Sony a7r Review & Samples
/HOT: Adorama a7/a7R Trade in - ANY working interchangeable lens camera take a chunk off the price of the A7, A7 with 24-70 or A7r.In my search for a lighter travel camera I spent a few weeks with the Sony a7R. My video review is below along with some sample images.I found the a7R to produce gorgeous 36MP images with excellent dynamic range.
Sony a7R Pros:
- Beautiful 36MP files - Medium format like quality in something that isn't even DSLR sized.
- No Low pass filter for sharp detail
- Wonderful Dynamic range- detail in highlights and shadows that can be pulled out is impressive
- Small and light (A7R weight 1.03 lbs | 5D Mark III weight over 2lbs)
- Vibrant and tilting screen - rarely felt like I needed to put my eye to viewfinder.
- Good manual controls with decent customizability
- Useful focus peaking for manual focus
- Auto exposure dial works in manual mode when auto ISO is enabled
- 1080p at 60fps.
- Fun sony features like sweep panorama (with 36MP images you can make stunning panoramas!)
- USB Charging - Ability to charge battery in camera or from a USB battery (also a drawback, no charger included)
- Good Wifi connectivity for sharing and remote control.
- Ability to add apps in camera - Star trail app for example
Sony a7R Cons:
- Slow
- to start up,
- when new SD card is inserted - needs to create a recovery DB
- focus
- to clear buffer - camera locks up when clearing buffer
- Battery life is short 300-400 shots and without an included charger forced to charge in camera (buy 3rd Party charger & additional batteries)
- Crashes - I saw this camera crash way more than any other and at times would revet back to settings 15 minutes earlier - some I believe were a result of using the metabones adapter but other times it would just hang. UPDATE: I have heard from a few other A7R users and they don't experience crashes. I might have had a buggy copy.
- Lens selection - Native lens selection is small and f/4 fastest with a few exceptions that are coming soon. Most of the weight savings are offset by these lenses - but the quality is awesome and multiple adapters exist to use with Canon, Nikon or other lenses.
- Loud shutter - with some rumors that causes blurred images at the slower shutter speeds. I didn't see that but for such a small body and mirror less camera it is loud.
- Video quality is good (why is this a con then? I was hoping it would be noticeably better than my 5D Mark III and I could use this camera for travel photos and video for my channel, but it is only as good as 5D Mark III or a tiny bit better - not the difference you see in photos between the two)
Watch my video review on the Sony A7R
Canon has a teaser counting down to the impossible - less than 24 hours as of monday morning. Doubtful that this is camera related - any major announcements would have happened at Photokina. My experience in the past with Canon's mysterious countdowns and unveiling has always been a let down - sometimes printers, sometimes a new project that has no interest to me- so I refuse to get excited. But, I will keep my eyes and ears open and pass along any info. This does remind me that we still have no info about the T6i (750D) so I went digging.It has been very quiet regarding the replacement for the Canon T5i- originally released in March of 2013 and offering only a minor upgrade to the T4i- the time for a replacement is due. There was some speculation that Photokina would be the place and time but that has passed with just the 
Many have said that it is just a matter of time before more and more cameras become mirrorless - the design of a DSLR is ancient but has some advantages - many of those advantages have been erased or at least equalled with the advances of technology. Dual Pixel focus and Digic 6 should allow this to be a fast performing camera and having access to Canon's huge lens selection is always important. BUT! I have two questionsWill users looking to upgrade their current camera care that this isn't a DSLR?NO, I doubt many users will care if what they upgrade to has a mirror or EVF. If it has the Canon logo and decent reviews(they don't even need to be stellar) they will buy when they are looking to upgrade. I have evidence based on the hundreds of questions I get a week about which camera to upgrade to, many choose Canon despite there being a better option(performance, features and value) from other camera manufacturers.Is it too little too late to join the mirrorless race?This is a bit more difficult to answer- past the point of fashionably late to the party(probably always debated by the one who is actually late) but Canon has the lenses and within the camera space the brand Canon carries a huge amount of weight(see the first question above) . When people start to consider upgrading from their P&S or smart phone cameras many seem to consider Canon and Nikon and not much else. An argument for "too late" - The Sony a6000(
Pairing nicely with the new NX1 is the just announced NX 50-150mm F2.8 OIS. A Weather-sealed, Image Stabilized (OIS) lens covering the equivalent range equivalent of 77-231mm on Samsung's APS-C NX cameras. The 50-150mm F2.8 OIS will sell for $1599.99.
A few popular lenses from B&H that gives you an idea of the lens selection
which has a fair collection and is growing quite rapidly. Read more about the 
Because the camera is mirrorless you can shrink the body, you don't need to make room for the whole mirror assembly and the space for it to flip out of the way AND you can offer fast FPS, 8 in the X-T1 because you don't have to worry about the mirror flipping up in down. The downside to losing the mirror is no optical viewfinder - something easily solved by using an electronic viewfinder which typically have had issues especially in low light but the one included in the X-T1 looks to be fantastic, incredibly high resolution and offers several modes allowing the user to customize what they see with a push of a button, something not possible with optical viewfinders. Another important note about the EVF - it is as large as the viewfinder on Canon's $6,000 camera!
And focusing speed often takes a hit when you swap out the mirror - Fuji has phase detection(faster focusing system) on the sensor and will provide the fastest focusing in its class. All of this tech is packed into a rugged body that is weatherproof, freeze proof and several lenses coming to market this year will also be weather proof making for a portable, high performing and rugged machine. I have spent time with an earlier model sharing the same sensor and can report that image quality is excellent. There are some that still get caught up in the MegaPixel war, please don't look at the 16MP sensor and assume it isn't as good as 18MP or 24MP from Canon and Nikon - it is that good and I have seen images pushed to ISO 6400 that look great. I will be sharing more soon.
