Although I am not close of calling myself that, but I would choose either the A7r III or A7r II over the A9 for that purpose. Again, at least, I would.
johnctharp wrote:
If you could find a pre-stareater A7R II...
As Jim Kasson has showed, the A7RII does not have star-eater when shot in continuous mode, so its a much better option than the A7RIII, in which star-eater is applied whatever setting you use - or you could find an A7R which doesn't have star-eater in any mode except in bulb.
I use my A7S and A7R. The A7S is by far the better night camera. Not sure how an A9 would compare. People say the A7R2 is improved at high ISO but don't think it can touch an S model. Food for thought.
johnctharp wrote:
Or a D850 for that matter- but both are limited by their long-flange mounts in a way that the A7 series is not.
Sure, but most of the best astro-landscape photography lenses are still available for both mounts. What does Sony FE have to offer, natively, that cannot be accomplished on a DSLR? One or two sharp 20-24mm primes that would otherwise be slightly bigger and heavier on a DSLR.
Simply put, astro-landscape photography is not the best arena for the benefits of full-frame mirrorless to truly shine.
It wasn't even until this newest FE battery came out that I'd even consider it a contender at all, unless you're OK with carrying 1-2 giant Anker USB batteries with you everywhere, taped to your tripod legs.
Don't get me wrong, I'd kill for an A9 for my day job, wedding photography. I'd love an A7R3 for my portrait photography too. But for my hobby, astro-landscape photography, (www.astro-landscapes.com) ...DSLRs still win.
When the shutter broke in my A7R I decided it was time to upgrade and I got the A7R3. It is a major step backwards from the A7R. The A7R3 has red and blue confetti noise throughout the image. It's horrible to the point I don't want to use it at night. I am talking 20 seconds at ISO 1600 or 3200. Literally hundred of them per image and very noticeable. Very disappointing.
The A7R was much better and neither can touch the A7S which is far and away my favorite night camera.
The A9 will likely have better signal/noise ratio and be better for single frames. If you know how to stack and layer different exposures, I'd roll with the R2 or R3 everytime for that extra sharpness.
And as someone who agonized over star eater for the longest time, it's absolutely 100% overblown in practice. For me it's the principle, Sony shouldn't be doing anything to raws, that's why they're raws.
But it makes no real difference to how your final shot looks. If you're happy with the results, great! In fact, many serious landscape astrophotographers actually remove stars in post as they can be overwhelming to the scene - they'd rather the Milky Way be the center of attention, and rightfully so.
Feel free to check my IG for examples of MW shots with an R2, I started using one in June for my nightscapes.
WestTexas Sky wrote:
When the shutter broke in my A7R I decided it was time to upgrade and I got the A7R3. It is a major step backwards from the A7R. The A7R3 has red and blue confetti noise throughout the image. It's horrible to the point I don't want to use it at night. I am talking 20 seconds at ISO 1600 or 3200. Literally hundred of them per image and very noticeable. Very disappointing.
WestTexas Sky wrote:
When the shutter broke in my A7R I decided it was time to upgrade and I got the A7R3. It is a major step backwards from the A7R. The A7R3 has red and blue confetti noise throughout the image. It's horrible to the point I don't want to use it at night. I am talking 20 seconds at ISO 1600 or 3200. Literally hundred of them per image and very noticeable. Very disappointing.
The A7R was much better and neither can touch the A7S which is far and away my favorite night camera.
25 seconds for me really seems to be the point of annoyance. I took a number of images at 20 seconds and 1600 ISO this past weekend and the noise was fairly easily removed with color noise reduction in lightroom. Not ideal for sure, but then again, astro isn't my primary use for the camera. If it was, I'd likely look elsewhere.
For my exposure of M13, I didn’t hardly have any noise on mine at all. Maybe one or two little red specs that I also 1600 for a 76 seconds. I usually shoot ISO 400 or 800 and go for about 5 to 6 minutes depending on my sky conditions and object. I use the Astrotrack for tracking my stars and objects in the sky. The weather conditions down here in Southeast Texas have been pretty poor so I have not been out with mine lately. Hopefully whenever we get a cold front, whenever that will be, I’ll get some good shots I think by then. However I may need to order a light pollution filter first to see how that works in my area.
johnctharp wrote:
If you could find a pre-stareater A7R II...
I have yet to see a compelling image that has stars "eaten" in a noticeable way to the human eye in an actual photo. Measuring a couple db lost in a scientific manner is not the same as "wow look at all the stars that are missing" which if there is such a problematic photo I've love to see it because my cameras have produced exactly none of those. With my A7r2's for instance, which have "star eater" firmware, the bigger problem is the grotesque thermal noise, which is somewhat improved in the A7r3.
