6 Months with the Original A7s, My entree into E-Mount.

HI everyone, I wanted to share my experience with the A7s Mk1.

I initially purchased the camera on a bit of a whim, I was looking for a second shooter to my Nikon D500, it had to be small, light, interchangeable lens and with good enough image quality. I was never wowed by the Nikon Z lineup of cameras, so I decided to invest in E-mount and see how we went.

Long story short, this little camera made me a mirrorless convert.

It has been an absolute joy to use, even with its quirks, it convinced me to switch over completely to Sony. Not to get into brand fights, I really loved my Nikon kit and I still do love their DSLR lineup and I probably enjoy shooting them more, but downsizing my kit size and amazing selection of small lens with Sony makes me want to take my camera everywhere.

12mp is enough, small file sizes, easy to share on platforms with file size restrictions. Using Dxo Photolab I was really happy with the results I got, the files can be pushed a lot in post as well and colours look attractive at least to me.

Auto-focus, while not mind blowing is totally usable, I got a good hit rate on shoots.

This camera can be had for next to nothing, I paid $650 Aud for mine. I would highly recommend it if you are starting out and looking for a small full frame camera.

Since buying the a7s I have added the a7iv to my collection, and while that is a fantastic camera, I reach for the a7s more for my personal use.

Here are some photos I have taken over the last 6 Months.




A7s vs A7iv size wise




Country side South Australia.






















The 40mm 2.5 has become a quick favorite












With the money I saved on the body, I put it into lens, I love the 35 apo from Voigtlander.




Cute kitty, not looking her age, pushing 17.

First gen sonys are still amazing cameras.

I kept my A7R.

The big difference with new gen is the weight and size.

The first sony gen are much slimmer, much lighter than an A7C and pocket size. New gen is not anymore.

I use the A7R with manual lenses mostly for landscape, cityscape or casual.

Image quality is the same as the A7R3.

Sure it s full of flaws but I love it.

A tiny camera with a shutter click so loud that people around think I am no threat paparazi and just shoot an old film camera.

I am on my second first gen A7s and for my purposes it is a wonderful camera that does all i could ask.

Especially for low light but still better than most cameras ever made for good light .

Ok it is not a camera for AFC or huge prints.

It still has dynamic range at higher ISOs as good or better than anything (EG shooting light projections at festivals and low light live music gigs).

I love the A7s camera too. I need to rebuy it.

Your photos are wonderful, especially your portraits.

This camera is a gem for portraits. I think 12 FF mp is perfect for rendering a human face. And you can just point the camera at anything at night, even the stars, and it will focus -- even better and more consistently than it does in daylight.

Thank you, and I agree 12mp is perfect for portraits, its just the right amount of detail, I'm always pleased with the results I get. The prices you can grab these cameras at its hard to argue to not to. In hindsight I think I could have gotten away with a cheaper setup, Maybe opting for an a7iii over the iv, but I'm not gonna downgrade now haha.

Coming from early 2000s Sony‘s and Canon 5D3 and original 6D now since Aug 2017 with the A7s2….never looked back, its great gear!