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Archive 2015 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

echelonphoto
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p.4 #1 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

"the rest of the world"....REALLY?

Jan 20, 2015 at 01:38 PM

swanny66
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p.4 #2 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

AGeoJO wrote:
I don't think that anyone is questioning Brett's method/approach; everybody seems to be in agreement that certain folks require certain specifications/performance factors of certain cameras and that the need/requirement varies widely among users.

There is nothing wrong with him doing what he did but it is more the announcement to "the rest of the world" that people "frowned" upon. At this point, I am not even sure that it is the appropriate verb, "frown upon", in describing that. BTW, it is quite a common practice in the Canon or Nikon board to post something like that when they are about...Show more →

You did a much better job explaining it than I did. People love going on FM, Travelocity, Yelp, etc. describing their experiences. Just have your flame jacket on as not everyone sees the world or products the same. Because if I went to Morton's and then yelped their enchiladas were crap even though I knew it going in I would be considered an idiot. If you do it on FM you are a knowledgeable savant.

Jan 20, 2015 at 01:52 PM

chez
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p.4 #3 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

So we've come to this. A person can't even state his honest experience with a camera without being taken to the cleaners. All we want to hear is positive comments about the gear we use...not honest opinions from a person that has actually used the piece of equipment to shoot the things they shoot.

Personally I find these threads that state honest opinions on the good and BAD aspects of a camera to be extremely valuable...more so than brick wall or dollar bill tests...thats assuming your photography asperations is not shooting brick walks or dollar bills.

Chase away all then honest views of equipment and we end up with views like the old photography magazines usedbto have...all seen through rose colored glasses.

Jan 20, 2015 at 03:20 PM

brett maxwell
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p.4 #4 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

swanny66 wrote:
What I don't get is how it requires a thread stating it did not work for you. The same reviews and threads you read are out there for everyone to read.

Of course it didn't require a thread from me, this would be a pretty empty forum if people only posted things deemed required reading.

Yes, there are already reviews and threads out there, I guess the internet only needs one review per camera and any other perspective is superfluous. My only goal was to add one more data point, especially for people considering the jump from Nikon, and I'm glad to see many people have found that helpful.

Jan 20, 2015 at 04:51 PM

Charlie N
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p.4 #5 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Jan 20, 2015 at 05:15 PM

swanny66
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p.4 #6 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

brett maxwell wrote:
Of course it didn't require a thread from me, this would be a pretty empty forum if people only posted things deemed required reading.

Yes, there are already reviews and threads out there, I guess the internet only needs one review per camera and any other perspective is superfluous. My only goal was to add one more data point, especially for people considering the jump from Nikon, and I'm glad to see many people have found that helpful.

I like reviews. We all do. But this whole I am breaking up with one because the other is better been is often a backhanded slag towards one manufacturer or another. Again, I have no horse in this race and am happy with the system for my style of shooting. Then, I don't shoot weddings. So your 'review' as you so generously call it, does not relate to me or my style. Which goes back to one of my posts as to why those type of posts are limited in their usefulness as everyone has different skill levels, needs, etc. I would never choose this system for action or nature. It is not there yet. But I already was aware and have a system for that. I don't say Sony is not not good enoug because frankly it is for my other shooting for travel, architecture,street, etc. and the AF is plenty useful for those and some action.

Let's agree to disagree. I look forward to many more of your incredibly useful, technical, and informative 'reviews' the next time you contemplate changing systems.

Jan 20, 2015 at 05:17 PM

naturephoto1
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p.4 #7 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

swanny66 wrote:
I like reviews. We all do. But this whole I am breaking up with one because the other is better been is often a backhanded slag towards one manufacturer or another. Again, I have no horse in this race and am happy with the system for my style of shooting. Then, I don't shoot weddings. So your 'review' as you so generously call it, does not relate to me or my style. Which goes back to one of my posts as to why those type of posts are limited in their usefulness as everyone has different skill levels, needs, etc....Show more →

I don't know, I have been using my A7r with all of my MF Leica R, Leica M WATE, and Minolta CLE MC 40mm f2 M-Rokkor lens for Nature and Landscape work for the last 13 months (the WATE is a new addition), but I have not been using this set-up for Wildlife to this point. On the other hand, my last FF camera that I purchased was my Leica R8 purchased in 1998. That camera and my Leica R lenses did not offer AF and I used that camera and lenses for wildlife shooting as well though not for fast moving subjects like birds in flight.

