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My A7 story :D

Rawfa

Active member
So I JUST got my A7 and I didn't have much time to mess with it too much because it's night here in Rio de Janeiro and it's pouring outside.

But before I go into my first impressions I'll contextualize my needs quickly.
I have to say that I was always a ONE camera kind of guys. I don't do gigs where I HAVE to have a backup, and photography is not where I earn my living...so I always felt it was kind of unnecessary to have a bunch of cameras.

That being said, I was extremely happy with my NEX-7...until I started shooting video again. It does shoot great video, but it has issues with overheating and poor audio even with external mics (for my needs). SO, I ended up getting a Canon 6D for video.

When Sony announced the A7/A7R I thought all my problems would be solved (not to mention that I'm always an early adopter of new technology). So I sold my NEX-7, all my Canon primes and I'm currently trying to sell my Canon 6D.

Move to today, UPS drops me this nice little package and I cannot wait to start testing my new toy. So, here are my first thoughts:

The good
- I was amazed at how little it was (I really thought it was going to be substantially bigger than the NEX-7).
- I've tested the audio input and audio control with an external mic and it's great.
- Lots of manual controls and customizable buttons
- Everything feels solid
- The new menus are much better than the usual Sony menus
- It feels fast

The bad
- Phase AF has like 101 AF points and it's supposed to be amazing, but Sony only updated a couple of their lenses to support it (this one isn't really about the camera, but ok)
- The magnify focus assist needs 2 clicks to magnify (it needed one click on the NEX7)
- I just HATE the in camera battery charging (I've already ordered an "external" charger)
- The flaps for the inputs feel extremely fragile
- The ultra super micro HDMI output is ridiculous. I use an external hdmi monitor to shoot video and now I'm going to try to find one more adapter for my collection (to be honest I don't even know if there are such adapters since this is the first time I've seen such a small HDMI ouput).
- I set the video format to NTSC so I can shoot 24p and EVERYTIME I turn on the camera I get a "Running on NTSC" message, which I've read is normal on the Sony website (this is just insane!)
- I'm not sure if this should be here, but I was kind of said that I won't be able to use any of the smaller e-mount APS-C lenses.

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to give it a proper test.
 

Rawfa

Active member
Very quick tests with a Pentax adapter, a 35mm 1.9 and an 85mm 2.0.

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V

Vivek

Guest
The bad
- I just HATE the in camera battery charging (I've already ordered an "external" charger)

- The ultra super micro HDMI output is ridiculous. I use an external hdmi monitor to shoot video and now I'm going to try to find one more adapter for my collection (to be honest I don't even know if there are such adapters since this is the first time I've seen such a small HDMI ouput).
Congrats, Rafa! :)

On the first, your NEX batteries and the charger are the same for the A7/7R. You do not need an additional charger! Huge difference between Sony and Panasonic! ;)

I agree on the HDMI port. I am disappointed with the micro D port.

The rest are trivial and you get used to it.

Let me tell you one thing, if you try the A7R, you will never ever touch a NEX! :)
 

Rawfa

Active member
Thanks, Vivek.
I don't have my NEX charger as I've sold it with the NEX-7. I've already orded one.
I have to say that I was really torn about getting the A7 or the A7R. I ended up going with the A7 because of Phase Detect (which ended up being useless), because it was supposed to be better for video, and because it's us$600 cheaper than the A7R (given the difference in specs it felt like a BIG value difference for me). But now that I think about it, I would still be able to shoot with my APS-C lenses with good results when necessary (nature, etc). I've tested very briefly the APS-C mode on the A7 (10mp) and it leaves a bit to be desired (forget about high iso).
 

Rawfa

Active member
You can assign the function to whichever button you wish but you will still have to click twice to get the magnification.
 

Rawfa

Active member
:(
Please tell us more about this, and which NEX lenses (I'm assuming) you tried ...
I think that as long as you don't need high iso you can use APS-C e-mount lenses on the A7. You will get 10mp pictures, so there no room for cropping. I didn't do much testing so don't take my word as the law. I took a couple of shots with the 16mm pancake, the tamron 18-200mm, the 50mm 1.8 and the slr magic 23mm (which ALMOST fills the entire frame when shooting full frame). The weather is really bad and I'm kind of tied up with pending matters but I'll try to post some more conclusive tests.
 

Rawfa

Active member
Can anyone tell me what settings are people using for:
- electronic first curtain shutter
- high iso noise reduction
 

Rawfa

Active member
Wayyyy too little time to test my new baby. I'm dreaming about the weekend already.

Here is another with a pentax 85mm f2.0

 

Rawfa

Active member
Some quick stuff on my way to the my mother in laws'

Pentax 50m 1.4...veeery hard to focus at 1.4













 

Rawfa

Active member
With a 28mm 2.8 and a 85mm 2.0

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Godfrey

Well-known member
Rafael,

I like a lot of this last set of photos, but the rendering seems a little too harsh to my eye. Is that in-camera rendering, or something you are doing in post-process?

G
 

Rawfa

Active member
Thanks, Godfrey. It's not in-camera. My treatment is always borderline harsh...a very subtle line between just the look I'm looking for and going too far. I can only tell when you guys let me know :)
 

Rawfa

Active member
Because I shoot jpeg with everything tuned down to minimum contrast so I can get the look I actually want on post and because FF is much less unforgiving with focus wide open than APS-C. I should also have mentioned that I was referring to moving objects.
 

Rawfa

Active member
Some more complaints that could VERY easily be fixed via firmware:
- There is no setting for minimum and maximum ISO or shutter, while in auto.
- Yesterday I've tested the camera in AUTO mode to try to understand how it reacts in different conditions and I've notice the picture profile is then turned off. This is a shame because I shoot jpeg NEUTRAL with all settings at -3 to get the most latitude possible so I can get the look I want on post.
 

Rawfa

Active member
My cousin, who is a yoga teacher, asked me to make some portraits for her website. I've used a Pentax 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4 and a 85mm 2.0.

Due to her line of work I'm guessing she will go with color, but I thought I'd send her bw too.

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