[Leica] My next Leica camera is a Sony A7

[Adam Bridge]

Weighing in as someone who actually uses a Sony A7 & A7R on a regular basis, with Leica glass, I have to endorse the ability of the camera to focus well, especially in very low light conditions.

Friday night we had a wedding rehearsal dinner in a very dark room. I took the A7 (my M8 would have been totally useless) with a CV f1.2 35mm lens (the Noctilux wasn’t a good choice because of close focus limitations and I could only take one lens). I was shooting anywhere from ISO 16,000 to 24,000 wide open or just a bit stopped down so I could pretend I had some depth of field.

The result was like shooting Neopan 1600, at least to my eye.

Here’s an example, processed from color to B&W (which I had intended to do from the start) in Lightroom 5.6 which includes native support for the Sony cameras as have the last few versions. Frank might want to update unless there’s a reason to hang around with the previous generation’s software.

<http://adam-bridge.smugmug.com/Family/2014-Pauls-Wedding-Trip/i-Wj6r27v/0/X3/2014-10-31-rehersal_dinner-29-X3.jpg <http://adam-bridge.smugmug.com/Family/2014-Pauls-Wedding-Trip/i-Wj6r27v/0/X3/2014-10-31-rehersal_dinner-29-X3.jpg>>

There are more snaps from that dinner and from work the previous day as we toured.

Oh, here’s one of Ric Carter I shot at our lunch:

<http://adam-bridge.smugmug.com/Family/2014-Pauls-Wedding-Trip/i-hdn2Msh/0/X3/2014-10-31-north_carolina_trip_friday-05-X3.jpg <http://adam-bridge.smugmug.com/Family/2014-Pauls-Wedding-Trip/i-hdn2Msh/0/X3/2014-10-31-north_carolina_trip_friday-05-X3.jpg>>

Ric is a great guy (but you knew that already, eh?) a great conversationalist and recommended a super lunch spot (the Raleigh Times Bar) where we enjoyed some seriously good lunch.

I can understand why being pro any other camera but a Leica on the list might ruffle feathers. But the new M is terribly expensive, seems a bit fragile from reports I’ve been reading, and doesn’t do some things as well as the Sony.

I’m thinking Sony may be wishing they had designed the E mount a bit differently at this point because it does place challenges on the designers of future lenses. Leica had to work out its own issues with its sensor to make it work well with its own wide angle lenses and even then there’s a lot of software involved behind the scenes (ignore that man behind the curtain…) to get it to come together.

For me, I’m with Frank. Sony A7(RS) are my new Leicas. I’ll be buying more Zeiss glass to complement them.

I will say that I have no issue with focusing using the “zoom” system. Native lenses like the new manual Zeiss lenses, will dip into zoom mode as you focus which works rather nicely.

Adam Bridge

> On Nov 2, 2014, at 8:24 AM, Sonny Carter <sonc.hegr at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Well there ya go. The Sony a7s is not cropped but full frame. It is less expensive. Maybe gaffers tape?  It is a premium product, being used to shoot films with 4k.  Sony imaging is what you are watching when you are watching baseball football and soccer (football).  And when you get into that driverless car, Sony will steer it.   
> 
> This is the camera you were wishing for on the LUG aloud, Mark, remember? By brand name!