I Bought The Oldest Full Frame Mirrorless Sony for $500, and Why You Shouldn't.
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- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
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In this video I bought a Sony A7 for $500, but you shouldn't imitate me, because there are better options for the same money.
Check Sony A6100 Prices here: geni.us/MyFavorite
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Gear That I Use & Recommend:
CAMERAS:
For Photo & Video
▸ Sony A6100 (My Favorite) - geni.us/MyFavorite
▸ Sony A6400 (Better) - geni.us/BetterAPSC
▸ Sony A6600 (Best) - geni.us/BestAPSC
▸ Sony A7C (Full Frame) - geni.us/FullFrameA7C
For Video
▸ Sony ZV-E10 (Good) - geni.us/ZVE-10
▸ Sony FX30 (My Favorite) - geni.us/BeastASPC
APS-C LENSES:
▸ Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 (My Favorite) - geni.us/BestZoom
▸ Sony 11mm F1.8 (Best Ultrawide) - geni.us/BestUltraWide
▸ Sigma 16mm F1.4 (Best Wide Angle) - geni.us/Popular
▸ Sigma 30mm F1.4 (Affordable Street Lens) - geni.us/Street
▸ Sigma 56mm F1.4 (Best Portrait Lens) - geni.us/Portrait
FULL FRAME LENSES:
▸ Sigma 20mm F2 (My Favorite) - geni.us/FFSigma20mm
▸ Rokinon AF 14mm F2.8 (Best Ultrawide) - geni.us/Rokinon
▸ Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 (Best Do-Everything Lens) - geni.us/TamronV2
▸ Sigma 85mm F1.4 ART (AMAZING Portrait Lens) - geni.us/SHARP85
▸ Sony 50mm Macro (The Only Macro I Own) - geni.us/SonyMacro
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LIGHTING:
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▸ SmallRig RC220B (My Key Light) - geni.us/rc220
▸ Sofirn SP33 V3 (Best Mini Flashlight) - geni.us/bestflashlight
NICE-TO-HAVE ACCESSORIES:
▸ Feiyu Scorp Pro (Big Gimbal) - geni.us/scorppro
▸ Zyihun Crane M2S (Travel Gimbal) - geni.us/cranem2s
▸ Atomos Ninja V (Recording Monitor) - geni.us/ninja5
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▸ Sony ECM-B10 (Camera Mic) - geni.us/ecmb10mic
Complete Gear List:
▸ kit.co/ArthurR
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I can't wait to get the A7 iii 80% off. In ten years...
😂😂😂
The a7RII auto focus is not that great. My 6500 is much better. But, the a7RII image quality is awesome and the dynamic range is excellent too. Maybe next year I’ll jump to the 7RIII for the auto focus. That will be all I will ever need. BTW, I haven’t tried the 7RII for video. I’m not expecting much.
Planned obsolescence is going much faster in the camera race today and Sony gear depreciation is looking like the worst.
@@johnhambyphotography I've shot a fair bit on the A7Rii video wise (tons of stills too). It's not bad at it at all. HD in full frame is decent but crop mode 4K is better. It has SLog2 (maybe 3 I forget) and of course the headphone jack so it's quite a full package. The video AF isn't brilliant so best stick to MF there. The IBIS is good when not moving too much, just smooths it out. The really useful feature is by powering from a USB battery bank you overcome any overheating issues (well realistic ones). Look for Dead Slow Hoot's Island Keen To Float on here. That was filmed with an A7Rii (softer misty shots) and an A6300 (longer shots with the green double image cos the second shooter was worried about borrowing my gear. Fair enough as it was really busy). Very pleased with how it turned out. Didn't have A7Sii at that point or the A7III but the slight grain adds to it. Normal lighting and there's no real grain.
haha，and you can wait then
What does come out of this interesting video is that if you:
- want a full frame,
- don't care about sports photography,
- prefer or want to discover the extensively large family of manual-focus (vintage) lenses,
- are fine with carrying two or more extra batteries and
- watch your budget, then
the A7 turns out as an excellent option.
I workt with this cam for sports photography and the results are good. The skill and the expirience with this cam is the key for good work not only the technology ;D.
For price Canon 5d mk ii Sony A7 looks beautiful
Similar sentiments here! The vintage lenses collection... 😊
@@linkundfieber419 absolutely, everybody is talking about the gear all the time on CZcams as is it was more important than your skills. Companies just want to make us buy the newest gear, though the skill is what really matters!
Totally agree @Xristfer. These ppl actually don't like photo/videography itself. Now im using a first gen 5D, a7 looks good way to step in mirrorless
This video completely misses the point of the A7 for most keen amateur photographers. For me, the big deal was to be able to shoot at full frame with all of my old and expensive Legacy glass. For those of us who come from a purely manual-focus heritage, your greatest gripe about this camera simply isn't a gripe. The fact that I can snap on my pin-sharp 21mm Zeiss piece of glass and snap ultra clean and superbly balanced landscapes at full frame 24 mega-pixels is an absolute joy. And, then, clip on a basis Zeiss 50mm f/1.8 lens and take beautiful portraits with the kind of background bokeh that would make a blind man cry, and all for around $500 used, is little short of stunning. That's what your video presentation ought to have focussed on (pun intended).
