The Camera Problem

by Jon Sullivan - 2019-09-05 - Photography

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Do I need a better camera? Or is the Sony a7r iii a good stopping point?

When the Sony a7r iii camera body came out two years ago, it was an obvious smart upgrade. Even though I had to switch from Canon lenses to the Sony FE mount. But now Sony is releasing the next version of that body and it's a pretty large upgrade. Most of the key features are upgraded, but the weather sealing and 61 megapixel sensor are the main draws. And at $3500 it's very reasonably priced for a camera in this class.

And it's not just a bigger sensor. The body is improved across the board. Including a feature that supposedly out puts a 240 mp file.

But it's still $3500, and the one I have is outstanding.

My motive for buying it would be better photos. But to what end? I'm not selling prints. I'm not a pro photographer. It's just a hobby I love. And if I'm trying to save money to retire this is far from a necessary purchase.

But it will eat at me. 61 mp is a huge image file, comparable to medium format. And one of the things I love about the 42 mp Sony I have is the ability to recompose photos after I get back home by capturing everything wider than normal and then cropping. And sometimes I end up with photos I didn't even know I got by cropping in.

And of course if I just wait a couple years Sony will probably have another version that's wildly better.

What I'm pretty sure will happen is that I'll decide to wait, in the name of fiscal responsibility, then buy it some random day when I rationalize the whole thing.

So..... No new camera this month.

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