p.1 #1 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
Well I gave Sony a shot and really wanted to buy all-in with this system. I got an A7II and a 55/1.8 to try out, and after 5 days of heavy shooting, it's just not living up to my hopes. My current systems are the Nikon D750 with mostly the excellent f1.8 primes, and the Panasonic GM1 m4/3 with a pancake zoom and two small primes.
The bottom line was that the AF performance and overall responsiveness just doesn't stack up with the Nikon. For most my casual photography I love grabbing the tiny GM1, but when I'm going to do more serious work I grab the Nikon and I expect the very best performance. If I really wanted to get down to one system I would probably go APS-C with either Fuji or Sony, but for now I will remain a two-system shooter.
Not bashing at all, I think there's a very good chance I'll jump to FE mount in 2-3 years, but for me it's just not there yet and I wanted to share that opinion for those that might be on the fence.
p.1 #2 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
You know, I've been hearing this from some people (mostly reviewers) that the AF and the responsiveness doesn't stand up. It must be subjective since I do a ton of professional work with the A7ii, A7s and a6000 (wedding and commercial) and it is an awesome system.
Well, one man's heaven is another man's hell.
At least you were open enough to give it a try...look forward to seeing you back some day
p.1 #3 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
I'm surprised you thought the Sony A7II AF would remotely compare to that of a higher end Nikon DSLR like the D750. The forthcoming "A9" model will likely have much better AF.
p.1 #5 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
Michaelparris wrote:
Never understood these types of posts.... what's the point
I think Brett explained this in his last paragraph rather well.
I too find the A7s not sufficiently responsive for fast, docu-style shooting during events or fashion shows. The MLCs have a bit of ways to go before reaching the overall robustness of the dSLR platform.
p.1 #6 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
Michael, you will search in vain for virtually any reference to Sony in the Canon or Nikon forums. Don't believe me, take a look, try and find even one post on page 1 of either forum.
It is a little like that line in Polanski's greatest movie, adapted here for effect:
"Forget it, Jake, It's Sonytown"
People just feel the need to share their dislike of various things Sony with...you guessed it - people who are users of Sony, many of whom have contributed to the 661 pages of images from a7 series cameras!
We presumably *need to hear that*, it is such an important topic for the Sony forum, and very original in that it may be the first such in 4-5 days. It's somehow good for us. Now I am off to the Nikon forum to tell them my plans for the next three years and why I cannot buy a Nikon just yet.
Most people simply do their 'due diligence' before buying. As a travel photographer, that might mean identifying the weight and bulk of equivalent Nikon gear I might use, for example, before buying. I can tell the Nikon forum that, I guess. They would love to hear it, I am sure. That post could then morph into a kick Nikon effort like this one will against Sony. So therapeutic..but so strange.
p.1 #8 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
philip_pj wrote:
Michael, you will search in vain for virtually any reference to Sony in the Canon or Nikon forums. Don't believe me, take a look, try and find even one post on page 1 of either forum.
It is a little like that line in Polanski's greatest movie, adapted here for effect:
"Forget it, Jake, It's Sonytown"
People just feel the need to share their dislike of various things Sony with...you guessed it - people who are users of Sony, many of whom have contributed to the 661 pages of images from a7 series cameras!
We presumably *need to hear that*, it is such an important topic for the Sony forum, and very original in that it may be the first such in 4-5 days. It's somehow good for us. Now I am off to the Nikon forum to tell them my plans for the next three years and why I cannot buy a Nikon just yet.
Most people simply do their 'due diligence' before buying. As a travel photographer, that might mean identifying the weight and bulk of equivalent Nikon gear I might use, for example, before buying. I can tell the Nikon forum that, I guess. They would love to hear it, I am sure. That post could then morph into a kick Nikon effort like this one will against Sony. So therapeutic..but so strange....Show more →
Or, Brett is just sharing his honest experience with the camera. If he said how well the camera worked for him nobody would question his motives. Why should they be questioned just because the opposite turned out to be true? And I happen to agree with him - the A7-series AF is nowhere close to DSLR levels yet and I've used every model including the A7II.
p.1 #9 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
brett maxwell wrote:
Well I gave Sony a shot and really wanted to buy all-in with this system. I got an A7II and a 55/1.8 to try out, and after 5 days of heavy shooting, it's just not living up to my hopes. My current systems are the Nikon D750 with mostly the excellent f1.8 primes, and the Panasonic GM1 m4/3 with a pancake zoom and two small primes.
