Unobvious Things about the Sony A7 and A7r

The Sony Alpha 7 and Alpha 7r are game-changing cameras, and they have a level of configurability and customization that masks some really useful features and combinations of features. In this video, professional photographer and author Gary L. Friedman from www.FriedmanArchives.com talks about many of the unintuitive yet very useful things he discovered while writing his ebook about the cameras. More about the ebook (including sample pages and a full table of contents) can be found at friedmanarchive... .

[@pietromartorana9313]

I'd like to thank you Gary, I'm a newbie in photography, bought the a7 6 months ago. After reading your book on sony A7 I found the answer to 100% of my questions. Thank you again!

[@gabrielddc]

I Bought the A99 Gary Friedman Book and I recommend their books for anyone who want to learn all about your camera. Very easy to understand.

[@excelsolutionsasia9333]

Great intro video Gary. I bought your book when I first picked up my Sony A77 and I couldn't work without it. As soon as I get my Sony A7r I'll be getting this book also. Thank you.

[@mason4127]

This video should be showed to so many people, Because I've watched several reviews that said you cannot remap button functions, and that would have helped their rating of the camera so much.

[@92spaceboy71]

You are an Educator!!!! Thank you for concise instructions. Having had a 6D, getting use to shooting with my new A7. Very informative videos 🎯

[@garyfriedman4001]

Thank you very kindly!

[@RobbieRampaul]

I've owned my Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens since 2015 and I love it. This January I purchased the FE 24-240mm zoom (an amazing, sharp lens that is greatly under appreciated) and immediately noticed a play in the lens mount due to the extra weight. As I turned the focus and zoom rings, the mount began to flex clockwise and anticlockwise by about 2-3-degrees, my shots were not straight and the exposure was off. This gradually got worse, as I use manual focus, to assist and fine tune the focus area to get the images as sharp as possible. The plastic mount on this A7 is so thin and small it was gradually flexing, wearing and letting light in, yikes Sony! I ordered the 'Fotodiox Tough E-Mount Light Tight-LT (FOTEMLT) from B&H Photo and installed it using a '00' Philips screwdriver. After mounting the FE 24-240mm zoom onto the Tough E-mount, everything is very solid, with no lens movement of any kind, my images are now straight, more clear and sharper.

[@Bredbeddle]

Good to see you, Gary! Your 10 best Minolta film cameras video helped me on multiple occasions and happening on your newer material makes me quite glad.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Why, thank you Eric!

[@DougKaye1]

Excellent video, Gary. Just purchased the eBook and looking forward to it.

[@doboj911]

***** You are very smart, but, Sony is number 1 in the world.

[@UncompressedWAVmusic]

Great video Gary. I just bought this camera today. My last SLR I bought 1985 Contax 139 I still have with 4 lenses. I'm buying a lens adapter for them.

[@luisdelvalle1965]

Hi Gary. Your presentation was so infectious. I love your passion and love for what you do. I had purchased a Kindle book for the new SONY A7, but after watching your video I have purchased your book instead; I will be focusing exclusively on your book to learn the finer aspects of the A7. I'm glad I found this video. Looking forward to now downloading and reading. Thank you.

[@kaitycatt7250]

Ive had my sony a7r for a year now and I didnt even know like 75% of these functions! Haha thank you! Very wonderful review and informative video! Its crazy how much is included in these sony's and how much they can do! Thank you again :)

[@FriedmanArchives]

+Kaity Farasyn If you thought the video was informative, wait until you see how much information is in the ebook! :-) GF

[@runnerpsu]

Very informative video, Gary! I just purchased an A7ii & FE 55 1.8 LOVE them. Will look at your site for the book and supplement for the A7ii

[@matey182]

"A hasselblad that you can fit in your coat pocket." hahahaha.

[@chanv8]

Thanks Gary for the great tips that I looking for!!!

[@rezada2773]

Hi, Gary, i'm from France, i've bought your book for my Sony alpha 7 ii. Your book is very useful and convenient. But, France would like a french version of your book. (I know, you've already answer). Thank you.

