test scene, object to camera, approx 2 feet, at such a short distance, one would spot camera shake right away
A few of you have emailed wondering what I make of this issue. For my type of photography this isn’t a primary concern, however, I have recommended this camera to friends who enjoy shooting landscapes and were looking for a small, lightweight camera with a killer sensor to take on hikes. Lloyd Chambers has brought this issue to light during his scientific test approach, SAR has posted a guest post by Joseph Holmes, the rest of us are now wondering if this would also affect handheld shooting with the Zeiss FE 35mm f2.8 lens. After shooting a series at 1/60, 1/100, 1/125, 1/250 at f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8 from a tripod and hand held, I am pleased to let you know every shot was tack sharp. I did repeat the handheld series twice. So there you have it, no need to send your A7r back if you are planning to use it with the FE 35mm lens. If you end up with blurry shots using the Zeiss 35mm you can blame it on the coffee you had that morning :).
However, I do consider this to be a serious issue because the A7r is of special interest to landscape and industrial shooters and I hope Sony can offer a firmware fix soon.
Oleg, I don’t think so, the problem shooting handheld with the 55mm, I find it pretty much impossible to get a super sharp image below 1/125 – even on the A7, unless you have a very still hand or lean against something.
I rarely shoot without the battery grip because it adds more mass and a much better grip. At a resolution of 36mp I feel comfortable shooting handheld at 1/250 and up, any high resolution camera will show the slightest shake, wide angle lenses are a bit more forgiving, you can apply the old formula of doubling the focal length for minimum shutter speed handheld, for the 55mm that would be 1/110 and that’s a guide from the film days. Add one stop for a 20+ mp sensor (1/250) 2 stops for 36mp to be on the safe side (1/500)
Mike, I’m planning to buy the A7r along with SEL55F18 lens, mostly to shoot handheld. I’ve tried the camera in the Sony store and out of 60 images taken (exp. from 1/60s to 1/125s) I got about 10 without motion blur. Can this be related to the shutter vibration issue?
You are welcome, Alberto!
Hi Mike! thanks for the heads up, I was ready to send mine back until I saw your post