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Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

expwmbat
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Greetings,

I’ve been using an A7II for the last 8 years, and it’s just not working well anymore—I get an error message and the camera requires me to turn it off and on again more than half the time, which makes me think it might be time to plan for a new camera.

I mostly shoot near landscapes, not at infinity, hand held macro nature stuff, and then some family/kid stuff. I like having the sensor stabilization for the lenses I use, which are all vintage film lenses. Most used lenses: Zeiss ZF 25/2.8, Canon FD 35/2 (thorium), Zeiss C Sonnar 50/1.5, Leica Macro-Elmarit R 60/2.8, Canon FDn 80-200L/4. Sometimes Canon FDn 100/2 or 300L/4. I use A mode almost exclusively and tend to allow Auto-ISO and Auto shutter speed in order to make things easier.

What advice do you have for choosing the my next digital sensor platform? I’ve had good experiences with the A7II, but haven’t tried anything with a higher resolution sensor or thinner sensor stack. I like to be able to carry my camera daily in my bag, so portability matters.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Daniel

Feb 11, 2024 at 09:14 AM

1bwana1
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Although any of Sony's latest generation full frame cameras would be a huge upgrade coming from an A7II, the A7RV is clearly the best choice for the kind of photography you are doing. It is an amazing platform.

Feb 11, 2024 at 09:31 AM

expwmbat
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Thanks.

Besides being likely way outside of my preferred budget range, the A7rV appears to have a lot of features I would never use. I would prefer not to have features I won’t use—for example, I don’t own any Sony lenses nor do I ever use AF. So eye-tracking AF, and whatever AI subject identification features the new Sony has are totally irrelevant to me. I’m not interested in using them. I don’t need any number of frames per second either. I try to take more of a “film” approach.

Basically, I’m trying to find the sweet spot in the used sensor world—maybe up from the A7II resolution, with the stabilization, since I tend to use MF vintage primes, and something that plays well with just the image from the lens (no in-camera computer fixes to distortion or edges or anything else).

DJK

Feb 11, 2024 at 11:20 AM

RustyBug
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

ZF ... seems to be getting some traction for some folks.

Not the highest pixel count on the sensor, but seems to have functionality that bodes well for manual focus lenses and the price point doesn't break the bank. Has some "gadgets" but I reckon you could turn those off if they aren't your cup of tea.

Feb 11, 2024 at 11:35 AM

Peire
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

expwmbat wrote:
Greetings,

I’ve been using an A7II for the last 8 years, and it’s just not working well anymore—I get an error message and the camera requires me to turn it off and on again more than half the time, which makes me think it might be time to plan for a new camera.

I mostly shoot near landscapes, not at infinity, hand held macro nature stuff, and then some family/kid stuff. I like having the sensor stabilization for the lenses I use, which are all vintage film lenses. Most used lenses: Zeiss ZF 25/2.8, Canon FD 35/2 (thorium), Zeiss C Sonnar 50/1.5,...Show more →

I have owned/used all the lenses you mentioned with Sony A72,from which I upgraded to Sony A7R2.Then to Sony A7R4A.Shifting to higher res,42 mpx A7R2 made optical flaws (mainly chromatic and spherical aberration) of some older lenses more visible,which have required increased intensity of PP.This was a turning point somehow.As the consequence I have sold all my (more than 650) finest manual lenses of virtually all brands and acquired only dedicated,FE mounted lenses instead.So be aware of that upgrading your camera

Feb 11, 2024 at 12:00 PM

1bwana1
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

expwmbat wrote:
Thanks.

Besides being likely way outside of my preferred budget range, the A7rV appears to have a lot of features I would never use. I would prefer not to have features I won’t use—for example, I don’t own any Sony lenses nor do I ever use AF. So eye-tracking AF, and whatever AI subject identification features the new Sony has are totally irrelevant to me. I’m not interested in using them. I don’t need any number of frames per second either. I try to take more of a “film” approach.

Basically, I’m trying to find the sweet spot in the used sensor...Show more →

Well if you are not interested in any of the AF/AI stuff, and it looks like you are shooting a lot of MF lenses with varying mounts so will be using adapters anyway, you may want to have a look at the Nikon ZF. It has the mount that accepts almost all lens mounts adapted, and some of the best MF aids there are. It is any 24 mpx so it won't show the aberrations in your vintage lenses as much. However, it is a bit early to find any bargains on used Zf cameras currently.

