates their piece from the others, while being spoiled by the very company they have to independently cover. Not an easy feat. I also can't wait to get my own hands on the A7r and write my own review, free from the challenges these writers face.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Jogger

That's a pretty standard press event and part of the job really.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Allochka Emiliana

Amazing low light photos. I can't wait to get a hold of this camera.
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/reviewsamples/albums/sony-alpha-7r-samples-gallery

Oct 30, 2013permalink

SirSeth

Good IQ up to ISO6400 and then mush. Better DOF separation than smaller sensors. Over all, looks like a good camera and I expect good photographers will turn out very good pictures with it--as can be said for every other recent modern system camera. Sony is offering something smaller and less expensive than most FF offerings and I view that as good progress. For those who value it's strengths, it looks good. Unlike most of the pundits, I don't feel like it has to dominate every aspect in order to be a good camera.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

Mike99999

It looks VERY promising, but first I will need a detailed comparison with other compact systems before I buy in. I need to know which compact primes will exist for Sony and how they fare against the excellent micro four thirds primes.

At the moment there is only the 35mm f/2.8 which is reasonably sized and I would like to know how it fares compared to the excellent PL 20mm f/1.7 on micro four thirds. Both have a 12mm maximum aperture, field of view is about the same, and the PL has proven to be incredibly sharp with beautiful rendering. It would be incredibly interesting to me to compare these two to see exactly how big the full frame advantage is!

On top of that I'd like to know which wide angle and tele primes Sony plans to make, how large those lenses will be.

If Sony fails to impress with the lenses, the upcoming Nikon DF seems far more enticing. The Nikon body will balance far better with the larger FF lenses, and many of us already have a lot of Nikon glass.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

Well this is new info. Nobodies made this comment before.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

whtchocla7e

These JPG's have the typical Sony look, although still quite decent. Looking forward to RAW's.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Neal Hood

Almost exactly what I would expect viewing the scenes live. Makes me feel as if I'm there. Some of the best night time pictures I've seen from any camera. Of course the person taking the picture did a good job in composing the pictures too.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

photofan1986

Mmmhh, I don't see a picture that I could not have taken with my "lowly" crop EM-5.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

JEROME NOLAS

WHAT IS E-M5? :)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

M43 fan boys must all be olympus stock holders as well.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

photofan1986

Once you go µ43, you can't go back :D

Oct 30, 2013permalink

King Penguin

I did, now have FF D600 + some of their primes. No contest, believe me.......M43 is crippled with its tiny sensor.....

Oct 30, 2013permalink

photofan1986

Enjoy your greasy sensor :D

Oct 31, 2013permalink

Kjartan Haugen

Wow! Details and colors are awesome, and thees are only Jpegs.. Looking forward to RAW.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

OOC jpegs. I realise that there's no RAW developer support available yet but how likely is it that anyone buying this particular camera is going to be shooting jpegs? Which makes the exercise all but pointless.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Oh God, another "everyone has the same work flow as me and I can't see beyond that" post.

Did it ever occur to you that pros that shoot hundreds of shots often shoot jpeg as they don't have days to pp them all in raw?

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Tord S Eriksson

Well, I was impressed by the ease the camera handled colours in low light, and the very subdued noise, no matter what setting! The rest (choice of subjects, and so on) wasn't so impressive.

Oh, I wish you had had Steve Huff to take the photos, someone with a little imagination, outside the box. 50 pictures taken in neon light doesn't say more than a handful, but some portraits, close-ups, in short something interesting, had been appreciated!

The photos of the Jack Daniels guy going through the motions made my day, while those of our four-legged hoofed friends were the worst I've seen in a long time!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

DPReview Staff

You know, when we're on a press trip like this, we spend a lot of time on the bus. When we get off, we're hustled through whatever thing it is they've given us to photograph and then herded back on the bus. I stood patiently taking representative photographs quite often with three cameras: the RX10, the A7R and the A7. Many of them will repeat as we post galleries from the other two cameras. I had PR people hustling me and others along, while we tried to capture more meaningful images.

When I say 'representative,' I mean shots that show what the camera can do in various situations. A moving animal, for example. A standing animal with a rider. A brick wall with a neon sign illuminating it. It's not art, it's an image that you can zoom in on and look at for detail, color, processing, sharpening, whatever.

