A bit unusul for Dpreview they posted an Opinion post for the new Sony A7rII camera.
42.4MP… ignoring medium format, who would’ve thought that we’d have to call that not class-leading? You can thank the Canon 5DS and 5DS R for that, which the a7R II falls short of with respect to resolution. And yet, in almost every other respect, the sensor in the a7R II is bound to outclass the 50.6MP sensors in Canon’s latest high-resolution beasts.
One could remark that in challenging the giants, Sony must innovate to offer a competitive advantage. And one would be absolutely right. But the level of innovation and effort that we’re seeing here is formidable. I haven’t even touched the surface in this opinion piece
And Trustedreviews also got his hands on the A7rII and writes:
The Sony Alpha A7R II is a dream camera for many. It takes everything that made the A7 and A7R so important, then adds and improves so much it comfortably outpaces the rate of improvements we see from Nikon and Canon in their DSLR ranges. Sony is not treading water.
This is a system camera that should interest professionals as well as just keen hobbyists, while its impressive video skills mean it’s anything but a stills-only specialist.
A7rII and RX camera preorder list:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX10m2 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
A7rII at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
120 Responses
(post from the future) You guys remember the days when Canikon rule the world? LOL!!!
I now think the whole raw compression thing benefits EVF and video capturing. It allows higher sampling rate without burning the CMOS. It’s a mirrorless thing and for the sake of video function.
None of the above.
The a99 in single image mode captures 14-bit images despite continuous EVF/LCD feed.
SLT has an individual sensor for EVF. Mirrorless A7 series use CMOS.
You are wrong here. The SLT’s use the CMOS imaging sensor for the EVF, just like the A7 series do. It’s no different in functionality. The only difference is the SLTs have a dedicated PDAF sensor while the A7’s have on sensor PDAF or contrast detection only.
Also, the RAW compression has no impact on the EVF nor video capturing. It doesn’t improve the sampling rate, it doesn’t reduce burning the CMOS imaging sensor. The CMOS imaging sensor is still being exposed for the same amount of time, the CMOS imaging sensor is still capturing the same amount of data whether the final output is compressed or not. Compression is taking place on the imaging processor and doesn’t impact the CMOS imaging sensor itself. All compression does is make final output file sizes smaller and increases the amount of images that can fit in the buffer.
SLT doesn’t have an individual sensor for EVF. Primary sensor is used for Live View.
So Essentially, SLT cameras are mirrorless, except for the standalone PDAF module. Which is why you need the semitransparent mirror in the first place.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyslta77/images/A77SLTmirror.jpg
Yet the whole idea about compressive sensing is for video. Also with mirrorless you have less room for a good cooling solution to be installed.
With that in mind, I think Sony actually targeted at Canon. It is indeed better than Canon.
It’ll probably never happen, but a 16-50mm 2.8 SSMII would be a nice update. If they threw 9 blades in it I’d be in paradise.
Don’t tease me 🙂
I have to hand it to you Chris, today you’ve managed to be wrong about everything. Keep up the good work. 😀
Talk is cheap.Show me the dynamic range.
Sony said it’s the same as the A7R.
Actually a bit better than A7R and better low light performance 😀
Mr. Anthonymuthu, any test images?
No. Should have mentioned that Sony Senior General Manager of the Digital Imaging Business Group Kimio Maki and Sony US manager Mark Weir said that.
I’m also waiting for test images 🙂
What people from Sony say is close to irrelevant unfortunately. :/
Perhaps because Sony wants it to be a good camera for video capturing. Compressed RAW would allow it to increasing sampling rate for higher frame rate.
now we need the small e mount otus
Of course not. The impossible isn’t possible. Sony just made a better camera.
Sony you have successfully make a 5DS killer.
Now it is time for you to make a 1Dx killer.
Let see how many photographer will use your e-mount camera in Rio 2016 Olympics?
max 2
THAT! WOULD! BE! EPIC! 😀
That, will be the A9 series~
The “Odds” are high for Sony nowadays
DSLR still have advantages among mirrorless, it’s not just the image quality, but also the camera body performance, sony could make the sensor tech on next A7sII 10 years ahead canon, or maybe even 20 years ahead. but as far as they put it in the A7 body and with the tele lens choices we have so far, nah, not going to kill anyone in sport photography
But I would suggest you take a look at some rumors about the nikon D5, nikonrumour says it will have 102400 native ISO, yes, one hundred thousand ISO, native, period!
and 173 points focus, 20mp sensor
which means it will likely have the same high ISO performance as the A7s, at 20mp instead of 12mp, pro body, 11fps or maybe even faster, and all the nikkor lenses to choose from.
if the rumor turns out to be true, I would say this is the 1Dx killer you are looking for.