The A7 is brilliant if you only shoot stills in controlled environment, i only sold it in 2019 after 5 years with me, brilliant camera.
Aiur Productions I used it for studio portraits. IQ was amazing.
agree. if lighting isn't an issue, it's a brilliant camera better than my A7ii.
et m Why do you think it's better? Explain please.
Mine is for infrared and I’m only shooting landscapes but It works great.
True, the A7Riii has the fastest focusing ability. (do not have the A7iv) I still use my A7Rii but do notice the difference.
The focus is really great. I use Sony Alpha cameras for 6+ years. I have used the A7 in world dancing competitions with the 24-70 G Master in continuous AF. 95% of the photos were stunning and in focus. You have to really know your camera to take great images and own it for a while.
As a person who owns Sony a9 and Sony a7, I must say that I don't completely agree with the conclusion. I still use a7 on weddings as a second camera (with around 150000 shutter count), and despite the fact that autofocus isn't great, it's still usable if you use a proper lens. I'd say that if a person wants to shoot portraits or landscapes, it's better to buy a7 over a6xxx. Pictures will look more professional because of larger sensor (yes, I love bokeh), and will be more flexible and editible. Colors aren't that great out of the camera (they tend to be more greenish), but you can easily tweak them using Camera Calibration in Lightroom. I personally like using a7 with Rokinon 35 1.4 (Sony 35 1.4 will autofocus just a tiny bit better but it has some major issues for the price) and pancake Rokinon 35 2.8 which makes the whole camera weight like Sony RX1, which is perfect for traveling. The battery life is worse than the one of a9. I use one battery for the whole wedding in a9 and three in a7. Though they are light and cheap if you buy generic ones. The mount IS somewhat loose, though it's noticable with larger lenses like Sony 85mm 1.4 GM and Rokinon 35mm 1.4. I just installed the a7s mount on it. It costed me around $100, but it's more solid worth large lenses now. The grip is fine if again, you're not using something like 85GM (it's still somewhat fine but not as comfortable as a9 with an L-plate). The body is FAR better than any a6xxx camera.
So if you're planning to do portrait or wedding photography, you better buy Sony a7 with Rokinon 35 1.4 and Rokinon 85 1.4 than Sony a6100 with Sony 16-50 2.8G. Pictures will look a whole lot better. Just remember, that autofocus in low light is not usable (it's the most frustrating thing in this camera).
I really hope this helps if you're on a budget and still want a nice photography setup.
Thanks for the feedback James
If you just want the fullframe look the a7 is perfect. Buy a manual lense or use a vintage one. Focus manually and you can take great artistic pictures.
What do you think for film ? Any suggestions welcome around this price mark
@@mattduncan5500 Get a gimbal with a follow focus and set focus peaking and you are good to go. Always use manual focus , it is a valuable skill to learn, there are also manual follow focuses that you can attach to a cage rig.
Is he the SON of the car reviewer Hoovie's Garage?
i was thinking that
@Prashanth Panicker Indeed!
Obviously , he buys old cameras instead ...
Yo!!!!! You on to something 😂😂😂
Looks like him, too. Maybe they're cousins or something lol
I bought an A7 in early 2014. Over time I replaced the mount ring with a fotodiox tough mount and had the AA filter replaced with Shott optical glass. I still use this camera even though I also have an A7Riii.
Chuck Moser i was thinking about putting the fotodiox mount on my a7. I have the a7rm3 too. Does it feel as solid as that?
Don't use the Photodiox Tough Mount. If you use regular one, you'll lose compatibility with some lenses. If you use the newer one (slimmer one), your mount will be still somewhat loose. I bought original Sony a7s mount which is the best possible option for a7. And yes, it's now much more solid and much better than Photodiox. I hope it helps.
If you're primarily shooting landscapes and architecture like I do, an old Sony FF camera will still be perfect for the price. I own an a7II, which has IBIS and better ergonomics than the a7 and that thing is awesome. Wide dynamic range, good ISO performance and in combination with some good glass (tried the 16-35 f2.8 GM for a week) the shots will be indistinguishable from e.g. an a7III and you save over 1k. And I also don't have that much trouble with the baterry life, sure it isn't great, but it has always been good enough for me at least
I completely agree. I mainly shoot landscapes and portraits in controlled environments. I shot the a7 for 2 years without any issues. I moved on to an a7rii because of the need for more megapixels for clients needs and 4k video. I never had any issues whatsoever with autofocus, nor with the wobbly mount. Ergonomically, yes, i never really like it. Sensor? It's fantastic for certain kinds of photographs.
Shooting buildings with regular textures produces moles that can give you a headache.
It's "indistinguishable" until you have them side by side to see what the A7iii actually is capable of. The color science on the A7ii vs A7iii is pretty drastic, ISO performance is another large difference, and in general QOL with the A7ii is worse. Not to say it's a bad camera, but it's hardly indistinguishable
@@tommynguyen8620 Indeed I own the A7II and recently compared it side by side with the A7III, and boy is there a huge difference! ISO, color science, SPEED! focusing etc...
