A7r AF faster than the NIkon D800E? the “Buddha” 55mm Bokeh test.

October 24, 2013
reviews
89 Comments

The image on top has been sent to me by a SAR reader. it has been taken with the Sony A7r and the superb 55mm Zeiss. You like the “Buddha” bokeh? I like it a lot :)

Today a couple of friends attended different Sony events:

Mike Kobal (Click here) had the chance to test the A7r camera displayed at the PDN show in New York City. And he writes:

AF speed with the new 55mm 1.8 Zeiss lens is VERY fast, FASTER then my Nikkor 50mm 1.4 on the D800E. If you happen to have a Nex 7 and the orig 16mm pancake, the FF 55mm Zeiss will focus just as fast, which, frankly, is quite amazing. As you probably know a 55mm requires a much higher level of accuracy and has a longer focus throw. I am impressed. This at regular indoor light levels. One has to wait and see how it performs in low light.

And Andrew from EosHD (Click here) had a hands-on in Berlin:

The A7R is Sony’s best handling camera to date. Excellent physical control layout and a unique rear card slot with angled door. Both headphone and mic jacks, unusual to find on a small camera like this.
The sensor is the best in the stills world, and second best in the video world just behind the 5D Mark III. If you’re shooting raw video with the Magic Lantern firmware on the 5D Mark III of course the A7R won’t improve on that for image quality, but if you need the convenience of a compressed codec and don’t mind a bit of occasional moire and aliasing then the A7R does a great job.

And a third report from a SAR reader that attended another Asian Sony hands-on event writes:

1. SEL1018 can be used at Focal Length 13-15mm but at it is optimal at 14mm with very subtle vignette at all aperture. At 10-12mm & 16-18mm you will need to crop the very heavy vignette off (actually it requires the crop or turn on the auto crop)
2. AWB for underwater (not sure if you already have this info)
3. A7 + FE lens, AF is very good comparable to DSLR
4. A7R AF is like NEX-7 a bit faster but still hunt
5. At low light, all lens with A7R hunts while A7 is ok
6. NTSC/PAL switchable so you can just buy from a cheaper place even though the TV system is not the same as your country with NTSC you get 24p/60p/60i, with PAL 25p/50p/50i (AVCHD 2.0 specs)
7. Pre-AF is quite battery intensive
8. B&W rendering is so nice

Support SonyAlphaRumors: After months of FF mirrorless rumor work I would be glad if you can support my work by making your A7-A7r purchase by using these links below. I will earn a small commission and you don’t pay one single penny more! Thanks!

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, SE, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, SE, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev
A7 at Digitalrev.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.