Rich

Edited on Jan 20, 2015 at 06:35 PM · View previous versions

Jan 20, 2015 at 06:28 PM

wolfloid
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p.4 #8 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Let's agree to disagree. I look forward to many more of your incredibly useful, technical, and informative 'reviews' the next time you contemplate changing systems.

As well as completely misrepresenting what the OP has said, isn't this just a little childish?

Jan 20, 2015 at 06:30 PM

chez
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p.4 #9 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

swanny66 wrote:
I like reviews. We all do. But this whole I am breaking up with one because the other is better been is often a backhanded slag towards one manufacturer or another. Again, I have no horse in this race and am happy with the system for my style of shooting. Then, I don't shoot weddings. So your 'review' as you so generously call it, does not relate to me or my style. Which goes back to one of my posts as to why those type of posts are limited in their usefulness as everyone has different skill levels, needs, etc....Show more →

I did not interpret what the OP wrote as any form of "backhand slag" as you call it. It was just his opinion plain and simple from using the camera for what he shoots. I purchased the EOS-M camera to try out...was interested in its size and image quality, but I just could not use a camera without a viewfinder and gave the camera to a friend. I wrote about my experience, basically saying it was not for me because of the lack of viewfinder. I was just stating my experience with the camera, just like the OP did. There was no fabrication or any putting down the system...just that it did not meet his needs for the type of photography he does.

You last statement is extremely childish and your inputs will be taken with that in mind going forward.

Jan 20, 2015 at 06:50 PM

0jjcpa123
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p.4 #10 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

I understand why OP wants to stick with Nikon. I have a more specific question: regarding to IQ, color, rendering, bokeh only which is better D610+Sigma 50mm ART vs A7 + 55mm? They are more or less same price. Weight is not an issue for me. I may get D810 or A7RII in couple of years.

I shoot more than 80% with 50mm. I have DP2M, NEX-7+ Touit 32mm. I like DP2M but I feel both have very slow AF.

Thanks, JJCPA

Jan 20, 2015 at 10:14 PM

brett maxwell
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p.4 #11 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

0jjcpa123 wrote:
I understand why OP wants to stick with Nikon. I have a more specific question: regarding to IQ, color, rendering, bokeh only which is better D610+Sigma 50mm ART vs A7 + 55mm? They are more or less same price. Weight is not an issue for me. I may get D810 or A7RII in couple of years.

I haven't used the Sigma Art 50, but I've owned the Art 35 and know the similarly excellent reputation of the 50. The Zeiss 55 is nothing short of excellent, and I imagine very comparable, it's certainly better than the Nikon 50/1.8G and 1.4G. The sensor in those cameras is basically the same, but Sony's much discussed lossy raw format may be the greatest limitation in this comparison.

The massive difference in size and weight would make the difficult comparison simple for most.

Jan 21, 2015 at 01:37 AM

uscmatt99
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p.4 #12 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Brett, I'm with you on your assessment. I just shoot for fun, started with Nikon several years ago, and have had my hand at some other systems like mFT at the beginning, Ricoh, and Sony. I got a Ricoh GXR and Sony NEX-6 to use with my rangefinder lenses, each of which have their IQ limitations with trade-offs in actual usage. I was hoping the A7 would be the miracle camera to use my RF lenses, but it was not. However, it's a great platform for manual focus SLR glass and longer RF glass.

Since I already had the A7, I finally caved and got the 55/1.8FE. Optically outstanding second copy, first had a soft left side that others have experienced as well, with weird curvature of field towards the camera. But I'll be damned if I can trust the AF. Both my D700 and D600 have always been spot on with good Nikon glass, and were consistently crap with the first edition Sigma 50/1.4. But at least with the Sigma it was somewhat consistent and predictable, and could be chalked up to user error and PDAF not playing well with third party lenses. With the A7 and 55/1.8, it's totally hit or miss. Sometimes perfect, often not. I should clarify, in good light it does a better job, and is faster if I use the larger area box, but obviously needs the smaller area box if I'm going for a near eye. But even in a decently lit room where I'm shooting at f/1.8, 1/100, ISO 100-400 it just cannot be trusted. I'm at a loss as to why the camera will confirm focus when it's clearly not in focus. Face detect is also a joke on the A7, it will confirm that it recognizes a face, but misfocus by inches. Oddly, my NEX-6 with a Sigma 19/2.8 and 60/2.8 are spot on every time!

I still enjoy the A7 for all of its quirks when using my Voigtlander and Zeiss SLR lenses, as I can nail focus every time anywhere in the frame, so long as the subject is not moving haha. It's worlds better than the unreliable green dot for manual focus on a Nikon body, especially for a wide fast lens like the ZF.2 35/1.4. The Nikon is still obviously better suited for AF-C, and surprisingly AF-S. I do look forward to a more reliable AF system in Sony's future releases, i.e. no threads where people argue whether it's user error or the camera. Clearly, in this case, it's not entirely user error.

