[auricle]

Hello all,

I'm contemplating buying a Sony A7 or A7r to use my FA limteds on for when I want a small, lightweight body instead of my K3. The problem is I can't decide between the A7 or the A7r. I'm more of a slow, careful shooter and I hardly ever take any action or sports. So its mainly for street, or day outing at a national park for example. I know the A7 has the better auto focus (irrelevant for the Pentax lenses but I may get a couple of natives one day) and the quiter shutter. However, the A7r has the higher resolution and without the AA filter which would be great for landscapes, for example.

What do you recommend?

[Adam]

I would go for the A7r. Might as well take advantage of the extra resolution that FF can offer.

[DSims]

A7r for your purposes. Or the soon-to-be-available A7s if you like to shoot in low light (I think it costs the most (by a small margin) for a good reason).

[osv]

^^^ this

stitched a7r raw files are really nice... there are several examples of stitched photos in the top row of this link, blow 'em up to 100%, and scroll around in the photo :

Death Valley photos, shot with a Sony a7R and legacy SLR camera lenses

one big downside to the a7r is that it's very hard on wide-angle glass, you can see that in the 24mm comparisons that i did at the above-listed website... a7 probably gets the nod for fewer problems with lens field curvature, but it has issues with sensor reflection, in extreme light situations... pinholecam has posted some examples of that out here... with normal use, it won't be a problem at all.

if you need to use flashes, the sony platform can be really weak... they changed flash mounts, which is a huge hassle... and while the flagship f60m flash is a real flamethrower, it has a bad rep for overheating... hss doesn't work when the f60m head is pointed up, and the head won't rotate from side to side

radio transmitters for the sony flash platform are few and far between, and the best option for that, phottix odin, apparently has issues that have just come to light.

[innivus]

I'm curious if anyone has any opinions/experience with old K series glass on the a7/a7r... something like the K28/3.5, or K35/3.5, etc. Since these lenses are already manual focus, losing autofocus shouldn't be a huge problem, right?

[ElJamoquio]

Read up on the shutter blur at moderate speeds on the A7R.

Don't get the A7S unless you do video. Unless Sony has a surprise in store (new sensor reading technology, etc) there won't be an advantage to the A7S over an A7.

[DSims]

Don't get the A7S unless you do video. Unless Sony has a surprise in store (new sensor reading technology, etc) there won't be an advantage to the A7S over an A7.

They claim they have made a change here. I think we had a discussion about this before so I won't go into details. I believe the bottom line was that there are too many video features missing for it to be targeted only at video, so there's a reasonable chance they'll have to deliver on low-light photo advantages as well. And they do say they've done something innovative here. So I think it would be wise to wait and see. I'd expect them to at least partially meet their claims.

[ElJamoquio]

I'll believe it when I see it....................... but yes, I was aware they're claiming other imporvements.

[DSims]

Well get ready to become a believer ... uh ... I hope!

[auricle]

Thanks for all the helpful advice, everyone!

I'm currently leaning towards the A7r for the resolution but:

Read up on the shutter blur at moderate speeds on the A7R.

This is what is worrying me. It seems that good hand holding techniques are irrelevant if it is the camera itself that shakes. However, most owners themselves aren't too bothered about it, it seems. I'm wondering how much of a problem it actually is.

[jogiba]

I just purchased the Sony A7r with Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens mainly to shoot stills for 24x36" enlargements since it is one of the sharpest lenses ever tested. Here are some test results vs the $3,990 Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4 .
Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T* Lens for Canon EF 2010-056 B&H




The only Pentax Limited lens listed is the 40mm F2.8 so here is a comparison with the Sony 35mm F2.8 FE :

[osv]

I'm curious if anyone has any opinions/experience with old K series glass on the a7/a7r... something like the K28/3.5, or K35/3.5, etc. Since these lenses are already manual focus, losing autofocus shouldn't be a huge problem, right?

i have shot both an m28 f/3.5 and a super tak 35mm f/3.5 on the a7r, both were clean all the way across the frame, no real field curvature issues at optimal apertures.

the m28 is my go-to 28mm lens right now, it's plenty sharp, even wide open, but with five-leaf aperture blades, the bokeh at closer distances can get downright ugly... here are a couple of m28 f/3.5 pics that i shot, see the bokeh on the second one https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/76-non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/110...ughts-312.html

manual focusing with these cameras is a game-changer, if you take the time to learn how to use it... the so-called a7r "shutter shock" has less vibration than the mirror slap you get with a d800... i shoot everything at ~1/200th or quicker, so it's never a problem.

joe... stepping up big time with the a7r!

[pinholecam]

Hello all,

I'm contemplating buying a Sony A7 or A7r to use my FA limteds on for when I want a small, lightweight body instead of my K3. The problem is I can't decide between the A7 or the A7r. I'm more of a slow, careful shooter and I hardly ever take any action or sports. So its mainly for street, or day outing at a national park for example. I know the A7 has the better auto focus (irrelevant for the Pentax lenses but I may get a couple of natives one day) and the quiter shutter. However, the A7r has the higher resolution and without the AA filter which would be great for landscapes, for example.

What do you recommend?

Here's some 'proof' that they work

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/247282-pentax-lenses-ff-club-new-post.html

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/169-pentax-full-frame/246917-does-my-m42-...ploration.html

Between the A7 and R, I prefer the A7 as I need the RFC (electronic first curtain) for fast shutter response for street/candid/people/kids.
I also prefer the lower pixel density for easier processing and management.
The other benefit to that is lower chance of CA and better edges (w/o a need to downsample )
24mp to me is plenty.
I print only up to A3+ on my own printer.


I've mentioned about the pros/cons/irritations of the A7 in various posts (as well as the usability since the picts speak for themselves), so I won't mention them here again.

[DSims]

Don't get the A7S unless you do video. Unless Sony has a surprise in store (new sensor reading technology, etc) there won't be an advantage to the A7S over an A7.

I'll believe it when I see it....................... but yes, I was aware they're claiming other imporvements.

Well get ready to become a believer ... uh ... I hope!

OK, time to become a believer now!: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/76-non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/262...ml#post2855824

[Kayaker-J]

I think the main concerns pertinent to this deliberation have been referenced here already, so I won't speculate further on the two model comparison. But I'll be the odd man out saying my personal inclination -- that is, for myself -- would be to go conservative, grab a sweet deal on an A7, and revisit the super high rez realm when Sony gets its act together properly on a 36mp model.

I'd be concerned about taking a big hit reselling the A7R down the line, particularly if a refined version hits the streets at a price appealingly lower than the A7R's original retail ticket. That would make some sense for Sony; I think they know now they have a nice niche market out there for a D800/D5 Mk III alternative. The 36mp examples in the field now just go second-hand into the "second tier" market, maybe in fairly short order -- like ex-greatest thing iPads -- when the time is right. Prospective second owners of A7's will probably have fewer qualms about taking the plunge for the foreseeable future. But it's your money...

BTW, I would not put THAT much faith in current A7R owners' rosey appraisals collectively. It's common knowledge in the business schools and in cognitive research that there's a self-rationalization effect going on in typical online ratings, particularly with high ticket items involved, that skews these reports and rankings significantly. Personally, I'd not be surprised to see many of these very well satisfied A7R owners crowing again, sooner than you might expect, about how much better their new A7R II is, to some comic effect. Of course, the NEX 7 has become rather long in the tooth by conventional standards, while Sony tries this... and tries that. With Sony, predictions are kind of tough to make.