Need a 300-600 f4.8 or f5.5 with built in barrel extender for close focus mode and biilt in or drop in teleconverter.
To sell in mid $3000 range.
Barry, you do realize that YOUR needs are very very specific, it seems, I would go as far as calling them “unique”.
Not as unique as you apparently think.
A good long lens is a wildlife photographers staple 600mm prime is highly desiredbut very expensive.
Most wildlife photographers choose Canon or Nikon because yhey have good long lenses.
A macro is also a staple for close ups. The longer he focal length the better because animals are often hard t aproach.
Typical technique is to begin shooting asap to get something in sight then continue to shoot as you work your way closer
Sigma mad a 70-300 macro with a barrel extension for close up mode like I described for this longer lens.
The macro feature is highly useful, but unfortunately the lens is not high quality.
Other venues such as sports would also benefit fron such a lens.
Many of these big lenses are white and must be covered to use for wildlife. This lens would be better in black than white but the best color would be olive green.
It would look really cool in olive, which is what currently attracts those who want to look cool to buy it.
A series of green lenses would be very impressive and if Sony were to establish this as the color for a lens line it would generate badly needed nrand recognition.
The lens would actually see wide appeal but Canon anld Nikon currently own those segments so we get fairly few Sony users asking for it yet.
The three Tamron anbd Sigma 150-600s are very popular so clearly there is a good demand
Go buy yourself a Celestron or Orion telescope. With the right diopter it will suit your needs much better than waiting for a lens that will never come…
A lens like this will come, and be very popular.
You have spent yeats argueing with me that IBIS on E mount, Full autofocus lens compatability, higher resolution, and ff BSI sensors would never come..havent you realized yet that I simple predict and push for these things before people like you are rieady.
By the way now that all these things you argued would never happen are here what do you the A7Rii?
You should stop smoking that pipe, at least you will not confuse screennames.
1) I didnt argue with you about IBIS. A bunch of other people were telling you about throat diameter. I simply dont know enough about it.
2) Full AF lens compatibility, I specifically said that Sony needs a new algorithm to drive a ring motor, as the algorithm for linear motors is clearly not working.
Now that this is out of the way, maybe a 3rd party manufacturer will make it. But befor Sony does, they’ll have to fill out their portfolio, as such a lens is a niche market. The most popular focal length set is 24-70, followed by 70-200, then 16-35, all three in f/2.8, only after that you start seeing exotics like ultra long, ultra wide, fisheye and tilt shift.
As for you, your needs are clearly in exotic glass. So might as well get a telescope.
I suspect that NATIVE iso is not higher because of compromises made to accomadate video.
Doesn’t Sony make Nikon’s sensors?
Also, what are the rumors of the next A7S?
Sony and Aptina make Nikon sensors. Sony being a mass producer, while Aptina being used when Nikon suddenly doesn’t like Sony.
but most of sensor was designed by nikon, just manufactured by sony, and sometime even sony can’t reach the needs of design, nikon may give it to other company
Sport photography is such a small piece of the market. I’m sure Sony will get there, but it’s not their priority. Landscape > Portrait > Sport.
And at the > Sport point the sensor will see the immediate future before our eyes do.
Really? If you don’t take me seriously take Sony camera system seriously.
Bingo. People rave about how they MUST HAVE AF good enough for the NFL games. Please. How many of these people have EVER been to a stadium, let alone shooting the game near sidelines.
Idealists. Mavericks. Dreamers. Master followers. But rather they should realize its the overall camera speed that matters not just the subject type. The main problem is there haven’t been many masters in photography for them to learn from, and its a new art, like film.
How about sports video huh? huh? ok i think you get the idea.
Or don’t at all. I think you missed the point where mirrorless and the SONY surpassed the previous epoch as if going through a black hole never to return the same way again.
