We have four new A7II reviews:
Engadget writes:
All in all, Sony took everything it learned from the launch of the original A7 and made it better. Yes, the A7 II is heavier and, yes, it is missing attributes, like 4K video. However, those compromises (if you can call them that) mean the new camera starts at $1,700 for the body only, making it relatively accessible to prosumers. And make no mistake: It’s worth every penny.
Admiringlight writes:
The Sony A7 II is the most enjoyable Sony camera I’ve ever shot with, and the excellent image quality along with great ergonomics and usability make the A7 II one of the best, if not the best, mirrorless cameras on the market. The $1,699 pricetag might be at the upper end of the range of the mirrorless spectrum (with only its sister cameras the A7r and A7s coming in higher), but given what you receive, it’s really an attractive price with excellent bang for the buck. It’s a camera that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Jay writes:
The Sony A7 II delivers in my opinion and besides the few nit-picks I pointed out in the video review, it’s fantastic. The firmware update addressed the only real issue with the camera and now the IBIS works flawlessly with my favorite old school lenses!
Mike On The Street writes:
I’ve been selling all my Canon gear and I’m not missing it for a second. And I suspect my Fuji X100 will be collecting dust as well. The Sony A7II is an absolutely brilliant camera for street photography and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s definitely the best interchangeable lens camera I’ve ever used.
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.
A7II Gariz case:
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104 Responses
Engadget and the verge are the last places to go for a camera review. It might be completely true what they say in this case, but usually they talk a lot of buIIshit when it comes to camera’s. Personally I think the A7II is overpriced, but that’s me 🙂
I agree with your thinking here (re: MILC reviews on tech sites & A7II pricing). Sony needs to build up the lens system to be more credible. And, they need to catch up with others in high ISO (D750, 6D). As for me, I’ve just ordered a Fujifilm X-A1 (new) for $229 with 35mm and 50mm equivalent f/1.4 autofocus lenses (both of which are rated excellent, reasonably small & inexpensive). Have been long looking at A7xx. Didn’t get convinced regarding pricing, lens choices, high ISO. Already have a 6D (+24-70 f/2.8 and f/4 IS) when I don’t mind carrying a big camera around.
Nice looking Fuji, I guess I meed a camera that can do great video, which is why I end up with Sony. Personally I don’t care what brand it is as long as it gives me the features and quality I want in a usable package. for some reason I think the A7II should be a $1200 camera and the lenses should be half price, not just because the range is too limited but the whole premium idea is nice but only works for a mature product line.
Was never a big fan of the 6D but that was because of the video, loved my 5DIII but I did get tired of carrying all that heavy gear around. I guess after 35 years of back breaking shoulder ripping camera’s I love the light weight and decent performance, especially of the a6000. In the end the actual quality of the shot is up to the photographer, I have managed for a long time with some really unsophisticated gear so all our camera problems these days are really luxury problems 🙂
Yeah, it’s all for the fun of it 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, I love the pixel quality of A7xx. Beats Fuji hands down in that department. Re: movies, I’m not too much of a movie person, but I can see where you’re coming from. Also, I think cameras are “for rent”, not for sale. With so many excellent choices around, who knows what each of us might do in the next year or two?
high iso ? The A7s Is the best camera for that. I dont understand your point of view.
bingo.. too many trolls here
Not sure if I like your tone here, but at least you can see the basis of comparison from the link above.
Good question. I don’t trust Dxomark. I trust what I see with my own eyes. If you look at A7, A7II, 6D, D750 with the same exposure, you’ll find that at very high ISOs (6400, 12800 etc) A7 is the noisiest of the group in the shadows. Perhaps one stop noisier than 6D & D750.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/image-comparison/fullscreen?attr18=lowlight&attr13_0=sony_a7&attr13_1=sony_a7_ii&attr13_2=canon_eos6d&attr13_3=nikon_d750&attr15_0=raw&attr15_1=raw&attr15_2=raw&attr15_3=raw&attr16_0=12800&attr16_1=12800&attr16_2=12800&attr16_3=12800&normalization=print&widget=11&x=0.0012024048096191213&y=0.036139635771334604
A7s is too expensive and too low resolution. I’m personally not interested in a 12.2 mp camera in 2015 for near $2000.
The A7S is the only full-frame camera I’ll tolerate during a church service for stills and it makes heavenly video of my children.
