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So Why did you buy the A7/R???

PeterA

Well-known member
for around 2K I get a better walk around camera to use my M lenses for colour happy snaps than Leica's first CMOS chipped offering - IOW a no brainer.
 

jagsiva

Active member
A7R simply for the no AA filter option. If the A7 had no AA, I would have done the same thing. None of my current cameras have it, and I've kind of gotten used to it.

If the question was why did I buy either, then size, EVF, and something I can have with me all the time.

AND, it is always nice to buy a FF body for 2K, it's kind of like dollar-cost averaging with stocks. A few more of these, and the price of the Phase back and tech lenses will average out to acceptable levels :)
 

retow

Member
For my needs it is the travel solution I was waiting for. Small, portable, high IQ, reasonably versatile and robust, good for landscape, reportage, candid, street. And lastly AF as well as MF implementation are done quite impressively, better than with other mirrorless systems.
 

philber

Member
I bought it because, simply put, it is the best go-anywhere-anytime camera in the world. Its FF sensor supersedes that of the NEX 7, the previous champ IMHO.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I'm just wondering how many folks who rushed to jump on the D800 bandwagon will now be jumping on the A7R?

Personally, I bought in to the D800 and then decided that it wasn't for me. However, the lens flexibility of the A7R surely does look compelling. I'm sitting out for a couple of months until I need (want?) such a camera but it certainly looks like Sony are on to a winner.

Loving my RX1R in the meantime. My D600 still has me snoozing. The Df at least has some mojo.
 

retow

Member
I'm just wondering how many folks who rushed to jump on the D800 bandwagon will now be jumping on the A7R?

Personally, I bought in to the D800 and then decided that it wasn't for me. However, the lens flexibility of the A7R surely does look compelling. I'm sitting out for a couple of months until I need (want?) such a camera but it certainly looks like Sony are on to a winner.

Loving my RX1R in the meantime. My D600 still has me snoozing. The Df at least has some mojo.
The A7(r) buy is a head, the Df a heart decision. I got both and they share some of the lovely MF Nikkors ai/ais.
 

jpaulmoore

Active member
I had waited far too long for Canon to come out with a successor to the 1Ds Mark lll and compete with the Nikon D800e. Now I have my Canon glass and that nice 38 MP Sony sensor.
J. Paul
 

jlm

Workshop Member
lens selection, including the FE zeiss set; no AA filter, EFV, size, great manual focus, sensor and color rendering
and fotografz likes it
 

kuau

Workshop Member
I just ordered the A7, not the R. I first rented the A7 and 35/2.8 also a NEX to Leica M mount to use my Zeiss ZM 50/2 and 85/4. The results to me were excellent.

36MP to me is overkill and IMHO for all the extra work to get the most out of a FF 36MP camera is not worth it. Nothing to do with money. I would still rather shot my Sinai arTec with my outdated Leaf Aptus 33MP back which btw smoked my D800e in terms of raw IQ.

Guy, yep a lot of the A7r issues are FW fixable, yet Sony is note known for there timely FW upgrades. Lastly even though Sony claims 14bit raw files, they really aren't Sony uses some kind of lossy compression. Just compare the file size from the D800 and the A7r.

Either way both excellent cameras just personal choice. If I go to a FF 36mp camera, I am going to wait for Sony to introduce a updated version of the A99.
 

DigitalSteve

New member
36.2 Megapixels
Can use my Canon lenses
Easily manual focus (which was very difficult to do accurately on the Nikon D800, I previously owned)
Tilting LCD can be handy when shooting from a low position
Canon has not released or even announced a higher (than 22) megapixel camera. (If they announced it, I would have probably waited)
I rarely do any fast action shooting, so the low frame rate is OK. besides I have the Canon 5D3 if I need something a bit faster.
I could not adapt my Canon lenses to the Nikon. (Wanted to use the MPE65 1x-5x macro, since 36MP effectively gets me even closer than 22MP)
 

kit laughlin

Subscriber Member
Guy, I shall be very, very interested in your comparisons of the two models when you get around to it. I am especially interested in the strength of the AA filter on the A7; as mentioned above, I prefer the MP count of this body for my work.

And if you do end up preferring the 7r, please PM me if you want to sell the A7: I have to source a US or Canada model, for the 60/30/24p video modes; the A7 is actually less expensive here in Australia than in the US, but Sony 'respect' the NTSC/PAL regions and, as a result, the locally available A7 and A7r bodies are 50/25fps, which will not mesh with my other cameras (two G7s, and a GX1, all US-sourced).

