-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
Anyone considering the A7rV?
- Thread starter JayJee
- Start date
Having seen the initial reviews, I will hold fire for now. The reviews are pretty lukewarm, and for the money, you would want them to be totally gung-ho.
AI AF is supposedly the major improvement, but Tony and Chelsea Northrup and Gerald Undone thought that the new system is a little hit-and-miss.
Gerald thought a bit too much was going on with it, and it misidentified some stuff, while Tony and Chelsea said that it just plain missed at times when they tested with wildlife.
This is the problem with V1 of anything and is what I feared when I first heard of the "all-new" AF system. I reckon the slow readout speed of that upcycled 60MP sensor is likely a contributing factor here, and I wonder to what extent software can improve what is likely a hardware limitation.
Still, it will be interesting to see if a firmware update or two improves it, but Sony doesn't have a great track record with updating firmware after product release, so I won't hold my breath.
If anything, the AF teething issues in the new A7RV are a great advertisement for the enduring quality of the A1 almost two years later.
Oh well, at least my bank account and wife will be happy. Time to go out and take some shots with what I have!
Last edited:
José B
Forum Pro
Yeah if I have a A7RIV I would pass on the V. The series I am waiting for though is the A9. I want to see if Sony will bump up the resolution the MKIII to 32 MP. But I know it will be expensive. Presently a brand new A9II is CDN $ 6000. It's just wishful thinking on my part that Sony will introduce a high end APS-C with a stacked sensor at half that price. I'll settle for 15fps mechanical shutter with at least 250,000 rated shutter actuations at a price similar to the Canon R7.
I might have to change the title of this thread as I just bought an A7RIVa brand new for $2400
This is totally for stills, so I am not interested in 8K video, hybrid flippy tilt screens, etc. or advanced AI AF that doesn't quite work.
Around a 40% discount for the same high-resolution sensor as in the A7RV sounds like a good deal to me, plus the LCD is even higher res than on the newer V!
I am super excited and hope to post some 26MP APS-C crop photos here when it arrives (if that is allowed)!
Last edited:
It would be really surprising if Sony released an APS-C flagship with a stacked sensor. In fact, quite the opposite, they seem intent on giving us the most minimal and frugal upgrades possible in each new release.
I reckon that the next APS-C flagship will be that new 26MP non-stacked sensor with the new menus, some better 10-bit video up to 4k60 (at a small crop), and maybe 8K 24 (although I really doubt it), with hopefully an improved version of the "AI AF" and that's about it.
The next A9? Who knows, but if it had what you describe, between inflation and Sony price gouging, it would be nearing $USD 6000 and getting so close to the A1 in price that I am not sure there would be much differentiation.
Actually, given the whole price inflation picture, some of these "older" models are looking really enticing right now. As mentioned, I just pounced on the A7RIV at around 60% of the cost of the new model. The A7RV is good, for sure, but it's not nearly double the camera the A7RIVa was!
Last edited:
NorCal Jim
Senior Member
Speaking of the hybrid flippy tilt screen, that looks like it would be useful. If there is an update to the a6600, I sure hope it has that screen design!I might have to change the title of this thread as I just bought an A7RIVa brand new for $2400
This is totally for stills, so I am not interested in 8K video, hybrid flippy tilt screens, etc. or advanced AI AF that doesn't quite work.
Around a 40% discount for the same high-resolution sensor as in the A7RV sounds like a good deal to me, plus the LCD is even higher res than on the newer V!
I am super excited and hope to post some 26MP APS-C crop photos here when it arrives (if that is allowed)!
Jim
José B
Forum Pro
I agree with the above. I might have to wait until 2025 for a Sony or Canon stacked sensor at US$ 3000 price range. Oh at least 30MP (APS-C). If I need an 'action camera' right now it's the Canon R7 since I have EF lenses. Fortunately I don't need one right now as my A6600 is more than good enough.
A 24MP A9II doesn't cut it for me. It's short for indoor volleyball and outdoor tennis. If I buy that I have to buy a telezoom lens like the Tamron 70-180/2.8. Too much $$$$.
Here in Canada I've seen discounted A7RIVA and A7RIIIA last year during the holidays. And they have some bundle deals with the Sony vertical grips as well. I shoot primarily stills and my 50MP Canon 5Ds still has a lot of legs left especially with today's software.
Last edited:
It does look awesome, although I am bit of an EVF person myself. I reckon it will be standard on all future high-end Sonys.Speaking of the hybrid flippy tilt screen, that looks like it would be useful. If there is an update to the a6600, I sure hope it has that screen design!I might have to change the title of this thread as I just bought an A7RIVa brand new for $2400
This is totally for stills, so I am not interested in 8K video, hybrid flippy tilt screens, etc. or advanced AI AF that doesn't quite work.
Around a 40% discount for the same high-resolution sensor as in the A7RV sounds like a good deal to me, plus the LCD is even higher res than on the newer V!
I am super excited and hope to post some 26MP APS-C crop photos here when it arrives (if that is allowed)!
Jim
José B
Forum Pro
Ditto Jim, love the flippy tilt screen.Speaking of the hybrid flippy tilt screen, that looks like it would be useful. If there is an update to the a6600, I sure hope it has that screen design!I might have to change the title of this thread as I just bought an A7RIVa brand new for $2400
This is totally for stills, so I am not interested in 8K video, hybrid flippy tilt screens, etc. or advanced AI AF that doesn't quite work.
