Review Sony A7RV, Nikon Z8 + Canon R5ii

Kieran_89

Kieran_89

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I’ve currently got all 3 cameras and need to make a decision on which to keep and which to sell.

I’ll start with some positives from each system and some negatives I’ve found in case anyone is wondering which system to go for.

Pro’s and cons about each body:

Nikon Z8 - Lovely to hold and use, feels great in the hands due to the grip of the body.

Button placement is good with everything being easy to reach.

Menu system is the best I’ve used, menu items are in the correct place, a nice clean aesthetic to the menu system.

Cons -
Not a huge Z lens lineup and generally bigger and heavier than the equivalent lens from another brand.

Pro -
Canon R5ii - Again lovely to hold and use, the very familiar DSLR body from the 5D series, just a little bit too small for my hands.

I like the rear LCD, nice and crisp, really good refresh and a nice touch screen.

Con -
Menu system is slightly off, it seems simple to use but it takes me ages to find the setting I’m looking for.

RF lenses are ridiculously expensive if you’re buying UK lenses and no intention from Canon to open up their mount to 3rd party manufacturers.

Pro -
Sony A7RV, the smallest and lightest camera of the 3, produces lovely images with the 61mp sensor.

Great lineup in lenses, the smallest and lightest lenses of all 3 brands.

Cons -
Very small in the hands, I do struggle to find it comfortable for long periods of shooting.

Menu system is the messiest of the 3, again takes me a while to find the setting I’m looking for.

All 3 cameras produce lovely images and I personally can’t see much difference between 61mp and 45mp when viewing on my 32” OLED screen.

My gut is telling me to stick with the Nikon Z8 as they have a few very niche lenses which for the price can’t be beaten.

I’m going to keep all 3 camera bodies for a few more weeks if there’s anything anyone would like to know.

When I’m back home I’ll add some pictures taken with all 3 to show the difference between sensors, even though they’re subtle.
 
I was about to say if you're feeling like the Z8 is best in the hand then that might be your best option. You don't need to keep using the newer z glass you could pick up some F glass or Sigma lenses. I currently use all sigma glass with my R5 and its amazing and produces amazing images. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles of RF glass but at a fraction of the cost it works and gives amazing images.
 
Galaxy_31 said:
I was about to say if you're feeling like the Z8 is best in the hand then that might be your best option. You don't need to keep using the newer z glass you could pick up some F glass or Sigma lenses. I currently use all sigma glass with my R5 and its amazing and produces amazing images. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles of RF glass but at a fraction of the cost it works and gives amazing images.
Click to expand...
One of the advantages of the Sony E system no doubt, lens selection is huge.

Nikon Z8 is a big heavy camera though, at almost 1kg it’s chunky compared to the other 2, it’s certainly noticeable when carrying around.
 
It really depends on the glass you already have and value, as well as the ones you intend to get.
All three can work and may even depend slightly on what you specialise in. Overall, sony seems by far the best option for lenses. And canon is the worst. I would even say under 50mm the choice is poor on rf. 24-70 and 15-35 are sort of workable until you compare them to sony gm2. 85% full frame wideangle primes and 24-105 f2.8 zooms are a joke

A7rv is the worst value though (unless you shoot exclusively architecture, studio or landscape) and rvi is imminent within days.
Spec wise r5 ii is slightly ahead of z8. And miles ahead of rv. But again rvi is about to change all that

Canon shape can be much improved with smallrig thinggie and so i believe sony to some degree. You also have a choice of grip. I would suggest original.
 
Kieran_89 said:
I’ve currently got all 3 cameras and need to make a decision on which to keep and which to sell.

I’ll start with some positives from each system and some negatives I’ve found in case anyone is wondering which system to go for.

Pro’s and cons about each body:

Nikon Z8 - Lovely to hold and use, feels great in the hands due to the grip of the body.

Button placement is good with everything being easy to reach.

Menu system is the best I’ve used, menu items are in the correct place, a nice clean aesthetic to the menu system.

Cons -
Not a huge Z lens lineup and generally bigger and heavier than the equivalent lens from another brand.