It happens that Steve Huff is on this trip. Go visit his site, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Bottom line, I don't shoot these for art. I shoot them to show what the camera can do.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Stu 5

Well said Shawn.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

chillgreg

Shawn LMFAO!!! XD

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Hwirt

Thanks' for posting these images Shawn, interesting subjects and they really show the potential of this new camera.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

photog4u

Well Tord...CONGRATS! ...you win A**H*** of the week. Well Done!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

The Lotus Eater

Tord (sure that's the right spelling?), a lot of people think photographers and journalists are arseholes. Congrats on reinforcing that view.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

Shawn Barnett, great and honest explanations, as always, thank you for all your work, you are outstanding.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

The Lotus Eater, your thoughts are quite disgusting :-)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Shawn, thanks for the pictures!. Art is subjective so not relevant to this article, but the technical capabilities of the A7R which is what matters is well shown in your gallery.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Adrian Van

Although the photos certainly do show us what the camera can do in situation and time limit presented, I think Sony should reconsider giving the sample photographers more time to take photos so as to have more interesting angles etc. If they did that, Sony might find that the more interesting samples will help sell the camera especially in pre-orders. Good work Shawn in getting photos in the limits presented to do so! Anyway, people interested in this camera know what to look for in the images presented (colour, noise, iso, sharpness, detail). Once you get the camera again for full review, more time will be available for photos to get creative no doubt.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

They are free to you. Why don't you take them next time? Oh I know why, nobody will ask you, except your cats.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Shawn, after reading the forum member's comments, I think Sony should strongly consider paying you a trip to various exotic destinations like Antarctica, Africa, Tibet, Palau, and Iceland so that we can better assess the camera's potential.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

ah come on tord, bitter old man :)

steve huff is an attentionwh** like ken rockwell.

boohoo seal boohoo leica blabla i can take photos of my fatso son
this is no artclass, and steve/ken wouldnt be in it if it would have been one ;)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Pentax_Prime

Shawn: Do something different - there are plenty who would prefer to see shallow DOF shots of the bus aisle than the infinity DOF stuff you provided here. The primary difference between FF and APS-C sensors today is the DOF; the one shot that did have shallow DOF doesn't even have EXIF ....

Oct 31, 2013*permalink

I love these pictures. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the dawn of a new era.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

marike6

Why is that? The D800 and D800E (or any decent camera) could have made any of these images as well or better, and the user would have a nice, bright pentaprism OVF, rock solid AF tracking, and almost any lens imaginable.

Cue a row of replies talking about a couple of hundred grams weight savings talking about DSLR weight as if they were giant 8x10 view cameras. :-)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

chillgreg

@marike6 your comedy routine just gets better...

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Take it easy marike! I was just being ironic because those pictures are being heavily criticized by our fellow members. But, as Shawn Barnett correclty said:"I don't shoot these for art. I shoot them to show what the camera can do.". The D800/E is a superb camera and in the right hands has almost limitless potential. I always welcome tech evolution, we've yet to see if the A7R is up to the task. Regards.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

"the dawn of a new era" :-)

You are good, alegator, they should pay you. Corporations like that :-)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Adrian Van

I agree with marike6. Someone considering this Sony camera would also consider Nikon D800 or D610 or Canon 6D. Those wanting a small body would pick Sony, or maybe a Olympus EM1 or EM5. However Nikon D610 is a smaller body than D800 and lighter and lots of FF lenses to choose of high quality. Choices are good whichever way you go.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

Marike, ovf are so overrated. Try removing the camera from being stuck to your face for once.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

ah come on tord, bitter old man :)

steve huff is an attentionwh** like ken rockwell.

boohoo seal boohoo leica blabla i can take photos of my fatso son
this is no artclass, and steve/ken wouldnt be in it if it would have been one ;)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

sorry wrong comment :)

nothing beats an ovf btw ;)

Oct 30, 2013permalink

gtlogic

If this doesn't prove that art is in the skillful hands of the photographer, not the capabilities of the camera, I don't know what would. Well done.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

RTIMD

Oh, they serve whiskey in plastic...

Oct 30, 2013permalink

To an alcoholic the container doesn't matter in the least...

Oct 30, 2013permalink

olypan

Wow, look at the amazing "full frameness" of those images, horses nostrils in focus, some blurred thing sitting on it's saddle. You can see why FF is the only choice!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

One can only imagine how it will perform with dogs and children.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

zodiacfml

Thanks for those samples. The prime lens does well. I'm more interested in the A7 though and RAW files.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Tap0

the samples seem to be a bit underwhelming....

Oct 30, 2013permalink

It requires an exercise of the imagination to get the full benefit.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

qartlo91

what i can see: great resolution, very good dynamic range, excellent sharpness and outstanding details. and that's only jpg. it seems really good sensor, I wonder how it performs at high ISO in extreme low light situations. anyway, it seems to be good low light performer as it's expected from FF.
while it seems to have really great picture quality (maybe even on of the class leading), it would be good to see the overall performance and usability against it rivals.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

ulfie

Wow, I can see the veins and arteries in the horse's eyes. Incredible resolution. Other than that ... Maybe this is an electron microscope and not a camera.

Seriously folks, these were meant as initial shots, obviously not studio tests. Let's hope DPR puts out some more in a variety of lighting and subjects including landscapes which it should--not should--excel at as Sony touts the RX-1r. Give DPR a break, posters.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Stu 5

You should be able to see veins and arteries with any camera from M43 upwards as long as you nail the focus.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

photobeans

Taking good sample pictures has never been dpreview's strength. Might as well just give it to a high school photography student, he/she might do it better.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

white shadow

I can't disagree with you more.

