Sony a7R III

Couple from Saturday.

Yahoo!!!! Mine was delivered today. Though with my schedule at work this week, it may be Friday before I can even unbox the thing.

I don't blame you for hopping over. I need more focusing points. Is getting old to bob up and down none stop. Is time for me to order that a7r iii.

For anyone debating between the A7R iii and the A7iii there's a decent comparison review in The Verge

AngelofDepth wrote in post #18597009
For anyone debating between the A7R iii and the A7iii there's a decent comparison review in The Verge

That article feels like it’s missing some pretty major factors between the cameras. It seems to completely gloss over the advantages of 40+mp vs less than 25. 42mp is important for more than just large format printing... the cropability of the resolution is the main reason I can justify replacing my 1Dx with the rIII. For that reason alone, the A7III wouldn’t work for me personally, and it has nothing to do with the reasons the author mentioned.

I also have no idea what this even means :
“One thing I’ve found with shooting subjects and portraits with the A7 III is that it’s “just right” — the A7R’s megapixel count is sometimes too high and too detailed for certain scenes, such as close-ups.”

Why not just buy all three 73, R3, A9?

I mean... don't let money step in the way of right tool for job.

This morning, I learned that the 100-400 GM stops down to f/40! I just checked the specs again on Canon's 100-400 II, and apparently it goes to f/38, but I guess I'm just accustomed to wider lenses that only hit f/16-24ish, so when the rIII cranked all the way down to 40, I was pretty shocked, haha. I know the limitations of tiny apertures based on diffraction, but sometimes diffraction takes a back seat when you want to get a shot in a single frame.

I would have never expected to get a [Somewhat] sharp moon scene at less than 300mm, but I was able to snap this one this morning in DC and it honestly looks pretty good to me.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/24AC​X59

pyrospawn wrote in post #18601181

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/24vX​uaF Cherry Blossom 2018 by Anh Nguyen, on Flickr

We probably bumped into each other earlier this week, haha!

I obviously composited-in these geese due to the long exposure for the water, but they did actually swim by in that spot and I had to quickly pull the filters and change up the exposure to get them without any blur. Glad I noticed them coming into the frame, haha.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/HKnE​K5

Justinsmnz wrote in post #18601206
We probably bumped into each other earlier this week, haha!

I obviously composited-in these geese due to the long exposure for the water, but they did actually swim by in that spot and I had to quickly pull the filters and change up the exposure to get them without any blur. Glad I noticed them coming into the frame, haha.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/HKnE​K5 Tidal Basin; Washington, DC by Justin Simmons, on Flickr

nicely done!

David Arbogast wrote in post #18585595
In my view the image quality of the 5D IV, D850, and a7R III are all superb image makers.

Per DXO the a7R III DR has more than a stop greater than 5D IV. https://www.dxomark.co​m …OS-5D-Mark-IV___1187_1106 You might have been thinking about the a7R II, which is similar to 5D IV.

But, you’re right in this respect: 13.6 stops DR is superb and plenty adequate. A vast improvement from the 5D III’s 11.? stop DR.

The only fact you need to figure out is which camera works best for you. 5D IV may indeed be the right answer. To that end I empathize with your frustration in trying to separate “emotion” (or personal preference) from objective facts. This is really hard.

Agree "In my view the image quality of the 5D IV, D850, and a7R III are all superb image makers."

Cant speak for the D850, but both 5DIV & 7RIII will give you superb images, however the A7rII will give you more DR. I own both

Justinsmnz wrote in post #18590550
Well I think today solidified my opinion on the A7r III. I was really hoping that it could provide an all-around replacement for both my 5Ds and 1DxII (a tall order, I know!) To make a long story short, it looks like it might be my new golden ticket!

I've had the body for a week or so now, and have used it for a handful of random things. Initially, I used it to shoot around with some birds using my Canon 400mm DO adapted with Sigma MC-11. I wasn't happy with the results (I guess that's to be expected.) I ordered a 100-400 GM, knowing that a native mount lens would perform much better, and good lord does it! Both the focusing and image quality are nearly identical to my previous Canon 100-400II and the camera was easily 80% as fast and accurate following focus when compared to my 1DxII. I also absolutely love using the EVF for high frame-rate shooting. It's so much easier to see whether each shot is remaining in focus with the internal split-second preview when I compare it to what I'm used to with the optical finder.

After shooting today with the 100-400 GM, I'm pretty much sold on it as a replacement for the 1DxII (which was certainly too much camera for me anyways.) In addition to the body's performance itself, the cropability of the RAW files is absolutely killer compared to my 1Dx files. I'm heading down to Washington DC next week for a photo trip to flex the body as a cityscape/landscape/tr​avel replacement for my 5Ds. However, I'm expecting that to be a much easier challenge for it, so it's looking pretty good right now to take over as my primary body.

One thing that was holding me back from switching over to Sony was the terrible battery life of their older bodies. I was super happy to find that the new battery in this body is downright solid. It's not 1Dx territory, but it's easily as good as any 5D series battery I've used.

