Soon the A7rII will ship worldwide and here is a new roundup of camera related news:
SAR reader hands-on:
We got our first hands on with the Sony A7r Mk2 today and there were a couple of big features or rather fixes which haven been published anywhere significant.
First, you can now map the video record button to any custom button you want! In the Custom Key Settings, you’ll now see a new option called MOVIE. This has been a massive pain point so far and setting C1 for video record just solves everything!!
Next, you can now set the minimum shutter speed in Auto ISO. Something that has been default in Canon and Nikon since 2012/2011, but missing in the Sony line up till now. This is huge too and it can even be mapped to a custom key for a super fast experience.
Diglloyd Sony A7R II with Otus and other Lenses:
A one kilogram lens attached to a lens adapter adding 29mm of extension from the lens mount places a large torque on the mount. Even 5 or 10 microns out of kilter means asymmetric blur, not to mention possible static sag even if the lens mount were of superman genre. Hence the need for a tripod collar (which is not and cannot be particularly solid on such adapters), hence the need for a vibration free shutter. The Sony A7R II delivers that vibration-free EFC shutter at last.
Sony A7RII Launch Event at Samy’s Camera Los Angeles:
The A7RII is here! Come join Samy’s Camera and Sony on August 22nd for a 90-minute event brought to you by Sony. Meet Sony Senior Tech Rep, Rob Shelley, and attend his in-depth class on the A7RII, followed by a live model shoot with Sony Artisan, Paul Gero. Rob and Paul will then hold a Q &A session to recap all of Sony’s innovative technology.
Score your chance to win a Sony A7 full frame lens ($1000 value) when you attend this event. Full info at http://samysphotoschool.com.
A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
58 Responses
NewShooter guys already told about the customizable REC button.
Sony is longer marketing 14 bit color and offers no guarantees that there will be 14 bit color. Looks like 11+7 is here to stay.
Link for more info – http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/1208-sony-no-longer-marketing-14-bit-color-117-bit-color-is-here-to-stay/
What if they simply get rid of the compression artifacts with a better algorithm? Sony used to have similar problems in jpegs 3 years ago and fixed them without doubling the file size
Sony’s in-cam JPEG output is still not something favorable. Compression is fine. It’s just they don’t have to force everyone to use it. Add a switch and I think most people will stop. A99 has lossless compression for choose. That’s totally fine.
Your “source” is Max the Dog who is just speculating like everyone else. Also he has a whole site about this issue and so benefits by needlessly stirring up this issue. Do I want the option to turn lossy compression off? Yes.
However, all we KNOW is that Sony hasn’t fixed it yet but that they are aware of it. If it is really a non-starter for you then Canon and Nikon also have lovely options each with their own set of compromises. Nothing is perfect in life.
For Nikon, compression limits speed. The number of FPS they put on website is speed without compression, e.g. 5 FPS for about 28 frames for D810 with 14bit lossless RAW. That speed somehow involves battery issues since it seems to increase with battery grip installed.
While Sony’s FPS is measured with compressed RAW. They might have to modify specification chart.
Lossless RAW is still compressed. It just means, that no information is lost ie. lossless.
Lossy and lossless compression makes a difference as well. Buffer size is set but file size varies. The same with Nikon’s 12 and 14-bit RAW.
The same rants were about af issues. Evf, lack of lenses etc etc. Next thing you see, sony launches 16bit camera. Canikon fanboys stunned in disbilief for a few months, than re-emerge from hibernation again to rant about sony logo.
It used to have few lens but now it seems multiple lens in similar focal length. EVF could use an upgrade. The lag in current model is not a pleasant thing to live with. AF is on par with major dslr with a7r2, which is a good thing. Flash system is still falling behind other brands.
I dont know, if i can use all nikon, canon and sony minolta lenses on a fe camera with exif and af, than that is the best lens system there is. I would never trade nex7 evf for an ovf, not to speak of a7rii evf which is cerainly much better. I agree about flash system, but how old is it? When did sony introduce new line with standar hot shoe? Less than 3 years ago…
For EVF, what I heard from a guy who played with display model is that, he couldn’t feel the difference with previous model.
For AF speed, some lens are faster and some are still slow.
Old lens wise… A mount is not open to use. So Sony itself blocked several minolta lens from using AF-D on A99.
That dude is just 100% WRONG
sony product page for the a7rII
Image quality modes RAW, RAW & JPEG, JPEG Extra fine, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard RAW output 14 bit
You’re right and I am fixing the post. Sony changed the term from 14-bit to 14bit and neither is showing up in the search results for the website as they previously did.
