Thinking of switching to mirrorless - A7Riii Help

[Mark-Anthony]

Hi All

I recently bought my second D810, but after a month I've found I'm not really using it that much. The thought of carrying it around on holiday is making me want to leave it at home.

For a while now, I've been considering the change to mirrorless, and i've seen a few peoples pics who own the A7Riii which look amazing.

Thing is, I've also heard thst sony made a massive screw up on the firmware, causing it to play up. True?

Has anyone got one? Can anyone give me their opinion on it?

I'd be selling my D810, 20mm 1.8, 50mm 1.8, cf cards and everything I own for this camera.

I need some advice to make sure it's the right move

 

[nandbytes]

Thing is, I've also heard thst sony made a massive screw up on the firmware, causing it to play up. True?

Has anyone got one? Can anyone give me their opinion on it?

I'd be selling my D810, 20mm 1.8, 50mm 1.8, cf cards and everything I own for this camera.

I need some advice to make sure it's the right move

1 - never heard of any such screw up or issues.
2 - yes and its not exactly small. You can have a small-ish kit if you invest in small primes like samyang 24mm, 35mm, sony FE28, FE35, FFE55, FE85 etc etc.
3 - There is no 20mm f1.8 option but there is a £800 tokina 20mm f2 AF option. The sony 50mm f1.8 kinda sucks in terms of AF being somewhat slow and noisy. The Sony 55mm f1.8 is a terrific lens but comes at a high price tag too.

It might turn out to be expensive switching to sony so make sure its got the lenses you want and at the prices you can afford. Otherwise its a terrific camera.

 

[Jase]

It sounds like the reason you want to change is to save some weight. The weight saving after you put a lens on (depending on lens) is minimal if any.

 

[decigallen]

It sounds like the reason you want to change is to save some weight. The weight saving after you put a lens on (depending on lens) is minimal if any.

You'd definitely notice a difference, even with lenses.I notice it between a D750 and A7III and the D810 is much bulkier and heavier still (over 300g more than a A7riii, which is the weight of some primes). Stick a 28 or 55 lens on it and its a pretty compact system, or go with a crop-sensor lens and you'll save more weight yet still have a decent amount of mp for holiday snaps.

 

[Jase]

You'd definitely notice a difference, even with lenses.I notice it between a D750 and A7III and the D810 is much bulkier and heavier still (over 300g more than a A7riii, which is the weight of some primes). Stick a 28 or 55 lens on it and its a pretty compact system, or go with a crop-sensor lens and you'll save more weight yet still have a decent amount of mp for holiday snaps.

Well that's interesting as at the moment I've done my back in and trying to save some weight (mainly landscapes), when I tried the A7RIII I didn't think there was much/any difference. Maybe I should revisit the shop then.

 

[twist]

Well that's interesting as at the moment I've done my back in and trying to save some weight (mainly landscapes), when I tried the A7RIII I didn't think there was much/any difference. Maybe I should revisit the shop then.

There's quite a big difference (d750 not that much), even more so when going wide and switching from the bigger FX cams.

 

[Jase]

There's quite a big difference (d750 not that much), even more so when going wide and switching from the bigger FX cams.

I've just had a quick look at the lenses I use compared to the Sony and they are pretty much exactly the same weight. Meaning that the only weight saving I'll get is on the body which I will save 350g.

I will give it another go but don't think that will be very noticeable in a bag with other lenses etc.

I'm comparing to a D850 btw.

 

[Eloise]

I need some advice to make sure it's the right move

Wait 20-odd day’s and see what Nikon reveal.

 

[nandbytes]

I've just had a quick look at the lenses I use compared to the Sony and they are pretty much exactly the same weight. Meaning that the only weight saving I'll get is on the body which I will save 350g.

I will give it another go but don't think that will be very noticeable in a bag with other lenses etc.

As I said main weight saving can be had by buying smaller primes and also with UWA lenses. For the rest it'll be about the same.

 

[Jase]

As I said main weight saving can be had by buying smaller primes and also with UWA lenses. For the rest it'll be about the same.

Exactly thats why I put (depending on lens).

Wait 20-odd day’s and see what Nikon reveal.

That's good advice. I think a lot of people don't think they will compete with Sony, but Nikon have been working on it for a long time and have the advantage of knowing what they need to compete with and where they can maybe improve, there's a lot to like with the Sony but also a lot that could be better.

 

[Faldrax]

... I think a lot of people don't think they will compete with Sony, but Nikon have been working on it for a long time and have the advantage of knowing what they need to compete with and where they can maybe improve, ...

Problem is, if they have been working on it for a long time, then what they have it terms of "know what to compete with" is an A7, possibly an A7ii, when what they actually need to compete with is the A9 / A7iii - which are a significant step up in a number of respects, and Nikon has not had long (in hardware / software development terms) to have deigned and built something since those two have been released.

