Sorry ! A72 or A73

[justa]

Hello

After some advice please - I have come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to make my own mind up on FF - no amount of reading other peoples views helps, I'm going to have to buy one...

So it was an easy decision to go Sony but the A72 or 3 ?

Budget is limited so basically the advantage of the mk 2 is that I could buy one straight away with a good selection of lenses - I am thinking 28-70, Samyang 24mm f2.8 and maybe Sony 50mm f1.8. Size and cost the priority here.

If I decide on the mk 3 I will have to save my pennies until probably later this year - I will only be able to get one lens and then I'll save up for others.

Part of me thinks the mk 3 is overkill for an amateur but the other part of me thinks if I'm going to buy a dream camera it might as well be the dream camera !

thanks

 

[ionian]

What do you want to photograph? It's really down to that, because of the differences in AF between the models. Of course there are other differences so you need to weigh them up.

If you are in the States then the current $999 A7ii deal may be too good value to pass up. If you are in Europe it may be worth waiting to see what Black Friday brings at the end of the month.

 

[Kiwi Paul]

The A72 is a great camera, I have one and at the moment are not thinking of changing it for any other model, it does what I want and you can get them for very reasonable prices, especially second hand.

 

[bdbits]

I also have an A72. It is still very capable, certainly more than I am at capturing images. I agree that if you rely a lot on AF the A7iii is going to be a lot better. There are other things (e.g. battery) that are improved of course but that is probably the biggest differentiator. In my mind. At least, that's what I keep telling myself ... "you don't need the AF, so just ignore that Add To Cart button, take a deep breath, slowly now, everything will be fine".

 

[Christop82]

I would jump on the current $998 a7ii deal. Wait a year or two on the 7iii for the price to drop. The kit lens is actually very good and wouldn't require you to purchase a prime immediately .

 

[WNG]

Sony gave the competition a punch in the gut when they redefined the 'Basic Model' with the A7III. We all know what a milestone camera it is. And it's a significant jump in feature set over the previous A7II. Technology marches on and with Sony's rapid pace, we easily forget just how good still there previous generation are. Afterall, both Canon and Nikon obviously were designing their initial offerings against the second gen Sony FF cameras.

With the current announcement of the price drop of the A7II kit, Sony has basically redefined "Entry Level FF". Is there really justification left to purchase a plastic-y entry-level Canon Rebel or Nikon anymore? Sure, they give you access to a slew of cheap crappy consumer grade AF lenses floating about the marketplace and ebay.
But for the cost of $800 for the body (minus the $200 for the Sony kit lens should you sell it!), you're still getting an all-magnesium bodied, IBIS-equipped, very good imaging, high dynamic range sensored, full-frame camera. Same EVF as the A7III.

You're comparing a new $800 A7II vs. a $2000 latest A7III. With that extra 1,200 bucks, you get all the features needed if you have aspirations to be a professional events photographer. Superior AF, superior sensor, speed in FPS, buffer, Eye-AF in AFC, dual card slots, Z battery life, 4K video, revised JPEG-SOOC colors, more customization, slightly improved ergonomics.

If you definitely must have 2 or more of these improvements, then suffer the financials to invest in the A7III.

Otherwise, the A7II is still a great camera for the money, especially now. Aftermarket accessories for it are plentiful, and very cheap now. With savvy shopping, as an example, I recently managed to buy 4 Wasabi external charger kits w/ 2 w50 batteries, for a total of $15! That's 8 batteries and 4 external travel/car chargers! Poor battery life of early Sony cameras are not an issue if you keep 2 or 3 batteries with you.
Compare that to the Sony Z battery at $78. After the latest firmware update, the A7III is not compatible with aftermarket Z batteries. But yes, you would only need one extra battery.

 

[tino84]

A72 is a good camera, and the set of lenses you want to buy is not the fastest in the world, so maybe the a73 won’t give you so much gain in speed.

Otherwise as mentioned upon, you got better af, new battery, and a new sensor. If it was me, based on a budget, I’d go with a72 and the lenses you want. If you plan to buy a better lens to the kit, maybe a73 is a better choice.
An egg today or a chicken tomorrow?

 

[Ziggy99]

This is very useful. Thanks.
I was assuming that at some stage I'd get a 7Riii for landscapes and travel but it sounds like the 7Rii would do fine. And there's a big discount currently.