The Sony mirrorless camera review…within a review…within a review…. from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.
The well known bloggers and filmaker/photogrpaher posted their view about the new Sony A7r.
Philip Bloom writes: “All I can say is Sony, with the A7R, have made a really special camera that comes close to being utterly brilliant. Well three things let it down. The stills are amazing, but I’m not doing a review of the stills function, even though I have used it extensively for stills and the images are just gorgeous and HUGELY detailed. The three things are all do with the video function.”
Ming Thein writes: “ I like the direction Sony are heading in with the A7R: now if only they would hold the course and not get distracted…”
—————————————————
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.
0 Responses
No mention of review of RX10 by Bloom and Ming wtf?
Joe! WTF! You not watched the video??? There 10 minutes on the RX10 in it 🙂
Thanks for the review. I slightly disagree with the comment about the codec. I like prores 422 but I think avchd from say the fs700 looks similar and maybe better than prores 422. So I’m not sure if sony uses a different codec that dslr/slt/slm video from sony will not be as soft due to the line skipping.
That’s a bold statement and the first time I have ever heard such a thing. A 160mbs 422 10 bit I frame codec (yes I know the output is 8 bit but we are comparing codecs here) is not as good as 24mb/s b frame h264 8 bit 420? You sure you aren’t getting them mixed up!? Night and day for me. Night and day!
Plus they are replacing AVCHD in future cameras it seems with XAVC-s. Probably worse than AVCHD though 😉
And here I am expecting XAVC-S would be better then AVCHD. I’m actually hoping Sony watched your video and provide a firmware update to address most of your suggestions 😉
Fuji proved lots of things can be fixed by firmware and MagicLantern proved that lots of things can be added via firmware alone, so I hope (doubtful) that this new Sony would consider it as a business strategy as it’ll make people look at Sony more seriously.
I’m not articulate enough in writing for commenting on the internet. So to clarify a little I would prefer another codec as well and that’s why I slightly disagreed but I think Sony will only increase to h.265 and possibly xavc-s in their mirrorless cameras. When comparing the two I was talking about the same image converted into each codec at 1920×1080, sure the prores codec allows more editing and is superior but I think with no editing there isn’t much of a difference.
Ming Thein says it all.
Sony, just stop releasing something new every 6 month, fire Kimio Maki, start evolving what you have!
I’ll check you out next year and will by the A7Rx possibly.
+1
my last sony purchase was NEX 7 (3 years ago). i was hoping for some primes without the blue sh1t on it to make it expensive, but there is only 50 new cameras.. is it that hard to build some cheap compact E-lenses like 60/2.8 macro and 90/4 macro? maybe some zooms 16-70 3.5-5.6 or why not 28-70 2.8-4 ?
1k euro for a lens is expensive for a lot of people
and
if i get back to DSLR i’ll always prefer Canon for a lot of reasons … (for sure) i’m not alone.
Hmm, I’m not sure exactly whose idea the RX100, RX10, RX1, A7/r came from, but if it’s Kimio Maki idea, I don’t think they should just fire him, probably get him to work in the R&D department to test out new ideas and concepts while get another guy to work on improving the current product lineup.
Yeah!!! Cause Sony we wouldn’t want to be innovative or anything.
Yeah!!! Cause Sony we wouldn’t want you to be innovative or anything.
I really gotta stop typing sarcastic S#!t on my iPad
and what does this have to do with Sony Alpha rumors? Reading rumors about potentially news devices is nice, but if I were interested in A7(R) reviews I was probably going somewhere else. Maybe it is a idea to keep focus and post SR1/SR2 rumors once in a while….
This has been posted as part of the review section on SAR.
Please, with respect, shut up.
I too would like to hear more preliminary specs and rumors.
The headings should have a disclaimer that these are lower credibilty than the typical high quality sar rumors so admin will not be subjected to the unfair criticisms often given by people incapable of understanding what a sr1 or sr2 rumor is.
As for other people that faithfully read comments they dissagree with and tell the commenter to shut up…
THEY SHOULD LISTEN TO THIER OWN ADVICE!!!!!!!!!
Barry, you continuously pollute this site with your hot air and obsessive/compulsive repetitive crap, so you really have no right getting involved with a who should shut up debate.
This isn’t about opinions, it’s about people moaning about the content on this site, including yourself. If you don’t like the what is posted by Andrea, go find another rumour site… good luck with that.
