Since yesterday the A7II is available for preorder in USA and in few Eu stores (strangely still no preorder options at Sony EU). ItsDanK is one of the very few lucky guys that got his hands on the A7II and he writes:
Things to note:
- The dials are quite nice and rubberized now
- The entire body is quite a bit thicker, noticeably.
- Weight is also increased.
- There’s a manual function for the steadyshot to adjust for third party lenses all the way up to 1000mm.
- I’m so use to the shutter button being on top that it’s almost weird to use the grip shutter.
- New mag alloy rubberized spec finish for the body, quite grippy.
- Steadyshot is pretty awesome and more noticeable with longer focal lengths (obviously).
- a6000 like AF box dots whilst focusing. This uses hybrid AF with contrast and phase detect (on sensor) working together at the same time.
All good news so far!
UDPATE: A Korean readers sent me info on Korean A7II tests:
http://www.slrclub.com/bbs/vx2.php?id=minolta_forum&divpage=168&no=896986
http://www.sony.co.kr/alpha/handler/AlphaIndex-Start
Sony Korea announced that Sony A7II will be launched at 12/2 Tue.
That means its a first launch in the world and so many sony mirrorless cameras sold in korea.http://www.slrclub.com/bbs/vx2.php?id=minolta_forum&no=896844
BTW, here a short review of Sony A7II. That explains
– a7ii is more heavier than a7 but the hand grip is better than a7.
– (just felling)viewfinder is better than a7’s one. he felling that framerate is increased.
– AF is more more faster than a7 but not good at low light scene (compare with A7s).
– AF Tracking is better like A6000 in the phase detection area.
– 5-axis stabilization is nice. check that article. (he succeed with 55F18 lens and 1/8)
– boot time is much faster than A7, feels like 2x.
– does not show the flare (halation) — check: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1247655/144 (http://www.vahonen.com/2013/A7temp/20131226chruchFlareCrop.jpg)
he feels that new A7II is like A8 not A7II. :p
and the here is some shots taken with A7ii : http://www.slrclub.com/bbs/vx2.php?id=minolta_forum&divpage=168&no=896978&category=3
USA preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).
EU preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for 1.799 Euro at Amazon Germany (Click here) and 1299 pounds at Wex UK (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for 2.099 Euro at Amazon Germany (Click here) and 1699 pounds at Wex UK (Click here). In Finland at Verkkokauppa.
217 Responses
a6000 like AF box dots whilst focusing. This uses hybrid AF with contrast and phase detect (on sensor) working together at the same time
What’s does this mean? does this means the AF can compete with A6000?
Awesome! Waiting for this tech to come with the A7s sensor. I just can’t give up the performance of that sensor for any of this tech and feature upgrades. But I like everything I see.
Sony, if you’re reading this, PLEASE produce an A5s without a fixed bulky viewfinder (but with 5-axis IBIS), so you will have a revolutionary very coat pocketable advanced Full Frame for event/travel/street and really any kind of photography. A detachable viewfinder (sold separately) is sufficient for many people who want the ability to conveniently have such incredible performance in their coat pockets. The optimal solution would be an A5s with the RX100m3’s popup viewfinder, but I would happily lose the viewfinder altogether and pay more for that privilege of losing that enormous hump.
Such a camera would still be substantially thicker than the current “NEX style” bodies dues to the IBIS mechanism. Also, FF lenses are inherently larger than APSC ones, so I’m not too sure how easily it could fit in a coat pocket.
Sony already made a pocketable Full Frame, that’s RX1.
Now, they’re marketing their FE bodies as a replacement for DSLR, it’s a good thing they’re getting thicker.
A systems camera is never going to be as compact as a fixed lens one. With the latter everything can be optimised, including the sensor which can have things like microlens setups designed to work with just the one lens.
The ultimate wish that some people have for the ultimate high sensitivity systems camera which fits into a pocket is surely never going to happen (subject to the size of your pockets of course).
Maybe the newer FF lenses without IS could turn out a bit lighter or smaller.
This guy is a Sony product manager and the same person who made the A6000 release video.
This was also interesting from the next page after the linked page “The official word is 35% faster but it feels even faster than that as you can see the focusing boxes as you move around the frame and in between shots. It seems to be a little smarter as well and is less inclined to focus on the background as opposed to moving subjects in the foreground. “
They are claiming 150% faster tracking. And yes as the product page has shown since announcement the tracking is from the A6000, at least in terms of the ‘smarts’ it uses, even if the number of AF points haven’t changed.
