Consumer Technology About to Buy A Camera

[skillzdadirecta]

Mostly for video but the occasional still shooting as well... heard good things about this one

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1395510-REG/sony_alpha_a7_iii_mirrorless.html

 

Any of you photographers/videographers have an opinion?

[Nokt]

I'm not hugely into Photography, but I own a Sony A6000 with a couple lenses.

I'm fairly confident in saying that Sony is the top dog in the mirrorless category and that the A7iii is an amazing camera.

However, if you plan on doing any kind of Astrophotography avoid them. The have whats called the "Star Eater" problem where the camera will edit out stars.

Otherwise its an amazing camera, I've never read a bad thing about it.

 

Also, Nikon and Canon just announced Full Frame mirrorless (Sony use to be the only option). Might be worth looking into how they stack up against Sony and if they bring their lens library with them. E-mount lenses are expensive, though you can get adapters as well.

Not sure how well versed you are in cameras, but Full Frame is a lot more expensive than the cropped APS-C. You might want to look into getting a Sony A6500 as it will save you a lot of money in lenses and in the body at the cost of a cropped sensor.

[Bataar]

I'm a Canon DSLR shooter and have been a fan of their cameras. If you want to shoot 4K, their stuff might not be the best as it has a high crop factor. Even their new mirrorless EOS R has about a 1.7 crop factor, meaning you would need to use some decent wide angle lenses if you want the same view in full frame. You might still want to look at it though as it has a much broader selection of native lenses from both Canon as well as 3rd party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron. Adapters exist for the Sony, but they're simply not as good. No way around that. The Canon EOS R also has a fully articulating touch screen. If you're going to be shooting vlogs at all, it's the only one that will allow you to see the screen while you film. Also, the size of the Canon is better, IMO. It has a better grip and is much more comfortable to hold. The Sony is too small and cramped, IMO.

[Emblazon]

If your focus is on video, the Panasonic GH5 is what you want. 

 

I also wouldn't count out the Blackmagic cameras. 

[skillzdadirecta]

11 minutes ago, Emblazon said:

If your focus is on video, the Panasonic GH5 is what you want. 

 

I also wouldn't count out the Blackmagic cameras. 

 

I was looking at the Black Magic cameras but I will be using this for stills as well... mostly for the lady and her music stuff. 

[skillzdadirecta]

14 minutes ago, Bataar said:

I'm a Canon DSLR shooter and have been a fan of their cameras. If you want to shoot 4K, their stuff might not be the best as it has a high crop factor. Even their new mirrorless EOS R has about a 1.7 crop factor, meaning you would need to use some decent wide angle lenses if you want the same view in full frame. You might still want to look at it though as it has a much broader selection of native lenses from both Canon as well as 3rd party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron. Adapters exist for the Sony, but they're simply not as good. No way around that. The Canon EOS R also has a fully articulating touch screen. If you're going to be shooting vlogs at all, it's the only one that will allow you to see the screen while you film. Also, the size of the Canon is better, IMO. It has a better grip and is much more comfortable to hold. The Sony is too small and cramped, IMO.

 

All the blogs I check ranked the Sony higher and a lot of shooters I talked to preferred it as well to the Canon. My buddy has a Canon C100 so if I ever want to go that route I could just use his. The lens factor is a consideration though.

[Emblazon]

34 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

 

I was looking at the Black Magic cameras but I will be using this for stills as well... mostly for the lady and her music stuff. 

Those capture quality stills. However, regardless of the camera you decide to go with, you'll be better off using an Atomos recorder/monitor for capturing any video, as 9 times out of 10, it will record higher quality footage than native from the camera. That 1 being RED. 

[TwinIon]

If you're starting from scratch and want to go mirrorless I think Sony is the way to go. If you're like me and have lenses in an existing system, I don't think Sony's lead is such that it's worth swapping over, but if you don't have that investment Sony is currently in the lead and they iterate faster than Canon and Nikon.

