Need advice on which camera to choose as upgrade to 6D!

[ramtin k]

hi guys

so i decided to post a more general thread about this... i wanna continue with my landscape and travel photography and currently shoot with a Canon 6D.... i have the 24-105mm + a samyang 24mm 1.4 which is use for milky way shots... i was thinking Sony A7R (not the 2 because of its price)... reason really is image quality... but i wanna get your ideas about what makes more sense?

So really what's important to me is better image quality, better dynamic range, more megapixels.... i was planning to keep my 6D as backup and for milky way shots cause it's hard to beat the noise performance on the 6D... anyways, i'm open to ideas... what do you guys think i should do? should i sell all my canon gear and go completely the other route with Sony or Nikon D810? i was really excited about the Sony cause of it's quality and size.... let me know what your thoughts are...

again, my main concern is to cover a good range from AT LEAST 24mm to 100... usually if i need a shot wider than 24mm i'll just stitch photos together... it's very important for me to have the extra reach i don't like to shoot only wide angle. however a 16-35mm would be nice! lol i just sold my canon 16-35mm to have some cash for this upgrade.

shoot! and thanks in advance

[synn]

You can use your canon AF lenses quite competently on the Sonys with the Metabones adapter.
Compared to the 6D, you will gain more MP, more dynamic range, choices of lenses and per pixel detail.
You will lose out on bulk, weight(Good), build and high ISO performance (Not so good). Also, the original A7R has no electronic first curtain, which might impact the sharpenss of the image in certain conditions (Read up on the internet for more of this).

The D800 will do all of the things you like about both cameras, but will add significant bulk. Also, you will have to sell all your current lenses.

Both Sony and Nikon have excellent 70-200 f/4 lenses that are decently priced and very sharp.

[ramtin k]

Canon is REALLY behind! god damn it!

[NancyP]

Do you like the mirrorless handling, electronic viewfinders, etc?

Let me caution you that the D810, Sony A7R series, and Canon 5Ds/r increase in pixel density means more attention needs to be paid to technique - meaning, if you don't have a tripod you like well enough to take everywhere, you might get more for your money's worth with a life-time investment of a really good tripod and head and L bracket/lens plates, plus monopod and head if you need the mobility and speed and small footprint sometimes. But then again, I am a tripo-holic..... 

[ramtin k]

Do you like the mirrorless handling, electronic viewfinders, etc?

Let me caution you that the D810, Sony A7R series, and Canon 5Ds/r increase in pixel density means more attention needs to be paid to technique - meaning, if you don't have a tripod you like well enough to take everywhere, you might get more for your money's worth with a life-time investment of a really good tripod and head and L bracket/lens plates, plus monopod and head if you need the mobility and speed and small footprint sometimes. But then again, I am a tripo-holic..... 

lol do you really think i travel for landscape photography without a tripod?

[ramtin k]

the more i research, the more i tend to be pushed towards Nikon... i was really excited about the A7R but the lens availability, ruggedness and price of the D810 is definitely the best option... i mean i need my body to be rugged. i camp, hike, expose it to weather... yes it has 18 less megapixels than the A7RII but it is a DSLR! and the battery life. just don't think mirror-less systems are ready for landscape photographers yet! don't get me wrong sony has come a LONG way but just not there yet i think. D810 is a huge upgrade to 6D in my mind.... my 2 cents.

[MatthewCromer]

the more i research, the more i tend to be pushed towards Nikon... i was really excited about the A7R but the lens availability, ruggedness and price of the D810 is definitely the best option..

Price?

You can get a barely used A7R for $1000 on ebay, the cheapest I see a lightly used D810 is $2,200.

. i mean i need my body to be rugged. i camp, hike, expose it to weather... yes it has 18 less megapixels than the A7RII but it is a DSLR! and the battery life. just don't think mirror-less systems are ready for landscape photographers yet! don't get me wrong sony has come a LONG way but just not there yet i think. D810 is a huge upgrade to 6D in my mind.... my 2 cents.

That's interesting. For me, I wouldn't even consider a dSLR for landscape photography work over the A7R2 because of all the features the A7R2 has that are important to me in a landscape camera:

* No mirror slap when handheld
* EFCS works when handheld
* Accurate AF on the sensor
* More accurate MF with magnified view
* Built-in stabilization
* Smaller and lighter bodies
* Smaller and lighter normal and wide lenses, taking into account lens quality

Now part of the reason these features are all important to me is that I do a lot of handheld landscape photography. But part of the reason that I do a lot of handheld landscape photography is the fact that my cameras are much more stable handheld than dSLRs are. I can take a dozen or more handheld landscape images faster than I can set up the tripod and take a single tripod-mounted photo. And so I spend a lot more time discovering what compositions work with my subjects and light instead of fiddling with and moving a tripod around. For me, the dSLR is dead for landscape photography.

