• Blog
  • Calculators
    • DoF Calculator | Lens Equivalent
    • Camera Bitrate Converter | Record Time Calculator
    • Diffraction Calculator
  • Memory Cards
    • SD Memory Cards Guide
    • CFexpress Type-A Memory Card Guide
    • Memory Cards For Canon Cameras
    • Memory Cards For Fujifilm Cameras
    • Memory Cards For Nikon Cameras
    • SD Cards For GoPro
  • Accessories
    • Canon
      • Canon R5 Accessories
      • Canon R6 Accessories
      • Canon EOS R
      • Canon RP
      • Canon M50 Accessories
      • Canon T7i / T6 / T6i / T6s
      • Canon SL3 / 250D
      • Canon M6 II
      • Canon M5
      • Canon G1X III
      • Canon G7X III
    • Nikon
      • Nikon Z6 II / Z7 II
      • Nikon Z6 / Z7
      • Nikon Z50
    • Fujifilm
      • Fujifilm X-T4
      • Fujifilm X-S10
      • Fujifilm X-Pro3
      • Fujifilm X-T3
      • Fujifilm X-H1
      • Fujifilm X-T200
      • Fujifilm X100V Accessories
      • Fujifilm X100F Accessories
      • Fujifilm X-E4
      • Fujifilm XT30 & XT20
    • Leica
      • Leica Q2 Accessories
    • Panasonic
      • Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
      • Panasonic LX100 II
    • Ricoh
      • Ricoh GR III
    • Sigma
      • Sigma fp
    • Sony
      • Sony A1 Accessories
      • Sony A7IV Accessories
      • Sony A7c Accessories
      • Sony A7sIII
      • Sony A7rIV / A9II
      • Sony A9
      • Sony A7 III, A7r III Accessories
      • Sony A6600 Accessories
      • Sony A6100 Accessories
      • Sony A6000 Accessories
      • Sony RX1R II
      • Sony RX10 IV / RX10 III
      • Sony RX100 IV / RX100 V
    • Drones
      • Mavic 2 Pro
    • Camera Cleaning Gear
  • Lenses
    • Canon RF Lens List
    • Fujifilm XF Lens List
    • Fujifilm G Lens List
    • Leica M Lens List
    • Micro Four Thirds Lens List
    • Nikon Z Lens List
    • Sony FF E Lens List
    • Sony APS-C E Lens List
  • Store
Alik Griffin
Alik Griffin
  • Blog
  • Calculators
    • DoF Calculator | Lens Equivalent
    • Camera Bitrate Converter | Record Time Calculator
    • Diffraction Calculator
  • Memory Cards
    • SD Memory Cards Guide
    • CFexpress Type-A Memory Card Guide
    • Memory Cards For Canon Cameras
    • Memory Cards For Fujifilm Cameras
    • Memory Cards For Nikon Cameras
    • SD Cards For GoPro
  • Accessories
    • Canon
      • Canon R5 Accessories
      • Canon R6 Accessories
      • Canon EOS R
      • Canon RP
      • Canon M50 Accessories
      • Canon T7i / T6 / T6i / T6s
      • Canon SL3 / 250D
      • Canon M6 II
      • Canon M5
      • Canon G1X III
      • Canon G7X III
    • Nikon
      • Nikon Z6 II / Z7 II
      • Nikon Z6 / Z7
      • Nikon Z50
    • Fujifilm
      • Fujifilm X-T4
      • Fujifilm X-S10
      • Fujifilm X-Pro3
      • Fujifilm X-T3
      • Fujifilm X-H1
      • Fujifilm X-T200
      • Fujifilm X100V Accessories
      • Fujifilm X100F Accessories
      • Fujifilm X-E4
      • Fujifilm XT30 & XT20
    • Leica
      • Leica Q2 Accessories
    • Panasonic
      • Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
      • Panasonic LX100 II
    • Ricoh
      • Ricoh GR III
    • Sigma
      • Sigma fp
    • Sony
      • Sony A1 Accessories
      • Sony A7IV Accessories
      • Sony A7c Accessories
      • Sony A7sIII
      • Sony A7rIV / A9II
      • Sony A9
      • Sony A7 III, A7r III Accessories
      • Sony A6600 Accessories
      • Sony A6100 Accessories
      • Sony A6000 Accessories
      • Sony RX1R II
      • Sony RX10 IV / RX10 III
      • Sony RX100 IV / RX100 V
    • Drones
      • Mavic 2 Pro
    • Camera Cleaning Gear
  • Lenses
    • Canon RF Lens List
    • Fujifilm XF Lens List
    • Fujifilm G Lens List
    • Leica M Lens List
    • Micro Four Thirds Lens List
    • Nikon Z Lens List
    • Sony FF E Lens List
    • Sony APS-C E Lens List
  • Store
  • Uncategorized

Sony A7r and Landscape Photography

  • February 9, 2017
  • Alik

For those of you considering purchasing a Sony A7r for Landscape photography, here are some of my experiences.

Using Other Lenses Not Made For The Sony

All the lenses I own are Canon L glass. I was a bit nervous at first of getting the Sony A7r and using my Canon lenses however, I've heard that the Metabones Adapter for the Sony works perfect. First off, anyone that says it's perfect is wrong. It's not. It's only good enough for landscape photography, video, or other types of photography where more manual lens control is required. It just auto focuses too slow. But, everything else works perfect. Images is great, I don't get any extra chromatic aberrations that I've noticed around the edges on my ultra wide lenses. (Mine are the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II and the Samyang 14mm f2.8). So lenses work perfect. No loss of IQ, extremely sharp because the A7r sensor is extremely sharp. Maybe a bit more chromatic aberrations on my longer lenses actually. But I'm still testing that. 

