A7 vs. A7R vs. 5D Mark III – Which one is right for me?

The A7 is near.  Very near.

We are about a week from the release of the initial shipments of the new Sony A7/A7R cameras.  With only a few days left until the release, I need to decide the hard decision – will I be an early entry into this new Sony A7 full frame system, and take delivery on a new Sony A7?  Or will I choose to sit this first round out, leaving braver souls with deeper pockets to explore the wonders of pocket sized mirrorless cameras with full frame sensors?

Any of us who push the edges exploring the frontiers of photography would love to have everything made in the world of gadgets & cameras.  But often, what we need and what we try to convince ourselves we need are two different things.  The truth is, if you have bought a new digital camera in this past year and you paid over $1,000 for the body alone, as I have, you too already have an excellent camera.  Over this price threshold, they are all good.  What you’re choosing is preferences in controls, software, lens possibilities, frame rates, size, weight, warranties, reputation, and other personal convenience considerations.  All $1,000 and up cameras today should allow you to make excellent photographs once you get to know them well enough to use them proficiently. The bare unvarnished truth is whatever new camera or lens or other technical pieces of gear you or I equip ourselves with, it will take months to learn to use them to their potential.  While photography may be an endless lifetime learning process, there are limits to my ability to concentrate on using more than two systems well.

This summer I started the learning process with a Canon 5D Mark III.  I am not at all sorry for this decision; it is the best 35mm camera I have ever owned, film or digital. At the cost, it should be.  The technological strides in camera systems the past few years are astounding.  It has been a pleasure learning the 5DIII, a rewarding process seeing the excellent images both still and video start to emerge as I have gotten more proficient in my operational technique.  There is a whole lot in the 5DIII to love.  Mastering it completely, there are a lot of settings options to learn and memorize.

Like all the professional level offerings of both Nikon and Canon, it is big and heavy, with its near armor plated bulletproof, weatherproof body.  Twist on a beefy f/2.8 autofocus telephoto, and it becomes a beast too large and too heavy for me to swing at the end of my arm on an all day shoot.  My style and technique demands a full frame sensor in my primary kit.  Age demands it become a lighter one, if possible without sacrificing quality.  Seeing the potential in the A7 with that new Zeiss 24-70 to me is exciting.  Seeing this review results showing the Sony results against my 5D Mark III does give me pause to question what am I giving up for a smaller and lighter solution?  And is it worth it in the long run?

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