Hello, new to forum Canon user looking at A7RII

[dclark2171]

I'm a professional Architectural/Interior photographer. I have been a Canon user for years and do not intend to make a complete switch. I will be buying a new body before the year is out. When I have a client that requires high MP images, I will rent a medium format system (usually Pentax) or recently 5Ds. Both great systems. The 5ds is nice since I can use t/s lenses. For my pleasure photography , away from work, I love street photography (film and digital). Along with my Canon gear, I have a Minolta system (Maxxum 7000), Canon eos 1vhs film system, and a small Mamiya 35mm film system/lenses. I love shooting with all of them, even with iphone. However, I find, for digital, the my Canon 5d series cameras (even without grips) a little to bulky. My thought is that I can kill two birds with one stone with A7Rii (using metabones for work). High MP for those clients that require and smaller, more friendly carry around camera. Plus I can use adapted Minolta lenses. I'll buy a new body next year as well...so if it does not work out...its not the end of the world

 

Anyway I have a few questions hopefully I do not seem long winded:

 

 

1. For street photography,  I shoot in camera jpegs (jpeg + raw) in camera B&W at times. I know PP conversion is better (I still have option) I just enjoy shooting that way. How is a7Rii's in camera B&W? I had a first generation rx100 and I thought the B&W was outstanding. 

 

2. Also for street, pleasure photography, 42 MP is a bit much. How is the a7Rii's med RAW? The 5ds is outstanding (28mp). Basically a slightly improved 5diii with a few more MP)

 

3. I love EVF focus maginification for outdoor t/s manual focusing (I used an A7R once very brief). How about, on the fly walking around, manual focusing with a EVF? My mamiya is manual focus and I switch to manual focus lots of times on my other systems. 

 

4. Is there an option to NOT have camera settings show thru EVF. For example, not have B&W or WB showing/ Basically, similar to an optical viewfinder? 

 

5. Battery life is really not that big of deal for me. For pro work, I would add a grip. For street, I would just carry spare or two (no biggie). However, is there an "airplane" mode to turn off wi-fi, etc while shooting?

 

6. For a native lens for my walkabout, I was thinking zeiss 24-70. For pro work adapted t/s would be used mostly. Opinions on the zeiss? 

 

7. How is in camera HDR? I rarely used it on my rx100, however, if I go into a dark building with contrast extremes (bright windows, dim interior lighting, I found it useful. 

 

Again. thanks for answering ahead of time. 

[yali]

I'll try to answer the questions I can =)

 

3. Manual focus is actually very good on all the Sony Cams because of focus peaking and magnification. I love to use old MF lenses with them.

4. Yep, you can set "Setting Effects" to OFF in the menu. The EVF will then emulate a OVF. It won't show any picture effects or styles. Nor will it show any change if you change exposure compensation or any kind of manual setting. Just like an OVF.

5. Jep, there is an airplane mode. It does extend battery life considerably. Also a very neat trick is to turn off the cam between shots. OR turn off the monitor completely and use the EVF for picture taking.

6. The Zeiss 24-70 is probably the worst lens in the line up right now. There may be a f2.8 version announced next week. Alternatives are the 16-35 which is very sharp! Or any of the primes. They are really good. But the 24-70 isn't a bad lens. Just not amazing. If unsure, just rent one and see.

7. In Camera HDR will be similar to RX100. But coming from Canon you'd probably be overwhelmed by the dynamic range of the A7RII. A lot of people use just a single image for HDR. There is a LOT of room to play with the RAWs from that camera!

[Guest all8]

2. I don't think the camera does a scaled down raw. Perhaps it can be operated in Crop mode with FF Lens, or use an APSC Lens for walk-around, and that gives a smaller RAW file ... perhaps...perhaps not.

 

4. Yes, that is possible.

 

 

Wrapping the camera in a Luigi leather case, attaching a Loxia 35 or 50, is really a great walk around setup. You can assign something useful to the C1 & C2 buttons and then just take photos. No distractions from the camera.

[dclark2171]

Thanks for feedback. Especially on the lens. I have Canon L lenses for pretty much any focal length. So I may try out first with the Canons and find the best "walk around" length and then purchase a Zeiss e mount version. I like the idea of turning back screen off. I know this may be far fetched...can you actually review your card images thru EVF? 