Update: Mine don't focus auto anymore. Not happy with the adapter. Apparently the Mk IV is suppose to be better.

Be sure to check out more of my Sony A7r photography!

Long Exposure Day Photography

Some have experienced some light leak issues where the ring connects to the camera. Hasn't bothered me yet. Easy to fix and Canon and Nikon both have light leak issues when doing long exposure photography which is why you always should cover your camera, especially the eye piece when doing long exposures in the day. Like 30 seconds to 1 minute with 9-10 stop ND filters. Although people said the Canon 5Dmkii had leak issues, I never experienced them and I shoot long exposure day photography all the time.

Reliability

It's a nice camera. So far it has been reliable. Batteries don't last as long so get a few extras. I got an extra Sony and a few of those cheapy Wasabi Batteries which work surprisingly perfect. I pulled one out of my camera bag after not using it for a few weeks and it was still 100%. Just not quite as much power as the Sony OEM. 

The Metabones Adapter is not built Ford tough. You'll have to bring one of the hex wrenches with you and tighten it every few days if you're shooting every day. If the screws on the adapter come lose you'll start having exposure and f-stop problems. It's really annoying when it happens when you're all the way at Bryce Canyon and you only have that 10 minute window of awesome light. 

Astronomy Photography

Forget about seeing anything at night through your camera. It's all digital. To frame for astronomy photography you have to max your ISO, and start shooting test shoots to get your framing, then set your desired ISO and shutter to actually get the shot. Reset max ISO again to reframe your shot etc. Probably not the best camera to get if you're solely into Astronomy photography for that reason. I don't shoot a lot of stars because I live in Los Angeles. We only have the other kind here.

HDR Photography

Looking up at the Kyoto Bamboo Forest from Spring 2014 Japan.

HDR photography on the Sony A7r is pretty much fine in the day. But at night you have to do it manually. In order to shoot HDR photos you have to constantly hold the button down. No 2 second timer then pop pop pop like with Canon and Nikon. You can do a 2 second timer but only on one photo at a time. So you have to expose each shot manually.

If you're serious about shooting HDR Photography you should take a look at my guide here.

One of those breath taking sites in Kyoto Japan. I love this place.

Luckily the A7r has a really good dynamic range so you don't need to shoot as much HDR.

Camera Shake From Shutter

The camera does shake a bit from the shutter. Make sure you have a decent tripod that can keep the thing stable. You might be thinking, the camera is light so you only need light tripods now. However, 25% of my Bryce Canyon shots came out with camera shake motion blur, I think from the shutter. Not sure exactly. It was also a little windy though. I have a meFoto tripod which I love so far. (I use thiis one and love it)

Conclusions And My Future Plans

It really is a great camera for landscape photography. Just take your time with each shot and all the problems above aren't really problems. And if you start to get annoyed by those problems, go out and start shooting film for a few weeks and come back to the Sony A7r. You'll love it even more. 🙂

I plan on eventually retiring my Canon lenses as Sony and Zeiss comes out with more. I'll go all prime on this camera as I'm tired of the lower quality from zooms. I'm waiting for a 24mm, 14mm and an 85mm. I'll likely always keep my Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II since that lens is pimp. 

A7R Photo – The Bellagio of Las Vegas

This is what ISO 5000 looks like on the Sony A7r btw. Pretty nice right? I didn't have my tripod with me that day. 

**This website contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click them to make a purchase.
Alik

Professional editor, blogger and photographer from Los Angeles California.

Related Topics
  • HDR Photography
  • Landscape
  • Reviews
  • Sony A7r
You May Also Like
Popular Articles
  • Moment Cinebloom Diffusion Review 1
    Moment CineBloom Filter Review & Sample Photos
  • Voigtlander Lenses 2
    Understanding Voigtlander Lens Naming
  • 3
    Kipon Ibelux 40mm f0.85 III Review & Sample Photos
  • Best CFexpress B Memory Cards 4
    Best CFExpress Type-B Memory Cards For Your Camera
  • 5
    Best CFexpress Type-A Memory Cards For Your Camera
Join The Fun! Sign Up To The Newsletter!


*You will need to confirm your email. Check your spam folder after hitting subscribe.

About Me

A professional freelance trailer editor. I've been blogging for a decade and this site focuses on benchmarking memory cards, camera accessories, and lens reviews. There will be a shift towards more education with color and editing so be sure to hit the bell in the bottom right to subscribe for updates. Read About to learn more.

Popular Lens Reviews
  • 1
    A Complete List Of Fujifilm Lenses | X-Mount
  • Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 S Lens Review 2
    Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 S Lens Review & Sample Photos
  • 3
    Kamlan 50mm f1.1 II Review & Sample Photos
  • 4
    Meike 35mm f1.7 Review & Sample Photos
  • 5
    Meike 35mm f1.4 Review & Sample Photos
Memory Card Guides | Benchmarks

Memory Cards For Canon R5

Memory Cards For Canon R6

Memory Cards For Nikon Z6II / Z7II

Memory Cards For Nikon Z5

Memory Cards For Fujifilm X-T4

Memory Cards For GoPro Hero 9

Memory Cards For GoPro Hero 8

Privacy Policy | Ethics Statement | Licensing

Copyright © Alik Griffin Inc. 2021

Input your search keywords and press Enter.