You probably already know the answer to the title of this article. But there is so much more to it that I want to talk about. Throughout my photography journey I have used many pieces of gear: both cameras and lenses. And especially the last 7 years or so, I have been fortunate to use mostly the newest Sony cameras and lenses as a Sony ambassador. But this has not always been the case. And I have taken some of my ‘best’ photos with older cameras and lenses. In this article, I want to take you back to where I came from and my journey through gear, and my current thoughts about using the newest gear for my photos. Let’s get started.
This article can be seen in video form on YouTube as well:
My Current Gear
My current main body is my A7RV. It does everything I need to get the job done: High megapixel, great detail, high dynamic range and good ISO performance. But most importantly: After being with the Sony system for so many years I know exactly how to operate it and how to get the shots as fast as possible in the field.
Regarding lenses, I mostly use my Sony 12-24 f/2.8 GM or 16-35 f/2.8 GM II as a wide angle, the 24-70 f/2.8 GM II as a mid range, and the 70-200 f/2.8 GM II or 100-400 GM as telephoto. I also occasionally bring the Sony 90mm macro with me. If I go on specific shoots, like astrophotography, I bring my 14mm f/1.8 GM with me.
As you can see, I have most of ‘the best’ gear. This is because I have been doing this professionally for many years. And, like mentioned before, I am also a Sony Europe Ambassador.
Do I really need the best gear to take my photos? We will get into that more later. But I definitely didn’t always had ‘the best gear’ available and was still able to take all the shots I wanted. In fact: I took some of my best shots with gear that is far from ‘top of the line’
Please note that this article is centered around the Sony cameras and lenses, as it's coming from my personal experience.
The ‘Old Days’
Who still uses Flickr here? Well I do :) And you can look all the way through my timeline to my much older work. And that’s what we will be doing in this article as well. What’s great about Flickr ris that it shows EXIF data from all my photos, so we can exactly see which gear was used.
You can click any photo in this article and it will bring you to the FlickR URL where you can see all the EXIF info.
A crowded evening in Hong Kong of a street scene with the many neon lights. I still love this photo. It’s actually the neighbourhood where I lived at the time! I used to stroll around these streets every evening and just shot whatever looked interesting. When we look at the exif data we see that I was using my Panasonic GH2. The lens is not shown. That’s because it was a manual (not electronically connected) lens with an adapter. It was the Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AIS. Great for night shooting. Not super sharp wide open, but a beautiful rendering. The GH2 has a micro 43 sensor (16 megapixel), meaning that the effective focal length was 100mm with an f/1.2 opening. When we further look at the exif data we see ISO 400 and a 1/400 shutter was used.
I still remember those times well. I had this manual 50mm f/1.2 lens, and I was also using the kit lens a lot. You may ask why I had that 50mm f/1.2 Nikon lens with adapter anyway. Well, I was actually shooting a lot of video at the time. But I really started to get addicted to photography in Hong Kong.
Back to the journey, and already a bit similar style as today:
About 11 years, still the GH2, with the kit lens from a simple tripod on a roof terrace. A beautiful blue hour shot of the Hong Kong skyline. And yeah, that’s 11 years ago with a Micro 43 sensor and a kit lens. Now of course the GH2 has 16 megapixel, and the kit lens is not the sharpest. If I compare this with the kit I use today and I look at the detail, there is (of course) a world of difference. But I could get the shots perfectly fine, and had a lot of fun taking them.
More examples:
10 years ago, an iconic Blue Hour shot of Venice with again, my GH2 + kit lens and a simple tripod. 30 seconds exposure, f/11. Nothing different than what I would use today and a beautiful result.
Like any photographer does, I eventually started to get more lenses. I got a 100-300 lens (200-600 full frame equivalent) and started to do more telephoto.
Notice something about this photo? It’s a focus stack! At the time, I was already thinking of ‘solving problems’ with the limitations I had. I wanted to do something cool with the moon and then branch in front to get some more ‘3d depth’ , took 2 photos: 1 with the moon in focus and 1 with the branch in focus and combined them in Photoshop. That was 10 years ago. Again, not so much changed :)
So at the time, with that (now) old GH2 and kit lens (+ some others) I took some photos that I still love, and most importantly: I had a lot of fun taking the shots.
