Beginner question?

[dwl47630]

Would the Sony a7iii or the a9 be ok to learn with?

 

[avalon27]

I would say a guarded yes depending on your needs. If you are a birding/wildlife shooter I might suggest A9 - otherwise I think A7III is a user friendly good all rounder as well as probably costing less. Others may disagree of course.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

A steep learning curve on any advanced camera, but the auto mode on either will give you some good and encouraging results from the outset, and then you can learn from there on. I'd say aim at the RIII or better still the RIV (if your considering the A9 the price is similar) for the best all round performance, the A9 is really a bit of birding/sports specialist camera.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I think, with the amount of youtube tutorials out there, the A7III is probably going to be fairly easy to get acquainted with. It took me a few months of practice to know my a6000 fairly well, then the transition to a6400 was easy (same buttons) but I think the A7III has a similar menu layout so I doubt I would have a problem picking that up now. My point is, if this is your first Sony, it might be intimidating at first, but you'll get used to the design language as you use it.

 

[garuda]

I like Kev's suggestion. If you have the funds, I'd go heavy duty from the start to save expenses of repeartedly trading up later... and later.... and again later --- with the embers of repeated price depreciation glowing in the back of my mind. And as Kev pointed out, there's that "AUTO" mode for beginners. Nearly fool-proof. And with the a7R iv, you can dial AUTO and set a 2-second delay, thrown the camera up in the air, and upon catching it coming down you recognize a quite beautiful shot. Well... maybe that's exaggerating a little, but maybe not. I agree as Kev said, the Riv in best buy in the long run if you have the funds and think you'll stay with photography. And with the a1 on the scene, you may find a good price for a like-new, used R4.