p.33 #2 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
EB-1 wrote:
I was figuring 6 batteries would be sufficient, but now that would be a dozen at least. The D800 normally goes all day and I only need one spare. Are the engineers at Sony mentally sound?
EBH
I figured five or six batteries for a couple of hours shooting, with the camera turned off most of the time.
Battery life on my 1D-series cameras is similar to the D800. One battery does a whole day, at least.
Nov 03, 2013 at 08:24 AM
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p.33 #3 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
SKumar25 wrote:
If you cover the evf sensor you can technically kill your battery with 0 shots (By leaving the EVF running).
What does "We run out of battery with about 150 exposures spread out over a few hours" mean, was the EVF running the whole time?
He wrote when they asked him about the short battery time, that he was not fooling around with the menus or camera much at all. It was a walk in the city when he was shooting those 150 shots. He is an experienced photographer and the moderator in that photo forum so I would expect him to know how to use a camera.
p.33 #4 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
melcat wrote:
It's already been said in the context of wilderness camping, but why this idea that a battery charge only has to last a day? I don't take a charger with me on minibreaks. But, more than that, it's best not to keep topping up lithium ion batteries to full charge, so one should not recharge after every session. If I shoot 80 frames per day (as I did today) I then have only 260 left in the battery if its capacity is 340. This means I now have to premeditate "I will have a photo session" rather than just remembering to chuck the battery on the charger every so often as I do with my Canons. I didn't premeditate today's - it was too windy for my planned activity, and the light looked good. As usual, I had at least one Canon battery good to go, with no great planning ahead needed.
Thank you very much, but I had 30 years of having to remember to thaw rolls of film. It was quite enough.
That's because the people who needed good battery life didn't use it. In 2005 I was still using film cameras (including a mechanically timed shutter body) precisely because of the battery problem with DSLRs.
This is not to say the Sony is not a useful camera, but its battery requirements are a problem for some people....Show more →
Exactly right. Battery requirements will be a problem for some people. As you yourself said, people who need good battery life use cameras that provide them. The comparison of battery life of an A7r to a FF DSLR is a relatively minor issue because the A7r is going to influence a different market niche than those who need long battery life.
If it really is 150 shots vs 340 shots, that would be somewhat disappointing, but I think a few more real world reports are needed. The big questions for me would be is the EVF always on, is there an automatic shutoff, if so how long before it kicks in, and can you adjust it to suit your shooting style? Until I see answers to those I'm going to hold off on panicking about batteries.
p.33 #5 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Lars Johnsson wrote:
He wrote when they asked him about the short battery time, that he was not fooling around with the menus or camera much at all. It was a walk in the city when he was shooting those 150 shots. He is an experienced photographer and the moderator in that photo forum so I would expect him to know how to use a camera.
But did he leave the EVF on while he was walking around? I know plenty of experienced photographers who are just in the habit of just leaving their DSLRs on the whole time as they walk around, and that style is problematic for mirrorless cameras.
Nov 03, 2013 at 11:09 AM
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p.33 #6 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
artd wrote:
But did he leave the EVF on while he was walking around? I know plenty of experienced photographers who are just in the habit of just leaving their DSLRs on the whole time as they walk around, and that style is problematic for mirrorless cameras.
I belive it's pretty obvious that he would not leave the EVF on for a few hours. I also belive the battery would not last for 150 shots + a few hours with the EVF on all the time. Even the battery in my 1DX would drain if I had the live view on for several hours without shooting one shot.
p.33 #7 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Lars Johnsson wrote:
I belive it's pretty obvious that he would not leave the EVF on for a few hours. I also belive the battery would not last for 150 shots + a few hours with the EVF on all the time. Even the battery in my 1DX would drain if I had the live view on for several hours without shooting one shot.
I don't understand how it is obvious? That's why I'm asking the question. A lot of photographers don't switch their cameras to the off position when walking around with them. My guess would be the A7r has an a function that will automatically turn the EVF off after a certain amount of time, but if the photographer relies on the camera to automatically shut off the EVF while walking around with it, that will eat up a lot of battery. So did he say he turned the camera off between his shots?