For me even the D810 is slightly less noisier than the a7, r and also a7II…
Nevertheless the sony a7 series is really very tempting for me just wann wait on more infos about the new lesn roadmap and which further FLs are coming and what cameras too if Sony A7sII, A7r II with EFC and IBIS better PDAF and esp,. what the sony a9 will offering….hopefully tech state of the art 3500 us dollars but with dual sd slots uhs II, 4k internal recording, new/best hybrid pdaf, EFC, IBIS, fully silent electronical shutter like a7s, different cropmodes, better evf with split screen magnifier like the fuji xt1, more durable/better battery etc…
would be the final ko punch for canikon 😉
Haha, Canikon fanboy, please learn someting before you post. Big sensor, low Mpix will give you outstanding low light performance. Please reado your ground physics course again…lol
ah well movies, it’s my business so I guess that takes priority. Photography is also part of it but lesser so these days.
Rent: pretty true, back in the day with the mechanical camera’s you bought them for life but now, changing bodies / systems it is almost like changing emulsion. “yeah man I’m going ilford for sure, everything is now hp5” Perhaps I also switch to keep things interesting hah who knows.
“I think the A7II should be a $1200 camera and the lenses should be half price”. Well if your as old as you look in your avatar, I can understand that statement, but I think that it is inflation that you need to come to grips with, not Sony’s pricing. I remember when I was young, you could go to Las Vegas and have the company of a hooker all night for $100, but nowadays that will cost you upwards of $1000. The mighty dollar is being constantly diluted. The feds print money just slow enough that they hope you won’t notice your buying power disappearing. Personally I think that Sony’s pricing on their A7 series is very competative. The zeiss lenses are well priced and the quality is hard to beat. If it wasn’t, we would all be on some other forum complaining about about the price of brand X (whatever we had purchased lately), instead of hanging over here in the SAR website.
Ahyes, the Hooker / lens table, I forgot about that?!? Or perhaps I am comparing them with the lenses I had on my 5DIII? Naah that would be way to rational for this comment section! At 728 euro, the 55 F1.8 is a good deal (digital rev price) but it is still 999 euro at my local dealer. The zooms are priced okay, got both the 24-70 and 70-200, but some of the other glass, to make it as mainstream, as far as I can tell this is what the bodies are target at, prices should come down. They lack too many pieces of the puzzle to be pro or premium, so yes I think they are overpriced no matter what you pay for your hookers. I’m not buying any sony / zeiss lenses until they come down to the price point i’m willing to pay for them. got enough nikon glas to work with anyway. Besides I’m not totally convinced this will be my system of the future anyway. Only got into the A7S because it is a nice match with the FS7. as for the Zeiss Zeiss lenses: sure, they are worth the money. but they offer clever solutions like click / de-click aperture rings for the money and perfect mechanics. the lens I like most right now is the 28-135G and I think the price is really good, coming from $20K broadcast lenses and all that.
Yes the 28-135mm is on my list. Not available in Asia yet. Is it on sale in Europe yet? So far I have picked up every FE lens as they have been released. I suppose if you are in Europe, you are getting nailed some pretty heavy taxes on your gear as well. In Thailand the prices are about the same as the U.S. and sometimes slightly less.
Got to test one during a sony day at my broadcast dealer, ordered one with the FS7 as kit lens I guess so waiting. Called the dealer yesterday, might have to wait until april for the full set to arrive. The 55 is really nice, but I don’t need it, so if it comes down in price: for 725 I’ll buy it, after VAT and tax deduction it wil cost me around 450 euro. This way I can spend money on travel and save some for retiring young & reasonably unbroken 🙂
Sony isn’t an american company. America isn’t the world
Not as far as he’s concerned, living in his right wing bubble. He’s typical of the know nothing anti-science religious fat a$$ american demagogues that infest what was the United States.
Another delusional right winger, go listen to your hero Rush Commie Limbaugh.
Sure, we should all listen to Nerdo’s reviews and opinions. He got so much more credibility all over the years under the Internet trolls community 🙂
This is true, my website and camera reviews are legendary! But I closed it because, too many trolls.
THIS ALL IS CALLED M A R K E T I N G…okay… nobody out there would say anything to
anything if not biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig roles of Dollarnotes are pushed deeep in the brown hole beteween the blog/marketing marksmann who has to tell us how goooooooooooooooooooooood all is.. and so you geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
some percent of users who ( i donot knwo waht i must do, i must call my doctor..oh first
i must ask on facebuuk if it is good..do i get likis..??)
