Sony obsession - Sony RX100 MK3 & Sony A6000

For the past few years I've owned a Fuji mirrorless system of some sorts. I began with X-E1, moved onto X-M1, then to X-T1 and funnily enough, I went back to X-M1 as I wasn't selling for the price I wanted...

In practical use it offered no real benefit to me over X-T1... and let's be clear, that's not me saying there are no differences... However I didn't feel the extra cost was a benefit to me for the added features...

My biggest gripe with the Fuji system has always been it's AF system. Image quality is amazing and I love it for that... AF on the other hand, it is the most frustrating system I have worked with. It doesn't feel responsive at all...

Before Fuji I have always shot Nikon... I still do shoot Nikon for all my professional real-estate and wedding work. However, personal day to day shoots, I have always wanted something more compact, and the Fuji has been my go-to system...

Although I prefer my Nikon full frame images over my Fuji, I found myself shooting less because the Nikon's are so big...

Then I found myself not shooting much at all after my Fuji missed a few shots due to its lack of speed...

I decided to go the size smaller than the Fuji and picked up a RX100 MK3...

Out of the box the camera felt extremely fast from AF to shutter... The wide aperture of f/1.8 allows you to get a little shallow DOF even at the wide end... and even a little at the telephoto end when shooting at f/2.8.

It's no DSLR quality by no means... but this is me comparing to a DSLR shooting at f/1.8 or f/2.8...

When you factor in the lens equivalent, the lens on the RX100 is equivalent focal length and aperture to a entry level kit lens...

Comparing to that, the Sony comes out on top.

I found myself leaving the Nikon and Fuji at home after purchasing the RX100, and although now I shoot more because it's compact ability and responsiveness... I miss the larger sensor!

The Sony as a 1" sensor which is a 2.7x crop, and I am so used to a full frame sensor... or at least an APS-C with the option of a very fast prime...

So with all that taken into consideration and the reviews of the Sony mirror less system, I can't help but want the Sony A6000...

I have never personally used one, so it's hard for me to determine if it will suit my needs well. But going on paper specs and reviews, the camera seems like a potential replacement for both my RX100 and Fuji.
I still have my reservations due to sensor size and lens selection...

So there is even a part of me which is considering the A7R or A7S...

But again, those also have their slight niggles...

The reason I'm writing this blog is to vent some thoughts... I have been checking out reviews and prices for all the Sony cameras for a while now but am trying my best to resist the purchases...

I basically have everything I need, but I just need to work with what I have a bit more...

But maybe when the A7R II or A7000 get released I may do an impulse buy...

We'll see...

My initial thoughts on the Nikon D810...

With the recent announcement of the new Nikon D810, I thought it's best to blog once again.

Given the fact that I'm also on a 3hrs train ride with not much else to do :S

So forgive any typo/grammatical errors as this is being written on the fly...

First of, let me say that I have owned 2x D800's, 2 D7000's, D90, D600, V1, Fuji X-E1 and a Fuji X-M1. So I am probably the biggest gear head of all time and usually get really excited over new releases for camera equipment...

The exception to this is I have never really been too excited over Nikon D4s level cameras as it just feels too far beyond my reach at the moment...

So for the moment, let's just discuss the announced features of the Nikon D810 that have excited me and that have disappointed me...

36.3mp sensor
The 36mp sensor in the D800 was a game changer. It beat all other DSLR'S in terms of resolution and dynamic range. So its good to see the same sensor back, but with improvements...

The ISO range has been extended 1 stop on both sides and nikon have removed the OLPF (optical Low pass filter) just like they did on the D800E.

Auto Focus
New AF system to match the D4S and with area focus tracking. I have not heard any news on how much better this is, not have I used it... so on paper, this is a good thing...

Video
Full HD at 60fps is now available. But still no 4k. people have complained that there is no 4k,  but the fact of the matter is, no-one really is aware that we're not benefiting much from full hd as it is... and 4k displays are very expensive at the moment. So with new generations of cameras coming out every 3yrs-ish, I don't expect 4k to be standard just yet...

(When I say no-one is really benefiting from full hd, not many people are aware that they own a full hd tv, but their hd signal from Freeview, Sky or Virginia Media is actually only 720p, and not every channel is available as a HD broadcast... so 4k to me is just a paper spec)

personally... the above features are the only ones which stood out to me when I read some initial thought reviews.. There may be more features that have slipped my mind at this point, but on the basis they are the only ones which stick out, I would assume they are the only significant ones to me...

So... will I be buying one?

Probably not right away...

The price of the Nikon D800 upon release was £2700, dropped to £2300 3 months later and down to £2000 8 months after release.

I found them as low as £1500 for grey import models and £1300 used. This is roughly 2yrs later.

So the cameras have dropped quite drastically in price.

I don't think the Nikon D810 will drop as quick as it'll have a crutch with the D800 and D800E still being readily available, and in reality, the specs are still pretty similar.

No don't get me wrong, there are changes of course, and to some, these changes are significant..

But to me? Not really...

Through depreciation, I have lost £800ish in 2.5yrs per D800 that I own... that's £1600. which is a significant amount of money...

My camera has hit a point where it won't depreciate much more from now... so for me to sell now, and add more money to buy a D810, is not practical, as I would have lost on depreciation, lost on reinvestment, and will lose on depreciation again in a few years...

There is an argument about 'working professionals need to reinvest for the best equipment'. Now, I do agree with this to an extent, but will the reinvestment of £1000ish to upgrade one D800, plus the part-ex or sale value of the D800... is it worth it? Not really...

I try to keep my ISO low at all times, and when I push beyond ISO6400 I would most likely tend to need to add flash if the scene is that dark...

I have never felt ISO100 wasn't low enough and in fact, I never knew anything below ISO100 existed lol...

So the ISO is no major benefit to me...

Auto focus is always something that could be improved, and I have never had any major complaints with my D800. It's never been a situation where I felt it was rubbish or kept missing. It has missed of course, but that could be user error also with where I set my points... so yes, I would like better AF,  but without ever knowing first hand if the newer AF is a lot better, I will never know what I am missing if I have never experienced in the first place... so its only a paper spec to me...

Likewise with movie features... I don't do much video anyway and 4k isn't a big deal in general I don't think...

So in short, no I will not be buying one yet...

I may not ever buy one...

If one of my cameras die, I may replace it with a D810, or I might save money and get a used D800E instead. Or the prices might come down in a few years and then the price to me will make more sense... but for the moment... It has no real benefit to me at that cost.

I am writing this more for a reminder to myself not to use the money I have on this camera! (No matter how much I want one lol)