[@dreichmuth]

love this camera, got your book Gary, fantastic!! Thank you

[@AnimalHouseGreenBay]

Excellent tips. Love the enthusiasm for this camera. I just jumped up to the A7 from the A6000 along with a Zeiss emount lens and the difference is amazing. The A7 is a great camera for those who are a step beyond amateur/travel. Great price.

[@JoeGunawanfotosiamo]

You forgot to mention that when you use Focus Setting and you're in Flexible Spot, you can use the thumb wheel as a directional pad to move around the focus point. Same as Area AF, too.

[@xperience-media7396]

Love your passion and self belief Gary

[@MR-rp3xr]

I found the quickest way of cleaning the sensor on The A7 is a set of Three Lens Pens which doesa dry clean better than a pro clean by a camera shop or even theservice centers

[@FriedmanArchives]

Yeah, LensPens (tm) are the best!

[@patrickkelley6780]

These Cameras have more computing power than the Apolla space crafts...most likely, amazing!

[@chalimusic]

This was very informative! Thumbs up!!!

[@rezada2773]

I'll be very proud to read your book in French. As you know, not only France speaks French... Thank you for your great job.

[@jackthompson5217]

Gary, Thank you so much for your thorough video. If I pick up an A7R, I will definitely pick up your book. Well done. Shoot landscape photography professionally with Canon bodies and a mix of canon/zeiss glass and have been excited by all of the obvious things that the A7R offers in that role. Strangely enough, I came across the A7R while looking for a camera that I could shoot for pleasure, one that I could carry with me virtually everywhere I went, and had interchangeable lenses. I was letting go of the idea that it had to be full frame (can't justify a Leica system) and was starting to settle into the thought that the Fuji X system would be the answer. The A7R complicated all of that, its compact nature, full frame, high megapixel design started me make me think the A7R could be a pleasure, go anywhere camera, while also being my new landscape body. But one thought still bugs me and I was really hoping an A7R expert like yourself might have perspective. I've heard that due to the A7R's high megapixel sensor, shooting hand held is really difficult, making it not an ideal go anywhere pleasure camera. It also gets a bad rap for slow (compared to other mirrorless cameras) auto focus, another ding against it being a great walk around, pleasure camera. Is it too much to expect that the A7R can sing as both a walk around camera and a tripod mounted landscape body?

[@Jason_Hermann]

Excellent job Gary Friedman and thanks for the tips. I will turn off high quality display immediately ;)

[@toocoolforu]

So far I love my Sony A7S, I'll buy a grip soon because the camera is not very big to confidently hold it. It's a pain for recharge though... Thankfully I have the external charger which came with the A7S model. My current custom buttons are : C1 : focus assist (magnifier) C2 : Picture Profile C3 : Send to smartphone I also changed all the buttons layout. the WB button becomes screen brightness for example, because the A7S is know to have the most accurate WB so no need to change it manually. Note that I only have manual lenses at the moment.

[@Mathuews1]

Very good information. You can tell this guy has spent a ton of time out taking pictures. Not a pixel peeper.

[@joeymccallion]

Thanks Gary, really enjoyed that.

[@jimbopaw]

I have not tested it but I am guessing you would see the difference in "high display quality" (mentioned at 11:45) on your 1080p external HDMI monitor.

[@markhunter892]

great video

[@akimlaszek]

The Benefit from using M4/3 is not just body size, but overall bulk and wheigth (wich includes the much smaller and lighter lenses). And the battery life of the a7 isn't actually that bad, if you put it into airplane mode :).

[@qsd8063]

Great video and great books Gary! Have you thought about making more videos? I've bought a ton of your books, and they are fantastic, really useful. Allows me to get my cameras dialed in perfectly.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Thanks for the kind words! I'd love to make more videos but there are only so many hours in a day. The A6000 ebook was just released, and I'm working to complete another in a few weeks. I'll make more when I feel I have something worth saying.

