Choice help. Sony A7, Canon D6 or?
Discussion
I have a small inheritance which I want to invest in a camera. It will be second hand, and I am looking at ( budget dictated ) the Sony A7 or the Canon D6.
Now I know the A7 is mirror less and both are full frame.
For the time being it would be something like a 24 - 70 ish lens.
( am I right a shorter L glass would crop as good as a cheaper longer zoomed lens? )
So. I’m not tied to any brand. Am I right to look at these cameras or is there something I have missed? I can’t stretch to the mkii versions. I am shying away from the 7d as it’s a crop sensor, but is that a good choice?
I appreciate a lot on here don’t have budget restrictions but these would have been expensive cameras when launched so I hope to tap into experience!
Thanks guys
Now I know the A7 is mirror less and both are full frame.
For the time being it would be something like a 24 - 70 ish lens.
( am I right a shorter L glass would crop as good as a cheaper longer zoomed lens? )
So. I’m not tied to any brand. Am I right to look at these cameras or is there something I have missed? I can’t stretch to the mkii versions. I am shying away from the 7d as it’s a crop sensor, but is that a good choice?
I appreciate a lot on here don’t have budget restrictions but these would have been expensive cameras when launched so I hope to tap into experience!
Thanks guys
6D and A7 are both good cameras and you'd get great results with either - so largely it's down to budget and which you like the feel of in your hand.
Personally I would probably have the Sony (I shoot with a A7Rii now and it's a lovely bit of kit)
Do you really need full frame though? There are a multitude of options out there and lots of really good crop sensor cameras which would work really well for most situations. Eg the Fuji system is very good and has a lot of fans (I used to shoot with an X-T2 for example)
What are you planning to shoot with it?
Personally I would probably have the Sony (I shoot with a A7Rii now and it's a lovely bit of kit)
Do you really need full frame though? There are a multitude of options out there and lots of really good crop sensor cameras which would work really well for most situations. Eg the Fuji system is very good and has a lot of fans (I used to shoot with an X-T2 for example)
What are you planning to shoot with it?
Thanks for the reply. In the past I have had a 20d and 40d and just recently an RX100mk6 but sold that as I miss the larger camera.
Mainly architecture, children, no sports. Also reasonably close vintage cars and engines.
I am happy to be told otherwise re the sensor. I think I had it in my mind probably the 6D and a 24-105 f4 L lens to start
Mainly architecture, children, no sports. Also reasonably close vintage cars and engines.
I am happy to be told otherwise re the sensor. I think I had it in my mind probably the 6D and a 24-105 f4 L lens to start
The A7 gives great results but it was Sony's first of the current A7/9 line and I find them a little frustrating to use both in terms of ergonomics and speed of operation. Maybe firmware has helped in the interim and I know the latest stuff is fantastic but I'd find it hard to recommend a Mk1 A7 based on my own experience. The 6D, I know very little about but a couple of friends still shoot with Mk1 versions and have had them since release and both seem very happy indeed so I assume they're pretty good. They certainly feel nice to use and seem robust and nice image quality particularly in terms of noise handling. One advantage with Canon if you're on a budget is that the huge pool of users and back catalogue of lenses etc means that there will be plenty of used gear kicking around. Sony E-mount is right up there now in terms of choices but hasn't been around long enough to have such a big pool of used options.
Might be worth considering the Nikon D610 if they're in budget. They were the natural rival to the 6D when new and a really nice camera to use and IQ will be the same as the Sony. Again a good pool of used lenses to choose from.
Might be worth considering the Nikon D610 if they're in budget. They were the natural rival to the 6D when new and a really nice camera to use and IQ will be the same as the Sony. Again a good pool of used lenses to choose from.
JABB said:
So, again asking the knowledgable, should I concedder a crop frame? A 7D perhaps?
I reckon any modern crop sensor Canon would be miles better than the ones you have used before - eg I used a 100D for a while (cheapest available at the time iirc) and it was fine, got a lot of nice shots.JABB said:
Hmmm, well I am looking hard and I am now thinking the 6D with the right L lens will be too expensive. The Sony looks ok, but only ok in terms of reviews, seemingly the later ones are MUCH better.
So, again asking the knowledgable, should I concedder a crop frame? A 7D perhaps?
The Canon 7D?So, again asking the knowledgable, should I concedder a crop frame? A 7D perhaps?
Had a 7D mkii which I chopped in for a Sony A7ii, and the picture quality on the A7 was much better.
The 7D was much better for sports, especially motorsports I found, as the range of (relatively) cheap zoom lenses was much greater and the 7D was easily more ergonomic for long periods shooting with it, but once I switched to focussing (sorry) on landscapes, I thought the A7 much better suited. At which point I didn't care that there are NO cheap Sony zoom lenses (well, there wasn't 3 years ago).
Depends what you want to shoot really.
