Recently, it became clear that we needed to upgrade to full frame and high megapixel count for our landscape print business. As Canon users we felt we had been waiting far too long for Canon to produce a contender, to the Nikon D800/e and/or the Sony A7r, and this had caused us to fall behind, so we decided to make the upgrade.
[caption id="attachment_823" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Sony A7r[/caption]
Main points would be - it had to be able to use our heavily invested Canon fit glass, it had to have a high pixel count, it had to produce quality RAW's.
After much (MUCH) research, that is not in this post, we chose to upgrade to the Sony A7r system. The main points were, it uses the same chip as the Nikon, no anti-alis filter, half the weight of the Nikon, 36Mp.
What follows is a list of problems and "niggles" that we had to overcome. Some we knew about beforehand, some we learned, some no-brainers, anyway here they are to date;
** Please note, this is just a list of our decisions and purchases, we don't get a cut from anyone for providing this list, we don't endorse these products and we accept no liability whatsoever for the suitability of these products in your particular situation, do some research and make the right decisions for you. **
1) Battery Charger - the A7r did not come with an external battery charger (at least the package we ordered did not). Can't really understand this decision by Sony, it's nice to be able to do it as an option but not as a mainstay charging solution. The system charges the battery in-camera by connecting the camera to a mains outlet via the supplied cable. This is "fine" until you need to charge a few batteries ready for a shoot, plus you can't use the camera whilst you're using it as a charger and youacn't charge two batteries at once with the battery grip attached.
we bought this one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00O9L58GM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00
2) Memory Cards - this was one we knew about. The Sony takes SD memory cards, not the extensive collection of CF cards we already had. No problem, like I say we knew about this one so new cards where purchased. We're primarily landscape shooters so a lightning transfer speed was not a real requirement.
we bought a healthy supply of these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007PYBOEU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
3) Memory Card Wallet - this may seem like a no-brainer, until you're getting ready for a shoot and you've go a handful of cards and nowhere to put them. Doh!
we bought this one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00933489O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
4) Lens Adapter - Like any photographers we had invested, heavily, in good glass to match the system we had, Canon. Canon L quality is hard to beat and replacing them would be VERY expensive so we needed to continue using them with the new body, at least for now. We didn't want heavy, non-native lenses hanging from the front of the smaller Sony. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem but it wasn't worth the risk of putting extra cantilevered stress on the camera body. A lens adapter was required. As landscape shooters we, pretty much, do everything manually anyway so autofocus and other electronic functionality wasn't a necessity but would be nice for if/when it was required (this only works for certain lenses though and is slow). We settled for the Metabones IV adapter. Agreed, it was pricey but as a central part of the new outfit we needed something tried and tested. The Metabones also had a tripod mounting screw on the bottom so the weight of the lens was hanging from the adapter and not the camera mount.
we bought this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L25PTHG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00
5) L-Bracket - Obviously, the Canon L-brackets we had were not going to be of any use here but there were other things to take into account. What IS NOT apparent is that, dependent on your equipment, it is highly likely that your non-native, DLSR sized glass will snag on your tripod head when you mount the adapter to the head. What you need is a spacer to lift the adapter just a bit higher to allow the lens to clear the head. After much searching we found the spacer from Hejnar Photo to be suitable as it came as part of an L-bracket and did what was required. So we bought it!
we bought this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331211060635?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
HOWEVER, what is not immediately obvious is the fact that, with a battery grip attached this L-bracket
WILL NOT WORK. The battery grip will always be attached, it's just too much fiddling about to keep removing it to mount on the tripod. MORE searching followed before we found a second spacer from Hejnar Photo for this precise purpose. It would have been nice if this had been made painfully obvious in the first place but one lives and learns.
we SHOULD have bought this - http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=54_52&products_id=291
**
ALSO, please be aware that, as this is a component from a pick 'n' mix L-bracket solution you will have to order the relevant side mount component as well to make a full L-bracket. **
6) Battery Grip - There were a couple of reasons for this. The Sony "eats" batteries so the ability to have two attached at the same time was an obvious benefit. The Sony, relative to a Canon DSLR, is TINY so the battery grip provides more to "hold" and balanced out the whole thing in-hand. Be advised, though, you cannot charge two batteries when this is attached.
we bought this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261601675321?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
7) Shutter Remote - We previously used the Vello Shutterboss, a fantastic piece of kit. Unfortunately, they don't make an equivalent for the Sony but we did find a suitable replacement with the same functionality.
we bought this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271624211990?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
8) RAW Files - Expected this one but just for completeness, had to upgrade Adobe Camera Raw to deal with the Sony RAW files.
9) Batteries - As mentioned earlier, the Sony "eats" batteries so extra spares haad to be purchased. I know people extol the virtues of buying only branded batteries for your relevant system but we're having no problems with the third-party batteries we purchased.
we bought a healthy supply of these - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271616117268?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
10) Camera Bag - Not really a problem of anyone's making but, with the setup all assembled it no longer fits into any ready space in my Lowepro backpack. Some "adjustment" will be required.
** Please note, this is just a list of our decisions and purchases, we don't get a cut from anyone for providing this list, we don't endorse these products and we accept no liability whatsoever for the suitability of these products in your particular situation, do some research and make the right decisions for you. **
We hope this account is of use to anyone considering a similar move. To date, we have no further woes, whines or niggles but if anything pops up we'll let you know!
Slaters Bridge[/caption]