It will be very interesting to see what Nikon do come up with, hopefully it will be sufficiently good to offer some competition to Sony, and a route for Nikon users to move to mirror-less if they wish to. This could lead to a situation where there is a more even (total) market share between Canon, Nikon and Sony, causing all 3 to both stay in the game, and to be forced to continually innovate - making the real winners us

 

[nandbytes]

Nikons tracking algorithms have been great on DSLRs. I am hoping they will have great tracking on mirrorless too.

 

[Jase]

Problem is, if they have been working on it for a long time, then what they have it terms of "know what to compete with" is an A7, possibly an A7ii, when what they actually need to compete with is the A9 / A7iii - which are a significant step up in a number of respects, and Nikon has not had long (in hardware / software development terms) to have deigned and built something since those two have been released.

It will be very interesting to see what Nikon do come up with, hopefully it will be sufficiently good to offer some competition to Sony, and a route for Nikon users to move to mirror-less if they wish to. This could lead to a situation where there is a more even (total) market share between Canon, Nikon and Sony, causing all 3 to both stay in the game, and to be forced to continually innovate - making the real winners us

I think Nikon will (or at least try) to get something really good out, the D850 is a superb camera which they threw everything at and we probably have Sony to thank for that.

 

[woof woof]

There's nothing definite from Nikon and some of the rumor sites have been backing away from saying that the actual cameras are imminent to saying they'll probably come in the first quarter of next year. Sony have cameras you can buy today.

 

[decigallen]

There's nothing definite from Nikon and some of the rumor sites have been backing away from saying that the actual cameras are imminent to saying they'll probably come in the first quarter of next year. Sony have cameras you can buy today.

This was the crux for me. Even with a mooted announcement in August, the public won't have them for another few months. And if it's a properly good camera, Nikon will struggle to keep up with demand. It'll be a number of years before there is a full complement of native lenses and third-party ones from the likes of Sigma. And as a Nikon user for the best part of a decade, I had no desire in being an early adopter given their track record.

Right now Sony is making a camera that ticks virtually all of the boxes. But as others have said, I hope the Nikon is fantastic as consumers are the real winners when there's heavy competition.

 

[Dave Semmens]

Well that's interesting as at the moment I've done my back in and trying to save some weight (mainly landscapes), when I tried the A7RIII I didn't think there was much/any difference. Maybe I should revisit the shop then.

Some of the landscape zooms are lighter. My 16-35F2.8 GM is the same weight as the Nikon 16-35 F4. I think the Sony F4 is around 120g lighter.

 

[Jase]

Some of the landscape zooms are lighter. My 16-35F2.8 GM is the same weight as the Nikon 16-35 F4. I think the Sony F4 is around 120g lighter.

Are you finding a noticeable difference overall with weight when you go out with a few lenses and gear?

 

[Mark-Anthony]

I mainly do landscape and car rig photography, so weight saving would be a bonus. Thanks for all replies, I'll have a scout round

 

[Dave Semmens]

Are you finding a noticeable difference overall with weight when you go out with a few lenses and gear?

I am now using a shoulder bag on some trips out rather than the rucksack. I would not have done that with my Nikon kit.
The camera and 16-35 are lighter than the Nikon camera / lens equivalent I had. My 24-70 and 70-200 F4 are about the same as Nikon. If I was worried about weight I would get the A7R3, 16-35F4 and the 24-105F4. That will cover almost all landscape situations.

 

[Craig_85]

Swap 2 x d810 for 2 x d750.

 

[SsSsSsSsSnake]

Hi All


I recently bought my second D810, but after a month I've found I'm not really using it that much. The thought of carrying it around on holiday is making me want to leave it at home.

For a while now, I've been considering the change to mirrorless, and i've seen a few peoples pics who own the A7Riii which look amazing.

Thing is, I've also heard thst sony made a massive screw up on the firmware, causing it to play up. True?

Has anyone got one? Can anyone give me their opinion on it?

I'd be selling my D810, 20mm 1.8, 50mm 1.8, cf cards and everything I own for this camera.

I need some advice to make sure it's the right move

Hi Mark
Do you think after a month of owning the A7iii you wouldn’t be using it much also and then look for the latest flavour of the month
Or are you telling yourself that you really would like one of these because a lot of people are buying them and you’ve seen some great photos taken with the,.
A lot of people own or have owned the excellent D810 and I’ve seen some superb photos taken with them
I’ve actually seen superb photos taken with lots and lots of cheaper cameras.
Maybe FF mirrorless is the pull regardless of make,which sort of cuts down your options.
If you are only concerned with size whilst on holiday you could buy a nice travel camera .
Other than the holiday what else is stopping you using the D810,
When I look back on cameras I’ve bought and sold and lost money on,I know that if I ever fancied a rather expensive camera or lens
in the future I would hire one and probably have scratched the itch at a lot less cost.
Good luck making your choice.