Reader Question: Sony A7R III Lens Kit
See my Sony mirrorless wishlist.
Andrew F writes:
The equipment I was thinking of buying is:
- Sony A7R III
- Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8
- Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4
- Sony 55 mm f/1.8
- Sony FE 100 mm f/2.8 STF (for its unbelievable bokeh)Do you have any quick thoughts on my choice of equipment? I'm an amateur enthusiast, and I like taking pictures of landscapes and historic buildings/towns. I'm planning to upgrade from a micro four thirds camera with a zoom lens.
Could you describe the amount of sharpening that you have given to the sample photos taken with these particular lenses.
DIGLLOYD: sharpening is shown for every aperture series of all brands—click “View ACR Settings” in such series. Sharpening depends partly on aperture; more is needed for f/9 onwards from diffraction. See also post processing and Making Sharp Images.
As to gear—my first advice is to sit on the fence a few months to see what evolves from Sony—the Sony A7R III is now a year old, so it’s due. Also, with the holidays coming there may be good discounts even better than Black Friday last week.
I offer one-on-one consulting for camera system selection, well advised for anyone putting together a system approaching $8K as above—it’s easy to spend in ways that won’t work it—I probe for details that might direct things better.
Given the stated goals, the lens choices are good but for these points:
- As much as I like the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8, the Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 zoom is a far more flexible lens for landscape (assuming a good copy can be obtained).
- Personally, I would miss a 35mm lens; it’s too big a gap to go from 25mm to 55m. The Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 is very compact and does very nicely stopped down as well as offering very pleasing rendering at wider apertures. OTOH, AF is handy, and the Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 is a good performer, albeit with ugly bokeh. But the Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2 CF would be my pick in this range for most usage.
- The Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF is indeed a beautiful performer for portraits (see Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS — Portraits), and for buildings and landscapes it would offer some distinct possibilities.