I think it more has to do with the expectations when buying something that is priced at a premium. Of course users will compare cameras feature to feature and if feature A is better on camera B people will point that out as a “flaw” even though it doesn’t need to be such a huge flaw in many circumstances.
well, when we say good fast AF, its not just sport photography, there’s wild life photography, and don’t forget parent photography, when they can’t make their running kids stay still, but lets just not miss the point here with how many situation we need that good AF
my philosophy about gear is, I can make mistakes, but not the camera, or at least they should minimize the possible failure. now, I may never reach the maximum performance of D4s or D5, but what if there is one, just one single shot in my entire life time I need it, thats where the extra dollar paid off
and theres another thing in consumer psychology, if camera A and camera B priced the same, but A performed better than B, even they never really reach that far, people always want their money worth spending
RELATIVE, not absolute so the SONY can defy those present disadvantages just to make the nonsense fall flat. I am at disadvantage but still master of photography.
Your comment is funny. Indeed I think specs is not why your pictures are considered good. But if you think it does not matter in the beginning, why buy a Sony then? Canon gives more pixel counts although DR and color depth remains at the same level with its out-of-date apsc cameras. But good old Canon works just fine isn’t it.
There is a fun video to watch. Around 21:45 there is a very interesting demonstration… This is very interesting. But might not be what you want
https://youtu.be/-N-qUzicL3s
How I look at this is that, you only need limited information to reconstruct the scene. You could then divide your cmos into several groups and let them individual capture the scene and process it in parallel. This in return brings less motion blur in video and lowers power consumption significantly.
However as the speaker pointed out, there is no reason to do this for commercial still cameras. Although I am excited to see Sony implementing great technology into their products, I am with him on this.
Reference. http://image-sensors-world.blogspot.com/2013/02/sony-and-stanford-university-develop.html
Instead of Sony failing trying to make it in the Professional sports market, I’d rather see them succeed in the consumer market like how it is now.
I know its crazy talk…but what I want more than anything is for this camera body to play nice with my legacy Summicron lenses. The a7r was ok, but just ok..it worked well with the 50 and 90, but I was never really convinced that the 35 was as good as it could have been, should have been. I got to spend quality time with a Leica Monochrom a few weeks ago and it is a really amazing tool..but there is little chance of my affording it and really, I want the higher resolution…no, really I have reasonable reasons. I will rent one of these as soon as I can and I am hoping for the best. ( Yeah, like I said…I know there are constraints based on inconvenient physics that sort of mean it may not be magic…but I can hope…right?)
Supposedly, the sensor design means the light wells aren’t so deep so in theory this could mean far less shading from the more oblique light rays from the Leica lenses. It could have done what we are all hoping for.
What score will A7Rii get in DPReview?
now I bet 91% – Gold Award!
It will be 99% Adamantium Award~=D
I just love having my rationale for ordering an A7Rii confirmed. I will now bask in my wisdom. 😀
I will wait for the price to drop, maybe in a year. If it has the qualities of A7R, A7S, and a7II, it could indeed be a very good replacement for my A7.
I’m very curious to test the AF speed, which was the only disappointing thing about my A7, in my opinion.
Great camera and I have ordered one..but I would like to also buy an A9 with 78mp bsi sensor.
This is a great general purpose camera, but I also want one for extremely high quality high resolution still pictures.
Yep. I have no interest in video capabilities. Higher res and better DR and higher FPS would be much appreciated in anything like A8/9. Even the high ISO does not have to be that great.
Every other feature is available in other cameras, in fact most are available in this camera.
But super high resolution its nott available in any consumer camera.
If you only care about resolution go buy a 5DS then – 20% more megapixels.
You have made this exact same comment several times to me and I have given you the same answer each of those times…so once again
There are several things I do not like about that camera .
The A7rii will ouperform it for less, so I am getting that.
I will also get a higher res camera when it comes out.
Lastly a 78mp bsi sony camera should still have better low light performance and better dynamic range than the 5dsr
I am aware that the a7r2 is a superior all around camera, but you contradict yourself in your statements about resolution desires. The 5ds is the highest res consumer camera and it will focus canon lenses much faster. Based on your statements it is the more obvious choice. For instance you said that you do not care about video or high ISO performance.
It seems highly unlikely that a sony 135 sensor will exceed the resolution offered by their medium format sensors. I predict that Sony will not release a 35mm camera with higher resolution for at least 3 years. The first Sony 36mp sensor will be nearly 3.5 years old when the a7r2 camera exceeds it. Maybe the next Sony MF sensor will approach 70mp in a couple of years.
A mere 8mp difference is insignificant and will not be noticed.