@@tommynguyen8620 what do u mean by color science
I appreciate your perspective. I had the A7 for years and honestly loved it. Yes, the AF performance was way less than awesome (but it was better than their A-mount cameras at the time like the A99 that only had 25 contrast detect points). I still used the camera to shoot (mostly in manual focus, sometimes AF) weddings, families, seniors, and landscapes. I loved the dynamic range from that sensor. It took beautiful images and I was able to really work the raw files as desired. Used it with a wide angle lens along side my A7iii that had telephoto a year ago at a wedding and I honestly preferred the look it gave me. Sold it last fall as I shifted my focus from photography to video and that original A7 overheats, is limited to 1080, and uses an older AVCHD video codec that I don't enjoy working with. A part of me still regrets selling it. Full frame does have a different look than APS-C so I'd say it really depends on what you shoot as to whether its worth an entry level A6100. Portraits provided you have a little patience for AF/MF. Products and landscapes are often MF anyway making them perfect for the A7. Also, fotodiox released a replacement e-mount bracket called the tough-e that solved the loose mounting on mine. I also used a battery grip that helped with power issues. It had around 50k on the shutter when I sold it. Thanks for letting me ramble on- lol
A low-light comparison between "old" full-frame and "modern" APS-C would be worth looking at in my opinion. I would think the advantage it may have had against the contemporary cameras would have vanished by now. What you did not touch in the video is the better separation from the background in the portrait shots with the tree as background. Yes, the A7 missed the focus on the eye, but with both cameras at f2.8, the image from the A7 had a less distracting background.
APS-C cameras cannot magically become better in low-light just because they are newer. They still fall apart over ISO 3000, whereas even the oldest full-frame can go 10-20 times higher before it becomes as noisy. And in most cases you realistically need up to ISO 30 000. I would be lucky if my A6400 permitted even up to 6000 ISO, but it becomes only a 'watchable' image at much lower. And god forbid zooming in a 100%, it's literally huge white dots everywhere. It's a simple physical downside of having a smaller sensor.
@@omnirhythm That A6100 should perform better in low light compared to A7 mk 1. Camera manufacturers do advance their sensors over time. I have A7iii and trust me... there's no magic, noise is noise, I wouldn't push that camera over iso 8000, but that's latest and greatest a7 series camera. By your logic if you'd pick up a full frame canon 5D mk 1 (from 2005 which had highest iso threshold of iso 3200) it would outperform newest aps-c camera? It just won't...
@@omnirhythm have you actually compared? Your A6400 can easily push 6400 or even 12800 ISO with mild denoising in post. It'll nearly compare with an A7ii and will solidly trounce an A7. Sensor tech definitely affects ISO performance.
@Ziggi Mon I do had both A7 and A7ll. Yeah. A7ll is just an A7 with IBIS for me. Almost the same low light performance.
@@omnirhythm then you must not know how to expose your A6400 in low light. im getting great results at 25600 ISO with A6300 no im not kidding:!!
I bought one for $310 a couple of months back. Paired with tiny lenses like the Samyang 24/2.8 or the Zeiss 35/2.8, its a great little kit, specially for a full frame. I think this is the smallest and lightest full frame camera you can buy, as all mirrorless cameras have been getting bigger and heavier. And the reason I moved to mirrorless from DSLRs is the smaller size and weight. So, even though the A7 may not be technically as good as everything that's come later, I bought it as I value the small size and lightweight kit.
I paired an a7 with a 85mm 1.8 Viltrox lens and it's an amazing full frame experience!! Give it a try!
Same setup and for the price it’s incredible
MILC and vintage lens is a match made in heaven. No autofocus problem, manual focus only. Don't need expensive adapters. $20 ones do nicely. APSC can't use FF vintage lenses without crop factor. :-)
My thoughts exactly! I bought an A7 back in late 2014, and a year ago replaced it with a used A7R (I got a great price for a camera with 24k shutter).
Ideal for my always growing collection of old (and cheap) manual lenses. Simply a joy to use.
Too bad about A7 sensor reflection problems, wobbly plastic lens mount issues and dust settling onto the sensor.
Unless you want fast AF or AF-C :P
THIS! I shoot witth a helios and overall enjoy experimenting with vintage because it's way more budget friendly and could also bring great results ESPECIALLY in old cameras that just fall behind. I shoot with a alpa 57 minolta series which is over 10 years old but paired with a helios, nice lighting it looks good and delivers 60p.I just need better light performance and hate the distortion of the focal lenghts/crop factor of aps-c sensors and am heavily considering the original a7
Using an a7 with leica lenses for 5 years. It's a great camera. With focus peaking I have everything I need and won't upgrade to anything else!
Pretty insightfull man as always!! What camera and lens are you using to shoot this video? The Background bokeh is so dope🔥🔥🔥🔥
I appreciate your budget approach. I'm a retired 'pro' who has spent most of my career in film. The few reasons I had for getting the original a7 was the ability to put back into service my 28/4 Nikon shift lens and to get higher camera resolution for my copy/restoration work. I also appreciate using many 'vintage' lenses to their full image circle.
