Ata Mohammad Adnan

Sony A7R2 Review- A stellar workhorse!

Camera Equipment

I have always been a Nikon shooter. My photography has evolved from only travel and street photography to a more wider spectrum of wedding photography. I was also using a Fuji X series camera for my street endeavours but I never saw that as a camera capable of keeping up with the pace of a wedding.

Initially when I got the Sony A7R2 (Adorama) with the Sony 28mm f/2 (Adorama) and Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens, I thought I will reserve the Sony system for travel and street purposes. In May 2016, on a trip to Thailand, I got to use the amazing Sony 85mm f/1.4 G-Master (Adorama), and then I quickly changed my mind to let go off my Nikon gear. I was SOLD!

Over the past year or so, the Sony A7R2 has been my primary camera, for both weddings and street/travel. I can never make technical reviews, so I’d rather jump to real life photographs taken with the camera.

My pair of eyes.
The Day it arrived- the Sony A7R2, a beast of a sensor!

The good news.
This was the very first photowalk I had with the Sony A7R2 coupled with the 28mm f/2 lens. The small setup was enough to make a complete stranger at ease!

Lunch at the picnic
The 28mm f/2 lens is a genuinely underrated gem of a lens! Especially for street style shooting.

False alarm
My cameras always help me preserve memories. when my grandfather fell ill and I accompanied him by the bedside all day, I thought the 28 f/2 was just the perfect companion.

Eid ul Fitr'2016
Even at the mosque during Eid, I felt it was non-obtrusive to carry such a small camera. Add to that the silent mode, which is almost soundless unlike any DSLR.

The lonely boatman
We had gone for a small outing with the family and I didnt feel like carrying multiple lenses. With the advantage of the 42mp sensor, I used my 55 f/1.8 lens and later cropped this image to 50% or even more! Even then I ended up with a file much larger than 12-16 megapixels.

Let the drums roll
Another great example of cropping! In certain situations, its like you are carrying two different lenses in one. For someone who only shoots prime lenses, it can be quite a blessing!

Dhaka's Jungle.
When I got the A7R2 I did feel the 42mp files would be a overkill. But in such situations, it gives you the liberty to take an image you wouldnt have shot with any other sensor. From a flight to Dhaka!

Wind

Karate Kids

A windy affair.

FOR STREET & TRAVEL

Primarily I am a street photographer with a strong interest in photographing strangers on the streets. Most of the times, its about being discrete. At other times when I ask for portraits of strangers, I need to be friendly and quickly get a photograph without making them awkward posing for minutes. The Sony A7R2 shines massively in this department. Depending on the lens, it can be discrete and fast. I recently bought an ultrawide prime(Zeiss Batis 18mm f2.8)(Adorama), so can’t wait to shoot more travel photo§§§agraphs with it

 

By the sea.
Though the Sony 35mm 1.4 lens was a bit chunky the image quality was to die for.

The offering
Though the Sony 35mm 1.4 lens was a bit chunky the image quality was to die for.

The irony
The eye-ball focus is a huge addition and perfect for such portrtaits where the DOF is so shallow.

A hard day's work.

Look into my eyes

The indian monsoon
Nadaan ParindeyThe Diwali show!

Birmingham BallsSuperwoman takes a break.

WEDDING & PORTRAITS

I will be honest, I never thought mirrorless systems could manage the agility and pace of a wedding, especially asian weddings. But I am glad that this camera proved me wrong. I started using it as a 2nd camera with my Nikon DSLR but slowly realised its giving me better photos and with the 85 1.4, I replaced it as my primary camera for shooting assignments.

There are few MASSIVE ADVANTAGES which makes it a game changer:

  1. The EVF. I need to shoot 30% less photos now, only because I can nail correct exposure for most photos. This means I spend less time sorting photos during post processing.
  2. The ISO performance. I shoot all my weddings in natural light, and I am not afraid to push my ISO setitngs to 6400 and even beyond to 12500 at times.

Wedding HuesThe bride arrives.

Grandma in law

The bond

A sunlit escape.

OTHER PROS:

  1. The 4 customisable buttons on the camera- You can literally assign any function to any button. I use one of the buttons for AF-type selection, one for COLOR PROFILE, one for switching between viewfinder/LCD, etc.
  2. You can use adapters for any lenses and even use Autofocus. This means you can use Canon, Nikon and even Leica M mount lenses.
  3. Manual focus is very easy to use with focus peaking. I personally use the color RED to show me the peaking and its absolutely use-able!
  4. Read this fascinating tips: https://www.colbybrownphotography.com/15-tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-your-sony-a7rii/

CONS:

Battery life! I personally use 3. One would yield you 280-320 shots, so suit yourself accordingly.

Sensor prone to catching dust! Will bug you if you are a landscape photographer. Personally, I am guilty of being careless when it comes to changing lenses- I change them everywhere whenever needed. But it is more prone to catching dust than regular DSLR.

CONCLUSION:

My stellar workhorse, a camera I can always rely on to provide me with beautiful images no matter what!

 

Sony Alpha a7 Mirrorless Cameras All time Low


7Comments

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  3. 7
    Nahid
    Reply

    Very nice review of this monster from Sony alpha range. You’ve portrayed the capabilities of this camera almost without talking about it technically. I’m self-learning street photography and happened to own an entry level soldier from alpha range cameras. Can you please suggest me some good tutorials to self-learn street photography?

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