Alan Parker wrote:
No word on manual focus Eye-AF confirmation? Ouch.
You weren't seriously expecting that, were you? Sony remains on par with Leica in this regard.😄
This camera is an absolute banger, especially compared to the competition. The z6III has a fatter spec sheet but less DR in photos and video - and that weird shadow flicker in video. The z8 is a different beast - a big fat one with worse battery life, the lame tilt LCD hinge, AF that's two generations behind Sony's AI AF and overheating issues. Undone got 6 hours of recording on the a7V and just gave up. Canon's with fans overheat faster, the ones without fans are worse than the older a7IV. This one also shoots 14-bit raws in any FPS mode, something the r6III cannot do. So it loses the spec wars, but is still class leading in many aspects. Sony did the partially stacked sensor without the issues Nikon and Panasonic are having - and they're doing it with 33mp vs 24.
The glass half empty folks will whine about open gate or internal raw video - a ninja makes far more sense for raw video given the file sizes which any Sony released in the last 5 years will do, but Sony's 10-bit h265 is already so good - unlike say the Nikon ZR - so I've never cared much about raw video. Open gate, meh, I prefer to just shoot vertically so the shot is properly framed, rather than try to make one shot work for horizontal and vertical and have both not quite right. YMMV.
The glass half full folks will see this is 95% of the a1II at less than half the price. I just can't get enough of the 4-way tilt LCD, I'm never going back to the either/or tilt only or floppy only. I do wish it got the wider a1II body shape, the extra space between the grip and lens mount and the more rounded grip shape is absolutely perfect.
There are so many things that reviewers never talk about, but are huge when actually shooting - like zebras with stills for effortless exposure, face/eye/animal tracking with clear image zoom for what's essentially a built in TC with no IQ loss at 1.5x, LUT preview while recording (something the r5II can't do without baking the out into the footage), face/eye detect when manually focusing and so on.
Preordered. My a7cII and likely my a7sIII will be replaced by this. This is a beast of a hybrid camera. Well done Sony.
zeitlos wrote:
I am fully okay with Sony splitting up their camera bodies into video and photo. Not sure if I'm in the majority. But I don't mind missing video features.
Given how incredibly popular the FX line is, you are in the majority. In the video-first crowd, they are the default, and they are used in huge numbers in professional production for B-roll or other uses where small matters a lot.
Nifty Fifty wrote:
You weren't seriously expecting that, were you? Sony remains on par with Leica in this regard.😄
Maybe not expecting; but it would have certainly been appropriate given the new processor in the A75.
Sony is years behind the competition on this; I'm sure their engineers can figure it out by now.
Needs vary so much. I, for example, find the Sony mechanism over-engineered and cumbersome to use, whereas I find the mechanisms of the Z8 or Fuji GFX absolutely brilliant for photography. Whether portrait or landscape format, simply tilt and you're done. With Sony, you might have to start with a lot of flipping and swiveling.
For my shooting I see it like this
Z8: 45MP stacked fast readout. Really the only thing it has going for it over these other options.
A7V: Better physical controls, better customization for those controls, RAW precapture, 30FPS, best rear LCD in the business, very likely better AF for action/BIF (but can't know that for sure yet).
R6III: Better BEAF for perched birds (by a mile), 40FPS, better EVF
R5II: 45MP stacked. Better BEAF. RAW precapture. 30FPS. Good controls and button customization (still not quite as good as Sony). Better EVF.
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Needs vary so much. I, for example, find the Sony mechanism over-engineered and cumbersome to use, whereas I find the mechanisms of the Z8 or Fuji GFX absolutely brilliant for photography. Whether portrait or landscape format, simply tilt and you're done. With Sony, you might have to start with a lot of flipping and swiveling.
With all respect, this makes no sense. Its no more cumbersome than Fuji, its can do exactly what the Fuji mechanism does. If you want to do the portrait orientation tilt you simply rotate the camera to the right instead of the left. There's literally no difference other than the direction you turn the camera. It does the tilt only thing too like any tilt screen as well. And unlike tilt only screens it can be flipped for protection.
joychris wrote:
With all respect, this makes no sense. Its no more cumbersome than Fuji, its can do exactly what the Fuji mechanism does. If you want to do the portrait orientation tilt you simply rotate the camera to the right instead of the left. There's literally no difference other than the direction you turn the camera.
Exactly. That's precisely the difference. And it makes a significant difference in practice when I want to take photos from hip height, because in portrait mode the Sony has to be held with the grip pointing downwards, which is completely unergonomic. The only way to avoid this is to first swivel the display outwards and then rotate it on its own axis. I know most people like the Sony design. I don't.
joychris wrote:
And unlike tilt only screens it can be flipped for protection.
That's true, but that wasn't my point. I was talking about "one-flip operation" in both landscape and portrait modes.
So how many A9iii owners here are looking at trading down? I saw there is $500 off if I buy a GMii lens, so this might make a lot of sense as I'm no longer shooting college sports...
On paper, this sounds like a much better update than I was expecting. I look forward to seeing this get into photographers' hands and seeing if any shortcomings are found. For example, is the shutter readout speed fast enough that we can use the 30FPS on moving subjects? If not pre capture raw might not be that useful. Depending on the reviews, I may even consider picking one up. This is the first time a camera in the a7 line has interested me.
I don't think it's realistic to expect the a7v to be a Z8 competitor, but it does seem to line up nicely between the Z6III and Z7II for photography features.
I wonder if this means in a few months we will be seeing the a7rVI.
Newenglandrocks wrote:
So how many A9iii owners here are looking at trading down? I saw there is $500 off if I buy a GMii lens, so this might make a lot of sense as I'm no longer shooting college sports...
If you expect to use more than 10FPS, I would wait and see the reviews. There will most likely be a fairly big difference between a global shutter and a partially stacked shutter.
jwpstl wrote:
The Z8 at 910 grams is a literal big no. 200+ grams heavier than the A7v.
Z8 is amazing with any lens weighing over 700g, added weight helps with balancing. Also I have average sized hands for a 6' person and find Sony bodies uncomfortable. Grip is too close to the lens mount and some fat lenses cause cramps in fingers.
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Exactly. That's precisely the difference. And it makes a significant difference in practice when I want to take photos from hip height, because in portrait mode the Sony has to be held with the grip pointing downwards, which is completely unergonomic. The only way to avoid this is to first swivel the display outwards and then rotate it on its own axis. I know most people like the Sony design. I don't.
That's true, but that wasn't my point. I was talking about "one-flip operation" in both landscape and portrait modes.
It really makes no difference in practice to me, and actually works better for low/high angle stuff shooting vertically compared to Fuji's since the screen tilts back towards you at more angles. It's a little awkward when shooting really low if you must have the vertical tilt, but since it's so easy to angle the screen in any direction, that's no issue either. The Nikon doesn't do anything other than tilt or flip - the worst of both worlds. I'll never use a camera without the ability to flip the screen around for the extra protection. It's good we have options.
DWOfPaul wrote:
On paper, this sounds like a much better update than I was expecting. I look forward to seeing this get into photographers' hands and seeing if any shortcomings are found. For example, is the shutter readout speed fast enough that we can use the 30FPS on moving subjects? If not pre capture raw might not be that useful. Depending on the reviews, I may even consider picking one up. This is the first time a camera in the a7 line has interested me.
I don't think it's realistic to expect the a7v to be a Z8 competitor, but it does seem to line up nicely between the Z6III and Z7II for photography features.
I wonder if this means in a few months we will be seeing the a7rVI. ...Show more →
I think later this year we'll see the A7RVI. They did have huge discounts on the current version though very recently and through yesterday....
