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The video on top has been posted by Oscar and shows the AF performance of the A7 with the Zeiss 55mm lens. Quite snappy and fast! Better than I actually expected. Would have been nice to see how big the difference is between the A/ (with Phase detection) and A7r (with contrast AF only).
And Sony answered many of your questions at blog.sony.com. These are some of the most important answers:
1) Asked about the Minolta 7000 and A7 design similarities they answer: “There is a bit of a retro design in this camera which was purposeful”
2) About A-mount future: “Sony Alpha owners can rest assured that we fully support the A-mount system of cameras and lenses”
3) About the NEX-7 successor: “The α7 and α7R Full Frame cameras represent a new level of performance for the E-mount system and are therefore not direct successors to NEX-7.”
4) “Our new model naming prefix strives to unify the model names. “ILC” indicates “Interchangeable Lens Camera” followed by an indicator of A-mount “A” or E-mount “E”.”
More A7-A7r news:
A7-A7r first impression at Trustedreviews.
Sony A7 preview at Camerahoarders.
Image samples at Heise.de
A7 and A7r hands-on at Chip.de (German).
Support SonyAlphaRumors: After months of FF mirrorless rumor work I would be glad if you can support my work by making your A7-A7r purchase by using these links below. I will earn a small commission and you don’t pay one single penny more! Thanks!
Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
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, FI, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE.
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE.
75 Responses
Given that low light it probably wasn’t using the PDAF sensors anyway. I did some extensive experiments with the feature in the NEX-6 and you had to have a fairly high level of light or they wouldn’t come into play. In fact, in that exact scenario, I bet the A7r would’ve focused faster as the smaller pixels give a boost to CDAF focusing.
That said, it was pretty good. Way better than the RX1 and that’s all that matters to me.
Still waiting on Alpha rumors. The first post this morning looked promising. More news on the A77 successor please!
Is it just me, or there is something strange with this otherwise interesting test? I mean, in the video there is a little icon that blinks when the camera acquires focus, that looks almost like the little hand that represent the SSS IS in other alpha cameras. Almost looks like it is the same icon, with an “off” on the right. That’s not possible, is it? The lens also doesn’t have OSS, only the two zooms.
It just warns you about the low shutter speed. You can see “off” written next to it in the video.
My bad, seems like I never understood what it meant in my a55. But. He is just trying the focus speed, so it doesn’t mean anything, but the camera is in P, so he can’t choose just about anything. I just tried the same, first time in P since I bought it really, and it doesn’t seem to be related to the shutter speed, or at least, even when it can reach 1/60 (dt35/1.8) the icon blinks happily, it disappears only if I frame a really bright subject, without changing the shutter speed.
If I remember things correctly, the warning appears only when it is the camera choosing the shutter speed, i.e. P, A, Auto. If you look at the video, the shutter speed was 1/60 or less all the time (I have no idea how Sony has implemented when to display the warning, whether it is dependent on the lens or it’s just a simple limit they set).
The warning is displayed when the camera thinks you will have troubles keeping control of vibrations. The “off” is there because the lens in use has no stabilization of any kind. If it was the 24-70 then it would say off if the OSS was switched off.
The camera uses the reciprocal rule to decide if it should warn the user, btw.
OK, OSPDAF is just a theory, like in N6 vs N7. Same effect can be achieved with a faster stepping motor and faster processor, like in M1, I think. So, A7r is THE real thing, and A7 is full of compromises to make the best bung for the buck.
IMO.
Bung for the buck.
They really didn’t fully answer the question about the NEX-7 successor. So, the A7(r) are not direct successor, but he didn’t say whether there WILL be a NEX-7 successor. It reminds me of the Nikon D300, Nikon’s premium APS-C. Nikon never did come out with a D400, and has refused to comment on it. By naming these new cameras with a 7, they kinda painted themselves in a corner. Assuming future NEX will be A3, A5, A6, what would they call the NEX-7 successor? I think it’s clear. They’re going to merge the NEX-6 and NEX-7 and the successor will be named A6. Maybe there will be an A6 and A6r for 24mp and 30mp aps-c sensor.
Not bad at all, I mean A6. Provided how many great APS-C lenses were made and that Fuji built the entire system around it.
