Sony A7R II - The Best Canon Camera Yet?

No, I am not crazy, and you read the title correctly.  The new Sony A7R II, an upgrade from the very successful A7R, just makes me foam in my mouth; all the useful and practical features all in one body.  I don't even mind the 42MP resolution.  I can live with it.  Let's look at the new features.

42MP BSI Sensor - For a lot of people, this is a big deal.  Back Side Illuminated (BSI) technology is used, along with copper wiring on the sensor to achieve clean high ISO and amazing readout speed.  The biggest, and in my opinion, the best feature of this sensor is the 399 phase detect AF points that makes it possible to auto focus third party lenses in almost native AF speed.  I have tried the smart AF adapter for the Canon lenses, and it's just not workable for me, but from what I have seen, the A7R II is light years ahead and totally usable.  This is the reason for the weird title :)  and this is reason enough for me to eventually buy one.

In-Body-Image-Stabilization (IBIS) -- Like it's older brother, the A7 II, the A7R II now has the 5-Axis IBIS.  I have used the excellent IBIS in the Olympus E-M5 and am spoiled by it.

4K Internal Recording -- Not a feature of interest to me, but for the indy film makers, this is fantastic news.  The Panasonic GH-4 has gotten so much attention being the first mirrorless to record 4K video and the A7R II will prove to be irresistible for this group of people, for sure.

Improved Shutter -- The A7R has a pretty negative reputation for having a very loud and high vibration shutter.  Sony promises the A7R II is 50% better in this regard.  This camera also features the Silent Shutter, first introduced with the A7s.  I will find this invaluable in so many shooting situations.  As for the shutter life, this is even better than some of the professional DSLRs out there, which typically have 350K to 400K shutter life.  For most people, this kind of long life is overkill, but it provides a peace of mind.

The above are the features I feel are most important.  Putting so much new and improved stuff in one camera body, is a breath of fresh air, unlike others that uses a small improvement as a reason for a new model.  Well done Sony.  I look forward to buying one in a year (or two).

Untitled - Sony A7 & Kilfitt Makro Kilar 90mm f2.8

The Evil of Irrational Desires

After posting "The Upgrade Dilemma", I have realized how silly and irrational I have been regarding the A7/A7r. No doubt they are great cameras, but as obakesan pointed out, what "more" is there that I want from my existing equipment. Rationally, not much. The 5D Mark II is still a great camera, and I still have a whole set of Canon L lenses that covers the focal length from 16mm to 200mm, plus the 1.4x and 2.0x telecoverters (which I almost never use). That ought to satisfy my need when I salivate over the A7/A7r's full frame feature. The only thing missing is small size, and of course the short flange distance of the mount.

So, it's not really much about what I need, but what I irrationally want. I need to get a grip on reality!

Behind Bars - NEX-6 & Leica-R 90mm f2 Summicron @ f2. Click for larger.

How Will the NEX Full Frame Affect the Leica M?

The imminent release of the Sony NEX full frame A7 and A7r will be the only rangefinder style full frame cameras besides what Leica has been offering. I am sure, other than the Execs at Leica, many people would also like to know, what kind of impact will these two cameras have on Leica M sales?

In the past, many other companies also made rangefinder cameras to compete with the Leica Ms; they even use the Leica M-mount!  Minolta CLE, Konica Hexar and the Russian clones were all pretty popular and capable cameras, but didn't affect the sales of Leica Ms much. I believe people who buy Leica cameras are buying more than just a photographic tool; they might be buying Leica for prestige, as investments, and maybe even as a status symbol. This may change slightly in the digital age for camera bodies; I don't know of anyone who will pay full price of a used M8, or M9, when the newer cameras are more capable and in some cases, cost less.  Lenses are different, and this brings us to the question: Why buy a Leica body when you can buy the NEX full frame and use Leica M lenses for a lot less?

No doubt, many will still buy a Leica instead of the A7/A7r, for various reasons, but for the majority of us who want a small full frame camera with a short lens registration, will no doubt buy the Sony. True, most of us will probably never buy a Leica regardless of Sony making the A7/A7r or not, but for those who can afford the Leica, but are sitting on the fence because of justification for the higher Leica price, the NEX A7/A7r maybe sway them to buy the Sony. So yes, for those who can afford a Leica, and actually use the camera to make pictures rather than using it as a status symbol, it would make no sense to buy a Leica, unless the build and handling is more important than image quality, when there is now a much cheaper alternative.  How large is this group I have no idea, but if I were a Leica Exec, I would be worried.

Fall leaf - Sony NEX-6 & Leica-R 90mm f2 Summicron at f2.  Click for larger.