[bplet]

fyi - I came over from Canon 5D3.   only will address areas that Yali didn't, or have more to add

 

1) I've only used in camera B&W once, for a strobe photobooth type area at an event, but they ended up looking amazing

2) There is no med raw setting.  It's either full size raw, or JPG (JPG does come in various sizes)

3) as yali says, MF is VERY good.  Peaking or magnification in the EVF makes it a breeze

4) IMHO, turning settings off isn't just emulating an OVF - it's better.  In low light, you can see your subject better than you would be able to optically.  This is VERY helpful in strobe sessions where you've only got dim modeling lights.  Situations where I used to have trouble acquiring focus with the 5D3 are easy with the Sony 

[bplet]

Thanks for feedback. Especially on the lens. I have Canon L lenses for pretty much any focal length. So I may try out first with the Canons and find the best "walk around" length and then purchase a Zeiss e mount version. I like the idea of turning back screen off. I know this may be far fetched...can you actually review your card images thru EVF? 

 

Sure, you can review images in the EVF.  You look kinda weird doing it...  heheh.  "why is he pointing his camera at that wall?"  ha

[dclark2171]

Sure, you can review images in the EVF.  You look kinda weird doing it...  heheh.  "why is he pointing his camera at that wall?"  ha

That would be weird looking. However, if i am doing an outdoor architectural shoot, bright day,  the LCD on the Canons (even if set bright) is hard to see. I do not want to use an LCD dome viewer. That's how i have to currently focus the t/s lenses (use magnify image). EVF is a biggie in that situation. However, if i really want to review the image and double check details after it has been taken, I'll have to remove camera from tripod and go to shady area. Thru the EVF review would be fantastic there. 

[Guest all8]

EVF is better than the LCD, easier to see and more dots.

[sstevenson]

For #7, I agree with yali's comment above. There's so much data in the raw files that you probably won't need HDR in most cases. Just shoot for the highlights at a low ISO and the rest comes up nicely.

[dclark2171]

For #7, I agree with yali's comment above. There's so much data in the raw files that you probably won't need HDR in most cases. Just shoot for the highlights at a low ISO and the rest comes up nicely.

 

Good to know. Generally, I get banding on my Canons with only minor pull. The highlights are not as bad as shadows. 

[joema]

I'm a professional Architectural/Interior photographer....my Canon 5d series cameras (even without grips) a little to bulky. My thought is that I can kill two birds with one stone with A7Rii (using metabones for work). High MP for those clients that require and smaller, more friendly carry around camera. Plus I can use adapted Minolta lenses. I'll buy a new body next year as well...so if it does not work out...its not the end of the world...How is the a7Rii's med RAW? The 5ds is outstanding (28mp). Basically a slightly improved 5diii with a few more MP)

 

3. I love EVF focus maginification for outdoor t/s manual focusing (I used an A7R once very brief). How about, on the fly walking around, manual focusing with a EVF?....4. Is there an option to NOT have camera settings show thru EVF....5. Battery life is really not that big of deal for me. For pro work, I would add a grip. For street, I would just carry spare or two (no biggie). However, is there an "airplane" mode to turn off wi-fi, etc while shooting?...6. For a native lens for my walkabout, I was thinking zeiss 24-70. For pro work adapted t/s would be used mostly. Opinions on the zeiss? ..7. How is in camera HDR?...

 

I have a 5D3 and an A7RII. The A7RII does not have small/med raw, only full size. However you can use Super35 crop mode which reduces the pixel count to about 18 mp. 

The EVF is superb; maybe the best put on any camera so far. It is very easy to manually focus using color peaking (which is adjustable of intensity and color) or the magnify function.  We use manual focus most of the time for documentary video and have no problems with it.

 

Re battery life it is somewhat short but this has been blown out of proportion. I have shot over 2,000 jpg stills on a single battery doing time lapses. Yes if you keep the power and display powered up continuously and take a shot ever 5 min, it will run down a lot quicker. However that is not dramatically different from the 5D3 and Nikon D810 if used in video mode. We have to change batteries once or twice a day in those when shooting documentary video. My A7RII with the battery grip is no different -- a battery change once or twice a day is needed, not 5x a day or every hour. However for typical still photography use, you will need extra batteries for a long shooting day -- I'd estimate a total of four.

 

You can turn off WiFi that supposedly helps battery drain but I don't know how much. The EVF is adjustable for brightness and quality, which has an impact on battery life.

 

The Zeiss 24-70 f/4 does not generally get stellar reviews. Some people are satisfied with it. With the Metabones IV adapter you can use your Canon L lenses. Autofocus works fairly well but not equal to Canon lens on Canon body or Sony lens on Sony body. I think it's perfectly adequate for landscape and architectural work but I wouldn't want to shoot an indoor swim meet with it.

 

HDR works great, although invoking exposure bracketing involves Sony's convoluted menus. I have assembled them with HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix Pro. However at low ISO the A7RII's dynamic range is so high you often don't even need HDR. This advantage diminishes at higher ISOs but at lower ISOs you have tremendous shadow recovery ability.

