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 p.6 #15 · Official: Sony A7RVI and Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS | |
Colby Brown, Sony Ambassador, who appeared with the Sony execs on the stage at the A7RVI launch, just wrote this:
"My Thoughts on the Sony a7R VI for Wildlife...
Hey @everyone! Now that the dust has settled from the a7R VI launch last week, I feel it is time to jump in here and share some thoughts as someone who has been using the camera for the last 2-3 months. So many YT reviews are either run by people that don't shoot wildlife, or even if they do, they only had the camera for a few days (sometimes just a few hours) before rushing out their videos last week.
For those who don't know me, my name is Colby Brown, and I have been shooting professionally for nearly 23 years. I used to work for Nat Geo and now own my own photography/production companies, as well as a Photo Tour company. I have been a Sony Artisan for over 11 years, originally moving over to Sony from working with Canon back in the day.
I think it is best to share my thoughts as bullet points so you can address them more easily...
- No, the a7R VI is NOT going to replace the A1, A1 II or any of the a9 bodies (I, II, or III) cameras in terms of being a flagship camera for Sony.
- No, the release of the R VI does not automatically make your a1 or a1 II obsolete or lacking in any way 😉
- The a7R VI is a VASTLY improved camera for the R series of bodies when it comes to speed and AF
- The a7R VI is capable of shooting fast-moving subjects, such as birds in flight (Purple Martins, Barn Swallows, Terns, Red-winged Blackbirds...and others), but your keeper rate will be higher with the a1 or a1 II. Why? Because of the sensor readout speed. The a1 and a1 II can check the AE/af calculation 120 times per second, while the a7R VI is limited to a maximum of 60 times per second. The end result is a sticker and a more accurate AF system in the A1 series.
- While rolling shutter is still an issue with the R VI, the new stacked sensors are more than fast enough for any of the wildlife I photographed over the last three months. In theory, I think only Humming Birds might be an issue, but this camera should be able to handle everything else without any visual effects for wildlife.
- The R VI feels like it acquires subjects a touch faster than my pair of A1 IIs, which is probably thanks to the latest AI processor for AF.
- At 67 MP, the R VI offers 34% more MP than the a1 or a1 II, which can be a big deal for some photographers. I sure enjoyed the extra crop in ability during my time with the camera, especially with the smaller birds.
- The Buffer on the R VI (assuming you are using the fastest CF Express Cards) clears pretty quick, allowing you to shoot in bursts, pause for a second, and still have plenty of buffer left (but the a1 has a faster/longer buffer)
- The R VI has improved Color Science over the a1 series, plus the new AI processor, which has the ability to take into account tone and white balance, scanning your scene for the various tones and making small adjustments in AUTO WB mode. The results are among the best colors and tones I have seen out of the camera from Sony.
- The new batteries, while a pain with any new generation, are vastly better than the Z100 batteries. With the new grip, I was easily able to shoot all day with my a7R VI. New batteries are smaller but last longer and have a much better design for efficiency. I personally can't wait until all my bodies have this new battery.
- For me, I will keep my two A1 II's and my A9 III, but I will be adding the R VI to my gear bag. On trips where I know that resolution and cropping will be important, I will bring this body. In the past, this would mean a huge sacrifice in AF capabilities (with the R V, for example), but this is much less of an issue now. However, when I need to prioritize speed and AF accuracy with fast-moving subjects, my pair of A1 IIs is still my go-to for the foreseeable future. But if you only have 1 a1 II, the Sony a7R VI is a fantastic second body for wildlife photographers."
The A7RVI is better than the A1II in many aspects, just not in fast actions stuff. I think it's an amazing package. One just needs to know its limitations and shoot accordingly.
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