Should I buy a Sony A7 II? Advice please
Discussion
Hi all,
I've got a Nikon D7000 which is a few years old now, and a load of nice Nikon glass, but I never use it anymore. I've really enjoyed taking some fantastic photos with it over the years, but I became a little frustrated with the size of it, and not taking it everywhere I wanted.
I also found the low light capabilities not great and the bokeh not great, both I presume due to the crop sensor and it's limited abilities.
I bought a Sony RX100 mk1 and loved it. Then bought an RX100 mk3 and loved it even more. I found the image quality excellent and the sensor really impressed me. Especially in low light.
I shoot mostly street scenes, architecture, night time street photos, city landscape. That kind of thing.
Been eying up an RX1 or RX1 Mk2, but I'm concerned that I would find the fixed 35mm lens restrictive, especially since most of my shots are wide and 35mm might be too tight.
So now I'm looking at buying an A7 Mk2 as it still seems really compact, but I get to finally enjoy full frame!
Plus I can stick the 28mm F2 on it and it'll be great for my needs I think, but I'll have other lens options as well.
Any thoughts?
Anything else I should consider other than the A7 range?
Thanks
I've got a Nikon D7000 which is a few years old now, and a load of nice Nikon glass, but I never use it anymore. I've really enjoyed taking some fantastic photos with it over the years, but I became a little frustrated with the size of it, and not taking it everywhere I wanted.
I also found the low light capabilities not great and the bokeh not great, both I presume due to the crop sensor and it's limited abilities.
I bought a Sony RX100 mk1 and loved it. Then bought an RX100 mk3 and loved it even more. I found the image quality excellent and the sensor really impressed me. Especially in low light.
I shoot mostly street scenes, architecture, night time street photos, city landscape. That kind of thing.
Been eying up an RX1 or RX1 Mk2, but I'm concerned that I would find the fixed 35mm lens restrictive, especially since most of my shots are wide and 35mm might be too tight.
So now I'm looking at buying an A7 Mk2 as it still seems really compact, but I get to finally enjoy full frame!
Plus I can stick the 28mm F2 on it and it'll be great for my needs I think, but I'll have other lens options as well.
Any thoughts?
Anything else I should consider other than the A7 range?
Thanks
Sorry to hijack, but I too have an RX100 Mk1 which I have owned since 2013 and am very pleased with it. I am thinking of the mandatory upgrade, (to a Mk4) - is there a discernible image quality difference between the Mk1 and Mk3?
The two biggest benefits I believe are the pop up viewfinder and wider max aperture at full zoom.
The two biggest benefits I believe are the pop up viewfinder and wider max aperture at full zoom.
RobDickinson said:
If you want better low light and shallow dof plus the compact mirror less format then your choice is Sony.
The a7 mk2 is pretty decent too. Go for it.
Thanks Rob.The a7 mk2 is pretty decent too. Go for it.
In short, yes, I would love better low light capability for my shooting handheld at nights or in darker places. Would also love to have the option of a shallow DoF for when portrait type stuff suits me.
strummerville said:
Sorry to hijack, but I too have an RX100 Mk1 which I have owned since 2013 and am very pleased with it. I am thinking of the mandatory upgrade, (to a Mk4) - is there a discernible image quality difference between the Mk1 and Mk3?
The two biggest benefits I believe are the pop up viewfinder and wider max aperture at full zoom.
No problem with the hijack, the more the merrier!The two biggest benefits I believe are the pop up viewfinder and wider max aperture at full zoom.
My honest experience on going from a mk1 to mk3:
The EVF is really good, there's no denying that, but to be honest I had gotten that used to using the screen that I rarely used it. It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't there, but it's nice to have.
The tilting screen was more important to me than the EVF. It was handy.
Also more important to me was the built in wifi. That was worth the upgrade to me. I have always had iPhones and always have a few good photo tweaking apps on them, and I like to send my images easily to my phone, quickly tweak them for sharpness and saturdation and then upload to Facebook, send to friends, upload to Flickr etc. Being able to send photos wirelessly was a great thing for me. Although I appreciate this is a pointless feature for those that like to put an SD card in their Mac and use lighteoom etc.