The bottom line was that the AF performance and overall responsiveness just doesn't stack up with the Nikon. For most my casual photography I love grabbing the tiny GM1, but when I'm going to do more serious work I grab the Nikon and I expect the very best performance. If I really wanted to get down to one system I would probably go APS-C with either Fuji or Sony, but for now I will remain a two-system shooter.
Not bashing at all, I think there's a very good chance I'll jump to FE mount in 2-3 years, but for me it's just not there yet and I wanted to share that opinion for those that might be on the fence....Show more →
Thanks. Fair enough.
I shoot Leica M9, Nikon D800E, Sony NEX-5N, NEX-7, A7R, and Olympus E-M5/1.
The A7II seems to have some birthing problems by getting its SSI occasionally out of alignment for some copies. http://www.getdpi.com/forum/621318-post58.html
I'll wait for the A9 and Sony's commitment to address the current issue before deciding which Sony camera to add to my gear.
I find all these cameras have something special to offer that I like to take advantage of.
p.1 #10 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
VladiD wrote:
The MLCs have a bit of ways to go before reaching the overall robustness of the dSLR platform.
While I understand what you are saying, I disagree. The lightning fast AF and advanced features of the a6000 prove that Mirrorless Technology can equal or surpass a DSLR now. And the build quality of the A7ii shows the physical construction qualities have arrived as well. It's just that for whatever reason, Sony hasn't combined that all together into one camera...yet...
p.1 #11 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
matanuska wrote:
While I understand what you are saying, I disagree. The lightning fast AF and advanced features of the a6000 prove that Mirrorless Technology can equal or surpass a DSLR now. And the build quality of the A7ii shows the physical construction qualities have arrived as well. It's just that for whatever reason, Sony hasn't combined that all together into one camera...yet...
...But that may be changing in a few weeks...
Most would love to go all-out with mirrorless, and for a large amount of shooting, what's available today is more than capable.
However, the bar is set at the D750 for FF, 7D II for crop, and D4s/1D X for pro high-speed shooting.
Give me something that can nail the shot quickly in low light with decent resolution and can handle the higher ISOs as the above, along with decent handling, and I'm sold . Till then, I'll keep my eye on what Sony/Fuji/Panasonic/Olympus/Samsung are doing.
p.1 #12 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
johnctharp wrote:
Most would love to go all-out with mirrorless, and for a large amount of shooting, what's available today is more than capable.
However, the bar is set at the D750 for FF, 7D II for crop, and D4s/1D X for pro high-speed shooting.
Give me something that can nail the shot quickly in low light with decent resolution and can handle the higher ISOs as the above, along with decent handling, and I'm sold . Till then, I'll keep my eye on what Sony/Fuji/Panasonic/Olympus/Samsung are doing.
I like how you throw "decent resolution" in there. The A7s has the best low light focusing I've seen. It beat my 1Dx, my 5D mark III and the Nikons i've shot with. But, it's 12 mega pixels - which is decent resolution. You can put 8 megapixels on a billboard and have it look fantastic. I'm sure 12 MP is more than enough
p.1 #13 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
VladiD wrote:
I too find the A7s not sufficiently responsive for fast, docu-style shooting during events or fashion shows. .
Thank you! That statement in itself is very helpful to me.
So are Bretts commrnts, bevasuse i know him from the boards. We are all struggling with what makes sense to us financially and technically. I am still shooting a Canon 7DII for events and wildlife. Along with a Nikon D5300.
I also have an A6000 - my 3rd Sony APS-C mirrorless. That has the autofocus that I need, but lacks the fast 2.8 zooms that I use for events at ISO 3200 and 6400. The A7 sensor would make up for it with the f/ 4.0 lens, but no autofocus. So - still waiting. Then I will wait for it to come down in price.
p.1 #14 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
VladiD wrote:
I too find the A7s not sufficiently responsive for fast, docu-style shooting during events or fashion shows. The MLCs have a bit of ways to go before reaching the overall robustness of the dSLR platform.
doh..it is design for low light (super high iso), video in mind.
p.1 #15 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
I think the A7s (Sensitivity) is for hi ISO
and the A7R (Resolution) is for large files/resolution
I don;t know what the A7II is aimed at, is that the IS body?
p.1 #16 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
philip_pj wrote:
Most people simply do their 'due diligence' before buying. As a travel photographer, that might mean identifying the weight and bulk of equivalent Nikon gear I might use, for example, before buying. I can tell the Nikon forum that, I guess. They would love to hear it, I am sure. That post could then morph into a kick Nikon effort like this one will against Sony. So therapeutic..but so strange.
