There aren’t many photographers who own all three cameras, so this isn’t a side-by-side comparison you’ll see too often. Forget the megapixels for a moment and find out which of these three heavyweight cameras gives the most pleasing results.
Photographer James Popsys is in the fortunate position of being able to reach for the Sony a7R V, the Leica Q3 43, or the Hasselblad X2D 100C whenever he likes. While the Sony and the Leica boast 60 megapixels and 61 megapixels, respectively, the Hasselblad weighs in at a massive 100 megapixels, with image quality boosted further by the simple dimensions of the sensor. All three deliver resolutions that far exceed the demands of the overwhelming majority of photographers, so pixel peeping isn’t really the best comparison.
Instead, Popsys takes a look at the images in terms of their look and feel, discovering some small differences that might push a photographer toward one body over the other. This is no criticism of Popsys—he’s probably got it lined up for a future video—but I’d be much more interested in getting an idea of how each camera affects the way you shoot: what it feels like to be out with that camera in the field and how each one impacts your intentionality.
While the Sony clearly offers the most versatility, it also presents the most distractions, with buttons, dials, and menu options that don’t necessarily get in the way but add another layer between you and the experience of shooting. By contrast, the Leica and the Hasselblad are both very much "photographer" cameras and offer a refined, pure process that creates a subtle shift in how it feels to have the camera in your hand.
If money were no barrier, which would be your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
You won't get many people having tried a 15k, 10k and 5k camera to compare. If the camera has a viewfinder, the user experience should be alright.
Many film photographers swear by the Leica M6 as "nothing feels the same" and are willing to part with 3k for the feeling. But I never missed that feeling when shooting my 50 quid Rolleiflex SL35 that accepts Carl Zeiss glass and produces identical images.
Yep! Great you have and can mainly compare images but those images are edited RAW images, Bravo you could get each to look alike. But a true compare is a jpeg reason is it is the camera and the camera jpeg settings! It is kinda hard to find jpeg settings for each but basically you have to read a big 600+ book on each. I did a compare of the A7SM1, A7SM2 and A7SM3 stills not video. The A7SM1 was my first camera and I enjoyed astro Milky Way's the most but I used it for everything it was my only camera and as a 12MP camera it did great producing poster sized prints, I have 4 frames in my house and change out prints every month. Why I did a compare was jpeg setting you can make a list of and keep set mainly the life of the cameras.
When doing MW's first with the A7SM1 it would capture airglow colors and was results were bright as day but with stars and I could not figure how others got dark images. Using AWB always the airglow colors that are high up in the atmosphere added to the MW and it's path in the stars with even in panoramas never grey or black but with a blue (shades of) sky.
To the point each with the same jpeg settings using each on a tripod side by side and one shot in Manual same settings and a second, believe it or not, using the camera auto second setting for night, yep few even know about the auto modes. Yes colors were different in the sky and ground but found Portrait selection got a clean and bright beach in tan, you can do the same selection in Lrc by selecting the four little squares and select the jpeg selection for your camera.
But the same brand Sony's get better with each new model and the A7SM3 is a step up as far a sharpness on par with the A7RM5. One the A7M3 was an awesome model with ISO Invariance and Bright Monitoring for framing in the dark. a work horse day or night.
One thing not mentioned about the A7RM5 is the pixel shifting even now able to hand hold during getting 240 MP image. Also you can do Bracketing 5 at +/- 2EV hand held, I use all the time for sunsets/rises even using telephoto lens, they are all OSS/IS so works best with IBIS.
A note on MP's doing night say astro MW's an advantage of the 61MP vs the 12MP. If you use PhotoPills Spot Stars you will find the 61MP has a faster SS than the 12MP and if you add a faster lens of say F1.8 or even 1.4 you will get and even faster SS under Accurate you get a 5.93s and the A7SM3 of 10.47s. What most all MW capturers do the the MW Arch requiring a panorama. The faster SS of the A7RM5 combined with a say FE 14mm F1.8 lens you can do a 200 degree pano in less than 90s moving to the next image during the pano while in camera NR mode. If on a beach your final image will have all the wave movement the same across the bottom. Meaning you can run and capture images at different beach subjects or different perspectives of a subject, in Jun and July it is a all night adventure from sunset to sunrise and travel to many places during that time!
Today you can edit your RAW in Sony's Imaging Edge and edit the jpeg setting also.
1. A73
2.A7s + FE 10-18mm F4 OSS in Full Frame mode
3 and 4 A73
Beautiful shots!
As I understand, you’re fine-tuning the JPEG in-camera just before shooting rather than with RAW files afterward. What's the point of shooting in JPEG when other formats give you more artistic flexibility and tools to create a unique image?
Most savvy Sony users put their most used menu items on their my menu and never deal with the rest of the labyrinth, fixing the distraction issue.