Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
p.3 #1Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
What does the a7Rv have that the a1ii does not?
old-gregg wrote:
How do you find the a7rV and a1II compared to the Z8? Currently trying to hold out for the Z9II to pair with my Z8, but if the Z9II is not announced in the next few months, I may give the a1II a serious look.I can only offer a deeply personal answer, which probably means it won't be useful to others :-) I develop relationships with my cameras and my primes, they have personalities that I appreciate far more than specs. There is something about all 3 of these cameras that make me want to pick them up and shoot. And looking at my images, I honestly cannot say that any of them offers any practical advantages vs others. For example, despite what Youtube reviewers say about their AF performance, I see the same AF hit rate when shooting my crazy kids running around...Show more →
old-gregg wrote:
DWOfPaul wrote
old-gregg wrote
As an owner of the A7RV, A1 II, and Nikon Z8Feb 19, 2026 at 06:12 PM
p.3 #2Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
True, fully mechanical shutter.
tschopp wrote:
What does the a7Rv have that the a1ii does not?
How do you find the a7rV and a1II compared to the Z8? Currently trying to hold out for the Z9II to pair with my Z8, but if the Z9II is not announced in the next few months, I may give the a1II a serious look.I can only offer a deeply personal answer, which probably means it won't be useful to others :-) I develop relationships with my cameras and my primes, they have personalities that I appreciate far more than specs. There is something about all 3 of these cameras that make me want to pick them up and shoot. And looking at my images, I honestly cannot say that any of them offers any practical advantages vs others. For example, despite what Youtube reviewers say about their AF performance, I see the same AF hit rate when shooting my crazy kids running around with all three cameras.
The Z8 is my personal tragedy. It is such an engaging camera, and I've always been a Nikon fanboy going back to the F-mount film SLRs. I also appreciate Z8's default colors and often shoot RAW+JPEG, frequently keeping the latter. Sonys always require post-processing. But right now Nikon is not competitive with Sony when it comes to prime lenses. The 24-35-50-85 f/1.4 GMs have no rivals and there are no Sigmas in Z-mount. Nikkors are too big and fat for what they are, ergonomically awful without aperture rings, and feel like a PVC pipe in hand. I started with 3 S-lenses for the Z, but gradually sold them all and have been shooting exclusively with Sony glass adapted via the Megadap. Another major issue I have with the Z8 is its power management. I don't need spare batteries for the Sonys. I never measured this, but it feels like they last twice as long on a single charge.
The A1 II is simply not worth it for me. It is basically A7RV with some minor things removed and other minor things added at twice the price. I bought it only because I had sold half of my film camera collection at a decent profit, and was wondering what a money-is-no-object camera feels like in 2026. I couldn't care less about stacked sensors and electronic shutters, but I will say that its mechanical shutter is the most refined I've ever experienced. The noise and vibration are impressively low.
The A7RV is my favorite. It is a no-compromise IQ monster which effortlessly keeps up with the speedier Z8 and A1 while being relatively affordable, especially right now. @ysultan@@ sells them new for $2,750 here.
Another consideration which may not be important for you is software. Sony is better at software than Nikon, for example their tethered shooting solution is more robust in a studio, if that's your thing.
tschopp wrote:
What does the a7Rv have that the a1ii does not?
old-gregg wrote
DWOfPaul wrote
old-gregg wrote
As an owner of the A7RV, A1 II, and Nikon Z8The Z8 is my personal tragedy. It is such an engaging camera, and I've always been a Nikon fanboy going back to the F-mount film SLRs. I also appreciate Z8's default colors and often shoot RAW+JPEG, frequently keeping the latter. Sonys always require post-processing. But right now Nikon is not competitive with Sony when it comes to prime lenses. The 24-35-50-85 f/1.4 GMs have no rivals and there are no Sigmas in Z-mount. Nikkors are too big and fat for what they are, ergonomically awful without aperture rings, and feel like a PVC pipe in hand. I started with 3 S-lenses for the Z, but gradually sold them all and have been shooting exclusively with Sony glass adapted via the Megadap. Another major issue I have with the Z8 is its power management. I don't need spare batteries for the Sonys. I never measured this, but it feels like they last twice as long on a single charge.
The A1 II is simply not worth it for me. It is basically A7RV with some minor things removed and other minor things added at twice the price. I bought it only because I had sold half of my film camera collection at a decent profit, and was wondering what a money-is-no-object camera feels like in 2026. I couldn't care less about stacked sensors and electronic shutters, but I will say that its mechanical shutter is the most refined I've ever experienced. The noise and vibration are impressively low.
The A7RV is my favorite. It is a no-compromise IQ monster which effortlessly keeps up with the speedier Z8 and A1 while being relatively affordable, especially right now. @ysultan@@ sells them new for $2,750 here.