There is only so much due diligence one can do without actually using the gear. At some point it needs to be put to real world use in the situations unique to each photographer. For some it will succeed, for others it won't. I think Brett made that point without any Sony bashing, if considered objectively.
As a non-Sony photographer, why am I bothering to read this thread or even reply? Because I'm always on the lookout for something that will better address my needs while getting a variety of opinions from which to form a more well rounded impression. I generally like what I get from the 1DX, but it's not perfect either and I'm willing to admit it. I've read some very positive things and seen convincing images to illustrate the effectiveness of a6000 and a7II AF tracking. But from others, I've read there's still ways to go to match top-tier DSLR AF performance. Which should I believe? The logical answer is to try it for myself. If it doesn't work well for me, should I just keep it to myself?
p.1 #17 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
Mark Rigsby wrote:
I like how you throw "decent resolution" in there. The A7s has the best low light focusing I've seen. It beat my 1Dx, my 5D mark III and the Nikons i've shot with. But, it's 12 mega pixels - which is decent resolution. You can put 8 megapixels on a billboard and have it look fantastic. I'm sure 12 MP is more than enough
It's definitely personal preference at that point- though I do find 18MP and 20MP on Canon to be limiting, I do understand that 12MP is more than enough to 'get the shot'. As for low-light AF, I'm comparing the D750, 7D II, and the 6D, which can all AF in PD in lower light than than any other camera on the market to the A7S and A6000.
Note that I'm not dismissing the capabilities of Sony's current cameras, rather as stated above, pointing out that they're very close and mostly just need to get all of their 'best' technologies into a single body .
p.1 #18 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
While not about Sony, I have seen tones of posts bashing Canon on Canon forums and Nikon on Nikon forums and that includes system switching in either direction. Check pages about D750 light leak issues, 7D II AF issues or D800 vs 5D and why someone switching from Canon to Nikon 8xx. There are threads running about why you like opposite brand
But on Canikon forums rarely I see a defensive crowd mentality like I see with say with Sony or Fuji users. Why does Sony or Fuji users feel attacked if anyone points any drawbacks about the system?
philip_pj wrote:
Michael, you will search in vain for virtually any reference to Sony in the Canon or Nikon forums. Don't believe me, take a look, try and find even one post on page 1 of either forum.
It is a little like that line in Polanski's greatest movie, adapted here for effect:
"Forget it, Jake, It's Sonytown"
People just feel the need to share their dislike of various things Sony with...you guessed it - people who are users of Sony, many of whom have contributed to the 661 pages of images from a7 series cameras!
We presumably *need to hear that*, it is such an important topic for the Sony forum, and very original in that it may be the first such in 4-5 days. It's somehow good for us. Now I am off to the Nikon forum to tell them my plans for the next three years and why I cannot buy a Nikon just yet.
Most people simply do their 'due diligence' before buying. As a travel photographer, that might mean identifying the weight and bulk of equivalent Nikon gear I might use, for example, before buying. I can tell the Nikon forum that, I guess. They would love to hear it, I am sure. That post could then morph into a kick Nikon effort like this one will against Sony. So therapeutic..but so strange....Show more →
p.1 #19 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
I started out on Sony digital cameras. The nex5 was my first. But now that I've gotten some experience with photography and want to expand my capabilities I'm thinking of switching to the nikon d750. It's weathersealed. Would be awesome for backpacking. I also do not have to wait for lenses and accessories to come out and hope they are up to par. Everything is out there already. No waiting or hoping the next version is better. It's just a consideration though. I am waiting for the a7000 hoping it's what I want.
p.1 #20 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3
It must be subjective since I do a ton of professional work with the A7ii, A7s and a6000 (wedding and commercial) and it is an awesome system.
I'm not sure I rely get this comment since, as far as I know, the a6000 has a much faster AF system than the A7II, and the post was about the A7II.
I like the OP's comment, because it is one more data point from an individual who has wanted to use the A7II, but can't make the swap from his D750.
I'm in the market for an A7II or an A9 but I still have reservations. The Nikon D750 does seem to be better in some respects, but I prefer the Sony A7II size, its image stabilisation, and the fact that I can use some of my M lenses on it. This post makes me draw breath before I buy and to wait to see what is offered in the A9.
I've also been comparing files between the A7II and the D750 at iso 6400, and my conclusion is that the D750 is noticeably cleaner and sharper. Sony should address these things.
. Till then, I'll keep my eye on what Sony/Fuji/Panasonic/Olympus/Samsung are doing.