[@michaelyap7560]

Hi Gary, love your tutorials. Like to know do you do any tutorials , videos and especially printed/ebooks on the A7s Sony. I just bought one and really like a more in depth tutorial on this camera. All the functions on how to , why and perfecting etc. Want to fully utilise this beauty to the max like the printed/ebook on the A7/A7r you had released. Thanks. Like.

[@tinyfilms]

I would assume the higher resolution setting for the preview is for film makers who may want to drive an external monitor, where that detail may prove desirable...

[@josephlow1102]

Thank you for your advice

[@GhostRyder2008]

Very informative and helpful for a noob like me! Thanks!!

[@kravdraa7]

I have a question and some observations. Have you any plans to include the A7s? It has a different menu set up and I suspect some different behaviour, so I'd be very interested in that being covered. With that in mind and in regard to the grip, you get an external charger with the A7s and the main reason for use is longer life in the field (nowhere to plug in any type of charger there!), so I do wonder about your comment of rarely using one any more. Plus, the advice about leaving off the battery door would compromise the weather sealing, so I don't think it's such a good idea for the very short time it takes. It might be something to consider if the camera started quickly, but as it's slow as molasses then opening and closing a battery door is negligible! The one issue you did miss regarding the grip is the poor implementation of the second shutter release. Too many times when using the top release the heel of your hand presses on the other shutter button, so you wonder why you are getting odd results because focus can lock before you're aware of it! Best advice is to have one for balance and extra power, but leave it turned off; because of the small form of the camera, turning and using the main shutter release is no hardship. In addition, you still have easy access to the compensation dial (why is that missing off the grip???).

[@GMss101]

Really useful... thank you

[@MikeKleinsteuber]

The manual that you mentioned is only large because it has so many translations.

[@fingerlakes]

Have always loved your books!

[@knedlsepp]

Interesting video, sadly there's an annoying audio problem - maybe some kind of ground loop.

[@TERRAMOUNT]

Awesome footage! We shot our last movie "my days as a woflman" on the sony A7s with shogun. pretty nice picture quality :)

[@12qwert345]

1. Thanks for the video about the 7 an 7R - any plans for adding the 7S to your book? 2. The 7S is said to have the best performance of the tree for legacy "glass". How are your experiences 3. The 7S has only 12MP. How large would you consider the size of a printable picture before you get problems with the "only12 MP".

[@blanex1]

well,i was wondering when the sales plug was coming!and there it is at the end of this video,but besides this lots of good info on the A7,thanks for that.

[@Maloy7800]

I actually like this! Good job!

[@notthere83]

Actually... the EVF has a lower resolution than the live view display. I suppose you meant "pixel density"? Then again - whether more detail is noticeable does depend more on resolution than pixel density. On the other hand, it might be more noticeable in the EVF because one doesn't tend to stick one's eye right up to the live view monitor...

[@warner1909]

+Gary Friedman What type of sony shoe adapters do I need if I will buy Phottix Odin radio trigger for both transmitter and receiver with my Sony a7r and HVL-F60M flash?

[@wikedwhich1]

What concerns me is the feeling of being unsupported by Sony, if things go wrong with my camera, and whether updates can be used well if I do buy into Sony..It is so much money and the risk seems large from this point of view according to many people I hear from. Can you comment on this?

[@pietermostert6050]

Can I use a Sony 2x teleconvertor on the Zeiss FE 24-70mm lens on my Sony 7R Alpha camera or can it only be used on the 70-200mm lenses?

[@Davearmstrong42]

I'm buying my first mirrorless and for that matter, real camera in decades. I used a split lense nikon(I think) in high school and loved it. Now that I am serious about getting back into it, should I jump in at this level of alpha? It's obviously an amazing camera. I use it mostly for travel in Italy. Is this the starter camera I need?

[@howardkahn717]

What i need now is a built in closed communication system between my mind and the camera, meaning that the camera can understand me and make the appropriate changes automatically .....SMILE !

[@drivebd]

very informative video!

[@thomassylvestro9041]

Hi Gary. I just just the Sony A7 Mark II and I noticed that you will be coming out with a supplement to the A7 ebook. Will the supplement be a separate ebook or will it be free to those who book the original A7 ebook

[@atyl1972]

Gary, can you explain the spot focus and hold feature you're talking about in the video please?

