Congratulations Barry on your A7R4 + GM 135mm. :clap:
You are already putting them to terrific use. :thumbs:
What’s your initial impression? TIA.
Thank you K-H.
Re: A7R4. The short answer it's a very good one
The 135mm is probably the sharpest "Sony" lens that I currently own (or have owned so far to date... 16-35/4...Zony 35/1.4...Sonnar 55/1.8...GM 85/1.4...G 90/2.8...G70-200/4...GM 100-400mm)...definitely going to keep this piece of glass.
I purchased the A7R4 about 3 weeks ago from HK because the waiting list/time here in the UK was just so long.
The first few days was getting my head around the settings in the menu system...followed by some prolonged awful windy/rainy days - Typical Cornish weather!
I really have not spent that much time with the camera as of yet (not as much as I was hoping for), still early days...Definitely no regrets with the purchase.
The A7R4 has a noticeable jump in IQ and resolution over my worn out battered A7R2...The A7R4 extra resolution now best serves me for APS-C cropping a lens and a wider focal length gapping as opposed to just making larger prints.
The camera itself is pretty amazing in what it is capable of being able to achieve and also in what it can produce...Build quality and AF is much improved over my A7R2...I have no interest in the movie side of the camera, so can't really comment.
The main downside with the camera is still the menu system...It's way overly complicated and hard to remember where everything is (Somebody new coming to Sony for the first time would probably struggle for awhile)...Setting up correctly the shortcut custom keys/Function Menu Set/My Menu helps access what is important to your individual way of shooting.
I updated my SD cards to a pair of Sony Tough 128GB cards which work great with the camera (Each card now produces 1002 shots of Raw uncompressed with fast read/write speeds)...A single battery is good for a days shooting unless you do 10fps all the time (i.e. sports/wildlife photography).
The GM 100-400mm is a more recent acquisition than the camera, which is still waiting to be introduced to the Cornish coast..I eventually caved in on that lens as I needed the extra reach over the 135mm...Your images (and David's) helped make up my mind for me.
Also I just wanted to thank you personally for all of your support over on FM.
Cheers Barry
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Taken at Porthleven yesterday...Dynamic range torture test
Quattuor - A7R4 + GM 135mm
Santa Maria by Patrick Kolb, on Flickr