Now that I think about it. The A7 may well be the Nex-7 successor. They both have 24mp they both use e-mount and there really is not a big difference in price at all compared to when the Nex-7 was first released.
It isn’t. Sony stated that in their question and answer in the link from the post.
Oh,ok well I guess we will have to wait and see then.
Where is the question, why is 70-200mm f2.8 g2 $3000 US??
because it’s for people, willing to pay extra to have 35mm film sized sensors (“the fullframe”) to show off.
nothing comes free, especially not premium equipment. that’s why it is premium. if everyone could get it, it would be standard.
Problem is the 70-200 isn’t a premium product anymore. Even if they speed up the AF it lags behind in IQ. It’s a 1500 dollar lens upgraded to 2000 being sold for 3k.
True. Its sad what they’re doing to A-mount with these INSANELY priced lenses. There is no way in the world that is a reasonable price.
—-SONY—-
fake.deceive.
Is that how it goes?
The price is ok IF and only IF this G2 can outperform the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII at 200mm F2.8. And basically Kill across the Frame at f4 at any FL. Some have said the MTF numbers do not reflect that?
This has nothing to do with performance … but I kinda like the Clean/Smooth Zeiss lens look better of the 50mm f1.4 ZA SSM , and which they made it look that way. and kept it all consistent.
Dear Sony,
Please charge more for your lenses. Your cameras are such a great deal- your customers are ripping you off? How about jacking the price up 1k on…say…that 70-200- oh, never mind.
Admin, I used you links to purchase an A7, 35 f2.8 ZA, and an Alpha adapter. Cheers mate!
Does anyone know the LAE-4 requires it’s own battery, or does it draw it’s power from the camera. I’m wondering how much weight it will add to the camera?
It draws its own power and like my version 2 will drain battery a little faster but if it is as fast as my version 2 then you will like it. It should not be that heavy at all.
Thanks Wayne, We were posting as the same time. I never had a Nex, so I was not sure. I found my A900 did not focus as fast as I needed it to at times. I take flash photos of hummingbirds in flight. I needed a lot of luck with the A900. I hope the A7R – LAEA4 combination will be considerably faster.
Do you have a flickr page I would love to see the results. I plan on getting the A7 in the spring. I may also get back the very heavy but worth it cause of the quality 135mm 1.8 zeiss.
@Wayne Summers
Here is my Flicker page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24969967@N06/
It’s a total mess! I stopped using it about a year ago. I don’t even remember my own password. Friend me on Facebook. My name is David DeBar. I’m the older guy. I’m old school and keep my photos on backed up hard drives. I plan to order the A7R in about a month, when I return from vacation in the UK. I have a lot of wonderful glass.
Answering my own question: I just found out that the LAEA2 did not require batteries, it drew the power it needed from the camera. It’s reasonable to assume that the LAEA4 will be the same way. One less thing to worry about.
“Our new model naming prefix strives to unify the model names. “ILC” indicates “Interchangeable Lens Camera” followed by an indicator of A-mount “A” or E-mount “E”.”
Except, of course, that the newest camera is called the A7 and has an E-mount. Because of course, that makes sense.
Indeed. The new APS-C A-mount model will be called Sony E90, just to shake things up a little bit.
I found that a bit troubling too..
I don’t see the problem, from now on A stands for e-mount and E for a-mount. I guess, this is valid for uneven years like 2013. Next year we’ll swap again.
Sorry to rain on your parade, but the new cameras are actually numbered a7 and a7R, where the a stands for alpha – see http://store.sony.com/search?SearchTerm=a7+%28alpha+7%29+interchangeable+lens+camera
The point is that a=alpha, and A=A-mount.
This confuses me more. Sony’s site says that the Sony Alpha a 99 is has the A mount which is the same as the a mount because A and a are both alpha right? http://store.sony.com/alpha-a99/cat-27-catid-All-Alpha-99-Cameras
Not that it matters much. Sony can call it a can of beans and paint it purple. If it takes good pictures I will still want the A7/r.
oops I mean a7r
Yes, a fine point of nuance… a7 or A7? However, almost everybody including this website refers to it as “Sony A7”.
In fact the official name seems to be Sony alpha ILCE-7, which is a bit more logical (apart from the “7”).