Ha! Got mine in Early April and i'm so happy with it, as my very first FF Camera, with Kit Lens used on Ebay besides my A6400 and now i'm saving for the Tamron 28-75, for me a perfect Combo. I mainly use mine for Landscape photography.👍🏾
one of my all time favourite cameras!! i paired it with the original A7S with adapted old nikkor glasses such an awesome offering for photography !! i replaced it with an a7 iii and R III the difference in image quality is not that different. only differences are in autofocus/battery life/ibis and high iso
😄 That's all the reasons you buy the A7r2 for.
I got the a7s recently, and because a lot of what I do is more related to low-light performance, I think it is far superior, even as a part of the original a7 series.
I do a lot of astrophotography, and started on that with the a6000. That was frustrating to work with because of what I had to do to work around the questionable-at-best high ISO performance. Once I switched, the completely silent shutter and the gyroscopic level blew me away as features that I make use of every day.
The autofocus isn't great, certainly worse than the a6000, but I've still used it to shoot sports as a student photographer. The slow burst speed is annoying, but the ability to shoot in less-than-perfect light (and even terrible light, I.E. a soccer game from 7 to 9 PM) and still freeze the action is amazing.
If you need low-light performance or want the best image quality for landscape/portraiture, I think the original a7 series still has its place as a budget camera. A 12 megapixel full-frame sensor is certainly more forgiving on lens sharpness than a 24 megapixel APSC, so I feel like my photos are sharper on the a7s as well. I think it comes down to your needs more than "the original a7 series has bad autofocus" or "full-frame sensors have better image quality." I don't think either is worse than the other for the price point, just that they're better for different applications.
I would take your recommendations seriously, but then I saw those samples with the white balance completely bonkers and I realised that maybe for some people photography is more about speed and autofocus than photographs. I bought a used A7 with stock lens a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely love it. A huge upgrade from my beaten up Nikon D7000.
He wasn't happy that camera didn't compensate for his lack of photography skills....
Everyone loves to hate on Sony… but I have an a7 and an a7Riv and still love it and use it all the time
I have the a7riii and I love it, I was coming from the a6500 and loved that camera but wanted to go full frame... thanks for all your great reviews and comparisons.
would love to know how this compares to the a7 ii, especially now that the ii is $999 new with a lens
It's the camera I use along with vintage lenses mostly, lovely for portraiture, landscape and still life.
Josan Leal hey can u suggest me 35mm. Vintage lens for portrait I have sony a7
@@MrHada007 I only own one 35mm its the old konica AR 35mm 2.8, a nice lens.
@@MrHada007 I own the canon FD 28mm 2.8 and two canon FD 50mm 1.4 ( new FD and the old one). Also the minolta MD 50MM 1.7 and the contax zeiss 35-70 3.4. If you are looking for a good 35mm the canon FD 35mm 2.8 is very good. The contax zeiss 35-70 3.4 is a legendary lens with incredible sharpness but it is very expensive. I strongly recommend canon FD 28mm 2.8 and New FD 50mm 1.4 which are fantastic lenses for the price and very sharp ! For portrait the 50mm is good but you can look to 85mm vintage lenses, and you can't go wrong with canon FD serie.
The exact comparison I was waiting for, thanks Arthur!
I would be interested to see if your keeper rate on the a7 improved with an oss lens. Likewise if the Tamron would provide more keepers on a7ii and onwards with ibis and slightly improved af.
Another comparison I would like is Sony a7 with 28 -70 kit vs Sony a6000 with 16 - 50 Kit.
In terms of value for money, a used a7 is £400 but a used a6100 is £580. Meanwhile the cheapest grey import of that 16-55mm Sony lens is £900, but the Tamron used is £550. So there's actually a huge price difference between the two. Even the a7ii at £580 used comes out cheaper paired with the Tamron. The price of that 16-55 makes me angry every time I think about it actually, lol.
I have used the A7 camera for several years in all fields, especially on special occasions. It is very wonderful, and practicing with the camera has given me experience in how to take pictures in an excellent and professional manner, and I have achieved tremendous accuracy. It is not like what you say. You should only practice on any camera if you want, and first see your budget that determines that. Thank you. Your follower from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 with all my love and respect
Good comparison, though you did miss comparing low light. That's always been the biggest strength of going a bigger sensor, more light, and honestly low light photos are always the most challenging for any camera. Most RAW in focus images can be processed to get the color balance/profile you want, extra specific detail prioritized etc... but full frame has always been about getting more data for light starved scenarios and typically that is simply invaluable and not data that can be processed in after the fact in APS-C. Not necessarily worth the trade off for everyone, but probably a comparison that would be the most valuable showing the greatest strength of this specific comparison.
Thank you for all you share! I've learned so much from your videos about my Sony a6000 and I love it! Love my little camera and love your informative videos! Thanks again!🙌
This remind me the time i find a a7 classic for $250 with a minolta af adapter and 2 lenses. I didn't buy it because i dont have that money at that moment. And then i buy a sony a77 for $190 with a kit lens and a 70-300
I’d love to see a more detailed image quality comparison (resolution, bokeh...) in every overlapping focal settings between the Tamron on FF vs the Sony G on APS-C! Maybe somehow excluding the focusing flaws of the A7 by some preciser manual focusing! I guess that would be highly informative for most of us since it is not to be found elsewhere on the internet (some forums aside). Thanks in advance! 👍🏻
Great channel, I enjoy your analysis. I have been debating this decision recently albeit the a7 ii vs the a6400. More info about video would be awesome. The decision is becoming clearer, thanks.
