Sony A7 vs. A7II – sensor stabilizer test from Nino Leitner on Vimeo.
Note: The A7II is in Stock at [shoplink 32184 ebay]BestBuy (Click here)[/shoplink].
There is a new Sony A7 vs. A7II – comparison & stabilizer test at Cinema5D (Click here). And I hope they are right when they write this:
I think we can expect an A7r Mark II and A7s Mark II at some point in 2015, if Sony keeps up with the rapid succesion of recent camera introductions.
And here is also a new Sony A7II 3 Axis IS with Nikon 500mm f/4P and Canon FD200mm f/2.8 by Patrick Murphy-Racey:
USA/Canada A7II links:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore and Sony Store Canada.
Sony Alpha a7II with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore.
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto.
EU A7II links:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for 1.799 Euro at Sony Germany, Sony UK, Jessops UK, Sony France, Sony Italy, Sony Spain, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Netherland, Sony Belgium, Sony Portugal, Sony Sweden, Sony Finland, Sony Norway.
Sony Alpha a7II with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for 2.099 Euro at Amazon Germany, Wex UK, Jessops UK, Verkkokauppa.
Asian/Australia A7II link:
Sony A7II at Sony Store Australia, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
0 Responses
I’m sorry to say this, but the A7ii IBIS only appears to provide a minor improvement.
I’m not overly impressed, but I guess IBIS is better than nothing, but not really worth upgrading for.
J
I suppose you realize that this is about 3-axis IBIS, not the full 5-axis. I for one, am blown away at how good and professional the video footage looks using Sony or Zeiss lenses with the A7II 5-axis IBIS.
You are blown away by that slightly overexposed slightly not so sharp looking image? Ok.
It does show that IBIS works but it also shows me video on the A7II is still not as great as on the A7S. What is interesting is the fact sony has these great systems, now lets get them into a pro body with all the great video options the A7S has.
I am blown away by the fact that the footage looks like the camera was put in a steadicam rig. I value this much more than other, subjective and tweak-able factors.
Ah ok, yes I was also pleasantly surprised by that, it looks very good and with some added post stabilising you can get some really nice end results. Will have to wait and see what the actual video output form the A7II is, havenot seen anything that is much better then the video from the A7. If I had seen some, I would have ditched my a6000 and got a A7II.
As written above already, I regularly use the 135/1.8 wide open now at 1/16 (maximum) without problems. As it gives distant information the 5″axis”-IBIS is used. However using the 70-200 (Nikon) at 135 I need to be between around 1/50 to get really sharp shots. The 5- vs. 3-“axis” IBIS makes really a difference.
So you complain about a minor *improvement* in image quality here and scream like hell about the compressed RAW that makes *no difference* to any of you. Brilliance abounds at the level of ignorance from you guys. What do you want, a happy ending after every shutter actuation.
I agree with J, but I don’t think this test is very useful. The sort of instability shown here is not where the system shines. Indeed, I don’t think either camera footage is acceptable in that regard.
The IBIS in Sony is bad, lots of jittery and shaking even at so heavy lens and monopod. While Olympus gives much better results with equivalent angle of view and handheld. The problem with Olympus IBIS is that it is hard to get angle of view moving as the IBIS wants to lock the view to one position and when subjects starts moving the camera movement needs to be made in steady pace and not react to its resistance to move view as otherwise it will catch up to faster movement.
With 500mm, it is obvious fail. And not so great with 200mm. Yeah, it is not Olympus…
I regularly use the 135/1.8 wide open now at 1/16 (maximum) without problems. As it gives distant information the 5″axis”-IBIS is used. However using the 70-200 (Nikon) at 135 I need to be between around 1/50 to get really sharp shots.
Still better than no stabilisation. And if Olympus brings a FF camera that stabilizes better we can make a comparison…
Olympus already stabilize 64Mpix equivalent FF sensor, the OM-D line IBIS needs to be far more accurate and sensitive to tiny movements as the pixel pitch is so high. But of course the movement amounts needs to be relative as large too.
Olympus just wins.
Although the video footage is useful…and seems to work pretty well with video…You really see the effectiveness of the IBIS in still images where camera shake/movement is evident. For example on my Sony FE 35 2.8 i would normal try and keep around 1/30 sec shutter. With the A7II I can happily be at an 1/8 sec and if needed can squeeze 1/4 sec with about 50% pin sharps (I am pretty picky about my sharps)…
Lets hope for an improvement on the A9. It may be a real DSLR killer if Sony succeeds (pro style body, IBIS, fast AF, 6 FPS, high DR, better video quality, uncompressed raw etc.).
