The big switch
Landscape photographer James Abbott made the leap from Nikon DSLR to Sony A7R III. Is it a match made in heaven, or is regret sinking in?
James Abbott made the leap from a Nikon DSLR to a Sony Alpha 7R III. Does he have any regrets?
There inevitably comes a time, many times in fact, when every photographer realises that the camera they have is lacking in some way, and the only way to achieve a specific end is to upgrade. We all get this feeling when a new camera model is released, but in reality you know when it’s time to upgrade to the latest and greatest model, or even take the bold step of completely changing camera system.
As mirrorless cameras offer increasingly impressive features and high resolutions in compact and lightweight bodies, more and more photographers are making the switch. The DSLR certainly isn’t dead, and models such as the recent Nikon D850 prove that there’s still a great deal of innovation when it comes to more traditional camera design.
Will all cameras be mirrorless in five or ten years’ time? It’s hard to say really, because each camera format – from Micro Four Thirds to APS- C to full frame to medium format to large format – performs a specific function for different types of photographer. And the professional DSLR, in particular, has a size and weight that not only provides balance with large telephoto lenses favoured by sports Before my switch to Sony earlier in the year, my main camera was a Nikon D610, and I had all the lenses and accessories I needed to shoot both landscapes and portraits professionally. In many ways, I loved my Nikon D610. For a full-frame DSLR it was relatively lightweight at 850g body only (battery and SD card included), and I knew the menus and functions inside out. The 24.3MP sensor produces reasonably large prints and provides great image quality. And when it came to shooting landscapes, I could focus my 16-35mm f/4 perfectly, for any landscape with foreground interest at different distances, simply by using the distance scale on the lens.
When I first bought my Nikon D610 I predominantly shot portraits, so I purchased a vertical grip for comfort and the size and weight of the camera were never an issue. Around this time Sony was releasing its first full-frame mirrorless cameras, and while I knew the image quality was fantastic after
testing and reviewing the A7R, lens availability was limited so I didn’t feel compelled to make the switch back then.
Over time, as I began to shoot more and more landscapes I started to see some deficiencies in the D610 that I knew I could resolve with an upgrade. They were, of course, things I could live with, but at the same time I was becoming more and more frustrated; the D610 doesn’t offer a live histogram in live view, so when shooting with a Big Stopper you have to wait for a long exposure to finish before you can check for shadow or highlight clipping.
And while we’re on the subject of Big Stoppers, one thing that drove me mad was the fact that the D610 couldn’t ‘see’ through extreme ND filters in live view – the LCD screen would be black. The same problem occurred at night – you couldn’t see a thing. Plus, when shooting at night or with a Big Stopper the eye-piece cover that was essential to avoid light leaks is a separate cover that has to be attached in place of the main eye-piece, making both easy to lose.
Something I’d learned over the years about DSLRs is that they certainly don’t shake off dust. They’re magnets for it! And sensor dust was another issue that was driving me to distraction. Having to clean my sensor every other week was becoming tedious and having owned Fujifilm cameras for a number of years, I knew that mirrorless cameras didn’t suffer as badly from sensor dust. The question was, did I stick to what I know and keep costs down by upgrading to a Nikon D850, or should I take the bolder and more expensive approach of a complete system change by switching across to the Sony Alpha 7R III?
Decision time had arrived
I researched for weeks and considered everything. I wanted a higher resolution that would allow me to make larger prints without the need to interpolate images in Photoshop, so there were three main options for full-frame cameras with a resolution exceeding 40MP. The 50.6MP Canon 5DS R was out of the question purely because I wasn’t prepared to swap systems for another DSLR, and this camera had been around for a couple of years. This left the more recently released Nikon D850 and Sony Alpha 7R III in the running, which at the time of looking cost £3,499 and £3,199, respectively.
The Nikon D850 is an amazing camera and I knew that I would instantly feel at home with it, not to mention it meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about buying new lenses or accessories, so it would be the most costeffective option. At 45.7MP the resolution was perfect and the native low ISO of 64 offering a 14.8 EV dynamic range was extremely attractive for achieving slower shutter speeds without the need for ND filters. And while the expanded low ISO 32 wouldn’t provide the dynamic range of ISO 64, it would still be useful in many landscape situations.
When using extreme NDs the D850, like its predecessors the D800, D800E and D810, has an eye-piece curtain built into the viewfinder so no more worrying about losing covers. Unfortunately, however, Nikon hadn’t included live view gain so the only way for the camera to ‘see’ through a Big Stopper was to open up the aperture and crank up the ISO. It’s not the end of the world, but any situation where you have to mess around with settings rather than concentrate on actually shooting increases the chances of making mistakes, like leaving ISO too high when working quickly.
Other notable features include direct access buttons that light up so you can see them in low light without the need for a torch. Then there are advanced functions such as focus stacking which automates this popular technique for macro and landscape photographers. On the downside, the camera offers dual card slots; one is XQD rather than two SD slots. And the deal breaker for me was the body- only weight of 1,005g (XQD card and battery included). It may only be 150g more than the D610, but one of my main aims was to reduce weight rather than increase it.
The Sony A7R III by size and weight alone looked a strong contender for my hard- earned cash, at an incredible 657g body only (SD card and battery included) and offering dual SD card slots. So, once I had a 16-35mm attached to either camera I knew the Sony
‘ The Sony A7R III by size and weight alone looked a strong contender for my hard-earned cash’
would weigh much less. And while the 42.4MP full-frame back-illuminated sensor isn’t quite as high resolution as the D850’s sensor, it’s so close that it’s negligible.
