Advice needed for starting up with my first Sony cam, an A7

[Ramirez]

Hello! I just posted in the New member presentation forum.

But I need some advice from you exepereinced Sony users

 

I recently ordered a Sony A7, lighly used for 780€. I am totally new to Sony cameras but not to photography. Been using Nikon D610, m4/3 (Lumix GH4) and some better compacts like Fuji X100s and Lumix LX100. I am into hybrid photography; mixing stills and video.

 

I am going to start off with adapting my Nikon lenses. I don't have a really big budget for building my Sony system now but I've been thinking of starting with the FE 28/f2 lens as my first native lens for the A7 as it seems to be the "cheap" lens

 

Do any of you use the FE 28/f2 lens? Impressions of that lens?

 

My goal with the A7:

 

- complement my GH4 and LX100 with video duties (I know that it doesnt record 4K but I mix HD and 4K together as I always export to HD)

 

- complement my D610 with photography duties

 

- a light full frame travel camera (with FE 28/f2 lens)

 

Any tips for a Sony newbie for starting out?

 

Is the FE 28/f2 a good choice here? I have Nikkor 50/1.8G, Tokina 17-35/4, Tamron 70-200/2.8 on Nikon mount.

 

Anything else to consider while I'm waiting for the A7 to come to me?

 

All tips are welcome

[Gilgenberg]

Hi Ramirez!

 

for me  28mm with FF Sensor would be  a little bit to wide, i would better go with the 35mm

 

it depends very much on you shooting style, but....... you have experience with your D610

 

if i had to choose 1 lens it would be the 40mm...or the 50mm

 

what about the FE28 - 70mm kitlens ?

 

it is cheap around 200 used and quite good and has OSS and good AF and is very good at the short end IMO

 

but you have to correct the distoriton on the short side if you use  RAW files, also with the FE28mm F2 and also with the FE35 )-:

 

i use most of the time manual lenses that are perfectly corrected for distortion 

[Golem]

Tip #1: Buy several batteries.

 

Tip #2: See tip #1.

 

Tip #3: Buy more batteries.

 

Tip #4: Wasabi is a very good deal on batteries and

they are 25% higher capacity. I don't buy Sony brand

batteries anymore. Wasabi is $30 for 3 batteries and

a [1-battery] charger. Charger works in car or house,

as delivered.

 

Tip #5: Don't buy cheapo lens adapters. You don't

need the expensive Novoflex but for $10 to $30 you'll

get what you pay for. Metabones is a good midrange

with distinctly better construction [$100].

 

`

 

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[adwb]

+ 1 for of the above, look at fotodiox adapters they are fine , I use Pentax lenses on my A7 with the kit lens and its for commercial work, not hobby shooting

[sstevenson]

I've been using Nikon lenses on a7 bodies for the last 9 months or so and I'm very happy with the combination.

 

I haven't tried different adaptors for F mount specifically, but I have tried some cheap ones for M mount and found them way too tight. I got the Novoflex M->E and it fit very well, so I bought the Novoflex F->E, too, and I am very happy with it. I don't own a Metabones adaptor, but one friend tells me his Canon->Sony one is very tight, and I had the same experience when borrowing the same model from another friend. Whatever adaptor you get, make sure it can control the aperture, since the lenses you list don't have external aperture rings. For what it's worth, the Novoflex F->E does have a ring.

 

I've heard good things about the 28mm, but don't own it myself.

 

Some general a7 tips:

- Turning on airplane mode when you're not using wifi should make the battery last much longer (at least that's my experience).

- One of the custom buttons is automatically set to zoom, which even works for adapted lenses.

- Turn on peaking, which works amazingly well when manually focusing with zoom.

 

For adapted lenses:

- Turn on the "shutter without lens attached" for adapted lenses.

- Turn off "Auto" for crop mode to avoid unintentionally taking lower resolution pics.

 

I don't know for sure if these settings exist on the model you got, but they probably do.

[Gilgenberg]

i have no problems with cheap adapters

 

if you have nikon AF lenses i would go for the Commlite Nikon G to Sony E-mount Adapter with AF, Af is slow on A7 but you can control the lens and aperture via the camera body

 

and you have exif data!

 

it´s around 90€

[Ramirez]

Thank you all for your helpful replies 

 

I ordered a lightly used Novoflex Nikon F - Sony FE/E adapter.

And now I just ordered FE 28/2 and Hoya Protector filter for it. 

 

I think that this as far as my budget can go right now.

I'll maybe add the 2 converters for the 28 later; more wide and fisheye will be nice additions.

 

My expenses for this system right now:

 

Sony A7 (lightly used) - 780€

Novoflex adapter (used) - 79€

FE 28/2 - 460€ (new)

Hoya filter - 35€ (new)

Total sum - 1354€

 

I now that the sum will add up but I am trying to stay at this point now 

 

I think that the 28 lens is the best choice for me right now as I will use my A7 for:

 

- Some street photography / everyday life

- Video on tripod as C cam to my two 4K cams

- Some "artful things" coupled with my Nikon lenses; MF will be sufficient as I don´t need fast focus then

 

A7 will be mostly used with my two primes; the native 28 and the adapted Nikon 50.