[@roygrace9602]

why is your book not available in play book?

[@lowbudgetproduction]

Here is a bug (?) that wasn't addressed in the II series of the A7 cameras (update: III series as well) : When manual focusing (with legacy non CPU lenses), the focus magnifier feature seems to lock the AE in place. As a result you cannot physically open \ close the aperture (on the lens) in focus magnifier mode, without getting the highlights blown, or a completely dark display. Both keeping you from checking focus. Is there a technical difficulty implementing AE in focus magnifier mode, or is this a choice by design? +Gary Friedman

[@anotherknifelover]

Hi Gary, will you do an E book about the Sony A II ?

[@T.R.A.N.C.E]

Hi Gary, great tips. You mention the A7R has a slight delay between photo capture and button press causing focus issues. Does the A7 also have this issue? I know the A7 has an electronic curtain shutter while the A7R doesn't, does that rectify it? And between the two cameras is one generally better at movement tracking auto focus?

[@angrytomasz]

Super helpful, I love your approach and I’m sure your books are great based on what I’ve seen here. Keep it up :) Also, you look like a friend of mine from Japan who works as a journalist there.

[@asubmani]

excellent camera

[@NamQuocTu]

Gary, would you please list out all the Sony SEL lenses that will give a full frame result on an A7. Thanks

[@teksTomme]

i wish sony updated the firmware with dual screen like the x-t1 has for focus manual

[@RCBladeKing]

Hi Gary! I’m a Minolta/ Sony shooter. I’ve been using an a7s as a walk around street photography camera. My question. The a7r is super duper cheap used, is it worth it to pick up one?

[@MariusWM]

Thanks for making this video, but I could use a little help. Is there a way to customise the "Send to" button? Instead of smartphone being the first default choice, can I customise that to send to my computer? And even more, is it possible to select which photos you can send to computer wirelessly?

[@Prahatech]

Great video Gary. Would the content of your book cover the operations for the A7s? Or do I need to wait for that book?

[@jbl2901]

great video. Loved your book but still a bit confused about setting up my a7r for back button focusing. Can you clarify?

[@KerenWang]

The one thing that I hate on the A7 is, that the Focus Magnifier goes into 1x first instead 5,9x or 11x like on the NEX. It drives me crazy :D. Tell me there is a solution in your book and i'll buy it right away!

[@BrianFrenchinternet-marketing]

Thank you for your great videos. I purchased a used A7 and noticed thin purple streaks in the EVF. Is this normal or do I have a problem?

[@weirdcreatures13]

what's the best way to run continuous power on this Camera instead of using those little batteries. I'm asking because our company uses A7sii for livestreaming and we would love something that can let it run for 2 hours straight without stopping..Thanks. New Subscriber. Love your channel

[@PeterAikins]

The back button focus does not seem to work with the zone focus setting. Am I doing something wrong? Works with the centre focus.

[@PeterAikins]

I've also noticed that if you are in Wide Area focus mode and press the centre button, it locks focus to.

[@RishiRajKoul]

Hi Gary, Thanks for the vodeo, I have two observations, correct me if I am wrong. 1) I used a Canon lens on A7 using an adapter without electrical contacts. The camera didnt give me the central magnification by pressing the trash can button while trying to focus. 2) Could the Standard and High quality display have to do something with quality of image on external LCD displays when connected.

[@RishiRajKoul]

Hi Garry, I assume you live in USA so I greatly appriciate your reply so early in the morning. My camera trash button is set on "Focus Settings" I do get an orange rectangle in the middle but it does not magnify when i press the C3/Trash can button. Further since there is no electrical contact between lens and the camera the camera automatically sets itself to MF (Manual Focus) & Aperture control is also disabled.

[@markgaler]

Great video Gary - how are you recording the LCD screen of the camera?

[@markgaler]

***** Thanks Gary - it doesn't look 'low tech' so I suppose that's all that counts.

[@abelgreeve3641]

What lens is that??

