Poll

How d'you feel about the camera now you've had some time with it?

I like it a lot
- 42 (59.2%)
It's pretty good, could see improvement; the next one could be great
- 17 (23.9%)
It's just a random camera, I don't care
- 8 (11.3%)
It's a POS, I should never have bought it
- 4 (5.6%)

Total Members Voted: 70


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Author Topic: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?  (Read 18661 times)

overdub

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Re: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?
« Reply #60 on: February 01, 2016, 09:52:13 pm »

I have been looking into the A7r and the A7r2 for a while.  I shoot a lot of macro with my Canon and rely on Helicon Remote and Helicon Focus for layer stacking.  I would love to go Sony, but until they open up their SDK to allow them to work with Helicon Remote, it's a no go.  Anyone else in this spot?
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scooby70

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Re: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?
« Reply #61 on: February 06, 2016, 11:17:08 am »

...the confused state of the menus with multiple button presses required for some simple functions e.g. moving the focus point.

Multiple button presses to move the focus point? That doesn't sound right.

I've assigned focus point to the centre button (within the wheel...) and one press calls up the focus point and it can then be moved using the N,S,E,W buttons in the centre. You don't even have to press another button to finalise your selection, you just stop moving the focus point and you're ready to go. To return the focus point to the centre just press the centre button to call up the focus point and then press the trash can button.

So, moving the focus point should be... one button press to call up the function and then you move it. Simples :D

Must admit that I'm always slightly baffled when people complain about menus as I only enter the menu to do two things, to format the card and alter the clock. Everything else is covered by a dial or function button.

From a picture quality point of view the camera and sensor are excellent but the ergonomics for cold weather landscape shooting sucks.  The whole kit is going on Ebay and I am going back to my heavier but more practical D810.

I can't blame you for doing what's right for you but honestly, if you're complaining about menu's and multiple button presses I don't think you've spent enough time setting the Sony up.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2016, 11:24:39 am by scooby70 »
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chez

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Re: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?
« Reply #62 on: February 07, 2016, 02:47:23 pm »

I am familiarizing with a A7RII loaner today. I have a Canon 35mm f1.4L on it and have just spent a few minutes perusing the menu while trying to figure out how to control shutter and aperture in full manual mode. I had to put the camera down and take a break because my right hand started cramping.

Between the menu, the basic ergonomics, and the control layout ergonomics I am very happy that this camera is a loaner.

So you spent a couple hours and it didn't feel like your previous camera. Is that surprising to you? When I rent a car for a week, the first couple days the layout is all confusing, but at the end of the week, everything feels like a glove.

If you truly want to evaluate the camera, use it for a week, not a couple hours. Wouldn't hurt to also read up on how to set the camera up.
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Phil Indeblanc

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Re: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?
« Reply #63 on: February 09, 2016, 08:00:22 pm »

So you spent a couple hours and it didn't feel like your previous camera. Is that surprising to you? When I rent a car for a week, the first couple days the layout is all confusing, but at the end of the week, everything feels like a glove.

If you truly want to evaluate the camera, use it for a week, not a couple hours. Wouldn't hurt to also read up on how to set the camera up.

Agreed, except you'd have to use it for longer than that....sometimes.
and you have to force yourself to use it, not jump back.

Sort of like a cell phone, except that takes much longer to know if you hate it.

If I may,

we are in the 4th page of this post....

I have had the apple phone since the original, and left it at the 4S to a very poor version of an Android phone that was horrible. SO I went back to iPhone, but really struggling with it all the while.  So I have to get a pure Android phone that is solid build with the important things I need large text keys, long battery life, no boatware, I also must have a screen or battery I can replace....

So daily use and really knowing how a product works helps you embrace it or chuck it.
(responses to the cell section, maybe just do a personal message)

So same with the camera.  I switched from Mikon to Canon about 10 years ago, and really embraced it...and never looked back....until sort(Sony/Nikon) of now :-)
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If you buy a camera, you're a photographer...

danielduarte

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Re: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?
« Reply #64 on: February 09, 2016, 10:56:40 pm »


I've been all around the mirrorless world for a while (extensive experience using Micro 43, Fuji X and the original A7r). I had a serious look at the A7rII, and ended up getting out of Sony and putting a big deposit on an X-Pro 2 instead - here's why (for my specific needs).

1.) How big do you need to print? I own an Epson 7900, but don't have easy access to a 9900 anywhere, so my printing tends to go right up to 24x36, but stop there. My X-T1 is an "almost" at 24x36 - it works for many scenes, but there are some where it's not quite there. A much newer sensor with 1.5x the pixels should take the "almost" off of that. Micro 43 has never gotten there - it's ideal at 12x18, "almost" at 16x24. The A7r (original) is 24x36 easy, with some room to grow, and the A7rII is probably somewhat better.

2.) Weather sealing - the Sonys claim it, but I've never trusted it (it seems to be based on tolerances, not actual o-ring seals). Both Fuji and Olympus publish diagrams of their sealing, and the sealed Fujis are at least D800 class, while the best Olympi are in the D4/1Dx class.

3.) Lenses. FE lenses are huge and there's a limited selection, Fuji has a GREAT range of relatively compact lenses, Micro 43 has more variability in quality, but some great glass.

If I were doing less of my photography in the backcountry, and more close to the car, my considerations for an ultimate image quality system would be different from "the best image quality I'm willing to carry". I'd look at Sony with a mix of native and adapted lenses, Nikon (D810), and the Pentax 645Z. Canon's limited DR wouldn't be as appealing, and Phase and Hasselblad would be out of my price range. Sony might VERY WELL win that competition!

I might do down this path myself. 

I'm personally all over the map.  I'm an MFA grad student and before entering school I was pure analog, mainly 8x10 with 4x5 sprinkled in.  Personally, I'll never get rid of these formats.  School turned me to digital, due to turn around times and print expectations for weekly crits.  At this point I've shot everything, A7RII, D810, 645Z, and now a CFV-50C , which is likely going up for sale.  Of all the cameras I loved the Z the most but it actually failed me, a mirror mechanism failure 21 days into owning it.

We have three Epson 9900's and a 7700 for the grads.  I'm starting to question how big I'll print in the long run.  With these massive MFDB files I can't print huge, 40x60 but am I really going to print this large once I'm done with school? Likely not.

I'm in the A7RII felt like a toy camp.

I have some cash now and need to decide between repurchasing the Sony or going XPro2, which would ultimately save me coin in the long run.

I just need to think, can the Xpro2 absolutely get me a 24x20 print. I've seen a fellow classmate make an absolute f'n killer 40x60 from an A7RII... We were looking at it right at the paper level and it held up so damn well, printed at like 190DPI.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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NancyP

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Re: Sony A7r2 - Are you happy?
« Reply #65 on: February 10, 2016, 11:25:20 am »

Grossly bad ergonomics can be decided on in a day or so. It took me one annoying day with the Sigma DP2M to decide that I needed to get a grip (actually grip-on-an-L-bracket) for it, and an optical viewfinder. Problem solved (well, except for the dreadful LCD, which totally undersells the camera). And I can handle a Rebel/SL1 / Nikon equivalent (feels too small) or a 1DX (feels fine, but a little heavy) in the store fine, but the mid-sized non-gripped cameras work better for me due to the weight difference. Fine differences in ergonomics, a button moved a little further down, a small change in the viewfinder display, etc - that takes time to get accustomed and evaluate.

Too bad about the Pentax 645Z failure.
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