“With respect, shut up”
Yo have no respect
You sit back and snipe at peaple making legitimate coments
Who th μ£ГГ are you to decide who should and shouldnt be allowed to make comments or how often they should be allowed to do so.
Unlike you I do not think you should stop making comments but it would be more productive to give your own opinions rather than follow others around like a parasite , never missing an opportunity to take a bite.
Technically speaking, Lotus Eater is precisely giving his own opinion (as you ask), which is that the OP should shut up.
As to “legitimate concerns”, please, do not make me laugh. The post is clearly tagged under “reviews” (not sure what credibility you are speaking of). Complaints, such as the one from the OP, resemble the reaction of a spoiled kid. If some people are too retarded to read the tag and/or skip the post (or read the rating of a rumor), then I certainly understand comments like the one from Lotus Eater.
Thanks Vlad.
Unfortunately the spoiled kid syndrome is all too prevalent around here, and I would include you in that, Barry. You seem to think that by stamping your feet and repeating yourself again and again that your wishes will come true. Unfortunately, like a kid that stamps its feet, it is immensely irritating and you appear to care little as to how much some people are utterly sick and tired of reading the same thing from you over and over and over again.
Just my opinion 😉
Lotus
Please realize that while some people like yourself read this site regularly others only read it ocasionally.
Therefore what may seem repetitive to someone like yourself is new for other people.
I value your intellegence and opinions but am often irritated by your intolerence.
Interesting, so you only do it so that all readers, both regular and occasional, get to hear what Barry wants or has to say. Pretty self-important, don’t you think?
My views remain fairly consistant nut I change my avatar often.
And if you actually read my comment you would see I had NO complaint about Andrea or this website…snipe first..read later!
Lotus Eater and Vlad are douchebags, that’s the kind of response we expect from them.
Nice one, Dan. So, let’s hear your opinion on the matter then.
Bottom line is Vlad and Lotus Eater need not get so worked up about Barry posting repetitive comments. They all contribute to the site, just in very different ways.
Let’s all get along, now…boys and girls.
I think its really ironic that a guy with an avatar of Apple’s logo is calling someone else a douchebag.
At the top of the page there is a button for Rumors, click on that and then you won’t have to endure non-rumor posts!
Just create a bookmark with this URL and then you will see rumors only:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/category/rumors/
Ming Thein is an Olympus fanboy. I didn’t expect the review to be any different. Also the brings up some good points.
Yep, just read through it, good points (except a couple of issues with his comparison to the E-M1), but too critical.
Ming is by no means Olympus fanboy 😉 He used to use NEX5, uses heavily D800E (2 of them), Hasselblad (film and digital) and Ricoh. He is right it claiming that as a system E-M1 is the best – and he isn’t the only one, check Michael Reichman’s verdict on the best camera of 2013. Sony doesn’t have a system – I don’t see any value in investing to a body and have no native lenses, flash system and so on.
Well, I use PC too, doesn’t mean I like it 🙂 Overall, he does make perfect sense, but there are some really weird arguments, like battery life and price, weather sealing and a few others.
Difference is Vlad, that Ming uses his cameras professionally and he writes just for fun and is not paid for doing so and he writes only about the cameras he uses not the ones he doesn’t. He’s been tweeting about his experiences with A7R for some time. He isn’t a blogger but a working photographer who looks at cameras as systems and if they work for him as systems and for his needs. Weather sealing to a lot of people means that it can be taken out in really bad weather not that manufacturer writes it on the specs sheet. Weather sealed camera has seals everywhere not just and one or two places.
I know. I do think he is biased, but then who isn’t. And I prefer reviewers with an opinion anyway. The points I mentioned are drops in the sea, as I said I enjoyed the review. However, I do stand by them. Can’t count weather sealing as a point for one camera and not for another, without trying them (if he did, he didn’t mention it). Saying that a 200 frames battery life is cheapskate for a 2300$ camera is a fair point, but then 1400$ for a camera with 1/4th the size (I have nothing against smaller sensors, but they should be cheaper). Then his point about Olympus lenses being made specifically for digital from the ground up… and Sony lenses aren’t? Olympus glass being excellent… The 35 and 55 aren’t excellent? I don’t get his point here. But, again, minor things.
Yes the 35 and 55 are made for digital from the ground up, the problem is (as he clearly describes) that there are only 3 so far (one being a so-so, large, kit zoom). M43rds has 40+ designed for digital lenses. You don’t see that as a large advantage over the FE system?
