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 p.179 #14 · Official: Sony A7 and A7R Fullframe Mirrorless | |
miklar wrote:
I usually like reading Thom's blog, but do not always agree with his opinions.
His comments regarding the A7r seem to be short of his usual pragmatic approach. While he admits not having used the A7r for any length of time as well referencing data from other sources, not of his own findings and using their data to condemn the compression algorithm used by Sony, is not his usual way.
It's almost as though he is biased against Sony, especially since little of what he has written takes into account his usual laments that neither Canon nor Nikon are keeping up with the times, frequently lamenting how they should follow the example of his favourite "technology" company, Apple.
Since Sony is perhaps the only (with Samsung being the other) truly technology company that actually develops new toys for us and not just software to make them play, it's difficult to take him seriously from here on in.
There are many features the A7(r) have that one could only wish were on DSLRs. Instead of praising Sony for that he only describes a three year old camera as the king of the hill. Indeed Nikon deserves to be praised for having assembled such a good device, but it is still old technology with its core being Sony's sensor.
Yes, the A7(r) have lots of shortcomings when compared to the some DSLRs and hopefully Sony, Nikon and or Canon will add each other's plusses to their devices in the near future.
In the meantime the A7r is my favourite for carrying on my shoulder all day. No, I won't use it for action photography unless it's the only device handy at the time.
One more thing, all that blocked up data due to the "severe" compression, I've yet to see it on a 33 inch print.
And finally, while I would like for Sony to provide us with a choice of a lesser level of compression, but not at the cost of some of the necessary lens to sensor corrections that allows technology to continue to develop products more user friendly than all the wonderful clunkers we work with now.
Cheers ...Show more →
I think that Thom's review is probably the most lucid and well-considered review of the cameras I have read yet, by quite a distance. I don't always enjoy his reviews, but this one is spot on. I thought that all his comments were very fair, and he made several points not made by the usual copy-cat reviewers, such as some intelligent comments on exactly why the menus could be better, and he explained nicely why FF isn't always a win, in the context of these cameras.
Note that while he does reference external work, he doesn't say that he hasn't seen the compression artifacts himself, and indeed discusses it at some length, giving a strong impression that he has worked with them in PP. I don't see any evidence of bias against Sony, just some comments which reveal that he is aware of their inconsistent system building antics in the past.
Your comment about old technology rings hollow. The D800s still deliver the best image quality, due to Sony's lackluster integration of the same sensor in the A7r, but that is really Sony's own fault. One would normally expect better image quality from an iterated part, three years later, not worse, but Sony didn't deliver. The fact that Sony has more shutter shock than a large pro DSLR is just lame. They shouldn't have released the A7r without EFSC.
In the end, he clearly liked the cameras a lot, but he makes a really good point: why release a camera which pushes resolution as far as is currently possible, when you don't follow up with the necessary implementation and features to extract the most from it? Good cameras, not perfect, and I agree with him: at the moment the A7 is the more complete, and attractive camera of the two. When Sony sorts out the above-mentioned issues, maybe in an A8, I will consider replacing my D800 with it (if the lenses are there by then).
For a Canon users the choices are a bit easier, since Canon's sensor tech is behind, and the A7r is such a large step up. For Nikon D800 owners, the A7r is a step down in most ways, other than size and EVF.
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...there's the icon. :P