The visible picture detail of even the d810 is close to and many reviewers say it exceeds the 5ds.
The porpose of the resolution is to see more detail.
The changeover to bsi provides much more room for increased resolution while maintaining better overall performance.
I believe Sony will now continue to increase resolution and that the a9 may be higher res than the a7r.
Sony will want too not only outperfom but also they will want the highest mp bragging rights. So something in excess of 50mp is likely. 78 mvp is a goal I would like to see asap, but not intended as a prediction. Sony does tend to stretch these things out.
Sony has clerly stated 42mp b saw
a7r to the mark II is about 16.5% increase in MP
a7r2 to Canon 5ds is about 20% increase in MP
Which translates to about 7% resolution differrence.
Even if you don’t use video, you benefit from it in increased R&D revenue, and lower per unit cost.
DR, DR, DR… makes a lot of difference since it’s quite time consuming to recreate DR in post just like it’s hard to recreate the use of a POL-filter.
One thing that nag me about the A7r II is that Sony doesn’t say much about the DR… or have i missed something?
Go get an A99 or switch to Nikon. A7r II put a lot of emphasis on video functions. It is a general purposed camera so don’t expect it to excel in every aspect.
In an interview they stated the same as a7r or maybe a little more
That’s sort of what i’m afraid of and it’s what keeping me from pre-ordering the A7r II.
If they, people within Sony marketing, say it’s the same or maybe a little better it could actually mean that it’s worse. This since people within marketing always exaggerate numbers and if not there could be something that isn’t great/better.
lets jump straight into the realm of 100MP with half a million ISO with next-gen-bsi.v2 sensors
No one is asking for the high mp camera to be high iso..
Thats what we now have..cameras that do everything…what we need is a camera to do one thing.
A 78mp version of this sensor…based on the current technology should be one stop lower iso..12,500 nave, 50,000 extended. Even a 2 stop loss would slill be acceptable.
Based on currently made bsi sensors over 200mp can be made on ff.
So clearly ,78mp, native 12,500iso, extended 50,000 iso, minimal video capability
3fps burst tate…better if they can improve the processor….is easily doable.
Yeah, let’s talk about this when they can build this sensor for a penny because for 99,99% of the photographers this is totally uninteresting. And they won*t put this in a mainstream camera because 0,01% demand it ….
yawn.
Tech-wise Sony traded high ISO perf for better video quality. I went across the topic on compressive sensing for video.
Why wouldn’t you buy a PhaseOne or something?
Why on earth would you make such an obviosly impracticable suggestion to a wildlfe photographer…do you actually think suggesting a 50mp mf giant with no lenses of any use for animals will impress people.
Thats just 8mp more than the a7rii
If I didnt det the Canon for the extra 8mp why would I get the Phase One?
I think it would impress people. Practical? No.
Big name medium format cameras only impress other photographers that value those cameras.
You can use the PhaseOne for self defense if you get attacked by lions or something ;p
My bad Barry, I forgot you are a wildlife photographer, you just spend way too much time on SAR so wondering when are you taking those wildlife pictures 😉
Thats why I post with my cellphone
Because 43mp are not enough resolution for such a demanding pro like you? Maybe you shouldn´t use the 24mm prime for birding?
Did Admin just do the impossible – reposted a DPR article?
Anyone want to guess at the used value of an A7RII in a year after release? I’m thinking 2200.00.
I don’t think you’re far off. Might be worth a little more. But like most new cars, most new Japanese cameras depreciate quickly after they’ve been used.
What’s your point? Its a consumer electronics device, not a bond fund.
2k is about the sweet spot for a lot of shooters on here. I think it’s a valid question. It’s not a bond fund, but I’m not looking to take a beating in depreciation either. 2200.00 is about perfect if you ask me.
Agreed. When you look at the money we spend on lenses, computers, lighting, etc., too; over $3k on a single body feels like a bit much. Closer to $2k is much more reasonable.
Especially considering it will suffer in tonal transitions, as it only has 11 x 7 bit lossy RAW files.
$1600.00 after A7Riii is released in 10 months.
A7s held its price fairly well, its still going for $1,800 on ebay. The A7rII a year from now might still be around the $2,500 range, I suspect a lot of people will be looking to buy one.
