[osv]

Perhaps because that is only useful for still life type shots. I can't imagine using that focus feature on subjects that are moving around especially coming at you or moving away. I rarely used it when I had a mirrorless with that feature anyway but of course that was just me and YMMV.

it's the same thing for me, focus magnify is an xlnt application for objects that aren't hardly moving, but that's it.

the problem with reviewing these newer technologies is that it takes an inordinate amount of time to learn how to tweak 'em.

for example, adam didn't cover the ways that you can tweak focus peaking to make it more accurate and more visible, as i pointed out in the review thread... it's affected by the jpeg compression level of the camera(!), and some people even record monochrome jpegs just to make focus peaking more usable.

who would have thought that those things would affect focus peaking? certainly not thom hogan... he's so incompetent that he never mentioned how much better the a7/a7r evf is than the d800... but other reviewers got it right:

"Another difference between the cameras is the Live View and EVF on the A7r vs. the Live View and OVF on the D800. I didn’t expect this to be a big difference, but it really was. The resolution of the LV and EVF on the A7r is double that of the D800 LV, and the EVF is much easier to use than the D800’s OVF because of focus magnification. This may be because, at 48 years old, I need the extra resolution to see what I’m doing, but I had the distinct impression that my eyesight got worse whenever I switched to the D800, because it could only show so much on the LV due to its low maximum resolution. I had asked Steve about this by email and he suggested that I use the EVF on the A7r without focus magnification because it is much faster than trying to use focus mag. I tried it his way along with focus peaking (another cool feature of the A7r) and my way with focus mag. He was right that focus mag slowed down the process, but sometimes I felt it was necessary, so I used it anyway. Either way, I found that I got the focus more often with the A7r than with the D800."
The Sony A7r vs the Nikon D800 by Andrew Paquette | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS

[stevebrot]

My favorite Pentax lens for my full frame VG900 is the Pentax 50mm F1.4 and it's much more easy to use than the film days with match needle metering.

Great non-answer to the question...


Steve

[osv]

Sorry about that. Clearly they should put a big "BOGUS" watermark over the review so I and others are not tempted to be persuaded by it.

i try to not whine about something until after i've done my homework on it first.

that way, i don't look stupid when people point out how wrong i was

[tuco]

... The resolution of the LV and EVF on the A7r is double that of the D800 LV, and the EVF is much easier to use than the D800’s OVF because of focus magnification.

Perhaps. But on a tripod you can zoom view a lot to manual focus using the LCD on a D800. In this scenario, a EVF is a moot point I suspect.

EDIT: I don't read Steve Hoff's reviews. His bias for small cameras is too much and he fails to understand why you'd want a bigger camera body for large telephoto and zooms often encountered with sports. Life is not just street photography.

---

Last edited by tuco; 03-12-2014 at 09:49 AM.

[osv]

Perhaps. But on a tripod you can zoom view a lot to manual focus using the LCD on a D800. In this scenario, a EVF is a moot point I suspect.

you can do the same thing with the a7r, the lcd's on both are comparable, except that the a7r lcd tilts, which can be a huge advantage:

"The Sony A7R’s screen is a tilting 3-inch TFT panel with a resolution of 921K dots. An articulated rear monitor is a distinct advantage for video recording and shooting from more unusual angles.
The lack of touchscreen functionality may be disappointing for some photographers, as it’s something that’s been well implemented in Panasonic’s G-series of compact camera systems.
In addition to the high-res rear screen, the Sony A7R has a built-in XGA OLED electronic viewfinder (‘Tru-Finder’) with a resolution of 2.4 megapixels.
The Nikon D800 sticks with the traditional optical viewfinder arrangement, but has a slightly larger rear monitor. But at 912K-dots, the Nikon’s 3.2-inch TFT LCD is a slightly lower resolution than the Sony A7R’s screen.
The Sony A7R does have the edge here, although if electronic viewfinders aren’t your bag you’re unlikely to be swayed."
Sony A7R vs Nikon D800: which full-frame camera should you buy? | Digital Camera World - page 5

EDIT: I don't read Steve Hoff's reviews. His bias for small cameras is too much and he fails to understand why you'd want a bigger camera body for large telephoto and zooms often encountered with sports. Life is not just street photography.

i don't normally read thom hogan reviews because of his history as a nikon/m43 guy... although he apparently does have an a7? a lot of people call him a fanboi

the d800 is significantly more expensive than the a7r, but i agree with your point about sports shooting, i wouldn't want the a7r for that... nikon also has a far superior flash system, maybe the best in the business?

flashes can be a deal breaker, nothing worse than an overheating flash!!

[jogiba]

Great non-answer to the question...


Steve

Are you telling me you don't know how to use a manual focus lens ? Look at this link:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/76-non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/244...ages-here.html

[RyanW]

To heck with it. I'm off to enjoy photography, not post in forums.
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