A7III vs A7RIII version

phinix

phinix

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I'm planning to change my camera and first choice is A7III, however, I was wondering would I gain anything getting R version?
I'm asking about extra resolution I would be getting with R.
Being an amateur/hobbist photographer, doing family trips, travel, environmental portraits, should I get high res body?
I do not print (yet) anything, just documenting my family's life.
I understand what higher res brings to a table - ability to print bigger formats, or digitally - opportunity to crop.

I like nice contrasty, sharp photos - so I was thinking that getting higher res body might give me a bit more "detailed" photos - I may not understand this, but when I look at regular 24MP FF vs R body's higher res 40MP+ photos on flickr, I noticed that those are sharper and obviously once zoomed in, have more details. Am I right about that?

In real life situation/usage (not professional) - would I be able to get "better" photos with R body? Or it would really not bring a lot?
 
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phinix said:
I'm planning to change my camera and first choice is A7III, however, I was wondering would I gain anything getting R version?
I'm asking about extra resolution I would be getting with R.
Being an amateur/hobbist photographer, doing family trips, travel, environmental portraits, should I get high res body?
I do not print (yet) anything, just documenting my family's life.
I understand what higher res brings to a table - ability to print bigger formats, or digitally - opportunity to crop.

I like nice contrasty, sharp photos - so I was thinking that getting higher res body might give me a bit more "detailed" photos - I may not understand this, but when I look at regular 24MP FF vs R body's higher res 40MP+ photos on flickr, I noticed that those are sharper and obviously once zoomed in, have more details. Am I right about that?

In real life situation/usage (not professional) - would I be able to get "better" photos with R body? Or it would really not bring a lot?
Click to expand...
While you do theoretically get more 'detail' in the higher resolution version, considering a 4k display is only ~8MP, you are not going to really see that unless you are zooming in quite a bit.
My suspicion is that those that have the more expensive body may well also have more expensive lenses, spend more time on PP, etc, and what you are seeing is a combination of factors, which the higher res body along will not give.
Another option you might want to consider is the A7iv - it has a range of incremental improvements over the A7iii, and also has a significantly improved AF system over both the A7iii and A7Riii. At 33MP it also has some of that 'extra detail' you would get with the A7Riii.
 
Faldrax said:
While you do theoretically get more 'detail' in the higher resolution version, considering a 4k display is only ~8MP, you are not going to really see that unless you are zooming in quite a bit.
My suspicion is that those that have the more expensive body may well also have more expensive lenses, spend more time on PP, etc, and what you are seeing is a combination of factors, which the higher res body along will not give.
Another option you might want to consider is the A7iv - it has a range of incremental improvements over the A7iii, and also has a significantly improved AF system over both the A7iii and A7Riii. At 33MP it also has some of that 'extra detail' you would get with the A7Riii.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats the thing - I was thinking it would be overkill for me, cause I would only use like 2-3 lens on it, 24 and40mm G tiny series plus some Voigtlander MF lens.
That's it.
However, I'm trying it keep a budget to max £1100, so a7iv would be out of my range.
 
phinix said:
Yeah, thats the thing - I was thinking it would be overkill for me, cause I would only use like 2-3 lens on it, 24 and40mm G tiny series plus some Voigtlander MF lens.
That's it.
However, I'm trying it keep a budget to max £1100, so a7iv would be out of my range.
Click to expand...
Ah, I assume you're looking at S/H then, as new the A7Riii is a similar price to the A7iv (and well over £1100).
 
This might be useful - one of the below was taken on an A7Rii and the other on a RX10iv (with a much smaller '1 inch' sensor). Both decent enough photos when viewed on a laptop screen I think and maybe not immediately obvious which is which until you zoom in - I guess it laregely depends if you are minded to 'pixel peep' or just take the shot and be happy so probably no single right or wrong answer as usual :)


Loch Coulin by Mike Smith, on Flickr


Eilean Donan by Mike Smith, on Flickr
 
dibbly dobbler said:
This might be useful - one of the below was taken on an A7Rii and the other on a RX10iv (with a much smaller '1 inch' sensor). Both decent enough photos when viewed on a laptop screen I think and maybe not immediately obvious which is which until you zoom in - I guess it laregely depends if you are minded to 'pixel peep' or just take the shot and be happy so probably no single right or wrong answer as usual :)


Loch Coulin by Mike Smith, on Flickr


Eilean Donan by Mike Smith, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Thank you for these samples. Yeah, looking at those you cannot tell the difference, until you start zooming in.
Maybe R would be overkill anyway for me, to be honest we only view our photos on monitor or tv, never zooming in. Extra res wouldn't make huge difference, looking at those samples above.
Thanks, I think I should get a7III then :)
 
Completely different experience.

I found them chalk and cheese.

The A7ii was a great camera, but the output from the R blew it away (at least for me).
 
I added an A7Riii to sit alongside my A7 at the beginning of this year. Can't fault it really.

I love the improved AF and human/animal eye AF is pretty consistent imo. Silent shutter and zebra control. Built in interval shooting..... Virtually everything really!

But the main reason I went for the R, aside from the price I got it for, was the resolution meaning I could shoot with a looser frame with the 35GM/CV40 and get more of a 50mm perspective which I sometimes like - which in turn, actually saved me circa £1300 on a 50/1.4GM :)
 
phinix said:
I'm asking about extra resolution I would be getting with R.
Being an amateur/hobbist photographer, doing family trips, travel, environmental portraits, should I get high res body?
I do not print (yet) anything, just documenting my family's life.
Click to expand...

Given the subjects you're going to be photographing I'd say priorities should be the best (eye) AF you can afford and the lowest noise floor. IIRC the A7C may have slightly better AF than the A7III, and that might also be worth considering.

Also think about the lenses you use. If you're shooting a lot with nice primes like Lee above, then there's a good chance that the extra res of the R will be useful, but if you're a zoom user then the extra resolution will be of minimal benefit - you really need the best lenses to use the extra res. That's not to say you wouldn't see an improvement in image quality, but as you yourself point out, it will only be obvious at magnification. As for sharpness & contrast, that's down to a combination of technique, lens quality and processing more than the camera body. Just to add - I went and looked at @dibbly dobbler's pictures on Flickr - I thought the first would be the RX because it's a bit flat looking compared to the second, which is much more exciting, but it was t'other way round.

I've had an A7III for about 4 1/2 years, and for what I do (landscape with primes and some travel) an A7IIIR or A7IV makes sense. In your case I'm not so sure it would offer you an advantage, and the lower noise/wider dynamic range of the A7III might well be more useful. I find my III works really well with the right lenses to create a sense of depth and fine detail in an image. Oh, and I like to print - up to 30"x20".

Ribblehead return 6 by Anton Ertl, on Flickr

Dusk narrowboats-01408 by Anton Ertl, on Flickr

It's good at the social side too.

Platinum jubilee June 2022-02793 by Anton Ertl, on Flickr

Platinum jubilee June 2022-02519 by Anton Ertl, on Flickr
 
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