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Lighten the load with an A7C??

Ghostinz
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

I figured I would post this in the forum and see where it goes. I know I am opening up a can of whatever here, but I have found the members here to be most enlightening.

years ago I did a trip to Europe and took along a couple of Sony A6xxx cameras a 4-5 lenses. I had a 10-18 on one body and the 16-70 on the other and it worked great for not having to change out lenses much. I was very happy with the results and also happy that I could carry around everything in a small bag and not get a work out... due to life issues, I had to part ways from photography.. Fast forward back into and I got back into the Nikon mirrorless system, which is amazing... the only downside is it is a lot to carry around. Not a big deal when I can throw it in a car, but a pain anywhere else to be honest.

my focus now is mainly just landscape, some macro, and an occasional portrait shot and candid shots.

I am heading back to Europe in late spring of next year. I am seriously considering getting rid of all my Nikon mirrorless and lenses and lightening the load as much as possible. it will be a two week trip, with some of it by train, so scaling down stuff is important. Also, as many of you probably experience, our SO's don't always appreciate our need for a backpack full of gear.. lol..

I am leaning towards a Sony A7C full frame and an 18-105 and using it for most stuff. The A7C seems to be the best compact full frame camera available. Maybe getting a second A7C as back up or with a zoom? I am evening considering maybe an a6600. My main focus on the trip will obviously be landscape and scenes..

Does the 18-105 seem like a good choice? or a 16-70 or 24-105?

Is there a decent zoom available on the Sony platform that is easy to carry around?

any other lenses recommendations? thoughts.

I hate to use the cliché of "once in a lifetime trip" but this one will be close. So first priority is image quality and second is compactness for the most part. Budget matters, but I have a lot invested in my Nikon and that will cover a lot of it. I wish Nikon made a compact full frame like the A7C.

Thank you in advance!

Aug 05, 2023 at 10:17 AM

AmbientMike
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

A7C in aps is a little over 10mp. The 18 105 & 16-70 aps AFAIK. I've had older 8mp aps out lately and the quality is actually quite good but 24mp ff in aps is less than ideal

People like the 24 105, 28-60 very light, doesn't nikon have any lighter lenses?

Aug 05, 2023 at 10:41 AM

jeffbuzz
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Is this trip specifically to take photos? Or do you simply want a decent camera with you to grab travel pics as needed? Some of the zoom lenses you mention are bigger than the a7C itself. If you really want to simply and minimize, take an a7C with one or at most two of the little "G" primes like the 24, 40 or 50mm. The 28-60 "kit" zoom is tiny too.

Aug 05, 2023 at 10:52 AM

Ghostinz
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

I am not sure why I thought the 18-105 was full frame lens? My mistake. So to clarify, that means I have to stick with the 24-105/4. That lens is the same size as my current 24-120, but I do save weight and space on the body. I might need to just scale back to a couple APS-C cameras to save the weight and size. Or just take my chances and bring one camera and lens and be good with that. lol.

All of Nikon's full frame lenses are pretty big as well.

Aug 05, 2023 at 10:55 AM

leolab
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Might want to consider the Tamron lenses...the 20-40 2.8 might fit the bill.

I have the A7C and pair it mostly with smaller primes, and for me the body is most useful with those and perhaps a few of the smaller zooms (20-40, Sony PZ 16-35), bigger zooms and A7C are not a great ergonomic mix IMHO

I also have a Z7 which I use as my larger option (IMHO better ergonomics, IBIS and EVF than the comparable Sony bodies A7Rii, A7RIII), coupled with a Megadap adapter the Sony lenses work great with that body as well so you might not have to bail on your Z camera, but I agree that the native Z lenses are pretty big overall...swapping the 24-120Z for the Sony 24-105 won't help you much though

Aug 05, 2023 at 11:11 AM

Ghostinz
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

jeffbuzz wrote:
Is this trip specifically to take photos? Or do you simply want a decent camera with you to grab travel pics as needed? Some of the zoom lenses you mention are bigger than the a7C itself. If you really want to simply and minimize, take an a7C with one or at most two of the little "G" primes like the 24, 40 or 50mm. The 28-60 "kit" zoom is tiny too.

Mainly to site see and take some travel pics. My GF has never been to Europe so we are making a trip of it.