I am A Sony user but all this makes this: bought a Samsung Nx-1..okay.
SONY will never joke me again..till the POWER of 7000,-$ Fs-7 is realy in a 1000 $ cam.
this all is fine.and works with photografing it. b ut this did also work with 5 year old Sony/nikoN
and so on…
no
the better the product, the more trolling about it.
Sony must have got a home-run with this camera, and even you know it 😉
A7 is interesting because it’s different. A7 is a great AMATEUR FF camera. Hobbyists will love it, Pro users have better tools. And the great thing is – it is totally fine as long as Sony doesn’t confuse people into buying these gadgets for pro work. Sony’s A-mount pro line is overpriced and misses important element: AF capability and Flash System.
You bought a Samsung because you believe that some reviewers are paid to praise a product, when the item isn’t that good?
I’m not impressed by reviewers cosying up to manufacturers, but surely it’s best to judge if a camera stands on its own merits, rather than buy something else out of spite!
They better the camera, the worse the trolling against it. I guess Sony can be proud of their good job!
If you look at any sony forum, it’s full of hobbiest photos. If you look at any canon forum, it’s full of professional photographers
Maybe because Canon cameras are only affordable for Pro’s? Overpriced?
I see nothing wrong with Sony’s approach of making Full Frame more affordable. And a camera is a camera, there are just “pro-photographers”, but no “pro-cameras”… A good Pro can sell pictures made with an iPhone.
It’s because of the lenses. People with kit lenses switched already, PROs with $$$ in lenses tend to be more ‘loyal’. If their gear / workflow worked with Nikon / Sony / Pentax / Pana / etc, they would have switched too.
Compare 600ex vs sony’s flash… Cheaper and better (radio). Compare 70-200 f4 vs sony 70-200 f4. Cheaper, and better. The 24-70 mk 2 of canon is also better. I hate canon but come on look at the prices.
“A good Pro can sell pictures made with an iPhone.”
And a broncolor flash
You are ancient Troll.
Please learning more for compare everything.
Why you not say about 24-70F2.8 L I ??,It’s crappy.
Compare by yourself a favor, Fool comparison.
Do you speak English? I don’t understand you
Professional photographers that are here trolling because of sensor and IBIS envy. Let’s face it, probably no more the 10% of Canon, Nikon, Sony owners are really professionals. The Canon forum is not full of professionals and you’re full of $hit.
I think it is a safe assumption to make that the vast majority of trolls are not professionals.
You have that on good authority my son.
The a7 mk 2 does not have a single seal against moisture. The battery life is like a glow worm. The flash systems suck for it (no radio controlled flash). This is no good for antarctica for me
Nikon doesnt have RT-Flash too only Canon with EX-RT 600 Speedlite….
Tu quoque argument although it’s still false, look at the Profoto b1
These types of responses always make me ask, who cares? Im assuming a pro photog means somebody who makes a living off taking pictures. Does that make them better than enthusiasts or hobbiests? If that’s the case there is no greater photographer than Peter Lik based on the revenue he generates. Or any wedding/event photographer is better than all the amateurs out there. Especially the one my company used to for a party that uploaded 30% out of focused pictures combined with 20% derp faced expressions.
Bottom line is being a pro doesn’t make them a better photog, it just means they’re more dedicated to the trade. And it’s true they use nikon and canon more frequently. But that has nothing to do with superior technology or equipment anymore. There’s a large barrier to entry preventing anybody from taking over that market. Canon and Nikon used to have the best tech so people bought in to the system. At the same time creating a large secondary market. Sony needs to show a continuing trend of better tech to get people to switch over. The A7 series is a good start. But it will take times for new adopters to establish a base and also convince people to abandon their 10k+ in old gear. Not impossible but it won’t happen quickly.
A true professional can do a lot with a Sony A7ii, why I sold my Canon 1Dx
If you look at any professional filmmaking forum its full of Sony users. You’ve thought this through I see.
Now that Sony has fulfilled my wildest dreams and is bringing sCMOS (hybrid cmos CCD sensors, the same type of sensors as in the BMCC.) to their cameras, I’ve only two more requests. 1) Please make some e-mount APS-H cameras – my favorite image format EVER!!!!!!! 2) Add motion JPEG2000 for video to your cameras. Do this and you guys’ll be PERFECT! For those who don’t know – APS-H is the sensor format of the Canon 1D cameras, IMHO it hits the absolute best of both worlds sweet spot between APS-C (too little bokeh) and FULL-FRAME (too dang MUCH) especially the Canon 1DC, my favorite camera ever! APS-H images are truly majestic and BLOW AWAY SUPER 35/APS-C stuff. And JPEG2000 is the video codec of the RED cameras. I don’t know why people ignore this awesome codec. It’s wavelet like CINEFORM…modern, not DCT. It blows ProRes AWAY!!! I think if implemented these would be the coup de grace on CANIKON, only Sony and Panasonic have the guts for innovation.