The back story that I am in no hurry, because I have agreed to wait to buy one of these: the boss (Olivia, aka the 'financial controller'!) has stipulated that the book I am working on must get to a certain point before I "distract" myself with a new camera! I imagine it must be a bit like that in your house!

Cheers, KL
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I have a bit different perspective on "Why Did I Buy?"

In my "Conflicted" thread are all my rambling musings about the new A7/A7R ... but the truth be told, it was a done deal the minute they announced the camera. Not only did I pre-order an A7R, I pre-paid for it before even touching it (which I NEVER do).

At the very least I got it just to send a message to all the other camera makers to ... wake the fukg up! ;)

The price/performance ratio makes that possible ... it is a relatively low risk deal.

I think some "Pro" reviewers have a deep-seated, back of the mind rumbling terror of what this little camera may represent to the very thing that keeps them going: micro-measuring the minute differences between incestuous manufacturer's offerings. How can they be forthright, when it will unseat hard earned relationships with competitors to this upstart that dares deliver such a price/performance ratio? Fault finding is an easy task with just about anything made by man ... heighten the "Can't Do" minimize the "Can Do" ... diminish and protect. Others may think otherwise, but to me it is painfully obvious. Embarrassing actually.

If the D800 was an after-shock to the MFD industry, this is an actual Earthquake to the 35mm world. Let's face it, Canon/Nikon could have done it, and Leica should have ... but they didn't. Thus empires decay and new ones arise (unless they wake the fukg up!).

Let me be clear ... despite my enthusiasm, I'm no Sony "Fanboy." If anything, I'm a Leica Fanboy, or at least I was. To me, the logic of buying is dictated by art and practical need ... I'm a fan of anything that advances those causes.

So, I tend to look at any new equipment idea and creatively think ... what can I do with this? ... not ... "what can't I do with this?"

I do not have Unicorn expectations and Cotton Candy dreams that ANY camera will ever fulfill all of my creative musings and related technical requirements in the service of my eclectic photographic explorations. If I CAN think of enough things to do with a piece of gear that may expand the creative possibilities, and I have the money, I add it.

There are a LOT of things I CAN DO with this camera, and the cost is reasonable compared to almost anything else with similar performance. Like most of us, once I get something new, I almost always discover other things it CAN DO I didn't initially think of ... which enhances the Price/Performance Ratio even more.

I can almost see the quivering lower lip of those with dashed expectations. "My beloved M50mm has mushy corners, :cry:, Oh, what will I ever do". BooHoo, I can't use my R280mm on it at 1/30th ... I'm so outraged." It is almost comical.

It is the collective of these disappointments that gets the "Can't Do" ball rolling ... meanwhile, people are posting hundreds of images that defy it all.

To be sure this is just the start ...

Me? I'm buying some smaller camera bags :ROTFL:

- Marc
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Interesting thread.

I didn't buy the A7/A7r. Yet. I'm intrigued by these cameras, but I'm not convinced that this first round is really worth the money yet. Too many glitches, not enough native lenses yet, so-so and unknown performance with my M-mount lenses.

What would I buy it for? The obvious answer: that big sensor and a good viewfinder in a small package—the ability to make splendid photographs.

That last is really the critical part. If a camera enables/motivates you to make great photographs, it's the right tool for the job. Big sensor or not, lotsa features or none, that's the thing that makes the difference. I suspect the A7/A7r will do that for some folks; I've not bought yet because I haven't yet been convinced it will do that for me.

G
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Frankly I find nothing wrong with this cam that are not familiar with any other cam on the market. Just a matter what work arounds you need to employ. Not on this forum but people need to just get on with it and stop ****ing whining. I just spent probably 7 grand to get in this system. I'm ignoring the whining. There is not a shot I can't accomplish without a little extra work. Oh I forgot people don't like work. This camera will produce but just like the other 36 mpx sensors there are walls you need to get through and a lot of care to accomplish them. People forget the D800e release and I can't get sharp images. There is no difference here. I'm going to go make money with mine and enjoy its extra features I never had.

Oh and Merry Christmas. Now go shoot Grinch has spoken. LOL

I won't be grumpy in 10 minutes. ROTFLMAO
 
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