Aug 05, 2023 at 11:24 AM

Ghostinz
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

leolab wrote:
Might want to consider the Tamron lenses...the 20-40 2.8 might fit the bill.

I have the A7C and pair it mostly with smaller primes, and for me the body is most useful with those and perhaps a few of the smaller zooms (20-40, Sony PZ 16-35), bigger zooms and A7C are not a great ergonomic mix IMHO

I also have a Z7 which I use as my larger option (IMHO better ergonomics, IBIS and EVF than the comparable Sony bodies A7Rii, A7RIII), coupled with a Megadap adapter the Sony lenses work great with that body as well so you might not have...Show more →

yes.. the more I investigate, the more I think I am probably just as well off taking the Z7 with my 24-120 and calling it good. I wanted to take a full frame, but that just might be the ego getting in the way..

... My daughter has a ZFc. Maybe i am just overthinking it and wanting everything to be perfect! lol.

Aug 05, 2023 at 11:29 AM

Tarekith
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Maybe consider the new Sony 20-70. Easy enough to put the A7C into APSC mode and make the 70mm long end function as a 100mm. Reviews are saying it’s a much better lens than the 24-105 in terms of sharpness.

Aug 05, 2023 at 11:35 AM

InlawBiker
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Depends on your tolerance for weight and size. If you were OK with Nikon Z and multiple bodies then you would be OK with a7C and lenses I think. The 20-70 as mentioned would be at the top of my list, plus maybe a 35 or 50 prime.

Did you consider the Z50? It's a fine little compact camera. The 16-50 pancake lens is a gem. I loved mine. I bought one when they came out, but gave it up due to lack of lenses. But the catalog is a bit larger now.

Aug 05, 2023 at 11:48 AM

Ghostinz
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

InlawBiker wrote:
Depends on your tolerance for weight and size. If you were OK with Nikon Z and multiple bodies then you would be OK with a7C and lenses I think. The 20-70 as mentioned would be at the top of my list, plus maybe a 35 or 50 prime.

Did you consider the Z50? It's a fine little compact camera. The 16-50 pancake lens is a gem. I loved mine. I bought one when they came out, but gave it up due to lack of lenses. But the catalog is a bit larger now.

my daughter has the ZFc with the 18-140, and there is a guy selling a Z30 used that i just might grab and call it good.

I lean towards the A7c because of the compactness and the image quality seems to at the top of the list. I do like the suggestion of getting the 20-70 or the 16-35 and using that as my primary camera. Most of the pictures will be landscape and scenery. Then maybe just getting taking the ZFc for a little bit longer reach. I never understood why Nikon went with a 20mp sensor instead of the 24.

Aug 05, 2023 at 12:10 PM

jeffbuzz
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Ghostinz wrote:
Mainly to site see and take some travel pics. My GF has never been to Europe so we are making a trip of it.

Consider an RX100 variant. The mark VII has a 24-200mm equivalent zoom. The mark VA has a faster f/1.8-2.8 24-70mm (equiv) lens that may be helpful for interiors. I've have never regretted "only" having my RX100 with me. Just be sure to bring at least 3 batteries.

Aug 05, 2023 at 12:12 PM

isohw
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Ghostinz wrote:
I figured I would post this in the forum and see where it goes. I know I am opening up a can of whatever here, but I have found the members here to be most enlightening.

years ago I did a trip to Europe and took along a couple of Sony A6xxx cameras a 4-5 lenses. I had a 10-18 on one body and the 16-70 on the other and it worked great for not having to change out lenses much. I was very happy with the results and also happy that I could carry around everything in a small...Show more →

Once you add a 400g + lens / zoom then A7C compactness gets irrelevant, or even worse as A7C handling could be unbalanced.

Thats said, weight tolerance is very personal and depends on actual use case.
My 2 cents from my experience
I can carry my tamron 28 200 a whole day on my A7C... but only if I dont carry a big backpack or my toddler.
In city trip I like pairing ricoh gr28mm eq. + A7C/50mm prime so no lens change and ready to snap + small 21mm packed for the 2 daily very wideshots.