More worrisome is that the NEX APS-C lens system never really got filled out, and now they have a new mount to start over with.
bro, I would disagree on the “clear” part. The lack of lenses is simply a different issue on which I can only agree – it is indeed an advantage for m43. This idea about superior lenses, on the other hand, is included in the “vs E-M1” section, which, as I see it, implies some qualitative superiority to Sony’s lenses, which I cannot agree with, hence my comment. Then there are the other points, as I mentioned, disregarding the fact that the A7/r are weather sealed and complaining about price.
For everything else, I do agree, which is 90% of the review, even though I find it somewhat biased towards Olympus.
@ Vlad – superior lenses are 12-40 f/2.8 weather sealed, 75 f/1.8, 45 f/1.8, 60 f/2.8 Macro, 12 f/2, 17 f/1.8… there are many more, but these are always recommended ones or as a starter kit if you like, where 45, 75, 60 and 12-40 are apparently brilliant lenses.
I haven’t got experience with them myself but been researching a lot about E-M1 lately as I’m interested in it. Then there are lenses from Panasonic too.
Lets have a look at the 40 lenses:
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/lens_chart.html
By the time you remove the updated discontinued and replaced models { how many 12-42 can one system fire out} you can remove 14.The heavy,expensive, manual focus options do not give anything you cant get by using adapted lenses on FE .In fact with the right adapter you can use with AF, EXIF,aperture control, all intact hundreds of Sony/Minolta A mount options both on and off brand. There is even an AF adapter for Canon lenses.
Obviously mFT has a wider native section, which considering it appeared in 2008 is hardly a surprise. Between the native lenses currently or very soon available the FE lenses that will come in the next year. The huge choice of adapted lenses all working at their native focal length , the AF adapter for A-mount glass you are not short in choice.
The one critical area where mFT fails against FE, or Sony/Nikon/Pentax APS for that matter is image quality. The advantage of smaller more compact lenses a consequence of the smaller sensor, is paid for in image quality and DOF control.You can’t beat physics you can have larger sensors with larger lenses and better image quality or you can have smaller sensors with smaller lenses and poorer image quality.
In fact cameras like the RX10 or RX100mk2 match the DR and Colour depth of the best mFT while being less than a stop poorer in high ISO noise. If you value compact over image quality. How Large { and expensive } would an mFT kit with built in EVF, weather sealing, high build quality,excellent video, and a high quality 24-200mm fixed aperture zoom
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-RX10-versus-Olympus-OM-D-E-M5-versus-Olympus-PEN-EP3___918_793_724
@hexx Been looking at the E-M1 myself. I would wait to see first what the new wide pro zoom lens would be though.
As for the superiority of the lenses, there are only 3 FE lenses (he did exclude the APS-C lenses), two of them excellent. He is making a generalization, that is what I do not like. So, the lenses you mentioned, while great, simply do not have an equivalent to be superior to. Sounds to me like he doesn’t like Sony much 🙂
He also says that the NEX lineup is not “populated”, which is not correct. There are currently 20 e-mount lenses, compared to m43 (two companies), which have 40. Admittedly, m43 has more quality lenses, but let’s not forget the amount of kit zooms in the lineup and the fact that there are perfectly good NEX lenses too.
Then he speaks about weather sealing and disregards that the A7/r have it and that all announced Sony lenses have it too. When there are like only 5 weather sealed lenses (correct me if I am wrong) in m43 (one pair of which is just equivalent ones).
“”@ Hexx – superior lenses are 12-40 f/2.8 weather sealed, 75 f/1.8, 45 f/1.8, 60 f/2.8 Macro, 12 f/2, 17 f/1.8… there are many more, but these are always recommended ones or as a starter kit if you like, where 45, 75, 60 and 12-40 are apparently brilliant lenses.””
The 12-40mm F2.8 is a great performer { I own it and the E-M1} though there have been a few reports of shoddy build quality. The 75mm is excellent the 45mm is a good performer but its build quality is reflected in the price. The 60mm macro is also a star though nearly all macro lenses deliver very good results. The 12mm and 17mm lenses are a bit overrated. Many mFT users forget the inconvenient {for them} facts of equivalency.
