Two Full Frame NEX's to be soon announced

[fractal]

To be honest, I didn't even take my A99 with me on my last trip and I didn't miss it one bit. The NEX-7 was more than enough to get the job done.

Unless you're shooting sports, active children, or without a tripod, there's not much of a benefit to FF.

My Nex-7 was so easy to carry around the parks. I'm still debating if I really want to put that much money into a new A7r plus lenses. Steve Huff has a picture of the A7r with a Leica 50mm Summilux combo that looks gorgeous.
It's a crazy amount of money for one camera and one lens - but I'm assuming Leica lenses hold their value fairly well - is that correct?

 

[ddbowdoin]

My Nex-7 was so easy to carry around the parks. I'm still debating if I really want to put that much money into a new A7r plus lenses. Steve Huff has a picture of the A7r with a Leica 50mm Summilux combo that looks gorgeous.
It's a crazy amount of money for one camera and one lens - but I'm assuming Leica lenses hold their value fairly well - is that correct?

A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y!

 

[hamilton]

but I'm assuming Leica lenses hold their value fairly well - is that correct?

A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y!

I wouldn't even shocked if it went UP in value, ha.

 

[ddbowdoin]

I wouldn't even shocked if it went UP in value, ha.

only certain models, 50mm .95 in fact does go up in value... just a limited lens and something that Leica doesn't bang out thousands and thousands of.

 

[fractal]

On thing that would definitely go up is my paranoia that I would drop the damned thing.

 

[hamilton]

On thing that would definitely go up is my paranoia that I would drop the damned thing.

Oh man, that'd be the worst! But those lenses are built like tanks, so it would probably survive most bumps.

 

[ddbowdoin]

Oh man, that'd be the worst! But those lenses are built like tanks, so it would probably survive most bumps.

hence, my nature when it comes to anything camera related... especially things that are electronic. Things that are mechanical can always be fixed, and pretty easily. But electronics, phew.

 

[ddbowdoin]

I'm pretty damn impressed with Sony. They now have Nikon on their heels and now Nikon will announce some kind of retro FF hybrid thing. Rumored price is 3300 so they have one again dropped el ball

 

[fractal]

I'm pretty damn impressed with Sony. They now have Nikon on their heels and now Nikon will announce some kind of retro FF hybrid thing. Rumored price is 3300 so they have one again dropped el ball

Initial rumor it was going to be mirrorless, but apparently not...

New Nikon DF retro camera is nice, but not mirrorless! http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/

Also, found this article on Leica M lenses and the new Sony's. Confirms what you said about the lenses holding their value (not that I had any doubt)...




http://macfilos.com/photo/2013/10/22/leica-lenses-on-sonys-a7s-the-big-controversy

"This is important when deciding on a system in which to invest. It is currently a bewildering world for the photography enthusiast. All the major players, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, Panasonic and Olympus have their own proprietary mounts, none of which (except in the case of Micro Four Thirds lenses) are compatible with one another. And even if you do rely on adapters, modern electronic lenses often lose functionality when mounted on a different camera system. Some cannot be focused manually. That is why owners get stuck with one brand. After investing in an arsenal of Nikon lenses it is hard to bite the bullet and change to Canon, however alluring the new model.

Those who invest in mechanical M-mount lenses have none of these worries. Their lenses sail on serenely across the seas of time, appreciating in value all the while, and can be bolted on to a wide range of systems, present and future. As long as you can live without autofocus and automatic aperture setting, a collection of M glass will see you out.

Then we have optical performance to add a bit of froth to the coffee. While optical performance has been improved gradually over the past sixty years, the fact is that most M lenses offer superb performance even today. The are all primes, of course, and this generally means better optical performance, better than that of modern kit zooms for instance. If the lenses have been well looked after physically they will perform as they did when new.

Crop factor
For the first time M lenses can be used on a non-Leica digital camera as nature intended, at their advertised focal length. With the new Sonys a 35mm is a 35mm wide angle, a fifty is a fifty and so on throughout the catalogue of lenses, ancient and modern. Up to now there have been focal-length consequences to using M glass on non-Leica digitals. These compromises are arguably more worrisome than the ultimate pixel-peeping optical performance of a lens.

Up to the arrival of the A7s, the best you could expect was the 1.5 crop factor of the APS-C sensor where that 35mm becomes a 50mm (actually around 52mm), a 50 becomes a 75 and so on. A 24mm Leica lens is needed to achieve the street tog's holy grail of 35mm equivalent with an APS-C sensor. For Micro Four Thirds owners the sacrifice is even greater. With the crop factor of 2, even a 35mm lens becomes a medium tele of 70mm. And Leica lenses are no more than an academic exercise when married to Nikon's CX system with its 2.7 crop factor.

All this explains why there is so much interest in using M-mount lenses on the full-frame Sonys."

 

[ddbowdoin]

My Nex-7 was so easy to carry around the parks. I'm still debating if I really want to put that much money into a new A7r plus lenses. Steve Huff has a picture of the A7r with a Leica 50mm Summilux combo that looks gorgeous.
It's a crazy amount of money for one camera and one lens - but I'm assuming Leica lenses hold their value fairly well - is that correct?

well my man, today I officially jumped off the deep end...

after going back and forth on the A7R train I went against it and made my first Leica purchase. Am now a proud owner of an old M6, probably as old as me.

