Off Brand: Sony Announces the A7 & A7R Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras

[Woody]

Sony has definitely played a nice move. I'm afraid as too often, Canon will come too late, too expensive and not daring enough.

That was what happened with the EOS M...

I am not entirely happy with the current state of the art for EVF. Will skip a few generations and see what we get then...

[Dylan777]

only one negative point of this camera is the poor video codec AVCHD and lack of ML.
I am definitely getting the A7 , not the A7R ,which has very poor AF(I tried it at Sony dealers meeting here).
Oh and, the 55mm f1.8 is an incredibly sharp prime, and the 70-200mmf4 is a bit better optically than the EF70-200mmf4LIS or Nikon AFS70-200mm f4VR.
the main reason why I personally avoid the R version is that the R has very slow AF (identical to the AF of the NEX7), the Alpha 7 has PDAF , not as fast as that of the A99v but close.
however, if you can wait , wait till Feb, you will be shocked to see the New Alpha 9 , which will have 4k video with in body SSS, and very very fast PDAF to fully optimize it.
so wait till next CES

I'm glad to hear that.

How would you compare AF speed of A7 to RX1?

Thanks

[J.R.]

No need to get rid of all your Canon glass, with an adaptor for the Sony you could keep using them and save yourself A LOT of money. That Sony/Zeiss glass is even more overpriced than Canon glass !

Putting an adapter + L lens(es) on A7 or A7R would kill the primary purpose of mirrorless. You might as well stay with Canon DSLR + L lenses.

Not if you want high resolution, loads of DR and no shadow banding.

Roger Cicala's take on lens adapters... There is no free lunch

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/09/there-is-no-free-lunch-episode-763-lens-adapters

The things mentioned in that article are irrelevant in actual shooting. The amount of 'give' or misalignment between a regular lens mount and a lens already far exceeds any additional misalignment that would be added by the use of an adapter.

In any case, teleconverters already do this (in addition to putting more optics in the way), and those using technical cameras deal with this with every single lens they use.

Additionally, if you're a landscape photographer (where the edges of the photo actually matter), you tend to shoot stopped down enough that any misfocus due to lens/mount alignment is unnoticeable anyway, even at the highest resolutions.

You know better than Roger does...  WOW! 

Good luck!

[Ricku]

Sony has definitely played a nice move. I'm afraid as too often, Canon will come too late, too expensive and not daring enough.

I am not entirely happy with the current state of the art for EVF. Will skip a few generations and see what we get then...

You sure? The EVF in A7 / A7R is a new OLED-model. Diglloyd reported that it's the best EVF so far (of any camera brand).

I'm fine with that. I'm quite happy with the EVF in the "aging" Fuji x-pro1.

You know better than Roger does...  WOW! 
Good luck!

Thanks.

Arrivederci.

[HankMD]

Funny how many people want to jump ship in a few years because Sony is supposedly to be the next big thing. Everyone has expectations that Sony will have great glass to go with the mirrorless in the near future. Canon will simply stand still ... eh?

With such great expectations from a company that is not even making a profit on the electronics division, people around here tend to think that Canon, the largest Camera selling company for the past decade, won't come up with something comparable, if not better.

Nokia belatedly tried and failed with its phones. Microsoft may yet fail (or already has). They shared the common characteristic of being big and content, while the smaller companies (Apple, Google) struggled with small market shares. Of course camera tech evolves at a slower pace, and unlike Nokia Canon has irreplaceable techs in the high end of the spectrum. So the worst that'll happen is become a niche company like Leica. But that's no consolation for enthusiasts who expect more.

[infared]

No need to get rid of all your Canon glass, with an adaptor for the Sony you could keep using them and save yourself A LOT of money. That Sony/Zeiss glass is even more overpriced than Canon glass !

I think you are missing the point....the reason to get into a mirrorless system is to HA a smaller lighter kit AND have high resolution capture....I should be able to shave pounds off my kit and have a much smaller backpack....
Lenses can be made a lot smaller.

[Woody]

You sure? The EVF in A7 / A7R is a new OLED-model. Diglloyd reported that it's the best EVF so far (of any camera brand).

