Upgrade advise : Sony NEX 6 to a6500 (APSC) or A7MIII (full frame)

[izzikio_rage]

Hi Everyone

so the annual upgrade itch starts again and I'm thinking of upgrading my Sony NEX 6 (4 years old now) to something better. I currently own a lot of vintage lenses (with e mount adapters) and a e-mount 7artisans 7.5mm fisheye lens so would ideally want to stay in sony. My options are and why i want to move there

Move to Sony a6500 (cost being 83k)
- 4K video
- In body image stabilization, amazingly useful as my vintage lenses have no stabilization at all
- Great AF system
- Can continue to use the pancake kit lens from my NEX6
- Still an APSC sensor, almost similar image quality to NEX6

Move to Sony A7III (cost being 1.5L body only)
- Almost the same advantages as above
- Full frame sensor
- Will need to get a new kit lens for full frame
- Crazy good low light performance

what would you advise? Considering that I shoot mostly for fun and bit and pieces of professional work

 

[nac]

Since you do use this cam for some professional work, go for FF. and

Most of your shots I seen here are high ISO shots, it could sure use FF.

 

[raja manuel]

The prices you are quoting seem quite a bit lower than what is specified on the Sony India website, so I hope there are no warranty issues when buying at these prices. Assuming that is not an issue, there is a large price difference between the two cameras which is fine if you can afford it, but that money can otherwise be used on lenses, flashes, and many other accessories if you buy the a6500. I think the decision will come down to when you might make the next upgrade. The a6500 if you expect to upgrade in another 2-3 of years when the competition between the big guys and some of the smaller guys will be in full swing and you will get much better image capture solutions (rather than just cameras), and the A7RIII if you expect to hold on to it for 5 years or more (subject to when the A7RIV will launch).

Does the a6500 have Eye AF? It isn't clear from the Sony website, but if it doesn't that does swing the balance towards the A7RIII if you expect to do portraiture as that is a critical feature. Another point to consider is the size: you have often mentioned the convenience of your current camera's pocketability. I don't know how compact the a6500 is, but the A7RIII has quite a hefty body from whatever I have heard of it.

 

[nac]

I guess that's a typo. It should be A73 not 'R'.

 

[izzikio_rage]

Yup, sorry its the A7III not the R version. So hence the price

- the only major advantage is that I'll get to move to a full frame making it future proof to some extent, the rest is all small benefits
- the 6500 has eye AF
- The 6500 is almost the same size as my current body, has the same pancake lens as well. The A7III is a bit bigger but the lenses are huge making that a huge issue
- there is no pop up flash on the A7III, I tend to use that a lot (point up and bounce it)
- For some crazy reason the timelapse app does not work on the A7III again something i use a lot

 

[sujoyp]

I have heard that Sony full frame lenses are very costly. Even simple lens like 50mm, 35mm, 17-50 will cost a bomb.

If you are using for professional cause then Full frame makes a better impact on client too. and Low light is always a great advantage.

 

[raja manuel]

Sujoy makes a good point. The Sony E mount is an APS-C mount that has been adapted for full frame use to avoid launching a full frame system without a lens ecosystem. Its throat diameter is about the same as Canon's EOS-M mount. This necessitates more complex lens designs to make it work with a full frame sensor, such as a large front element to get light to reach the corners and a widening lens element to spread the light (possibly some other steps as well) which drives up the lens cost and will affect quality. The impact on this will depend on the type of photography you (will) do, but I think it is only a matter of time before Canon and Nikon become a large enough threat for Sony to either suffer from a suboptimal lens size or launch a new, larger lens mount for full frame.
Do you need to upgrade now? The market is poised for disruption and this seems like the wrong time to increase investment in an ecosystem. A wait and watch approach might be better until we have a better idea of the pecking order in the MILC world.

 

[izzikio_rage]

I can definitely wait, my current camera is doing great except for its ability to shoot video (which i want to do) and the fact that my legacy lenses can't be used in low light since i dont have image stabilization.

I'm sure with how aggressively canon is pushing the new mirrorless system that sony will unviel some new camera's just to maintain dominance

 

[sujoyp]

I can definitely wait, my current camera is doing great except for its ability to shoot video (which i want to do) and the fact that my legacy lenses can't be used in low light since i dont have image stabilization.

I'm sure with how aggressively canon is pushing the new mirrorless system that sony will unviel some new camera's just to maintain dominance

But really whats left in A7R3 ...i think it has everything available in market..all features.

We can wait for those features to become. Cheaper

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[izzikio_rage]

The good thing is that sony has added new stuff over time and its been innovative. My gripe with the A7III is that it won't run the sony apps specially the timelapse app that i use a lot. Plus a better implementation of the touchscreen, a good swivel viewfinder, something like the hypersmooth gopro type video is things I'd love to see

 

[sujoyp]

@amlan I know human being is never satisfied I love that Sony have given most of the things in A7MK3 , it has features more then anyone else. Maybe they should now focus on reducing the price of lenses.
Adapting other brand lenses are not always the option. if lens adapters are soo popular then all lens maker should opt for single type of mount which can be used by all lenses. like USB and SD cards.

 

[izzikio_rage]

Nikon Z6 review: The best full-frame mirrorless camera for video

This will now make sony bring more features like better raw video, hyper stabilization, full sensor readout to the next camera

 

[izzikio_rage]

One more thing against the sony a7III, sony playmemory apps don't work, especially the timelapse app that i use a lot

 

[sujoyp]

One more thing against the sony a7III, sony playmemory apps don't work, especially the timelapse app that i use a lot

This is against the full frame mirrorless cam...lol
Btw which other full frame cam even support apps like these

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[raja manuel]

Btw which other full frame cam even support apps like these

Magic Lantern allows some Canon full frames to support this and many other features, but I can’t call them apps as they are firmware mods and I can’t really say that the camera supports them; it is the mod community that is responsibility for these goodies.

This is clearly a missed opportunity for these manufacturers. Their cameras all have computers on-board. If they can support Wi-Fi, they can open them up to an app store which they can license and make revenue from rather than trying to force us to use expensive hardware accessories to achieve what software can. As of now there has been no incentive for them to do so, but increasing competition should hopefully bring them into the 21st century.

Yongnou has taken an interesting step here by announcing a MILC with a Panasonic 16 MP M4/3 sensor, Android, 5” screen, 4G, and Canon EF lens mount. This can open up a lot of options for those who have a pile of EF lenses - they can now slap a pancake lens on a very compact body if they want high quality candids at social events or even great selfies (subject to how well the camera actually performs). No word yet on whether it will support the Google Play Store or if will use its own app store like many Chinese phone manufacturers do. By using the EF mount they have left the door open to eventually graduating to a full frame sensor.

 

[izzikio_rage]

This is against the full frame mirrorless cam...lol
Btw which other full frame cam even support apps like these

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The comparison was vs the a6500 that supports apps. The crazy people at sony change the chip architecture and hence dropped support for apps. Imagine dropping support for something you've built over the last 5 years. The only redeeming point now would be a firmware update adding user made apps to the store

 

[izzikio_rage]

Has the dollar moving up affected prices here. Most of these cams are almost 20-30% more expensive vs oct

 

[sujoyp]

Has the dollar moving up affected prices here. Most of these cams are almost 20-30% more expensive vs oct

Actually price should go down as govt reduced gst from 28% to 18%. Strange that price increased.

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[izzikio_rage]

This will start from jan right?

 

[sujoyp]

This will start from jan right?

Ooh is it from jan..let me just read the thread at jjmehta..

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