Even Canon abandoned APS-H after the 1D Mark IV. It’s not going to happen. APS-H is not only dead, it’s completely decomposed.
May it rest in peace, forever.
You do realize that you can (a) stop down to reduce bokeh and (b) crop a FF image to APS-H, right?
Hate to burst your bubble but JPEG2000 is NOT the file format of RED. RED is compressed, lossy raw video (you know the stuff Sony fan boys are still belly aching about). If RED used JPEG2000 you would not have to de-bayer the footage. You are correct that both use wavelet compression but so do many other formats so not even remotely the same.
While I too hope that Sony uses a hybrid CMOS/CCD sensor in the near future, it had better blow the BMCC out of the water. The F55 (Sony’s S35 4K CMOS/CCD hybrid) has a higher native ISO and dynamic range. I’d hope they’d improve on that after ~3years.
Sorry but I’m saying no on the APS-H.
GTFO. R
Are there any news about A-monut?
A-monut won’t see the light , that’s official.
Let’s wait until Feb. how Sony’s future of A-Mount looks like (and of course their credibility).
For me it’s already clear: All in for A 99 II with Top Spec or I’m out.
E-Mount is -1 for me.
I like cinnamon a-monuts.
As an A7 & A7s owner I love the A7II – EXCEPT – no 4D AF. I’m holding off upgrading because I get the feeling the next FE cam will have IBIS and the superior AF. Glad to see 5-axis, but I’m not buying another body until all of the best tech is inside.
Me too. A9 might bring that. But Im afraid of the price tag…
$3499
$3999 actually
кво друго да каже като са му платили това да каже?
In your dreams – Most users on the website are heterosexual.
but you obviously are not hetero 🙂 why would you jump on me if you were hetero ? 🙂
Engadget reviews are pretty crap.
Yes, but like the broken clock.
I see what you did there 🙂
What? What did he do?
It’s a shame the A7II body goes for $2000 in Canada…
Dear Admin
After so much E-Mount stuff is there any rumor or news about A-mount stuff, such as Body’s Lenses etc? It’s time to vary the menu of this restaurant.
“The $1,699 pricetag might be at the upper end of the range of the mirrorless spectrum”
Yep, from the only company selling an FF. How about “the price tag is at the lower end for FF offerings”?
It’s the only FF mirrorless offering, and since it’s not directly comparable to DSLRs, it’s just it’s own category
Until the day that Canikon finally dumps their DSLR dinosaurs and follows Sony’s way into the future. But then, who cares if that is going to happen? Nobody needs Canikon or a DSLR anymore, the era is over.
But Sony aren’t in the future yet. They are yet to produce a DSLR-quality mirrorless and they are so far unwilling to provide big lenses for their FE system.
A7x are a very niche product ATM, the market is dominated by Canikon DSLRs.
So why don’t you simply get a Canikon then? Nobody here has a problem if you’d suddenly disappear to another place on the internet.
But please, do it quietly…
So, Canikon started making SLTs already?
I’m also waiting what the SLT future will bring.
Otherwise I’ll keep shooting my A-Mount gear and enjoy.
Lots of drooling over the A7 series. This makes sense on why the resolution on Sony doesn’t compare to Nikon. (in reality the thick sensor glass) Or the drool like appearance of your images due to shutter shock on the A7r or the lossy compression of all Sony RAW files.
Bless him, he just wants some attention.
Nikon cameras have the same thick sensor glass. Troll.
Explain this then – Imatest at 4.0 and 5.6 with the Nikon and Sony. Sony is half the resolution at 4.0 and 1/3 less at 5.6.
Be careful Anton, I read in the graphs in the middle that you brain activity is close to zero and in the others that your trolling already exceeded the maximum diffraction level.
I’d advise you to go to your doctor with those curves. You clearly need help.
what do you expect from the comments? We go out and solve the problem for you?:
http://blog.sony.com/contact/
https://twitter.com/sonyelectr…
https://www.facebook.com/Sony
https://www.pinterest.com/sony…
https://plus.google.com/+Sony/…
Post the link to your comment on sony website so we all know you are not just trolling for attention here.
