A7R III a Nikon D850 killer? Here you are Dave...

DPReview just posted an article titled "Nikon D850 vs Sony a7R III: Which is best?" While the title carries an obvious risk of instigating a flame war, the article itself is really quite fair and comes to the conclusion one would expect when comparing two cameras of this level. There is give and take on both sides as features and functions are compared, but the overall verdict: "No clear winner."

 

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/4000816220/nikon-d850-vs-sony-a7r-iii-which-is-best

 

It's a great time to be a photographer.

 

Dave

I'll disagree slightly....

There is no one clear winner for all situations. They are both fantastic cameras. And they both can deliver the absolute best image quality as well as exceptional shooting experiences.

But once you get down to particular uses, you get some clear winners:

Sports/wildlife: I think the D850 is a pretty clear winner for a few reasons. First, system: Sony only has 1 super telephoto lens option -- 100-400mm. Primes, zooms, first party and third party -- Nikon has a lot of 300-600mm options. I do miss my 300/4pf lens, for example.

Second-- as stated by dpreview, slightly better subject tracking. I've seen others test and conclude that the Nikon AF is more reliable and accurate in terms of fast action.

Third -- more rugged build and battery life. Shooting a football game in a downpour, shooting a safari in Africa... I'll take the Nikon.

Video -- A7riii, hands down.

Landscapes -- Overall tie with some very different pros and cons. ISO 64 gives the D850 an IQ edge. Focus bracketing is useful for massive DOF in macro shots and in landscapes. If you're doing handheld landscapes, Sony IBIS is helpful (most ulttrawide Nikon lenses do not have stabilization), plus the Sony has a bit more dynamic range at higher ISOs. If you are on the tripod, the Sony pixel shift can give you an edge in some situations. Built-in intervalometer and the star-eater issue are more checks in the Nikon column.

People/events/portraits/street photography -- I give Sony A7riii a BIG edge. Eye AF, AF coverage over most of the frame, fast effective live view, silent shooting at up to 10 fps... these are big advantages.

For wedding photojournalism/street photography, etc -- set the camera to silent and just shoot with live view from the hip... count on eye AF, and you can very discreetly and effectively shoot from the hip. Portraits -- use the eye-AF to nail focus every time. WYSWYG lets you spend less time chimping between shots. The wide AF coverage means you don't have to focus and re-compose.

Travel -- the smaller size of the A7riii is a big edge for me. Though some people may prefer the D850 for the rugged build. I guess it depends where you're traveling to.

I had almost bought a D850... then canceled my order when I realized I was dreading carrying a 1 kg camera.

Nowadays I have a little FF P&S which does me very well.

The quality of the 24-105 is very impressive... and the high ISO capability is unreal on the A7riii

ISO 3200

untitled (2 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

ISO 6400

untitled (17 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

ISO 16000

untitled (20 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

ISO 32000:

untitled (19 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

The quality of the 24-105 is very impressive... and the high ISO capability is unreal on the A7riii

ISO 3200

untitled (2 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

ISO 6400

untitled (17 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

ISO 16000

untitled (20 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

ISO 32000:

untitled (19 of 30).jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

Really unimpressive waste of money. The camera and lens are crap.

That was me:

a) Imitatiing a die-hard DPReview Canon user

b Imitatiing a die-hard DPReview Nikon user

c) Rejecting the awesomeness of the camera to reduce my urge to deplete my savings in the next hour.

d) All of the above.

*sigh*

Dave

Really unimpressive waste of money. The camera and lens are crap.

 

That was me:

a) Imitatiing a die-hard DPReview Canon user

b Imitatiing a die-hard DPReview Nikon user

c) Rejecting the awesomeness of the camera to reduce my urge to deplete my savings in the next hour.

d) All of the above.

 

*sigh*

 

Dave

lol

In all honesty though --- I'd recommend the lens even for use on APS-C.

I finally figured out how to use lightroom for my files, which will let me get a truer sense (since I can process them the same way I did former files)

But my early impression is that the 24-105 may be the best zoom lens I've ever used.

I was a big skeptical about falling back to a F4 zoom. I really didn't love the Sony Zeiss 16-70/4 on the A6300. I felt it was "so so" especially for the money. When I shot Nikon, I tried the 24-85 but didn't feel it was quite up to what I wanted. So I finally settled on the Tamron 24-70/2.8 for general use.

The Sony 24-105, while a stop slower, may otherwise be just as good.

DPReview product of the year, 2017

Sony Alpha a7R III

So....who would have predicted this 10 years ago?

Dave

DPReview product of the year, 2017

 

Sony Alpha a7R III

 

So....who would have predicted this 10 years ago?

 

Dave

10 years ago... Sony was just taking over Minolta A-mount, the A100.. the A700...

For a while, the a-mount start to get a little competitive but never got very far.

Overall, we can only say that Sony's venture with the a-mount was a massive failure.

The bigger shock, who would have predicted this when Sony started NEX about 6 years ago??

6 years ago, A-mount was still the serious Sony lineup -- They were just about to launch their first real pro camera, the A99..... NEX was meant as a small consumer-friendly easy to use casual camera alternative.

6 years ago.. who would have predicted that NEX would evolve into Sony's professional camera system, far surpassing the A-mount in terms of marketshare, lens lineup, and reaching professional acclaim.

Sony took a HUGE risk.... while A-mount was not super successful, it had a steady market. So 3 or 4 years ago when they decided to put almost all their eggs into the E-mount basket... back when mirrorless autofocus systems were mediocre at best...

And of course, it's not just the cameras.... I recently purchased the 12-24/4 and the 85/1.8, both getting accolades on the dpreview list.