I bought an used 7r2 in november 2019. Is awesome.
that's a beat stills camera. and decent in low light :) i used it as my main camera for about 4 years (professional wedding photographer)
@@LadyFairChildVideo Do you think it's still relevant today? I have the a6400 and was considering getting the a7rii as a stills camera as the a6400 is doing very well for me with videos.
Great thing about it is you can find cheap adaptors for old manual lenses.
I would’ve stuck with Apsc if there were faster native lenses all around. I have to say I am glad I went to ff but will probably pick up an apsc in the future as a second camera. Great reference point noting how apsc became so popular vs the first ff options.
something like a6000 + sigma 30mm vs a7 + zeiss 55 would be interresting. anyway, great video
What's the point in using different lenses? You talking about the crop factor?
Hi
I also have the Sony A7
But with a Sony FE 24-70 OSS lens
And the focus is perfectly fine and also no blurring like in the pictures you presented
Probably a new Tamron has problems with an old Sony camera didn't check
yoram Lebovits I have the same god experience. Switchend from a6000 to the A7. No problems at all
The blurring looks definitely off. Granted, I only use manual glass with my A7, so no comments on AF performance, but the level of details my Zeiss Planar 50/2 can resolve on full frame sensor is much higher than on anything APS-C sized.
yoram Lebovits I also have the a7 with the Tamron 28-75mm with absolutely no autofocus issues or blurry images at all. I have a high hit rate shooting action shots as well.
We also don't know what kind of AF settings he used - single point should be quite good on the older bodies too, but using something like wide area AF would probably suck in comparison. Important information to cover in a video when talking about AF performance.
yoram Lebovits I have A7 + Tamron 28-75 2.8 and works perfectly (eye focus too), I sold my FE24-70 because was too soft. :)
I was looking for an A7s for my video shooting, I own the a6100 with some lenses but I feel that the full frame look of the a7s is still powerful. I have several Nikon F lenses I would like to use with it. What do you think?
I recently got an a7ii with 2 actuations and kits lens for $700. Better to spend the extra $200 to get better performance.
Sony will get your $$$ on the full-frame lenses though...
@@GeoChild It's not that bad. Viltrox is coming with cheap, high quality full frame lenses. You can also use vintage ones. APS-C Sigma 16mm also covers more than APS-C sensor.
Brian Whitmore very true if you stay native. I use a viltrox 85mm and I am in love with it.
Haha..did they only shoot video only?
sweet deal, it will probably take a while for a7iii to get to these price levels
Arthur I'm very curious about how the haptics feel on the front and rear dials.
Are the dials in the mark 1 better than the dials found in mark 2 and 3?
From the promotion images I have seen the mark 1 dials look absolutely stunning, while the mark 2 and 3 dials look kind of ugly in my opinion. What is your take on them?
The first-gen a7 dials are very like those on the a6000-line, as far as I know (I've tested the a7, a7r, a6000 and a6300 for comparison). I found they are not very precise - it's easy to turn them too far. I also found the front dial on the original a7 a bit uncomfortable, as you basically have to turn it on its corner. I eventually went for a second-gen a7rii, which is very like the 3 and 4 on the outside. They don't really have the cool vintage camera look of the original a7, but I think they are better in use, particularly the dials and grip.
I own an A7 MK1 and I can assure you that the dials are metallic and very solid they are clicky with each movement extremely precise. To give you an example when I hold the camera up to my eye I can twist dials for all the settings with one hand and know exactly what settings I've switched to without having to check my screen
Nice Video. I'm curious to see if the color might also be changed by the coatings on the lens. I wonder if you can put the same lens on both bodies.
Hey Arthur! what about the lenses? That A7 has expensive FF glass taste, unless you use it only with manual focus optics. I agree with you, Sony aps-c keeps growing strong. Btw, aren´t you excited to try the next Viltrox triad?
Greetings from Perú!
Have you done this same comparison with a Sony a7R II?
This was my first camera actually, bought it about 1.5 years ago. A few months later I upgraded to the A7III and that camera is just sooo much better to work with! Much faster on all of my lenses, higher burst, IBIS, 4k, double the battery life, turns on much faster too.
One of the biggest things I have found on the A7 and A7II when people say their photos are never in focus when using autofocus isn't the focus itself but the photo preview being on not letting people get that that all important second shot right away due to waiting for the 2second preview to end before the second shot
to really appreciate the difference between FF and Aps-C (at equal mpixel) you should use high Iso in low light condition
Thanks! I will keep my A7III... but I have a question. I want to buy an APS-C from Sony, but I am deciding between the A6100 and its new attractive price and the A6400 with its better characteristics, which you reviewed in another video. What do you think? Should I invest in the $998 with kit lens of the A6400 or go with the $698 A6400 instead? Do the A6100 have a record limit? Also, what is your experience in terms of prices? For example, the $1,998 A7III only dropped $200 once in two years, Thanks for your videos!!
Seems like a nice camera to start with if you want to try out full frame mirrorless, even though the price point is still pretty high. Any competitor cheaper camera that you could recommend?
