‪‎Sony Alpha‬ cameras a7II, a7R or a7S

[senezio]

Hi,

I'm looking for suggestions/advice please!

I need to choose two ‪#‎SonyAlpha‬ cameras from this lineup a7II, a7R or a7S I must admit I've never even seen a Sony camera in the flesh so I'm working off the spec sheets. If you have used one or know anything about them I'd really appreciate your input to help me make an informed choice? Normally I shoot multiple exposures on a Canon dslr which I stitch into fairly large scale images some have gone up to 60' for outdoor exhibit. The gallery work can be a big as 15' x 6' finished in Diasec / Acrylic Facemount

I'm defiantly going with the a7R for it's 36MP sensor where I'm coming unstuck is choosing between the a7S and a7II I like the wireless features of the MKII not so interested in the IS but worth a look however the a7S has on paper amazing lowlight capabilities which I think could open up some creative opportunities!

The second camera is only really going to be used to shoot handheld to record this 3 week road trip from San Diego to Seattle but I do want to shoot some video as well as stills.

Any advice or pointers would be most helpful?

I also have a Canon Lens adapter so I can shoot on my own lenses plus a range of Sony lenses as well as vertical Grips and extra batteries etc

Rgds

David

[Paulo Bizarro]

David,

I use a A7II as my travel/documentary camera, and find the image stabilization very valuable. Especially if your lenses do not have image stabilization, I would go with the A7II.

The low light capabilities of the A7S come at the expense of having only 12 mpx, if you can live with that, and use image stabilized lenses, perhaps it will be appropriate for you. But the A7II also delivers very good results at ISO 6400, are you going higher than that?

[senezio]

Thanks Paulo,

I understand the a7S has a wide dynamic range and I'm not printing the images so no need of the higher MP count is that not worth anything? I do think the functionality of the MKII will swing it. Do you have any experience of operating the MKII over wifi especially on a iPhone?

Best

David

[Jim Kasson]

Hi,

I'm looking for suggestions/advice please!

I need to choose two ‪#‎SonyAlpha‬ cameras from this lineup a7II, a7R or a7S I must admit I've never even seen a Sony camera in the flesh so I'm working off the spec sheets. If you have used one or know anything about them I'd really appreciate your input to help me make an informed choice? Normally I shoot multiple exposures on a Canon dslr which I stitch into fairly large scale images some have gone up to 60' for outdoor exhibit. The gallery work can be a big as 15' x 6' finished in Diasec / Acrylic Facemount

I'm defiantly going with the a7R for it's 36MP sensor where I'm coming unstuck is choosing between the a7S and a7II I like the wireless features of the MKII not so interested in the IS but worth a look however the a7S has on paper amazing lowlight capabilities which I think could open up some creative opportunities!

The second camera is only really going to be used to shoot handheld to record this 3 week road trip from San Diego to Seattle but I do want to shoot some video as well as stills.

Any advice or pointers would be most helpful?

I also have a Canon Lens adapter so I can shoot on my own lenses plus a range of Sony lenses as well as vertical Grips and extra batteries etc

I'd not buy the a7R today. I expect that it will soon be replaced by a camera that has EFCS to eliminate the shutter shock, IBIS to steady your legacy Canon lenses, and perhaps, a 50 MP sensor.

The a7II is a great camera hampered by a Kafkaesque menu system. I recommend it if you can live with 24MP. It has a light AA filter.

As you say, the a7S is very good in low light. No IBIS. The silent shutter is a nice touch, but it's slow -- 1/30 second from top to bottom, so you can get some weirdness with florescents and moving subjects.

None of these cameras autofocus as well as a pro-level Canon or Nikon.

Jim

[senezio]

Thank you Jim,

I'm not planning on buying one. I've been invited by Sony to an 'exclusive event' (as they put it) in San Diego next week to play with their cameras, as I'm travelling from London I suggested I road test them which is where I'm at. They have invited 14 photographers, 11 from USA, 2 Canada and me London however they haven't suggested we'll be playing with anything out then their new lenses and these cameras but I'm hoping they will have some last minute surprises as in the a7R MKII especially as Canon have just released theirs! Do you know anything about firing these camera with wifi on an iPhone?

Best

David

[Jim Kasson]

Do you know anything about firing these camera with wifi on an iPhone?

I don't. Sorry. I think there's an app you download to do that.

Jim

[Paulo Bizarro]

Thanks Paulo,

I understand the a7S has a wide dynamic range and I'm not printing the images so no need of the higher MP count is that not worth anything? I do think the functionality of the MKII will swing it. Do you have any experience of operating the MKII over wifi especially on a iPhone?

Best

David

If you are ok with 12 mpx, and need the best low light capabilities, then the A7S is the way to go. I have seen for example some great night sky photography done with it, at really "astronomical ISO", with hardly any noise.

Sorry about the WiFi via iPhone, never tried that functionality, but as Jim mentioned, there is an app for it?

[Jim Kasson]

I understand the a7S has a wide dynamic range and I'm not printing the images so no need of the higher MP count is that not worth anything? I do think the functionality of the MKII will swing it. Do you have any experience of operating the MKII over wifi especially on a iPhone?

Thanks to the Aptina technology, the inter-shot DR -- the DR that you can capture in a series of shots -- of the a7S is exceptional, and you can lower low-light noise by turning the ISO knob up to 2000. The intra-shot DR -- the dynamic range of a single capture, is nothing to write home about.

http://blog.kasson.com/?p=8280

Jim

[JV]

The A7s will give you 3-4 additional stops compared to most other cameras.

If you are into urban exploration or night street photography and shoot between 12,800 and 102,400 ISO it is certainly worthwhile.

[E.J. Peiker]

Do note that the announcement of the a7R II is imminent - probably in the next 4 weeks or so...

[Boykinally]

David, I have the A7r and the wifi with an iPhone or iPad works great with the Sony playstation app.

[E.J. Peiker]

David, I have the A7r and the wifi with an iPhone or iPad works great with the Sony playstation app.

PlayMemories, a PlayStation is something totally different 

[Boykinally]

Sorry I meant PlayMemories, work great!