Will also need proper lenses like 24-70 f/2.8 for starters
NONSENCE, you never shoot that Nikkor 24-70 wide-open!
@ duott: Is that Nikkor sharp enough wide-open for the most excellent D810’s stunning un-compressed RAW file (we think not, you guys are absolutely friggin brilliant) NOT.
It won’t kill anything until Sony have a native FE lens range to rival Canon or Nikon. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Sony kit, but for a lot of things I still reach for my Nikon.
If your an independent pro you’re running: Two bodies, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 and a fast 50.
What exactly are we missing here?
A lot. But yuo don´t worry, have fun with our toy.
What extra would you like? I’ll put in an official Sony request for your next camera-club outing…..
Thought so, you don’t even know what you need because you’re producing nothing but hot-air!
And you know exactly what every independent pro is shooting how? A lot of pros have very specific needs, not met by a limited lens selection.
Yep, you RENT whatever you don’t own, AND the BEAUTY of SONY is I CAN RENT THE CANON 17 TSE if and when I need a PROPER CORRECTED WIDE.
Get a friggin clue before you post will you!
Do you shout at your clients too? Just wondering.
ONLY THE ONES A.D.D……….
New sensible mount… Sigh, that is going to stay forever, crippling E Mount from the cradle.
Cinema5D says A7ii has A6000’s AF system. Why don’t we all open a camera review site of our own? This is what it takes…
Make a camera and support a photographer that encourages purchasing non Sony lenses.
I fail to see the profit in that business model.
Make a camera and sell it to all current Nikon, Canon and Olympus owners without any loss to their lens investments. That does look like a very profitable business model.
Yes & after they are happy with the Sony camera body, they will slowly start to purchase Sony lenses as well to get the added benefits. That’s how I started out. I bought my first Sony body (A7r) and intended to use my Nikon glass, which I still do, but have since purchased 3 more Sony bodies & most of the available lenses. My Nikon glass is going to be on the market very soon. All that took place in the space of 18 months.
No interest in a D810 or D750 huh? Why not hold on to that Nikon glass and pair it will one of those? Af is great, battery is great- IQ is fantastic. I’m not sure I get why Nikon users would switch over if they already have glass. I get the A7 as a great secondary system, but I fail to see it for primary use.
Well I have been flip-flopping on the decision to sell or not, for the last few months. The D810 is a fantastic camera, but I sold the D800E because I didn’t want to pack the weight around any more. I looked at the D750, but at the same time the A7II was announced and I ordered it instead. I decided to sell about half the Nikon glass and just keep my 5 best lenses (24-1.4, 85-1.4, 16-35, 24-70 & 70-200) in case I change my mind. Everything else is going. With the A9 coming & the way Sony has been innovating, I just don’t see another Nikon body in my future, unless they pull off some new kind of sorcery, that turns out to be a must have. The main issue is size & weight. Packing a D800 with 2 or 3 lenses just wasn’t fun anymore, and any kind of air travel became a real hassle.
Smart analysis.
+1
Using the 1.8G lenses (+ 18-35G) with a D610 for travel or even D810 is no problem at all. I have the A7ii, too, but is still not where the Nikons are in most aspects despite weight and size. It’s for cases I don’t care about battery life and portraits with the 135/1.8. I find the D810 a joy to use. I’m curious to see what Sony brings out next, however. But I personally would wish for s.th. larger. The A7ii is pretty small and not as comfortable to use (more space for better button placement). For landscapes, however, an A7r is totally sufficient, in that case I would only use one camera system.
You’ll miss the OVF for speed. You won’t like the start-up times with the Sony. You will grow to love the EVF and reviewing images in the VF rather than the LCD (where necessary). You’ll love the Sony video functionality. You’ll love the Sony system, stills, video & audio and all the cool system accessories for the MI shoe. You’ll soon figure-out the Sony glass is peaches. You won’t miss the volume of kit you’ve been lugging in that Nikon pack.
And most of all, with a bag the size of an ONA back-pack you’ll be amazed that you can fit an A7R & S all the FE glass, all the audio kit including XLR gear, radio mics, batteries etc.
In this little pack you’ve got a complete multi-media rig. That is friggin cool compared to just a few short years ago!
Sony lenses are not smaller, unless they are slower. But you can buy slow lenses from proper manufacturers, too. Try a quick google search, you may learn something and save some money.
It the sensor size that dictates the image circle required, not the camera design. The physical volume of two DSLR’s compared to two mirrorless a7’s? It a huge difference. Plus, today we’re shooting MULTIMEDIA, that’s video AND audio as well as stills. Factor in the EVF, factor out a Z-Finder and rig for the DSLR in order to shoot video. Factor in the Sony XLR adaptor as apposed to the separate audio rig needed for your DSLR. Following along OK? Good, its not about LENS SIZE, its about SYSTEM SIZE. Photo 101 again!
