shooting video on location with the Sony A7: first impression review (Mike Kobal)
Roger Cicala from Lensrentals (Click here) tested the Sony A7r and the Zeiss 35mm FE lens. This is what he thinks about the camera:
If I were to make a quick summary:
- The A7R delivers amazing resolution. At least as good as a Nikon D800e.
- The two Sony-Zeiss prime lenses (the 35mm we tested, and the 55mm tested by SLRgear.com) are excellent. Hopefully other native-mount lenses will also be excellent.
- Other-brand, standard-range (35mm and up) shot on a well-matched adapter give superb center resolution, better than you would get on the native mount camera, unless that camera is a D800e. Corner resolution is very good, although less than amazing.
- Given past experience, and several early reports, shooting lenses wider than 35mm on an adapter is going to be a bit more challenging. I doubt we’ll be able to make too many generalizations. Rather each lens will have to be evaluated on the A7R to see how it performs.
A7r review at ThePhoBlographer.
Sony is receiving the Editor’s Choice award out of the pure innovation that was put into this product; but we need to warn you again about the autofocusing. If you’re adapting all of your legacy glass over to it, you won’t need to worry about that problem at all. The image quality, more than anything else, is what also makes us smitten for the A7r.
Low Light Test with Sony A7r at Eruditephotography.
First wooden grip for the A7r (Xitek).
Official English translated review of the A7 at SLRclub (Click here).
Sony A7R – full frame T0.95 with the SLR Magic HyperPrime (and special guest, Leica Noctilux 50mm F0.95) at EosHD.
Sony bedroht Leica (Die Welt).
Sony a7 WiFi Smart Remote Control App Update (Youtube).
A really great A7 with non-FF lens test at Per Analogia (google translation here).
Thodiris: “last night I did a nice concert with the sony a7 and the following lenses:
carl zeiss fe 35mm/f2.8
carl zeiss 16-35mm/f2.8 & la-ea4
minolta 85mm/f1.4 & la-ea4
I was very impressed with the focusing of the carl zeiss fe 35mm/f2.8 lens, it never missed focus or “hunted”.
you can see the images (all ISO 6400) here, with a footnote under each image: http://thodorismarkou.com/blog/2013/12/morcheeba-athens-gagarin-sony-a7-high-iso/”
Carl: “A7 with SEL18-55mm. I sold my Nex-5R but before I made some tests with the sel18-55mm mounted on the A7 (it gave me 10Mpx cropped RAWs)… I’m waiting for a better lens to experience the full quality of this camera. You can check the results (edited) here http://www.flickr.com/photos/
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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.
Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.
Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.
49 Responses
I don’t like all these good reviews for the 35/2.8 because its probably not going to drop in price soon. This one that shows that its better than the Nikon 35/1.4G and the Zeiss 50/2 arent helping. At a launch event at a camera store here in Australia, Sony were offering it for half price with a body only purchase. If only I was pre ordering.
Thanks for the link, I will soon put another portrait album on FlickR to test the A7 with a Voigtländer 40mm 1.4 MC, I’ll post the link on your FB page. Samyang has just announced the availability of their lenses with native E mount, I think I’ll try their 85mm too (better for portraits).
Would it be possible to have one landscape shot with 40mm?
I don’t have great landscape where I live but you can check that FlickR if you haven’t : http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronscheffler/tags/voigtlandernoktonclassic40mmf14/ even if the author specify that “Sony camera lenses used in this test are preproduction samples and may not be indicative of results from final production units”
So do those Samyang lenses work in crop mode on the a7, or will they allow for full resolution?
the Samyang 14mm, 24mm, 35mm and 85mm will all work in FF mode.
QUESTION…If you put the new Sony 18-105 f/4 power zoom lens on the a7, what happens? Will it work in “crop mode” for video as well as photos? And how do the aperture and focal length numbers change when it’s on a full frame camera? For video use, I’m really looking forward to that lens.
Oh, and I won’t need an adapter to use on the a7 will I?
You won’t need an adaptor bit it will work in crop mode by default. I’m not sure about how the aperture will be affected, given that video is cropped anyway…
as AndrewR pointed out, it will work in crop mode for video/stills, effectively you get a 27mm-157.5mm f4, the aperture will not change. I am hoping to get a loaner to test it on the A7.
I tested the E 35mm f1.8 in video on the A7 and it behaves as if it were on a NEX camera. The 10MP images are better than my Canon 40D.
the numbers don’t change but they mean other things. 50mm is short Tele on aps c, but normal on ff and wide angle with even larger sensors. Still – it’s always 50mm. if the lens is made for aps c it won’t cover all of the full frame sensor area, though if it’s a zoom, one end of the zoom range might unintentionally do so.
thanks so much for posting that link, Andrea, much appreciated! 🙂
so basically we’re, again, told what we already know. of course the A7R will outresolve most other camera bodies except perhaps the D800E. Not too many cameras with a 36MP sensor around, are there? corner resolution being very good but less than amazing… well… what lenses are we talking about and is this due to limitations in the lens (if it is then it should be visible in an MTF graph) or limitations in the lens/adapter/camera combination? The very least they could do is to compare primes which you know to have excellent performance used both on a native FF body and on the A7(R). Compare apples to apples as best as you can. Because if it turns out that a very nice A-mount or EF or Nikon-something lens will underperform when used on an E-mount with an adapter I would certainly want to know. Before picking them up.
