Your Primary Camera - January 2020

Please indicate which group of those shown above your primary camera fits into (your primary camera is probably the one you would reach for most often for photography, but the actual choice of which camera you choose as your primary is entirely yours).

Note that available space on the line for options limits the descriptions that can be put down: because of this I have used ranges of model numbers where a complete list would not fit and where I say NEX3 or NEX5, I am including all the lettered variants.

Sometimes the dividing lines between categories can be a bit indistinct – as with last time, I have made the division on type (DSLR, SLT/ILCA or ILCE), size of sensor, whether the camera is ‘Premium’ or not (no criticism intended of non-premium cameras - some of our best photographers use them) and for the a7 variants, what generation they belong in. I think I have most models covered in the descriptions, but if I have missed your camera out, please add it to the category that seems most appropriate and let us know the details in a posting. So:

if you get one of the (just announced) a7Riv cameras or an (unannounced at time of writing) a7iv to use as your primary camera, it should go in the "4th gen full frame ILCE" category. Any new a7S, should probably go in the same category, regardless of what number is on the front..
or
if you really want to put that RD-175 down as your primary camera, it would probably fit best with the 5D/a100-a580 category as it was a sub-frame SLR based on a mid-range analogue body
while
the RD-3000 should probably go in as a Non-Alpha DSLR
(but where you actually put any of these is up to you).

Note that you can only vote once in this poll!
So choose carefully...

This is part of a survey we run every once in a while to check on what the membership's cameras of choice are.

Another poll is open to let you specify your backup cameras (you can vote more than once in that one).


Edited by Bob J - 05 January 2020 at 10:04

Few weeks ago I got the a7Riv and I guess it is going to be my main camera for 2020 (no plans to buy a new one...)

Still sticking with the a99ii as my main camera.

I guess I can say that for time being α7R III is the primary camera despite that usually I do carry also other cameras and the next in the priority line are α7R II, α99 II and RX10 IV. At times I may carry only the last mentioned and leave all ILCs home.

The Sony A7II has been my primary camera for over a year now. I've been enjoying the small Samyang AF primes with it--the 35/2.8 convinced me to try full-frame.



Edited by QuietOC - 06 January 2020 at 13:10

Snegren wrote: Although I selected A7Rii as primary camera and A7 as my back-up camera, I also use A99 as back-up and my back-up cameras are also used as primary cameras. The main reasons for me to buy A7Rii were that I wanted a decent pixel count in APSC as some of my favorite lenses don't cover FF (barely cover APSC in case of most 16 mm film camera lenses) and in-body image stabilization sounds sexy. I see little need for AF so anything beyond 2nd generation E-mount is wasted on me.

My own primary camera isn't the best one I own - I tend to reach for the a7ii more than the a99 because it is more compact for when I'm travelling...

I chose the a99 as my primary camera, and expect that to remain true for the foreseeable future.

However, I did something two weeks ago that I haven't done in almost 7 years: bought a brand new , recently introduced camera -the a6600! I guess this was inevitable after having bought the Sigma trio of 1.4 APS-C lenses. Still, I have been surprised by how awesome the AF is with this new camera.

I've pretty much decided my FF needs are best met with A-mount camera/lenses, especially for my much more limited paid work. Since moving x-country 4 years ago, I have not re-established the customer base I had in Virginia. While I never relied on photography as my sole income, it did pay for the majority of my equipment purchases. Currently, I have neither the budget, nor the desire to purchase new FE lenses,so E-mount APS-C is my "second mount" route.

The next couple of months should be fun!