I like your video. In October 2019 bought my first DSLR or mirrorless it is this Sony A7 from the retailer as an 'Open Box' it was used a week and returned to the store and the price dropped by $300 the day I asked for their cheapest Sony full frame and got the body only for $540 Canadian with a full warranty in perfect condition and then bought a $45 lens adapter CY-Emount, so I could use it with my four 39 year old film lenses and 10 old filters. In January 2020 I bought the kit zoom lens 28-70 Sony E-mount for only $175 used on Kijiji instead of new by itself it's $600. I research the lens and it got great reviews and I love it as it has the built in SteadyShot lens stabilization, which really helps out as the camera body doesn't have built in stabilization. Anyways in the 6 months I've had the camera I've taken 10,000 photos and learnt a whole lot from it and love the many built in special effects and picture styles. I'm pulled off photos with it that in a month that wowed my friends whom had DSLRs for years. After 6 months I'm having the best time with the Sony A7 of my 45 years of taking pictures 50,000 photos with 2 film SLRs and 6 compact digital superzooms and then this Sony A7 for me it's way better than my state of the line film camera I bought in 1981 and it's light years better than my superzooms. I did buy a great $100 tripod and wow I'm pulling off amazing shots in the night even when it's so dark I can't see the subject through the lens. It's a joy to take your photography to the next level. If you are going pro then I recommend get a Sony full-frame with in body stabilization as this one doesn't but I can get away with that as I have 45 years experience taking pictures. I am a fan of Sony mirrorless the first DSLR/mirrorless I ever had.
I bought a Sony 24-105 F4 G OSS lens and now using that with me Sony A7 mark 1 and the photos are amazing. After taking 27,000 photos on my A7 mark 1 since Oct 2019 when I switched from a 2011 Sony compact super zoom, well now my photos have skyrocketed up in quality and impressing a lot of people with my Sony A7 mark 1. Yes I wish I had the Sony A7III, however that would cost me $3,000 new or many $2,500 used Canadian. Maybe one day. Tonight 2 people saw me taking photos in the park and want to buy photos off me and get a portrait shoot. Sony my Sony A7 mark 1 was my first DSLR or mirrorless any format, and since it is a full-frame, it was a cheap investment and still loving it.
Can you do a video on the 90 mm marco lens with the a6400 for the recommended settings ? I am having trouble and can't seem to find help.
Thank you
Thanks for this video. Can you make a review on a7r2? Planning to switch from a6000. Im more of a photo but also doing some videos
I had the a7 new, and loved it. I bounced around between then and now use a a7iii, which is outdated but gets the job done. Forgot how much slimmer it was and while the new texture is more functional the A7’s smooth metallic finish was always nice to me
I owned the a6000 then bought the A7 used for cheap. The A7 autofocus is not up to the a6000 but my hit rate went up after some practice. It is behind in the color science compared to the a6100 for sure. I ended up selling my a6000 as it didn't make sense to me to lug around 2 cameras. For me it came down to lowlight performance and over all better image quality. I shoot mostly stills and landscapes. The lens cost was a concern but the options are much better now with the release of the Tamron zooms and lots of budget friendly primes.
Same. Sold my A6000 for 200 and bought the A7r for 450.
I'm gonna do the same when the 7r 2 is down to the same price as the A7r is now.
Obviously I'm in no hurry and the early adaptors are welcome to buy the camera first for retail price. 😁
@@Elvices agreed. I been living high on yesterday's tech, lol
I use a7 for travel photos & no problem with af. Tamron capability in low light is similar to kit lens. I have prime lenses & overall they are very sharp with a7 for low light moving performace show.
A7 has new firmware updates and the AF is now snappy, trick is to use contrasty picture profile. Even on MC-11 and sigma ART 50mm the EYE AF works nicely. Its not fast af but totally usable. Ofc its not sports camera but for landscapes and portraits, damn. That 14.2 stops DR is still one of the best in any cameras. Shoot RAW and the color science is there, jpg engine is ofc outdated but who shoot jpgs anyway on full frame cameras?
It is still my B camera to a7III. Over my a6300 any day for stills.
Get an A7, pair it with some quality vintage lenses on adapters (OM Zuiko, Takumar etc).... and you have an amazing versatile setup that's very pocket friendly. A camera is only as good as the user. With patience and skill this is a camera that can deliver stellar results.
I bought my first camera recently I was debating between a Sony A7Rii for full frame and a FujiFilm XT3 for APS-C
I ended up going with the Fuji, they are the king of crop sensor
Great video! Very informative, thanks. I have the A7R version, love the camera but it suffers from focus anxiety. However the closer the object to my lens then I gain clarity. The farther away then the softness in the image becomes very evident. I have done many test such as playing with the aperture to see if that would affect image sharpness. Sad to say no in my case. I’m still learning the camera quirks. Not all my photos were soft. I’ve shifted to manual focus instead. Overall this feels like a solid real camera that’s tough. Yeah battery life is dismal but it’s ok as I’m still a proud owner of a pioneer Sony camera. Love your vids, nice work, well presented and very useful content. 👍😎
the screen issue with the ar coating coming off was also on the nex series. just get some ipa and rub it off completely, it has no negative effects
OK Arthur, now go buy a Nex 7, still miss the tri navi on my A6500.
