[jogiba]

A7R_M_Lens_Report

Interesting review if you have Leica M lenses and are interested in the 36MP A7r.

[Michelek]

Hinman, my thoughts on the A7 ergonomics are almost exactly the same :-)
It's good but not perfect, some buttons could be placed better etc. etc.
But the EVF is excellent, the buttons can be customized to fit almost everyone's needs and - this may be a bit odd - I love the softness of the shutter button and the sound of the shutter ;-) It reminds me of my first "serious" SLR, the Minolta 505si, it's very "analogue", if you know what I mean.

And above all, the IQ is excellent. Here is a panorama of a foggy Lodz taken today at ISO2500 and then heavily post-processed. Of course, noise is present but not to heavy for the post-processing I've done (Detail Extractor and Silver Efex Pro from the NIK Collection, some clarity and contrast added in some places; no noise reduction at all):

[LFLee]

with FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA and A7 in jpg, no editing


Here is a top level view of the camera



The handle is quite comfortable for me. With a small prime and its kit lens, it is no problem. I have not tried a heavier lens.

The shutter location turns off quite a few people. I feel very uncomfortable at first as the I need to pull back my index finger to hit the shutter. My preferred location is right on the front wheel. Both the C1 and shutter are in the back and it will take some time to get used to. The other things that I don't like is the position of the MENU rubber button, it is clamped into an odd position. All the wheels have a good feel but not the C1/C2 and menu rubber buttons. It is not a biggie but those will add up for users with high expectations.

The overall design is good but it can be outstanding with few changes. The best part of the A7 or A7r is the compact size and its big sensor, it is very much like a nex 7 with addition of the hump that some people don't like. FF mirrorless with interchangeable lenses in a small body is a reality in A7/A7r and it is a powerhouse especially for manual focusing. I know that Emacs doesn't like it for various reasons but the viewfinder is the best of breed and when I view images in replay in the EVF, it is like watching a 3D movie vividly. When I press C1 to zoom in for manual focusing, the clarity of the magnified view make me feel like a young man with good eyesight -- it is the key thing why I think it is a powerhouse for manual focus. With the DMF which is AF with a twist with MF assist that allow you to overwrite AF location with fine adjustment, the Sony continue the greatness in AF/MF hybrid type of shooting, very ideal for combination of street shooting and macro. The Eye AF is something that I have not tried and I think it will help with portrait.

All in all, I am quite happy with A7 with some quirks to work out as a new user.

Cheers,
Hin

Thanks Hin.. The other thing is that I have bad experience using sony product - a VAIO and a P&S camera.
The PC broke down and the CS is really bad, usually it is OK as I can reinstall OS. But the SONY's motherboard can't recognize the HardDrive...what?! after spending many hours and CS not helping, not even providing driver for the HardDrive, I found the driver and have to recompile Windows installation CD to install the OS. Never buy a SONY PC after that.
The P&S.... replacement batteries hard to find and using only memory stick! well, part of this is my own bad decision....

anyway, did SONY still do these small things (like SONY proprietary thing) to annoy their customers? thing like Nikon recent firmware update render all third party battery useless kind of things?


one thing I really applaud PENTAX is they use the same battery from K7-K5-K5II-K3-645D! small thing, but save so many troubles for their user (you can upgrade and don't have to re-buy all those accessories)!

[Christine Tham]

Christmas lights on the SEL35F28Z

[LFLee]

Found a flickr member with lots of A7r photos on various lenses: Sony A7r - a set on Flickr

Have to say the colors on some old glass + A7r is looking very good!
for example:

source: DSC00173 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[hinman]

How I setup Clear Image Zoom

1. CIZ -- Clear Image Zoom is a setting in Menu -> Setting (2nd tab) ->Page 3 ->Zoom Setting
default is optical zoom, I have to choose CIZ from the default Optical Zoom

2. I customize the AEL key for Zoom. At shooting, I toggle the switch on AF/MF to AEL. Hit once and choose 1.0x to 2.0x in CIZ setting. In the following sample, I use the setting for 1.2x


I tried out 1.2x in ClearImageZoom that essentially gives my Sigma 30mm f/2.8 ability to remove the noticeable vignette from f/2.8 to f/8.0. I think this will come in handy for people trying out Sigma 30/60 in FF with auto crop mode turned off.

There is one caveat that I don't quite understand with Clear Image Zoom (CIZ) feature, once enabled, the flexible spot AF come back with a big rectangle as if the auto focus can't work on a particular spot but an estimate similar to the green rectangular box in NEX focusing with issue. Do any of you try Clear Image Zoom and run into this focusing handicap. Is this normal, I ran into rectangle box in AF in both my FE 35mm and my Sigma 30mm. I turn to DMF and use MF override to ensure accurate focusing.



with sigma 30mm f/2.8 with baffle removed, shot in f/8, Zoom at 1



same setting with Sigma 30mm f/2.8 in f/8.0, zoom at 1.2x


Of course, there is still slight vignette on the corners. If I shoot in f/2.8 to f/5.6, the 1.2x Clear Image Zoom seem to offset the vignette making the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 work like a Sigma 36mm f/2.8. And remember the Sigma is a $150 lens that I bought and some people probably get it even cheaper.

