Sony a7 Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Camera - Body Only

To start off, I'd just like to mention that I am not a professional photographer. I am a serious hobbyist traveler photographer, mainly photographing my travel adventures as well as photographing my children's precious moments when I'm at home.I must say, this Sony A7 really hits the bulls-eye for my needs. I used to carry a Nikon D600 with a 24-70mm f/2.8G "beast" lens. The complete system was quite cumbersome and heavy but the combination of the full framed Nikon D600 and the 24-70mm lens took absolute stunning shots when I was on the go. When Sony came out with the RX1r, I decided to give it a try and I was truly amazed with the quality of the pictures I was able to take with that camera. The RX1r's ability to take hand held night shots made that camera a real winner for me. Though my main issue with the RX1r was that I was stuck with the 35mm lens. That made the travel photography difficult but as a full frame "point and shoot" camera, the RX1r was as good as it gets. Then the A7 and A7r came out and general apples to apples, it looked as if the A7 was essentially a interchangeable lens version of the Sony RX1 series cameras. Being so happy with the RX1r, I decided to get the A7r paired with the Sony SEL2470Z Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Lens.The A7r took FANTASTIC photos during good light conditions but my main issue was that it was TERRIBLE in low light. At just an ISO of 1200, you can already see a hint of noise in low light conditions and once you bump that up to 2000+, the photos are generally polluted with noise. At 6400, it's essentially game over. As my home is generally not very well lit, using the A7r to take photos of my children only created photos that were generally not photo album worthy. However, the A7r really shines once you slap on a tripod and take scenery shots or when lighting is good. The imagine quality on the A7r is EXCEPTIONAL and the level of detail is top notch quality. The larger MP capabilities of the A7r are utilized very well. But since I generally shoot in low light and only 20% of my shots are scenic, I returned the A7r and got the A7 instead.Image quality wise, the A7 performs MUCH better in low light conditions over the A7r. There is a significant reduction in noise at ISO 2000 and 3200 shots and at ISO 6400, many of the shots I got were still very good. I generally found that the A7 performed better with portrait shots while the A7r really thrived with landscape shots. The autofocus on the A7r had a tendency to hunt more while the A7 was quicker in focusing, especially in low light conditions. I believe this is mainly due to the fact that the A7 has Phase Detection Auto focus (PDAF), while the A7r does not. Many have complained that the A7 also has a slow autofocus compared to other DSLR cameras on the market but I honestly can't really tell the difference. Compared to the A7r's 36.4 MP, the A7 does have a lower MP at "just" 24.3. Though I honestly, I doubt you'll really tell the difference unless you do some serious cropping or you do photography that really just requires high MPs.Exterior wise, both the A7 and A7r essentially look and feel exactly the same. Though the A7r has more metallic parts, like the dials and apparently the body as well, you generally can not tell the difference between them. Both the A7 and A7r are very nice to hold and shoot with. Both feel very fluid and crisp. The A7r does make a bit more noise when taking shots and the A7 is noticeably more quiet. I know some have complained that the A7 is still noisy when taking shots but I don't find it bothersome and I actually quite like the sound it makes. Coming from the Nikon D600, I did find that I had to get used to the layout of the Sony cameras. The menu system as well as the location of certain commands are not where I was used to them being. Though after a few days with the camera, navigating through the camera became a breeze. My only main complaint would be that the "zoom" button is a bit of a stretch for my fingers and does require for me to preposition my grip on the camera in order to press is properly.Battery life for the A7 and A7r are borderline decent to poor as you generally would get about 350 to 400 shots before you need a battery swap. I purchase a Wasabi battery charger and extra batteries to solve that problem. I also found the Wasabi wall battery charger much better than using Sony's direct to camera charging system. Another drawback I've noticed is that the start up time of the camera is relatively slow compared to the RX1r and significantly slow when compared to the Nikon D600.I never shoot video with my cameras so I'm sorry to say I can't comment on the A7's video capabilities.Overall, the A7 is a fantastic camera. Granted the A7r had a higher MP, the A7 just suited my shooting needs better (low light shots, portraits, running after the kids shots and travelling shots). Furthermore, even when paired with the larger SEL2470Z Vario-Tessar 24-70mm lens over the standard 28-70mm kit lens, the over all size and weight is still a HUGE upgrade over the significantly larger Nikon D600 and heavier the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G "beast" lens. The A7 really gave me the flexibility to carry the camera almost everywhere, making it perfect for my travel photography, while at the same time giving me the perfect shots that I look for in a camera, making it the perfect go to camera for me. All that's left is to hope Sony comes out with better and a wider range of lenses soon, which according to the news reports out there, they will.PS: If you see a Nikon D600 and a Nikkor 24-70mm lens for sale on eBay anytime soon, there's a good chance it's mine!I hope this review helps!

As an enthusiast photographer, that I am, I wanted to give a review from that perspective rather than a more technical perspective from , perhaps, a professional, which I am not capable of doing just yetUpon opening the box for the first time, I was immediately struck by the small form factor (and somewhat retro look - but just my opinion) and light-weight of the camera body. Indeed, I wasn't sure, at first, there was my camera inside the Amazon box UPS handed to me upon delivery (and UPS will require your signature for this item. Otherwise they are going to leave with nothing and come back another day).This camera body looks sharp. It's not completely magnesium metal body like its A7R higher priced sibling, but, rather, a mixture of metal and better plastics. But very hard to tell the difference. Point being, no one's going to accuse you of having anything less than a fine well-built camera. It feels good in the hand. A good grip for your right-hand. It's built like a tank. And it's weather sealed.All the buttons are where I want them to be. Perhaps the shutter button could be a little farther forward but it should be just a matter of getting use to it. The menu system is far easier to use and navigate than on my NEX6. And the NFC between the camera and my Android phone (Galaxy S4) is fast and convenient. The remote control function works very well. Checking latency revealed a very, very slight hesitency. But so minor. You'll hardly notice it. Just a nit-pick on my part (like the shutter button-certainly no game changers).I bought two lenses (there are only 5 of the FE lenses out as of this writing but Sony is releasing a total of 15 by 2015). The 35mm (very light) and the 55mm somewhat heavier and built well. I use the 35mm as a walk-around street lens because it compliments the light-weight and portability of the full-frame A7. In fact, this is why I bought the A7 in the first place. For street photography and scenics. At first I thought it would be a good 'stealth' camera for the street, but I have come to realize that with todays digital age we're just fooling ourselves if we think they don't know what we're doing. These two lenses, by the way, are Carl Zeiss and they have received some of the highest praise of any lenses on the market today. (A word of note, Sony is coming out with a 70-200mm lens full-frame for this camera April 20 2014 here on Amazon, $1495.00).So yes, the lens are expensive. But they are proving their worth. But one of the great advantages of these Sony cameras are their absolute adaptability too legacy lenses given numerous availability of lens-mount adapters for Minolta, Leica, Hasselbad, and then, of course, there's Nikon and Canon, as well as some others. So there is a way to get around the expense if you have legacy lenses laying around. Or you can buy some great glass on ebay cheaply which I'm told can rival, in some cases, some of the great glass of today.Finally, another great accessory which I bought, is Sonys Battery Grip which allows the use of 2 batteries and has a great form factor for the camera giving it a great grip, especially for larger hands as I have. Also I like the button placement.As you can see. I can't say enough about this camera. But it's totally worth it. In fact it's a steal at this price for what it does as a full-frame camera. With the 35mm lens (minus the battery grip), you can throw it in your shoulder bag or pocketbook, go about your day, and take stellar pictures. You won't regret this purchase.[...] Have a great day. Richard