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This article and is sponsored mpb.com . Mpb is a website where you can sell your camera gear and buy used gear. They operate in lots of countries and recently also added the Netherlands (where I am from) to that list. They offer 12 months of warranty to their used products, so it's a great way to buy any kind of used gear and make sure you're getting value for your money :)
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When we check mpb.com we see that the Panasonic GH2 currently costs about 175 euros used. You can probably get the kit lens with it for free (otherwise around 50 euro). So the cost of this setup is really low.
Now it’s important to note that the GH2 and its lenses was also far from ‘top of the line’ equipment at the time. So it's not like it’s cheap now because it’s old. No, it was already not so expensive at the time. But we will get to this more later in this article.
The important thing to note here is that I was never fixated on gear in the beginning of my photography journey. I just enjoyed taking photos and did it to the best of my ability with the gear I had. I also learned a lot: The limitations of the dynamic range of my camera, why shooting RAW was important for my style of photography, how to deal with the histogram, how to use multiple exposures to solve the lower dynamic range of my camera, and so on. Something that I still say to this day: I did not think of problems, only solutions. If I had a technical limitation, I would find a way to make it work.
Sony
As my addiction to photography became more serious, I decided to switch system. I still wanted light weight and portability, but decided to try a full frame sensor for better dynamic range and ISO performance. I started to do more postprocessing and found after borrowing the A7 that that was next step. I had already shot with a Sony NEX 3 in the past, and occasionally borrowed the first Sony A7: a revolution at the time. After a while I bought the A7II in Hong Kong, it was the first Sony A7 I really owned, along with the kit lens. The A7II is a 24 megapixel camera with a great dynamic range.
For my style of photography, it was a big step up from the GH2 to the Sony A7II. WIth the GH2, I was really pushing the files in postprocessing, and I found much more ‘leg room’ with the files of the Sony A7II. I noticed I could often just take 1 RAW photo for a sunset, while with the GH2 sometimes needed 3 or 5 to capture the entire dynamic range of the scene. It became easier. The lenses I was using on the A7II were also of better quality. They were noticeably much sharper, even the kit lens.
The switch to the Sony cameras and lenses about 9 years ago was the biggest leap in image quality for me. Let’s look at some examples:
A now super popular photo spot in Hong Kong, captured about 9 years ago with my Sony A7II and Samyang 14mm f/2.8 (manual lens). That’s right: I got the Samyang shortly after the A7II. Mainly because I wanted a super wide angle to play with, And the Samyang was super cheap especially in Hong Kong. I think I paid less than 250 dollars for it. And the sharpness was excellent. I took a lot of great shots with that lens! And I still license this particular shot from time to time.
And this also brings me to an important part of this article: The quality of the original A7 (and A7II) with a ‘budget’ lens like the 14mm Samyang, still has excellent image quality today, 9 years after I took this shot. So would I still be able to take great shots with that setup today? Absolutely, yes!
Let’s take a quick look at what this setup costs today:
So for 900 euro you have a setup that produces excellent image quality. Sure it’s a little bit outdated in ‘functionality' (more on that soon), but the image quality is great!
Here are some more examples of shots with my A7II
The Skyline of dubai with the kit lens in 2015, 9 years ago. It’s funny to see this view, because it totally looks not like this anymore today.
The Zeelandbrug in the Netherlands, with the A7II and kit lens. Exposure time of 2 minutes with a 10 stop ND filter.
And then there’s a shot that gave my photography career a boost because it went viral world wide:
Again, using my A7II and Samyang 14mm f/2.8. When I look at this shot now, 9 years later, I still find the shot great with excellent sharpness and colour.
A7R(II) - The Resolution Monster (still great image quality even today, but outdated ergonomics, AF, body)
After this I got ‘more serious’ and joined the ‘Megapixel war’ by switching over to the ‘A7R’ range of sony. R standing for resolution, with more megapixels. This was mainly because photography really became my career and I liked the idea of having more megapixels for cropping, and most importantly, Sony was interested in using my photos for billboards and other promotional uses. I got the A7RII that was just released at the time. Sony basically gave it to me and I started to become ‘an ambassador’ (for what it was at the time).
