am tapping the collective knowledge for some camera recommendation, as I wish to "upgrade" my A7 III.
I very much dislike using it, unfortunately... it is:
* sluggish in operation: delays when turning dials/pushing buttons, or when turning it on, just kill me. Photography is a pleasure, and the friction there truly gets on my nerve again, and again, and again. Neuroses, I know.
* the viewfinder is mediocre at best. I tend to shoot from the rear LCD (not the best there, too), but the viewfinder truly is ugly.
* ergonomics are... acceptable. I have very big hands.
On the other hand:
*IQ is superb (for me). File latitude is huge, and raw malleability is preserved at very high isos. It just does everything well. I tend to shoot at iso 100 and 640 to keep the highest DR, and work in post, if at all possible.
I hate picking it up, and shooting it. Then everytime I review the pictures in Lightroom, I just get a big smile on my face (I use it with the 24/35/85GM).
Am thinking either A7 IV, A7 V for the extended DR, A1 for the silent faster shutter and (hope...) responsivity.
Do not shoot sports, or birds in flight, do not need a crazy autofocus (am very happy with the A7 III as to its stickiness and precision), so everything over that will be an improvement. No R models: did not warm to any A7R IV raw files I could put my hands on, dislike the obvious grain, and most importantly, how shadows go south (better: go magenta) in warmer light at higher isos.
Just look for a responsive camera that does not drive me crazy with its old-computer style delays, with a nice viewfinder so that when I decide to waste time with my cheap Zuikos I understand whether anything is in focus or not , and an IQ that will be at least in the ballpark of the A7 III.
The A7V sounds like the most obvious choice, but the viewfinder in that isn't that big of an upgrade from the A7III. It's 3.7M dot vs 2.4M dot of what you have already. Sony only gives their high end viewfinders to the flagship models sadly (including the A1 as you listed).
Ergonomics and camera operation should improve drastically with the newer models due to the new menus and chips inside.
It may sound paradoxical, but frankly, I find the difference between the viewfinder of the A7iii and the A7iv more relevant in practice than the difference between the viewfinder of the A7iv (or v) and the A7Rv (or A1, ...). Sure, the 9MP viewfinder with 0.9x magnification is great, but in direct comparison, I found the difference less impressive than the raw specifications would suggest. When comparing the A7iii and A7iv, I felt exactly the opposite.
The top viewfinder (A1, A7RV, ...) is worth it for static scenes. It really is amazing how detailed the view is then.
However, and this is a *big* but, if you shoot dynamic scenes (or just keep shutter button half-pressed / AF-ON button pressed even on static scenes) the resolution drops dramatically while focusing in AF-C (so much it's sometimes hard to tell if the right thing is in focus).
Of course, this is assuming your eyesight is good enough to notice the difference .
Having read your post again, if you MF using magnification, there will not be much difference (if any, mostly EVF physical size I'd say) between the viewfinders. I'd lean towards A7V, which has the best DR currently and still a pretty nice resolution.
If you can live with the EVF, then the a7V without doubt. It will check all your boxes. Add a little Smallrig extension grip (which also has an Arca Swiss plate at the bottom) to make the camera fit your hands better if it is too small.
The "crazy" alternative if you really like a good EVF - try a Nikon Z6 III and use your Sony lenses with an adapter. Sure, not ideal, and I don't find the AF on-par with Sony's latest generation, but surely at least as good as your current a7 III AF. Nikon might fit your large hands better, more compelling ergonomics, great and bright EVF.
Thank you all!
The comment that the jump from A7 III to IV is much more of consequence than the jump from IV to A1 is pretty entriguing, actually.
Although, viewfinder dynamic range plays a part, too.
I only tried the "good" viewfinder (9mpixels) on a Fuji gfx 100 II, and was actually... underwhelmed.
Do not know, I was expecting maybe too much.
But: what about operational speed?
I hate, really hate sluggish cameras. The dials on the A7 III have a perceptible delay, the menus, everything. Are newer cameras faster? A7 IV already? or has it to be V or A1?
Thank you again
PS
Tried a Z6 II with their 24-70 2.8 last year... came away very much unimpressed, so much so that I sold it after a couple of months. So no Nikons: that time has passed (I do long buying another 105DC, though...).
I hesitated only for the Fujis (I had budgeted for a GFX100s II + 32-64/4), as the image quality is just breathtaking. But the heft, and the very lazy operational speed drove me away.
Too bad, as I need to repeat myslef: IQ is astounding, imho.
ilnonno wrote:
I hate, really hate sluggish cameras. The dials on the A7 III have a perceptible delay, the menus, everything. Are newer cameras faster? A7 IV already? or has it to be V or A1?
The A7IV is much faster than the A7III, but the A7V is faster still and will have other 'AI' improvements.
Newer than A7III, no crazy autofocus and no R models.
A7IV or V, I guess….?
ilnonno wrote:
Hello all,
am tapping the collective knowledge for some camera recommendation, as I wish to "upgrade" my A7 III.
I very much dislike using it, unfortunately... it is:
* sluggish in operation: delays when turning dials/pushing buttons, or when turning it on, just kill me. Photography is a pleasure, and the friction there truly gets on my nerve again, and again, and again. Neuroses, I know.
* the viewfinder is mediocre at best. I tend to shoot from the rear LCD (not the best there, too), but the viewfinder truly is ugly.
* ergonomics are... acceptable. I have very big hands.