When you look at the FF equivalent lenses needed to equal these mFT lenses { DOF, AOV total light} they do not look quite so spectacular. 12-40 f2.8 { 24-80 f5.6} , 75mm F1.8{ 150mm F3.6} 17mm F1.8 {34mm F3.6} and so on. You would be surprised just how many mFT fans manage to multiply the effective focal length while ignoring the effect on aperture.
jwdoy: A 2.8 lens stays 2.8, whether its FF or m43, only DoF changes. The question is whether extreme DoF is important to you. Image quality? First it depends on what you mean with that. Image quality has so many parameters coming into play, good lenses probably being one of the most important parameter.
There is more to image quality than just sharpness (which we all know can be higher on FF due to the larger sensor area onto which the picture is projected, for the same lens. But then it depends on pixel pitch, sensor generation, …. Just compare sharpness of a D7100 and D700 using the same lens on DxOMark).
If you usually don’t print large, it’s very difficult to see the improved sharpness or better dynamic range or better high ISO capability. There are always people who need extremes, most don’t, they just want to have it (I’m no exception).
I had a D610 which has a similar sensor as the A7 and an OMD EM1. When NOT looking at 100% I don’t see a big difference for A4 or occasional A3 plots when comparing my photos (and I bet most people don’t print larger or print at all).
100% comparison has become such an obsession.
I found the model shootout in Malaysia (OMD event) quite interesting: most people were not able to distinguish shots made with an OMD and the Canikons, which were printed immediately in poster size, for the public to guess. I think for large landscape shots it might have been different. Interesting, too: http://guesstheformat.com/photo.
Sonys way is interesting, but I don’t like tripods, too much manual focusing with adapted lenses and having to shoot without stabilisation is s.th. I don’t like right now. So for me as an amateur m43 is enough, currently.
The lenses are small an light and offer very good image quality at reasonable prices. But I could envision switching to Sony in the future, if they really fulfil their promises and offer a nice native array of lenses. And who knows if Olympus is not fully taken over by Sony in the near future?
@jwdoy – thank you for you feedback on the lenses as E-M1 user, much appreciated. For me DoF doesn’t matter that much in system like this, for better DoF I have medium format systems to satisfy those needs. I’m thinking about options there are as possible replacement for my universal cam system which is currently X-Pro1. I do understand that due to smaller sensor E-M1 probably won’t have as much DR as X-Pro1 offers. Will need to try one again for longer period rather than just and hour I’ve had with it.
A great review by Ming Thein, as always! I think he has some valid points.
Luckily most of the concerns don’t apply to me in particular.
– SHUTTER SPEEDS, VIBRATION, & RESOLUTION
I’ve got the A7, not the A7r (have not noticed any shutter vibration issues)
– NATIVE LENSES
The 35mm and 55mm actually cover my style pretty good, so I’m glad Sony came out with these first. I do have faith that there will be lots more great lenses, but I’ve also got the LA-EA4 adapter – which is really well built – so I’ve got the whole Alpha (and Minolta) range to choose from.
– CHARGER / BATTERIES
I kept a charger from one of my NEX systems, and have 3 batteries so not an issue. I’ve heard you can get decent aftermarket batteries and chargers for a pretty reasonable price though.
– FLASH
This is definitely an issue that the Sony system has (I’m use to Nikon’s CLS). I hope they improve their flash system.
– HAND HELD LOW LIGHT
Hmmm… I think the statement that E-M5’s IBIS ‘negates *all* the advantages of the A7r’ in low light might be a little optimistic (ie ‘dynamic range’!) 🙂
– WEATHER SEALING
There doesn’t seem to be as much rubber gaskets, but maybe the fit and seal and design doesn’t require as much?? It’s probably not as good as some other cameras, but I can only say I’ve used the A7 in rain… and in the freezing rain/ice storm we have a couple weeks back without issue. I also used it in the -26C (-40 with wind chill) weather yesterday (it worked in the cold better than i did)
I guess my point is that I feel cameras are a very ‘personal’ thing based on your style of shooting, and what you’re use to. What may be a huge issue for one person can very easily be a complete non-issue for someone else.
It’s not optimistic at all. The A7 and A7r have less than a stop advantage over the E-M1 when looking at dynamic range.
“”Hmmm… I think the statement that E-M5′s IBIS ‘negates *all* the advantages of the A7r’ in low light might be a little optimistic (ie ‘dynamic range’!) :)””
God forbid a subject in low light should actually move as subject movement in low light makes IS of any kind rather redundant 🙂
I’ve only looked at the summary, but Bloom has it dead right.