Now, have YOU learnt anything today. The next lesson will be a billable one!
Imbecile. Learn about mounts and optics, particularly about flawed mounts like the E.
Please enlighten us Nikon-Sensei…….. we await your wisdom!
You’ll be waiting a while he’s off playing video games right now.
I was out humping yer mum. She says, you kids should study photography before wasting yer mum’s money.
Exactly my experience as well, although I do use the xlr adapter with wire which still needs a mounting system. But very happy to be rid of the z-finder. The one drawback I did find was: the 70-200 is not great for manual focusing when shooting video. If you move slow it does not respond, you can’t do a focus pull just like that because it is busy being smart.
But the fact I got a complete set in smallest bag, the one I got for my eosM still makes me laugh.
I had the old XLR, mounting it was a PITA, especially getting a QR plate on there too. I sold it and got the new one, its much better sitting in the MI shoe. Sometimes miss the Canon for stills, never for video and never for carrying. The whole Sony kit is very Q-cool.
Yes getting a plate and something like a flash handle for the XLR is not a good way to go. I still like the fact I can mount the XLR adapter anywhere, but yes you do need some sort of cage and annoyingly you can’t get a cage that fits the grip right now. The grip is nice I really like the way they kill one battery first then go to the next. Also like the extra support it gives. The 5DIII was a killer photo camera, but I’m not sure I would get a canon again, probably go Nikon if it was for stills.
The D810 appears to offer it all if you are stills centric. Video looks pretty good too. She’s just BIG. I’d miss the Zony 24-70 OSS for video. Good to see Nikon have that 16-35-IS now though.
Video has been the biggest part of my business for 28 years now, with the FS7 on the way I guess the choice has been made, for now anyway. Maybe next year or 2017 or whatever, to be honest I’m having more fun doing extreme sports and have to think about retiring in 10 years hah so.. don’t want to end up with a lot of really nice old tech, unless it’s my xc90 V8 😛
Was where you are a while back. My advice is hang in to the nikon while you give the Sony a whirl. I did and it made the switch back a lot easier. Sometimes you have to give up what you’ve got to appreciate it.
My advice to you too, don’t waste your time here, we’re all losers – or are we? Maybe you know better and that’s why you keep hanging around!
Lest we forget Imaging Resource did some tests and found some issues!
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/12/24/nikon-d750-flare-problems-heres-why-and-what-to-do-about-them-its-not-lens
I’m going to build up a few lenses with the A7, but to me I can’t see it as my primary. UWA, 35mm and a 50 and I’m all set with that. As far as the bigger faster glass I’ll give Sony the A99II. If it fails to deliver…or doesn’t come…I’ll run two systems and switch all my zeiss over to Nikon.
Nikon are a good company, we know this. Problem they have right now is poor management, bad customer policy. If you’re a Nikon Pro in the UK, its easier to get loaner kit from Canon than your own guys. BAD MOJO!
I’m of the same thinking. Sony’s mirrorless systems as they are now are great, bur they don’t fit every need. I suspect that’ll change in the near future, though, as they release DSLR-ish e-mount bodies and come out with some fast zooms, etc. I think that will happen.
Sony have had issues too… remember the light leak problem, or the shutter shake issue?
Personally, I’ve had no issues with either my Nikon or Sony kit. Only an idiot would expect there isn’t going to be any lemons, from any manufacturer.
As pointed out on the other thread. There are usability issues and reliability issues. An A/F sensor that flares-out under ONLY certain conditions, but conditions found on EVERY POTENTIAL ASSIGNMENT, well this will become a reliability issue, as it WILL OCCUR WHEN LEAST CONVENIENT. This is photo 101 stuff dude!
Perhaps you should read the last sentence of my post again. Geez.
Lemmon is the A/F sensor-flare. You are correct!
The Sony “light-leak” well, my 5D3 will do that too, that’s an issue of basic camera design and NOT THE SAME. THINK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE RATHER THAN TRYING TO REENFORCE YOUR FLAWED OPINION.
A better comparison would be the 5D3’s top LCD back-light, it could cause flare the sensor during long exposures. Canon’s fix was to recall the affected 5D3’s (when required by the customer) and repair free of charge via CPS. The other light-leak points mentioned are endemic of every manufacturer, all they require a simple day-light test with a 10 stop ND to prove.
