[philbaum]

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I ordered the A7rmII on Monday thru BH via PentaxForums link. BH gives no estimate on delivery date, but 2 days later i got a message saying it would be delivered on Friday. There's several customization options, and i'm only about 1/2 way thru figuring out where to assign options. The Fn button provides 12 options just by itself.

The EVF provides a very large view, supposedly the largest magnification now available on any FF. I believe it. Very easy to see things and subdued colors. Perhaps the pleasant effect of the EVF is partially due to the IBIS. There's none of the jerkiness that i've seen with other EVF, nicely stable.

I bought the cheapest FE zoom lens available, a used 28-70 kit lens from BH for $290, just to get started. In normal lighting, the AF seems quick. Haven't had the time to compare low light focusing with my K3 - But thats something i want to do - i sort of doubt that it can exceed the K3's low light AF but we'll see.

[rawr]

Have fun!

Keen to hear more of your feedback relative to both NEX and Pentax, particularly in tricky or bad lighting.

Also DxO reckons the FE 28-70 F3.5-5.6 OSS isn't so bad. Seems a good value lens on both APS-C and FF E-mount.

[osv]

I ordered the A7rmII on Monday thru BH via PentaxForums link.

wow, stepping up to the plate! keep us posted on it.

check that 28-70 out when you get it, i'm highly skeptical, but the alternatives for af get kinda pricey.

[Winder]

I ordered the A7rmII on Monday thru BH via PentaxForums link. BH gives no estimate on delivery date, but 2 days later i got a message saying it would be delivered on Friday. There's several customization options, and i'm only about 1/2 way thru figuring out where to assign options. The Fn button provides 12 options just by itself.

The EVF provides a very large view, supposedly the largest magnification now available on any FF. I believe it. Very easy to see things and subdued colors. Perhaps the pleasant effect of the EVF is partially due to the IBIS. There's none of the jerkiness that i've seen with other EVF, nicely stable.

I bought the cheapest FE zoom lens available, a used 28-70 kit lens from BH for $290, just to get started. In normal lighting, the AF seems quick. Haven't had the time to compare low light focusing with my K3 - But thats something i want to do - i sort of doubt that it can exceed the K3's low light AF but we'll see.

Sony Alpha A7R II Mirrorless Camera Body Only Black | eBay

They are in stock at some retailers. Look around.

Let us know about the AF. I just bought the FE 90mm macro and I will probably buy the 35mm F/1.4 shortly. I'm more interested in better AF than the 42MPs. Hoping for an A9 by the end of the year.

[philbaum]

Sony Alpha A7R II Mirrorless Camera Body Only Black | eBay

They are in stock at some retailers. Look around.

Let us know about the AF. I just bought the FE 90mm macro and I will probably buy the 35mm F/1.4 shortly. I'm more interested in better AF than the 42MPs. Hoping for an A9 by the end of the year.

I turned off all the lights in our family room except the TV which faced away from the clock i was trying to focus on. The clock was so dim that i could only slightly make out its coarse outline. I tried my K3 with my F2.8 50-135 lens. It could only lock about 1/3 of the tries - and apparently that was due to some variation in the indirect light from the TV. The A7rII was able to lock focus on the clock 100% of the tries. What it does, is it temporarily lights up clock in the viewfinder with an increase in iso, focuses and then reduces the iso for the shooting. I was able to lock focus with my kit lens, a FE 28-70mm f3.5 - f5.6. I set it at f4.0 for the tests. I also repeated the A7rII test using an APS sized Sony 50mm f1.8 lens on the A7rII. Both the E and FE lenses locked focus equally well. I then put the Sony 50 f1.8 lens on my Nex6, and it was unable to lock focus on the clock, even one time.

I have a light meter, but its limited to 0ev. I held the light meter next to the clock and it read Error, U for underexposed. So the light at the clock was less than 0ev.

Conclusion: The A7rII is capable of static AF at slightly lower levels of light than the K3. Thats not what i expected but it is consistent with the A7RII static AF testing done recently by Rishi S. at Dpreview.

[osv]

I set it at f4.0 for the tests. I also repeated the A7rII test using an APS sized Sony 50mm f1.8 lens on the A7rII. Both the E and FE lenses locked focus equally well. I then put the Sony 50 f1.8 lens on my Nex6, and it was unable to lock focus on the clock, even one time.

my understanding there is that the a7rii opens up the aperture to focus, then stops down to take the shot, which could be a partial explanation for why the evf got brighter.

i seem to recall people saying that the wide open/stop down situation can't be turned off on the a7rii?? not sure why that would matter, unless you needed to counter focus shift.

[Winder]

my understanding there is that the a7rii opens up the aperture to focus, then stops down to take the shot, which could be a partial explanation for why the evf got brighter.

i seem to recall people saying that the wide open/stop down situation can't be turned off on the a7rii?? not sure why that would matter, unless you needed to counter focus shift.

You can set it up to AF with the aperture stopped down so that the EVF gives you accurate DoF or you can set it up to AF with the aperture wide open. You gain AF speed and accuracy by setting it to AF wide open, but lose the WYSISYG benefit.

