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Thread: Sony mirrorless cameras... Well this is the f*cking future

  1. #1
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    Sony mirrorless cameras... Well this is the f*cking future

    I recently got a bit more serious with my photography, and it has prompted me to have an incentive to bring my absolute best skills to the game.

    I've used Canon DSLRs for six years. But the features of the new Sony A7 III were just too much for me not to be interested in, and I thought that such a camera might help me.

    Long story short, I'm experimenting using an A7 III with adapted Canon lenses. I was less than enthused with the performance of this setup in very low light a couple weeks ago, so I put the Sony back on the shelf for a while, opting to fall back on my tried and true Canon 5D.

    But admittedly, the time that I was using the Sony, the lighting was so poor that even the Canon was struggling to lock on with focus.

    Yesterday I went to an event in the city that I knew was going to be a really quiet affair... It was mostly going to be spoken word and such, so I cringed at the idea of popping off the shutter of the 5D over and over, even in "silent" mode which deadens the noise somewhat, while someone was trying to speak.

    So, reluctantly I grabbed the Sony, armed with a "silent" mode which is truly, completely silent, with absolutely no moving mirror or shutter. I did my best to set up the Sony's autofocus mode similar to how I like it on the Canon. Initially, I had been curious about the face detection and eye-detection autofocus on the Sony, but I'm realizing now that when you're in a fast moving and dynamic environment, the face detection is still pretty hit or miss. It's not that it's slow necessarily, but in the fractions of a second you have to capture an unstaged moment, and the varying angles that someone's face may be pointing in that moment, the face detection really can't be relied on.

    Anyway, once I learned to not expect to rely on face detection, instead treating the autofocus system like an old-school DSLR, and just putting a small, focused point right on the person's eye that I wanted to focus on, the camera started working. The autofocus seemed to work pretty well, even in low light. And the silent shooting is mind-blowing. I sat there and rifled off ten full resolution raw photos per second, with absolutely no noise from the camera, and zero anxiety about putting wear and tear on the moving parts of a DSLR that this kind of use would result in.

    After the event was over, my friend that was sitting next to me asked if I was actually taking pictures, because she just saw me holding the camera up to my face with no noise coming from it. She said it was the "quietest camera ever" and I happily agreed.

    I was unsure about the technology before. Looking at a screen in the viewfinder as opposed to straight through the lens is still a little disorienting. There is at times a weird focus hunting issue that I can only attribute to the fact that I'm adapting Canon lenses to the camera, which obviously it wasn't designed to do.

    However, Sony's menu system is still horrible. It's still clearly stuck in a consumer electronics mindset, not one that recognizes the camera as a professional tool that needs to be able to provide quick access to important settings within fractions of a second, so as not to miss an important moment. The only redeeming quality being that it allows a pretty good amount of customization.

    But overall, the accuracy of focus when the camera does lock on, the insane frames per second with absolutely zero noise from the camera, and the in-body image stabilization that allows every lens to function as an image stabilized lens makes me feel as though I'm going to keep this camera around. In the end it just leaves me hoping that Canon gets their stuff together and produces a camera with similar functionality, a menu system that makes sense, and native support for all of my expensive Canon lenses.

  2. #2
    Jedi Cam's Avatar
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    Solid review.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Leon's Avatar
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    As a non photographer (I literally put my Canon in sports mode, and blast off oodles of motorsport action photos), do you know how it would perform for action shots?

    I went to (literally) $100 - $200 used Canon DSLR's for motorsport photos several years back, as the previous digital cameras all had way too much delay.

  4. #4
    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    http://cameradecision.com/faq/is-the...ts-Photography

    Sony A7 III has a score of 83 for Sports Photography which makes it an EXCELLENT candidate for this type of photography. It will satisfy all your need in Sports Photography, no need to look further for other cameras.
    It's also a $2000 camera, though. I bet you could find something very useful at a much lower price point. I feel pretty good about my results with my $400 P&S, but they won't approach the quality of slm's gear.

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    Ok I'm back to hating this camera again.