Can you explain what the Tri navi is / was?
I can only find some mentions in old reviews.
@@Black3ternity instead of having a dedicated PASM dial you had a dial that gave you access to shutter speed and aperture. The third dial is the same rotary dial on the back. Thus tri-navi as opposed to the current bi-navi plus PASM on current Sony A6xxx bodies.
I bought A7 this year, this is a wonderull FF at a low price, paied 400 euro, perfect working!
do you use the sigma 50mm art DN on A7?
I bought an A7ii last year and it's serving me well! Collecting FE lenses as I go and when I can afford to buy the cutting edge FF body ill have the glass to be able to take advantage of it
Hey Arthur! Can you upload a CZcams video titled about "what lens are best for sports photography/videos"?? I have the 50mm F1.8 but I would like to know what else can work as well.
Thank you Arthur. I really needed this video
Might be a good candidate for conversion to ultraviolet
I bought one boxed in mint condition to convert to full spectrum for only €400
Full spectrum for astrophotography is the reason why I chose the a7.
Hi Arthur, I have just got my hands on the Sony A7 mirrorless camera. Still to try it for stills and videos.
Great comparison. I came from a Canon 7D, then switched to the Sony A7, then upgraded to the A7ii, but that camera was still hit or miss on focusing, now I own the A7riii and love it. I mostly use the Sony 24-105 f4, but also own and use the Sony 16-35 f4. I had the Sony 24-70 f4 and while not very sharp, that lens is more compact than the others. Keep up the good work. I love the look and feel of the A7, but battery life was terrible.
I’m coming from a d7 too. Anything new you changed? I’m thinking of a ff mirror less Sony but I have ef lens Ty
Very interesting review. Could you do a review of the Sony RX100 ? Just seems like an obvious choice and helpful to others too. Really like your reviews as they cut to the chase. Thanks.
can you make a video how to conect the mic on that dinosur because in my case is not working where its suppost to
Is the difference between the colours of that a7 vs a6100 down to the sensors or the lenses? e.g. if i went for the a6100 with 16-50mm, how would the colours compare with the a7 with 28-70mm ?
It’s quite amazing how far we’ve come since 2013.
Especially comparing this to Canon and Nikons cameras in 2013, it was something quite special!
I have the original A7 and the A6500, still prefer the output from the A7, it maybe slower and have a noisier shutter but for considered stills work it's a genuinely great camera, love it.No blurring in my photos.
Great video, I've had my eye on the A7 for about a week or two now trying to figure out a good lens and whatnot, not really getting much sense out of all the different videos I've watched - this video has told me everything I need to know all in one video, and I think I'll stick with the A6100 or above after watching this.
Thank you.
Can't beat the A7 mark one. My first mirrorless camera! I shot everything with that, including gig photography.
I used my A7R and A7S up until a year ago in conjunction with my A6500 and A7RII... and I had very few actual complaints. Enjoy your purchase!
Hello, Arthur, thank you for a new video. Could you make a video what kind of settings do you use to shoot sharp photos with aps-c camera? I have bought A6400 camera and I often get blurry photos with a kit lense 16-50. I know that the kit lense is not very sharp, but my pictures are really too blurry. So, your video how to shoot sharp photos would be superb!
Is this taken in RAW? If yes, which converter did you use?
Would love to see a comparison of image quality between this and an a6100 in low light as well (for stills) if you can
I bought yesterday a brand new A7 package with kitlens 24-70mm F3.5-5.6 , a bag and sd card for 650 euro in local store. It was the last one in stock. the autofocus is better than expected. I have a6000 to but always wanted a full frame. For filming I have a panasonic GH5S. Only con is maybe the loud shutter sound.
how to find out how many clicks with the used sony camera?
Thank you for the good informational video. I don’t know if I would want the A7, I did a bunch of research last year when I purchased my A7II. I was able to get the A7II on sale in December 2019 NEW with a kit lens for I think $799. Ive been quite happy with it. The battery life is a bit bad. But it does have IBIS, a slightly better grip and a pretty good view finder. I don’t like no touch screen focus and the menus are a little rough to deal with. I do have the A7R4, but the A7II is a good cheap beater camera for taking family pictures and stuff.
Love the original A7. I've been shooting with it for half a year. Great way the get into full frame mirrorless. Very nice image quality. The main downside is its user interface: it's not that intuitive and it often takes an extra step.
Hey I need help with lenses
WOW color science in Son has gone a long way! :D
One tip that is a bit lost in time now with the original A7 mark I, you should get a replacement lens mount (Fotodiox makes one) the problem is that original mount warped over time with "heavy" lenses. The replacements are tougher and won't warp/bend over time. The installation process is actually super easy.
hi
Which lens do you think is better? sony E 18-135mm or sigma 16mm
my camera sony a6400
sigma 16, but you will have no zoom & OSS
I am using the camera with it's orignal battery grip, and I had changed also the bayonet mount with some more stable ring!
I have used the A7 and never had that focus problem and a friend and his wife both still use It with no focus issues or blurry images I have the A7 II and it also works great and my Zeiss 55 1.8 and Sony 85 1.8 Is damn fast and sharp.