The lowest native ISO was slightly higher at 100 with a dynamic range of 14.7 EV; ISO 64 would be better, but certainly not a deal breaker. Other advantages I knew I’d be able to immediately enjoy included the ability for the camera to ‘see’ and even autofocus with a Big Stopper attached to the lens, less dust because there’s no mirror, and no need to ever worry about covering the viewfinder because of the EVF.
Mirrorless myths
You regularly hear DSLR owners smugly saying how rubbish mirrorless cameras are when it comes to battery life, and to be honest, with the Sony A7R II this was certainly the case. The fact that Sony shipped the camera with two batteries was testament to the issue. Roll on the new Sony NP- FZ100 Z-series battery for the A7R III, A7 III and A9, and things couldn’t be more different, with battery life being significantly improved over the previousgeneration batteries.
Sony really has produced a battery here that, for the landscape photographer, certainly matches the duration of use of a DSLR battery in certain situations. When I shot landscapes on my Nikon DSLR, I would always shoot in live view because it’s easier and more comfortable, and I’ve found that the A7R III battery matches this and will last for up to two days of shooting.
If, however, I was shooting portraits and using the electronic viewfinder rather than the optical viewfinder of a DSLR, battery life
would, of course, be inferior, but probably not as bad as you may think. I’ve always had two or more batteries for every camera I’ve previously owned and currently own, to offer redundancy on shoots and additional battery life, so running out of power isn’t a fear. For emergencies in the field, I purchased a third-party double battery charger that will run from a portable USB power pack, and I’ve so far not needed to use it for this reason.
Another myth you may hear is that mirrorless cameras are less robust than DSLRs and that they don’t offer the same level of dust and weather-proofing. The reality here is that the higher- end models such as the A7R III are weather resistant and have been shown in use in both cold and wet conditions. Sony rates the operating temperature of the A7R III at 0- 40°C although again, the camera has been shown in use in temperatures well beyond this range. I’ve only had the camera since April so I’ve not had the opportunity to test it in winter conditions, although from what I’ve seen I have no doubt it will perform well.
The A7R III in use
I once read a blog post by a photographer who said that they weren’t interested in switching to mirrorless because once a kit bag weighs 10kg for instance, an extra kilogram or two doesn’t really make a difference. I’d argue the complete opposite and have been slowly shaving weight off my kit bag wherever I can, and moving across to Sony has helped me to achieve significant weight savings. I regularly trek for miles, and sometimes that’s up mountains with camping gear, food, water and emergency items. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather carry an 8kg bag than one that’s 10kg! It does make a difference and I’m sure your back will agree just as much as mine has.
In use, the A7R III is a pleasure to shoot with, although the menu is so feature-packed it can sometimes be difficult to locate what I’m
looking for - something I’m sure many other A7R III users agree with. Sony has pulled out all the stops and you have so many options, including the ability to set custom functions and many other buttons to access your desired settings from your preferred buttons.
With the EVF and LCD screen it makes sense to set them to the highest quality so you can enjoy their full resolutions when pixel peeping your images in the field. The detail and clarity of both the LCD and EVF are fantastic, and the articulated touchscreen is great for selecting points of focus manually when focus stacking. And with 399 AF points covering most of the frame, except the edges, you can always get the part of the subject you want in focus.
Just like everything in life, the A7R III isn’t perfect and there are a few things that have oddly been missed out. With the new A7 and A9 series cameras, Sony has done away with the Play Memories app that allowed you to purchase apps to add functionality to the camera. This app was controversial because many photographers felt that when they’d paid £2,000-3,000 for a camera, much of the functionality the paid-for apps offered should have been included in the first place. I can see both points of view, with Sony’s perhaps being that not everyone would want or need certain functions so this allows individuals to pick and choose. But with this app now gone, Sony’s flagship camera doesn’t even have a built-in intervalometer.
Other useful features that have been missed out include no on-screen timer when shooting in Bulb Mode, and no exposure times longer than 30 seconds. Fujifilm’s advanced camera models offer all three of these features, with the latter two making shooting long exposures with a Big Stopper unbelievably easy. You don’t even need a shutter remote or timer to shoot perfect long exposures because the T setting allows you to shoot exposures up to 60 minutes in duration. This would be functionality that Sony could easily provide in a firmware update, so I can only hope that this is added to the current line- up in the near future.
The perfect companion?
Changing camera systems is an expensive exercise, so you must be absolutely certain that it’s right for you. For me, I knew that it was the only way that I’d be able to alleviate my DSLR woes, enjoy a higher resolution, and also cut down the size and weight of my kit to make trekking long distances and camping more manageable. You may now be wondering why I didn’t go further and opt for an APS- C mirrorless camera, but the reason I didn’t is that I wanted a full-frame camera and the best 16-35mm lens currently available, among other reasons. In the months that I’ve been shooting with the A7R III, I have to say that the switch was 100% the right decision.
If I hadn’t made the jump to Sony when I did, I’d probably be eyeing up the recently released Nikon Z 7 about now, which looks to have a mightily impressive spec on paper and seems to answer what a lot of Nikon users have been calling out for. I’m yet to get hands on with one and I’m all for giving it a try, but having decided to make the move away from Nikon and now that I feel right at home with the A7R III, I’m in no rush to go back. If I were to do this it would be a very costly exercise.
In the A7R III Sony has created one of its best cameras to date; indeed it’s one of the best high-resolution cameras available right now. And with a wide range of exceptional optics available in the FE mount from Sony, Carl Zeiss, Sigma, Tamron and Samyang, plus multiple adapters for using other manufacturers’ lenses, there’s a huge number of optics available to use with the system – making it ideal for almost every type of photography. As I have discovered over these past few months, for shooting landscapes, the A7R III is undoubtedly one of the best.
‘Moving across to Sony has helped me to achieve significant weight savings’