Something tells me you didn’t actually read the Lensrentals article.
Hahah, clearly.
When a good native wide-angle zoom is introduced (this year, perhaps?), I am buying into the system. A 18-35 or 16-35 with good corners (that weighs significantly less than a D800 rig) would make this a landscaper’s dream.
All these accolades for a camera without any native flash cables or smart radio slaves.
Where are all the great accessory promises from the new (over a year old) MIS hot shoe? How is anyone better off now after losing iISO hot shoes? Where is the locking adapter so many have been crying for?
Is there any review out there which speaks of the currently terrible lighting system Sony has reduced us to?
Look, I’m as happy as anyone about these new cams. But there is much more to a camera than resolution, or size. Some of us rely upon smart strobes for our livelihood. Sony took that away.
So, what is your point exactly? What should we do?
If you want Sony’s to have the same elegant and functional flash system as the competition, then voice your concerns until Sony corrects the problem.
But I have a feeling that most folks are bedazzled by the new toys and all the potential they supposedly have, without ever weighing that wanderlust against the reality of how Sony killed our strobist community dead.
Funny thing is that Sony will never fix the flash based upon their own user base requests. They’ll only fix it if enough CaNikon converts refuse to adopt a camera without a good strobe system.
I seriously doubt that voicing my concerns on SAR will change anything. The best ways would be to either speak to SOny directly or not buy their products.
Has Sony ever acknowledged the flash delay? Any word at all? Anyone test the new cameras for wireless flash delay found on a99 and NEX7? More important than ever to get proper HSS connection, considering the lower native flash sync.
Please deal with it Sony.
Hi Clyde, I have. The A7 sync’s at 1/250 wired, wireless only 1/200. I love the A7 for what it is but it ain’t the camera for strobists.
Have you the Phottix Odin adapted yet? My work demands at least 1/500th, but I’m usually at 1/1000 to 1/3000 on my subtle fill.
As well, what about the wireless TTL delay found on a99/NEX7? Do the new cams suffer that fate?
Are you talking about flash sync speed or just flash duration? For instance, shortest flash sync on a Nikon D4 is also 1/250th, and it’s 1/200th on a Canon 5D-III. What camera are you using at 1/3000th?
SQL guy, I use a900 with Phottix Odin or F20AM to wirelessly, and perfectly sync 5600HS and F56AM (9 total) at any shutter speed I like, without delay, without adapters, without hassles. All remotely controlled from camera transmitter.
Shot over two hundred portraits last month, a jewelry campaign, and two magazine covers and editorials… All without any problems.
a900 intelligent preview makes very short work out of using flash.
@Clyde.I have requested a Phottix Odin loaner. Should be interesting.
@rvn, yup 1/200 only when wireless.
Ah. I looked it up. The A900 supports HSS, which is basically a long duration flash so that it doesn’t have to sync. Of course, the flash itself needs to support this. I wonder what happens if you try that same flash at a high shutter speed on the A7/R.
A number of sources, including B&H, say that the A7/R will do HSS, but I haven’t seen it in Sony official documentation yet. The user’s manual doesn’t seem to mention it.
my guess is the delay is due to metering off sensor instead of having dedicated meters in camera. (I would guess sensor read out speed and amount of data to process is the main problem. and ff sensors are slow!) so no luck with any Sony evf. speculating – but can’t think of any better explanation. think about it – the amount of work having to be done between pre flash and exposure. but it should be able to do hss with an optical trigger (f20am)? or do you refer to radio triggers only?
@mike kobal
very interesting mike, i like A7 because have sync’s 1/250.. but after hear your report it sync only reach 1/200 i feel dispointed.. it’s remain me about sync speed A99.. only reach 1/160.. very dispointed for high grade full frame class
@rvn, responded to you in the wrong post, sorry, yes, 1/200 only, better then 1/160 🙂
anyway, hopefully I will get the Phottix Odin before the holidays for a proper test.
What do you mean by “flash delay”? Are you talking about the time between pre-flash and flash?
If so, I don’t think there’s a lot Sony will be able to do about it. In a mirrorless, TTL metering happens to using the imaging sensor, so that whole sensor needs to be available for the pre-flash, then closed, cleared, and re-opened for the main flash. This should be a bit faster in the A7 with the EFCS.
In a DSLR or DSLT, metering is not on the sensor, so there’s less overhead to processing the metering.
On the other hand, if you’re shooting consistent flash illumination, like in a studio, you may be able to do manual flash metering, and skip TTL, which should also remove that delay, since there won’t be any pre-flash to meter.
Flash delay demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHrBcT51oE8
Rather than sending me to a video that’s talking about a different, non-mirrorless, camera, could you just answer my question? What are YOU talking about when saying “flash delay”?