Around a 40% discount for the same high-resolution sensor as in the A7RV sounds like a good deal to me, plus the LCD is even higher res than on the newer V!
I am super excited and hope to post some 26MP APS-C crop photos here when it arrives (if that is allowed)!
Jim
José B
Forum Pro
Wow, haven't finished the video yet but that AI assisted AF looks very impressive!
Jeff DLB
Leading Member
Yes, I am tempted by the a7rV, especially after reading this article:
The price will probably stop me, and honestly I like the a6000 size and probably shouldn't go bigger.
Loading…
www.albertdros.com
The price will probably stop me, and honestly I like the a6000 size and probably shouldn't go bigger.
The flip screen is a huge advantage, in my opinion, having had one for years on my Nikon P520 "super zoom." I don't understand why people complain about something that has greater flexibility than the limited single-axis tilt.
For the record, I changed my mind on this and preordered the A7RV and will return the A7RIV.
I think I was grumpy on launch day when I learnt that the initial RRP was $6200 in Australia.
I ended up preordering for $5895 AUD (~$3800 USD) and got a free additional Sony NP-FZ100 battery as a launch promo.
What brought me around to the A7RV over the A7RIVa was the fine details. In order they were:
1. The 8 stops of stabilization is actually legit, before any lens OSS. This is the biggest one for me. A total game-changer. I hate tripods.
2. Lossless RAW, not present on the A7RIV, and the fact that 26MP M lossless raw is actually a downsampled image from the full 61MP sensor.
3. Sony actually reduced the RRP from what I thought it was. They did a backflip and reduced it from $6199 AUD to $5900.
4. The 9 million dots in the EVF, the same as the A1.
5. Focus bracketing.
6. The new flippy/tilt screen.
Also, after watching more reviews, I am convinced that the AI AF actually works pretty well as it is, and that Sony will be committed to improving it over various firmware updates, as it's improving an existing feature (to be fed into other cameras later on) rather than a new one.
Last edited:
José B
Forum Pro
Congrats!! The A7RV has very impressive specs for sure. I think it is close to being the perfect camera for the lenses I have now. That APS-C 26 MP equivalent bodes well for the indoor volleyball and outdoor tennis I shoot with my 135/1.8 GM. Plus it's got that AI assisted AF. I wish I can afford it as I just upgraded my iPhone Xs to the 14 Pro Max.
Looking forward to seeing your pics with it. I frequently visit the Sony FF forum here.
Also, I think many people ruin their photos a bit by excessive processing. Nothing new, except maybe there are more ways to overprocess now!
I realized a long while ago that better gear mostly gets you more "keepers". Lesser equipment often gives perfectly fine results until you start pushing extremes, like lower light, or lower light where you want to freeze action, trying to focus on fast action, etc.
But much of the time, you can still get good results from lesser equipment if you work a bit harder at it, or allow compromises in places where it doesn't matter so much. We obsess about the quality of lenses, but how often do we need perfect sharpness in those corners? Do we really need to freeze action, or can a bit of motion blur help to convey movement?
These days, you can just crank up the ISO and let the software help you deal with it. I almost don't even worry about high ISO anymore. Sure, I'll take more megapixels if I can get it, but we've hit diminishing returns. For even large prints, 24mp is fine. Some say, well, you need more mp for cropping. Sure, when shooting wildlife, when you lose the APS-C advantage and your 600mm zoom isn't much longer than the 350mm on the APS-C, you can crop and get back to what the framing is on APS-C. ;-) To be fair, I had to frame loosely and crop a lot on my last outing, so FF probably still comes out ahead. But by how much? Feels like diminishing returns where you have to spend a ton more money for slightly better results at the end. It's not just the camera, but also using more expensive lenses. The 70-350G isn't an f2.8 zoom, but someone with an Aps-C camera just isn't likely to buy the top zooms. In the end, it looks like FF has a huge advantage, but at an ever-higher price.
And I haven't discussed size, have I? That was one of the big reasons I got into the Nex cameras in the first place! It would have been cheaper to stick with APS-C DSLRs. It's hard making that balance between size, cost, and quality, but I think the APS-C Sony cameras in recent years are doing a great job of that.
Sour grapes? Although, I wonder if the mechanism requires more space; might not want to keep making space compromises on APS-C where you're trying to make a compact camera.
JayJee! Rabbit on! RABBIT ON!! I can't decide for the life of me!
I need this lens to replace my 85 1.8 which was never the sharpest to begin with, and want something different, more artistic, but functional for portraiture and potentially street photography.
I don't care about the weight, or the loss in contrast (actually prefer it) and though it's not technically as sharp as the GM, it's dang close! Also love the fact that even at 1.4 it's not as catty as the GM which is riddled with cat eyed bokeh.
...Help...
I need this lens to replace my 85 1.8 which was never the sharpest to begin with, and want something different, more artistic, but functional for portraiture and potentially street photography.
I don't care about the weight, or the loss in contrast (actually prefer it) and though it's not technically as sharp as the GM, it's dang close! Also love the fact that even at 1.4 it's not as catty as the GM which is riddled with cat eyed bokeh.
...Help...
Keyboard shortcuts
- f
- Forum