It is 14 bit if you knew anything at all about the RAW format.
There is no 11 or 7 in the RAW format sorry
PS and I do not need some illiterate source. I know the RAW format. So please get lost
Interesting, our top agency sports shooters, those who our NPS assist at “Olympic events” all shoot 8bit jpeg with superb results, and the resulting prints are flawless, we have many on permanent display at Nikon HQ. We respectfully suggest a little improvement with regards “trade craft” on your part Anton.
11+7 is one thing… but they should also fix so that one don’t get 12-bit files when using continous modes like bracketing which often defeats the purpose of bracketing to begin with.
they aren’t? Shit they better take this off the page then.
Image quality modes RAW, RAW & JPEG, JPEG Extra fine, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard RAW output 14 bit
So for long, adapted lens it sounds like a plate that connects both the adapter collar and lens collar may be necessary.
Wish they’d stop using all the white labels for rear buttons. Cameras get so reprogrammed that none of the buttons match their labels anyway. Who really needs the labels after a couple of days anyway?
No labels would really clean up the clutter on rear of camera. Like the Leica S philosophy.
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0253/1179/products/S_006_hand_grip_2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1376441983
Wooohooo, minimum shutter speed in Auto ISO and movie button customisation!
This is big ;p
Nicer than some of the new features.
Would be awesome if you could program it like Nikon with a formula dependable on the focal lenght example 1,5x FL
Is crop mode now mapable? And FPS selection?
With the A7RII even more important.
Wait Diglloyd… I was called every name under the sun for claiming a7R had wobbly mount and shutter vibration. Everyone said it didn’t exist and I was the biggest troll.
Now you say that’s the reason you never did tests with Otus on a7R and suggest a fix for the newer camera even though it has much more robust lens mount and vibration free shutter? You wear the troll hat for a while. Thank you, I’m tired of it.
Honestly… The flame against those who pointed out the problem was so bad at times that I swear Sony had a PR staff lurking forums just for the sole purpose of trashing anyone who spoke poorly of the camera in any way. Now BOOM… they vanish, and Sony quietly fixed the problem with new mount… which still isn’t nearly as robust as native six screw ultra thick Amount designed for giant lenses from the very beginning with 300/2.8 available from the start.
Auto ISO with minimum shutter speed is huge…. I use it all the time on Nikon. Changes the way you use Aperture-priority, really reducing the need for “M” or “S.”
Now if Sony were to just offer true 14 bit files and improve the flash system…. There would be little left camera-wise for CaNikon users to thumb their nose at.
I wonder if we’ll get the minimum shutter speed option as a firmware update for the a77ii?
I hope we all get it to at least the actively sold cameras.
Let’s hope the ergonomic improvements(auto iso and movie button) and uncompressed RAW make it to a firmware update for the whole A7 line up and may be even A6000.
I do not see them as strong motivation to upgrade A7ii to A7Rii – there is a huge price gap and I will need much more to think of moving up. Yet these things make me unhappy with my Sony day in and day out.
The sensor alone worth the upgrade IMHO. I got the A7r a few months after it was released (beginning of 2014?) and the A7m2 in early Dec 2014. In spite of the A7m2 was stabilized, faster, 1/250s sync, no vibrations issues, etc… I’ve been barely using it. Got ~22k shots on the A7r and ~2k on the m2. Sold the m2 a few days ago and kept the A7r, and all because of the sensor. When it’s paired with the Otus 85 or the 135 f2 APO – you don’t want anything lower than 36mpx. Just my 5c.
The people being able to afford and need an A7r or A7rii + 135 Apo and Otus are few. An A7rii makes perfect sense for you, but I don’t know about most others pre-ordering.
I have 2 Nex 7(s), classify myself as an amateur, still. I very recently picked up the Sony FE 28, FE 55 1.8 and the FE 16-35, have the A7Rll on pre-order. Not that I can afford it, but I like decent equipment. 90 macro is next on my list. Even beginners can appreciate the good stuff:)
I know, but an Otus is in another league. The 135 + Otus + A7rii is 9kEuro here where I live. People affording this are NOT the majority of people buying cameras and equipment, independent of whether they appreciate the engineering or good stuff.
You are right. Yet there are people that will not be willing to shell out 3500 euro on a hobby so update to lower end cameras will be great for the minor features. As you indicate a7r ii users will buy it for the sensor, for the excellent IQ, superb AF, superb 4K recording etc. I doubt the auto ISO will make the top of the list
Agree, those “tidbits” praising the auto ISO or the customized “movie” button as just silly.
