Godfrey
Well-known member
Okay, I did a little experiment this morning. I carried both the M9 and the A7 along with just the M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 lens. To further constrain the results, I set the lens to about f/4.7 and the ISO on both cameras to 320.
In use, there are some situations where the A7 is much easier to focus and other situations where the M9 is much easier to focus. But by and large most situations prove equally easy to focus with either, and there are workarounds in technique that you can use to get around when either are more difficult to focus. The end result is that you can focus either camera with acceptable accuracy with a little practice and understanding.
In all cases, it's much easier to see the framing accurately with the Sony. You always see precisely what the lens sees. The Leica allows you to see a bit around the outside of the actual frame by varying amounts depending upon the particular focal length, the distance you're focusing at, and your eyesight (because of how you see through the viewfinder). As a consequence, with the Leica I normally want to shoot a little "loose" to be sure I've got everything I want in the photo. This is the same if I were comparing an SLR and a RF camera of any type.
The Leica M9 is a bit bulkier, a bit heavier than the Sony. The differences are not enormous. Likewise, the ergonomics of the two cameras differ a lot, but which fits your hands and use better is a matter of personal opinion. As is the ability to make settings with the camera not to your eye ... they both do, but how you do it and how you see what you're doing is different, and which you like more will also differ.
The Sony A7 (and particularly the A7r) gets a bad rap for shutter noise. Well, the sound of the shutters is quite different:
M9:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/M9.mp3
A7 with EFCS enabled (the normal mode):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/A7-ECFS.mp3
A7 with only mechanical (same as A7r):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/A7-mechanical.mp3
The recordings were made at about 7 inches from the cameras, above and to the right of them. The M9's softer sound is followed by the longer, slow shutter recock. The A7 EFCS mode is sharp but quick, the A7 mechanical mode is clattery. None of them is particularly quiet, really, and from 8 feet way in an open field you'd hardly notice any of them. For a quiet concert hall ... Give me a quiet leaf shutter camera, please.
In the end, the question becomes "Which camera makes a better photo?" I've seen that some people think the M9 creates a sharper photo ... which seems kind of odd since the A7 has more pixel resolution. If you're using the same lens on either, and the lens is a good match to either sensor, the 30% more pixel resolution should count for more than the difference that the A7's light AA filter can reduce resolution by (the A7r's lack of AA filter and double the M9 resolution should account for even more than that), and perceptual sharpness is after that more of an image processing/local contrast issue.
So here's the challenge: Look at these ten photo pairs and tell me for each one of them which is the M9 and which is the A7 exposure.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-01.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-02.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-03.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-04.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-05.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-06.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-07.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-08.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-09.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-10.jpg
(I've got the legend here, but I'll let you do guess first.
As to what I like using ... Well, I like using them both. But I think I like using the A7 more: I was always most comfortable using SLRs because I could see the framing more clearly and see with my eye what was or wasn't in focus by judging its sharpness.
In use, there are some situations where the A7 is much easier to focus and other situations where the M9 is much easier to focus. But by and large most situations prove equally easy to focus with either, and there are workarounds in technique that you can use to get around when either are more difficult to focus. The end result is that you can focus either camera with acceptable accuracy with a little practice and understanding.
In all cases, it's much easier to see the framing accurately with the Sony. You always see precisely what the lens sees. The Leica allows you to see a bit around the outside of the actual frame by varying amounts depending upon the particular focal length, the distance you're focusing at, and your eyesight (because of how you see through the viewfinder). As a consequence, with the Leica I normally want to shoot a little "loose" to be sure I've got everything I want in the photo. This is the same if I were comparing an SLR and a RF camera of any type.
The Leica M9 is a bit bulkier, a bit heavier than the Sony. The differences are not enormous. Likewise, the ergonomics of the two cameras differ a lot, but which fits your hands and use better is a matter of personal opinion. As is the ability to make settings with the camera not to your eye ... they both do, but how you do it and how you see what you're doing is different, and which you like more will also differ.
The Sony A7 (and particularly the A7r) gets a bad rap for shutter noise. Well, the sound of the shutters is quite different:
M9:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/M9.mp3
A7 with EFCS enabled (the normal mode):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/A7-ECFS.mp3
A7 with only mechanical (same as A7r):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/A7-mechanical.mp3
The recordings were made at about 7 inches from the cameras, above and to the right of them. The M9's softer sound is followed by the longer, slow shutter recock. The A7 EFCS mode is sharp but quick, the A7 mechanical mode is clattery. None of them is particularly quiet, really, and from 8 feet way in an open field you'd hardly notice any of them. For a quiet concert hall ... Give me a quiet leaf shutter camera, please.
In the end, the question becomes "Which camera makes a better photo?" I've seen that some people think the M9 creates a sharper photo ... which seems kind of odd since the A7 has more pixel resolution. If you're using the same lens on either, and the lens is a good match to either sensor, the 30% more pixel resolution should count for more than the difference that the A7's light AA filter can reduce resolution by (the A7r's lack of AA filter and double the M9 resolution should account for even more than that), and perceptual sharpness is after that more of an image processing/local contrast issue.
So here's the challenge: Look at these ten photo pairs and tell me for each one of them which is the M9 and which is the A7 exposure.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-01.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-02.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-03.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-04.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-05.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-06.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-07.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-08.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-09.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/A7-M9-side_by_side/side_by_side-10.jpg
(I've got the legend here, but I'll let you do guess first.
As to what I like using ... Well, I like using them both. But I think I like using the A7 more: I was always most comfortable using SLRs because I could see the framing more clearly and see with my eye what was or wasn't in focus by judging its sharpness.