The sensor, being a new design, was a little better than the mk1, but you would only notice in a couple of photos here and there in low light or whatever. The difference is marginal.
The lens is a big improvement though. Now that it's 2.8 at zoom it actually allows for portraits with a half decent amount of bokeh for a small camera. Maximum zoom at 2.8 gives nicer portraits than before.
It's worth the upgrade in my opinion.
The bokeh quality is determined by the lens....
Are you hoping for improved bokeh or a shallower depth of field?
What lenses do you have for the Nikon?
The FF depth of field argument seems to be an area for debate...
https://fstoppers.com/education/smaller-sensor-siz...
Are you hoping for improved bokeh or a shallower depth of field?
What lenses do you have for the Nikon?
The FF depth of field argument seems to be an area for debate...
https://fstoppers.com/education/smaller-sensor-siz...
Edited by toohuge on Tuesday 10th April 11:12
Lord Marylebone said:
No problem with the hijack, the more the merrier!
My honest experience on going from a mk1 to mk3:
The EVF is really good, there's no denying that, but to be honest I had gotten that used to using the screen that I rarely used it. It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't there, but it's nice to have.
The tilting screen was more important to me than the EVF. It was handy.
Also more important to me was the built in wifi. That was worth the upgrade to me. I have always had iPhones and always have a few good photo tweaking apps on them, and I like to send my images easily to my phone, quickly tweak them for sharpness and saturdation and then upload to Facebook, send to friends, upload to Flickr etc. Being able to send photos wirelessly was a great thing for me. Although I appreciate this is a pointless feature for those that like to put an SD card in their Mac and use lighteoom etc.
The sensor, being a new design, was a little better than the mk1, but you would only notice in a couple of photos here and there in low light or whatever. The difference is marginal.
The lens is a big improvement though. Now that it's 2.8 at zoom it actually allows for portraits with a half decent amount of bokeh for a small camera. Maximum zoom at 2.8 gives nicer portraits than before.
It's worth the upgrade in my opinion.
Thank you. The wider aperture (and resultant shallow DOF) is something I want, the EVF would be a bonus in bright sunlight. My honest experience on going from a mk1 to mk3:
The EVF is really good, there's no denying that, but to be honest I had gotten that used to using the screen that I rarely used it. It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't there, but it's nice to have.
The tilting screen was more important to me than the EVF. It was handy.
Also more important to me was the built in wifi. That was worth the upgrade to me. I have always had iPhones and always have a few good photo tweaking apps on them, and I like to send my images easily to my phone, quickly tweak them for sharpness and saturdation and then upload to Facebook, send to friends, upload to Flickr etc. Being able to send photos wirelessly was a great thing for me. Although I appreciate this is a pointless feature for those that like to put an SD card in their Mac and use lighteoom etc.
The sensor, being a new design, was a little better than the mk1, but you would only notice in a couple of photos here and there in low light or whatever. The difference is marginal.
The lens is a big improvement though. Now that it's 2.8 at zoom it actually allows for portraits with a half decent amount of bokeh for a small camera. Maximum zoom at 2.8 gives nicer portraits than before.
It's worth the upgrade in my opinion.
I feel an upgrade coming on...!
toohuge said:
The bokeh quality is determined by the lens....
Are you hoping for improved bokeh or a shallower depth of field?
What lenses do you have for the Nikon?
The FF depth of field argument seems to be an area for debate...
https://fstoppers.com/education/smaller-sensor-siz...
Sorry, my bad. I have confused my question slightly by saying bokeh and depth of field.Are you hoping for improved bokeh or a shallower depth of field?
What lenses do you have for the Nikon?
The FF depth of field argument seems to be an area for debate...
https://fstoppers.com/education/smaller-sensor-siz...
Edited by toohuge on Tuesday 10th April 11:12
I'm strictly talking about shallow depth of field, which is what I like for some shots and would like more of if possible. Or at least like the option of.
Nikon lenses I have:
18-200 VR
17-55 2.8
11-16 2.8
50mm 1.8
And a kit lens.
The 50mm does give fairly shallow DOF, but on the crop sensor you really have to be at a bit of distance to get people in the frame.
Thanks^^.
In all honesty, none of the lenses listed will give excellent bokeh or shallow depth of field...
