Over the past two weeks, I have been looking for options. Now there are so many that I am spoilt for choices - the world of digital cameras has changed a lot over the past 15 years. Cameras have become lighter, smarter and a lot more user-friendly.
What I loved about the D90 kit was that it was sturdy and versatile with a superb battery life - on a single charge I could get over ~850 frames, without the hassle of carrying around the clunky charging kit. The 18-105mm lens was great for wide-angle shots, portraits as well as a respectable zoom. What I did not like was the bulk - it was way too heavy to lug around for treks in the Himalayas. The battery for all is greatness on the plains would simply fail at low temperatures. On brilliant starlit nights when temperatures dropped below zero, the battery would play dead and miraculously come back to life when we descended to warmer climes.
So what was I looking for? First of all, I wanted to graduate from an APS-C to a full-frame digicam, from an SLR to a mirror-less camera. The camera had to be weather-sealed; it had to be as light and compact as possible, and still have a decent battery-life. I knew mirrorless cams were battery hogs, but still, I did not want to carry around chargers/adaptors, and I wanted a camera that offered the highest possible exposures on a single charge.
My first option was to stick to the Nikon family. I was familiar with the layout of the camera, and I had been a happy customer for the past 15 years. Unlike the Canon G9 which died on me within a year of purchase in Japan, this one never gave me any trouble (until last week), from the time I had purchased it in 2009 from Yodobashi-Akiba,Tokyo. Starting with the trek to Mt. Fuji summit a week later, it had been with me through all kinds of terrain - mountains, deserts, beaches, humid tropics, the works.
The problem with the Nikon D-90 was that its lenses could be used only on APS-C format bodies, unless, of course you were willing to spend about 25k to buy an adaptor. For that price, I could get a new set of primes! So the Nikon Z5 was out. If I were to stick to APS-C format, FujiFilm offered some good choices with models like the X5 but the price and weight brought me back to the question - if I had to spend so much money anyway, why not focus on full-frames?
This brought me to the Panasonic Lumix S5. I liked the sturdiness of this camera and the demo where mugs of water were poured over it without any apparent effect. Then again, the weight and overdose of knobs and dials on the body put me off. Lens options are limited too.
It is as this stage that I came to know about the Sony E-mounts. Unlike Nikon which has a different set of mounts for its full-frame and APS-C cameras, Sony has the same one across its detachable lens formats. Folks using their APS-C lenses on a Sony E-mount would only had to content with a crop-factor instead of buying separate adaptors. Thanks to this brilliant idea, the E-mounts had arguably the widest range of affordable third-party lenses from Tamron, Sigma, etc..
On a visit to the Sony Camera Lounge in Lajpat Nagar, I noticed a smaller, lighter model - the Alpha-7C2 with a 28-60mm kit lens. From its size I assumed this was an APS-C model but was quite amazed to learn that this was Sony's first full-frame, compact model launched as A7C in 2020. I loved its clean lines, weather-proof built, the retro look of its silver trimming, minimalist use of dials and switches, its fully articulating screen, and the fact that it had an EVF view-finder too!
I liked the fact that the A7C had been tried and tested in the market for the past four years. It had now been replaced by the A7C-2 which is substantially more expensive. This meant that the older model was selling for an attractive discount :) The die was cast. Future Forward, LPN was offering a great deal too (cash + UPI ) - A7C body + battery + external adapter/charger + carry-bag.
Now for the E-mount full-frame lens. Nearly all the reviews on the internet (there are loads!), had rated the standard 28-60mm kit-lens rather poorly, so, I decided to pair my A7C with a Tamron 28-200mm. The set looks beautiful. In terms of size it is just about the same weight and volume as the Nikon D90 + 18-105mm. This meant that my old faithful Lowepro would do just fine.
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