Quick check before hitting buy, camera for photos of an active toddler?

jojo90

jojo90

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I've been doing a little research on the next purchase, the primary use of the system will be family photos, a lot of which will be young toddlers. The existing cameras I have are manual focus rangefinders (M9) or good quality compacts (RX1R, X70). I can get good family photos with these but not as high hit rate with a fast moving target. Ideally I'm looking for fast, accurate autofocus (continuous eye AF seems to be the solution), and an articulated screen.

Currently hovering over purchase on the following kit, but wanted to make sure I'm not missing a trick with other cameras? I don't need the latest kit, but it seems the older kit might not have what I need (for example I considered the D700, but I'd need to keep the AF point where I needed it, easier said than done, also no articulated screen etc):
  • Sony A7 III body
  • Sigma Art 35mm 1.2
  • Sigma Art 85mm 1.8
  • Possibly another 28mm/35mm that is smaller with slightly more rapid AF
The advantage of the Sony system is I could pop the Leica lenses on with an adapter for a different look and a lighter setup if needed (I'll probably sell the RX1R and X70 to fund this).

Do Sony cameras have the best continuous eye AF on the market at the moment? Wanted to make sure there wasn't any options I'd missed before hitting buy - if there is a 10 year old system out there I can buy for a fraction of the price then even better!
 
Sony eye AF is terrific. I’m a Sony shooter so can’t speak for Canon. I’ve had the Nikon and find the Sony better. Have a look at the A7C with kit zoom for everyday. Add the 35GM for indoor/shallow depth of field. It’s a fab lens. Can’t help with 85mm options.
 
Interesting suggestion on the A7C, I hadn't considered that, reading the first review page on dpreview vs A7 III seems to have better autofocus (in terms of the Sony AI). It would change my lens choice as well, drawn to the Sigma lenses for the rendering, but wouldn't balance on the A7C. I'll do some more reading up! At the back of my mind I'm wondering if I should wait for the A7 IV to come out.
 
jojo90 said:
Interesting suggestion on the A7C, I hadn't considered that, reading the first review page on dpreview vs A7 III seems to have better autofocus (in terms of the Sony AI). It would change my lens choice as well, drawn to the Sigma lenses for the rendering, but wouldn't balance on the A7C. I'll do some more reading up! At the back of my mind I'm wondering if I should wait for the A7 IV to come out.
Click to expand...

Just a note on using larger lenses on smaller bodies.

I have a couple of Panasonic RF style MFT cameras and don't have a problem using a 100-400mm lens on them as in use although the lens is big and the body small one hand is on the camera and the other under the lens, so I don't think it's much of an issue. YMMV, but the size of the lens relative to the body wouldn't stop me if I was happy with the overall size and weight of the camera and lens package.
 
zoom or prime and focal length

I find that I use my Nikon 100mm, (both the non VR f/1.4 and the micro 105mm f/2.8) followed by the Nikon 24 70mm VR when shooting shots of my grandchildren
 
Don't use eye AF myself but I can see that is is going to be very useful for what you need.

AP had the following article - mainly about Canon - not so long ago:

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Which camera maker has the best eye-detection AF

We find out which camera maker offers the best eye-detection autofocus so you can be sure of sharper people and animal portraits
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Sony, I understand has and will always be pretty good at this. Canon possibly also and, maybe next year Nikon ( post Z9 ) might be. - who knows ?

You should be OK with your M glass on any ( FF in particular ) MILC.

If you are drawn to Sony ( and you have some already ) then worth trying the A7iii or the RF style body out in a shop ?

I just have a Z6 ( love the lenses esp. the f4's ) and a D500 for fast stuff. FF is easier for me to get a shot indoors w/o flash than are my smaller sensor cameras ( m43 and Nikon 1's ).

The 35/1.2 sigma ( nice lens ) is about 1 kg and quite big. I should want something like that on a body which has good ergos otherwise you might be fighting with the forward weight of the lens - but that is just me: I like to be able to shoot one handed if I need to. The canon R series look to have good dslr style grips ( as do the Z's ) I haven't held a series 3 Sony but the A7 I had was perfect for the relatively small C/Y lenses I have.
 
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I have the A9 A7III and A7RIV they are all good. The A9 is my go to camera. The ability to shoot silent under artificial light is fantastic. It's rare that I have to use manual shutter unless i'm using flash. The A7III is very good with one silly but major flaw for me. The focusing point is grey until you half press the shutter. No idea why they thought that was good idea as it's so hard to see. Frustrating when you know they could change this in a firmware update like they did in the A9. On my other two cameras you can make it white or red which is so much better. Do look at the Sony 35mm f1.8 a lovely little lens. Canon have come a long way and their R6 and R5's are both amazing cameras with great focusing. I wish Sony could match the file sizes of Canon. Don't forget Sony are about to release a A7iv so a deal may soon be had on the A7iii
 
If you move to a 50 mbte sensor, your computer may slow down when processing images
 
My favourite set up for my toddlers is Fuji X-T2 and the 55-200mm zoom - mostly at the wide end, so I expect 85mm on FF would be about right, although I do appreciate the flexibility of the zoom. The ability to eye AF in continuous mode would help, but I think it is a trade off for the size of the camera (inc lens) when you have to factor in also carrying all the stuff needed for a toddler - especially when they decide they are too big for their pushchair!

Posing in the skatepark by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
 
jojo90 said:
Interesting suggestion on the A7C, I hadn't considered that, reading the first review page on dpreview vs A7 III seems to have better autofocus (in terms of the Sony AI). It would change my lens choice as well, drawn to the Sigma lenses for the rendering, but wouldn't balance on the A7C. I'll do some more reading up! At the back of my mind I'm wondering if I should wait for the A7 IV to come out.
Click to expand...
Its the exact reason i got the A7C, its absolutely fantastic at tracking the children. Its also nice and small so you don't feel like your carrying "the big camera" with you. The lack of the hump makes more difference than you would think, i can suddenly use smaller bags and it just looks less obtrusive. Definitely try and have a go of one.
 
The A7iii will be perfect capturing kids, I use mine a lot for that (and weddings)

The kit you’ve listed will give great results, for me the Sigma 35 1.2 is too big but that’s just personal. The Sigma 85 1.4 DG DN is a great lens too. There’s lot of options in FE mount. Even the Sony 35 1.8 would be worth looking at.
 
Thank you for the advice all, I’ve decided to start with the A7 III and 35mm 1.2, agree this might be a large setup but should be ok. Had a look at a few threads with images from the Sigma and another with images from the Sony 1.4 GM, preferred the look of the Sigma so went with that. I have the Nokton 35mm 1.2 on the Leica and while 1.4 v 1.2 doesn’t seem a lot, to me it’s visible in the images, almost medium format.

Had a close look at the A7C, my preference is for a large EVF (I’ll be adapting manual focus lenses from time to time) and more control buttons/dials. AF seems good in the reviews, the A7 IV can’t be too far away.

Excited to get this combo delivered to see what it can do!
 
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