If that's all you're wanting, a 85 1.8 will give much better results for portraits, or a fast 200.
A word of warning - my brother just upgraded to the Sony A7II and the lenses do seem very expensive.
Still - I'd be interested in the 17-55 2.8
In all honesty, none of the lenses listed will give excellent bokeh or shallow depth of field...
Lord Marylebone said:
I'm strictly talking about shallow depth of field, which is what I like for some shots and would like more of if possible. Or at least like the option of.
In that case - a different choice in lens on any body/form would be required. Even 50mm on a ff won't give a brilliant depth of field for portraits. If that's all you're wanting, a 85 1.8 will give much better results for portraits, or a fast 200.
A word of warning - my brother just upgraded to the Sony A7II and the lenses do seem very expensive.
Still - I'd be interested in the 17-55 2.8
Edited by toohuge on Tuesday 10th April 12:59
Lord Marylebone said:
Nikon lenses I have:
18-200 VR
17-55 2.8
11-16 2.8
50mm 1.8
And a kit lens.
The 50mm does give fairly shallow DOF, but on the crop sensor you really have to be at a bit of distance to get people in the frame.
If the 17-55 f2.8 doesn't give you shallow enough DOF, for £165.90 you could get the Nikon 35mm f1.8 - which would give you about the same field of view as 50mm on FF: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-AF-S-NIKKOR-35mm-1-...18-200 VR
17-55 2.8
11-16 2.8
50mm 1.8
And a kit lens.
The 50mm does give fairly shallow DOF, but on the crop sensor you really have to be at a bit of distance to get people in the frame.
Or if you want to go faster, a Sigma 35mm f1.4 for £650: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-35mm-F1-4-Lens-Cano...
).Update...
I've sold all my Nikon gear
Put it all up for sale as a package on Sunday night and it was gone by Monday evening.
So that's it, I no longer own a single piece of DSLR or Nikon stuff for the first time in 15 years!
I bought a Sony A7 Mk2 today, complete with the Sony 28mm F2, which is apparently a really decent lens.
Seen as how over 90% of my photos have been at 25-30mm equivalent over the last few years, I think I'll be pretty happy with that lens, but the only other one I think I'll be looking for is an 85mm 1.4 or 1.8 for portraits.
I see Sigma have just this month released a range of 8 lenses from their 'Art' collection to fit the Sony E Mount, and their 85mm 1.4 is £700 which is fairly pricy but not out of the way.
I'll also be considering other 85mm lenses.
There seems to be somewhat of a big surge in lenses being released for the Sony E mount system, so hopefully if I do fancy other lenses there will be plenty to choose from.
But for the moment, I'm keeping it simple, just the A7 II and the 28mm and see how I get on.
I've sold all my Nikon gear
Put it all up for sale as a package on Sunday night and it was gone by Monday evening.
So that's it, I no longer own a single piece of DSLR or Nikon stuff for the first time in 15 years!
I bought a Sony A7 Mk2 today, complete with the Sony 28mm F2, which is apparently a really decent lens.
Seen as how over 90% of my photos have been at 25-30mm equivalent over the last few years, I think I'll be pretty happy with that lens, but the only other one I think I'll be looking for is an 85mm 1.4 or 1.8 for portraits.
I see Sigma have just this month released a range of 8 lenses from their 'Art' collection to fit the Sony E Mount, and their 85mm 1.4 is £700 which is fairly pricy but not out of the way.
I'll also be considering other 85mm lenses.
There seems to be somewhat of a big surge in lenses being released for the Sony E mount system, so hopefully if I do fancy other lenses there will be plenty to choose from.
But for the moment, I'm keeping it simple, just the A7 II and the 28mm and see how I get on.
Sounds like a good setup. I wouldn't mind something similar as a travel camera in terms of small size but full frame advantage combined with a fast wide angle lens. Something like the RX1Rii or Leica Q would be very good but seems too expensive when you can do what you've done for substantially less and still have the added versatility. What was the combined cost of the A7ii and 28mm lens? I have 85mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8 both from Canon on a full frame 5DS and portraits are exceptional with both. I should think the Art 85mm will be exceptional. I nearly bought it myself but then got swayed by the new canon L alternative.
