Skip to content

My first week with the A7II (Guest post by Albert Dros).

Share

Bildschirmfoto 2015-02-14 um 12.16.47Looking up by albert dros, on Flickr
this one made editor’s choice on my 500px page and already has over 1000 likes!

This is a Guest Post by Albert Dros. The images have been first posted on SonyAlphaForum.

Bildschirmfoto 2015-02-14 um 12.16.37The Place of Worship by albert dros, on Flickr
(note that this one is iso 1600, the detail is still amazing!)

My first week with the A7II
by Albert Dros

I’m a dutch photographer but I’m travelling the world a lot. I have lived in Hong Kong for a while and I always love visiting new places. My passion for photography actually started only 2 years ago when I was living in Hong Kong, but I have been busy ever since. My main job is freelancing in the television and motion graphics industry, so I am always doing creative stuff, so photography is no surprise.

Thanks for the compliments! I recently got the A7 II in Hong Kong (not when living there, I just went for holidays recently). I bought it with the kitlens as I was able to score a good deal. I also got the [shoplink 33429 ebay]14mm f2.8 Samyang[/shoplink] and the 55m f1.8 Zeiss. I was used to the m43 system. I have always been shooting with a GH2 and later the GH4. What I noticed immediately is that the files were cleaner, less noisy, and I was able to push the dynamic range further than with the GH4 files. The IBIS also comes in handly, especially when doing street shooting at night.

Bildschirmfoto 2015-02-14 um 12.16.55Sunset Twilight Hong Kong by albert dros, on Flickr
This one is with the kitlens + B&W filter. Still very decent!

I really like working with the GH cameras as everything is very light and the overall workflow is very fast. However, the A7 i’m using now is a bit heavier, but the difference is not that much. The biggest downside is the batterylife for me. I could easily do 1 or 2 days with 1 battery on the GH2 and GH4. With the a7, if i do street photography, i run out of batteries very fast. Again, its not a big of a problem, as I carry 4 batteries with me anyway. And especially when im travelling and just shooting landscapes, I am not shooting all that often, only on the best spots, so in that case it’s even less of a problem. Another downside is that there is no silent shutter available. Silent shutter is very useful for street photography.

Overall I love my A7 at the moment. The photos seem sharper, and the raw files contain more dynamic range and less noise. As I used to shot 3 to 5 exposures on the GH systems sometimes for landscapes, I hardly use any HDR anymore on the A7 as I can push the raw files around so much. I like to get the max out of kitlenses. I even shot amazing photos with my GH2 kitlens (see my Flickr) and I am pushing the A7 II kitlens atm. I tend to get the max out of the systems I guess, with techniques or tricks. Like using 5 exposures on GH2 landscapes, not even only for the range, but rather for more sharpness. Or stitching for higher resolution. Now with the A7 I love is the 12mm f2.8 samyang lens that is so incredibly cheap and so incredibly nice. Its hard to find cheap/good wide angle lenses for the m43 system because of the crop sensor.

Bildschirmfoto 2015-02-14 um 12.17.02Business Bay Dubai by albert dros, on Flickr
Another one with the kitlens.

I am very happy with the A7 II and eagerly waiting what sony is coming up with next. I am really interested in an A7S II as I love night shooting (but also a big fan of landscapes, that’s why i chose the A7 II)
The GH4 blows away the A7 II in video capabilities though, but I guess everyone already knows that.

If you are interested in following my work, these are my websites:
www.albertdros.com
facebook: facebook.com/albertdrosphotography
instagram: albertdrosphotography
flickr: flickr.com/albertdros
500px: 500px.com/albertdros

I only made my facebook and instagram page very recently so any follows are greatly appreciated :)
Thanks!
Albert

USA/Canada A7II links:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore and Sony Store Canada.
Sony Alpha a7II with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore.
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto.
EU A7II links:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for 1.799 Euro at Sony Germany, Sony UK, Jessops UK, Sony France, Sony Italy, Sony Spain, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Netherland, Sony Belgium, Sony Portugal, Sony Sweden, Sony Finland, Sony Norway.
Sony Alpha a7II with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for 2.099 Euro at Amazon Germany, Wex UK, Jessops UK, Verkkokauppa.
Asian/Australia A7II link:
Sony A7II at Sony Store Australia, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
A7II Gariz case:
You can get in [shoplink 32354 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 32396 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink],  [shoplink 32355 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 32356 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink].

Share
Back To Top