Aug 05, 2023 at 12:33 PM

Daran
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

isohw wrote:
Once you add a 400g + lens / zoom then A7C compactness gets irrelevant, or even worse as A7C handling could be unbalanced.
Have you actually experienced this? I think this is a myth. Personally, I shot a Nex7 on an 800mm lens. A grip may be too small for a hand. A system too heavy, or specifically too front heavy. But if a camera being unbalanced really was a thing, you could buy weight sets for cameras, like you can for stuff that actually needs to balance (e.g. sport-bows).

Aug 05, 2023 at 12:50 PM

isohw
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Aug 05, 2023 at 12:56 PM

aCuria
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

Daran wrote:
Have you actually experienced this? I think this is a myth. Personally, I shot a Nex7 on an 800mm lens. A grip may be too small for a hand. A system too heavy, or specifically too front heavy. But if a camera being unbalanced really was a thing, you could buy weight sets for cameras, like you can for stuff that actually needs to balance (e.g. sport-bows).

idk about the example here specifically, but balance / weight distribution is a real thing

the 200-600 has its weight towards the center of the lens, making it harder to handle than a DSLR 1D type camera and lens weighing the same in total

The 70-200GMii has its weight closer to the camera and handles like a dream

the same thing is true for binoculars, some heavy binoculars like the zeiss SF handle great just because of weight distribution.

Aug 05, 2023 at 01:19 PM

raminolta
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

If you feel the need to go for a light and compact camera, go for it. Don't listen to these people who try to convince you it is not important because the lens is heavier. I have carried a heavy bag of cameras and lenses on trips and I can relate what a burden it can become particularly if the trip isn't meant to be solely a photographic endeavor.

Other people have their own priorities often combined with fanboyism and biases. Sure lens is important but there are plenty of super light and compact lenses for the Sony FF system to choose from.

I would only add if you are not in rush wait for the A7c replacement. Apparently it is on the horizon and may be announced in the Fall. That could be a significant upgrade over the current model and can also cause a significant price drop on A7c.

Aug 05, 2023 at 01:29 PM

Ghostinz
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

I would only add if you are not in rush wait for the A7c replacement. Apparently it is on the horizon and may be announced in the Fall. That could be a significant upgrade over the current model and can also cause a significant price drop on A7c.

I am for sure not in a hurry. I have 9 months or so. Good info about a replacement for the A7C, would likely be worth the wait.

Aug 05, 2023 at 01:36 PM

Peire
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

To me there is not much sense in combining FF 24 Mpx camera with aps-c lens/lenses.

If small A7C then together with small and lightweight FF lenses with very good IQ,covering anything from uwa to long tele,like:

1.Sigma 16-35/2.8 DG DN + Sigma 28-70/2.8 DG DN + Tamron 70-300/4.5-6.3 or

2.Sony G 16-35/4 PZ+ Sony G 24-105/4 + Sony G 70-300/4.5-5.6

For anything smaller,the APS-C outfit is unbeatable.Like Sony A6600 plus set of lightweight APS-C lenses with very good IQ,starting from super uwa and ending up at very long tele,like:

Sony G 10-20/4 PZ + Sony G 16-55/2.8+Sony G 70-350/4.5-6.3

This is what I have and use when need to travel light.

Aug 05, 2023 at 02:27 PM

Tarekith
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

The weight and being a bit harder to hold is one reason I upgraded from my A7C and Tamron 28-200 to an A7IV. It’s doable for sure, but the A7IV is so much easier to hold with the 28-200 IMVHO. Also the 28-200 is a great lens, but the LOCA when shooting anything with sun on water is one reason I don’t use it a lot for all my landscape stuff anymore.

Aug 05, 2023 at 03:29 PM

tzhang4284
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Lighten the load with an A7C??

What gear do you have for Nikon? You're probably better off adding a couple of small primes to your nikon kit - the 28mm f2 and 40mm f2 for example and call it a day for a light travel kit.

The issue with Sony full frame for travel is that it's not truly a small system once you add in lens sizse compared to say Fuji APS-C or Leica M. There's only about 5 to 10 AF lenses that are good in my opinion that are also small for Sony. The issue is those 5 to 10 lenses pretty much cover the same focal lengths. If you are up for manual focusing, there's a broader universe of options out there.

If you do want to move to Sony, the DSLR style bodies of the A7/A9/A1 series is a much better form factor and balances much better with most of the lenses available.

Aug 05, 2023 at 03:43 PM

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