Jan 21, 2015 at 08:33 AM

echelonphoto
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p.4 #13 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Thanks, Matt...very straightforward and analytical post....I see I am in for some growing pains with this camera and lens...maybe sony will address the problems.

Jan 21, 2015 at 10:44 AM

Chuck Eklund
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p.4 #14 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

I think Brett's comments are just meant to Reflect well on the D750.

Jan 21, 2015 at 02:18 PM

Cliff L.
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p.4 #15 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

swanny66 wrote:
But this whole I am breaking up with one because the other is better been is often a backhanded slag towards one manufacturer or another.

I think it's only the insecure fanboys that see things this way... to the rest of us, it's just additional data for the decision-making process.

Jan 30, 2015 at 10:46 AM

Squinty
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p.4 #16 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Just a thought... and it's not a criticism of any individual, but why are folks so obsessed with fast auto-focus? Is it a sign of the times that everything has to be done for us and done fast?

I can understand it for wildlife and sports, but for those who are predominantly using, say, 35- 85-ish mm lenses for casual use (I think OP and couple of others have mentioned so) then let me suggest an old-fashioned technique that I've recently re-discovered, called manual focus. I'm convinced that within a few days you'll be shooting quicker than with auto-focus - and getting more satisfaction out of the process to boot. And it's one less thing to feel dissatisfied with your gear over. Karma all-round.

Jan 30, 2015 at 11:21 AM

curious80
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p.4 #17 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Squinty wrote:
Just a thought... and it's not a criticism of any individual, but why are folks so obsessed with fast auto-focus? Is it a sign of the times that everything has to be done for us and done fast?

I can understand it for wildlife and sports, but for those who are predominantly using, say, 35- 85-ish mm lenses for casual use (I think OP and couple of others have mentioned so) then let me suggest an old-fashioned technique that I've recently re-discovered, called manual focus. I'm convinced that within a few days you'll be shooting quicker than with auto-focus - and...Show more →

Try that with a restless toddler, moving all the time, running around, changing direction without any warning on a whim and so on. Hard to pull that off with MF unless you stop down significantly. And this is just one example. There are some applications for which MF is more practical than others.

Jan 30, 2015 at 11:36 AM

snapsy
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p.4 #18 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

Squinty wrote:
Just a thought... and it's not a criticism of any individual, but why are folks so obsessed with fast auto-focus? Is it a sign of the times that everything has to be done for us and done fast?

I can understand it for wildlife and sports, but for those who are predominantly using, say, 35- 85-ish mm lenses for casual use (I think OP and couple of others have mentioned so) then let me suggest an old-fashioned technique that I've recently re-discovered, called manual focus. I'm convinced that within a few days you'll be shooting quicker than with auto-focus - and...Show more →

I use MF most of the time on mine but when you need AF why not have it be as fast and accurate as possible?

Jan 30, 2015 at 12:08 PM

echelonphoto
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p.4 #19 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

I thought this thread was dead. But I have to chime in on this...I have been making my living with photography for 35+ years. Back in the film days, we did focus manually, we also used mostly medium format. You could focus manually very quickly on those cameras because of the screen and the split image in the center. Focusing manually on the sony takes way too much time for wedding work..esp action. That and not to mention age taking its toll on the eyes makes fast , accurate af a total necessity in my line of work

Jan 30, 2015 at 12:43 PM

Ghostinz
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p.4 #20 · Returning my A7II, sticking with Nikon plus m4/3

brett maxwell wrote:
I haven't used the Sigma Art 50, but I've owned the Art 35 and know the similarly excellent reputation of the 50. The Zeiss 55 is nothing short of excellent, and I imagine very comparable, it's certainly better than the Nikon 50/1.8G and 1.4G. The sensor in those cameras is basically the same, but Sony's much discussed lossy raw format may be the greatest limitation in this comparison.

The massive difference in size and weight would make the difficult comparison simple for most.

While its slightly off the original topic, I have to chime in on the 35 ART. Excellent lens. In fact, my buddy who shoots a D800 with a couple Zeiss lenses, 50 & 100, was so impressed when I lent him mine, that he bought one himself. My assumption is the 50 ART is going to be a winner too. It would interesting to see where Sigma is at with coming out with an 85/100/135 Art lens.

Jan 30, 2015 at 05:09 PM

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