For the time being, I'm definitely planning to simply keep my Canon glass other than selling the 400mm DO to fund the 100-400 GM. I may replace lenses here and there with Sony or new E-Mount art lenses, but my 16-35IS and 50L have been my favorite lenses for many many years and seem to perform pretty well with the MC-11, so I don't see any reason to swap them out just yet.

We were under thick cloud cover all afternoon, so this outcome was even more impressive to me!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/25i9​T4b Red-Tailed Hawk; Middleton, RI by Justin Simmons, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/24he​VPC Red-Tailed Hawk; Middleton, RI by Justin Simmons, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/25i9​T1L Short-Eared Owl; Middleton, RI by Justin Simmons, on Flickr

Edit: I really can't emphasize enough how impressed I was today with the focus following in this thing. This was nearly the 20th shot in a series AFTER the owl flew behind the grass. It literally looks like it's Photoshopped in, because there's no reasonable explanation for how it's still in such clean focus through so much grass. Not only that, but almost every one of the shots that follows is also somehow in focus even when he nearly leaves the frame entirely (screenshot below). I'm baffled!

Going through the same process presently with my 5DIV for wildlife and A7rIII for Landscape. I have a MC11 inbound, what can I expect from the MC11 using Canon Glass. I know you weren't happy with your long lens, but how about the rest of your glass. What firmware are you using with your MC11?

BTW I spoke with with Sig rep, and he told me not to expect the MC11 to work in continuous with the long glass

Justinsmnz wrote in post #18601206
We probably bumped into each other earlier this week, haha!

I obviously composited-in these geese due to the long exposure for the water, but they did actually swim by in that spot and I had to quickly pull the filters and change up the exposure to get them without any blur. Glad I noticed them coming into the frame, haha.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/HKnE​K5 Tidal Basin; Washington, DC by Justin Simmons, on Flickr

Great shot. We probably did. There was just wayyyy to many people on that walkway around Tidal Basin, so I thought I would get some other kind of shots. Would be so cool. If you are local, drop me a PM and set up a trip to shoot something.

Bianchi wrote in post #18601232
Going through the same process presently with my 5DIV for wildlife and A7rIII for Landscape. I have a MC11 inbound, what can I expect from the MC11 using Canon Glass. I know you weren't happy with your long lens, but how about the rest of your glass. What firmware are you using with your MC11?

BTW I spoke with with Sig rep, and he told me not to expect the MC11 to work in continuous with the long glass

I'm glad you asked! I actually got a chance to flex the MC11 over the weekend and used it on three Canon lenses and one Sigma Art. I made sure to update it to the latest firmware (and also updated the 24-105 Art)

16-35L F/4 IS - For my use, it was totally fine. The auto focus is very accurate in both wide and flexible spot mode. However, the focus speed is easily half, if not less, than on any Canon body. Because I rarely use this lens for anything other than tripod mounted shooting, the auto focus speed isn't an issue. However, if I planned to start shooting the 16-35 focal length for any run-n-gun or quick-use situations, I would definitely find a copy of the Sony version (and I may end up doing that anyway just for curiosity's sake.)

100L Macro - Slower to auto focus than any Canon body, but very accurate and I didn't notice any more hunting than I've experienced on Canon. I can't imagine hesitating to use the adapter with this lens any time soon.

50L - I was actually blown away by the function of the 50L with the MC11. I'm hesitant to say it functioned better than I'm used to on Canon bodies, but in the several hours I walked around with it mounted, it definitely felt just as quick and accurate as any Canon body. When I got back and reviewed the pictures, I can say that I probably had more keepers from the adapted Sony body than I would have with any Canon body.

Sigma 24-105 Art - This one kind of shocked me actually. Perhaps I just got a bad copy of the lens, but the auto focus was horrible (in both speed, accuracy, and ability to lock on.) Additionally, even when I manually focused images, I was definitely unhappy with the sharpness at the edges and the CA was absolutely terrible. I may have been doing something wrong, or had my settings wrong when I shot with it initially, but the results from the first day made me leave it in the room for the rest of the trip.

As I mentioned before, the performance of the 400L DO Mk I was unusable for me. It technically retained continuous focus capability, but the speed was painful and the accuracy made it practically useless (inconsistent with random, but severe back focusing at times.) I'm keeping an eye out for a Sigma 150-600mm Sport to try out with the adapter, because I'm hoping that the focus speed will be one of the main features of using the MC11 with longer Sigma glass (plus I already have both of the newest Sigma teleconverters, so I'd love to try those out with the adapter.)

In the mean time however, I'm absolutely in love with the Sony 100-400 GM. It's easily as quick, accurate, and sharp on the A7rIII as the Canon 100-400II is on a 1DxII. I'll buy a Sony 1.4 teleconverter as soon as I see one for less than $550 they're asking for new.


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pyrospawn wrote in post #18601233
Great shot. We probably did. There was just wayyyy to many people on that walkway around Tidal Basin, so I thought I would get some other kind of shots. Would be so cool. If you are local, drop me a PM and set up a trip to shoot something.

Thanks! Yeah it was pretty busy during the days, even despite the crappy weather for most of the time I was there. Would be happy to get together, but I'm unfortunately already back home up north. Enjoy a few more days of the blossoms before the wind takes them all away!