It's the same EVF as the one in Olympus E-M1.

Current EVF technology still cannot match the dynamic range and colors as the human eye (OVF).

[bholliman]

This is a significant announcement.  Sony and Fuji are making rapid advancements on ILC's that are making them excellent alternatives to DSLR's, at least for non-action shooters.

I just purchased a 6D 9 months ago and am very happy with it, so I will not be looking for another camera for several years.  I am also heavily invested in Canon EF lenses.  If I were just now looking to upgrade to FF, the A7R would receive heavy consideration.

We still need to see how these cameras test once they are in users hands, but based on Sony's recent history, I imagine they will be great cameras.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

No need to get rid of all your Canon glass, with an adaptor for the Sony you could keep using them and save yourself A LOT of money. That Sony/Zeiss glass is even more overpriced than Canon glass !

Putting an adapter + L lens(es) on A7 or A7R would kill the primary purpose of mirrorless. You might as well stay with Canon DSLR + L lenses.

Not if you want high resolution, loads of DR and no shadow banding.

Roger Cicala's take on lens adapters... There is no free lunch

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/09/there-is-no-free-lunch-episode-763-lens-adapters

Unfortunately, Roger is right.  The tolerances add to any misalignment already in a lens mount, and Canon makes those mounts to extreme accuracy, almost impossible to measure.
 
Many adapters are Chinese made, and the accuracy of the mounts is not up to par.
 
The Nikon mounts are one of the parts Nikon has kept in house, because of the extreme tolerances required.

[jrbdmb]

You sure? The EVF in A7 / A7R is a new OLED-model. Diglloyd reported that it's the best EVF so far (of any camera brand).

It's the same EVF as the one in Olympus E-M1.

Current EVF technology still cannot match the dynamic range and colors as the human eye (OVF).

For me it isn't the colors / dynamic range of EVF but the inability to track moving subjects accurately.  Or is it a given that action / sports photographers will continue to stick with traditional DSLRs?

[Etienne]

Interesting for sure, but where are the equally interesting lenses?

If they had a couple of really good pancakes, or even just a good 24 2.8 IS, and a 35 or 50 f/2 IS ready to go, I'd be on it like white on rice. But it's still a mirrorless waiting game for me.

[bholliman]

Oh and, the 55mm f1.8 is an incredibly sharp prime, and the 70-200mmf4 is a bit better optically than the EF70-200mmf4LIS or Nikon AFS70-200mm f4VR.

I always heard that Canon's 70-200's were the best optically.  Are there any side-by-side tests comparing the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS to the Sony equivalent on a common body?

[Ricku]

You sure? The EVF in A7 / A7R is a new OLED-model. Diglloyd reported that it's the best EVF so far (of any camera brand).

It's the same EVF as the one in Olympus E-M1.

Current EVF technology still cannot match the dynamic range and colors as the human eye (OVF).

On the other hand, in an OVF you wont get candy like focus peaking and focus magnify.

I love those features when shooting fast glass (f/1.2 - f/2.8 ). In many cases this is more reliable than AF i.m.o. Perhaps not as fast, but if top speed is what you need, then this camera might not be your cup of tea.

[J.R.]

Oh and, the 55mm f1.8 is an incredibly sharp prime, and the 70-200mmf4 is a bit better optically than the EF70-200mmf4LIS or Nikon AFS70-200mm f4VR.

I always heard that Canon's 70-200's were the best optically.  Are there any side-by-side tests comparing the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS to the Sony equivalent on a common body?

The amount of misinformation in this thread is unbelievable!

[J.R.]

This is a significant announcement.  Sony and Fuji are making rapid advancements on ILC's that are making them excellent alternatives to DSLR's, at least for non-action shooters.

I just purchased a 6D 9 months ago and am very happy with it, so I will not be looking for another camera for several years.  I am also heavily invested in Canon EF lenses.  If I were just now looking to upgrade to FF, the A7R would receive heavy consideration.

We still need to see how these cameras test once they are in users hands, but based on Sony's recent history, I imagine they will be great cameras.

With a new mount? What's the guarantee that the mount will not be changed 2 years from now?