I like to know what are the caveats, is there loss of quality in CIZ. How is it different than the cropping in post processing? I don't know the detail behind.

Here is a reference shot in f/8.0 shot from Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA for reference


with Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA in f/8.0

View: original size

And why is the flexible spot AF return a rectangle? Will CIZ degrade the AF system? I use DMF to counter the rectangle.

Thanks,

Hin

[hinman]

From Sony's own forum site:

Optical zoom: true zoom, by using optical zoom quality remains the same and the full resolution of the camera can be used on the zoomed image.

Clear Image Digital Zoom: the processor compares patterns found in adjacent pixels and creates new pixels to match selected patterns, resulting in more realistic, higher quality images

Precision Digital zoom: Enlarges all the image sizes by the total zoom scale of approximately 64x, including the optical 16x. However, note that the image quality deteriorates when the optical zoom scale is exceeded.

Clear Image Zoom vs Precision Digital Zoom, what's... - Sony's Community Site

quoted from dpreview discussion.

Thanks,
Hin

[Christine Tham]

[B]is there loss of quality in CIZ. How is it different than the cropping in post processing? I don't know the detail behind.

Digital zooming is basically cropping followed by upscaling, so yes there is loss of quality.

If you want to get rid of vignette, you should create a customised Adobe lens profile for the lens.

[Christine Tham]

More Christmas lights (same house as before - Cambage Court) but with Summicron 50

[hinman]

Discusion on CIZ in this dpreview thread

Use of SEL 50mm f/1.8 in FF mode with Clear Image Zoom at 1.3x

I removed the baffle but the dark circle or vignette are obvious even in the EVF with my A7

The following pictures are using the CIZ (Clear Image Zoom) turned on with 1.3x zoom magnification essentially turn the SEL 50mm f/1.8 to 65mm f/1.8 in frull frame mode.


SEL 50mm f/1.8 with 1.3x CIZ, f/2.2, A7, jpg x-fine, no editing


SEL 50mm f/1.8 with 1.3x CIZ, f/1.8, A7, jpg x-fine, no editing

I don't want to show the pictures without Clear Image Zoom as it is bad not just with natural vignette but totally black circle blocking the light around the edge. The CIZ need to be raised to 1.3 to clear the dark circle. In the case of sigma, the dark circle can easily be fixed and a 1.2x CIZ can clear most issue up to f/8 in the Sigma.

If you like your SEL 50mm f/1.8, you can give that a try on A7/A7r. With OSS and a fast speed in f/1.8, it adds fun to the new camera.

Cheers,
Hin

[Christine Tham]

Zeiss Planar 50

f2:


f2.8:


f2:

[Emacs]

APO-Summicron-M 90 ASPH


BTW, I found the only position where the A7 is more or less comfortable to shoot with is eye level. And it's almost a pain to use it for everything else: controls are not easily accessible and it is just unpleasant to hold it at chest or stomach level for instance. Not to mention it's not that good for tripods due to lack of touchscreen. I dislike it more and more. Unfortunately in Russia we cannot return "complicated" tech in 2 weeks if it doesn't have some malfunction. So, I'm trying to sell it, but, unfortunatelly, with no success yet. Planned to give it for a try to my pentaxian mate, great photographer, who want to use it with FA limiteds and A50/1.2.

I used 5n today as well and it was kind of revelation: this NEX is not the most ergonomic camera sure, but somehow it works OK in all circumstances.

[Christine Tham]

I used 5n today as well and it was kind of revelation: this NEX is not the most ergonomic camera sure, but somehow it works OK in all circumstances.

The 5n is the camera that converted me to a Sony fangirl.

I was ridiculing and criticising the NEX series (camera for wannabes, can of soft drink glued to playing cards, etc. etc.) until one day just out of curiosity I tried holding it and using it in a camera shop. I was amazed at how well it handled in my hands, and how easy it was to take photos. From then onwards I was hooked.

The A7r feels more like a traditional SLR to me - actually it feels a lot like the Program A/Super A. I quite like it, but it takes a little to get used to (it wasn't "love at first fondle" like the 5n was). It is a lot lighter than a DSLR but handles somewhat like one - which actually suits me.

I like it a lot with the grip - I have been shooting pretty much exclusively with the grip last week or so. But it feels like a normal DSLR with a grip.

Sorry to hear you can't return your A7 - hope you find a (happy) buyer for the camera.

Edit: I wouldn't be surprised if Sony releases a full frame E mount in the "NEX-5" form factor next year - hopefully complete with touchscreen. Based on our shared love for the NEX5n this body may well be worth considering.

[jogiba]

BTW, I found the only position where the A7 is more or less comfortable to shoot with is eye level.

I prefer the adjustable angle OLED EVF and touchscreen swivel LCD on my full frame NEX-VG900 .

[LFLee]

I prefer the adjustable angle OLED EVF and touchscreen swivel LCD on my full frame NEX-VG900 .

Largest FF camera found!