vipgraphx
No longer a newbie, moving up!
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As some of you know I have been in the market for a new camera and was able to test out the NEX 6, D7100 and now the A7..here is my prosumer review,
Ok got some time to do some testing today. The Sony A7 is a great camera, fun to use and loads of features (new to me). One thing I have noticed is that It feels like the shutter click seems slower than the nikons. I am not sure if this has any effect on image quality, I was using a slower card 15mbs so I went out and got a scan disk pro 80mbs card hoping that it will help. I think it did but not by much. Perhaps this is just the way the way sony wanted it to work or maybe I am not doing something right. On fast burst it is faster than the Nikon D7100 and the buffer takes much longer before it slows down. The nikon buffer fills fast only a few shots...Both cameras are not for sports at least I can rule that out.
The shutter sound to me is not that loud, I am not sure why people complain about it but its not that much louder than the D7100, maybe because it sounds slower compared to the D7100 or other nikons that it gives that impression of being louder because you hear it longer..
The controls are very easy to program and very easy to use. They are all right where you need them to be and makes it super fast for adjusting much better than the NEX line up. THis a7 feels like a pro camera compared to the NEX 6. It does have some decent weight to it once battery and lens is on. Not to heavy but heavy enough where it no longer feels like a toy camera in hand like the NEX 6.
The kit lens at this point seems pretty good to me, I do like things sharp but, I am also not a pixel peeper/pusher and when it comes to 100% crops/zooms I think that starts to hunt and fish for problems that don't matter in the real world. I don't crop that close in so it will never effect the way I shoot. THe lens does seem sharp to me. I am not noticing outside blur issues just yet with what I have been shooting. So it may still be an issue but nothing I can point out right now. I think the kit lens will be a very nice vacation lens that gives you a decent range with great quality. I can't wait to see what the better lenses out there will perform. The kit lens is not small by any means especially compared to the pancake kit lens of the NEX 6 which gives just about the same focal range.
The view EFV....WOW what can I say this is just so much better than the NEX 6 and 7. IT is more like an actual DSLR VF. Its super crisp big and the quality is top of the line. I was very disappointed in the NEX 6 EVF and that was one reason I did not want to keep that camera but this one is so freeken good that it is worth mentioning that SONY has really stepped up in this area. It does have a little lag while panning and snapping pictures in burst mode but, you have to realize that this is not a sports camera so if you understand that it will never effect you what so ever. IF you think you can buy this camera in hopes that slapping on super fast glass will make it faster and be a camera for fast action sports you would be kidding yourself. THe frame rate is 5fps....That is just to slow for sports...so while yes it does have a little lag while panning pretty fast you will never ever will see or notice any problems with shooting this camera for what I think its intended for.
Build quality..All I can say is this feels like a pro camera!!! Very rigid and in my eyes very pleasant on the eye. I love this retro style look.
Wifi..this is very cool. You actually can be anywhere and your camera turns into a wifi spot so you can use your camera as a remote if needed. The software though only allows you to adjust exposure comp so I think they really need to make the soft are better. YOu should be able to adjust focus, bracket, iso, shutter, wb, quality and more. Since its all software....then it would be SOOOOO FREEEKIN Awesome!!
Battery ------SUCKS!!!! why O why would sony make such a nice pro camera with such a sorry battery???? No charger to add....for the money you pay this is such a let down...and it is one of the key parts to your camera shooting. You have to buy multiple batteries just to have the same amount of pictures you would get with the Nikons..and because it is EFV or monitor this is where they messed up. Since you can make adjustments to nikons using the small LED screen on the top of the camera that really helps to save the battery, infact really never use the screen on any of my nikons.
Screen resolution is superb!! very bright and crisp and I love the tilt screen makes shooting lower shots way easier...
EYE AF--- WOW just WOW. never miss focus on eyes again WOW WOW WOW!!! Why doesn't Nikon offer this.
My thoughts thus far is that this is a solid build camera. Is it a game changer, to soon to find out but it is something to keep a close eye on for those that are skeptical, I would really keep a close eye. As for me I think I am going to take the leap of faith and keep it. It seems to suite all my needs this far..BUT, I will say this. IF The Nikon D7100 had focus peaking and DMF with a tilt screen and EYE Af I would keep that one in a heart beat!!!!!
IF nikon wants to compete with this they will have to do something along these lines with a better battery and beaing able to use all Nikon lens without adapters...IF they did this hands down Nikon would rule...Sorry I dont speak of Canon because I never shot with one.
Here are some samples.
All samples from A7 are with the kit lens 28-70
Guy who helped me out at the camera shop.
a7 man test JPEG by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
close up
a7 man close up by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
A few random BW
dad 16_9 ratio raw bw a7 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
weed bw raw a7 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
52 chevy raw a7 small by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
Color of my son
A7 raw test 1 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
Slightly processed HDR using iso 50
HDR test A7 iso 50 raw by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
Comparison A7 with 28-70 vs D7100 50 1.8 ( I could only imagine the results testing with a zeiss 50mm lens)
figure a7 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure a7 zoom by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 zoom by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure a7 zoom 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 zoom 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure a7 zoom 3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 zoom 3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
What are your thoughts on the comparison shots. It seems to me the A7 has less noise and seems a bit sharper to me, but I am not sure if I nailed focus on the D7100. The DMF on the A7 allows you get right up in there and make sure you are focused where you want, game changer??? to me this part YES!
So far I am very pleased with the camera and starting to think that this camera IS the next best thing for those that want the features and needs of this camera. I think this camera is for landscapers, still photography and portraits.
Cheers!
