coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

I hate asking advice ‘cause I know I’m going to get opinions that are all over the map, in other words, just an out picturing of my own mind…..but, here goes (I might as well add to my confusion, I’m retired after all and have few distractions).
OK, I currently have a Canon 70D, a 24-135 and a USM IS L f4, 70-200mm lens. Good stuff. I shoot a range from hummingbirds, coyotes, mountain lions, owls, flowers, landscapes, and people….oh, and a junk truck now and then. All handheld. I’ve been shooting for over 50 years and I’ve got a good eye, not much technique, but a good eye.
I love detail and I think what I’d like to do is blow my stuff up BIG, say 20x40. (I sell now and then, gift, and hang on our own walls. I’m not in the biz as a pro. I’m a good hobbyist.)
Since I want BIG, and want detail I’ve narrowed down my desire to the Sony A7 and the A7r. (Yes I want a viewfinder and full frame.) It would be nice if I could find just one lens (I’ve got to keep cost down to what I can sell my Canon stuff for, about $2100, and what I can then put out, about $2200. Sony has an 18-200mm OSS and the 24-240. Anybody know anything about these lenses? (Yes I've read the "reviews" but they range from "great lens" to "avoid at all costs"!
So the question is (are) A7 or A7r (I DO want detail and I don’t have to shoot or focus fast)*….and 18-200 or 24-240…..or is there another lens (has to be stabilized) I should consider for what I want to do. I do want the telephoto capability, so a very good 50 won’t work…..maybe a year from now when I might scare up another few hundred bucks but right now, this is all I have to work with.
*Note; the best shots I have of the wildlife have been through my living room window so it’s not like I’m one of those guys sitting in a blind swatting mosquitoes. I’ve just been very lucky now and then.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Either A7 would do. For you, cheaper may be better. I would keep the Canon 70-200 for use with the Sony with adapter. A 24-70 would certainly make sense to dovetail with the 70-200. Do use the Sony Clear Image zoom to get you to 400mm with the Canon lens.

Kuzano

RENT!

Your own practical experience to make the decision will be worth far more than any advice you receive from biased owners on forums.

Your budget should get you the lens you seek. Commit $100 to $200 to rent and confirm the right decision. Then hope the example you get came off the assembly line as good as the rental lens you decided on.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Your camera and gear is MORE than adequate to blow up to 20x30 prints.

Save your money and shoot.

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

I like this advice. I'll keep the 70-200 and go with either the A7 or A7r (if I can get a good buy on one).

jim quist Loc: Missouri

A full frame camera will give you better detail.

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

Well right. That much I have done....BUT! when it comes to picking a section of that blow-up (cropping) you know what happens....so I want a full frame lotsa-pixel thing....my 70D just won't do that kind of blow up.

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

That's the point of course. Took some advice here and am keeping the Canon L lens....now the choice between A7 & A7r......since the "r" has more Mpxls, looks like that is the way to go. Then later, I'll go for a good lens that will fill the gap under my 70-200.

PhotosBySteve

Save yourself a lot of trouble and money. Keep what you have. If there is a scene you want to print large just shoot a panorama in portrait orientation (raw), then stich your images in Lightroom which will produce a large raw file suitable for printing printing very large at hi-res.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

He said he shoots "hummingbirds, coyotes, mountain lions, owls, flowers, landscapes, and people….oh, and a junk truck now and then." Stitched panoramas are good for landscapes and maybe junk trucks but, "Hey, Soccer Dudes, will you PLEASE stop moving while I get a few shots?"

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

Rest easy helpful folks....I've sold the 70D and am bidding on an A7. If it fills the bill then I'll quiet down out here in the high desert and see how it goes. If anyone is interested I'll plug in now and then with either high praise or low complaints about the outcome of my choices.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Coyote, you're not gonna be happy with ANY camera you use!!! The camera is NOT the problem.
You need to change the way you shoot!!! Take some real classes so you can learn how to go about it without cropping.
If you have a hummingbird as a speck in the middle of your frame, NOTHING, and I mean nothing is gonna make you happy.
Keep what you have and learn to use it!!!!!!
Just my two cents!! :lol:
SS

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

Well, I've been married three times and I would guess this kind of commentary would address my two "bad shots" the same way i.e. "....nothing is going to make you happy." I beg to differ. Third time has made me very happy.....and after more than 50 years of shooting I really do think I know what I'm doing....and why I'm doing it. I know how to crop in a view finder.....really I do and now I'm moving on to something else, a camera that gives me the kind of detail not available in most crop-frame cameras. (that's just the plain fact of it.) AND! the kind of wife I had been searching for all of my life......well, when I got mature that is. I've been quite happy with ALL the cameras I have used over those 50 years, the Yashicas, the Minoltas, the Nikons, the ....oh well, you name 'em, with each came a new potential and a new "problem". I just helped a buddy of mine, a fellow shooter for 57 years, unload his hoard of 20+ cameras....each one a tool of its time....each one replaced by a better tool or at least perhaps a more versitile one. If I had stayed "happy" with my first camera I'd still be shooting with a plastic Kodac using 120 film.....and I'd still be married to my second wife (who decided she liked women more than men). As for my first wife.....well......I, and we, were very young. BUT! I guess that covers all the territory I'd care to cover in response.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Coyote, the A7 is one of the finest cameras available, but the A7R is one of the top 3 full frame cameras ever made in terms of image quality.

If you can hold out... and afford the hefty price tag, the new A7II will be the BEST camera EVER in terms of image quality. It will also have built-in 5 axis image stabilization allowing you to handhold ANY lens that you can fit on the camera.

The new camera will be released in August....

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

Well I know. I've looked into that possibility BUT, no I don't have that kind of $s available and the IS of both the Sony OSS and the Canon IS I'm keeping should take care of the hand-held problem (just as it did on my 70D). The A7 II is about $2000 further than I can reach, and the A7r was $400 more than I could go (we're talkin' LIMITED funding here, in other words, a trade for my Canon stuff)....and then there's the 46 Mpxl coming, and then the 60!...etc., etc. I probably won't live long enough to keep pace with all the "up-grades" toward the concept of "perfection" so I'll just have to settle for "good-enough for now".