[Leica] My next Leica camera is a Sony A7

Jayanand Govindaraj jayanand at gmail.com
Sat Nov 1 19:08:57 PDT 2014


Depends on what you use it for - I found the Sony A7R + 55mm f1.8
Zeiss (which I had with me on demo for a week) so slow in operation
that it was fairly useless for even street photography. Great lens,
and great images when you nail it though.
Cheers
Jayanand

On Sun, Nov 2, 2014 at 4:24 AM, Paul Roark <roark.paul at gmail.com> wrote:
> Why the a7 instead of the a7R?
>
> Did you get their Zony 35mm f/2.8?
>
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com
>
> On Sat, Nov 1, 2014 at 3:49 PM, Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> Looking for the ideal camera:  Lots of pixels, EVF, accepts Leica glass if
>> possible, AF when I need it, MF and attendant focusing aids otherwise, not
>> $8K, takes SDHC cards, great and dependable metering system, Full Frame,
>> not
>> a cropped sensor, etc.  Built in flash is a bonus.
>>
>>
>>
>> What got me hooked was the EVF, and especially the enlarged EVF.... It is
>> addictive to be able to focus with a magnified view.   I noticed this on
>> the
>> Fuji XE-1 I have, but the time delay from pushing the button and something
>> happening was too long .  Maybe a XT-1 or XE-2 would have fixed that, but
>> then I would have had a cropped sensor, and I am a WA type of person.. Not
>> a
>> great combo.
>>
>>
>>
>> I have an M9.  It is a great camera, but focusing is not optimum.  Lenses
>> over 90mm are really hard to compose as the VF is pretty much a Hail Mary
>> at
>> that stage.  Some would say, go buy an M(240).  It offers a similar set of
>> specs as I want.  Easy to say, hard to part with the money for the M(240).
>> And the next iteration of Leica is bound to be yet another $1K.
>>
>>
>>
>> I just received my new Sony A7.  Had a cheapo Leica M to Sony mount adapter
>> hanging about, just in case I eventually bought the A7.  Slapped on a 50
>> ASPH Lux.
>>
>>
>>
>> The benefit of more pixels is primarily the ability to NOT carry a long
>> lens.  You crop the image.  Saves weight.  Saves money ( no lens to
>> purchase
>> ).  I was not terribly into the pixel count issues, it is a nice side
>> benefit as I very rarely carry a long (over 75 or 90mm) lens.
>>
>>
>>
>> When the opportunity presented itself, I decided to try out the A7 over the
>> XT-1.  ( used, thanks to Doug, and his friend)
>>
>>
>>
>> The image quality, with the A7 + Cheapo ( $12) Adapter + that LENS!!! And I
>> am just blown away with the resolution.
>>
>>
>>
>> At roughly 200 yards, at F2 ( and probably 1/8000 of a second) I was able
>> to
>> distinguish a hawk sitting on the electrical poles near the house. For
>> reference, the hawk was most likely 12-15 inches tall.
>>
>>
>>
>> At about 6 yards, same exposures setup, I was able to distinguish the marks
>> on the head of an old, crusty, 6 penny nail in my fence. Focus accuracy is
>> astonishing.
>>
>>
>>
>> Metering is superb.something Leica's pseudo spot meter lacks.
>>
>>
>>
>> There is basically no delay from pushing the button to getting the shutter
>> to open.  Even in magnified focusing mode.
>>
>>
>>
>> This kind of change does have its downsides.. My LR V4.4 will not read the
>> Sony files, but Adobe DNG Converter fixes that;  There is no in camera
>> correction for vignetting nor "distortion" ( as if Leica's pride and joy
>> mainstream lens needs too much); there is no EXIF file data to remember
>> which lens you had on at any time ( which would not be at all important
>> except for operations of vignetting and distortion correction.)
>>
>>
>>
>> The camera does not have the same solid feel as a Leica ( any Leica short
>> of
>> the CL and maybe the P+S models).  It will probably die faster than a M3
>> would.. Then again..
>>
>>
>>
>> I need to become more familiar with the operational buttons, and menus,
>> however, I was able to get the camera working a bit more like I want it.
>>
>>
>>
>> I wish more than ever that I had a fleet of Leica R glass, but not a single
>> one was ever in my kit.
>>
>>
>>
>> It is not going with me tonight to shoot some fun fotos of a adult birthday
>> party.  No twinkle flash.  Then again, nothing really is ideal.
>>
>>
>>
>> Frank Filippone
>>
>> Red735i at verizon.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
>
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