[osv]

You can set it up to AF with the aperture stopped down so that the EVF gives you accurate DoF or you can set it up to AF with the aperture wide open. You gain AF speed and accuracy by setting it to AF wide open, but lose the WYSISYG benefit.

that sounds like "setting effect ON" or "setting effect OFF" in the evf setup?

what i'm talking about is defeating the aperture changes during af, with "setting effect ON", but i can't be specific because i don't own the camera... gotta find the thread where people were talking about it.

there are few instances outside of the studio where you'd want to use "setting effect OFF", but maybe low-light stage work is one of 'em.

[osv]

here is what i'm talking about... it started because people were reporting focus shift with the fe24-70, then it became defined as a pdaf vs. cdaf situation:

"Yes, but the A7R II doesn't (currently) have the option to focus stopped down, even with Live View Setting Effect ON." A7rII and focus shift: Sony Alpha Full Frame E-mount Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

of course you'll never have that option on any dslr using af? sounds like a tradeoff indeed, for better af speed and accuracy, but it only matters with lenses that have focus shift issues.

perhaps the moral of the story is to check all your af lenses for focus shifting, regardless of what kind of camera body they are on.

[Mikesul]

here is what i'm talking about... it started because people were reporting focus shift with the fe24-70, then it became defined as a pdaf vs. cdaf situation:

"Yes, but the A7R II doesn't (currently) have the option to focus stopped down, even with Live View Setting Effect ON." A7rII and focus shift: Sony Alpha Full Frame E-mount Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

of course you'll never have that option on any dslr using af? sounds like a tradeoff indeed, for better af speed and accuracy, but it only matters with lenses that have focus shift issues.

perhaps the moral of the story is to check all your af lenses for focus shifting, regardless of what kind of camera body they are on.

I just looked at the thread referred to and find it unconvincing. They began by citing a 2011 article discussing PDAF on DSLR and assumed, without question, that the same factors govern on sensor PDAF. I have tried and been unable to reproduce the focus issues they discuss with my FE2470 on the A7RII. There may be an issue but that thread does not confirm it.

[osv]

definitely some conflicting reports there, i'm kinda skeptical myself.

i would confirm focus shift by using mf at full magnification in the evf, not with af... all of the old 50/1.4 legacy lenses that i tested with the a7r had serious focus shift at f/1.4, but it became a lot more difficult to see at even one click up from wide open.

the other thing to check is to look into the lens at the aperture leaves, and see if they open up all the way when the camera is focused, and then see if there is any way to disable that behavior... probably not so easy to see on a long lens.

as i understand it, the theory is that if you have an option for stopping that behavior, you have a way to counteract any af-related focus shifting that you find in your lenses.

[philbaum]

definitely some conflicting reports there, i'm kinda skeptical myself.

i would confirm focus shift by using mf at full magnification in the evf, not with af... all of the old 50/1.4 legacy lenses that i tested with the a7r had serious focus shift at f/1.4, but it became a lot more difficult to see at even one click up from wide open.

the other thing to check is to look into the lens at the aperture leaves, and see if they open up all the way when the camera is focused, and then see if there is any way to disable that behavior... probably not so easy to see on a long lens.

as i understand it, the theory is that if you have an option for stopping that behavior, you have a way to counteract any af-related focus shifting that you find in your lenses.

You guys can tell me if i'm out to lunch on this idea...but...with a DSLR, one has to open the iris to get more light for focusing. But with an EVF, why can't the camera also be programmed to temporarily increase the ISO to help focus, with or without a larger aperture. We keep thinking the way cameras used to be, but with the modern digital camera, one can electronically control the light to some degree.

Shifting topic...
Only had my camera for 2 days now and last night was the first time i got to walk around at night and shoot the shadowy street scenes that were my motivation in getting a FF. I bought a used 28-70 FE f3.5-5.6 lens for $290 just to get started with. I've seen a picture with horrible decentering with this lens. But this one passes the brick wall test and is sharp enough at both ends. Fairly light - i'm keeping it.

But last night i decided to use a Pentax M lens, 135 f3.5. Its actually smaller in diameter than the FE lens and about the same length. I actually enjoyed using it more with the Sony camera than the FE lens i described. The focusing action on the Pentax lens was silky smooth, and I would adjust the focus till the peaking lights were dancing nearby to the subject area, and take a shot. It was a very pleasant experience. Some idiot reviewer described the shutter as mushy. Its a soft spring and the shutter actuates before the shutter reaches a stop. I'm convinced now that the Sony engineers wanted to avoid any shutter action that would disturb the exposure. I think its a brilliant idea. This shot was taken at 6400 iso, 1/100s, f4. Not a great picture but a proof of concept.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Winder]

Sony Alpha A7r II review | Cameralabs

---------- Post added 08-31-15 at 01:20 PM ----------

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2015/08/31/the-sony-a7rii-camera-review-a-real-world-look/

[Winder]

https://alphauniverse.com/

Ricoh needs to be taking notes.

[rawr]

There's a lot of similar resources that they could study - eg:

Canon DLC: Knowledge Base Index

Photography Tips Techniques and Tutorials | Nikon Learn and Explore