I agree, A7r on a proper 135 is not even fair.
Any full-resolution samples yet?
Additional video?
Anything?
The manual shows an “overheating” icon, but doesn’t say much about it. Has anyone stress-tested the 4K internal recording?
“Any full-resolution samples yet?” – have you taken a look at http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/check-it-out-very-first-full-size-sony-a7rii-raw-file-for-pixel-peepers/ yet?
Rawtherapee for mac os worked for me.
This guy has posted a few and has a brief writeup on his blog with a dropbox link to raws: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nzcarl/sets/72157655821643470
“asymmetric blur, not to mention possible static sag”…what?
Way to bury the lead! Minimum shutter speed setting holy crap finally!
That was announced at launch. Brian Smith did a writeup a few days later that said the same thing. http://briansmith.com/field-test-sony-a7rii/
It’s bound to come as a firmware update to the rest of the line.
thats a huge leap of faith in sony firmware updates, that i do not share.
I think the optional battery grip will make a world of difference for people , like myself, who are use to the full sized DSLRs.
Another thing….One would think that one of the off brand battery grip makers could make a Sony grip that takes Canon 5dii, Nikon or Sony A99 batteries. It would solve the battery life issue for now plus many Canon etc users who switch or use the Sony and Canon, can carry single format of batteries. Just a thought
MrCheesyCam on YouTube did just that, he repurposed a A99 grip to use on A7. But the A7rII can be powered via micro-USB so you can use any kind of powerbank tethered to it.
What I would like to see in the future is a grip that adds a SD card slot.
I really like that idea, dale. I have a host of 5D batteries I’d love to use with the A7Rii.
I bet there are quite a few photo commentators getting their review copies of the A7rii this week, and that there will be a raft of reviews in a couple weeks. I really like the look of the images I’ve seen so far, even though they might not be testing the limits of the sensor.
So, I’m eager to see a finished copy put through the paces.
You can put some huge batteries into a pocket and string a usb cable, and eliminate any concerns about power.
If the camera is mostly used mounted on a tripod I can see the advantage of tethering to a powerbank.
Please please please give a firmware for the A7mkII with the minimum shutter speed ISO!
you wont get it, you have to buy the A7mkIII when it comes out next year! sony never gives those kind of awesome FW upgrades, never has and never will when they know ppl will buy a new camera.
why can’t they add a built in intervalometer like nikon has.
There’s an App for that that is more advanced.
Ok, all well and good, BUT, the major feature of this camera will be its sensor. What are the odds that it’ll be DxO marked at above 100? My bets are that it’ll be in the 105+ range. Since Nikon only recently released the D810, they may not be upgrading for a couple of years. Canon just blew their load on a modified 7D sensor, and will trail for about 3 years. If you want the best (and not by a little bit) sensor for the next few years, this is the camera to get.
i respectfully disagree. the app you might be referring to is called “timelapse” 1, requires downloading and installing it vs built in, which is just there, 2nd using the app disables all custom buttons, and whatever settings you had setup like apeture, shutter and all that are removed as you must use app to set the shot vs built in, you set things up then fire off the timer. its slows to load, you must launch the app and wait for it to load, then setup the app or tweak it, rmemeber the app has all different settings for iso, quality of images vs built in, thats already done in camera all you do is start it or setup the number of shots and tell it go. 3rd the app drains the battery alot because it uses the lcd or viewfinder vs built in uses your camera settings. the app which you refer to has crashed on me before vs built in would never crash. if you have ever used the built in intervalometer on a nikon you would see with 2 button press you can start it, its fast, quick and dead easy to setup vs the app being slow to launch, then fiddle with many menu settings, trust me its not fast to setup. simplicity is better vs the app thats bloated, its great it has all those features but sometimes all that is not needed and instead a quick reliable intervalometer would be so easy to add via FW update aor simply include it period, its not that hard to do, even a cheapo $200 nikon 1 has it, lots of cameras have this easy to use type of intervalometer, yet a camera that sells for $3200 targetting pro consumer market does not. Note: if you were to buy the camera, right out of the box it does NOT have intervalometer!! requires creating a sony account, than entering credit card info, than setuping up camera for wifi access to connect to one, than signing into sony, than selecting the app, paying for it, downloading it, installing it and finally you can use it. Seriously….thats way too much work when a built in would be just fine. Sometimes emergencies happen and you ahve to buy a new camera on the spot…it wont have intervalometer you gota buy the app, and that whole process i jsut mentioned is maybe 15 to 20min to do all that. waste of time.
Still works, get over it.