Coming this week..the Sony A7RIII, RX0 and new 18-135 from Hawaii!
Hey guys! Just wanted to give an update. The Start of this week is slow for camera reviews (not much to review right now in the mirrorless world) but tomorrow I will be heading to Hawaii and will be shooting the Sony A7RIII, and will be playing around with the Sony RX0 (finally)! I will have a slew of photos, thoughts and a video about it all and it will wrap up my thoughts on the A7RIII but we already kind of know those thoughts. I have stated already there is no better mirrorless camera made, feature wise, speed wise, IQ wise, high ISO wise, Dynamic Range wise, etc than the A7rIII. It’s phenomenal and if I had a budget of $4000 and was starting from scratch, the A7RIII and a great lens would be in my shopping cart.
I think the A7RIII is the best reviewed Sony camera EVER. While some never warmed to the A9 (due. to the $4500 cost I feel) the A7RIII is a hit, and those who have bought one or reviewed it all seem to enjoy it.
So, off to Hawaii I go to shoot more with this amazing Sony camera and the A6300 along with the new Sony 18-135 E Mount lens for APS-C. I may get in the water with the RX0 as well, so keep an eye out starting Thursday/Friday and into the Weekend for some new reports and fun. I am hoping to also bring my drone with, so I am looking forward to this trip, especially since I have never been to Hawaii!
Other than that, not much going on other than CES in Vegas right now, which I decided to skip. Usually CES is fun but the crowds are insane, and there is not too much camera wise that normally gets announced or shown. This year we have had a few cool things but nothing “WOW” in my opinion.
I am hoping to film a video review today of a hot new Wotancraft bag, and if so will post it here today, so check back this evening!
Non-sponsored pros haven’t warmed up to the A9 because while it is priced at a pro level, the build quality is the same as the A7riii, which is to say it has the weather resistance of a colander.
When Nikon/Canon/Olympus adequately seal their cameras, there is no excuse for Sony not to do that. Even the Leica SL has incredible weather sealing.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/articles/2017-weather-testing-nikon-d850-vs-sony-a7riii-canon-5div-olympus-e-m1II
The A9 has better weather sealing than the A7RII and III. Not the same.
Better is not good enough for pros who use their gear in tough conditions
“While I feel the A9 can be used by Pros of any type, I will state off the bat that I think Sony dropped the ball in two areas with the A9. Weather Sealing, which should have been done fully AND as a pro spec camera and a $4500 price point ..”
The A9’s feature set is incredible. But this is why many pros haven’t warmed up to it. Seal it up at least to the same level as OMD EM II, D5, D850 etc and good night competition.
Back in the day Nikon had the same issue with the F3. So they then introduced the F3P (I have two of these!) which has much better sealing all around. Maybe Sony should make an A9P?
Curious what you think about the RX0. I wanted to try one out but the reviews have been awful. Over heating, fixed f4, no manual modes for video, no IS, etc. I love the design but the X3000 4K looks like a better fit. Looking forward to what you think!
Please show by photo what the Sony APSC 18-135 E lens looks like zoomed out. I presume this is an external zoom and becomes rather awkward in length and balance fully zoomed out which is something manufacturers rarely want to show in their promotional literature.
Sorry, I mean great photo’s.
Robert
Hi Steve,
Enjoy your trip to Hawaii. Looking forward to Some geest photo’s.
Kind regards, Robert
Actually, I never warmed to the A9 because of its IQ which to my eyes was unacceptable from a 4,500 camera. So I waited…imagine how tickled I was when I saw the A7RIII’s STELLAR image quality for 1,300 less? IMO its IQ IS what the A9 should have been for the money.
I have both here, and honestly, for anything but large prints they are identical in IQ. For web use, no difference. Color is the same, and all that is different is the resolution when used in the real world. The A9 IQ is fantastic. The A7rIII offers more resolution but both are equal in low light performance as well. The A9 just has that extra bit of speed, but the IQ is gorgeous. Almost all of these were shot on the A9 besides the 1st two, which were A7RIII:
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2017/10/18/the-voigtlander-40-f1-2-nokton-lens-review-a-noctilux-for-your-sony-a7-or-a9/
For many shooting situations, your right IQ can be acceptable from the A9. Your shooting situations do tend to be very similar so I can see how you would draw that conclusion. For me however, my shooting situations are vastly different from yours. They present unique challenges to dynamic range, white balance, color reproduction and tonal response that the A9 simply can’t deal with as effectively as my A7R III. Having rented the A9 for an extended period, I can say this unequivocally; there are many shooting situations where the imagine quality coming from the A7R III is vastly superior to that of the A9.