Interesting "gnats" buzzing around his camera:ROTFL:
Yep, this is a "niche" offering … double duh! That's the point. It is a machine dedicated to a purpose, and designed to do it in as un-compromised manner as current technology can reasonably give us.
Personally, I don't see this camera as a "lap-dog" you trot out to pet, but rarely use … at least I never knew any user of this type camera to do so. It's a highly disciplined "Dog of War" you unleash when needed
Frankly, I don't need to "emotionally bond" with a camera like this. I just need it to dispassionately do what I want, when I want … making "trust" the only emotion I want to feel about it.
"Is it that much of a "White Elephant?" Maybe to those who view gear as some stand alone financial investment, which is primarily an amateur's POV doomed to failure regardless which digital camera they get. However, this is a Pro camera designed to earn money for the owner, making it an investment in the user, not the camera.
EVF verses OVF … meh.
EVF are too slow for this type camera. As far as I know, Sony still hasn't separated the Frozen Viewfinder from the LCD Review for quick glance confirmation while in the heat of shooting. You have to set them for viewfinder priority with
no LCD display, forcing you to press a button to see the last shot … okay for "leisure time shooters" but not okay for speed dependent work … especially tiny unlit buttons in lower light, or with gloves on. Been there done that.
One other Pro consideration that may not occur to many here.
Importantly, this camera can be viewed as a killer studio/location camera for many applications involving lighting. FF 20 meg at lower ISOs is plenty for a vast majority of commercial fashion and action type location work. I employ Profoto AIR lighting with TTL/HSS capabilities … available only if I use a Nikon or Canon camera. No Sony AIR TTL transceivers are available, and none are planed. We also use Hensel lighting with Freemask, which requires a really high frame rate to more effectively work it's masking magic … our Sony's are to slow to do this in the best way possible.
"Horses for courses" … or maybe I should say … ponies are okay for a lot of stuff, but some may need a "Secretariat" to stay the course
- Marc