Is the Sony A7rII the really first camera that can be defined as a “PRO” camera? Well according to the Chuck Norris of photography Ken Rockwell the answer is no! Actually his answer is more an insult to Sony camera owners than just a negative conclusion:
A photo hobbyist is someone who loves talking about pixels, software, apps, bit depths and especially loves playing with a zillion different brands of lenses on adapters. That’s why hobbyists and gizmo fans love this camera so much.
Hobbyists are completely different from photographers, photographic artists or pro shooters. The problem with the A7R II for use by a photographic artist like myself is that while A7R II images look great, its colors never look as great in real-world shots as I get directly from my Canons and Nikons. Most people are hobbyists and won’t notice the subtle things I do, and therefore I certainly recommend the A7R II, but for serious work, the Sony isn’t there yet.
Wow, Sony fellows will not like to read this!
Now Sony has two options: Either they make a superb A9 or they destroy Ken’s laptop so that he cannot harm them anymore 馃檪
54 Responses
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Who is Ken Rockwell?
An artist? LOL! I am loughing really loud here, would love to see his work in some art gallery!
He was is person with humour, no doubt! :)))
Don’t feed the trolls…
Sony users should buy the A99. It got quite a decent review from Ken!
A99 stil works well for almost any type of photography needs. A99II or A9 will be announced soon that for sure
I guess I disagree that there is such a clear line between “artists” and “hobbyists.” “Pros” and “amateurs”, yes, but the kind of fiddling he describes are common among pros as well.
I do have a friend who’s been complaining about the color/tone quality of Sony cameras; is this a common experience?
These days, it’s more likely the quality of the defaults/profiles of the RAW processor they are using.
Ken doesn’t like to work with RAW, so his JPEGs need to be just right. I don’t know why he bothers with rubbish like this when he puts a lot of effort into his lens reviews and his site.
If someone can’t put a decent lens on the A7rII and get amazing shots, I doubt very much it’s the fault of the camera.
Almost all the negatives he talks about somewhere between just rubbish, and straight out lies. The fact that he doesn’t seemed to have tried any Leica lenses on the camera means that he’s not interested in finding out what it can do for him.
hahahahaha, you just need to visit his ancient website (www.kenrockwell.com) to see that this guy can’t be taken into account. This guy stop his clock on the nineties.
So because he doesn’t have a modern slick website, his opinion on photographic tools is invalid?
You sound exactly like the kind of person he feels the A7rII will appeal to. Glitz over photographic integrity.
Hi Jon S! I think that the technology changes very fast for some people and they don’t like the change. How their websites look says much about their way of thinking about “change”.
I believe KR’s point is that it’s about the photograph. Not the technology.
I’m a tech guy, and I love gadgets. I actually work in the field of image sensors. You can’t get much more imaging tech than that. And yet I do agree with him. It’s all about the end photograph.
Great photographers can produce stunning images using pretty crappy cameras. Too many of us look to the next camera-that-will-save-the-world to improve our photography, when we should be looking to hone our artistic vision.
His opinion became invalid the moment he labeled himself a “photographic artist”
If someone operates a website that looks like it’s from 1995 and clearly doesnt care how his work is presented in a time where it only would need a 1 day of work to update his page. How can I expect him to explore the camera to a full extent? to mention color on a $3000+ camera and only shoot jpg is really ridiculous. Who shoots jpgs on a camera like this?
For me it’s like if someone tests a Ferrari, which aren’t perfect, but then complains about being too loud at slow speeds or it having a stiff ride and not being comfortable to drive for 1000km as a family wagon would be
Ken who? Never heard of him. I guess it’s because he’s so far up his own arse that nobody will ever notice him.
This erstwhile expert is burnishing his reputation (making it even worse).
I must agree with this: when you hold Nikon D810 or Canon 5DIII, you feel it’s a work horse, with Sony A7x I always feel I hold an electronic toy. I agree that Canon renders colour much better, looks analog, Sony A7 much more digital.
Or maybe it’s because everybody have a Canon… then you think Canon colors are the good-lonking ones ?
I’ve spent some time on his site and based on his work and ideas he isn’t a good source.
Ken aside… The camera is nice…images are great….. the lens selection is frenetic…one of this… two of that….. no consistent style or look… camera is much more awkward to use than the pro models of nikon or canon. battery is awful….flash coordination is absent……this is a one-horse show… not a stable of equipment….
Every review of every E mount camera ever made has complained about poor battery life, and lack of dual card slot, often with the added adjectve..” dealbreaker”.
These are features important to pros that can easily be desighned into the camera.
But for some mysterious reason Sony continues to ignore this and cheerfully cooperates with those who want to say negative things about thier cameras.
I sincerely hope this willl be the last Sony high high end camera that I have to read those particular comments about, and that future high end ff and apsc cameras will have bigger battery and dual card slot.
