Sony Your biggest gripe about the A7

NickLarsson

Veteran
Location
Paris, France
Hi guys,

I'm looking for a low-light companion for my Ricoh GR, and I'm almost sold on the Sony A7 (probably with the CV 35/1.4).
I'll mainly use it for street shots and occasionally for portraits, so I might add the FE55 in the future but I already have a bunch of M42 lenses to play with :)

Anyway, I'd like to know what you dislike the most about your A7(r), so maybe you can find a deal-breaker that I didn't think of :p

Especially how do you find manual focusing in low-light / night.

Thanks.
 
Don't have one, was planning to get one, but those plans have become uncertain since I found out the a7 series are in no way shape or form weathersealed. Since Sony had initially said that they were weathersealed, it's quite a disappointment to me...
 
Actually there's not much to dislike about my A7.

I'm used to mirrorless cameras so autofocus speed seems OK to me and handling is nicer and simpler than my Olympus E-M10.
One unexpected bonus was the quality of the kit 28-70mm lens. All the talk about softness at the edges..well I don't know but mine is sharp , very sharp and nicely made.
No wobbling at the mount either ( a recent splurge of wobbling lenses has been reported because of a Plastic insert ; a third party fix now available )

Not sure what the problem with weathersealing is.
It is weather sealed to an extent as demonstrated on Sony's Global Website but I wouldn't want to use it in heavy rain without some extra safeguards.
Not waterproof but still sealed.
All Interchangeable-Lens Cameras | Interchangeable-Lens Cameras | Imaging | Sony US ( under operability tab )

Can't say that I'm a fan of the camera's wifi connections and the inbuilt purchasing of apps that basically cover what Olympus might call Art Filters leaves me cold.
Connectivity isn't as good as Olympus.
The absence of a flash is disappointing but with the purchase of an adaptor I'm able to use an old Sony Flashgun so I have that covered.

The images have great colour and a soft sharpness that only comes from a larger sensor.
I went out to buy a Leica X Vario and came back with an A7.
So glad that I did. It's light weight makes it a perfect complement to my X100S.

Manual focusing is a joy and very easy with good focus peaking ( better than Fuji and Olympus ) and/or magnification to help.
 
I like my 7R, only thing I don't like is the shutter noise it makes. Fine for normal daylight excursions but I don't think I could take a candid street shot with it. I also like the colour and auto white balance much better than my M240.
 
Not sure what the problem with weathersealing is.
It is weather sealed to an extent as demonstrated on Sony's Global Website but I wouldn't want to use it in heavy rain without some extra safeguards.
Not waterproof but still sealed.
All Interchangeable-Lens Cameras | Interchangeable-Lens Cameras | Imaging | Sony US ( under operability tab )
Thanks for that. Looks like there is indeed some sealing, but people who used their cameras in a light drizzle and got a damaged camera as a result were told by Sony that it's only protected from 'water in the air' and not from any amount of rain, which to me means it's not weather sealed, more like 'slightly less likely to fail than a regular camera'. At any rate, it doesn't come close to Olympus and Pentax products.
 
Hi guys,

I'm looking for a low-light companion for my Ricoh GR, and I'm almost sold on the Sony A7 (probably with the CV 35/1.4).
I'll mainly use it for street shots and occasionally for portraits, so I might add the FE55 in the future but I already have a bunch of M42 lenses to play with :)

Anyway, I'd like to know what you dislike the most about your A7(r), so maybe you can find a deal-breaker that I didn't think of :p

Especially how do you find manual focusing in low-light / night.

Thanks.

I have exactly that Kit.

A7 + 35mm Summilux + Zeiss 55 + Ricoh GR.