Maybe look into a used Leica SL which has always been a leader in the type of shooting you are doing. They are always good used ones, and I expect many more since the SL-3 is due out very soon. Still, not on the cheap side. But great shooting experience. I use my Leica 10-P, or my M11 for my MF cameras and love them.

But honestly, I would likely stick with your current camera.

Feb 11, 2024 at 12:46 PM

expwmbat
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Peire wrote:
I have owned/used all the lenses you mentioned with Sony A72,from which I upgraded to Sony A7R2.Then to Sony A7R4A.Shifting to higher res,42 mpx A7R2 made optical flaws (mainly chromatic and spherical aberration) of some older lenses more visible,which have required increased intensity of PP.This was a turning point somehow.As the consequence I have sold all my (more than 650) finest manual lenses of virtually all brands and acquired only dedicated,FE mounted lenses instead.So be aware of that upgrading your camera

I’m very sorry to hear that, Peire, as I’ve always enjoyed seeing your pictures with the various manual lenses. They have been very educational for me in terms of learning about what to look for and what lenses suit my taste.

I’m not worried about flaws in my lenses—I have them for their character, not their “perfection” or resolution, mainly just which sensors work best with them. Plus I prefer their haptics/ergonomics, particularly as I only use manual focus. I know there has been much talk about sensor stack, Bauer arrays and whatnot over the years, and just figured I’d see if I had missed anything since I haven’t been checking in the last few years.

Cheers,
Daniel

Feb 11, 2024 at 02:52 PM

Kasper6188
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Best value per dollar for adapting MF lenses I would probably pick a Nikon Z7 if you want 45mp and decent ergos, if 24mp is enough and you don't mind the feel of a classic body the Zf

Feb 11, 2024 at 05:09 PM

freaklikeme
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Great kit. I've owned and loved all of your most used lenses. There are times when I really miss the FD 80-200/4L. It was like having a compact MF version of the magic drain pipe.

I think the rIIIa would make the most sense as an upgrade path. You get a significantly better EVF (one you'll probably find very satisfying in use- just never look the the EVF of an a1, rV, 7sIII, or 9III), a significantly better battery, and what I think is overall a better ergonomic experience. I'd go for the "a" to get the improved rear screen LCD, which will be handy for low level macro use.

Feb 11, 2024 at 11:01 PM

Peire
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

expwmbat wrote:
I’m very sorry to hear that, Peire, as I’ve always enjoyed seeing your pictures with the various manual lenses. They have been very educational for me in terms of learning about what to look for and what lenses suit my taste.

I’m not worried about flaws in my lenses—I have them for their character, not their “perfection” or resolution, mainly just which sensors work best with them. Plus I prefer their haptics/ergonomics, particularly as I only use manual focus. I know there has been much talk about sensor stack, Bauer arrays and whatnot over the years, and just figured I’d see...Show more →

If you don't care about additional workload concerning lens flaws/character than it's good for you.You may upgrade to higher res sensor camera or chose some newer camera with 24-33 mpx sensor.Good luck!

Feb 12, 2024 at 04:34 AM

mojoh
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Since you don't need the AI AF of the A7R5, you may want to check out the hi-res A7R4a, especially if you can find a lightly used copy at a good price.

Feb 17, 2024 at 04:15 PM

weatherproof
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

Kasper6188 wrote:
Best value per dollar for adapting MF lenses I would probably pick a Nikon Z7 if you want 45mp and decent ergos, if 24mp is enough and you don't mind the feel of a classic body the Zf

Any reason why Nikon over say the Sony A7c? Is there a flange distance issue with Sonys?

Feb 17, 2024 at 06:39 PM

Kasper6188
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Time to upgrade camera—looking for advice

weatherproof wrote:
Any reason why Nikon over say the Sony A7c? Is there a flange distance issue with Sonys?

Nikons have a thinner filter stack so adapting older glass will have better corner and midframe performance over Sony bodies. Specially wider rangefinder lenses.

Feb 17, 2024 at 06:46 PM


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