Do you understand or not that canon and nikon died, at the level of camera bodies. Or they innovate or over time will only lens manufacturers
With compressed sensing you could divide all pixels on the same sensor into several groups and let them individually capture the scene. Later it could be reconstructed to reduce motion blur and minimize difference with high speed cameras (few have high resolution). It allows you to speed up commercial high resolution sensors. Sony has a lot of patent on this technology.
Around 56:33 there is a sample video…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N-qUzicL3s
The problem here is what you are claiming and what you are referencing are not on the same plain. I pointed out what you were claiming was being done inside Sony cameras is wrong (both the RAW compression method as well as SLTs and EVFs), then in turn you reference video compressive sensing which is not being applied in the cameras.
In fact, this technology is still ways away from practical implementation since the current drawbacks are still too great. A demonstration of this for images was done a few years ago but it only showed benefits for small cameras and phones where battery consumption is of greater importance and those implementations users don’t care too much about the RAW data but are more than happy with a JPEG. Since data is being chosen, compressed, and/or thrown out right at the sensor the final output is very efficient in size and power consumption, the quality is to par of a JPEG, but a lot of RAW data is thrown out in the process, leaving an image that lacks headroom and flexibility. Also, the computational power needed to decompress the images is far greater than the benefits it provided. For a camera such as this, none of this has any desired benefits for the photographer behind the camera.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/optoelectronics/camera-chip-makes-alreadycompressed-images
There are multiple applications in video. As I said Sony’s compression benefits video. I don’t feel like going over a full literature search for this discussion. The keywords are for you to do your background reading.
I now think Sony targeted at Canon. 5D cameras are very popular low cost video cam these days. Sony clearly provides something better.
This is really interesting technology. But also as I pointed out, not everyone would appreciate it.
PS. I already edited previous post saying you pointed out my error before you reply. Any further comments on that?
PS2. Doesn’t that orange rendering look familiar?
Resolution is impressive on the 50mp Canon bodies. The detail is unreal – and the image when mated with the 11-24 is really something special. That said I’m looking forward to my A7rII shipping.
I’m not sure the detail is unreal. Of course, I don’t trust website comparisons as the end all and be all. However, I’d like to see large print comparisons and outside of this I’m skeptical. I’ll take whatever I can get although this doesn’t have me believing thus far:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/canon-5ds-r/canon-5ds-rA.HTM
I’d have to agree there. It cannot be “unreal”, especially with D810 floating around. After all, 50mp is a small increase over 36. It might be better, but not by alot. Same is even more relevant with Sony 42mp.
At 300ppi, the maximum print size will be:
for Canon 50mp – 29″x19″
for Sony 42mp – 27″x18″
for Nikon 36mp – 24″x16″
So as you can see, at these resolutions it matters more on the kind of lens you use, and not the pixel count. A jump to 72mp sensor, will produce only a 50% larger image. For unreal detail you’ll be looking at 144mp and above
Its a 38% increase in resolution from the already awesome D810, you can play with print sizes or any other way to downplay it you choose. I would call the detail in a D810 shot unreal as well.
Using your 300ppi example you get 384 vs 551 sq/in, so a 40% increase in print size vs the D810.
This isn’t a $40,000 medium format back, its a sub $4000 camera that can be carried with a few lenses in a messenger bag.
It’s not a 38% increase over the D810. You have to times by four to double the resolution of the sensor. It’s around 10% increase.
I also eagerly await a computer that can handle those 96Mp images without breaking a sweat. 😉
A dual CPU Tyan Thunder, with 2 Nvidia Tesla cards(or a few Quadros) 🙂
I still can’t see a need to go over 24MP… People get too hung up on “native print size at 300ppi”, but honestly, anything beyond “native” size at 300ppi currently is getting pretty large anyway, and then you just drop your ppi and can still print at equivalent resolution (to human eye, when standing back at necessary distance to take in prints that large). That or just resize large print images with a resizing tool like Perfect Resize (works really well, in my experience). Of course, I still wouldn’t turn down that A7rII…. 😉
I owned a Phase One IQ180 80MP camera. I think the biggest advantage of using high resolution was your ability to crop an image. That being said, there was a tremendous difference between using technical camera Rodenstock glass and the Phase One DF/SK lenses. So, more resolution is great but my opinion, a large 42 MP file that has really clean files as I am predicting this A7RII camera will have should produce some incredible images with top grade glass.
Amen to that. Even billboard size is fine for 24mp. Nobody prints those at 300ppi… Distance equivalency is always at play.