YES Cedders……. That’s a perfect analogy, I just wished these guys understood the real issues instead they choose to recycle crap they’ve read on some crappy “experts” blog.
Are you unwilling to accept the facts because you wish to be correct OR are you unable to gasp this stuff? If its the latter I’ll genuinely try to help you here!
You seem to be the only one struggling to understand here.
Go for walk, maybe take a few photos. You’ll feel better.
Why so many clueless brits on here toting nikon?
Toting Nikon AND Sony. Keep up.
Looser look you picture Sony make better.
I think it might be past your bedtime.
Verbal gymnastics boring we find you.
So send it back and get one without the defect. As I recall, every Sony has shutter shake. Not every d750 has this af sensor problem.
Yep, send it back, roll the dice. Winner! Shutter-shake, yes that’s evident in ALL cameras……… WTF. You really need to get a little bit more time in the drivers-seat with the A7R, watching top-gear will only get you so far in life.
New 810 user and astounded by how great AF is on the 810 with the 70 – 200 and with the 1.4TC. I’ve wasted a lot of time (and what could have been good shots) using the A7r and the Sony lenses.
Tony Northrup did a review and was saying how suprised they were with the accuracy on that thing. He was tracking subjects moving toward him and said repeatedly that he got a hit rate around 83% all in focus. That’s a big number to me. Supposedly the battery life is around 1200 shots, but even if it isn’t…let’s say 1k…that’s just plain insane. I hear the shutter is seriously improved. Obviously, I’ve been looking over the fence. An A9 might entice me so I’m waiting it out right now.
Can only second that. I find the D810 incredible in all respects (with the exception of weight). AF is very reliable, accurate and fast. But I like the A7ii, too. Cameras for totally different purposes.
So why are you waisting your time with the Sony losers you friggin genious?
It’s funny to poke losers. By the way, “loser” is spelt with one “o”.
“genious” coming from the idiot that can’t even spell ‘loser’ correctly in his troll name.
You will regret it. Nikon lenses are better than the Sony except for the FE55. Zeiss ZF2 lenses are the best in the world. They lose a lot on an A7r vs a D810.
NOPE. Wrong on both counts, I’ll take anything Fuji make over your Nikkor’s or ZF2’s.
Fuji’s latest optical developments are nothing short of spectacular.
Yes, Hasselblad chose Fuji over Zeiss for their H and X series cameras.
You’re stupid. My ZF2s include the Apo Sonnar 135, the Otus 55 and 85, the Distagon 21. Nothing Fuji makes is even in the same neighborhood.
You cannot shoot that OTIS for crap, nothing to show for it, not even an image your willing to post here to refute my idiot reply.
Hasselblad chose Fuji over Zeiss for their H and X series cameras. You know better than Hasselblad’s whole optical team now.
Hasselblad chose Fuji over Zeiss for their H and X series cameras. You know better than the Hasselblad’s whole optical team now, WOW!
They cannot make cameras, but they can try selling the sensor (they do).
Who would put an A7II on a Nikon 500mm? If you can afford that type of lens than you can afford the right body to go along with it. Size is of no advantage with such a lens. Battery life is though. If I’m sitting out in the woods, doing a major event- give me the OVF. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should. The whole adapting any lens thing gets old really quick.
You mean those “right bodies” without image stabilization and fast autofocus system for a MF lens? Without a tripod this lens is almost unusable on a DSLR and manual focus without assists in your OVF is hardly possible.
> what’s the point of a Nikon body for this lens? I only see disadvantages.
Of course!
When they released this lens 25 years ago it was basically unusable.
Basically, hundred years of reflex camera history is totally pointless, because it was not possible to get a sharp shot before mirrorless came along.
[ extensive laughing ]
As for the “right cameras”, that you’ve asked about:
1) SLRs will get focus confirmation on this lens. I admit, it isn’t as easy to use as focus peaking, but it works quite well.
2) Some people prefer OVF. You might not understand this, but it is a fact.
3) Some people prefer to carry a bigger camera, but change batteries 2-3 times less often. Again, you are allowed not to understand this.
4) No mirrorless camera available today handles like a modern SLR. And SLR’s ergonomics evolved to be comfortable with heavy, long lenses – like this 500/4. Sony A7 is not even close (even with the grip, which helps a lot). Available rumors suggest Sony A9 might be a A99 without a mirror. We’ll see.
5) A7 is not weather sealed, so not the best choice e.g. for wildlife (A9 will be outdoor-friendly).
6) This lens weights “only” 3kg which means it is possible to support it for short periods with just the right hand – via a properly sized, strong DSLR (and use the left one to change a filter, drive away a bee or scratch your butt – whatever). If you do that with an A7, it will explode (sooner or later). Again, A9 is supposed to be stronger and bigger.
