Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Sony Forum | Join Upload & Sell

How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

chiron
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

I am tempted to get an A7RIII because I have always liked the sensor and the size of the body and they are now selling relatively inexpensively. My hesitation is that the autofocus is a bit dated. I don't need all the bells and whistles of an A1 or RV, but I would want to be able to track the eyes of moving children and to get sharp focus on eyes on the street.

For those using the RIII, what are your experiences using the eye AF or other focus modes for children or people in motion (not posed)?

Aug 20, 2023 at 08:33 AM

mfenske
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

Mine seems to work quite well. My A7iv was faster, sure, but not so much that you'll notice in most situations. The biggest challenge, for me, is that I miss the tilty/flippy screen and that occasionally with where the AF points are they don't cover the whole frame. In any case for what you can get an A7Riii for these days it's a no brainer to get one.

Aug 20, 2023 at 09:39 AM

chiron
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

mfenske wrote:
Mine seems to work quite well. My A7iv was faster, sure, but not so much that you'll notice in most situations. The biggest challenge, for me, is that I miss the tilty/flippy screen and that occasionally with where the AF points are they don't cover the whole frame. In any case for what you can get an A7Riii for these days it's a no brainer to get one.

I suspected that one might not notice any difference in autofocus in most situations, so I am glad to hear you confirm that. I rarely use the LCD out of its flat position, so that also is not likely to bother me.

I do think I might be bothered by the AF points missing important parts of the screen. I assume you notice this in the vertical position? Percentage-wise, how far off the edges are the AF points? When does this affect you the most? How do you compensate?

Finally, what do you like about the A7RIII?

Thanks!

Aug 20, 2023 at 11:51 AM

mfenske
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

chiron wrote:
I suspected that one might not notice any difference in autofocus in most situations, so I am glad to hear you confirm that. I rarely use the LCD out of its flat position, so that also is not likely to bother me.

I do think I might be bothered by the AF points missing important parts of the screen. I assume you notice this in the vertical position? Percentage-wise, how far off the edges are the AF points? When does this affect you the most? How do you compensate?

Finally, what do you like about the A7RIII?

Thanks!

I hadn't really thought of which orientation I'm in when wanting more focus points and I only really notice it if I'd shot my A7iv or my wife's A7C...beyond that seldom notice it. I'm sure there's a more scientific answer but I'd say at least half and more like 2/3 is actually covered. As far as what I like? Low price, great sensor, excellent IQ, and amazing battery life are the ones that pop in to my brain. I'll probably trade up to an A7RV when budget allows and until then I'll continue to enjoy the R3.

Aug 21, 2023 at 09:06 AM

bdbits
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

There are two kinds of focus points. The PDAF (phase detection) points cover a smaller area, and the CDAF (contrast detection) points get closer but not all the way to the edge. You can display a frame that shows you the PDAF coverage, but I do not think there is anything to show the CDAF other than pushing the focus rectangle as far as it will go with the joystick.

I do not shoot action or typically have a focus point near the edges, so it has not been an issue for me. In such a case I would probably use focus and recompose as a workaround.

I really like my A7Riii. Great sensor, AF is not a big need for me, and I am way past familiar enough with the "old style" menus and controls. I'll upgrade eventually of course, but no compelling reason to hurry.

Aug 21, 2023 at 03:40 PM

Robin Smith
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

Of course, its good for both of those subjects. Do you think the people only started taking these photos with the A7IV?

Aug 21, 2023 at 04:08 PM

chez
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

Use A7R3 as my Main Street / travel camera. I think the camera fits very nicely for those applications. AF is responsive enough for me to capture people being people in foreign lands.

Aug 21, 2023 at 05:24 PM

Tomservo
Online
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

I use a pair of A7rIII's for my work. I shoot headshots/Portraits/Fashion/Lifestyle but I also shoot a lot of street photography since moving to Spain. You can see examples of the street work at www.viavignettes.com where a lot (but not all) the images were shot with an A7rIII and Son'y 35mm 1.8 lens. You'll also see some from the A7rII (and some other cameras).

I found the AF much more responsive moving the the A7rII to the A7rIII which I think is more due to the processor in the camera than anything else. I haven't used the A7rIV, but I don't feel the AF in the A7rIII is lacking unless you are at the edge of the PDAF/CDAF zone under certain conditions. I have decided to put up with that minor annoyance to have the great sensor output from the A7rIII.