Here’s a shot of 8 years ago of the Golden Gate Bridge. A shot I still love until this day. The colour, the water flow, the light and the postprocessing. It still totally represents my style of today, even if the shot is 8 years old. For this shot I used the 16-35 f/4 Sony Zeiss, which is also (still) an excellent lens in terms of sharpness and rendering. Also, the A7RII has a 42 megapixel sensor. That was HUGE for that time. The sharpness was incredible. And even until this day, the A7RII produces incredible image quality.
Here are some more shots with the A7RII:
The A7RII and Sony Zeiss 16-35 f/4 was really my ‘go to’ combination at the time. And up until this day, I still really love it. The Sony Zeiss 16-35 f/4 has a very distinctive sun star that was unique. Some people thought it was too extreme, but I loved it. Also, the sharpness and rendering was great.
One of my very successful shots at the time, taken 7 years ago with the A7RII. I planned the Fuego volcano wit the milky way and wrote my story with it. At that time it was super wild and I had to camp there myself to get the shots. The photo series went viral. Now, many years later, this volcano is still active as ever and it became an ‘influencer hot spot’, with pre made camps and even a road that can bring you to it.
And then, over the years, Sony released the A7RIII, A7RIV and eventually A7RV (that I currently use). I have used them all. But these cameras were not as big as innovations in terms of image quality compared to the earlier versions. It was mostly Sony maturing their cameras: Better functionality, much batter battery life, better grip, better weather sealing, better menus, better auto focus. The cameras just became much better. Sure, the image quality, megapixels and dynamic range were improved, but they were not as big steps anymore as those first versions.
I guess what I’m trying to say is: I’d still be able to get the photos I shoot today perfectly fine, with a Sony A7RII. And I would be satisfied with the image quality. However, it would be slower, much worse battery life, and it would be basically much less comfortable compared to the cameras I use today.
So lets take a look at the cost of that setup:
So for 1500 euro you get a setup that still produces amazing image quality today! But do I recommend buying it today?
This is where it gets interesting. I feel that the Sony A7RII has too much bottlenecks to still recommend to people. The biggest issue is the ‘old’ batteries. They run out too fast compared to the new batteries. These were first implemented on newer the A7RII.
A7RIII
Then the A7RIII was released. The A7RII really matured the system. It has the same sensor as the A7RII, but was improved so much in terms of ergonomics and functionality. And honestly: I would recommend the A7RIII in a heartbeat today. Some shots with the A7RIII:
An interesting observation if I look at these shots is also: My own style of photography has matured here. Since the A7RII and A7RIII my style has matured and stayed the same. If I look at current images they still look very similar as to those of 6 years ago. Sure, I still try to innovate and do new things, but my style and image quality has stayed the same. They didn’t take huge leaps anymore. And I am perfectly fine with that.
Let’s take a look at the current (used price) of the A7RIII and lenses like a 12-24 f/4
A7RIII - used around 1600 euro on MPB, or new on Amazon 2200 euro
You could pair that with a Sony 12-24 f/4 , but Sony also recently released a super small and light 16-35 f/4 power zoom.
There are now also so many third party lenses. And most of them are great. Are they as good as Sony native lenses? Maybe not, but some of them come close for less than half of the price. More on that below.
A7RIV & up
And then there was the A7RIV which really stepped up the megapixel game with over 60 megapixels. Just like the original A7R, it was another shocker that Sony pushed 60+ megapixel out of a full frame sensor. Of course, you would need to buy the highest megapixel lenses to get the most out of such camera. Here are some of my shots with the A7RIV, that I've used before my current A7RV.
And here we are getting into 'newer' territory. Although, looking at some of the shots they are still close to 5 years old.
Cost A7RIV : around 2400 used on mpb
Notice how I was using the Tamron 28-75 that shot of 2019? Tamron has a 17-28mm and 28-75mm that are of great quality and light weight. And they're quite low cost!
