A7 or A7ii in MelbourneAU?

[Yorg]

I currently have a xt-1 Fuji and a pack of lenses.

I am so on the verge of going Sony, after seeing a bunch of pictures on the web, and being a little disappointed with the results I'm getting.

However, I'm not entirely sure it is the camera and not the operator - especially with my emerging post processing skills.

Does anyone have an A7, A7ii, or even an r in the vicinity of Melbourne?

Would you be willing for me to bring over my xt-1 and take some identical photos - even outside your front door - on both the xt and the a7?

I then intend to process both as well as possible and get a real comparison - something I'm struggling with on the web.

[Austerror]

What do you think is missing from your photos?

 

I don't have an A7, I have a nex-7 and an A99 and I'm in Canberra.  But if it is something in particular that you are thinking is missing from the Fuji, perhaps we can work it out?

[Yorg]

At about the size of a laptop screen I think i see full frame photographs retaining a luminosity, clarity and a fluidity of tones, when what I am getting from my aps-c is starting to fall apart. I also think I see limitations to dynamic range. With the FF I have had a sense of transparency like looking through a window, and with the apsc of looking on to a reproduction.

The problem is I'm not sure if I am comparing well post processed full frame shots against less well processed aps-c's - particularly my own . Then there is the variable of lenses.

I don't have apples and apples. 

I am mostly interested in fine art, with the possibility of making large prints. I don't care about fast AF or other performance elements, I want to get very good iq. (No I can't afford medium format)

So, if the difference is in fact significant, then I plan to sell the fuji gear while it is still newish and I can get a good sum to put to some sony gear.

I don't want to go to considerable trouble if the difference is not so significant.

And yes, it is a matter of degree, and so subjectivity comes into it, and others' opinions are only so helpful.

Most helpful would be taking some shots of exactly the same scene with both cameras, controlling as best as possible for lenses, and making up my own mind once I look at the RAWs.

So that's what I'm thinking.

Your thoughts are most welcome.

[Austerror]

Well I think you should be able to get world class results from the Fuji.  They make great gear.

 

However, it might be the case of APS-C requires more effort to get those results in post?

 

When I first got my A99, I was surprised at the subtle differences in dynamic range and colour.  My Nex7 still gives me great results. But there is a subtle difference in the quality of the rendering.  It could be my imagination, however, the detail retained in clouds is superior to the Nex7.

 

Adding some context here, the Nex7 is a few years old now.  The sensor in the A99 is the same as found in the A7 (as far as I know). The Nex7 has its pros and cons.

 

However if printing these photos, I'm not sure if the extra dynamic range and nicer rendering will be reproduced.  Printing can be very tricky. Many cameras capture in RGB and most printers print in CMYK. Converting between the two can be a nightmare, other times it can be simple.  In fact I find printing extremely frustrating.

[Austerror]

What ISO do you shoot at? That can effect output.

[Yorg]

Hi Thanks for the reply.

Since initially posting, I've been doing quite a lot of research and thinking. On Friday I'm meeting up with a chap here in Melbourne to take some identical shots with his A7 and my XT-1. That should settle it for me, but even prior I'm leaning to an A7r for serious stuff and my phone or a pocket camera for carrying around.

As part of this journey I went to an exhibition which included some 20"x20 something" prints taken by a full frame Canon. Again, there seemed to be a level of detail and a transparent window effect that I don't see on apsc even on the web. So despite what you say about the difficulty of printing...

Again, this is not scientific.

Incidentally, on the Fuji I shoot RAW and at the native base 200iso ( though by all accounts fuji are fibbing, and it is really around 130iso).

Cheers.

[Mrcoho1]

I have many Sony Cameras. In order of purchase, the A580, A77, A99, A77II and just in the last month the A7II. I shoot with a Fuji S5s in the studio I work for and I can assure you. My oldest A580 makes the Fujis look bad. We have a joke around the studio among the photographers. I went on vacation with my Fuji and realized that I left my Fuji in the car in the back seat and I forgot to lock it. When i came back to my car there were 2 more Fujis in the back seat. I am not the only one who thinks that we get poor images from Fuji. My A7II is a dream. I was an A mount shooter and for many years and thought: why doesn't Sony put more into A mount research and production and  now I see why Sony is really building their future in the E Mount. Don't get me wrong. I love my A99 and A77ii. My A77 has a lot of actuations(many weddings and great camera). I have to look to the future and Mirrorless is the Future. 

[Yorg]

OK, but what do you mean by 'look bad'. Can you put some words to it?

[Mrcoho1]

By look bad I mean out of focus, poor dynamic range, poor color range, poor low light results, poor LCD, bad custom white balance, noisy pictures, and more. The poor focus is from the poor low light auto focus features of Fuji and their manual focus is even worse. No focus peaking, no EVF. We have a lot of customers coming in for retakes because of camera performance not photographer mistakes. Sony makes a photographers job so much easier.