The big issue with Sony DSLR video is and always has been the fact that they don’t pixel bin on video. They simply ignore the extra pixels, and then do an intentional blur on fine detail to hide the resulting artefacts. Canon do the same thing, but as Canon DSLR video is limited to 30fps, the blurring algorithm is a bit better… Sony does 50/60fps, so have to use a far less clever algorithm, hence the issue is more pronounced on Sony DSLRs.
Sony really need to up their game and look at what the likes of Panasonic are doing with the GH series. Even without the bandwidth hacks and using 28Mbit/s, the GH series produces better video because it pixel bins down to 1080p. If the A77/A99 also did this, they would be the best DSLR video cameras in the game, because that and the use of a SLT mirror puts the cameras into a different level for video (assuming you can live with 28Mbit/s AVCHD). Just adding a better smoothing algorithm on the 24/25fps video would also work wonders.
Granted, DSLR footage is often shot wide in any case, and the issues can be stylistically avoided by using DOF (and you get good results from the A77/99 if you do this), it is still a pretty big limitation, and the reason many Sony video shooters also have something like a GH2/3 (I have a hacked GH2 for when I need sharper video than my A77 can provide).
Oh, and whilst I’m on the subject of Sony DSLR video, its nice to notice that, after the indignation that occurred on Caleb Pike’s downbeat review of the A77 (he was the first videographer to review the A77 on release), he now recommends it as the best standalone video DSLR: http://dslrvideoshooter.com/best-dslr-for-video/ (look at the bottom of the article).
Actually Canon hasn’t been limited to 30p for over 4 and a half years…the 7d was the first 24 and 25p camera of theirs and it came out in 2009
Link skipping does suck and actually when using an external recorder the moire and aliasing is a tad worse and that softness is lifted a bit so we see more.
Look. Its not perfect and this annoys me but the images I got from the camera (you can see in the review) I really loved and of course the stills are insanely good.
Best
P
Oh, ok, My bad – out of date assumption (not really a Canon fan!), but the smoothing is annoying given that its almost certainly intentional, and probably not the best solution 🙂
This really puzzles me for a long time already. How is it possible that while Sony is a big player in the video recording business, their Alpha division still cannot do proper video implementation? Will XAVC solve the issue? It can be done, but you need expensive E-mount video cameras. Why doesn’t Sony export that tech to high end A- and E-mount still/video hybrid cameras?
Well, on the plus side, because of the smoothing, the AVCHD rarely hits the 28Mbit/s limit, so the Sonys rarely macro-block out-of-camera due to lack of bandwidth. Sonys also really wind out the GOP size when very little is changing in the video and actually produce some of the smallest video files.
The A77 also has a wider dynamic range than the GH2, so you can overexpose slightly (+1/3) and then underexpose in post (this for me almost totally eliminates the possibility of the video breaking up through over editing).
Oh, and you can have manual shutter (important because in video shutter is linked to fps and not exposure, and you typically want shutter fixed @2xfps) whilst retaining auto-focus by using AEL… the AE lock works in video (which is the crucial thing to know with SLT video… a lot of what Sony has done with SLT for video only makes sense once you realise that!).
Thanks Philip for the amazingly detailed review. A last question stays open to me: BarbieCam or A7R? 😀
Nice to see an informed and nuanced review, and even when there is a minor rant, it’s a “knowing”, self aware one as Philip Bloom acknowledges.
However, I’m not sure he’s going to get his wish for a better codec than AVCHD through a firmware update. The processors in cameras are not simply general purpose CPUs in the manner of those in a PC. Such an approach would be far too slow and use huge amounts of power. (Just look at how much time and power is required to render video or, even still images on a PC). Whilst camera processors undoubtedly do have general purpose processing capabilities, they will only render images or video using hardware-based co-processing. That hardware-assisted rendering will have some elements of programmability in it, but only Sony are going to know if it is flexible enough to support a different codec. As flexibility is often a tradeoff with power consumption, cost and complexity, then only Sony will know if this capability exists.
That’s not to mention other basic issues such as available memory and I/O bandwidth which will also be constraints. So the question over whether it’s possible to encode video using a higher standard codec has to be an open question at the moment.
