bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Switched from Pentax & Canon DSLR's in Nov. 2013. Bought a Sony A7R at that time. I now also own the A7S, A7 II and A7R II.

VERY happy with the move to mirrorless and Sony's A7 line! No regrets. I can still use all of my legacy lenses (with adapters). Image quality is as good if not better. I do have to carry a couple of extra batteries for a full day of shooting but not a serious consideration.

I'm also 68...

bwa

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes. Zero regrets. LUMIX GH4. Do it!

I do a blend of still and video production for training, portraits, and more. The GH4 makes all of it easy. Travel is a breeze with a body and two pro zooms (12-35 and 35-100). The new 100-400 Leica zoom is on my wish list, along with an updated 7-14mm. These four are the equivalent of 14 to 800mm on full frame! A few select fast primes (15mm, 30mm macro, 42.5, and 75mm) add very low light capability and great bokeh and subject isolation. Any equivalent coverage I have is about 1/3 to 1/4 the size, bulk, and weight of full frame.

If I were a working pro sports photographer, I'd use full frame. If I sold wall-size landscapes or large point-of-purchase posters for store windows or ceilings, I'd use full frame.

Best advice if you want to switch --- Do your homework. Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and Fujifilm make the best mirrorless systems, and they each have distinct advantages and drawbacks. Be sure you handle them before buying! Hand feel varies a lot from body to body, person to person.

Nikon's 1 system is for amateurs, not enthusiasts and semi pros. Canon's M series seems to me to be a mistake. I know folks who have them and like them, but they are not advanced photographers. It pains me to say that, because I've used Canons and Nikons since 1968 and like both for different reasons.

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

A tip of the hat to you, Sir. I liked film and the latitude was great. I'm still waiting for digital to catch up. But then there is HDR.......

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Look at the Oly 300mm and 40-150 and the Leica 100-400 lenses released recently. (600, 80-300, and 200-800mm full frame equivalent fields of view)

philo Loc: philo, ca

I now also own the A7S, A7 II and A7R II.
bawna,,,,,,Why do you own these three bodies? Do each offer you something different?



bwa[/quote]

joto9d7 Loc: Laguna Hills

I switched, but without as much cost as most of you would experience. I recently started with DSLR equipment including the Canon t3i, Canon 18-200mm and Canon prime 50mm f/1.8.

I needed new equipment, anyway, so I took the plunge with a new Sony a6000 with a kit lens. I'm still amazed at what that camera can do and on my second trip over to the store I bought a Sony a7RII, Sony 70-200mm lens and the Sony 28-70mm lens.

As impressed as i am with both my Sony cameras, they don't have affordable lenses with enough reach for action or wildlife photography and Sony does not recommend using the doubler and even so, it's not available yet.

They just announced 3 new Master G lenses including the 70-200mm and the 24mm-70mm. Therse are a f/2.8 version of what I already bought, but these lenses can use doublers.

I don't know if it's just me learning how to work these very techie cameras or if i bought too soon. I am having focusing problems when it comes to tracking fast moving subjects. If i continue to have these problems, I intend to buy a Canon 7D II w/Canon 400 prime to use when i shoot surfers, birds, dogs at play or anything that moves quickly and need good auto focus and tracking.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

When I use film these days, 35mm or 4x5" B&W Kodak or Ilford I process it my self with HC-110 Dilution B. I've been using HC-110 for decades, long before digital. But 95% of my photography is digital these days. I dilute small volumes, 1 to 2 fluid oz. of the HC-110 concentrate directly to the working dilution B. I know Kodak gives no instructions for that but since even in my film days most of a stock dilution would go to waste. Therefore a bottle of concentrate lasts me years. I keep the concentrate in the refrigerator. I usually make up 12 to 24 oz. at a time depending on the size of film can or tray I am using.

LarryInSeattle Loc: Seattle, WA

I love my Olympus OM-D. Light weight and beautiful pictures!

jelecroy Loc: Huntsville, AL

I haven't exactly switched - still have full size Nikon DSLR. But I choked at the price of an underwater housing for that, and found a bargain on a Nikon 1 S2 with housing. I now have two Nikon 1 cameras, an S2 and a J4, because I always want to have a backup. Image quality appears very good, not equal to a FF camera, but good enough for any printing I will do (limited to no bigger than 13x9) and way more than needed for screen display. Raw files are easy to work with in post processing, and when I'm packing for a trip two cameras with lenses fit in the same volume required by one 55-300 lens. I don't like the viewfinderless framing, and miss being able to see the depth of field limits in my viewfinder, but for most picture taking the mirrorless cameras work pretty well.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Actually four bodies...

The A7S and A7R are full spectrum modified for astro/nightscape/IR photography. My wife sorta "borrowed" the A7 II when I picked up the A7R II.

bwa

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I find the (Canon EF mount) Sigma 150-500 zoom w/ Metabones IV adapter on the A7R II has pretty reasonable autofocus speed. You might rent one and give it a try.

I notice that Sigma has released their own adapter for Sony A7 cameras. It might even be better?

I've used a Kenko 1.4x teleconverter w/ Canon EF lenses and adapter on both the A7 II and A7R II; works quite nicely. I've also tried the Kenko 2x teleconverter as well but the autofocus is a little shaky.

bwa

joto9d7 Loc: Laguna Hills

Since you have both the a7RI and the a7RII, are there occasions when you do better with the older model and choose it over the a7RII?

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Simple answer is "no"!

The A7R II has usable autofocus speed with adapters. You might as well use manual focus with the A7R.
A7R II's in body image stabilization (IBIS) is great with every lens I own; auto or manual.
The low light sensitivity of the A7R II is darn close to that of the A7S.
The shutter is quieter (with less vibration) on the A7R II plus electronic 1st shutter and silent shooting mode.
The lossless RAW format of the A7R II produces a huge file but doesn't leave anything behind; the A7R, not so.
Noise levels on A7R II are less than the A7R.

Only time I chose the A7R is when I need high resolution and a full spectrum camera.

bwa

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

In all honesty, I have to admit that I've never seen anyone here say that mirrorless cameras "are for the birds." :D

jepisa

Difficulty of rolling your own film ? Anything I need to buy for this process? I ask because recently dug out a F100 Nikon sitting in back of closet for number of years, in very good condition, was going to sell it, now i am considering using for black and white. Thanks for any information.