All Models Its been a while, help please!

[Andrew]

I have been inactive for a while and now need some help on helping decide on next upgrade with questions.

Reasons

• Dislike the A7III Menu, (Hate it).
• Autofocus is ok, but seeing better AF out there.
• Slightly bigger Ergonomics on newer models, (no floating pinkie).
• More MP, better for cropping.

I have concerns with the following;

• Lack of Sony firmware being regular.
• Larger MP means bigger files to process in RAW.

Currently toying between;

1. A7 IV
2. A7R V
3. (Gasp now!) Nikon Z6 III

I am also selling my Sony FE 70-200mm F4 as I barely use this, however I am going to try wildlife photography and probably buy the Sony FE 200-600mm.

Notable use cases for the cameras I am tempted towards;

• Portraits (Family, Parties)
• Athletics club
• Landscape
• Astrophotography (Although I am damn right crap as this but hope to improve in this area (I know the camera wont make me a better photographer!)).
• Wildlife (Not actually done this, but would make an excuse for me to actually get out and take more pictures), not sure if this has the biggest impact on my camera selections.

I have seen used eBay items like A9 II but not sure if this is a downgrade or if I should maybe opts for A1 and save longer (selling my camera body now before I lose to much value on that).
I have also seen that the mechanical shutter life is less on IV vs R V. No idea?

 

[etiennescamera]

As someone who does mainly wildlife and sport photography, with a little side interest in astro and occasional landscape, a few observations:

My Sony journey started with the A7RIV. Then, because I was looking for a second camera body, I purchased a used A9II from a friend and suddenly found myself almost exclusively using the A9II for wildlife because of the faster focus and getting far more keeper shots than with the A7RIV.

Eventually, I traded up from the A7RIV to an A1 because I wanted the higher pixel count, since you invariably want to crop with the type of wildlife photography I do, where you cannot get close enough even with a 600mm lens (never could get good results with the 1.4x teleconverter, although I know others do) . Obviously the menu on the A1 was also and improvement on the A9II, although that was never such a big issue for me. I was generally very happy with the A1 and A9II combo.

I have also used my wife's A7IV (she does mainly video with it) and still prefer the A9II to that.

Eventually, during a Black Friday sale, I managed to pick up a second A1 body for a reasonable discount and traded the A9II.

The one option you mentioned, that I have no experience with, is the A7RV, which obviously has the improved focusing system, but I think that is unlikely to be significantly better in my hands than the A1. And then obviously: Nikon : I don't look because I am so heavily invested in Sony glass that I don't want to be tempted.

Bottom line for me: if you can get an A1, go for it. Next best option from my perspective would be the A9II, good for wildlife, sport and astro and probably quite acceptable for portrait where you generally don't crop much (but probably shouldn't give any opinion on portrait photography since I am useless at it). Landscape is the one place where the A9II might fall short, but then only if you want to make large, high definition prints.

 

[iain clyne]

If you can stretch to a secondhand A1 I would recommend that, it is the best all round camera in the Sony line up at the moment.

 

[Andrew]

Thanks both for your replies, How does the autofocus stack up on an A1?

A9ii used not sure I gain much and A9iii just out budget.

 

[AlphaWorld]

The A1 autofocus is pretty good, but it doesn't have the "AI" chip, so it lacks the extraordinary AF that arrived in the A7RV, and appeared in many cameras since. If you use it right, though, the A1 AF will be plenty. Bear in mind that I have both the A7RV and A9 III, so I'm quite accustomed to the extraordinary AF, but the A1 is still good.

The A1 does have the new BionZ chip, so it has the new (more logical) menus.

It has the top-of-the-line EVF (9Mdots) which is also on the A7RV and A9III.

It has the extra pixels you mentioned, but not as many as the A7RIV or V. It is also capable of shooting in complete silence, which can be useful when shooting candids at parties.

I would recommend AGAINST getting an A9 II - it has the old BionZ chip, so the menus you dislike, and the old AF, and too few pixels, ...

Although I think the A9 III is a magnificent camera, and it makes me happy, yes, it's quite expensive, and it sounds like you don't need what it offers for that price.

Here's a radical suggestion, though. Consider the A6700. Yes, it's "only" APS-C and 26Mpixel, but it has the new chips (new menus, new AF!), and it has a good sensor (better video as well as better still). It's noticeably lighter than the other options you are considering, and not too expensive. It uses the same batteries and cards as your existing A7III.

The A6700 might be your best fit. What do you think?

 

[iamdlewis]

As others have all said if you are going to do wildlife than the A1 is really the way to go. The benefits of the blackout free shooting, the faster readout speeds and much faster frame rates (as long as you use Sony lenses) over the A7iv and A7Rv make up for whatever AF difference there is. Honestly if you can't get the focus points close enough for an A1 to pickup the subject the issue isn't the AF.

The A6700 isn't a bad option. It does shoot 10% faster than the A7 series and for everything outside of long lenses the options are generally cheaper and image quality wise barely noticeable if at all. I personally find the body style of the A6xxx series more difficult to track subjects with because of the off-center design but with enough practice I am sure it would be fine.

Sony menus are what they are but they also let you customize your own menu pages, more people really should use this feature. I have no issue switching between the old menu in my A7Riv and the new menu in the A1 because I customized the menu in both.

 

[Richard A]

I have an A7RV. I have owned it for almost a year. It was almost half the price of the A1 at the time & the higher megapixels & better focus was more important to me than speed. I attended the Sony trade show here in Sydney last weekend. They had a setup with an A9 III & some guys doing marshal arts. I took quite a few pics with my camera & they came out great.