Tamron may not be optimized for the older cameras. With lenses like 55 1.8 it's autofocus is fairly good, though still not suitable for sports.
A7m2 does have improved AF over A7.
@@0ooTheMAXXoo0 Yes It does, I often use AF-C and a flexible spot or lock on so it tracks my subjekt.. Wide also works sometimes on picking up the closest and contrasty things close to camera..
Thanks, your video was very helpful to me. I'm thinking about buying a camera in the near future and I was looking at A7 / A7M2 vs A6400. I think I'll go with A6400. Not gonna lie, cheaper lenses are a big factor for me too.
around feb of this year i got a a7II with a 32-70mm kit lens from amazon that was new/used in package for only 750$. It had zero use and had all the accessories in the box. Really the box seemed to be unopened. It was directly from amazon and had zero issues. Seriously couldn't be happier with my purchase. Just need to get some better lenses for it. The kit lens it came with is okay. But i really wanna get my hands on the new sigma 85mm 1.4 lens.
I owned the A7 before A7 III, I miss the compact size and the shutter sound.
How do you miss the shutter sound? I find myself hesitating to take a picture from people when I'm 10 meters away. That's how loud and distinct sounding the shutter is.
@@jimbopaw Haha, I was somewhat mindful of the A7 shutter sound too when I had that camera..the A7rii in comparison is..a little less rounded, a little less piano black and its shutter sound is that of a broken dvd player trying to eject a disc; a distinct electric-mechanical sound. I miss the A7 shutter with its three-beat mechanical sound.
Ibis is make big difference for sharpness?
I have a7 but I don't get sharp image without tripods
for only portraits still photography is it big difference?
@@misterpringles2384 , I wonder how people in former times where able to get sharp pictures...
Ismail Gündogan broxf
What song were you using for the sample images montage? I love that beat.
What focus peaking does it have? I have m mount manual lenses for my Fuji and want to try it with a full frame camera
The same as on other Sony cameras.
Great video! In terms of sensor size, just think about it; Bokeh aside, why and how sub-inch sensor smartphones today are producing as good or sometimes better images and videos than a full frame especially in low light? Do we really need full frame?
Can you use this for a live stream or no
When where will be a release of the A7 iv? Or whatever they decide to call the successor to the A7iii? I'm on the edge of buying a A7iii but want to see if it's worth waiting..
In my opinion it will be released, but probably not this year. What is unclear, however, is A7sIII which may never be released.
If you don't have a camera at all, buy a used A6000 and have some fun in the meantime.
There will always be better camera bodies “around the corner”. I upgraded from an a7ii to a7iii and I am “absolutely delighted”, no other words to describe it! I’d say, go for it otherwise, you’ll always be waiting rather than capturing great images!
I have a feeling the A7 IV may have already been announced if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't happened.
Yeah I currently have an a6300 with a handful of APSC lenses. Just debating selling everything to upgrade to the A7iii. And I agree, I think Sony may have already released the 7iv if Covid hadn't happened. I'm also curious to see if the 7iii price drops significantly once the 7iv is on the market. Either way, the clock is ticking until I upgrade to full-frame.
Fun fact, i still used this camera until 1 month ago when i upgraded to the a7s
You weren't right about burst mode. It can be quicker when you select third option after clicking left button on D-pad. When you do that camera takes two photos when pressing shutter button once. So the burst mode actually gets 2 times faster. It's great camera for vintage manual lenses. I use it for portrait using manual lenses, landscape and car photography so at the moment I don't use AF.
It can't keep up with action though
have you tried a sony native lens? sony a6000 user here. Can you do a video comparison a7 vs a6000
What's the Sony a6 series auto focus like when it's not focused on eyes or faces? G compared to a7sii. I'm thinking more of video of cars, trucks, busses etc.
Hey arthur! So, I’m debating on either this, or maybe the mark 2 of this, ooor an A6100. My question is, and this pertains to all of the cameras...sony’s eye AF, and the eye AF for pets. Does that still work if I’m using a manual focus lens? or because of the manual focus, are the autofocus features on the cameras basically irrelevant? really wish the A7ii had a flip up screen like the A6100. I know I would use that a ton to frame myself and my dog in a shot while hiking or something.
i legit got really excited when i saw that notification and the title ❤️
That's a great review Arther, I have been considering replacing my old Canon Dslr with A7ii / A7rii or a A6400 for some time.
Here in Oz the price of new A7iii & A6600 or later ( In 2021) are still too expensive, full frame is my choice but on a limited budget.
My original idea of A7ii or A7rii with good glass is way to go or wait another year for the A7iii prices to fall.
Good points in video, thanks. I am curious, would you buy a7000 if it price is around 2200-2300$? Let's suppose, this body has weather sealing (similar to a7r4), more effective stabilization, central-orientated high-res EVF, sharp screen with full touch functionality, 28mp sensor with some d/r & noise improvements, dual card slots, 12 fps mechanical or ~20 fps silent shutter speed and much deeper buffer.
On video side, you would have 8 bit 4k60p, but without crop, 180 fps in full HD; besides that, there'd be possibility to record on both cards simultaneously, have no problem with overheating even during hours under direct sunlight and, of course, bitrates could be significantly higher.