To sum up, this is a very easy problem. Until now mirrorless have been designed to be small – easy to carry in a bag, not easy to hold in hand. This is a marketing issue we’re all aware of.
At some point (maybe with the A9, for sure with cameras from Canon/Nikon) mirrorless will start to look like DSLRs. This is what many people (including me) are waiting for.
To be honest I thought this for a long time: I could never get a mirrorless simply because it would eat the battery when doing any nature shooting. Recently did a 8 hour shoot shot almost 4000 pics raw/jpg on just two batteries using the a6000 with wifi and pre-AF on. Now the main reason these days not to take a a6000 into the woods would be that bloody shutter! Then again, I switched to the sony e-mount system for the video, if I was doing photo 90% of the time I would definitely have kept the 5DIII.
Just add a couple extra batteries to your man bag or purse and you’ll be good to go Nerdo.
You should really read a comment first before trying to be clever “Recently did a 8 hour shoot shot almost 4000 pics raw/jpg on just two batteries using the a6000 with wifi and pre-AF on.”
Not sure why you think nerdo is complaining here? I think 4000 clicks on two batteries is impressive.
Sounds too good to be true. I don’t get this using my DSLRs (around 1200 shots) and can’t believe it. I have an A7ii (before OMD,XT1) and NO mirrorless ever came close to the DSLRs in battery life, esp. with wifi and pre-AF on. Could be if you took the photo and immediately switch off the camera, but even then, 2000 pics in 4 hours on a battery? I don’t know.
You are correct, I switch the camera off after taking the pictures and yes it is a crazy number, but I shot mostly sequences of 12+ pictures.
GH4 will all day, try that with your DSLR in live-view mode. Never say never HF.
That’s funny.
Perhaps the a6000 is more efficient? All we can do is a little test.
He wouldn’t get that point, he’s too busy making excuses for his ignorance!
Just use a external Powerbank instead internal battery, fix on tripod. No problem at all then.
Well my point was pretty much that power has never been an issue after switching to e-mount.
Good practical review Patrick.
“Sony Artisan Associate” aka Sony Pimp. Promoting inferior products and supported by paid for by Sony blog thugs that attack anyone that mentions the flaws with Sony products and totally absent post sale support. e.g. Sony shutter shock – no firmware update to address the A7r shutter issue. Also the lousy lossy Sony compressed files. Massive differences between Sony’s best file and Nikon’s files.
Anton Berlin, Nikon Pimp.
Nikon Sunset vs Sony Sunset:
You’re right Anton, there is a massive difference.
Only issue is that HDRish look is just as bad as that Nikon sunset.
hah yes, that hdr is not exactly good advertising, right now I’m not sure if I would buy a A7R or a 810. Can only hope the A9 will bring the A7S dynamic range, ibis, weather sealing and unfuqt raw. I’ll give sony another year, can always go back to Nikon or Canon although I’m not a big fan of the canons as photo cameras. Only switched to Canon for the video.
D810, lovely camera, video looks good from what I’ve seen, better than the A7R.
If you want 36MP and great video the A7R is definitely not the camera to buy, I tried it and the video was about as bad as the Canon 5DII. The A7R works great for some things but on the whole I see it as a fun experiment 🙂
They are both bad, with the difference, you can get that Nikon fixed for free. Unless we are dealing with the usual paid trolls here, trying to fight for their mediocre employer…
You’re right about the trolls. I’d like to see Sony fix their issues and I’d gladly come back. The trolls just want to dedicate their energy into attacking others. If Sony put half the work into responding to issues instead of paying for childish trolls we’d probably have a fix by now. But the reality is everyday I spend with the D810 I really wonder how I was able to deceive myself for so long. There really is a huge difference between a pro camera and one that wants to be but isn’t. I’ll be putting up some comps in the next few weeks to demonstrate the differences.
You’re starting to sound like a broken record Anton, same old troll talking points that have been debunked several times. Get a life or at least come up with something original, short of that just STFU.
Star Trek Federation University?
I admit the dude has to learn a few things, not sure a fictional academy will work?!?
Sour-grapes, no one call from Sony and ask you to play? If I may politely make a suggestion, why not run along and do us all a solid and piss-off. Good boy!
Send us an unboxing video of your D810, we’re so bloody thrilled for your petal.
HULK wonder how deep you have to take d-ck of Sony local boss to get
associate. HULK still astonished at Sony feggtry…sad sad thing for
2015
HULK advise: Repent or die lensless!
Annoying long video with too much boring time. who wants to see him put on the lens?