(Edit because I didn't address part of the question) I find the eye/face detect AF works very well when outside and in well lit indoor situations but it can deteriorate quickly in lower light, and even in "not so bad" light depending on the lens. For instance, my Zeiss 135 Batis managed to focus very well in poor light outside on the streets at night shooting a model who was in motion dancing, but the Zeiss Batis 85 had noticeable trouble and it's a faster lens (1.8 vs 2.8). So the camera is definitely important but the lens will have influence as well.

I'll likely replace my A7rIII's with A7RIIIa's or even NIB A7r3's if I can find them once they need replacement. Would love for Sony to come out with a stacked version of the 42MP sensor with updated processing/AF in an A7RIII"x" model. I'd buy one or two

Aug 22, 2023 at 12:24 AM

Viramati
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

I have used the A7r3 since it's release and I think it's sensor is at a sweet spot compared to the iv and v but focus wise it really is lagging behind. It's eye-af works okay but where it really lacks is not having effective lock-on continuous focus of the subsequent models. Personally I wouldn't recommend it as a street photography camera and I think if you can live with the smaller sensor you would be better of with the A7iv. I keep mine mainly for landscape use with the 16-35Gm but the more capable A1 is my main body

Aug 22, 2023 at 01:56 AM

genjy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

I use A7RIII and A7IV professionally. The A7RIII has a great sensor and the AF is still pretty OK. It's not like the newer iterations of Sony's AF-C, but it's still fast and sticky enough for family and vacation type photos. Excellent RAW files but you have to use top shelf GM lenses to really get the most out of the sensor.

One thing I noticed immediately when I got the A7IV is how fast it is operationally... like everything is super responsive and snappy. The A7RIII has a slight bit of sluggishness to it, but you can't really feel it until you have used the newer Sonys. The A7IV's AF-C is very sticky and accurate. No problem with tracking people moving and running around. The 33MP sensor is fine... good for people, but probably not for landscape and really wide shots that might be zoomed in on for details. Use GM lenses for best resolution. Optically lesser lenses might give you a bit more graininess and blotchiness than preferred.

Aug 22, 2023 at 11:55 AM

jeffbuzz
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

The only AF trouble I had with the a7RM3 was with some third party lenses not working reliably in the outer CDAF area. They worked fine within the smaller PDAF zone. But AF just hunted in the CDAF zone. So perhaps just stick with Sony lenses or be sure to test any lenses thoroughly if you want to use tracking across the frame.

Aug 23, 2023 at 11:01 AM

sismailian
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

Since I shoot moving kids usually and at this point I am not sure I would want to recommend the R3. The a74 with the new AF would be the more ideal option since also you want to shoot street which often is in lower light that will be bit more grainy with higher MP bodies.

The R3 left me with some frustrating moments where it missed shots even when I used fast shutter speeds during church events or birthdays while now on the R5 my shooting experience has improved so drastically I could never look back. The R3 did give me great landscape shots but it's somewhat mixed AF experience left me not too impressed looking back now. Also when you use one of the newer sony bodies youll notice the R3 being more sluggish. It's not a drastic difference but its definitely there noticeable. Also let me tell you just how AMAZING that flippy screen is when shooting moving kids and landscapes!!! It is such a game changer.

Since the price difference between the R3 and a74 are not big I would definitely go with the a74 with the newer tech. Also try to stick with newer sony lenses preferably newer GM ones with faster focus motors. They work AMAZING on newer bodies.

Aug 23, 2023 at 11:38 AM

schlotz
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

Agree with @sismailian, the AF on the A7R3 is ok for natural movement and street photography BUT if the rug rats are really mobile you will find the AF does occasionally miss, and sometimes more than you would like. The R3's AF was quite an improvement over the 1st two versions but it still suffered some when motion was in play. Better to look for the IV or V. Either will do the job you are describing very well in deed.

Aug 23, 2023 at 03:29 PM

Tschanrm
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · How is the A7RIII for Children or Street?

When it comes to kids, one my biggest gripes with the A7RIII and the A7III is the face/eye detection with the tracking mode. In newer iterations such as A7RIV, a6400, etc. the tracking mode will switch to face/eye if it is detected during tracking. However, the A7RIII in tracking mode, while face/eye detect is turned on and a face is recognized, it will instead switch to some strange body af with a giant green rectangle around the subject.

DPreview mentions this in their initial review, and the latest firmware doesn't change the behavior:

"In any case, it appears that since the tracking 'box' makes up most of Dan's upper half, there are necessarily parts of him that are both closer to and further from the camera than the front of his vest. In essence then, the camera (versus the photographer) makes a judgment call about what portion of the subject should be in critical focus."

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a7r-mark-iii-review/7

Aug 23, 2023 at 11:10 PM


FM Forums \| Sony Forum \| Join Upload & Sell

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.