Ok got some time to do some testing today. The Sony A7 is a great camera, fun to use and loads of features (new to me). One thing I have noticed is that It feels like the shutter click seems slower than the nikons. I am not sure if this has any effect on image quality, I was using a slower card 15mbs so I went out and got a scan disk pro 80mbs card hoping that it will help. I think it did but not by much. Perhaps this is just the way the way sony wanted it to work or maybe I am not doing something right. On fast burst it is faster than the Nikon D7100 and the buffer takes much longer before it slows down. The nikon buffer fills fast only a few shots...Both cameras are not for sports at least I can rule that out.
The shutter sound to me is not that loud, I am not sure why people complain about it but its not that much louder than the D7100, maybe because it sounds slower compared to the D7100 or other nikons that it gives that impression of being louder because you hear it longer..
The controls are very easy to program and very easy to use. They are all right where you need them to be and makes it super fast for adjusting much better than the NEX line up. THis a7 feels like a pro camera compared to the NEX 6. It does have some decent weight to it once battery and lens is on. Not to heavy but heavy enough where it no longer feels like a toy camera in hand like the NEX 6.
The kit lens at this point seems pretty good to me, I do like things sharp but, I am also not a pixel peeper/pusher and when it comes to 100% crops/zooms I think that starts to hunt and fish for problems that don't matter in the real world. I don't crop that close in so it will never effect the way I shoot. THe lens does seem sharp to me. I am not noticing outside blur issues just yet with what I have been shooting. So it may still be an issue but nothing I can point out right now. I think the kit lens will be a very nice vacation lens that gives you a decent range with great quality. I can't wait to see what the better lenses out there will perform. The kit lens is not small by any means especially compared to the pancake kit lens of the NEX 6 which gives just about the same focal range.
The view EFV....WOW what can I say this is just so much better than the NEX 6 and 7. IT is more like an actual DSLR VF. Its super crisp big and the quality is top of the line. I was very disappointed in the NEX 6 EVF and that was one reason I did not want to keep that camera but this one is so freeken good that it is worth mentioning that SONY has really stepped up in this area. It does have a little lag while panning and snapping pictures in burst mode but, you have to realize that this is not a sports camera so if you understand that it will never effect you what so ever. IF you think you can buy this camera in hopes that slapping on super fast glass will make it faster and be a camera for fast action sports you would be kidding yourself. THe frame rate is 5fps....That is just to slow for sports...so while yes it does have a little lag while panning pretty fast you will never ever will see or notice any problems with shooting this camera for what I think its intended for.
Build quality..All I can say is this feels like a pro camera!!! Very rigid and in my eyes very pleasant on the eye. I love this retro style look.
Wifi..this is very cool. You actually can be anywhere and your camera turns into a wifi spot so you can use your camera as a remote if needed. The software though only allows you to adjust exposure comp so I think they really need to make the soft are better. YOu should be able to adjust focus, bracket, iso, shutter, wb, quality and more. Since its all software....then it would be SOOOOO FREEEKIN Awesome!!
Battery ------SUCKS!!!! why O why would sony make such a nice pro camera with such a sorry battery???? No charger to add....for the money you pay this is such a let down...and it is one of the key parts to your camera shooting. You have to buy multiple batteries just to have the same amount of pictures you would get with the Nikons..and because it is EFV or monitor this is where they messed up. Since you can make adjustments to nikons using the small LED screen on the top of the camera that really helps to save the battery, infact really never use the screen on any of my nikons.
Screen resolution is superb!! very bright and crisp and I love the tilt screen makes shooting lower shots way easier...
EYE AF--- WOW just WOW. never miss focus on eyes again WOW WOW WOW!!! Why doesn't Nikon offer this.
My thoughts thus far is that this is a solid build camera. Is it a game changer, to soon to find out but it is something to keep a close eye on for those that are skeptical, I would really keep a close eye. As for me I think I am going to take the leap of faith and keep it. It seems to suite all my needs this far..BUT, I will say this. IF The Nikon D7100 had focus peaking and DMF with a tilt screen and EYE Af I would keep that one in a heart beat!!!!!
IF nikon wants to compete with this they will have to do something along these lines with a better battery and beaing able to use all Nikon lens without adapters...IF they did this hands down Nikon would rule...Sorry I dont speak of Canon because I never shot with one.
Here are some samples.
All samples from A7 are with the kit lens 28-70
Guy who helped me out at the camera shop.
a7 man test JPEG by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
close up
a7 man close up by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
A few random BW
dad 16_9 ratio raw bw a7 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
weed bw raw a7 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
52 chevy raw a7 small by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
Color of my son
A7 raw test 1 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
Slightly processed HDR using iso 50
HDR test A7 iso 50 raw by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
Comparison A7 with 28-70 vs D7100 50 1.8 ( I could only imagine the results testing with a zeiss 50mm lens)
figure a7 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure a7 zoom by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 zoom by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure a7 zoom 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 zoom 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure a7 zoom 3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
figure d7100 zoom 3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr
What are your thoughts on the comparison shots. It seems to me the A7 has less noise and seems a bit sharper to me, but I am not sure if I nailed focus on the D7100. The DMF on the A7 allows you get right up in there and make sure you are focused where you want, game changer??? to me this part YES!
So far I am very pleased with the camera and starting to think that this camera IS the next best thing for those that want the features and needs of this camera. I think this camera is for landscapers, still photography and portraits.
Cheers!
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Congrats on your new camera!! Consider me jealous. 
that eye af is TO DIE FOR. Better I think than my original wish of a touch to focus screen! I can't get to a real computer right now, but I can wait to view your test shots on a decent monitor. Thanks for posting these!
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