On the other hand:
*IQ issuperb (for me). File latitude is huge, and raw malleability is preserved at very high isos. It just does everything well. I tend to shoot at iso 100 and 640 to keep the highest DR, and work in post, if at all possible.
I hate picking it up, and shooting it. Then everytime I review the pictures in Lightroom, I just get a big smile on my face (I use it with the 24/35/85GM).
Am thinking either A7 IV, A7 V for the extended DR, A1 for the silent faster shutter and (hope...) responsivity.
Do not shoot sports, or birds in flight, do not need a crazy autofocus (am very happy with the A7 III as to its stickiness and precision), so everything over that will be an improvement. No R models: did not warm to any A7R IV raw files I could put my hands on, dislike the obvious grain, and most importantly, how shadows go south (better: go magenta) in warmer light at higher isos.
Just look for a responsive camera that does not drive me crazy with its old-computer style delays, with a nice viewfinder so that when I decide to waste time with my cheap Zuikos I understand whether anything is in focus or not , and an IQ that will be at least in the ballpark of the A7 III.
Hope I just don't catalize critiques!
Thanks all...Show more →
Alan Parker wrote:
The A7IV is much faster than the A7III, but the A7V is faster still and will have other 'AI' improvements.
Hmm. I'm not familiar with the A7iii and A7v, only the A7iv, and I can't quite imagine how the A7v could be faster in terms of operation and menu navigation. I can't detect any delay whatsoever when using dials or buttons. Everything reacts instantly, whether it's operating the camera or browsing the menu. The only exception is the +/- indicator in M mode. When I adjust the shutter speed using the dial, the shutter speed display changes without delay, but the corresponding +/- indicator changes with a slight delay. However, this isn't a display that changes directly when the dial is turned; it's controlled by the exposure meter afterward. Therefore, I would assume that other models behave similarly.
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Hmm. I'm not familiar with the A7iii and A7v, only the A7iv, and I can't quite imagine how the A7v could be faster in terms of operation and menu navigation.
The A7IV has the Bionz XR processor, while the A7V got upgraded to the Bionz XR2 processor. Maybe the difference is minimal, but there should be improvements to general operation due to this difference.
j4nu wrote:
Yeah, no reason to choose A7IV over A7V if you have the funds.
That's true. But if the undoubtedly existing improvements are of no use to you, you could treat yourself to a nice Voigtländer with the money saved, to name just one example. If you buy the A7iv used, you could even afford two brand new Voigtländer. 😉
Alan Parker wrote:
The A7IV has the Bionz XR processor, while the A7V got upgraded to the Bionz XR2 processor. Maybe the difference is minimal, but there should be improvements to general operation due to this difference.
That may be true; I didn't talk about autofocus, continuous shooting, memory speed, etc., but that wasn't what the original poster asked about either. It was purely about usability, and if there's no noticeable delay, then a theoretical improvement isn't really of any use to me in practice. That's what I was trying to say.
A7RIVa has excellent screens, very good AF, but not as fast as latest models.
You may seem more noise on pixel level, but if you downsize to 24MP I find it slightly better than A7III.
Alan Parker wrote:
The A7IV has the Bionz XR processor, while the A7V got upgraded to the Bionz XR2 processor. Maybe the difference is minimal, but there should be improvements to general operation due to this difference.
Nifty Fifty wrote:
That's true. But if the undoubtedly existing improvements are of no use to you, you could treat yourself to a nice Voigtländer with the money saved, to name just one example. If you buy the A7iv used, you could even afford two brand new Voigtländer. 😉
And if you didn't buy anything new at all, you could even throw in a nice photo trip as well ...
Seriously though, I see fewer improvements between III and IV than IV and V.
j4nu wrote:
Seriously though, I see fewer improvements between III and IV than IV and V.
As I already wrote, it's completely irrelevant which camera has more improvements; what matters is which improvements are relevant to the person asking the question. If I had to buy a new camera today, it would be the A7IV (although you can get an A7Rv for the same price from a grey market dealer today). Of the A7V's improvements, at most an improved AWB would be relevant to me, and even then, the difference would be so small that I might pay €100 extra, but certainly not €800. Other people have different needs and would decide accordingly. The original poster is completely satisfied with his A7III; he's just annoyed by its sluggish response time. The A7IV would definitely solve his problem. That's all I wanted to say.
Nifty Fifty wrote:
As I already wrote, it's completely irrelevant which camera has more improvements; what matters is which improvements are relevant to the person asking the question. If I had to buy a new camera today, it would be the A7IV (although you can get an A7Rv for the same price from a grey market dealer today). Of the A7V's improvements, at most an improved AWB would be relevant to me, and even then, the difference would be so small that I might pay €100 extra, but certainly not €800. Other people have different needs and would decide accordingly. The original poster is completely satisfied with his A7III; he's just annoyed by its sluggish response time. The A7IV would definitely solve his problem. That's all I wanted to say....Show more →
Well, you missed this part: ilnonno wrote:
Am thinking either A7 IV, A7 V for the extended DR, A1 for the silent faster shutter and (hope...) responsivity.
as the improvement in DR is tangible in A7 V (around ~0.85 EV), it's actually the best DR Sony has to offer right now in its cameras lineup. That alone would be the reason to choose V over IV.
There are of course a lot of other reasons to pick A7 V over IV (including even better processor), but we can leave them aside for now.
In short, if price difference is acceptable, one would be making a mistake by buying A7 IV today.
, and an IQ that will be at least in the ballpark of the A7 III.
.