Edited by theboss on Tuesday 17th April 18:19
theboss said:
Sounds like a good setup. I wouldn't mind something similar as a travel camera in terms of small size but full frame advantage combined with a fast wide angle lens. Something like the RX1Rii or Leica Q would be very good but seems too expensive when you can do what you've done for substantially less and still have the added versatility. What was the combined cost of the A7ii and 28mm lens? I have 85mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8 both from Canon on a full frame 5DS and portraits are exceptional with both. I should think the Art 85mm will be exceptional. I nearly bought it myself but then got swayed by the new canon L alternative.
I actually purchased secondhand locally. By chance a local photographer was selling his A7 II.The camera and lens were bought by him brand new 8 months ago and barely used. He had it as a backup body for his A7R III.
I paid £1100 for the body and the 28mm.
I've looked and looked at the RX1R II, (it would have to be a Mk2 for the Wifi etc) nearly bought one several times, but the fact the lens is 35mm stopped me along with the price, which would easily be the thick end of £2000 secondhand.
Don't get me wrong, I think the RX1R Mk1 and 2 are incredible pieces of equipment and if I didn't care about money, I would have one as well just for the hell of it, but once I really started weighing things up it immediately made sense to buy a A7 II instead.
Still very compact, full frame, wifi etc, but with the ability to swap lenses and enjoy an 85mm 1.4 for example if required.
I just don't think the 35mm on the RX1 would have been wide enough for my usual photos, and I would have been stuck with it.
I enjoy taking a lot of photos travelling, and used my Nikon DSLR a lot, but just got tired of it's sheer size, especially with the 18-200mm VR that mostly lived on it.
I stopping taking it in favour of my RX100 iii which I love, but still couldn't shake off wanting some Sony full-frame goodness in my life.
So yeah, I'm very happy now that I've got 28mm, full frame, in something that genuinely is a lot more compact and capable than my DSLR gear.
I did something very similar over the last couple of years...
Fed up of size of D7000...
Bought RX100 v2 and loved the fact it fitted in my pocket, but still felt I needed a "proper" camera
Sold D7000 and all lenses and bought A7R with a couple of good lenses and loved it for about three months because of the compact size and weight reduction but still feeling like I was a grown up tinkering with settings
Noticed that my photos on the RX100 were close to the A7R but it fitted in my pocket so upgraded to RX100 v5
Bought Google Pixel, took at least 50% of my photos on the phone on all subsequent holidays
Put A7R in drawer with great shame hoping it would just disappear
Had an amazing trip to Japan recently, took 1570 photos, of which 3 were on the RX100 and 1567 were on the Pixel 2
Now need to sell A7R whilst it still has some value!
I just can't get my head around how ridiculously good photos are on the Pixel 2 and it's really really consistent. My Sony cameras CAN take better photos but not all the time and with a huge amount more effort and hassle.
Fed up of size of D7000...
Bought RX100 v2 and loved the fact it fitted in my pocket, but still felt I needed a "proper" camera
Sold D7000 and all lenses and bought A7R with a couple of good lenses and loved it for about three months because of the compact size and weight reduction but still feeling like I was a grown up tinkering with settings
Noticed that my photos on the RX100 were close to the A7R but it fitted in my pocket so upgraded to RX100 v5
Bought Google Pixel, took at least 50% of my photos on the phone on all subsequent holidays
Put A7R in drawer with great shame hoping it would just disappear
Had an amazing trip to Japan recently, took 1570 photos, of which 3 were on the RX100 and 1567 were on the Pixel 2
Now need to sell A7R whilst it still has some value!
I just can't get my head around how ridiculously good photos are on the Pixel 2 and it's really really consistent. My Sony cameras CAN take better photos but not all the time and with a huge amount more effort and hassle.
theboss said:
Sounds like you got a great deal. Half tempted to try and get one myself but I know I’ll start going silly and duplicating full frame lenses that I already have from Canon... unless a converter is any good. Is the 28mm a small lens?
I've been using my Canon lenses for 4 years or so with a metabones. The sigma is supposed to be better adaptor. Af is usable on a7r2 wasn't on a7r. I've been tempted picking up a small native lens or two, just not bothered...
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