[ramtin k]

I almost always shoot with a tripod. + u can get focus peaking on magic lantern on canon bodies. but not with nikon no...
plus the A7R 1 has too many problems for me to get one... i'm either gonna get the d810 or the A7RII but it depends. it will be too expensive though  :S

i'm not 100% sold on either nikon or sony yet but gotta make a decision soon cause i'm selling all my canon lenses and gear. the decision to SWITCH has definitely been made. just don't know which is the most cost effective option for me lol

i will never ever shoot landscape handheld. i do too much exposure and time blending in photoshop to do that. long exposures in blue hours. no way u can handhold n shoot long exposures lol

[NancyP]

No Ramtin, but you might be one of the majority of photographers who just can't bring themselves to follow Thom Hogan's advice and pop for a really nice tripod and head that they like, instead of cutting corners and then becoming a little unhappy with their tripod. I bought a Manfrotto 055 aluminum leg set and a Manfrotto 410 geared head - and then wondered why I found excuses to leave it behind when going on long hikes. So I bought a CF leg-set and ball head for hikes - not as tall, not suitable for supertelephoto lenses, but half the weight of the big legs/head, and excellent for wide to medium telephoto work. I can hang a water bottle off it for more stability. So I am a bit of a wimp at 50 to 52 kg.

[ramtin k]

No Ramtin, but you might be one of the majority of photographers who just can't bring themselves to follow Thom Hogan's advice and pop for a really nice tripod and head that they like, instead of cutting corners and then becoming a little unhappy with their tripod. I bought a Manfrotto 055 aluminum leg set and a Manfrotto 410 geared head - and then wondered why I found excuses to leave it behind when going on long hikes. So I bought a CF leg-set and ball head for hikes - not as tall, not suitable for supertelephoto lenses, but half the weight of the big legs/head, and excellent for wide to medium telephoto work. I can hang a water bottle off it for more stability. So I am a bit of a wimp at 50 to 52 kg.

okay seriously, what''''!!!?? lmao. Manfrotto tripods suck. i've had 2 models break on me already. and trust me i have good tripods!!! LOL this ain't about tripods though!.. however i only use carbon fiber tripods because i am constantly shooting in water and terrible conditions so i need the carbon.... don't u worry i am set for tripods lol

[uaiomex]

I'm buying an A7R2 sans glass next week but keeping my 6D. This camera is all I need for the kind of action shots I do plus I know Canon pretty well cause I've been shooting EOS since 1992. Keeping also all my lenses including my TS's.
Using 2 A6000 for a few months and bought recently a Fotodiox adapter too. Confident enough to try now FF Sony but going slowly.
Eduardo

[NancyP]

Back to the original topic - it doesn't sound as if you are highly invested in Canon lenses, so now would be a good time to try something else, since you feel inclined to do so.

I preach about ergonomics. It is best to like handling and using your gear, rather than wasting brain space thinking "how annoying is this?". Maybe rent one or both, if you can't find another way to get your hands on the candidate cameras for field use.

[capital]

Sounds like the decision to buy the Nikon D810 has already been made. Of course it is state of the art DSLR, but it will involve at least $5000 body + excellent lens as the starting cost. The Sony switch with their new camera will likely be not that far off that cost wise.

[Hans Kruse]

hi guys

so i decided to post a more general thread about this... i wanna continue with my landscape and travel photography and currently shoot with a Canon 6D.... i have the 24-105mm + a samyang 24mm 1.4 which is use for milky way shots... i was thinking Sony A7R (not the 2 because of its price)... reason really is image quality... but i wanna get your ideas about what makes more sense?

So really what's important to me is better image quality, better dynamic range, more megapixels.... i was planning to keep my 6D as backup and for milky way shots cause it's hard to beat the noise performance on the 6D... anyways, i'm open to ideas... what do you guys think i should do? should i sell all my canon gear and go completely the other route with Sony or Nikon D810? i was really excited about the Sony cause of it's quality and size.... let me know what your thoughts are...

again, my main concern is to cover a good range from AT LEAST 24mm to 100... usually if i need a shot wider than 24mm i'll just stitch photos together... it's very important for me to have the extra reach i don't like to shoot only wide angle. however a 16-35mm would be nice! lol i just sold my canon 16-35mm to have some cash for this upgrade.

shoot! and thanks in advance

I have been shooting the 5Ds R for a couple of weeks in Scotland. I also shoot the D810. If you look at my websites you will see that I shoot landscapes and organize workshops for landscape photographers so have a bit of experience in doing so

The 5Ds R is a great camera and delivers on resolution in spades. The body is very well built and handles very well. I have nothing negative to say about the 5Ds R except the lesser dynamic range than the D810.

I'm using 3 zoom lenses which are the Canon 16-35 f/4L IS, 24-70 f/2.8L II and 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II and they all are very sharp and a good match for the resolution of the 5Ds R. The 5Ds R need to be shot with optimal exposures for landscapes at base ISO for optimal quality and for high dynamic range scenes like some of the cases in Scotland a merge of multiple exposures would be needed or use of ND grad filters.

I can clearly recommend the 5Ds R as a very good camera for landscapes with the caveat about more care for exposure than the D810 and more cases where exposure blending is needed. All cameras have the weak spots. The D810 has EFCS but so limited in implementation as to only working in MUP mode. The 5Ds R has EFCS as default shooting in live view. Don't get me wrong the D810 is an amazing camera has a clear advantage over the 5Ds R in the dynamic range area for low ISO's. I have not tried out the A7R II som can't comment on this from a working perspective.