Huh? I’m talking about exactly what the video demonstrates on the a99, and I experienced with NEX7 too. What do you mean different cameras? I mentioned those above and wondered if new a7’s suffered the same.
So, to answer my question: I watched the video, and it is talking about the delay between pre-flash and flash during which TTL metering is being done. Why that’s longer on the A99, I don’t know, since it should have off-sensor metering.
Also, while Friedman keeps saying wireless, I think he’s just demonstrating regular slave flash being triggered by the camera’s flash, not a radio wireless trigger. (I guess that’s still technically “wireless”, but most discussions I’ve seen on wireless really mean radio.)
Again, I think that, if you do manual flash metering, rather than TTL, this delay will not exist. Are you using TTL? Have you tried without TTL?
I don’t recall the delay when using Pixel Kings with manual flash. Sold the NEX because of TTL delay, as well the mandatory gain up with viewfinder when any flash attachment was put on. I think they fixed the auto gain with a99. With the Odin manually controlling flash, the transmitter works differently. Set all flashes to TTL, then Odin controls them manually from camera. That does require the preflash. It does not delay on a900. Setting flashes to manual there is no preflash, but Odin cannot control them remotely then.
I think the point of all this though, is that flash (manual or auto) should be getting easier with less performance compromises. But instead we are expected to accept performance compromise and use more adapters than ever before to achieve smart functions from a quarter century ago. It’s broken. Sony should fix it.
If the delay is because they’re doing on-sensor metering in the a99 and a77 (which is possible), then the fix for those cameras would be to move metering to the assembly that houses the PDAF sensors where it certainly is in the a900, but there would be no “fix” for the mirrorless cameras for this, other than making a sensor that can somehow process metering data faster.
Remember Olympus OM-2 stunned the world with OTF (off the film) metering just for flash. A separate meter behind the mirror just for flash use. The Oly flavor actually remained active throughout the entire exposure. Practically every manufacturer implemented that second meter at some point.
Perhaps Sony should take another cue from Oly, and adopt a secondary meter just for flash. Or better yet, remove reflective metering altogether and get with the sonar equipped speedlights that only use distance, like the old Polaroid SX70’s did.
At that point you’d be trading speed for quality. Using the whole sensor for metering allows you to minimize highlight clipping when when you have a mostly dark subjects with a few highly reflective spots. Range-based and things like Olympus’ OTF are only going to meter the whole scene, not details, so reflective spots will get clipped, and dark scenes will be over exposed.
What you really want is dedicated metering points mixed in the sensor like the embedded PDAF pixels. These points would need separate read channels and separate processing so they could be read more quickly and independently of the use of the sensor for composition or exposure.
As it stands, I don’t think even the PDAF pixels are independent of the sensor channels… if they were, I would think the A7 would be able to do continuous AF even during bursting.
the problem is there with all slt cameras as well, so I think the a99 indeed meters off sensor.
Were it any other brand besides my own, the flash system would be laughable joke.
Cabling an F60m to any new camera requires Multi-Interface Shoe Adapter on one end, and the ADP-MAC Multi-Interface Shoe Adapter on the other end, capping off a twenty year old iISO cable in between. No native third party support for flash or slave. Brackets and softbox don’t fit because of extra adapters. The previous investment is a wash.
CaNikon users would be storming the gates demanding the head of those responsible.
Sony users say “Flash del…? Oh look at the shiny buttons”.
the phoblographer said about A7r, “What we’re super hyped to report though is that the camera’s second curtain shutter function works with PocketWizards. Thank heavens! We finally have a mirrorless camera that doesn’t have any issues with it–and it’s a full frame option! Fujifilm, Olympus, and Pansonic all have this problem.”-
i have a question, are A7 function can works fine with PocketWizzard? likes A7r? or it have a problem like fuji, olympus and panasonic did? 🙂
What about the smart slaves that provide HSS capability? I mean, the PW confirm is nice, but I don’t think enabling a 30 year old technology is what I call advancement. Have we become numb to what has actually been lost in the strobist arena? Our CaNikon friends don’t suffer this fate. Perhaps we should warn them of what they would loose by converting to Sony. That’s the only thing that would get Sony’s attention.
So, this Robert Cicala video…I watched, I listened, but…WTF did he SAY??
lol, I wasn’t able to follow him during the shoot and got completely lost during the edit would be fun if google translation could have a go at it
BTW Mike, excellent write up. Always enjoy reading your posts.
thanks Clyde! I am using the mmlite comTrig H550 for HSS on my D800e with Quantum Turbo’s and studio strobes, depending on flash output I can sync it up to 1/800 without problems, tried on the A7….no go-1/200 is the best it can do. Strobes aren’t as important for me as they used to be, video has become more important and I try to shoot as much as possible with continuous lighting, however, there are situations where hss is the only way to go – the main reason Canikon will be around for a while even if they don’t innovate….
“First wooden grip for the A7r (http://forum.xitek.com/thread-983605-1-1-1.html).”
That is one nice wooden base! the camera will benefit with a slightly taller grip that has extra space for the pinkie finger…
I could not find it in an English language website…Is it only available in Asia?