DPR should reframe from taking snapshots and doing quick previews. Sometimes, it does not do the camera any favours.

Its better to take more time and effort to do a proper review like in the old days. DPR is in need to hire more professional photographers to shoot better photos.

Not an easy task. Excellent photographers who can write are not easy to come by or is it the other way around? Its like an advertising agency trying to get a creative director who can draw / design and write well at the same time.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Spectro

well most of the editors probably have a literature or some fine art degree. Because of their writing skills got a job writing something like for a photography website. They may have picked up photography probably later. DPreviews reviews are good and has less bias. Their photos are fine too, you can't make them edit, most things has to be sooc. No need for creative framing, I would prefer if they shoot the same sample subject so I can compare the same shoots on different cameras (not talking just the chart and studio setup they use) same portrait, same outdoor scence same macro, etc.

Ken rockwell is an engineer and his photos are boring. But he gets hits for being opinionated, so it could be worse. Also the lady on cnet that write genetic camera reviews.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

chillgreg

writing intelligent comments has never been photobeans' strength...

Oct 30, 2013permalink

stevo23

This camera certainly has potential - lot's of potential.

Who will be disappointed if we get some good test shots and it's not actually the coming messiah as some have thought?

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

uhoh07

Remarkable no one bothered to slip a few RF lenses and an adapter in their pocket for this shoot. That would have been some news.

As it is, we have known for some time the camera can produce very sharp images with the native 35. These shots, I'm afraid, mostly due to awful light, only partly show the potential even of the native lens.

Not really impressive reporting.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Hwirt

Some interesting shots, resolution and detail is excellent. About as good as it gets from 35MM.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

ET2

Too many stupid people comment on news articles.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

white shadow

As usual, DPR is been overwhelmed with whiners and trolls.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

ianimal

I always use to say
- Internet is overrated.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Antimateria

The web is sooo big.
Dpreview is not the only photo site in the world.
A lot stunning photos of this camera if you see around..........

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Rick Knepper

Some of the responses below indicate to me that folks either don't know what to look for or didn't look at all. This camera produces a tremendous amount of detail - exactly what any landscape shooter would want. The lens? meh. It has the typical Zeiss bokeh (non-Otus of course) but it does a fair job otherwise. It would help if DPR would find a suitable landscape site that is worthy of the sensor and in this case, the lens pedigree.

Oct 30, 2013*permalink

JeffLunt

Totally agree. The landscape is dreary at best. The detail is wasted in this setting. Let me take this camera to Utah and I'll show you some fantastic pics. Thanks Rick.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Jeff Keller

FWIW, these photos are being taken at a Sony event in Nashville, so our subjects are limited to wherever our 'man in the field' is taken. Once we get the camera(s) in-house we'll hopefully add to the collection.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Robert Garcia NYC

Take a look at the Fuji X100s samples those were really bad too.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

GeraldW

Totally under-whelming!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Lab D

Mom said if you can't say something nice, don't say it....so...um...
no comment.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

IdealCamera

She was wrong.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Spot the paradox.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

sandy b

We know the sensors are good, these will be just fine. When raw files are available with ACR. Never give to much credence to first images. I remember people complaining about first D3 images, an we all know how that worked out.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

HowaboutRAW

Why is everybody going on about samples in jpeg?

This is a raw capable camera, and ACR doesn't extract these raws yet.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

yonsarh

sorry, my interest on a7 has gone now.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

DVT80111

These pictures need a FF? LOL

Oct 30, 2013permalink

nothing "needs" a fullframe. its just a classic film/sensor format that was standard in the past and is about to be the standard again. thats it.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Ignace

WOW! Totally...mediocre.
No. Less than mediocre.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

caver3d

Not impressed at all. The Oly E-M1 and Pany GX7 can do it better. A lot better.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Tord S Eriksson

Not so sure about that - look at the lack of noise, look at the impressive dynamic range. I think they are even slightly better than my D600!

The choice of subjects, the boring lighting, and the lack of any other lenses that the 35 (Come on, DPR, it uses the same adapters as any NEX!), that's not the camera's fault, that's entirely up to DPReview and the man behind the camera!

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Mike99999

Is this dynamic range myth real? I mean, if you crop an image in half, does it affect the dynamic range at all?

I'm asking because when I compare my FF, APS-C and MFT cameras, I see no major differences in DR, and dx0mark measurements seems to agree with that observation.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Bill T.

If I were a Sony exec I would be thinking long and hard about ever again giving dpreview a camera before the release date.

Oct 30, 2013permalink

Timbukto

Yep...the A8 is going to go to Ken Rockwell and his technicolor children.

Oct 30, 2013permalink