[@dedeyansen]

hey, i know u've done Sony A7. My question is will the VC work on Tamron 24-70 attached to Sony A7 through LA-EA4 adapter? Can you do a review on this? thx a bunch

[@NighthunterNyx]

Display Quality - High seems to help if you use MF. It seems to reduce tearing of the image with long lenses.

[@danieltitirica5166]

Kiril Karaatanasov Is there any difference when you use focus peaking?

[@NighthunterNyx]

Yes I think so. May be It is just me hoping for silver bullet but I believe that image is slightly crisper and easier to focus

[@danieltitirica5166]

Kiril Karaatanasov Thanks. I've heard that manual focus is not precise enough when using focus peaking at large apertures. Focus magnifier is needed in this case. This is why i was curious. I also wear glasses so it's a pain to focus manually without assist.

[@NighthunterNyx]

Daniel Titirică​ you should try it. Manual Focus depends on many things. Sometimes just carefully looking through the viewfinder even without peaking works, sometimes peaking comes handy, sometimes you need to zoom and peaking works even zoomed in. Sometimes it is just very hard to get good focus. It depends on lens and it's defocus character mostly and focal length and iso setting and light and so on. Last night I had sharp photos with peaking only and soft focus when zooming in using Nikon 105/2,5 but light was terrible and I had high iso when zooming did not help

[@johnnywalker3337]

Gary I like your rewiev.

[@richardpcrowe]

Great video - thanks. Presently, I am shooting with an A6500 but, I am planning to get an A7. Do you have a video on that camera?

[@richardpcrowe]

Thanks - I now own your book on the A6500. I meant to say in my post that I am planning to add an A7iii to my kit in order to soot with 2-cameras. I am only waiting to see what Sony will put on the table with the A6500 replacement (I don't want the A6400).

[@richardpcrowe]

My original question was "Do you have an A6500 book?" However, I found out that you do and I now own the book. Thank you!

[@rodrigoo9472]

Hi Gary! I'm going to change my a6000 for a better sony camera and am in between the A7 or paying extra cash for an 7R or A7ii. I'm mostly doing show, parties photography and videos. Thing is, the a6000 AF at night is really, really bad and I really need to know which of the 3 options I mentioned have a good AF at night, like a DSLR camera. Can you help me?

[@rodrigoo9472]

Thanks! I was reading here and apparently the a6300 has much more AF points (phase and contrast). Do you know if it has a fast AF in low light, just like regular DSLRs? I really need this in a camera, since I'm doing nightclub photography.

[@phototristan]

Great video, thanks for the tips. Did the new firmware change the standard vs high display power usage at all?

[@FriedmanArchives]

No, nor would I expect it to. Moving more data to feed the display will always require more power.

[@phototristan]

Gary Friedman Makes sense, thanks.

[@angelisone]

These still have delayed wireless flashes? Why no supports for live-view tethered to a computer? Can you /or NASA make it to get Live-View tethered or wirelessly to pc?

[@1Atomtan]

Gary, I've purchased the A6000 and am enjoying it. Great street camera. I've been thinking of buying the A7 full frame for more indoor and studio work because of it's low price at the moment. Would your advice be to spend the extra dollars and by the Mark II or your thoughts on A7?

[@FriedmanArchives]

For studio work, the A7 will produce outstanding results. Go for it. The new features on the A7 II -- in-body stabilization, better video features, and lock-on AF -- are not very meaningful in the studio. The only real benefit to the A7 II in your case is the not-awkwardly-placed shutter release button. :-)

[@LoriScottWooster]

2 questions I can't get my Sony A7 to find my strobes Where the heck do we change apeture settings?

