Toby Gelson is Wrong About A7R II

There’s an economic benefit on YouTube to posting controversial opinions about new products. This is especially the case in photography where pundits debate platforms and whether or not X camera is good for capturing Y type of subject.

Toby Gelson’s video from 2015 popped this weekend in a now-epic Sony Shooters group on Facebook. Titled “Sony a7R II – Not Recommended for Wedding Photography” Toby goes over reasons why the a7R II isn’t a good fit for weddings.

I’ll note that I don’t shoot weddings, but do write a weekly blog for Digital Photo magazine about finding a system you love and have 3 different systems in now. They all shoot exceptionally well, each with strengths and weakness.

Also, don’t know if YouTubers ever call each other out, like rappers and diss tracks, but here I go…

Toby Gelson is wrong about the A7R II.

Here’s why:

  1. Many photographers are currently using the camera professionally —Sony hit the number two spot in full-frame cameras last quarter for a reason. So something can’t be not ready for weddings if it’s being used at weddings. When he recorded this video, the camera was new and had yet to be proven, but…
  2. There are people shooting weddings with Phase One cameras and Hasselblads, and they’re much slower. I don’t recall someone saying that the PhaseOne can’t be used for a wedding because it’s too slo.w
  3. There are people shooting with things like the Nikon D810 and they operates at the same speed as the a7R II.
  4. You don’t have to rush to be a wedding photographer. Lots happens but knowing what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen is more important than speed.

If you can believe it, photogs shoot weddings with Leicas too, and whatever else since the dawn of the camera.

In fact, I shot a wedding with an RX1R II. This one time in Vegas at a unique Sony event where an actual wedding was part of a camera test. It’s not fast at all, yet I have hundreds of amazing photos from it.

I used the website mulpix, which allows users to search multiple keywords and this page is the result for searching for “wedding” and “a7rII”

So if you enjoy spending your weekend in comment threads arguing, g’head.

I’d just get out and shoot with whatever you please and despite what a YouTuber incorrectly claims.

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