Sony A7R-ii + Leica 50mm APO Summicron-M
Note: Since posting this a week ago, I also said goodbye to the DSLR. I have posted some thoughts on that at this link.
I got my A7R-ii about three weeks ago, and one of the Zeiss Batis lenses, the 25mm, arrived tend days back. I have been swamped with multiple projects, and I have not had the time to extensively test it yet.
So far, I have been taking a few test shots that are likely to be of interest only to me (trying to evaluate which of my legacy lenses are still relevant in the context of the whopping 42MP resolution the camera offers).
I also covered a wedding in the family that had three separate events. Unfortunately, I can't publish the photos on flickr, but I took a lot of people pictures with the A7R-ii and three lenses, the Leica 50 APO, the Zeiss 25 Batis and the Sony 70-200 f/4, both in available lighting and with the Sony flash. The A7R-ii came through and delivered with absolutely no issues. Until this, I used to use my Nikon D810 + Nikon flash(es) for all people events, but the A7R-ii gave me no reason to miss my D810 in the slightest.
To my surprise, I saw that three of the four pro photographers at the wedding were shooting with A7-ii and A7R-ii, one of them with an AF adapter and Canon lenses. The fourth had a Canon 5DMK3. They were also shooting 4K video with the Panasonic GH4. I ended up chatting with a couple of them who confirmed something I've said many times before: the DSLR is at the edge of a precipice, about to roll off.
I think it's over for most DSLRs. The mirrorless cameras are killing them. Between the A7x full frame cameras, some really excellent APS-C cameras from Sony, Fuji and Samsung, MFT cameras from Olympus and Panasonic, and now, excellent 1" sensor cameras from Sony and Panasonic, the DSLR has become the next dinosaur after the rangefinder.
There are plenty of people on the web who have been reviewing the A7R-ii, so there is no point in me repeating information already widely available. So I will just mention that Michael Reichmann just did a review of the new Leica S-007 on Luminous Landscape, and his two points of reference were his Pentax 645 (another medium format) and his Sony A7R-ii. The scary part was, the A7R-ii very definitely belonged in such a discussion.
DxOMark just published their latest camera ratings, which shows the A7R-ii has edged past the Nikon D810, which until now, has been the king of 35mm cameras. The D810 is still a formidable camera, of course, and hardly obsolete, and for many use cases, probably still the best. But overall, the A7R-ii is the new Nº 1.
What is also a real eye opener is, 19 of the top twenty 35mm cameras in the DxOMark list are either from Sony or have a Sony sensor! That is really amazing, and shows what a powerhouse Sony has become in digital imaging. Sony also makes sensors for the Apple iPhones.
The A7R-ii is not perfect – it still has a few warts and there are some real simple things Sony could do to make it even better. Some of them are just firmware changes, e.g., stop screwing around with the RAW images and save them as full 14-bit uncompressed files. Others will require hardware changes, so they will have to wait for the A7R-iii or A9 or A13 or whatever the next step up camera Sony puts out.
But the A7R-ii has reached a very high level of maturity for only the second generation of a camera that appeared only ~15 months ago on the scene. I can't think of any other camera that has made such a huge leap in just one generation. Except for the sensor resolution, there is very little that a Nikon D810 can show over a D700, or a Canon 5DS over a 5DMK1.
Of course, the grotesquely overpriced and obsolete Leica M rangefinders have been stagnant for a decade, and over that time, the RF has become largely irrelevant to mainstream photography. I think most DSLRs are headed that way too.
Maybe Nikon and Canon will come out with their own mirrorless cameras. There is always hope of that! Even Leica is rumored to be considering dumping the RF (shh, not so loudly!) in favor of a new Q-like EVF/mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses (M-mount?) with autofocus, 4K video, etc. (what they should have done five years ago). That should help Leica survive as a niche company, but they would not be competitive with the Sony + Zeiss combo. This game is over, and Sony has won.
So bottom line, the A7R-ii is a very impressive camera and really is the best 35mm camera today for pretty much everything except pro sports with super tele lenses or using in really rugged field conditions. I will take out the A7R-ii on a more extensive test drive in a few weeks after my calendar clears up a little, but from what I've seen so far, it is a keeper.
Above: A7R-ii + Leica 50mm f/2 APO Summicron-M
Below: A7R-ii + Zeiss 25mm f/2 Distagon (Batis)
Further below: A7R-ii + Leica 135mm f/3.4 APO Telyt-M, a new acquisition from a new flickr friend.