22% higher areal resolution (dots per square inch)
https://www.google.com/search#q=51.6%2F42.4+-+1+in+percent
10% higher linear resolution (dots per inch)
https://www.google.com/webhp#q=sqrt(51.6%2F42.4)+-+1+in+percent
Linear and areal resolution are related, but not the same thing. I suspect you can find plenty of research on it but I tend to think of linear resolution as being more relevant to ‘detail’. Heck, lab resolution tests are done with patterns of lines that get closer and closer, right? Not skewed checkerboards.
I meant MP and said resolution. That’s still a pretty large jump. I don’t have a horse in the race, I shoot with the D750, various A7’s and have the A7rII on order, so I don’t really care. The endless inferiority complex of Sony fanboys is puzzling. We should be applauding all advancements, without others releasing higher MP bodies, 4k internal and so on we wouldn’t have the A7rII.
Downplay it? how is playing with print sizes downplaying it? And anything above 300ppi is a waste, cause human eye can’t see it anyways.
Why don’t you create a 8700×5800 file in photoshop, and then create a 7300×4900 square inside it. That’s your difference between 36 and 50mp….
The print from a 5dr is 40% larger than the D810 at 300ppi, according to your dimensions. That’s a difference. Check the DPreview samples posted of its studio scene, pull the raws and process them, there’s clearly more detail in the 5dr compared to the A7r or the D810. I work on a 40″ UHD monitor and the differences are pretty easy to see when you put them side by side. For me the detail is unreal for a $3899 body – especially since it cannot be matched. That said, I’m looking forward to my A7RII shipping and shooting with the new sensor. YMMV.
There are plenty of samples being posted in the forums. If you’re not sure, that’s fine, that’s your opinion.
I’m using the 11-24 on the A7r now, I compared my shots to pretty much unprocessed shots from 5dmk3, and mine seem to have more problems: very visible CA and quite heavy vignetting, way worse than on the 5dmk3. It would be really cool to buy the 5dsr to use with this lens, but it’s another $3.9k, so I’ll pass 🙂 Hopefully the A7r2 will work better with wide angles.
So the thing is, Sony is implementing great technology. But it is not desired by customers.
Oh today’s nonsense, and pray tell, about any of the matters regards the supposed competition who aren’t even any.
I hope everyone jumps on this, because I want cheaper Canon bodies in the future.
Impossibru
The hype is becoming humorous. With its slightly better than jpeg image quality (11 x 7 bit lossy compressed raw files), it is surely worth $3k.
On further reflection….Although A7RII is cheaper than the 5DS, if Sony had priced it a bit more aggressive and kept it below the magic $3000, it would have done the impossible. Then Canon would be forced to lower its prices even further to survive!!!
Sony is sitting in comfortable territory for now… what with such a beautiful body and the possibility to embrace all old legacy lenses, EF lenses and now Nikon lenses, all with IS option!!!
The E-Mount should be renamed..as U-Mount… U for Universal!!!
Either by Christmas 2015 or for sure Spring 2016 the A7rII will be under $3,000. Sony has a very predictable path of price drops for its cameras, you can look at the other A7 models for guidance on future pricing (especially if you are willing to buy used)
A7rII for President 2016 😉
Actually, there is a lot that only MF modular backs can do. They are pricey, but extremely useful.
If you work with macro, composites, or need extreme lens corrections, MF is the only way to work with the lenses that allow the necessary movements and with bellows.
If Sony, or someone else, could make a great modular back that could withstand the abuse that Phase One backs are capable of, but for less, it would sell, and not because of bragging rights. Because of utility.
I’m positive that Sony could make a modular back as tough as Leaf or Phase One, but it would run very close at least to the Leaf. It’s not bragging rights. It is, however, down to the small numbers that sell, the high level of support (Sony can’t match Phase One for that), the guarantees, and the top-notch build quality.
Drop any of those and add mass market to the equation and you can get a much cheaper product.
FLASH AF LIGHT! FLASH AF LIGHT! FLASH AF LIGHT! C
anon wins hands down.. why sony don’t have it????!!!!
What are rubbishing about?
The AF beam of any flash does not work with any sony mirrorless camera (a7, a7ii, a7r, a7r ii and a7s) so in case of event photography, reception shooting with no light it’s unusable.. i’m waiting for this to make the jump, it’s very important for me..
Are you seriousvor just for laughs. Please show me how me the pictures where you cant copevwith sony lossy raw. Otherwise take a break 😉