Another consideration which may not be important for you is software. Sony is better at software than Nikon, for example their tethered shooting solution is more robust in a studio, if that's your thing.
Feb 19, 2026 at 07:13 PM
p.3 #3Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
What is the problem with ECFS and HSS? Couldn’t you just use electronic shutter on A1 with HSS?
From what I can figure out it seems like the main reason to use a mechanical shutter on A1 is flash sync at 1/400. Does the mechanical shutter still have some advantages with banding?
From what I can figure out it seems like the main reason to use a mechanical shutter on A1 is flash sync at 1/400. Does the mechanical shutter still have some advantages with banding?
Feb 19, 2026 at 07:35 PM
p.3 #4Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
tschopp wrote:
What is the problem with ECFS and HSS? Couldn’t you just use electronic shutter on A1 with HSS?
From what I can figure out it seems like the main reason to use a mechanical shutter on A1 is flash sync at 1/400. Does the mechanical shutter still have some advantages with banding?
With wide aperture lenses and fast shutter speeds (generally 1/1000 or faster) EFCS leads to artifacts in the bokeh. It is at those fast shutter speeds that you often want to use HSS.
What is the problem with ECFS and HSS? Couldn’t you just use electronic shutter on A1 with HSS?
From what I can figure out it seems like the main reason to use a mechanical shutter on A1 is flash sync at 1/400. Does the mechanical shutter still have some advantages with banding?
With wide aperture lenses and fast shutter speeds (generally 1/1000 or faster) EFCS leads to artifacts in the bokeh. It is at those fast shutter speeds that you often want to use HSS.
Feb 19, 2026 at 08:02 PM
p.3 #5Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
In addition to the bokeh issue, banding can be a serious issues, especially at higher shutter speeds and with HSS.
Feb 19, 2026 at 08:12 PM
p.3 #6Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
tschopp wrote:
What is the problem with ECFS and HSS? Couldn’t you just use electronic shutter on A1 with HSS?
From what I can figure out it seems like the main reason to use a mechanical shutter on A1 is flash sync at 1/400. Does the mechanical shutter still have some advantages with banding?
The main reason to use HSS is to enable shooting at bright apertures in full sun, and use the shutter speed to control ambient lighting.
In situations where the lens can be stopped down, HSS is unnecessary. Just set the shutter to 1/200 and stop down the lens to control ambient.
Lets Define:
"HSS" = High speed Sync + Bright aperture + high shutter speed
Then it follows:
A1 + EFCS + HSS = EFCS artifacts
A1 Electronic shutter + HSS = banding artifacts.
There are solutions:
1) Use global shutter A9iii and Sony flash unit (best solution)
2) On the A1, avoid HSS and use ND filters.
3) Use camera with full mechanical shutter.
A 6 stop ND means only 9ws from a 600ws strobe will reach the sensor, is ridiculously inefficient.
HSS is even worse, turning the feature on loses you 1-2 stops. This means your 600ws strobe becomes 200ws. Then to darken the exposure by 6 stops, shutter speed is increased from 1/200 to 1/12800. In total you lose like 7-8 stops. From the 600ws strobe only 2-4ws reaches the sensor.
In both cases a big strobe is needed to make it work. The big strobe is heavy and recycle time is slow since we are firing at 1/1 power or close to it.
Global shutter circumvents all of this. You use a tiny speedlight and fire a 9ws pulse, the entire 9ws reaches the sensor.
However for the group photo where we want to stop down the lens and sync at 1/200s, there is no additional advantage using global shutter and you need to use the big strobes.
What is the problem with ECFS and HSS? Couldn’t you just use electronic shutter on A1 with HSS?
From what I can figure out it seems like the main reason to use a mechanical shutter on A1 is flash sync at 1/400. Does the mechanical shutter still have some advantages with banding?
The main reason to use HSS is to enable shooting at bright apertures in full sun, and use the shutter speed to control ambient lighting.
In situations where the lens can be stopped down, HSS is unnecessary. Just set the shutter to 1/200 and stop down the lens to control ambient.
Lets Define:
"HSS" = High speed Sync + Bright aperture + high shutter speed
Then it follows:
A1 + EFCS + HSS = EFCS artifacts
A1 Electronic shutter + HSS = banding artifacts.
There are solutions:
1) Use global shutter A9iii and Sony flash unit (best solution)
2) On the A1, avoid HSS and use ND filters.
3) Use camera with full mechanical shutter.
A 6 stop ND means only 9ws from a 600ws strobe will reach the sensor, is ridiculously inefficient.
HSS is even worse, turning the feature on loses you 1-2 stops. This means your 600ws strobe becomes 200ws. Then to darken the exposure by 6 stops, shutter speed is increased from 1/200 to 1/12800. In total you lose like 7-8 stops. From the 600ws strobe only 2-4ws reaches the sensor.
