Is it time for me to move to the A7R2 ? Former A7R owners feedback please

[izTheViz]

Hi guys,

I own a A7 (bought it new in Jan 2014) and a A7R (bought it second hand in Mar 2016) and seriously consider selling them to get me a second hand (or new) A7R2 (found one for 1800 euros in a shop nearby - if they could take my A7+A7R back would be good...)
However I am still doubting. If I could get rid of the A7 I will certainly do it (quite old model now, sensor flare issue, DR OK but not as good as A7R's one...) but it's nice to have a backup camera and avoid switching lenses (paired with the 55/1.8 most of the time). I never suffered from the "shutter shock" syndrome and use both cameras (well mainly the A7R paired with the 16-35/4 over the A7 in a ratio of 80/20 I guess)
On the paper I know what kind of improvements I can expect from the A7R2 but I seek for field experience feedback from landscape shooters who have upgraded from the A7R especially on the DR, High ISO and overall IQ sides and IBIS as well.
Objectively, considering my kind of photography (Yannis Marigo's Portfolio - Home) will I benefit from a A7R2 ?
I know at some point it's better to upgrade not too late (e.g. now) cause the value of first generation A7 is lowing down fast. I could probably stick again to one body (although changing lenses is a hassle and prone to sensor dust) and consider getting a A72 later on. Don't know...

Any comment would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[WestOkid]

Wow Yannis, I have been seeing the prices of the OG A7(s) drop and thinking the same thing. You beat me to the question. I'm in the same boat as you are except I would be looking at trading/selling my OG A7r + a6000 and APSC lenses.

I'm looking forward to hearing what some people say too.

 

[Deadbear77]

Sell them or keep as a back up. They will only keep dropping in price. Lenses will hold their value for a long time if in good shape but the bodies just keep losing value. Just think of buying a body like renting it for 3-5 years. The cost really isn’t that much.

 

[Deadbear77]

I’ve had my a7ii since day one, so as of now it’s costed me 45 bucks a month. I’ve also had the A7rii since it came out.

 

[firemist]

Look at my signature to see what I did with my A7r. That camera is a one-trick pony; needs to be bolted to a tripod in my opinion. Since the AF on that camera is iffy, I went 100% MF lenses.

It looks to me like most of what you do requires a tripod, so why change? Your work is very impressive. Assuming you keep your current (AF) FE lenses, the A7II or RII might provide a benefit at higher ISO or if you ever HH but apart from that I don't see any solid benefit to upgrade.

Advice is worth what you paid for it, lol!

 

[Tipton]

You may want to consider waiting for the price on "like new" A7R2's to come down as the A7R3's replace them over the next six months.

At a certain point an old camera becomes a "sunk cost", unless it's a Leica or Hasselblad.

 

[bdbits]

I have been seeing A7Rii bodies in excellent condition in the $1700 (US) range already over on FM. Many say they are upgrading to A7Riii. I wonder how much lower the A7Rii will go?

 

[izTheViz]

Thanks all for your feedback.

@firemist : thanks for your comment. I know I spent most of my time on a tripod but still I miss the IBIS sometimes. Not sure indeed it would a great jump in terms of IQ
@bdbits @Tipton : current value of a used (in good/mint shape) A7RII down here is around 1800 euros. I agree, how much lower will it go ? Not that much. That's why it's maybe the good time for that upgrade.
@Deadbear77 : you're right. Never thought about it this way but true. Devices get depreciated very fast.

 

[magicaxeman]

Prices do depreciate very fast when new models come out.
I can remember paying £1,295 for the X-Pro1 a few months after its release, its now worth about £250-300!!

 

[firemist]

Prices do depreciate very fast when new models come out.
I can remember paying £1,295 for the X-Pro1 a few months after its release, its now worth about £250-300!!

Someone coined the phrase "digital rot" to describe this

 

[Tipton]

It's really kind of silly. Just because a new camera is released, your camera isn't any worse. Although I admit to being a little put out by the fact that my pristine, showroom display, A7R2 lost $200 of resale value in the month after I bought it. But I liked the price and the camera, so I really shouldn't complain.

 

[mattia]

So it always goes with camera bodies; in the end, I got the mark III because the per month cost (I expect to use it for 5 years or more, bought the mark I when it was first announced in late 2013, 4 years ago) is worth the extra features for me (battery, dual cards, touchscreen, AF selector joystick primarily), and I'm going on a trip in 3 weeks. I don't expect it will be worth much in terms of resale value by the time I'm 'done' with it. Same reason I'm not selling the A7r body; it still works great, despite the wear on the screen. But it's worth more to mee in function than in resale, where I don't expect I'd get much for it. I might convert it to full spectrum for astro and IR use, however, since I don't expect I'll use it much at all for general shooting.