You already start to see that the image quality of the shots and the style of my photos is not really changing anymore. The newest A7RV (released in December 2022) confirms that as well. However, the A7RV brought lots of amazing new functions that improved my creativity. It was improved in almost every way, but the image quality got only a minor bump, which was totally fine as the quality from the A7RIV was already excellent.
What else?
I talked a lot about the A7R series, because those are the ones I am using, with currently the newest A7RV model. But what about when you don’t need that much megapixels?
I still recommend the A7IV as (one of) the best hybrid camera out there. It hits the sweet spot in terms of megapixels for lots of people: 33 megapixels. But it has top notch autofocus, the newest menu system, great video functions, it can basically do everything in a very good way. Pair it with some nice lenses and you’re good to go. The A7IV is still not the cheapest camera, (about 2000 euro on mpb.com) but the A7V might be on the way soon, which will cause price drops on the A7IV.
Take the A7IV with a 16-35 f/4 power zoom for example, and you have a superb kit. Or check the Tamron lenses that i mentioned above. They are small, light and sharp and easier on the wallet.
Vintage lenses
Before we get to the end of this rather long article there is one more small thing I'd like to mention: Vintage lenses! If you really have an empty wallet but still need certain lenses, you can look for old vintage lenses on ebay. You'll have to use them manually and get an adapter, but you can get great old vintage lenses for as low as a 20 dollars! When I was just starting out my Sony kit I used I bought an old Russian Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 lens and a Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 just to play around with. They were great fun, super cheap and very decent quality!
Conclusion:
Do we really need it the newest and latest gear? Simply put: No. Do we want it? Yes, or at least most of the time :D! Yes, the image quality is mostly better, but JUST a little bit. The gear might be little bit lighter, it might be faster, it might be easier to use. But only slightly more than the previous model. Look at all the photos above. Do you really see much difference? They're all high megapixel photos.
I feel like the original A7 and the A7RII (and normal R) were the most revolutionary in terms of leaps of image and mirrorless technology. Read this and realise the A7RII with 42 megapixel was released in 2015, 9 years ago! Now, with the A7RV we have 61 megapixel. That’s ‘only a 50%’ jump in almost a decade
And The truth is: we are spoiled with technology that makes everything easier for us. Back in the days we struggled more, and we were used to it. Maybe it was even part of the fun of photography: Going through the struggle of taking the photo and eventually getting the shot. And then there is of course the process of learning.
If you don’t mind ‘struggling’ a bit more and experiencing the journey of photography, by all means do not go for the newest camera body or newest lens. Especially if your budget does not allow it. In terms of image quality: Technology didn’t improve THAT much over the least years, so you’d be perfectly fine buying an older camera and lens.
I use the newest gear currently, and I do feel a bit ‘crippled’ when switching back to older cameras. But that's not because of image quality.
It's simply because I’m used to the fastest AF my camera has. I’m used to the subject AI tracking AF. I’m used to having the functions like Focus Bracketing in the camera. I’m used to the super high quality viewfinder. I’m simply used to having all of these functions, and when I switch back to an older model, I miss them. But does that mean I can’t take my photos anymore? Absolutely not!
And it’s important to say: If I wouldn’t have this newest camera model, I would NOT miss all these functions! I would be fine using an A7RIV or even A7RIII. Actually, I have quite some photographer friends who. are still happily using the A7RIII and creating incredible images with it.
The same goes with lenses: The image quality is slightly better on the newest glass. Most importantly, it’s smaller and lighter. Would I not be able to take the same photo with an older, much cheaper lens? I would. I would have absolutely zero problems taking the photo. It’s just that it might be slightly less sharp in the corners, and the lens would be slightly heavier to carry. But would I care if I never owned the newer lens? Absolutely not!
It’s all about what you have and what you’re used to. You get used to the gear you have. You learn it, you deal with it, you take your photos with it and you respect it.
Thanks for reading again, and if you have any questions, please do drop them in the comments!
Albert
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Good artcile, but it would be better if in future you can share more about this subject. Keep posting I also wanna talk about the best construction site photography.
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