No, not right. a=alpha. A does not = alpha, it means (in the Sony context) A-mount. The camera is an a7R (Note: no A so it’s not an A-mount).
Yes, admin: start saying “a7” instead of “A7”.
(I don’t think it will help too much, but possibly it will avoid more confusion in the future when new A-mount comes up.)
Sony clearly calls the camera “A”lpha. Why should Andrea change her posts when Sony themselves call it Alpha? Please read the link I included above: http://store.sony.com/alpha-a99/cat-27-catid-All-Alpha-99-Cameras
Heidi – I’m afraid all your link shows is that Sony’s copywriters and proofreaders are inconsistent – that doesn’t mean we all have to be
I understand. Sony cannot be bothered to view their flagship camera’s inconsistent title web page. Sony’s love of the letter a, revealed by their use of it in Alpha/a/alpha, A mount, nex being converted to a/alpha and soon nex E mount will be added to A mount making the E mount into an AE mount. Sony customers, blog sites, reviewers and camera stores are now being accused of mislabeling their product. Seems legit. : )
Firebird, you rule! 😉 🙂 🙂 🙂
You really get Sony’s way of thinking!
Trustedreviews has some wrong product images, can anybody explain what on earth that is?
That right there is why Trusted Reviews isnt.
That’s the new RX10 bridge camera…
Thanks! Didn’t recognize it 🙂
How about shot to shot speed, a99 struggles with this. SLT is a bit awkward to use. I like framing through the viewfinder, grab 2-3 shots and maybe check the back of the camera for flash exposure. Having playback in the back screen only is crucial for this, a99 no longerer offers this option. What about a7?
Why Sony didn’t call them E7 and E7r is beyond me. It seems like they are going to with product names like A7, A77 and A7000. Maybe somebody at the marketing department thought it makes sense. It doesn’t.
Maybe they will introduce that camera with the shifting sensor, at which point having e and a lines would become irrelevant? Or not 🙂
Do you know if there is some technical advantages with the A-mount?
Advantage to A-mount? Just to name a few: IBIS for all newer A-mount cameras (so far); existing and a wide selection of A-mount lens from Sony and 3rd parties like Tamron and Sigma, and old Minolta lenses; reasonable prices on lenses, unlike insane prices for FE lenses. Is that enough?
I actually think they should have called them Nex 9 and Nex 9r. Moreover, I think Sony should have kept a rangefinder form factor (without built-in EVF and on the top) for all E-mount cameras and released mirrorless cameras with an evf and the bump at the top only in A-mount to clearly distinguish the two lines, and demonstrate their intention in either system. I think Sony is making a mistake by confusing the consumers in their product lines. Nevertheless, they still have a good chance to succeed because they try to be innovative and while they have some obvious mistakes, they are making some very interesting unprecedented products at the same time.
What about the microlens optimized sensor? Only on the a7r or on both?
I cannot get a reliable info on this argument …
thanks 😀
It seems that it is only on the a7r
They should have been designated SW and rSW. Men who need expensive cameras are attempting to make up for something. SW standing for small wang and “really small wang.” I’ll stick with my man sized A900 and eventually the A99- thanks.
The only thing I don’t like about the A7 is that it’s full Frame. Just makes the camera and lenses bigger and a lot more expensive. I do own some E-Mount APS-C lenses, that I like and that I will continue to use. If I’d put them on an A7, I would just get 10MP in Crop mode – C’mon! What I really want is a nex-7 successor, with all the nice A7 controls and grip, menu, better EVF (but not on top), phase detection AF, “BIONZE” (or whatever) processor, WIFI, AND 24MP high ISO APS-C Sensor. That would be the perfect photo camera for me (maybe GPS missing). Then also add the A7 mic input with Level control plus headphone out. And to make it the perfect Video camera as well add 120pfs at 1080p, better compressed video format (don’t want uncompressed raw Video, but some smart format, that contains full dynamic range) and make sure the camera does not overheat when filming continuosly. Sell that for $1500,- and I’m in.
Are there any rumors about a nex-7 successor?
I believe this is noticeably faster that the 5r’s hybrid AF from personal experience.
AF speed is not terrible given the relatively low light, but is not good either. So-so.
