Upgraded from Nikon D3300 to A7 V. My very first FF camera!
After using the D3300 for 10 years, I finally decided to buy the A7 V with the SIGMA 24–70mm F2.8 DG DN II.
Although I had owned the D3300 for a decade, I had barely touched it in the past few years because of its terrible autofocus, which feels light-years behind even modern smartphone cameras.
I had been going back and forth between the A6700, the A7C II, and the A7 V for quite some time, but I eventually decided in favor of the A7 V for the following reasons:
- I am not planning to upgrade my camera body for at least 7–8 years. If I had gone for the A7C II, it would already have felt like a three-year-old remake of a five-year-old A7 IV from day one.
- 4K60 without a crop. I shot some videos today, and it looks so good.
- I wanted to finally put the crop-sensor-vs-full-frame debate in my mind to rest. I could have bought the best APS-C camera available, but two years down the line, I know I would have found myself looking at full-frame cameras again. And yes, images from a full-frame sensor do look amazing. Granted, I was comparing it against the D3300, which is a 12-year-old model, but I am certain that the A6700 would not be able to produce the kind of low-light images the A7 V can. Even in daylight, full frame gives you more wiggle room in post-production.
- Bokeh. More than anything, I love portraits. I wanted a general-purpose lens that could handle landscapes but also do portraits well. Enter the SIGMA 24–70mm F2.8. What a lens. I do not feel the need to go any wider, and I can still shoot portraits with it. Yes, I know it is not the ideal portrait lens, but it does a decent job. It is good enough for me for now. I am just a hobbyist.
Some of you may argue that I could have gotten similar bokeh with an APS-C camera and an f/1.8 50mm lens. That is true. But here, I am getting that with a zoom lens. Besides, I can always consider buying an 85mm f/1.4 lens in the future. There is no real equivalent to that on APS-C.
This was a big purchase for me, especially because I am not a professional. I am just a casual hobbyist.
But the strongest reason for me to invest in a camera like this was very simple:
I love cameras because they can literally capture a moment in time. You can look at that moment 20 years from now. It is a window into the past. That is incredible. And if I am going to capture a moment in time, why wouldn’t I want to capture it in as much detail as I can afford?