JABB said:
Mainly landscape, close up classic car and stationary engines, with the kids thrown in.
The A7ii is well over budget.
I thought there wasn't much in the A7/A7ii used price difference? FYI I recommend (and chose) the A7ii because of the IBIS and the (somewhat concerning) stories of sensor reflections in the original A7. If you're near Cambridge and want to try out an A7ii, let me know. My A7ii was £480 in October. The A7ii is well over budget.
Also, in terms of covering your lens budget as well: the kit A7 lens (the 28-70 at about £100-120) is actually pretty decent. Check the DXO reviews to see that the figures don't get any better until you are spending big money on the f2.8 zooms. (I rebought it after stupidly selling my original one!)
Plus, good FE-mount primes can be expensive. But ... old manual primes on the A7 are way cheaper and awesome! See here: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/affordable-manual-le...
I use an old Minolta MC 55mm/f1.7 with a £20 adapter and it's a delight to use. I wouldn't want to try to manual focus AND exposure with dogs/kids running around with one, but for landscape and static subjects, they are brilliant.
Escapegoat said:
JABB said:
Mainly landscape, close up classic car and stationary engines, with the kids thrown in.
The A7ii is well over budget.
I thought there wasn't much in the A7/A7ii used price difference? FYI I recommend (and chose) the A7ii because of the IBIS and the (somewhat concerning) stories of sensor reflections in the original A7. If you're near Cambridge and want to try out an A7ii, let me know. My A7ii was £480 in October. The A7ii is well over budget.
Also, in terms of covering your lens budget as well: the kit A7 lens (the 28-70 at about £100-120) is actually pretty decent. Check the DXO reviews to see that the figures don't get any better until you are spending big money on the f2.8 zooms. (I rebought it after stupidly selling my original one!)
Plus, good FE-mount primes can be expensive. But ... old manual primes on the A7 are way cheaper and awesome! See here: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/affordable-manual-le...
I use an old Minolta MC 55mm/f1.7 with a £20 adapter and it's a delight to use. I wouldn't want to try to manual focus AND exposure with dogs/kids running around with one, but for landscape and static subjects, they are brilliant.
Bookmark www.camerajungle.com (a.k.a. Jessops) and wait until their next 20% discount code is shown on the home page.
The A7ii now starts at £630, which is about the same as www.mpb.com and LCE. The current 10% code brings that down to £567. The 20% code - which is what I used - would bring it down to £500. Mine was a smidgen cheaper because the previous owner had blacked out the 'SONY' logo! Nikon-envy, perhaps?
One thing: Sony's best lenses are annoyingly expensive, and there are some gaps in the range. But there are so many adapters for the E mount that you can put Nikon or Canon lenses (and still have AF and AE).
The A7ii now starts at £630, which is about the same as www.mpb.com and LCE. The current 10% code brings that down to £567. The 20% code - which is what I used - would bring it down to £500. Mine was a smidgen cheaper because the previous owner had blacked out the 'SONY' logo! Nikon-envy, perhaps?
One thing: Sony's best lenses are annoyingly expensive, and there are some gaps in the range. But there are so many adapters for the E mount that you can put Nikon or Canon lenses (and still have AF and AE).
If you're close enough to a John Lewis store, you may still find the A7ii in the camera dept (definitely here in Cambridge, although I've a feeling that it's been discontinued). It's at a crazy price (>£1000 IIRC), but you can still get a feel for size and weight and handling. Maybe compare it to a Fuji X-T-series while you are there.
I love my A7, but you definitely pay the price for being in the FF club.
I love my A7, but you definitely pay the price for being in the FF club.
My two pence - I had a 6D and a 70D - best of both worlds. Still have the 70D which I assumed would be useful for daily activities, and chopped the 6D in for a 6D mkII which has the swivel screen - and subsequently that + a 24-105 F4 II became my daily combo.
The 6D provides impressive full frame photography for not much outlay, at least in relation to other FF bodies. I got mine about a year ago as a suspected 'grey import' and it's been more than worthy, got it here:
https://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-eos-6d-mark-ii...
Sony gets incredible reviews and my friends who run that system say the A7 series are great bang for buck, but I'd already invested in lots of Canon glass so was the natural route.
The 6D provides impressive full frame photography for not much outlay, at least in relation to other FF bodies. I got mine about a year ago as a suspected 'grey import' and it's been more than worthy, got it here:
https://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-eos-6d-mark-ii...
Sony gets incredible reviews and my friends who run that system say the A7 series are great bang for buck, but I'd already invested in lots of Canon glass so was the natural route.
If budget is an issue then I'd avoid sony. I switched from a Nikon D500 setup to sony a7iii and the lenses are a big jump up, I think partly due to them being full frame and partly because there's just less choice for this lens mount. Personally I'd budget is an issue I'd go for a Nikon drop sensor, there are tons of older lenses out there which will fit and work just fine but will be much cheaper
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