 

[fractal]

well my man, today I officially jumped off the deep end...

after going back and forth on the A7R train I went against it and made my first Leica purchase. Am now a proud owner of an old M6, probably as old as me.

Awesome! I can't wait to see some images!

 

[ddbowdoin]

Awesome! I can't wait to see some images!

It was made in December of 1988... a little older than I wanted, I originally wanted a late 1998 model but the shop knows me and knocked off a 100 bucks off the body bringing the price difference between a late model TTL version and this one at about 600 bucks.

 

[fractal]

It was made in December of 1988... a little older than I wanted, I originally wanted a late 1998 model but the shop knows me and knocked off a 100 bucks off the body bringing the price difference between a late model TTL version and this one at about 600 bucks.

Are you going to develop some of the film yourself?

 

[ddbowdoin]

Are you going to develop some of the film yourself?

yeah, I mix up all my soup for B/W... for color, no. I don't have the patience to measure out things and keep them at a constant temperature each time. My whole darkroom is b/w only... much easier.

 

[NowInc]

Digital rev did their reviews of these

 

[ddbowdoin]

Digital rev did their reviews of these

I've got to watch this when I get home, he's hilarious.

 

[fractal]

Good review on the A7. If you don't like carrying around extra batteries, it may not be for you...

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/125372-sony-alpha-a7-review

In short the Sony Alpha A7 has a lot of potential. Ditch the 28-70mm, avoid the very highest of ISO sensitivities and prepare to be impressed. Big image quality from a small scale is here - and that's exactly what will sell the camera.

Verdict
The Sony Alpha A7 is a mini marvel with a big point of interest: that full-frame sensor. At £1,299 for the body only, this is as affordable as large-sensor snapping can get, and it could open up a whole new set of interest from more casual photographers, as well as pros looking to obtain a smaller system to work with.

It's not perfect, though, but most of the shortcomings we can forgive because each time we go and look at the images again they make us smile. However the battery life is really poor, so be prepared to invest in multiple batteries - and if you don't like the idea of that then this probably won't be the camera for you.

The 28-70mm kit lens is a weak link, too, because of soft edges to excess at the wide-angle setting. Avoid it, nab the 35mm f/2.8 prime and you'll quickly begin to grasp why the Alpha A7 is as special as we'd at first thought: it's small and will make a great street photography camera alternative if something like theFujifilm X100S doesn't take your fancy or the Nikon Df looks too big and pricey. But it's more than that: we've shot some spectacular landscapes, portraits, candids and everything in-between. There's versatility here, and that will grow as the E-mount FE lens system expands.

The Alpha A7 is a camera out there all on its own. It doesn't feel quite comparable to a full-frame DSLR, but we mean that as a positive. It's a different system, with a different ethos and, combined with the right gear, it'll bring you one thing that's the same as any other system worth its salt: glorious full-frame pictures.

 

[Cesar R M]

Good review on the A7. If you don't like carrying around extra batteries, it may not be for you...

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/125372-sony-alpha-a7-review

In short the Sony Alpha A7 has a lot of potential. Ditch the 28-70mm, avoid the very highest of ISO sensitivities and prepare to be impressed. Big image quality from a small scale is here - and that's exactly what will sell the camera.

Verdict
The Sony Alpha A7 is a mini marvel with a big point of interest: that full-frame sensor. At £1,299 for the body only, this is as affordable as large-sensor snapping can get, and it could open up a whole new set of interest from more casual photographers, as well as pros looking to obtain a smaller system to work with.

It's not perfect, though, but most of the shortcomings we can forgive because each time we go and look at the images again they make us smile. However the battery life is really poor, so be prepared to invest in multiple batteries - and if you don't like the idea of that then this probably won't be the camera for you.

The 28-70mm kit lens is a weak link, too, because of soft edges to excess at the wide-angle setting. Avoid it, nab the 35mm f/2.8 prime and you'll quickly begin to grasp why the Alpha A7 is as special as we'd at first thought: it's small and will make a great street photography camera alternative if something like theFujifilm X100S doesn't take your fancy or the Nikon Df looks too big and pricey. But it's more than that: we've shot some spectacular landscapes, portraits, candids and everything in-between. There's versatility here, and that will grow as the E-mount FE lens system expands.

The Alpha A7 is a camera out there all on its own. It doesn't feel quite comparable to a full-frame DSLR, but we mean that as a positive. It's a different system, with a different ethos and, combined with the right gear, it'll bring you one thing that's the same as any other system worth its salt: glorious full-frame pictures.

Do you recon they will be producing battery extenders? I've seen a site displaying a prototype already or "kit" already.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-alpha-7-7r/

 

[NowInc]

Do you recon they will be producing battery extenders? I've seen a site displaying a prototype already or "kit" already.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-alpha-7-7r/

Reading that article I also saw that it does not come with an external charger? USB charging is painfully slow..and with bad battery life, it would only HELP to provide an included external charger. Seems like an odd move.

 

[Cesar R M]

Reading that article I also saw that it does not come with an external charger? USB charging is painfully slow..and with bad battery life, it would only HELP to provide an included external charger. Seems like an odd move.

He, I was talking about battery extenders.. aka the big grip that adds 2 or more batteries in a "dock" (visible in one of the article's photos.. near the bottom)