The zooms will be used on D610. 

And I still got my X100s for 35 mm duty.

 

I think that this will be a sufficient start for me in this system.

 

Thank you all for your input in this thread!

[sstevenson]

Very small (maybe obvious) tip about the adaptor: make sure the adaptor's aperture ring is in the fully closed position when you attach the lens.

 

The Nikon 50 is a fantastic lens, so I'm sure the combo will work out great.

[Ramirez]

Second thoughts about my purchases and how I'll join the Sony full frame system  

 

I will not bail out as I´ve already bought the FE 28/2 lens and the Novoflex adapter.

 

But I´ve been reading a lot about all these great new Sony A7-series cameras.

 

I haven´t paid for the uses Sony A7 yet and I´m still waiting for it to come. 

I could go for a new A7II. It will hurt a little but it is doable for my economy. 

I could just send the A7 back and order a new A7II or order A7s  

 

My needs for my A7-series cam:

 

- Video duty

- Low light situations without flash

- Street photography and everyday life photos

 

I don´t think that I need a camera like A7r or A7rII.

But as it stands the A7II or A7s could be good candidates.

Or then I just buy this lightly used A7 and be satisfied with that.

I will not buy another lens though as FE 28/2 will be my everyday lens

and I will happily adapt my Nikon lenses.

 

This questions is just about the camera body. 

What to do, what to do... 

 

The 5-axis system is great; good for handheld video. And A7s great for low light.

 

I can pay the used A7 in cash really; if I go for A7II or A7s I need to finance the purchase monthly.

 

Any advice?

[Gilgenberg]

i have the A7 and i´m very happy with it

 

great EVF wonderful picture quality and awesome form factor

 

but shutter noise is awkward

 

i wanted to buy the A7II but in the shop i recognized that it is to heavy and bulky for me... IMO

 

so my advice:

 

i would go for A7S

 

IBIS gives + 3-4 EV stops, Sony A7S also, it is smaller and lighter, has silent shutter, and you can use it at night!

 

it has no issues with small Rangefinder wideangle lenses (color cast)

 

when i bought my camera the A7S was way to expensive but now with the new A7sII the price get´s down on the used marked

 

maybe with tele lenses 200mm or 300mm the IBIS could be a advantage

 

but be aware:

 

*   for video you should use a OSS lens to compensate the movement (also with A7)....the Kitlens is great IMO and has OSS...and is affordable, i payed 200

 

*   with A7S you have only 12MP...for me it would be great and you have much smaller RAW files (faster to edit),

 

but you have to be more aware to find the right position for your still shot´s so you have not to crop so much.....i think

[sstevenson]

In terms of getting the original a7, see if it has XAVC-S and SLOG-2. Those are significant advantages for video.

 

Between the a7II and the a7s, I think the stabilization in the a7II is a huge advantage. Some reviewers have said the in-body stabilization is not as good for video as in-lens stabilization, but I've found it works very well. The a7s high ISO stuff is absolutely impressive.

 

If want to take >12MP photos or want stabilization, the a7II is the clear choice. If you primarily want to shoot very low light video and don't need high-resolution stills, then go for the a7s.

 

The a7II is a fantastic camera. My guess it will be better for your purposes, and it's $800 less than the a7s.

[Gilgenberg]

you get the A7S for the same money new as the A7II

 

and it will get down because today the A7SII is anounced

[Ramirez]

Update

 

I ordered the Sony A7 mark II   

 

I know I would have been satisfied with IQ with A7 mark I, no problem at all. But the lure of the 5-axis IBIS called to me like Sirens calling seamen lost at sea   

 

Video is a big part of my "eyes" to the world.. I do about 50/50 between photography and videography. So suddenly I have a little stabilized camera that have fantastic IQ that I can have with me when walking about.

I would have been happy with low light capabilities of the A7s but I think I have more use for the 5-axis; I don´t always need tripods when doing som quick filming.

 

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Conclusion

 

The lightly used, for a good price, A7 is going back for somebody else to pick up.

I am waiting on a brand new A7 mark II  

 

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If I'm really satisfied with the Sony FE system; then maybe I could even take the step and leave Nikon; then I could sell off some Nikon gear.

I've seen the videos on YouTube about MF with focus peaking with the Sony cams; doesn't seem to hard to do; that means that I still have use for 

my Nikon lenses. If it really works out I could maybe only use Sony bodies for all of my full frame needs.

 

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I just read about the A7s II; sounds fantastic but more than twice as much than the A7II. Maybe one day I go for one in the A7s-series. 

I´m happy with the A7II for now 

[rantor49]

Congrats, you'll love the A7m2. Down the road take a look at the Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 lens. One of the best lenses on the market and you can get one for around $750 sometimes with good sales. You would love this lens.