In both cases a big strobe is needed to make it work. The big strobe is heavy and recycle time is slow since we are firing at 1/1 power or close to it.
Global shutter circumvents all of this. You use a tiny speedlight and fire a 9ws pulse, the entire 9ws reaches the sensor.
However for the group photo where we want to stop down the lens and sync at 1/200s, there is no additional advantage using global shutter and you need to use the big strobes.
Feb 19, 2026 at 08:13 PM
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p.3 #7Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
aCuria wrote:
The main reason to use HSS is to enable shooting at bright apertures in full sun, and use the shutter speed to control ambient lighting.
The whole point of HSS is to use faster shutter speeds than the sync speed (be that electronic or mechanical). It doesn't have to be all that bright of a light to use HSS to avoid ghosting with active species.
EBH
The main reason to use HSS is to enable shooting at bright apertures in full sun, and use the shutter speed to control ambient lighting.
The whole point of HSS is to use faster shutter speeds than the sync speed (be that electronic or mechanical). It doesn't have to be all that bright of a light to use HSS to avoid ghosting with active species.
EBH
Feb 19, 2026 at 10:05 PM
p.3 #8Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
tschopp wrote:
What does the a7Rv have that the a1ii does not?
As I said, nothing major but a few little things:
- Full (both curtains) mechanical shutter
- More resolution
- Slightly better DR under ISO400
- Slightly lighter
- Slightly better battery life
What does the a7Rv have that the a1ii does not?
As I said, nothing major but a few little things:
- Full (both curtains) mechanical shutter
- More resolution
- Slightly better DR under ISO400
- Slightly lighter
- Slightly better battery life
Feb 19, 2026 at 10:29 PM
p.3 #9Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
BigBabyMoses06 wrote:
Hi folks! I'm going to sell / trade my A7RV for a used A1 (mk1)...
I have had similar thoughts. A7rV is a fine camera, but it is slow, has miserable electric shutter and does not have pre capture. Looking at my old images I have also noticed that A7rV high ISO performance is not as good as some other cameras. I was much happier shooting at ISO6400-12800 with my old A9 classic than I am with rV.
A1 mk1 ticks all the boxes except the pre capture that I consider very useful when shooting action or small birds. Mk2 would be a dream but it is still very expensive.
Now that A7V is out, I have decided to keep the A7rV and buy A7V when price comes down or I really need it. There two cameras have similar haptics and having two bodies is sometimes very useful.
Hi folks! I'm going to sell / trade my A7RV for a used A1 (mk1)...
I have had similar thoughts. A7rV is a fine camera, but it is slow, has miserable electric shutter and does not have pre capture. Looking at my old images I have also noticed that A7rV high ISO performance is not as good as some other cameras. I was much happier shooting at ISO6400-12800 with my old A9 classic than I am with rV.
A1 mk1 ticks all the boxes except the pre capture that I consider very useful when shooting action or small birds. Mk2 would be a dream but it is still very expensive.
Now that A7V is out, I have decided to keep the A7rV and buy A7V when price comes down or I really need it. There two cameras have similar haptics and having two bodies is sometimes very useful.
Feb 22, 2026 at 01:51 AM
p.3 #10Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
Having had both a RV and A1 - the only things I liked better on the RV were the subject recognition, the screen and the slightly better ibis.
Otherwise I definitely preferred the A1 by a large margin.
The speed of the A1, the left hand drive dial and the electronic shutter are better for my use cases.
The A1 and RV are gone and the A1 II delivers everything short of a global shutter.
Otherwise I definitely preferred the A1 by a large margin.
The speed of the A1, the left hand drive dial and the electronic shutter are better for my use cases.
The A1 and RV are gone and the A1 II delivers everything short of a global shutter.
Feb 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM
p.3 #11Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
EB-1 wrote:
aCuria wrote
The main reason to use HSS is to enable shooting at bright apertures in full sun, and use the shutter speed to control ambient lighting.EBH
When shooting “active species” you want to use burst mode, but with HSS bursts don’t work well because the flash has to recycle after a shot or two.
Often, shooting at sync speed and using the flash at fast T0.1 to stop motion is better
Mar 01, 2026 at 08:43 PM
p.3 #12Help convince me I should move from my A7RV to an A1?
The price of the A1s on the B&S Forum have me thinking about grabbing one. My main camera is an A9ii. I'm torn between buying a new A7V and a used A1 so I have rented an A7V for an event this weekend. I would like to have two bodies again, but I have thought about selling the A9ii and buying a used A9iii. I'll know more after using the the A7V I guess.
Mar 02, 2026 at 07:16 PM