 

 

I just invested in a new camera, and one thing that kept me with Nikon was the lens library. Yes, you can adapt lenses, but the experience isn't as good as native. I like to shoot birds, but I don't want to spend tons of money on glass. So the availability of lenses like the $1k Tamron 150-600mm is a nice option when on the Sony's you either have to adapt or pay ~$3k for their long telephotos (which are nice, but still).

 

The other thing I'd recommend is making sure you really want to go full frame. Especially for video, you're not necessarily getting your money's worth. You could save almost $1k by going for a Fujifilm X-T3 or Panasonic GH5. Both will have their advantages and disadvantages over the full frame Sony, but getting more lenses will be cheaper, they're smaller, and overall very comparable.

 

[Guest]

I personally am not a fan of the Sony look. I’d echo the Panasonic GH5 comment if video is your primary use.

[skillzdadirecta]

Another vote for the Panasonic... and it's a little cheaper.  Gonna do some more research and make a decision this weekend. Thanks guys.

[Nokt]

1 hour ago, BlueAngel said:

Looking to find myself a hobby, what's a good DSLR around the 1k price range?

I am considering buying a Fuji X-T2 currently. Its a mirrorless though, you could probably find an equally good DSLR with a couple lenses for that price.

[Emblazon]

2 hours ago, BlueAngel said:

Looking to find myself a hobby, what's a good DSLR around the 1k price range?

It's older, but still a powerful workhorse. The Panasonic GH4. 

[skillzdadirecta]

We ended up going with the Sony based on the available deals... thanks for all the input guys.

[gamer.tv]

I need to save up to buy a camera for next year, but that'll be an internet search for 'best entry level camera's 2019' in 6 months time, not now.  

[Emblazon]

I really want the new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. Only $1295, too. The camera is spectacular. 

[CitizenVectron]

On 10/24/2018 at 5:24 PM, skillzdadirecta said:

Mostly for video but the occasional still shooting as well... heard good things about this one

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1395510-REG/sony_alpha_a7_iii_mirrorless.html

 

Any of you photographers/videographers have an opinion?

 

On 10/24/2018 at 8:00 PM, Nokt said:

I'm not hugely into Photography, but I own a Sony A6000 with a couple lenses.

I'm fairly confident in saying that Sony is the top dog in the mirrorless category and that the A7iii is an amazing camera.

However, if you plan on doing any kind of Astrophotography avoid them. The have whats called the "Star Eater" problem where the camera will edit out stars.

Otherwise its an amazing camera, I've never read a bad thing about it.

 

Also, Nikon and Canon just announced Full Frame mirrorless (Sony use to be the only option). Might be worth looking into how they stack up against Sony and if they bring their lens library with them. E-mount lenses are expensive, though you can get adapters as well.

Not sure how well versed you are in cameras, but Full Frame is a lot more expensive than the cropped APS-C. You might want to look into getting a Sony A6500 as it will save you a lot of money in lenses and in the body at the cost of a cropped sensor.

 

 

I know it's too late, but I thought I'd chime in as I have an A7iii and am a pro photographer (wedding, etc).

 

Firstly, the A7iii doesn't suffer from star eating like previous models, which is nice. For video it is great as it actually supersamples at 6k and then creates a 4k video. I don't do any video though.

 

I was a Canon wedding photographer (5Dm3 + a bunch of L lenses) and I made the switch to Sony last month. I am loving it. The autofocus on the A7iii is amazing, especially the Eye-AF. It literally finds a person's eyes and makes sure they are continually in focus at all times. If you want any advice or help in setting up the camera, let me know, as the menu sucks and there are so many cool things you can do. On mine I have three different buttons configured to take pictures in different ways (for example, my AEL button uses Eye-AF, my joystick button uses Wide AF, and my AF-on button uses centre-point C-AF). I also have the wheel-centre button set as my "OH FUCK" button. It uses Wide-AF and sets a minimum shutter speed but then auto ISO and auto aperture. Basically when I press it, it is because something just started happening in front of me and I don't have time to manually set things, so it just grabs the nearest target and locks on with good exposure.

