Is A7r (1st gen) worth buying in 2020?

[Manzur Fahim]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are well.

My local Sony shop has a brand new A7R and they want to sell it for $560 (equiv.). I am kinda tempted but just want to see what everyone thinks about this deal. Is it worth the price? How is the camera? How bad is the shutter shock?

Thanks in advance.

Stay safe.

 

[ahaslett]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are well.

My local Sony shop has a brand new A7R and they want to sell it for $560 (equiv.). I am kinda tempted but just want to see what everyone thinks about this deal. Is it worth the price? How is the camera? How bad is the shutter shock?

Thanks in advance.

Stay safe.

Wonderful sensor, terrible camera, shutter shock is real but manageable. Price OK if with warranty. No EFCS or IS or PDAF.

Small body, no star eater, good base ISO DR, no dual gain.

Mine has a CV15/4.5 glued on it. Good for small wide to normal primes and landscape on a tripod.

Why would you buy one, other than the price?

Andrew

 

[Manzur Fahim]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are well.

My local Sony shop has a brand new A7R and they want to sell it for $560 (equiv.). I am kinda tempted but just want to see what everyone thinks about this deal. Is it worth the price? How is the camera? How bad is the shutter shock?

Thanks in advance.

Stay safe.

Wonderful sensor, terrible camera, shutter shock is real but manageable. Price OK if with warranty. No EFCS or IS or PDAF.

Small body, no star eater, good base ISO DR, no dual gain.

Mine has a CV15/4.5 glued on it. Good for small wide to normal primes and landscape on a tripod.

Why would you buy one, other than the price?

Andrew

Collectible? 1st gen Sony FF mirrorless. I'd be much happier if they had A99 Mark II

 

[ahaslett]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are well.

My local Sony shop has a brand new A7R and they want to sell it for $560 (equiv.). I am kinda tempted but just want to see what everyone thinks about this deal. Is it worth the price? How is the camera? How bad is the shutter shock?

Thanks in advance.

Stay safe.

Wonderful sensor, terrible camera, shutter shock is real but manageable. Price OK if with warranty. No EFCS or IS or PDAF.

Small body, no star eater, good base ISO DR, no dual gain.

Mine has a CV15/4.5 glued on it. Good for small wide to normal primes and landscape on a tripod.

Why would you buy one, other than the price?

Andrew

Collectible? 1st gen Sony FF mirrorless. I'd be much happier if they had A99 Mark II

Forgot to mention that if it doesn’t lock AF within a certain time, it claims it has anyway. Easy to spot on review but very annoying.

Andrew

 

[SQLGuy]

At worst, the shutter shock reduces the vertical resolution to that of the A7... which is a 24MP sensor with an AA filter.

The shutter is loud, and the lag is noticeable, because there is no EFCS.

It's very solid, with a lot of magnesium alloy. Quite small and light.

If AF speed is a concern, you will definitely want to stick with native, voice-coil/linear focusing, lenses. E.g. the 2470Z focuses fairly quickly on the A7R.

 

[Raymond L]

In addition to some of the responses here. I think it’s not a bad camera if you were going to adapt some old lenses on it.

I had the A7 mark I when it was released, and recently sold it. If you have very low expectations on general speed and AF it can be a fun camera.



yes. Battery life is poor, but aftermarket batteries is fairly cheap + USB dual chargers (also).

 

[nk4002r]

This! I've decided to get the 1st gen a7S instead - just a couple weeks ago. Sure, only 12MP, but good high iso performance and it has silent shooting. The first gen is the smallest interchangeable lens full frame camera with a built in viewfinder (without IS).

 

[FrenchKiss78]

I am still using mine from 2015 for landscape and there is no difference in IQ with the r3.

It is loud and there is no ibis, but it works wonderfully and the DR is the same as the R3.

Regarding the shutter shock, this is an urban lengend told by those that never used one.

The eye AF also works great for portrait.

The AF is slow at dark but decent for some action too during the day (not too fast). You will get 3 fps.

The internal apps are very nice too.

For hiking, it is much lighter than r3.

Put a 16-35 f4 zeiss with OSS and you have a great combo. The 70-300 sony also works well with it.

 

[SQLGuy]

I am still using mine from 2015 for landscape and there is no difference in IQ with the r3.

It is loud and there is no ibis, but it works wonderfully and the DR is the same as the R3.

Regarding the shutter shock, this is an urban lengend told by those that never used one.

Check my sig. I own an A7R. it's my IR camera. As to the magnitude of effect from shutter shock, Jim Kasson tested it here: https://blog.kasson.com/the-last-word/the-visibility-of-a7r-shutter-shock/

The idea that shutter shock ruins images, even at its worst, is false (or urban legend, if you prefer), but shutter shock itself is real.

The eye AF also works great for portrait.

The AF is slow at dark but decent for some action too during the day (not too fast). You will get 3 fps.

AF speed depends heavily on lenses. The 2470Z at 35mm on the A7R is noticeably faster (and quieter, of course) than the Samyang 35/2.8 on the A7R2. Yes, light helps, too.

The internal apps are very nice too.

For hiking, it is much lighter than r3.

Put a 16-35 f4 zeiss with OSS and you have a great combo. The 70-300 sony also works well with it.

--
A7R2 with SEL2470Z and a number of adapted lenses (Canon FD, Minolta AF, Canon EF, Leica, Nikon...); A7R converted to IR.