For related reasons, then don’t expect to see such things as line-skipping, rolling shutter, aliasing and the like to be dealt with by firmware updates as these are limited by the sensor architecture
Exactly! Firmware can fix many minor issues, but most of this heavy-duty crunching is done with hardware assist. Totally replacing codecs or JPEG algorithms may not be practical without matching changes in the hardware to support them.
See what Magic lantern can do with the Canon cameras. I am pretty sure that the hardware in our hands is capable of doing so much more, its just locked from us. Look at how Canon has put new life to the 7D with a firmware update which added signifficant performance to it.
Sony is really stupid with what they are doing in terms of firmware. By their means, a firmware update is a purchase of a newer camera. They dont realize that people will not want to buy nor afford a new camera in every generation. Many actually upgrade every 2nd or even 3rd generation. However, many would actually be ready to pay for a firmware upgrade which would add features to their old metal. I would be ready to pay for a firmware upgrade to my A77 adding better high ISO capability like they did with their video cameras. I would be ready to pay for a firmware upgrade improoving the video codec bandwith or fps. I dont actually expect them to do this for free. And they should not. But to me its unacceptable that I buy their flagship APS-C camera and after 1 year its basically a piece of dead metal without any support. No wonder the sale value of an A77 is already now worse than the sales value of a Canon 7D.
“a firmware update is a purchase of a newer camera. They dont realize that people will not want to buy nor afford a new camera in every generation.”
> I think people do buy the cameras. Hence the vicious circle. The software part is indeed frustrating, but I think it will get better soon. In the early 2000s there was the race to equal film, so going after IQ. After 2007 (very roughly) sensors got good enough and we started getting better hardware usability. Now, it would be the time for the software. It is ridiculous to not have integrated time lapse functionality, just as an example. Olympus seems to be waking up, I really like what the E-M1 is capable of. The others will follow.
I have to sadly agree with the statement that the vicious circle of Sony not implementing new firmware in old-ish hardware may not be born out of neglect of older generation cameras but out of the relatively fruitful environment of consumer behavior.
I believe that in places like the US, the “catching up with the Jones'” is deeply engrained in the culture to such extent that average Joe and Soccer Mom like to have the latest gear, especially if they are of the “competing jealous” variety just to prove they have the latest/greatest.
I know a few American amateur photographers and they always ask me if buying the “NEW” XXXX DXXX will improve their photography. When I say “no”, they look at me with disdain and think that I am stalling their creativity. WTF?!
Sony and Fuji know this. The difference between them is that Fuji has the Kaizen for good looks but still makes cheaper and cheaper X series cameras so the X Pro 1 mojo rubs on the “lesser mortal’s” purchase. Sony, on the other hand, doesn’t give two S!”£ts about that so it just keeps on pumping new NEXs every year.
Am I dreaming or should I expect a 36mp RX1 this year, Admin?
Magic Lantern adds/changes some features, but it cannot go beyond what the fundamental capabilities of the hardware are (including any hardware assists in the processing engine). It is at least questionable that adding entirely new and advanced codecs is possible, which was the point of this sub-thread.
It might be that camera manufacturers could sell firmware upgrades in the same way that Microsoft sell OS upgrades (or applications can be bought to add functionality). However, cameras are not general purpose computers. They are constrained by what was engineered into the system in the first place. A firmware upgrade is not going to somehow support generational upgrades. For instance, I can’t imagine a firmware upgrade providing support for 4K video, even though that’s something we might reasonably expect in future models.
The GH2 firmware hacks are probably something Sony users would love, but what you don’t see much on the internet is the downside: increased noise. Plus there’s the 320 bug (which incidentally, Panasonic doesn’t look like fixing), and the fact that the Panasonic OIS is all but useless for video (it tries to keep the frame still rather than smooth), whereas Sony steady-shot for video actually works (it damps movement, so doesn’t fight against you when you pan, so you can actually use it in video). I just don’t trust the GH2 for anything other than personal work, and the A77 low bitrate means its pretty much only good for personal/learning or web work… but that’s fine as its where I am with video.
Sony products are usually well thought out and feature rich, its just that they always seem to contain commercially driven holes in the specification. I fear these holes will never be fixed with firmware because they are intentional design decision.
Do yourself a favour if video is an issue: learn on a Sony (they are the easiest DSLRs to learn video on *by far*), and use Sony video for the web (where AVCHD is perfect, as long as you overexpose slightly and don’t do major color/exposure post edits), but if you want broadcast quality, hire pro equipment and leverage what you learnt with your DSLR… and be prepared to pay a pro colorist, because grading becomes non-trivial quickly when you get proper flat video (and you begin to see how easy AVCHD is to work with for most web content!).
