Sony A7

Last week I got my hands on the new Sony A7 here in Hong Kong, a week or so before it was released around the world. I’m not much of a gear-head, and haven’t actually bought anything new in years, but this camera is interesting. A full frame, 24 MP mirrorless machine. Advance notices were very positive, so I grabbed one on the active HK used market. (I don’t think it had even been used once.)
I just had a weekend to kick the tires a bit and check it out on a couple of jobs. I am using it with manual focus Voigtlander glass – 75/f1.8, 35/f2.5 & 21/f4. I hadn’t used a manual focus camera in years, as my main gig as a kids photographer requires quick and accurate focusing, as I tend to work at wide open apertures with fast Canon primes. (e.g. 85/f1.2 & 35/f1.4)
I was surprised to find focusing extremely easy with the ‘focus peaking’ method, even wide open. Sure, it’s not quite as fast, but almost. The major winner for me is the size and weight. The camera and 3 lenses feels like nothing, much less than some of the Canon lenses I use.
I am going to take it on the road this winter to do some travel photography, along with my Hasselblad Xpan film camera.
Here are a couple of quick samples from this weekend. I will be posting more in the near future.

Sony A7, Voigtlander Heliar 75/1.8

Sony A7, Voigtlander Heliar 75/1.8

Sony A7, Voigtlander Heliar 75/1.8

Sony A7, Voigtlander Heliar 75/1.8

Sony A7, Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm 2.5

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