If you've kept up with my blog up until now, you know that I own the Fujifilm XT-1. As you can probably tell, I also recently got my hands on the Sony A7Rii. In my mind, these two camera bodies do pose as competition to one another.
You may think that I'm crazy, but hear my out. Of course the A7Rii almost undoubtedly destroys the XT-1 based on specs. The A7Rii has a 42mp full-frame sensor while the XT-1 only has a 16mp APSC sensor. The A7Rii has in body image stabilization, shoots 4k video, and a great native ISO range. The XT-1 has some features...
Let's just face it, the XT-1 is very, let's say humble, when compared to the A7Rii. I believe that the XT-1 does pose as competition because there is a very big subculture based around it. Also, the people who are looking at form factor, is probably looking at both bodies as they are very similar in size. I've also heard a lot of argument (from Fuji shooters) for the XT-1 because it has more "soul". For those who want the best of the best (specs wise), they will no doubt be swayed by the A7Rii.
I'm not here to argue about specs. In this comparison, I want to talk about practicality and how I approached the situation. I have a high megapixel monster (Nikon D810). What I was looking for next was a lightweight travel/everyday camera. I initially bought the XT-1 because it was available. At the time, the A7Rii was sold out everywhere. After I bought the XT-1, the A7Rii became available everywhere. That's just how life goes right?
My initial impressions of the XT-1 were great. It was small, lightweight, and there were a lot of great prime lenses for it that were also small and lightweight. What more could I ask for? The answer is resolution. The XT-1 takes surprisingly sharp images, but 16 megapixels can only go so far. The images from the XT-1, looked great when you get everything right in camera. I don't want you to think that you can't adjust levels, crop, and everything else in post. I just want you to be realistic and don't expect to be able to do something like pull shadows after underexposing by like 5 stops. You shouldn't do that in any situation, but my point stands. One thing that I did notice about the XT-1 is that it is sharp, until you zoom in 1 to 1. The resolution just isn't there to do a lot of cropping. Of course this also depends on the situation. This led me to a constant want of more resolution. Where else can I get massive resolution in a small package? The Sony A7Rii of course! So, I got the A7Rii and now we are here.
I purchased the A7Rii with the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens. This lens is currently ranked as the 2nd sharpest lens in DXOMark's database, so the image quality should be present. After using the combination for about a week, I'm left asking myself, "Was it worth it?" I purchased the body for $3198 and lens for $898. The grand total was $4096.
So what's my problem? Why am I even questioning my purchase. To be honest, the 42 megapixel sensor really just didn't blow me away. The combination gave nice sharp, contrasty, and saturated images, but they weren't all that amazing. I actually think that the D810 took higher resolution images based on my results from the past. This is perhaps attributed to the A7Rii's 11+7 raw compression. I'm not going to go greatly in detail about this, but long story short it's a compressed raw format that doesn't allow users to take full advantage of the camera's abilities. There is a fix via firmware coming in the near future. Sony announced earlier today that 14 bit uncompressed raw will be coming to the A7rii. This is good news, but it doesn't really influence my decision.
When I bought the D810 on 9/22/2014, I paid $3099.99. Today on 9/15/2015, the price has dropped to $2996.95 from an authorized US seller and $2294.99 from a grey market reseller on eBay. In less than a year, the camera has dropped $805. I have to admit, I'm a little bit butt hurt about this. Just imagine the loss I would take if I were to decide to sell the D810 used. On launch around October of 2013, the Sony A7R costed $2298 and can be purchased today via an authorized US vendor for $1898 and from a grey marketed reseller on eBay for $1489. What do you know, a depreciation of $809. Although the timeframe between the A7R's launch and today is larger than that of the D810, I believe that it is still relevant to this argument. No doubt the A7Rii's price will depreciate. This is almost certain as Sony seems to push out new camera bodies every couple of months. The A7Sii was actually just announced today! Prices will depreciate and new products will continue to roll out. That's just how consumerism works.
To sum that rant up, buying the A7Rii with the 55mm lens today would cost me $4096. For my use, I would be paying this sum simply for the increase megapixel count over the D810, in body image stabilization, and the form factor. The other features that the A7Rii provides don't really apply to my applications. Are these things worth $4096? I keep bringing that sum up because it's $4096!!! That money can be put to a lot of good use.
I don't think that the A7Rii is a good investment for someone in my situation, someone who has already invested a lot in another system and already has a high megapixel camera. The in body image stabilization is nice, but not for that price. I have the XT-1, so I don't really need another small/lightweight camera. I can deal with it's lower resolution for that kind of money. I can always pull out the D810 when I do need the resolution for professional jobs.
As of today, I would rather wait for the imminent price drop of the A7Rii, or perhaps the A7Riii/A9, than spend the $4096.
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