A7 or A7(R)?

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3462 Location: Northern Ireland

Pixel count and price aside, which of these cameras is considered best for legacy glass and why?
I'm considering buying one of these cameras but am not sure which would suit my needs better.

bigdave43 · Joined: 02 Jun 2014 Posts: 5 Location: San Antonio

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 940 Location: Poland

There was guy on this forum who sent its A7r back to finally get an A7.
But there are not so many people who had or have both.
I chose the A7 and not the A7 r for the following reasons:
Supposed vibration issues with the A7r due to the shutter.
Size of the files of the A7r
A7 seems to be already demanding enough with non stabilized lenses
Price even if I could afford the A7r. I prefer to have a less expensive camera. I feel free to use it in all circumstances ( it is my head !)
Correct kit zoom lens available.

My experience :
the A7 is demanding enough. The first limitation is your capacity to focus correctly and to be stable. The second is the shallow depth of field.
People forget that in general you need depth of field. Perhaps I am wrong but I think that the A7r could be more demanding in this respect.

The double shutter of the A7 does not work with some mF lenses with speeds over 1/2000s so you have to switch to one shutter.
Don't expect that the camera works with RF wide angles.

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

A7R has better sharpness (no AA filter). A7R has better and stronger build. A7R has greater resolution = you can crop out smaller parts of an image. Wink

A7 is still more than enough and has a few benefits over the "R" that is mentioned earlier in the thread. Very Happy

I am currently curious of the A7S Wink

kenetik · Joined: 02 Mar 2014 Posts: 521

A7 was the better choice overall for me, and I studied and tried both cameras. The electronic first curtain shutter was a big factor, as was the fact, mentioned earlier, that a lot of legacy glass has enough issues standing up to 24mp, and I don't have any native mount lenses except a couple of aps-c lenses from my Nex.

doomed-forever · Joined: 09 Aug 2014 Posts: 239

I do have the A7 and i am way happy with it, and of course using only MF lenses, primes. Wink

24 MP is really much much enough! I can get decent shots even with my 6 MP old Dynax 7D, or Nikon D40...
usually, i don't really more than 12 MP technically, which my D90 does, but my D7000 Body already does
have 16 MP.

@Nordentro

According to DXOMark, the A7S is as expected the "king of the hill" when it comes to avialable/lowlight photography - but from the sensor
Comparsion the A7 wins against the A7S, the A7 scores higher.

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7576 Location: Hong Kong

If you can wait, there may be better second generation of FF mirrorless in the next year. Smile

For A7S, it is the camera for those who love low light photography. It dynamic range is less than the other two brothers. A7s work best in silent mode for night time street photos or indoor situation where flash is prohibited and shutter noise cause disturbance.