That all seems to be what most DSLR video specifications are aimed at, with very few exceptions.
I like hearing about the A7/A7r even from people who are obviously biased, they really go out of their way to point out all of their way to highlight negatives. Of course they look like a total ass doing it.
I really am beginning to like this little wonder. It may have some limitations, but its Sony’s first kick at the can. Hate to see what happened if Henry Ford gave up on the Model-T, or Apple gave up on the first generation iPod. The A7 is the best mirror-less full frame in the world period. I can’t wait to see the A8, and A9.
Sony is the only manufacturer to have the b@!!s to design and build products that are innovative like the A7, the RX Series, and the mirror-less A-Mounts coming later this year. Sony is a leader in the industry unlike the other two major players (followers) who seem to only want to update old sh!$&y camera designs, year after year. Shovelling this crap to the masses seems to be working for them, and that’s ok.
And that’s why Sony will dominate the growing professional compact, and mirror-less industry in the years to come, because young innovative photographers want innovative products, and Sony is the King of innovation.
totally agree!
I guess i am not the only person with the dim EVF during daylight…it is terrible
EVF – Dim during BRIGHT daylight, great in low light
OVF – Dim during darkness, bright during daylight
Pick your poison…
To bad they couldn’t do both. Some kind of hybrid. Cause then I wouldn’t have to hear people whine about it. Maybe Sony needs a soother accessory too.
Rumor has it the new Alpha cameras will come with a bib and pacifier.
Set your EVF to manual brightness and you have no problems…
You can change the settings for the EVF / LCD. There is a daylight setting as well as manual control. I’ve used the daylight setting in bright summer sun (on a99) without any issues. I only use it sparingly though – I keep it on manual (-1) most of the time so I don’t underexpose thinking the image is much brighter than it really is.
that’s interesting! you find the evf reliable enough to judge exposure? don’t use live histogram? I’d this in manual mode? (curious since I’ve never used an evf camera myself)
Absolutely! I use both EVF and OVF. The EVF really shines in difficult lighting situations. More predictable than a histogram in those lighting situations (concerts, theatre and dance events) I enjoy the OVF during daytime sports.
For poor people (like me) having a 3mbps connection here in Europe Vimeo is unwatchable and unplayable, so I never even try at it. It stutters for a few time then it gets stuck and writes “sorry, there s been an error. try again later”. No problems with high resolution videos on Youtube though.
HF “A 2.8 lens stays 2.8, whether its FF or m43, only DoF changes. ”
For the life of me I do not see how such a fundamental concept as equivalency causes so much grief and misunderstanding typically to mFT users and especially Olympus mFT users. Equivalency is by no means a new concept and holds true in film formats.
The F/2.8 is F/2.8 argument is irrelevant to equivalency, the three simple tenants of equivalency to make an image from one format equivalent to that of another format. Are same DOF , same AOV and finally and critically same total light. The only one matched by mFT to FF is AOV. F/2.8 on mFT compared to FF is no more equivalent than F/2.8 on a small sensor compact such as the Panasonic FZ200 is to F2.8 on mFT
I have never seen very few posts from Canon, Nikon or Sony APS users challenging this very basic concept whilst it is a constant on Olympus forums. It is almost exclusively a FT/mFT problem. If you only shoot in reasonable or controlled light at largish DOF, at low ISO mFT is more than good enough. Though so are smaller cheaper models, for me mFT wins for a secondary system where I am happy to sacrifice some image quality for the convenience of a far smaller lighter kit.
Both set ups have their uses, would I carry my D800+ 14-24mm lens to the pub when out with friends, of course not , my wife would kill me. On the other hand if I want the best DR, best colour depth, best high ISO, highest resolution, I will use the best set up I can justify for the customer/situation in hand.
All systems are compromises between, size, price, image quality, ergonomics and a dozen other factors. In an ideal world where I didn’t have to satisfy an accountant or shoot particular jobs .I would be having the time of my life shooting landscapes with a Phase One back unfortunately that’s not what happens. So we all buy what we need/like/want with our intended use in mind. Equivalency is not about knocking another system it is just simple optics. mFT is a great system and the video in particular with the GH3 is wonderful