[@kalef1234]

like that apperture F/stop? should be one of the metal round knobs. Strobes IDk

[@IanWilkinson]

Whilst working my way through your very helpful eBook I got stuck on p143 where you state that, when adapting medium format lenses to the A7, the "crop factor is insane". Although I fully understand the term crop factor when applied to sensors smaller than full frame (ie M4/3 = 2x, APS-C (Nikon) = 1.5x, etc), I wonder if you could explain that quote in a bit more detail please. My local camera shop has a few tasty-looking Hasselblad lenses on its books. Should I expect a crop factor of about 1.6 for these lenses on my A7R, so that, for example, a 250mm f4 Tele Tessar FE would work like a full frame 400mm f4?

[@IanWilkinson]

So, not worth pursuing because I wouldn't be getting the best out of their lenses? Or are you saying that the image quality wouldn't be good enough on an A7, compared with a lens specifically designed for a full frame sensor? Would it be fair to say that putting a medium format lens onto a full frame camera is equivalent to putting a full frame lens onto an APS-C camera? FX lens on DX body being a waste of money.

[@dank5372]

hi Id like to know something about sony A7 I hear so many great comments and how great this camera is. i just got one and I have some concerns regarding live view and viewfinder When taking pictures, the image through the viewfinder or lcd screen is fuzzy/grainy. Especially in darker environments. It's not as bad in bright light conditions. The pictures themselves are perfect and exactly what you'd expect even when viewed on the lcd screen of the camera could yo tell me if this is on just A7 could it be coz of lens or do i have to change my settings thank you Show less

[@AllenStauffer]

Daniel Keks If it's always fuzzy (blurry?) even in well-lit environments, you might want to check that you've set the dioptric adjustment properly for your eyes, also.

[@rod90692]

.

[@atyl1972]

i really like the look of this camera but totally not happy about the fact to use a variety of lenses other than the measly few that sony offer however, isn't this the main reason to purchase this camera over a dslr, portability, smaller form factor, how is that possible with the adaptors on the camera, and then a load of the best legacy lenses are huge in size, so are you gaining anything really in a smaller photography kit?

[@shmooveyea]

Well its fairly new, give it time, lenses will come, remember that DSLR's have had 35 some years on lenses, mirrorless and the emount system has had a handful.

[@EyePleaThe5th]

Gary, Is it more a video Tutorial also? Because I want to buy it. I don't have a Nook etc. Can I download it to a computer. And view it

[@EyePleaThe5th]

I just bought it. This video sold me, I wish you had more video tutorials on this camera. I actually need a tutorial Videos for Dummies. Learn are the basics so I don't have to put it on AUTO all the time

[@KeithHanlan]

Hi Gary, thanks for sharing your insights. Okay, colour me stupid. I don't get the "standard" setting for the centre menu button. I've got the same option on my A77II, (in fact "Standard" seems to be the default), although I have evidently never pressed it when I'm shooting so I have never noticed the spot focus. But how is that useful? The minute I press the shutter button, the camera will refocus. You mentioned using it when in Continuous mode (which I almost never use) but I'm still not getting it. My shooting pattern is to use the AEL toggle to lock the exposure, then focus by pressing the shutter release partway, and then recompose and finish the shot. How does this centre button help me? Thanks for your patience.

[@KeithHanlan]

Thanks Gary. I see the value now. Even if one is using AF-S, this is still a nice way of quickly overriding the behaviour of one of the plethora of focus modes. Recently, I've been trying to use Flexible Spot but have concluded that it is more trouble than it is worth since it is too easy to accidently move the Spot (and the other spots aren't as responsive as the centre spot). The other problem that I found with Flexible Spot is that, quite frankly, it takes more time than I want to spend scrolling around. If I am on a tripod, I might as well just manually focus using Focus Magnifier. So, I'm going to follow your lead and make Wide my default and then use this Standard Spot Focus when necessary. This does seem like the best of both worlds.