Nov 03, 2013 at 11:58 AM
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p.33 #8 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
artd wrote:
I don't understand how it is obvious? That's why I'm asking the question. A lot of photographers don't switch their cameras to the off position when walking around with them. My guess would be the A7r has an a function that will automatically turn the EVF off after a certain amount of time, but if the photographer relies on the camera to automatically shut off the EVF while walking around with it, that will eat up a lot of battery. So did he say he turned the camera off between his shots?
Do you know a lot of photographers that have the EVF on for a few hours without turning it off one time And at the same time when people ask them about the short battery time, say that they have not fooled around with the camera or touched the menu And they do that when they are testing the camera
Not one person that I know have the EVF on for hours. But I don't know if the battery last for 50, 150 or 500 shots. I have not tested or even seen the camera.
p.33 #9 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Doesn't the EVF turn off by itself after a while?
EBH
Nov 03, 2013 at 12:28 PM
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p.33 #10 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
EB-1 wrote:
Doesn't the EVF turn off by itself after a while?
EBH
I would guess that it turn off after a couple of minutes. But I have never used the camera. And the number of shots with a full battery is 270 according to Sonys Swedish website.
p.33 #11 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Lars Johnsson wrote:
Do you know a lot of photographers that have the EVF on for a few hours without turning it off one time And at the same time when people ask them about the short battery time, say that they have not fooled around with the camera or touched the menu And they do that when they are testing the camera
I know a lot of photographers that have never used an EVF and are used to walking around with their cameras switched to the on position. I also know that most cameras have an auto-off function, so that would make it impossible to have the EVF on for a few hours. But that also means it is possible to walk around with the camera in the on position, with the EVF remaining on for extended periods of time between auto shut-offs.
So it seems like a legitimate question. I don't understand why anyone would be resistant to having it answered?
Nov 03, 2013 at 12:36 PM
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p.33 #12 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
artd wrote:
I know a lot of photographers that have never used an EVF and are used to walking around with their cameras switched to the on position. I also know that most cameras have an auto-off function, so that would make it impossible to have the EVF on for a few hours. But that also means it is possible to walk around with the camera in the on position, with the EVF remaining on for extended periods of time between auto shut-offs.
So it seems like a legitimate question. I don't understand why anyone would be resistant to having it answered?
So why don't you ask the person that tested the camera. For me it's obvious
p.33 #13 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Lars Johnsson wrote:
So why don't you ask the person that tested the camera. For me it's obvious
Swedish is not one of the languages I know, unfortunately. To me, the only thing that's obvious is that we don't have enough information on this topic yet.
p.33 #14 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
I'm not surprised over the number of shots with that battery in the A7r camera. Remember that Sony use the same battery in this body as they did in their Nex3 and other Nex bodies. And this 36MP have to use a lot more Power than those other Nex bodies
p.33 #17 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
chez wrote:
Just carry more batteries with you. What is the problem here?
When a competitor has something that Canon can't compete with the fanboys need to find something to hate on….in this case they are hating on batteries that cost $13.99
p.33 #18 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Sven Jeppesen wrote:
It's no problem. But don't you think it's a big advantage if you only need to bring 1-2 batteries instead of 5-6 It will also be cheaper.
I really don't look at batteries when picking a camera. My number 1 priority is image quality...which for the type of photography I do, the Sony appears to have a BIG advantage. If I have to put a couple more batteries into my pack, that really does not affect the images I get at the end of the day...which is my biggest concern.
This whole battery thing is really a non issue...just carry more.
Nov 03, 2013 at 02:00 PM
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p.33 #19 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
artsupreme wrote:
When a competitor has something that Canon can't compete with the fanboys need to find something to hate on….in this case they are hating on batteries that cost $13.99
This have to be the most stupid post yet. Why would I buy the A7R camera if I hated it
p.33 #20 · Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
Sven Jeppesen wrote:
It's no problem. But don't you think it's a big advantage if you only need to bring 1-2 batteries instead of 5-6 It will also be cheaper.
It all depends on how you use the camera. If your type of photography requires over a thousand frames of day on a regular basis the A7r may not be the best choice. If your type of photography is such that you only take a hundred frames a day, the advantage of better battery life is not as big.
There seems to be a lot of argument back and forth about why the A7r is great, or why its shortcomings are so enormous. The fact of the matter is the A7r isn't great for everyone, and neither are its shortcomings important to everyone.
And at the same time when people ask them about the short battery time, say that they have not fooled around with the camera or touched the menu
It will also be cheaper. 