@Admin
When do you expect the announcements of Sony for CP+? New FE lens roadmap, probably new cameras Sony A7r II or Sony A7s II with EFC and IBIS and/or finally the A9….
I think he meant to say it’s worth every 169 thousand eight hundred pennies.
Autofocus is awful!
…and you are?
Someone who has never used an A7II…Or no doubt a Sony for that matter
Perhaps they have used one? The autofocus is indeed awful for certain types of photography
Well from personal experience the only cameras with genuine better AF are the current canon pro cameras and the A77ll and A6000
Certainly not out performed by any Nikon camera. And you have to factor in the better accuracy of the A7 over any Dslr. Due to is On sensor AF. So yeah I would suggest he has never even used one…
Hate cameras with dedicated EC dials that cannot be repurposed for anything else. It’s a dead dial for manual shooters. Even more so for those who have aperture rings on lenses.
At least they could repurpose the EC dial for quick EVF calibration. Then those who shoot manual only could actually use the dial for something.
It’s a hobbyist camera. There’s no sealing against rain (not a single rubber seal.) No professional ettl radio wireless flash for wedding photographers. No plastic lenses (cannot be used in severe cold as your fingers will literally get glued to the lenses.) A poor battery life for professionals (you cannot always change battery in poor conditions.) A poor native lens selection (I understand it’s a new system) currently for professional photographers.
I love these cameras and am going to buy one but it won’t be for work use (I’ll keep medium format for the studio and 5d mk 3 for weddings.) So don’t think I’m flaming sony. I think they’re great cameras but right now, I cannot think the average user shoots in manual only. I think an EC dial is ridiculous but for hobbyists it makes sense
You could use the dial to calibrate your brain or simply use auto-ISO in manual mode and become happy.
Engadget:
> it can handle just about anything you throw it at it, so long as you keep in mind that in the end, it’s still a mirrorless camera.
A7x… for the people who’re OK with limitations
Duott… A troll who is OK with his own limitations
Everybody has a specific fealing about the tools he/she uses. One is struggling with the grip the other with its weight, size and what else.
But one thing is important to understand.
Even if this E-mount is the best ever made, it’s still a statement from an idividual/ group/ paid pro etc. If somebody states he misses something and if it’s only a fealing that is his opinion. If you don’t like the review that’s your opinion.If you are happy with this product, go grab it and use it.
We have seen a lot of reviews such as Gary Fongs videos, which are clearly done to persuade us that these cameras are ready to operate in any condition/situation and therefore the best buy for you.
Please consider this question:
Are you sure your gear stand up to your request?
If the answer is “Yes” than congrats, you have found your gear.
Others are still waiting.
Sony Trolls hate the fact that Nikon fixes their rare and random problems right away while Sony ignores major issues with their cameras for a year + with not even an acknowledgment of the lossy file compression and fraudulent advertising on all Sony cameras or putting out a fix for the A7r shutter shock.
Nikon stands behind their cameras. Sony hires trolls to work the forums.
Sony hired you?
LOL
then why aren’t you happy with your Nikon? Because it’s at the Service?
…
I really want gps for my travels
yes, that’s what I really would apreciate, too.
Go buy a Garman.
Why even buy a camera? Perhaps you should tell me to buy a pencil and draw a photograph. My phone has gps for its camera
This is Sony rumors site.
Canon and Nikon fanboys GET OUT !! …… please …… .
If you do not like Sony
Why would you post ?.
It mean the jealous.
Of course, that is the clear reasen.
They feel bored with CaNikons old style stuff and fear falling further back technologically. Nikon is at least as innovative using Sony sensors, but Canon is selling retro style ones. Pure trolls.
poor pure CaNikon tolls
I’d say that the Engadget reviewer feels negative about the camera but can’t point a finger on it (because it’s baseless) so he tries to conceal it. Engadget’s review about the Z3 compact tablet is biased too, probably just a bunch of Apple fanboys.
Still waiting for the A7 s II .
Unless Samsung makes a FF version of the NX1’s Sensor, or I spot a MFT Mount Camcorder with a CMV12000 Sensor. Wait for NAB in April, they’ve put in an extra Pavilion for Drones.
Hopefully 2015 will be “The Year of the Global Shutter”; where all Cameras produce correct Video.