I dislike the following on the A7, in order of importance

• Shutter sound. Too Loud.
• Two clicks to magnify image to nail focus. It should be just one. no confirmations like on the GR.
• I cant set the minimum shutter speed when on Auto-ISO
• Metering on A or S takes quite a lot while panning the camera, unless you half pump the shutter button then is immediate. I can live with that as I shoot it manually.
• The front dial is awkward to use.
• Every time I put a new battery in takes a least 40'' to 1' minute before the camera 'turns on'.
• Shutter button. It doesnt really have the marked steps as the GR shutter button.
• No way of setting the viewfinder only and displaying the image on the LCD, or you do everything in the EVF or the LCD or use the auto detect sensor which is very sensitive and when I shoot from the hip while close to my body or hand the EVF turns on and I cant see the LCD.
• The design of the camera. its horrible (That is absolutely personal, I know, and have nothing to do with the performance)

What I love about the camera.

• IQ. Nothing comes close in the mirrorless world for me. Leica is the only one I would put it next to. Stunning
• Size. GREAT size. but I would love to see a flat top camera design. No hump.
• Weight. is VERY light for what it is.
• Manual focusing is a breeze on this camera, so much, that the AF on the 55mm feels crap. I shoot it manually instead, even though is 'by wire'.
• Build quality is great
• handling is great too. the grip is perfect.
• love having the 1/8000s I can shoot wide open when needed.
• weathersealing is great. Ive shot with the camera in dusty environments (Bagan, Burma) and very wet, rainy, humid environments (New Zealand), and have never had a problem or a dust speck in the sensor.
• Connectivity is much simpler and easier than on my Olympus EM10 with my phone. NFC is great with my Nexus 4. just literally touch the phone with the camera body and you got the image in a sec. no need to open the apps and what not.

//

Id say just go for the camera. you will be amazed with the IQ and the voigtlanders work great on that camera.
 
Chris summed it up well.


For me, quite a few gripes.

1. Sensor reflection (can be a real problem in cityscapes with near/large enough light sources)
2. Dbl press for magnification
3. Too large magnification and its not selectable (makes it harder to find where it zoomed to and harder to focus recompose fast)
4. Menu digging for Remote 'ON'
5. Menu digging for 'Camera settings shown on display' (needed for strobing)
6. Totally bad (overcooked) JPG


Likes :
1. Generally good metering with adapted lenses
2. Adapted lenses (Fantastic!)
3. Good IQ and noise when shooting in RAW
4. The best thing out there for FF in a package the size of old SLRs.
 
Hey thanks for you answers so far!

Didn't find a real deal-breaker for me for the moment :)

I'm just still a bit concerned by the EVF in low-light since I saw this video (at 4min26), where I find it quite laggy:

The only EVF I used in low-light was the X-E1 and I was a bit disappointed.

But from what I can read here and on other forums it doesn't seem to be a problem for most A7 users.

Now I'll probably wait for some black friday deals :)
 
I had the Sony A7 for a month:

I DID NOT LIKE:
-Battery life. I put all my cameras on endurance mode and the Sony A7 still came up the shortest.
-Unable to change single AF point quickly (I think it's a three press process while Fujifilm is one and my GX7 can be configured to be one button press)
-Button layout isn't the most intuitive and would rather be able to reconfigure more buttons.

I love the IQ, the AF is fine, EVF is nice and big and it's a good design in general. I'd love for it to have the GH4 grip :(
Other than that it's just no 35mm F1.8 native, either F2.8 which is a very nice size or the 35mm F1.4 which is quite large (but Sigma/Canon 35mm F1.4 are similar size)

Oh and don't forget to update the firmware.
 
Oh... I re-read your intended usage and I will add some experience with the A7 and CV35/1.4 here.

For streets, you WILL needed to get A7 (or A7s), the A7r shutter response is slower.

The prob with the CV35/1.4 (marvel of a 35mm f1.4 of its size) is that its no good off centre.
It does not improve between f1.4 to f4.
Even at f5.6, you will need to focus with the off centre (if subject is placed there) to get everything to be decently sharp.
Few scenarios that this will be a prob :
1. f1.4-f2 for the shallow DOF isolation look, with subject off center, (subject isn't sharp)
2. Walk along and spot a nice mural, etc, but its indoors and only allows about f4 for low ISO and hand-holdable speeds (but f4 is not good enough to be all round sharp; f5.6, and it becomes a bit more challenging to hand-hold or ISO goes up)
3. Landscapes(f8-f11) knowing that its not the best sharpness that one can get compared to any other SLR 35mm.
So its more of a specialist lens on the A7, imo.