Pro -
Canon R5ii - Again lovely to hold and use, the very familiar DSLR body from the 5D series, just a little bit too small for my hands.

I like the rear LCD, nice and crisp, really good refresh and a nice touch screen.

Con -
Menu system is slightly off, it seems simple to use but it takes me ages to find the setting I’m looking for.

RF lenses are ridiculously expensive if you’re buying UK lenses and no intention from Canon to open up their mount to 3rd party manufacturers.

Pro -
Sony A7RV, the smallest and lightest camera of the 3, produces lovely images with the 61mp sensor.

Great lineup in lenses, the smallest and lightest lenses of all 3 brands.

Cons -
Very small in the hands, I do struggle to find it comfortable for long periods of shooting.

Menu system is the messiest of the 3, again takes me a while to find the setting I’m looking for.

All 3 cameras produce lovely images and I personally can’t see much difference between 61mp and 45mp when viewing on my 32” OLED screen.

My gut is telling me to stick with the Nikon Z8 as they have a few very niche lenses which for the price can’t be beaten.

I’m going to keep all 3 camera bodies for a few more weeks if there’s anything anyone would like to know.

When I’m back home I’ll add some pictures taken with all 3 to show the difference between sensors, even though they’re subtle.
Click to expand...
Get rid of all 3 and get the Sony A7RVI that launches next week.
 
That's a deeper rabbit hole than even @trevorbray has ever been down :ROFLMAO:

Keep the Z8 for now then grab the new Nikon FF compact that's on the way, best of both worlds.
 
I don't have the Canon but do have the Z8 and A7RV. Largely depends on what you are shooting, but for me I find the affordable telephoto options on the Nikon to be superior to Sony's with the incredible 400mm F4.5, 600mm F6.3 and 800mm F6.3 lenses (and even the keenly priced 180-600 F5.6-6.3). Therefore for wildlife shooting, my Z8 (or even my Z9), is my first choice.

Also, for video Nikon has the Sony comprehensively beat with not only 8k 60 but also 4k 120p (without crop) with almost imperceptible rolling shutter. If it takes your fancy, Nikon also has built in Raw video (not something I've ever really used). Nikon has also the little trick that when shooting 4k 120p, if you switch across to APS-C mode you can engage the 2.3x crop mode, making your 600mm lens having the effective field of view of an approx. 1400mm lens.

However, as a general walkabout camera for holidays etc, I find the A7RV (and now even better my A7CR), to be much smaller and lighter especially with the F4 trio of my 16-35mm PZ, 20-70mm and 70-200 MK II. Like you say, has great quality, super DR, and the very nice Slog3 or S-Cinetone, for really nice DR and (with S-Cinetone), an almost finished video with very little to any PP required). It's not quite as sharp in video mode as the Z8 (partly due to the huge sensor meaning line skipping due to slow sensor scan time), but I've found it entirely useable both in 4k 25 and 4K 60 (the cameras maximum), Unfortunately 4K 60 comes with a 1.24x crop (which the Nikon's do not).

Like you I find the Sony menu system to be a little confusing but you do get used to it, but I agree, it's not as clear and precise as the Nikon's menus. One massive thing in favour of the A7rv though, (which I think even Canon can't match), is the amazing 3 way tilting / swivel screen, which I wish every camera had as standard. Once you have used it, then any other camera does feel inferior when using the rear screen. Can't say, I've ever really noticed much of a difference in the EVF experience even though the Nikon's "only" have a 3.6mp viewfinder and the Sony's have a massive 9.1mp unit. I do find it a little irritating on the Sony that when in AF-C mode and pressing the AF-On button, the EVF resolution drops massively and looks very low tech during focussing. It's something I've never noticed on my Nikon's.

To be honest, cameras are so good these days, that I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, and it more comes down to what your shooting genre mainly is, and if that system has the lenses you need that you can also afford or are small / compact enough for your needs.
 
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In a perfect world I’d have the internals of the Z8, a smaller body but the flip screen of the Sony A7RV along with Sony AF.

Maybe with the Z8ii we’ll see them adopt the articulating screen of the Sony and decrease the body size.

