Calling all Photography nerds!

I appreciate the tip, and you're right. I think the problem is I'm not that steady. I did try some with a slower shutter speed and although the rotors look better, the image quality takes a nose dive. I got the rotors just a hair more blurred in this shot, which turned out clear:


This one is more blurry still, but the IQ is starting to slip:


But most of them are frozen:


Here's another fun shot for aviation enthusiasts...It was a super bright, sunny day, and this took a ton of post processing to get halfway decent. This is "Fifi", the last operational B29 (or at least it was at the time):

 

I haven't even looked into Pentax honestly. I have been eyeing up the Sony A7. Seems to have good reviews and doesn't break the bank. Thoughts?

 

I'm just a hobbyist, and not the person you asked, so take this with a grain of salt; After coming from a Canon 5DII, I went to a Sony A7R, and was really unhappy with it. I sold it and went back to a Canon 6D, which I still have. I like to take fairly fast shots, and not always well composed, on a tripod, etc. So in buying the A7R, I'm sure I was buying the wrong tool for the job, which isn't a fair appraisal of it's benefits. I just find the Canon way more intuitive and well rounded. But I'm sure many will disagree, and as I said, my opinion is simply from the standpoint of a hobbyist, not a professional.

 

What didn't you like from the Sony? I know you said it probably wasn't the right tool for the job, but in light words, what didn't you like?

 

I think jumping to an entirely new system will have it's drawbacks regardless of brand. There will definitely be a learning curve involved. Especially going from DSLR to mirrorless or vice-versa.

 

Part of it was what Joshipps just mentioned, switching platforms and brands is always going to have a learning curve, and I'd learned on canon DSLR's, and am most comfortable with them. As for the camera itself, the A7R was nice and light and compact, but it had downsides too. The professionals will explain it better, but the A7R seems to me to be an ideal landscape camera. It takes a while to set up and is not fast (I don't mean in f-stop terms, I mean literally fast). It would be absolutely awful as a sports photography camera. From all the reviews I've read, it's kind of a 1 trick pony, in regards to landscape. It excels at it, to the point of suffering in other types of photography. I'm not a sports photographer, but a Canon DSLR I can quickly grab out of my motorcycle tank bag, and snap some decent shoots of moving subjects like my buddies as they ride by, or a helicopter on the side of the road. Fast things like that never worked well for me with the A7R. It felt like a camera that wanted to be set up on a tripod. The A7R has been referred to as a "pocket Hasselblad", and that's how I think of it...very slanted towards landscape.

 

Okay, Gotcha. I guess maybe I should just stick with Canon, since that is all I have ever used. It will just be pricey and I will have to just save up more money. I like Sony but I read mixed reviews but I also see stunning photos with their products.

 

My only advice would be to not go by my advice. I can't emphasize enough my lack of skill and knowledge compared to many people, especially those who do this professionally. Just like with firearms, in photography, it's the Indian, not the arrow. I've seen some epic photos people have taken with the A7R. I'm simply relating my own experiences as they relate to my intended uses. Other people will have exactly the opposite opinion. After getting the A7R I just decided it was not what I was looking for. I wanted a multi-role camera that was capable of good IQ and user friendly. What I found in the A7R was a camera capable of incredible IQ, but not user friendly or multi-role. For me it didn't work. For you, it might be exactly what you're looking for.

 

Have you considered renting one and trying it for a week?

 

No I haven't. Honestly, I didn't know you could do that.

 

Enjoy:

https://www.borrowlenses.com/

It's a great way to try out some sweet gear. I rented a $2,000 lens last weekend for about $150.

 

Got my holloween costume in, decided to grab a few quick shots. Didn't have the tripod set up yet, so I'll have to do better exposures next time

 

Thanks man! I might give that a try.

Narrowed it down to:
Sony A7 (also get a new lens)
Canon 6D (also gen a new lens)
Keep my T3i and get a good lens, that is capable with full frame and DSLR.

 

Very cool shots and costume. I'm a huge Star Wars nerd, myself.

 

Took these today after I installed my OME suspension.

 

Wow, those are stunning. Excellent job! What camera and lens are you using?

 

The Sony is a great camera and you can adapt Canon lenses to it. But no it is not for sports. If you do landscapes it is great at that and has some cool features like focus peaking which is very nice for that genre. It could also do portrait work well, but only posed stuff I wouldn't want to use it for a journalistic style wedding or candids for example. It's also small and for me doesn't fit into my hand well for something that I would want to do portraits with. But mount that sucker on a tripod and do landscape shots and it shines.

As others mentioned, rentals is the way to go when switching to something so far off what you normally use. Rent the A7R II + Canon adapter and use your lenses.

People will make a big deal about the Sony (and Nikon which uses the same sensor) having so much more dynamic range, blah blah. Well I'm still on a 5D II and by using filters to pull the scene into something the sensor can capture in one shot, it really doesn't matter. You can get great results with either sensor.

 

Nikon d5200

First two photos are with the kit lense 18-55mm. The picture of the dog is with a Tamron 70-300mm

 

If you decide on a 6D, let me know. I am looking at selling mine.