EVF, in low light is fine to me.
Only catch is if the subject moves about a lot, but this is the same problem with any OVF as well.
 
Oh... I re-read your intended usage and I will add some experience with the A7 and CV35/1.4 here.

For streets, you WILL needed to get A7 (or A7s), the A7r shutter response is slower.

The prob with the CV35/1.4 (marvel of a 35mm f1.4 of its size) is that its no good off centre.
It does not improve between f1.4 to f4.
Even at f5.6, you will need to focus with the off centre (if subject is placed there) to get everything to be decently sharp.
Few scenarios that this will be a prob :
1. f1.4-f2 for the shallow DOF isolation look, with subject off center, (subject isn't sharp)
2. Walk along and spot a nice mural, etc, but its indoors and only allows about f4 for low ISO and hand-holdable speeds (but f4 is not good enough to be all round sharp; f5.6, and it becomes a bit more challenging to hand-hold or ISO goes up)
3. Landscapes(f8-f11) knowing that its not the best sharpness that one can get compared to any other SLR 35mm.
So its more of a specialist lens on the A7, imo.

EVF, in low light is fine to me.
Only catch is if the subject moves about a lot, but this is the same problem with any OVF as well.
I see.

Indeed, I've seen mixed reviews about the CV35/1.4, but most people seem to like it despite its imperfections.
I think it will be ok for my use since I'm not after ultimate sharpness across the frame (sometimes I find the Ricoh GR too "clinical")
And I don't plan to do landscapes with it anyway :)

I also have the Pentax FA 35/2 to play with by the way.
 
Nick,

A lot of people in the internets say the same thing about the Leica 35mm Summilux ASPH that Ive got. not good off center etc. My experience with the lens on the A7 body is that the lens performs like no other for me. In fact, I havent experienced such sharpness and image rendition from any 35mm lens before. is that good. Some call it "character".

Sure, when I shoot it wide open there's a lot of vignetting and everything is extremely soft except for subject I selected to be in focus (obviously), but that is an "effect" I know how and when to use it. When I shoot landscapes, or even streets on a market, etc I usually go f8, and then, the lens is sharp on every corner and no vignetting.

On the GR I actually shoot with the "original" setting, so I get the very soft imperfection around the corners mimicking the film GRs.

For me photography is personal and is not about perfection, is in fact the opposite. I love imperfections in photography. If I need perfection then I'll be shooting ads, which I'm not.

But again thats me, and I understand that other people need uber sharpness across the frame and from wide open downwards.

Also don't forget that sharpness is something that happened in the last 20 years or so. Before that, there's hardly a sharp lens. And a lot people love that.

I'd say go for it. but dont forget to try the combo first. There's nothing worse than walking with the wrong pair of shoes.
 
I just did not like the build quality of the A7.
Coming from the EM-5 which was a precision instrument the A7 left me wondering.

I am now likely moving to a XT-1. A big part of the reason is the Fuji lens system.
For the me the A7 lenses are, too few, too expensive or too big.

The Fuji lenses in size seem to be like Goldilocks.
 
I'm just picking up a used A7 kit. I really had no intentions of doing it since I'm very heavy into the Fuji X cameras and lenses but I recently bought a Sony RX1 and fell in love with the files.
My plan is to use the A7 strictly with adapted lenses. I have plenty of old Nikon, Leica M and Leica R lenses on hand and also find used lenses in other mounts on a regular basis. I think I'll buy 5-6 adapters and have some fun with the system. I may keep the 28-70 FE lens or I may sell it.
I have a question, though. If anyone has experience with both the A7 and RX1 can you compare the sensors and files? I know the rX1 is unique in that the lens is matched to the sensor but I'm looking for just a basic review of the differences and similarities.
Thanks!
 
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