Enthusiasts are great accessorisers. Camera dweebs get this thing called GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). Saying, “sorry about your wallet” is a right of passage at head-fi. As both an audiophile and a photophile, I suffer from GAS and a lost wallet. But don’t take my word for it.
Read moreNikon Df vs D800 vs Canon 6D high ISO test at DPReview
DPReview reader, Horshack, tested Nikon's Df, D800, and Canon's 6D at ISO speeds from 3.200 to 102.400. The output of each camera was down-sampled to 8MP. The results are both surprising and not. It is clear, however, that Nikon's files are friendly to heavy digital pushing than are Canon's files.
When asked why he chose to test ISO speeds of up to 102.400, Horshack explained that it:
“illustrates the thermal noise issues with the active electronics on the Exmor chips pretty clearly. It would be very interesting to compare the images after performing a proper black-frame subtraction on the D800 files. It is possible to mitigate that noise, and even though it takes some extra work, the results can be very nice.
For obvious reasons, I think LENR should be an option for D600/D800 users full time.”
The below image represents what each camera is capable of at ISO 100 with a five-stop digital push.
size comparison: Olympus OM vs Sony a7r at DPRevie
DPReview forum member, viking79, has put up a photo-rich thread at DPReview comparing the Sony a7r to the Olympus OM SLR. As you can see, today's benchmark-creating 'small' is larger than yesteryear's compact. And with an NEX-OM adapter attached, the a7r becomes larger still.
The idea of the big-ass SLR is a myth.
While I dislike the Sony a7r for anything but work, I realise that it is a revolutionary product. It is redefining the expectations of photographers, who, for the last 18 years or so - and with the notable exception of cameras such as Nikon's FM3A - have expected quality 35mm interchangeable lens cameras to be huge. This was only exacerbated when cameras went digital. In fact, today, many Nikonians think the Df is small. It is not.
While the a7r isn't 'small' by comparisons to history, it is the first full-frame digital camera whose dimensions compare somewhat favourably to classical cameras. Of course, the OM is much better made than the a7r is, and has a much better finder, but at least the a7r points toward a smaller, brighter future.
Three Guys First Thoughts: Nikon Df
Three Guys With Cameras has a well thought-out essay about Nikon's soon to be released Df digital SLR. Each 'Guy' raises plaudits and concerns with the new camera. Plusses amount to the use of the D4 sensor. Essential caveats are that the Df sacrifices ergonomic functionality for both manual and automatic lens shooters. Each Guy notes that it is much larger and more complicated than the film cameras it attempts to emulate on the outside.
The Guys are polite in dishing out their conclusion, that the Df is a Frankenstein's monster attempt to hit all market points with one product.
“Nikon could have made a very nice retro-ish camera but I guess they lost focus somewhere and made a frankenstein-esque hybrid of a D600 and a FA. This is not the “Digital FM2″ that people are lusting after, but overall, I think it’s still a nice camera to use, with reasonably good looks to boot (I personally prefer the black version.) However, at this price point, I’d rather pay for a D800.”
I tend to agree, though with more vociferation. I had considered selling my D800 for the Df back when the only thing known about it was that it would be a digital FM. Instead, I purchased a Sony a7r and Novoflex adapter.
Sony Alpha a7r and Novoflex NEX/NIK and ASTAT/NEX
Note: Ω's full review of the Sony ILCE-7r (a7r) is now up
In addition to the most amazing audiophile portable audio player ever (review and pictures coming soon) my pre-ordered Sony Alpha α7r hit my doorstep this evening. It came in a big box. It came COD and it packs a USB cable. There's even a wall wart, some literature and a strap. It didn't come with a battery charger. What?
Nope, you have to shell out 59$ for one. And the bad news is that you will need one. Battery life is atrocious. After taking 10 exposures (and probably 10-15 minutes of poking around menus), battery life dropped from 100% to 75%. Naturally I was using live view the entire time. But even the D800's battery-hogging live view would last at least several dozen exposures before draining by the same amount.
Extra batteries are required. Battery chargers are required.
Otherwise, it’s a snazzy-looking piece of kit, but not as coherently snazzy as Fuji’s X-Pro 1. So far, I have shot only one frame with the a7r. I'm a manual reader, and mine's in Japanese, so it will take a bit longer than normal. So far, the interface is confusing.
All I know how to do is set ISO, RAW/JPEG, and shutter speed. Of course, as a still life audio photographer, I don't need much more than that. I can tell you that the hot shoe syncs just fine with my Flashwaves III wireless transmitter. My profoto Pro-B’s worked perfectly. And the camera doesn't seem to jump too much when shooting. But it is loud, and until I figure out how to keep it from going: kabbup bup bup kaboop, I will obviously have to keep my ears plugged with something sweet.
Equally as obvious, I will need to bone up on WB.
What is to be sure is that next to the Nikon D800, it is a LOT less sturdy. The side latches are as cheap and flimsy as a Nikon D5000's; the card door is a pull out plastic affair. I see no weather gaskets around any hinge or door. This is NOT a weatherproof camera. It is NOT a weather resistant camera - at least as is dictated by current market standards set by Nikon, Pentax, and Olympus.
But this bad boy will replace my D800. I need a more agile camera, a camera that can stretch on long bellows without weighing the skeleton down too much. I need a camera that doesn't have a big arse flash sticking out that interferes with bellows or T/S lenses. Naturally, I need a camera with good image quality. So far, the single frame I shot indicates that that won't be a problem.
What I'm not keen on so far is the complicated control scheme. But then again, I'm a simpler man than most. My needs are like 1/10th of yours. And in the following week or two, I will report on how they are fed by the a7r. I will be shooting several small review projects for ohm. That should get me boned up enough for two largish shoots for Mac Audio and Headphone Book (I'm a geek photographer) come December.
In the mean time, I will mount the a7r to Nikkor Ai/S lenses via Novoflex’ excellent NEX-F mount adapter and ASTAT tripod ring mount. I don’t expect I’ll use the camera much whilst out and about. Why? Because I don’t shoot Sony style. Whilst out and about, I'm pretty set in my ways. Either a rangefinder or a real SLR. Nothing else- at least not yet.
Currently I shoot with a Fuji X-Pro 1, which typically is screwed around the tiny Canon 35/2 LTM (M39) lens. I came to 35mm photography from a Nikon FE, and then a Canon P. The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 is a camera so half-arsed that it is tiring to find new derogatory puns that fit it. But without dishing out for a Leica M, it is as close to the simplicity of a physically controlled camera as is available. Shame, really.
The good news is that Sony are not trying to be anything- at least not that I can tell. The a7r is the first interchangeable lens 35mm equivalent 'full frame' camera that is the same size as medium-sized SLRs of yesteryear. I hope that smaller cameras with full frame sensors and traditional layouts come out so that I can replace my half-arsed Fuji. If it be Sony, so be it.
I am planning to purchase Voigtlander's VM-E helicoid mount in order that I can use my LTM (M39) and M lenses on the a7r, just for fun. Since early this year, I have used a Hawk's Factory helicoid adapter on my X-Pro 1. Amazing. Mostly. Its most serious problem is that it is machined quite cheaply from soft aluminium. Actually that would be its second worst offence. Its first is that the tube through which the lens projects an image is reflective. That surface both exacerbates existing lens flare and creates its own. Voigtlander should be made better.
Note: Ω's full review of the Sony ILCE-7r (a7r) is now up