Photo Musings

The 2014 Summer holiday season is over. I have not traveled too much this time, but still there were many occasions to play an amateur / enthusiast photographer. I am now entirely on Foveon gear, with three Sigmas (DP-1M, DP-2M, DP-3M in my arsenal). And after two years the Sigmas continue to surprise me with what they deliver (download the attached photo to see a full resolution version and zoom in...). My typical setup is the DP-2M, small enough to carry almost every day and I do not hesitate to take it with me on every occasion. This is a big plus of a small camera. If I had a DSLR, it would probably be staying at home. If I need more flexibility, to shot both wide and tele angles, I take the DP-1M and DP-3M. The DP-1M is used rather rarely, mostly in mountains. I was even considering selling it, but eventually decided it would stay. Despite all the progress in digital photography, there still is really no substitute. The Sony A7R may be close, but the body + a decent lens would set me back $3,500.00. Still the lens (T* FE 24-70 ZA) is F4, while the Sigmas are F2.8, and you can find them for around $500 (an equivalent lens itself is worth much, much more...).

But the Sigma Merrill's are only good for landscape and portraits, not for action and low light. As my next year's holidays shape to be in Africa, I have already begun evaluating available options. The starting point is the 400mm lens requirement (wildlife), and this - unfortunately - 70-200 F4 available, which is too short for my needs. There is the A-mount 70-400 F4-5.6 available, but it lacks image stabilization when paired with the A7.
ruled the Sony out. They only have a native (FE-mount)

Browsing through many Internet forums I found very favorable opinions on the AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6G ED VR, which seems right for what I need. I still have a bunch of Nikon gear, after I sold the aging (but very faithful) Fujifilm S5 Pro (I wish Fuji continued withe the Nikon-based Pro line, but they did not...). So it may be a good decision to get one of those new Nikon bodies (currently leaning towards the Df, for high ISO performance,  but I still have time till June 2015, so may be it is worth waiting...).

Sony's radical A7/A7R/A7S push just proves how difficult it is to bet against an established ecosystem. Both A7R and A7S are wonderful, ultra innovative cameras, but the small selection of lenses makes their proposition difficult to accept in may cases.