Oh my goodness!!

[Scooter]

I have an A6400. With a 70-350G. and a Tamron 70-180 2.8. and a 16-55 2.8G. Pretty nice set up for a hobbyist. Booked my 3rd trip to Botswana, and for some reason, felt the need to purchase an A7Riii. It was on at an incredible price......but honestly, I now have buyers remorse, and it hasnt even arrived yet. I have the Tamron 150-500, but on safari, I have to severely limit my weight in luggage. My dream kit would be to have the Tamron on the A7riii, and the 70-180 on the 6400 for early morning and evening shots. But I don't think I have the ability weight-wise. I am considering just taking the crop sensor again. What would you all do????

 

[iain clyne]

I have the A7Riii and often use it with the 70-350G lens on in crop mode. It gives me a light weight 105-525mm equivalent and 18m pixels.

 

[Brownie]

Take the A7RIII. You're not gaining anything more than a few ounces with by taking the crop sensor, but once you play with the A7RIII you may realize how much you've been missing. In any event, Super 35 or APS-C is nothing more than cropping in-camera. I find it preferable to crop in post when I get home. As Iain states, you'll end up with a 18MP image by using APS-C mode. Shooting in FF and cropping in post gives you a lot more flexibility for final composition.

 

[iain clyne]

I agree Brownie but the 70-350 is a APS-C lens so automaticallly goes into crop mode. You can put it into FF mode but get heavy vignetting.

 

[Brownie]

I agree Brownie but the 70-350 is a APS-C lens so automaticallly goes into crop mode. You can put it into FF mode but get heavy vignetting.

That's true, thanks for the reminder. I don't use any APS-C lenses on my FF cameras so I tend to forget.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I'd take the A7RIII...

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

My experience on Safari, although i note this is your third trip, at the long end you need to be able
to shoot between 200mm to 500m otherwise you will miss a good of number of shots out at the
longer end.

Iain's comment on the A7Riii and Tamron seems to fit as long as you receive the A7Riii on time.

Despite your apprehension on the AR7iii I would recommend you find a way to have 2 cameras
with you from the point of view of having back up if you are hit with murphy's law (What can go
wrong will go wrong).... additionally you can set up to shoot medium to long on one camera and
short to medium on the other....from your previous experience you are no doubt aware that many
of the best shot opportunities come completely unexpected whilst on Safari and 2 cameras fully
primed to go without having to change lenses will avoid dust ingress as well as ensure when the
shots come you will be fully armed and ready to go at a moments notice.

 

[Scooter]

Soooooo......you all are saying that the 7Riii, will still be better at only 18 megapixels than my 24 megapixel 6400?? If they both wind up being cropped because of the cropped sensor lens, how will the 7Riii be better? I am asking this looking for your experience with low light, etc.

It should arrive early next week, so I get a couple of months to play around with both, and compare images before setting out, but I just wanted some expert advice.

 

[Brownie]

Soooooo......you all are saying that the 7Riii, will still be better at only 18 megapixels than my 24 megapixel 6400?? If they both wind up being cropped because of the cropped sensor lens, how will the 7Riii be better? I am asking this looking for your experience with low light, etc.

It should arrive early next week, so I get a couple of months to play around with both, and compare images before setting out, but I just wanted some expert advice.

IQ due to cropping has nothing to do with my response.

The 7RM3 will be better overall
It offers crop mode or FF, more versatile.
Will be better in lower light in FF mode
Unless you're going to print REALLY large images, 18MP is plenty. I've printed perfectly good 20" x 30" images with a 20MP Micro 4/3. If it worries you though, then take the 6400.
If it were me, there's no way I'd even consider going on a trip like that with only one camera, even if it meant leaving all my socks and underwear at home.

 

[Scooter]

OK! I am quite glad to see your responses here......I am feeling much less guilty about the new purchase. (Doesn't help that the $$ is gone...and I don't have a camera yet). I feel like perhaps I should take my "dream kit" with me after all.........but now I have to go bag shopping lol.

 

[Brownie]

but now I have to go bag shopping lol.

Now you're on it!

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Do not feel remorse for buying an A7RIII. I absolutely love mine, it's a brilliant camera!

The beauty of the Sony FF range is they are very compact camera bodies, and with such a huge range of lenses to choose from, you can still build a kit which doesn't take up much room if you like.

Funny thing is I started with an A6400 too, also a great camera!

Enjoy your Botswana trip Tracy!

 

[iain clyne]

The A7Riii will impress you, the IQ out of this camera is superb. Some may disagree but I fond 42mp is more than enough. I use a A9ii and the A7riii and the only way I will end up with more pixels is if I buy a A1.
I would take both bodies and all the lenes you need even I you have to ware a jacket with Big pockets to put some lens's in for the flight.

 

[Scooter]

I figured I should follow up, and thank everyone for suggesting taking both camera bodies on safari. I took the trusted a6400, and the new a7riii, along with 2 apsc lenses, (70-350G, and 16-55G), and the fullframe Tamron 70-180f2.8. I had the intent of switching all these lenses around on the 2 cameras to see what worked best, but I found the conditions to be such that I just couldn't change lenses in the field. February is "green season" in Botswana, with quite a bit more rain than in late November. (I was expecting this). What I didn't anticipate, was the height of the grass, and the seed-heads, that when we drove through, was like harvest time with the combine doors off. I am still picking grass and chaff out of my gear lol.

So I kept the 6400 with the 70-350 (equivalent to 525 max focal length). It's stinky in low light, but is just fabulous in the best conditions. I kept the 70-180 on the R3, and used it for more panoramic, and of course the f2.8 allowed for lower light shots. It took me a while to learn how to focus properly with the R3. It is just different than I am used to, and didn't track consistently like I am used to. (The tall grass made for extremely challenging conditions for both cameras). I was frustrated with it at the beginning of the safari, but by the 11th day, it was my camera of choice.