The Sony Alpha 7.

First impression. 

I remember reading Zack Arias’ review of the Fuji X100s, titled A Camera Walks Into A Bar. Here’s an excerpt:

In the corner we have Olympus, Panasonic, and Sony. They’re in a heated debate about Dungeons & Dragons or something. Sony is smart. He’s a brilliant guy. Ugly as hell. Clunky. Clumsy. Out of balance… but very smart. Olympus is more fashionable than his friends Sony and Panasonic but you can tell he’s just trying too hard. He’s cute, but sitting next to Sony shows he’s not that smart. Panasonic is just staring into his beer.

Bias? Yes, Zack did admit receiving certain benefits from Fuji, but still, the review is hilariously entertaining. I urge your to read the rest to understand the context of this post.

Next, let me get something off my chest.

I dislike gears. I dislike the attention from owning gears. I am the opposite of my Asian stereotype. I don’t want to carry big bags with velcro dividers and roller wheels. I don’t like big lenses. I don’t want a harness to ‘stablelise’ the big lenses like they’re real weapons.

I‘m this hopeless romantic who believes that the best photo is taken when the subject isn’t aware that a photo is being taken. (I shoot mostly weddings, by the way.)

That’s why I like stealth.
That’s why my first digital full frame camera is the Leica M9. I liked my M6 and simply bought into the ‘brand’ and assumed that a digital M version meant I didn’t have to alter much of my shooting style, compared to say, a NiCan DSLR.

Half of the time I was right. I took beautiful photos with it.

The other half of the time I was angry. Mainly because after spending close to the amount of what a kidney would cost in the black market - ok you know what, money wasn’t even the issue. The issue, was that the ‘new dimension in digital photography’ tool could not handle high speed SD cards. Yup, you read it right. The M9 was so ‘timeless’, that it corrupted SD cards left right and centre because it couldn’t keep up. It took Leica 12 months to come up with a firmware upgrade and (kinda) fix the issue. </rant>

At the back of my mind I knew I needed a second body. I bought a Canon Mark III in the end. More tank than stealth but it does the job. Cheaper on the insurance as well. I use it for the formal portraits and reception; the M9 for documentation of the day. I adapted. Life was good.

And then Sony dropped a very silent bomb with the announcement of the A7 and A7R.

Full frame sensor.
Mirror-less body.
Adaptable to Canon, Nikon, Leica lenses.

Photographers’ minds, blown, with mushroom clouds on top.
A new ‘rumor’ site was set up for it.
Nikon’s new Fusion Digital camera got buried so deep only King Arthur could pull it back up.

But at the same time, weirdly, Sony is being so quiet about it. No big launch, no superstar endorsements, no TVCs. They are chilling like the A7s aren’t a big deal.

I went to pick it up the other day, and the salesman didn’t even bother selling me extra stuff like additional batteries or lens adapter, which I actually need. When I asked for them, the shop said they didn’t have any in stock. They’ve got screen protectors.

I’m not sure if it’s sheer confidence, or they’ve exhausted all budget, or this is just an experiment, or it’s simply still early to tell.

Without any adapters, the camera is now sitting in the corner, useless like a brick. I am hoping for my other adapter to arrive before I fly off to Newcastle tomorrow for a wedding. If we’re lucky we’ll get to see some shots.

Meanwhile, my impression from reading the manual so far:

1. It doesn’t come with a battery charger. The only way you can charge the battery is via the camera. What?
2. It takes 5 hours to fully charge a battery. What what?
3. A battery lasts 300 shots. And each costs around $100. Sheesh.
4. It’s really small. The package is 80% box, 20% camera and wires.
5. The screen swivels. I didn’t even know that. I’m not sure if I like this gimmick.

Despite all that, I’m still really excited.
So excited I’m writing a post about nothing.

This is a big deal.

Zack was right, Sony is smart and brilliant, but I’m not sure if he should share the same table with Olympus and Panasonic anymore. Heck, he’s not talking and he’s even louder than Canon and Nikon’s constant yelling.

He just slapped everyone in the face, both hands on both cheeks, and walked out of the bar.

I want to call it a game changer. I’m just crossing my fingers that Sony doesn’t screw it up with dead pixels, oil leaks, or something that will lead to a recall.

Then again, I own an M9.
It can’t be any worse than that.