Bottom: most recent DxOMark rankings of cameras
Sony A7R-ii + Leica 50mm APO Summicron-M
Note: Since posting this a week ago, I also said goodbye to the DSLR. I have posted some thoughts on that at this link.
I got my A7R-ii about three weeks ago, and one of the Zeiss Batis lenses, the 25mm, arrived tend days back. I have been swamped with multiple projects, and I have not had the time to extensively test it yet.
So far, I have been taking a few test shots that are likely to be of interest only to me (trying to evaluate which of my legacy lenses are still relevant in the context of the whopping 42MP resolution the camera offers).
I also covered a wedding in the family that had three separate events. Unfortunately, I can't publish the photos on flickr, but I took a lot of people pictures with the A7R-ii and three lenses, the Leica 50 APO, the Zeiss 25 Batis and the Sony 70-200 f/4, both in available lighting and with the Sony flash. The A7R-ii came through and delivered with absolutely no issues. Until this, I used to use my Nikon D810 + Nikon flash(es) for all people events, but the A7R-ii gave me no reason to miss my D810 in the slightest.
To my surprise, I saw that three of the four pro photographers at the wedding were shooting with A7-ii and A7R-ii, one of them with an AF adapter and Canon lenses. The fourth had a Canon 5DMK3. They were also shooting 4K video with the Panasonic GH4. I ended up chatting with a couple of them who confirmed something I've said many times before: the DSLR is at the edge of a precipice, about to roll off.
I think it's over for most DSLRs. The mirrorless cameras are killing them. Between the A7x full frame cameras, some really excellent APS-C cameras from Sony, Fuji and Samsung, MFT cameras from Olympus and Panasonic, and now, excellent 1" sensor cameras from Sony and Panasonic, the DSLR has become the next dinosaur after the rangefinder.
There are plenty of people on the web who have been reviewing the A7R-ii, so there is no point in me repeating information already widely available. So I will just mention that Michael Reichmann just did a review of the new Leica S-007 on Luminous Landscape, and his two points of reference were his Pentax 645 (another medium format) and his Sony A7R-ii. The scary part was, the A7R-ii very definitely belonged in such a discussion.
DxOMark just published their latest camera ratings, which shows the A7R-ii has edged past the Nikon D810, which until now, has been the king of 35mm cameras. The D810 is still a formidable camera, of course, and hardly obsolete, and for many use cases, probably still the best. But overall, the A7R-ii is the new Nº 1.
What is also a real eye opener is, 19 of the top twenty 35mm cameras in the DxOMark list are either from Sony or have a Sony sensor! That is really amazing, and shows what a powerhouse Sony has become in digital imaging. Sony also makes sensors for the Apple iPhones.
The A7R-ii is not perfect – it still has a few warts and there are some real simple things Sony could do to make it even better. Some of them are just firmware changes, e.g., stop screwing around with the RAW images and save them as full 14-bit uncompressed files. Others will require hardware changes, so they will have to wait for the A7R-iii or A9 or A13 or whatever the next step up camera Sony puts out.
But the A7R-ii has reached a very high level of maturity for only the second generation of a camera that appeared only ~15 months ago on the scene. I can't think of any other camera that has made such a huge leap in just one generation. Except for the sensor resolution, there is very little that a Nikon D810 can show over a D700, or a Canon 5DS over a 5DMK1.
Of course, the grotesquely overpriced and obsolete Leica M rangefinders have been stagnant for a decade, and over that time, the RF has become largely irrelevant to mainstream photography. I think most DSLRs are headed that way too.
Maybe Nikon and Canon will come out with their own mirrorless cameras. There is always hope of that! Even Leica is rumored to be considering dumping the RF (shh, not so loudly!) in favor of a new Q-like EVF/mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses (M-mount?) with autofocus, 4K video, etc. (what they should have done five years ago). That should help Leica survive as a niche company, but they would not be competitive with the Sony + Zeiss combo. This game is over, and Sony has won.
So bottom line, the A7R-ii is a very impressive camera and really is the best 35mm camera today for pretty much everything except pro sports with super tele lenses or using in really rugged field conditions. I will take out the A7R-ii on a more extensive test drive in a few weeks after my calendar clears up a little, but from what I've seen so far, it is a keeper.
Above: A7R-ii + Leica 50mm f/2 APO Summicron-M
Below: A7R-ii + Zeiss 25mm f/2 Distagon (Batis)
Further below: A7R-ii + Leica 135mm f/3.4 APO Telyt-M, a new acquisition from a new flickr friend.
Bottom: most recent DxOMark rankings of cameras