    Last night I went out to take photos, and really started treating the camera like I would my Canon... Demanding quick focusing in dynamic, unpredictable situations. It did pretty well, but it's kind of off putting how there's that fraction of a second when you put the camera up to your face before the electronic viewfinder comes on, and you're just staring at a black screen.

    But now this morning I noticed something else... The lag at which the camera does things seems to be overall inconsistent. Last night I specifically remember adjusting the aperture, and being unhappy with the fact that there was a discernible lag between when I spun the little adjustment wheel, and when the aperture actually changed. But today, it seems to be pretty quick. The viewfinder also seems to come on pretty fast. So does this camera have variability in the speed at which the controls respond to your inputs? It sure seems like it. That really bothers me. Canons never do this. When you make an adjustment on a Canon, it happens yesterday. However Canon handles their electronic interface, they have it figured out. There should never be a lag in the camera's functionality. The Sony just feels like using a cell phone in comparison to a professional camera which functions quickly and seamlessly.

    I know this might seem like a minor thing, but when you're trying to capture things that are happening, milliseconds count. The Canon functions quickly without any electronic lag. It just gets out of the way between me and what I'm taking a photo of. The Sony just... Doesn't.

  6. #6
    Jedi Cam's Avatar
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    *flips table*

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    Consultant KillerB's Avatar
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    I'm really enjoying my Nikon D500, and if I was going to go full-frame, the D850 is, IMO, the best camera out there right now. That said, I'm very interested to see what Nikon does with mirrorless:

    Quote Originally Posted by NikonRumors.com

    - Two mirrorless cameras: one with 24-25MP and one with 45MP (48MP is also a possibility). I assume both cameras are full frame (I did not get a specific confirmation on that).
    - Similar body size to the Sony a7 camera but with better ergonomics and a better grip.
    -5-axis in-body stabilization
    - 9fps
    - New mirrorless mount. We already knew that, but the number I was given this time is 55mm. The Z-mount dimensions I reported a few months ago were 49mm for the actual opening and 65.4mm for the entire mount diameter.
    - The new mirrorless mount will allow for f/0.95 lenses - remember the NOCT trademark and f/0.9 lens patents?
    - Memory cards: XQD and CF Express - now this is a surprise for me, but it is what I have heard (ProGrade is coming with a CF Express card).
    - EVF resolution: 3.6MP
    - Initially, three lenses will be announced: 24-70mm, 35mm and 50mm (I think the 35 and 50mm will be f/1.4). There is also talk about a 24mm, but it may come later.

    Pricing:
    - The 45MP model will be around $4,000/€4,000 in a kit with the 24-70mm lens.
    - The 25MP model will be under $3,000/€3,000 (also with a lens).
    - The official announcement is rumored for the end of July (on or around July 23rd) and shipping shortly after (August 23rd). This is the part I am not sure about because previous tips suggested a Photokina announcement. Maybe we will see the development announcement at the end of July and the official announcement before Photokina. I will try to get a confirmation on the exact announcement date.

    Read more: https://nikonrumors.com/2018/07/03/f...#ixzz5KGJrSJS5
    I'll be very curious to see what functionality is in the Z-mount/F-mount adapter that's also rumored - I think Nikon has to pull that off well to survive.

  8. #8
    Expert daydreamer SkylineObsession's Avatar
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    Our Sony A77 has a screen in the viewfinder instead of glass, i still find it a little weird, but because i wear glasses 24/7 i always use the pop out screen instead.

    I use it on 24mp mode, but find that there's other photos out there that people take that looks so much insanely sharper than my pics. Maybe i need to stop having it in auto mode.

  9. #9
    What does the Bat say? Jason's Avatar
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    I've been very happy since my move to mirrorless, since it's a much lighter load to carry around (Fuji X series) vs my former DSLR setup (Canon), while still outputting high quality imagery. That being said, Mirrorless has a ways to go when it comes to both speed of operation/focusing, and battery life. My shooting style doesn't really demand the fastest of focusing, but for certain styles of street work, sports, etc, I can see how it would be the wrong tool for the job.

  10. #10
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    Sony has done great improvements to their mirrorless offering with the A9, A7RIII and A III... battery life is better, Autofocus too, same as with sports usage, what with also new lenses (finally).

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