[@majkiboy86]

Dear Gary Friedman, First things first: When i saw the thumbnail of you video i was like i don't like this guy,but after like 2 minutes i was like,it would be nice to know this guy. So back to the topic: I am using an A77 Mk I. Of course all of my lenses are A mount/Minolta AF. I am planning to buy an A7 next to the A77. I will need to by the adapter as well. Will the camera allow me to use the non FF lenses Like me belowed Sigma 30/1.4 without croping the image even if it is vigneting? If i buy the sony adapter not the simple 10dollar Manual ring will i have all the AF and Apperture functions available the these lenses were capable on the A77 body? Thank you in advance Sir.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Hi! Thanks for your message, and let this be a lesson to you not to judge a video by it's thumbnail. :-) The answer is YES, the LA-EA4 adapter (which works with ALL older Minolta lenses) will provide the same amount of control as you have on your A77, and yes, you can turn off the automatic APS-C cropping feature on the A7 (and it will do plenty of vignetting). Hope this helps! Gary

[@majkiboy86]

Gary Friedman Thank you for the prompt reply :) It is a lesson for sure :) Well after all the reviews a made up my mind to buy an A7II(aka Mark 2) with LA-EA3 as i use most of my old minolta lenses in manual anyway :)

[@av8dr]

👏 Nice.

[@EmilPaje]

Hi Gary. Do you have e-book for Sony a6000? Thanks.

[@EmilPaje]

Thanks Gary.

[@Panagiotis-Skordilis]

you are great my friend.i think to buy a7r in the next days.i dont care about a7r II cause i dont care about video. do you agree?

[@FriedmanArchives]

+Panagiotis Skordilis I do not agree. The A7R used a sensor that Sony made for Nikon; it was NOT designed for mirrorless, it has slow autofocus and the shutter must close and then open before each exposure. It creates a significant lag when you're trying to capture just the right expression, and it also induces "shutter shock" which may exceed your lens' ability to correct for it via optical stabilization. The A7R II is infinitely better in many other dimensions besides just 4K video.

[@Panagiotis-Skordilis]

+Gary Friedman thank you for your answer. i dont care about shutter lag cause i shoot portraits and occasionally weddings.what is your oppinion about that

[@FriedmanArchives]

+Panagiotis Skordilis If the shutter lag doesn't bother you, then go for it! GF

[@ellavarkumnamaskaram]

hi Gary.. Loved ur video.. i bought Sony A7 recently and would like to buy a legassy glass!! i'm thinkin of getting Contax Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4.. wat do u think? does it really matter i dont hav IBIS on both lense and body? pls advise!

[@ellavarkumnamaskaram]

Gary Friedman thanku so much Gary..

[@ellavarkumnamaskaram]

No matter which lense i shoot with on my sony a7, wen i zoom in really in(may be 150-200%) i can see grains on all my clicks! is tat my camera problem? or is der any feature in the body i need to take care of? or coz i shoot in 1/100th shutter speed or higher?(coz i dont hav IBIS) everytime i remove the noise using lightroom, but will lose around 30% Sharpness of the image!

[@FriedmanArchives]

Never zoom in past 100%.

[@howardkahn717]

Question, will a firmware update give the a7 stabilization???????? REPLY

[@howardkahn717]

Thank you......The sony a7mark ii satisfies me completely, no need to update just to get existing features updated, However, i will for added features.........excellent added features, i like.......i will wait for the a7 mark ii to get an update to a mk iii so i can get a much better price.....

[@kalef1234]

Gary, what do you consider a good street price for a used A7? Random question it's okay if you don't answer haha

[@kalef1234]

Thanks for the response! I just see such a wide variety. If I check sold listings, I see anywhere from 550-750 but some people in these FB buy and sell groups ask like $900 body only when B&H has it for $798 right now. People just hate to admit how much electronics drop in value haha.

[@buffalonian4206]

"Medium format camera .. in your pocket". But wait .. its a 35mm camera. How is it medium format? There are physical differences mathematically that relate to DoF and comparisons between the two formats that make them different. Also 3x5 vs. 6x4.5+ ... different aspect ratios. :-0 BTW, I really do dig what you've shared.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Both cameras (A7r and a film-based 6x4.5) can both produce prints of similar, impressively-large sizes. That's how I justified the comparison. :-)

[@buffalonian4206]

Technically not accurate, but I can accept that :P hah.

