I think this title is in need of a little context. Back in 2009, I was introduced to the wonderful world of hybrid digital photography and filmmaking by the Canon 5D MkII. Over the next couple of years I built up my Canon system to the point where I didn’t enjoy carrying it. Many airlines seem to feel the same way when I tried to get it in cabin baggage. My solution was to change to Micro Four Thirds. I soon had a system that was as comprehensive as my Canon one but only half the bulk and weight. This was Nimbleosity v1.0. It seemed that I was all sorted but then along came Sony...

I had a big trip with New Zealand in 2014 planned with my grown up kids. This meant I could take a bit more gear. I was taking a Lumix GH4 as my main camera but persuaded myself that the A7S would be good for some low light activities I had planned. It wasn’t going to add much bulk as I only had the kit lens and a couple of old Zuiko primes to fit it. My daughter took charge of it for stills duties and I used it occasionallyfor video when the sun went down. Now the GH4 has many areas were it is a better camera than the A7S but there was just something about those full frame images that was undeniable. Hopefully you can see it in this little film I made on the A7S.

When (after what seemed about 5 minutes) Sony announced their MkII A7 series bodies, the A7Rii stood out for me. Here was a camera that seemed to combine the best features from my old 5D, Lumix and Olympus cameras while doubling resolution yet still in a compact body. I waited another 5 minutes to see if Sony brought out a Mark iii but they must have been on lunch break so I tool the plunge. It’s not a cheap camera and I had to trade-in so much gear I had to literally use a trolley to get it from the car park to the shop. Now some of you may already may all ready be thinking “Hold on a minute Andrew, haven’t you forgotten something quite important”. The truth is that, though the A7Rii has eaten a few less pies than the Canon 5D, there is still the small matter of physics, light and sensor size. Overall the body is not the biggest contributor to your backache or check-in arguments. How am I going to avoid being back where I started pre-nimble?

My Nimbleosity v2.0 plan is simple - it’s called Take Less Stuff. Those of you who know me will be sniggering at the moment because I am an Arch-packrat and have a Masters in Just-in-case. I am going to try and rely on the 2 P’s: pixels and percentage. If that fails I may try hypnotherapy. Playing percentage is a sporting term meaning to stick to the simpler shot until you have a high probability the more difficult shot will win the point. I have often carried 10Kg of gear around all day and only used 3Kg of it. So, niche gear stays at home unless niche is the main point of the shoot. Compared to anything I have used in recent years, the A7Rii has a prodigious number of pixels. This means I can afford to throw a few away without going backwards on image quality. If I use APS-C mode or crop images 1.5X I still have as many pixels as a Canon 7D or 1DX. Even going up to 2x I still have a similar pixel count to the A7S or LX100. This means that any lens I take has an effective doubling in range.

Many people who shoot 4K video do so with no expectation of outputting in more than HD. They do this with a view to having the same option to crop in without losing image quality. Having internal 4K is a big advantage for the A7Rii over the A7S, but the A7Rii has an advantage over the GH4 too. This is a Sony technology called Clear Image. This is separate to the APS-C/Super 35 mode in video (which is the one recommended by Sony for best video quality) that already gives the option of a 1.5x crop. Clear Image is a digital teleconverter and on most cameras those should not be touched with a very long barge pole. However, in this case, Sony is doing some special magic behind the scenes which results in a very useable picture at a preset 1.4x or 2x crop. Clear Image works in 4K in both FF or APC mode, so you effectively have a choice of 1.4, 2 or 3x magnification. That’s even before you do any cropping in post.

Frame grab from 4K video with Clear Image off in Full Frame mode

Frame grab from the same spot but with Clear Image set to 2x and APS-C mode on giving effective 3X magnification

That’s a lot numbers to take in so lets think about it in lens terms. The Sony Zeiss 24-70mm F4 is premium midrange option in the Sony FE mount line up. Its compact and weighs in at a very reasonable 426g - only slightly more than my MFT equivalent. Without sacrificing resolution this is equivalent to a 24-135mm F4 on the A7s. The equivalent 12-35mm f2.8 MFT lens I owned was a faster lens but the A7rii is more than a stop better than the GH4 in low light and the depth of field advantage of FF over MFT is 2 stops. I can use crop mode and extend the range to 105mm and still have more resolution than the GH4. For 4K video, the 24-70 turns into a 24-210mm f4 by using different combinations in Clear Image. That’s enough to deal with most situations. Sony do have an actual 24-240 f3.5-6.3 in the line-up. I did consider this, especially after Trey Ratcliffe recommended it, but its bigger and bulkier and slower than f4 after 35mm. It’s that percentage thing again. This lens will be on the camera 90% of the time and I need it to work well for me in that main 24-70 range.

If I am travelling light, then then I can fit another 3/4 compact lenses in my small bag. These would be primes or a wider zoom. I have a bigger messenger bag or backpack which can swallow my Canon 70-200mm f4 if I need to go longer. Even then, I should still be well within what my ageing body will withstand never mind airline limits.

I am still experimenting with my new gear but if you want a great review of the Sony A7Rii then I recommend Cameralabs or Mirrorlessons. On nimble photography in general, The Digital Story is also a great resource. I have posted a few first pictures with the A7Rii in this gallery.