Your paying for the “the two S’s” with this camera. Size and sensor…
Admin
Is a 32 or 36 mp c camera coming?
I also don’t understand the statement about naming prefixes. Maybe the A7r is actually called ILCE A7r?
Full name is Alpha ILCE-7r.
Not ILCE-A7, but ILCE-7, as you can see here:
http://store.sony.eu/wm/rx/ILCE7_GB_EN.html?cpint=homeA
I’m really interested in seeing image samples from lenses that caused problems on the Leica M9. I would love to use a Voigtländer 21/4 on the a7, seems like it delivers good quality and small size at a reasonable price.
I think the price of the 70-200g2 will go down pretty quickly. After 2 months with 0 sales in the books, Sony will have to rethink it’s pricing strategy. In the mean time, Tamron will continue to do well.
Is the A7r/A7 Flash Sync for real at 1/160 ???
combine that with the shutter sound … being a RX1 shooter , it seemed like a strange choice by SONY.
The Flash Sync speed in particular. Strange. sb at least 1/250 … if not the Nikon 1/320.
The louder sound I do not like but I can live with.
No, the a7 has a sync speed of 1/160th and the a7r has a speed of 1/250th.
A7 has 1/250 and A7R has 1/160..check this link http://www.sony.com.au/product/ilce-7r/specs …which is I will choose A7 in this case plus higher FPS..hope the IQ isn’t far away between the two..
That’s what I have been trying to figure out. No two sites have the same info. I’m interested in the a7 but if the xsync is only 1/160 then it may be a little harder to make that purchase.
Like ishootalpha, I too am concerned about the flash sync shutter speed. I’m very seriously considering buying the A7R + LAEA4 but not until I sure the sync is at least 1/250. The combination has got to at least as good as my old A900.
1/160 would be a show stopper for me.
I just checked the Sony au site and they have the full specs for each camera. The A7R has a flash sync of drumroll…1/160. The A7 has a flash sync of 1/250. I’m about to preorder the A7 now.
While we’re on the subject, is that when bouncing, or flash forward? Since the A99 has a spec of 1/2000, but only with the flash pointed forward, maybe this syncs at 1/60 when bouncing.
For everyone confused about the claim about the naming “ILC then E vs A” I can explain why it’s so confusing.
First of all, these new full frame cameras are not A7 a7 A7r or a7r. They are just 7 and 7r. They are α cameras. That symbol is the ALPHA greek letter. They are ALPHA 7 and 7r cameras. Starting to understand? All of Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras are ALPHA, or α cameras. That α sure looks like an “a” right? Well it’s not. It’s α which is ALPHA.
These two new cameras are part of the 7 series in the α line of cameras. The full name of each is ILCE-7 and ILCE-7r. But guess what? So few people understand detail and facts in the world of photography blogging so they’re just going to call them A7 and A7r. In fact, even Sony’s own web pages often misrepresent their own products (for example, it may have been fixed by now but since the FE 55mm f/1.8 lens page launched on the US Sony store, it claims it has OSS which it definitely does not).
So to recap: There is no camera called A7, a7, A7r or a7r. Sony has released two fancy new cameras whose short designations are 7 and 7r. They are Alpha cameras because their lenses change. The greek symbol for alpha is α, so they are α 7 and α 7r cameras. They are E mount and interchangeable lens so their full official designations, which do not mention alpha or α are ILCE-7 and ILCE-7R.
I hope this makes sense to you now.
Zachary,
I’m glad someone else gets it about the alpha (and no A).
However, could I point out that it is not α 7r, but α 7R. See the camera http://store.sony.com/a7r-alpha-7r-interchangeable-lens-camera-zid27-ILCE7R/B/cat-27-catid-All-Alpha-a7-Cameras?_t=pfm%3Dcategory
Well, the DSLRs and SLTs are officially called A580, A77 etc. And guess what? On the camera bodies there’s just the letter alpha and the model number. So perhaps you could forgive people for writing A7/A7R, since Sony themselves seem somewhat confused by their own nomenclature?
I have finally found some reliable specs on each camera (A7 & A7R) via the Sony Au site. here is the link.
http://www.sony.com.au/product/CompareProducts.action?site=hp_en_AU_i&models=ILCE-7R&models=ILCE-7