As for color fidelity I totall dissagree.
I have used both the a7rii and 5dsr.
The huge increase in dynamic range of the Sony is highly noticable.
With the 5dsr on a sunny day I shot over 100 shots of Ruddy Ducks, with super intense pale blue beaks…….every shot came out with white beaks…A7rii handles these conditions effortlessly.
I also shot orange tigers, and got pictures pf white tiger faces and backs with orange tiger bellies.
The a7rii shows a lot more tone range, therefore there is a smoother more gradual transition from lightest to darkest tones with much more detail visible….if you want the harsher more contrasty look of the Canon that is easily obtained by increasing the contrast, but if you want the subtle variations of tone that Sony has…you are out of luck with the Canon.
You have to remember, Rockwell doesn’t shoot RAW. It is probably just a thing with the JPG processing he doesn’t like on the Sony.
Rockwell is not used to using Sony menu and is uncomfortable with it and does not know how to use it…like anything it gets comfortable with use and experience.
The A7rii has a very high quality jpg mode…higher quality than tjedefault he probably used.
This is currently the dest jpg available…but he is basing his negative comments on the more compressed lower jpg that he used because he did not know about the highest quality jpg.
If he used this camera properly and likes jpgs he should have loved this camera.
Most of his complaints revolved around the fact that he is used to and comfortable with another brand of camera therefore this camera did not ” feel right ” to him.
You are talking about dynamic range and color depth.
Color rendition is something different.
Canon or Leica for example have poor DR and color depth in comparison but are often liked for their colors…
Little simplistic.
Both the Canon and the Sony (and a Nikon if you wish)can produce superb color. Shooting Raw allows one to arrive at almost any color grade they want. The DR of both Nikon and Sony is superior to the Canon but that doesn’t mean the Canon is a toad.
Any pro that relies their work with dual slot cameras has not learned anything.
To be sure you never use dual slots. You use multiple cards that you swap between a moments. Every card goes through a SD card reader on your belt where its content is copied to 1 terabyte SSD drive.
Your camera can be trashed, dropped, sinked or anything and you don’t lose a single photo. Your camera can be stolen and you don’t lose a single photo.
Your card can get a malfunction and you don’t lose a single photo.
You can’t do that with a camera that has a dual slots and you use two cards.
Any pro who is serious about their backup on the site, doesn’t use dual slot cameras but use a SD card reader on their belt and multiple cards. It isn’t slowing down, it doesn’t cause to lose moments or anything.
You describe here a card reader 1 tb hard drive autonomous belt mounted devise that every pro photographer should be using.
I am not familiar with sich a device, and was not able to find such a device in a google search.
Please tell us more specific information about this backup system you are describing.
It sounds interesting but clearly it is not common knowledge.
Sadly though, Ken is spot on on this one. No matter how good the sensor is or camera itself is if it requires so many adapters to get the job done, it is useless for event or wedding or any work that may involve any action movement. The adapter thing may be fun but it’s not really practical for serious work. I think Ken is just a bit too honest and frank but not at all harsh to Sony. Sony owes it. There are many obvious Sony shills but if you need a real work horse, the a7r2 is not that.
why do you “need” an adapter? There are more than 60 E-mount lenses currently. Only Ken himself needs adapters, because e doesn’t have a single Sony lens.
Still a joke this guy though, he is too full of himself and lost connection to reality even more than the german chancelor
I make fine photography, selling a big prints for 3500-6000 dollars a piece by customer wishes.
You are saying that my work isn’t serious?
You say that wedding photographer who gets about 500-600 dollars per wedding is a serious work when they do 40-50 weddings a week?
I sell about 30-40 prints a year and you say that I am not a serious photographer?
Mk, do you have a website I can see your work?
Well he is hated by forum pundits but respected by many real businesses. He earns great living out of his site. So I think he is better than most of us just pretending some kind of pundits or even experts
My first impression was if it wasn’t a Nikon, it wasn’t worthy. Not much has happened to change my opinion.
Ken Rockwell s a fraud.
His pictures are truly disgusting, for most of them
He’s definitely no more a source for me. His attitude against his so called “hobbiysts” is frightening…
He didn’t even care to test (or talk about) the samsung nx1, which has been the most innovative camera in its price range since ages. Perhaps this is because it gets too close to (and sometimes beats) a d4s costing 4 times as much 馃槈
Ken’s just mad the Sony won’t let him turn the saturation knob all the way to 11. I remember when I used to read his reviews and such, and take them seriously. Not sure how I came across the site, probably just his excellent SEO. He is good at getting attention. But then eventually I thought “maybe I should see what kind of pics this guy makes” and uh… yeah. I felt pretty dumb for every taking anything he said seriously.