 

The camera is also a LOT smaller than a normal SLR, which I actually like. I have some higher-end lenses which are larger, but honestly the ones I love using the most are the smaller ones, even if they aren't quite as great. There's something nice about having a really small and light lens+camera combo that makes taking pictures more fun. 

 

For cheaper and smaller lenses I would recommend the Samyang/Rokinon 35mm 2.8 and 24mm 2.8 lenses (on the wide-angle side), and the Sony/Zeiss 50mm 1.8 on the normal size. You might not care about that, though, if you are getting a normal zoom lens (I use prime lenses, so no zoom).

 

Anyway, there is my rant, but you made a good choice going with the A7iii, it's probably the best bang-for-your-buck camera out there right now. Canon will probably have a great one in 2-3 years, but they've really dropped the ball (Nikon, too), and Sony is dominating the mirrorless arena.

[Emblazon]

Any macro lens recommendations for a Micro 4/3rds mount? I need to shoot some close ups of a product that's about an inch or two in diameter. 

[Nokt]

58 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

Firstly, the A7iii doesn't suffer from star eating like previous models, which is nice. For video it is great as it actually supersamples at 6k and then creates a 4k video. I don't do any video though.

Now if only I could afford a FF camera and its lenses

[skillzdadirecta]

1 hour ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

 

 

I know it's too late, but I thought I'd chime in as I have an A7iii and am a pro photographer (wedding, etc).

 

Firstly, the A7iii doesn't suffer from star eating like previous models, which is nice. For video it is great as it actually supersamples at 6k and then creates a 4k video. I don't do any video though.

 

I was a Canon wedding photographer (5Dm3 + a bunch of L lenses) and I made the switch to Sony last month. I am loving it. The autofocus on the A7iii is amazing, especially the Eye-AF. It literally finds a person's eyes and makes sure they are continually in focus at all times. If you want any advice or help in setting up the camera, let me know, as the menu sucks and there are so many cool things you can do. On mine I have three different buttons configured to take pictures in different ways (for example, my AEL button uses Eye-AF, my joystick button uses Wide AF, and my AF-on button uses centre-point C-AF). I also have the wheel-centre button set as my "OH FUCK" button. It uses Wide-AF and sets a minimum shutter speed but then auto ISO and auto aperture. Basically when I press it, it is because something just started happening in front of me and I don't have time to manually set things, so it just grabs the nearest target and locks on with good exposure.

 

The camera is also a LOT smaller than a normal SLR, which I actually like. I have some higher-end lenses which are larger, but honestly the ones I love using the most are the smaller ones, even if they aren't quite as great. There's something nice about having a really small and light lens+camera combo that makes taking pictures more fun. 

 

For cheaper and smaller lenses I would recommend the Samyang/Rokinon 35mm 2.8 and 24mm 2.8 lenses (on the wide-angle side), and the Sony/Zeiss 50mm 1.8 on the normal size. You might not care about that, though, if you are getting a normal zoom lens (I use prime lenses, so no zoom).

 

Anyway, there is my rant, but you made a good choice going with the A7iii, it's probably the best bang-for-your-buck camera out there right now. Canon will probably have a great one in 2-3 years, but they've really dropped the ball (Nikon, too), and Sony is dominating the mirrorless arena.

Yeah my friends who shoot really love the A7

[skillzdadirecta]

camera came this weekend, i haven't really had time to play with it but I'm working from home the whole month of November so I'll have plenty of time to play with the camera and get to know it. Planning on shooting a short with it before the end of the year and will also take some pics for my girl's website and what she's got going on. Gonna grab a few more accessories, extra battery and external charger and other stuff I'll need.