[dclark2171]

I have a 5D3 and an A7RII. The A7RII does not have small/med raw, only full size. However you can use Super35 crop mode which reduces the pixel count to about 18 mp. 

The EVF is superb; maybe the best put on any camera so far. It is very easy to manually focus using color peaking (which is adjustable of intensity and color) or the magnify function.  We use manual focus most of the time for documentary video and have no problems with it.

 

Re battery life it is somewhat short but this has been blown out of proportion. I have shot over 2,000 jpg stills on a single battery doing time lapses. Yes if you keep the power and display powered up continuously and take a shot ever 5 min, it will run down a lot quicker. However that is not dramatically different from the 5D3 and Nikon D810 if used in video mode. We have to change batteries once or twice a day in those when shooting documentary video. My A7RII with the battery grip is no different -- a battery change once or twice a day is needed, not 5x a day or every hour. However for typical still photography use, you will need extra batteries for a long shooting day -- I'd estimate a total of four.

 

You can turn off WiFi that supposedly helps battery drain but I don't know how much. The EVF is adjustable for brightness and quality, which has an impact on battery life.

 

The Zeiss 24-70 f/4 does not generally get stellar reviews. Some people are satisfied with it. With the Metabones IV adapter you can use your Canon L lenses. Autofocus works fairly well but not equal to Canon lens on Canon body or Sony lens on Sony body. I think it's perfectly adequate for landscape and architectural work but I wouldn't want to shoot an indoor swim meet with it.

 

HDR works great, although invoking exposure bracketing involves Sony's convoluted menus. I have assembled them with HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix Pro. However at low ISO the A7RII's dynamic range is so high you often don't even need HDR. This advantage diminishes at higher ISOs but at lower ISOs you have tremendous shadow recovery ability.

I'm glad to hear the SONY is complementing your Canons nicely. So you can shoot stills in Super 35 crop mode? Another question, how does one deal with Adobe lens profiles when importing into Lightroom using Metabones adapted lenses?

[steve of stonehenge]

3. MANUAL FOCUS:

 

I use it a lot.  I have assigned the trash button on the back to activate manual focus on non-Sony lenses.  With Sony lenses, it automatically goes into manual focus whenever you twist the lens barrel.  This helps with focus at times.

[dclark2171]

3. MANUAL FOCUS:

 

I use it a lot.  I have assigned the trash button on the back to activate manual focus on non-Sony lenses.  With Sony lenses, it automatically goes into manual focus whenever you twist the lens barrel.  This helps with focus at times.

 

I think that is one thing that many miss using the adaptors. Manual focusing is soooo much easier using the EVF that many like myself, prefer it over autofocus in many instances. The slightly slower auto focus is not that big of a deal anyway using non native lenses.

[sstevenson]

You can turn off WiFi that supposedly helps battery drain but I don't know how much. 

 

FWIW, this makes a big difference in my experience.

 

 

So you can shoot stills in Super 35 crop mode?

 

Yes, though you'll end up with 18MP images instead of 42MP.

[dclark2171]

If I wanted to shoot at 16mm in crop mode, I would need a 10mm or so lens. Looks like the compressed RAW files are smaller than JPEGS as well. I really wish the A7Rii had a medium RAW setting that was full frame (like canons)

[tiltshift]

I'm glad to hear the SONY is complementing your Canons nicely. So you can shoot stills in Super 35 crop mode? Another question, how does one deal with Adobe lens profiles when importing into Lightroom using Metabones adapted lenses?

unless I am missing something LR will not be able to tell the correct lens and apply the profile automatically. in the exif it shows the correct focal length and aperture. but it does this by tricking the camera into thinking it is a Sony (lens see attached pic). as the lens is not identified as a Canon 24-70f2.8II for example and rather a 24-70 f2.8 G SSM II it cant automatically select the right profile. but because it does mark the lens used it is easy to manually select the profile (maybe make a macro?). 

[dclark2171]

After digging I believe I can select the profile manually and then have it applied automatically when that combo is used. I just have to make a new profile when an untouched raw image from that camera and lens combo. I just ordered my A7Rii. It will arrive tomorrow. We'll see how I like it. I will have 30 days to try. If I don't like it will be a 5Ds

[tiltshift]

After digging I believe I can select the profile manually and then have it applied automatically when that combo is used. I just have to make a new profile when an untouched raw image from that camera and lens combo. I just ordered my A7Rii. It will arrive tomorrow. We'll see how I like it. I will have 30 days to try. If I don't like it will be a 5Ds

 

I am glad I replied. I just tried this. after manually selecting the profile I saved it as a new profile. now it will automatically selects the correct profile.

 

Thanks!