Although I don’t recognize him talent or expertise of any sort, he is right about the camera not feeling pro, at least in the Nikon/Canon tradition. A mirrorless camera feels like a toy compared to those heavy weights and the Sony way of build does not inspire a lot of confidence. I also don’t understand why on earth he should bring the Samsung NX to the equation, this is a men’s play, not children’s play.
I want to go with option B – Destroy Ken’s laptop. :>
No, just steal it and hack his website adjusting reviews where needed and then making it impossible to recover his original site.
I’m an DSLR and Mirrorless owner. I have to say Ken is right. Mirrorless, including the new Sony A7RII, are just not as fast or as streamlined as SLRs. They have to wake up/turn on vs. a DSLR that is always ready. Mirrorless cameras also tend to lock up, freeze, etc. You also have to go through menus to get to commonly used stuff… not to mention Sony’s atrocious menus.
Sadly a lot of camera reviews, hype, and discussion are driven around camera measurebators and not actual photographers.
People who are really into the final product are not concerned with the .08% difference in dynamic range or whether or not they can do 4K video.
I enjoy my mirrorless for when I don’t fee like lugging my DSLR around. Other than that, there’s really no redeeming factor.
Also a lot of you newbies are new to photography and don’t realize Ken Rockwell is a salesman. He’s supposed to be polarizing. You are all making him rich. He’s laughing at YOU. YOU are the joke here. He’s actually a knowledgeable and good photographer and has a lot of great things to say. Unfortunately, many get butthurt when he doesn’t praise their favorite camera brand or says something they disagree with. Grow up and realize Ken is in the business of making money and doing a darn good job at it while all of you are saying “KEN ROCKWELL SUX” “KEN ROCKWELL THIS” “KEN ROCKWELL THAT”
Not sure why all the fuss… Ken Rockwell is ridiculously opinionated and obnoxious, his rants against Sigma and Tamron lenses, for example, are as legendary as they are disgusting (though his latest statement, “no voice memo – not a professional camera”, is mildly amusing). Anyone can proclaim anything, and while his reviews are (a lot of the time) pretty informative, his opinions – and the way he states them – do not merit much attention, let alone acknowledgement.
YMMV.
>Listening to Ken Rockwell
Hahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaahahaha!
We can just stop at the point where he calls himself a “photographic artist.” He takes pictures. Period. I’ve never seen a ‘good’ Rockwell photo. His books are found nowhere. Has anyone ever deemed him worthy of exhibition? Anyone with a camera is as much of an “artist” as Ken Rockwell. That’s all said without me having any stake in whether or not he appreciates the Sony. I don’t have one. I’ve never had one, and whether i choose one in the near future or a Canon 5-something, it will be unrelated to these comments.
Illusions of grandure. ..pompous drivel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc
Rockwell is a clown. That’s it.
Everybody who has even a basic knowledge of photography and common sence knows that.
ken said also the Fuji X100 was an awesome camera and great for family folks taking shots of when the kids were running around 馃檪 So I bought one – it is the worst focusing camera I have ever owned – and forget about focusing in low light which is a shame as IQ is good if you manage to get off a shot in focus –
I think he has quite a bit of experience but some of the things he says are just from left field – like that the Fuji X100 is great to take snaps of the kids running around – it is horrible in Single focus and hopeless in Tracking focus 馃檪 Pros shoot in RAW and do post work – and yes sometimes I feel Sony temp is a bit on the cold side – just like I think Fuji is sometimes a bit on the warm side – but one adjusts that in post – and a manufacturer can never please everyone in temp etc. So therefore there is RAW 馃檪
I completed lost all interest in his articles after his Fuji X100 review 馃檪 I suspect he will loose a few more now – but I suspect that most of the Sony fans did not read his articles anyway
Well bless my soul. I thought Ken Rockwell was this guy who spent all his time blogging about technical things; and yet it seems he’s really an artist AND a professional photographer.
Does anybody know where I can see his portfolio?
I wasnt going to wade in on this, but cant resist. I’ve heard several ‘photographers’ now say something alone the lines of “no serious pro would use a Sony’ blah blah, and Ken ‘I shoot everything at 6mb Jpeg’ Rockwell is saying similar…. hahahaha. Hilarious.
I’ve now spoken to many who’s whole income is 100% made from photography who has switched, not one has grumbled about ‘lossy files’, bad colours, bad menus etc. In fact for me (yep I switched too) that was the surpising thing, the ease of the transition/menus.
It wont be for everyone, and some who are crazy in love with XYZ brand they are using will write any old XYZ brand off without really trying. I get it, he doesnt like it, thats fair but sweeping “its not for serious work” is ball breakingly funny and out of touch line… that said, i’m going back to finish editing the major hotel shoot I did today with my Hobbyist camera 馃槈
Ken doesn’t bother with composition. He just points his camera and waits for the world to turn towards him…
all photos on my website are shot with the A7r camera. I am not very happy about the camera but hell, I only had money for one camera, so let’s make the best out of it. http://www.resurrect.it