If the Z8ii has those then it’s an instant order for me.
 
Kieran_89 said:
In a perfect world I’d have the internals of the Z8, a smaller body but the flip screen of the Sony A7RV along with Sony AF.

Maybe with the Z8ii we’ll see them adopt the articulating screen of the Sony and decrease the body size.

If the Z8ii has those then it’s an instant order for me.
Click to expand...
I'll be in the queue right behind you :cool:
 
Hmmmm although I’m now using the Z8 as my go to wildlife camera coupled with the 180-600 and a good few other lenses , I still can’t bring myself to dump the Olympus om1 even though I’m now down to two lenses and a 1.4 tc it’s served me well . . Personally I find the balance of the Nikon and change ability of it make up for the heavier weight even taking into account my 80 year old bones . Doubt I’ll change again seem to have found my niche
 
the black fox said:
Hmmmm although I’m now using the Z8 as my go to wildlife camera coupled with the 180-600 and a good few other lenses , I still can’t bring myself to dump the Olympus om1 even though I’m now down to two lenses and a 1.4 tc it’s served me well . . Personally I find the balance of the Nikon and change ability of it make up for the heavier weight even taking into account my 80 year old bones . Doubt I’ll change again seem to have found my niche
Click to expand...
I’ve decided to keep the Z8 and sell the Sony and Canon systems.

Although I really want to test the new 100-400 4.5 from Sony, I’ll probably rent one when available and use the wife’s A7V.
 
I had another plus point earlier about the Z8, you can do up to 900 seconds shutter speed without the need for a remote etc, makes it much better when doing long exposure which I do quite a lot of.

I usually do 2 minute exposures and that’s exactly the time with a 10stop ND filter.

If it was possible on other brands I might have stuck with Sony.
 
Kieran_89 said:
I had another plus point earlier about the Z8, you can do up to 900 seconds shutter speed without the need for a remote etc, makes it much better when doing long exposure which I do quite a lot of.

I usually do 2 minute exposures and that’s exactly the time with a 10stop ND filter.

If it was possible on other brands I might have stuck with Sony.
Click to expand...
Can also do 900 seconds on the A7R V without a remote
 
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Kieran_89 said:
Is it the same from 30” all the way to 900 without a remote?

I’ve tried using the bulb timer but it wouldn’t allow me to choose 120 seconds for some reason.
Click to expand...
yes
Exposure/color menu
BULB Timer Settings

which gives options to switch bulb timer on and set timer between 2 and 900 seconds
 
nog said:
yes
Exposure/color menu
BULB Timer Settings

which gives options to switch bulb timer on and set timer between 2 and 900 seconds
Click to expand...
I didn't know this option existed, just tried it, works!
Awesome, thank you very much, learnt something new today :ty:
I also thought Nikon was unique with this feature

Kieran_89 said:
Is it the same from 30” all the way to 900 without a remote?

I’ve tried using the bulb timer but it wouldn’t allow me to choose 120 seconds for some reason.
Click to expand...

You can choose between 2 and 900s using nog's advice, even 127 seconds if you want ;)
 
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nog said:
yes
Exposure/color menu
BULB Timer Settings

which gives options to switch bulb timer on and set timer between 2 and 900 seconds
Click to expand...
It works now, I’ve had to reset the camera to the original settings but all good, thanks for the info. :)
 
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Just puzzled about your assessment of the Nikon Z lens lineup, and not comment on the Canon in the initial post. My OH is a Canon user and got an R6 about 4 years ago...when it came to a telephoto lens to replace her 100-400 EF Mk2, there is nothing she considered to be a suitable replacement, she couldn't get on with the 100-500, the specs of the 100-400 RF weren't a patch on the EF, and still there is nothing to compete with the Nikkor 180-600. So, the ultimate replacement for her departed EF 100-400 Mk2 was a......................................n EF 100-400 Mk2. Not to mention the fact her RF70-200/2,8 doesn't accept teleconverters. Meanwhile in Nikon-land I am very tempted to get the Z100-400 4/5.6 but currently loath to offload my 80-400G (as I use F-mount as well as Z-mount).
 
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