[@phototristan]

John Waller While not quite actual medium format quality, I can say the A7R certainly bests all 35mm sensor size DSLRs. Actual medium format is a larger sensor which offers advantages for sure, but at a much higher cost, weight and size.

[@buffalonian4206]

ever carry a TLR camera? :) not so much. heh. Actually I used my A7 over the weekend - the 28-70 f/3.5-5.6 offers nothing short of disappointment with regards to sharpness and wobble on the A7. Long exposures in Detroit are just a slight less desirable. Have to wait for the Sony Zeiss 16-35mm release later this year to get everything I want in one package.

[@phototristan]

John Waller I literally only use Canon f1.2 prime lenses on my A7R. As an ex-Hasselblad shooter, I can say I'm not at all disappointed.

[@howardkahn717]

Sony could have built the A mount Series without changing the Mount size. they could have continued with the A mount BECAUSE the weight advantage of the E mount is fast disappearing because of quality lenses weight.......

[@AgnostosGnostos]

What I dislike with the Sony a7 series full frame mirrorless cameras is the lack of a full frame FE pancake lens. If Sony wants a real small and light full frame mirrorless camera, it shouldn't have neglected the pretense of FE pancake lens. The Sony APS-C crop frame mirrorless cameras have two pancake lenses. The SEL16F28 and the more expensive and sharper SEL20F28. Both are compatible with Sony a7 but in crop mode which delivers 2.4 times less resolution and sharpness. Sony A7 series has 6 models and only 11 FE full frame lenses. Five of the eleven lenses are the expensive Zeiss ones, which have similar focal lengths with the native Sony ones. So the real variety is smaller. Sony has a bigger number APS-C lenses which can be used with Sony a7 series. Nevertheless the quality is by far worst.

[@Merocity]

Gary like always very Informative, was thinking in getting another camera to replace my 60D wife thinks int bulky :) So I'm looking into the sony a7r doing my research on this camera so far so good, now need to convince the wife on the price :( lol Thank you Gary.

[@josephlow1102]

Where can I buy your book?

[@FriedmanArchives]

Right here: friedmanarchives.com/A7r

[@AgnostosGnostos]

The conventional dSLRs are carrying many problems from the film era. For example, separated exposure sensors, separated phase detection sensors, optical view finder or even a shutter curtain. Ordinary dSLR are SLR film cameras with a digital sensor. Actually the first SLR cameras had the really body of film Canon or Nikon SLR with a digital sensor of Kodak. The mirrorless revolution is trying to fix this problematic film heritage and will prevail eventually. Latest models of mirrorless cameras like the full frame Sony a7s II don't even need a shutter curtain. The full frame Sony a7s II can take perfect noiseless photos. However the lens technology is another story and a highly important one. Maybe higher than the digital image sensor advancements. Nikon, Canon, Leica etc know that and will have followers for many many years. Sony can't make yet cheaper and better lenses than Nikon Canon. Also lenses for bigger sensors like that of Sony a7 are unavoidably large. So the size advantage of a mirrorless camera is lost. Leica is an exception. Leica has managed to make full frame small lenses with great quality but at an extremely high price and without autofocus.

[@xyzhou6207]

Achilleas Labrou the reason why leica makes the lenses so small is cuz of no autofocus... that stuff took a lot of room especially when u want a fast one

[@notthere83]

IMO, DOF preview on SLRs was the biggest piece of shit that I never even bothered using. Why? Because my eye had obviously adjusted to the brightness of the image at the open aperture, so when stopping down for preview, everything looked dark, I couldn't make out things so well any more, it sort of looked like a different image because of it and so on. Very distracting and annoying. So even on my analog camera (which I admittedly had when I was just starting out about 15 years ago, so accuracy was not that big of a deal to me), I would just guess what aperture would be required for the DOF I wanted... and with digital, do test shots.

[@ncdigitizer]

Returning to the photo arena, bought a ar7r3, I'm assuming this book is still very relevant, will there be an r3 addendum? Also I'm digging everywhere and can't seem to find if it's possible to have an exposure longer than 30 seconds. Star trails for example. The only solution I see is stacking in post. Thoughts?