To be pedantic, Sony claims “1.5x more accurate performance”, which is actually 50% more. This is a claim of accuracy, not speed per se.
Sorry that’s what I mean, 150% of the original, so a 50% improvement. Not sure about the claim being more accurate though, but at any rate it isn’t the 30% that people are touting (which refers to single shot AF speed).
I guess the increase in focus speed helps the tracking to be more accurate. By accurate, I’m assuming Sony mean the proportion of acceptably sharp shots in a burst. This is the sort of thing that could be judged subjectively of course – what do you class as acceptably sharp?
Also from next page “Also as much as I’d like to let on that I actually know something about the A9, I don’t, no-one does, it’s not even confirmed to exist at this point.”
Also you get to his posts by clicking on his name itsdank above.
The space between the finger grip and the lens looks a bit tight. I’m not sure what it’s like if you have fat fingers.
Looks pretty much the same as the A7.
https://rumors.limboint.dev/wp-content/uploads-legacy/sonyalpharumors/2014/11/Bildschirmfoto-2014-11-20-um-16.50.51.png
But the A7 II’s finger grip projects much further forward and offers more “finger wrap” so to speak. It will also depend a lot on the lens, and the diameter of the lens at the relevant point (they are often not simple cylinders after all. Of course it’s hardly surprising that clearances are fairly tight on a relatively small body with a bigger finger grip and lenses designed for full frame.
I see they’ve narrowed the grip towards the front to get a bit more clearance clearly if that had not been done, it would have been really tight.
Not the end of the world.
“But the A7 II’s finger grip projects much further forward and offers more “finger wrap” so to speak.”
That’s a good thing, I think. You’d need long fingers to get all the way round the grip so that your fingertips were at the widest part of the grip where there is often less clearance. I don’t think clearance is going to be an issue, unless you have particularly sausage-like digits.
Makes sense – the shorter grip on the a7 means you’re fighting for space, so the longer grip and sharper angle should make life much easier…
Interesting point. Hmm…I hated that about the A900. Big fat grip that ended in some weird indentation between the lens and grip. I don’t have fat fingers, but I don’t want to feel like I have to tuck them in their too. Hmm.
Shutter sound??
+1000!
Any idea on how it feels with the 35/2.8? I found space a bit tight on my a7
Sony EU websites can learn a thing or two from the Korean website. Easy to find a product without the blah blah and graphics.
117 phase detection points, 99 in APS-C, and 25 contrast detection, Focus System : Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF / contrast-detection AF), if you read the specs you find this out.
Not a fan of the Nikon-style dials and shutter, I really liked what they did on the original A7. Those dials are really gorgeous to the touch.
Also not a fan of the thicker body, added weight, bigger viewfinder and non-optional bigger grip. I thought the original A7 was quite bold and progressive, this A7II is just a step back to classic camera design.
IBIS will be nice when Sony releases some longer primes.
dude, have you got an A7?? go get one already
Please tell me it doesn’t have the noisy first curtain shutter from the original a7 and has a silent shutter or at least the shutter is more muffled due to it’s bigger body??
Technical specs say electronic first curtain like A7. Maybe it’s more quiet though
I really hope so – the a7’s much louder than the a77
yeah my friend has the nikon d750 and d810 and they are quieter than my a7…..and this should be a mirrorless cam???? I have still some doubts 😉
Your friend? You have no friends.
Geno (because this is genotypewriter attempting to troll), you really make no arguments and you sound very very sour. I am sorry for you, you must be in a terrible state. Try relaxing and praying.
Larger body absorb sound.
If you put the A7 in a larger body, like A99, it will be much quieter than D810.
Errr same like why sitting and revving in a Mercedes Benz is so quiet compared to budget cars, but of course, price wise A7 series is pretty much a budget FF camera 🙂
The internal magnesium chassis will probably dampen the shutter noise a fair bit.
It will almost certainly have the same shutter as the A7, but with EFCS, so quieter than the A7R. Possibly there will be some detailed difference in the mounting, and as the A7 II is a heaver camera, more mass to damp the sound. I suspect the “noisy shutter” is probably partly related to the low mass of the A7 series.
As for silent shutter, then it doesn’t have that. The A7S has one (with limitations), only because it has just 12MP to deal with. A 24MP sensor would require double the read/digitisation speed to achieve the same transit time, so it would suffer from much worse rolling shutter artifacts on dynamic subjects that the A7S does.
Maybe one day, but it will need a completely new sensor diagram.
This, mostly. Agree about the mass affecting the shutter sound, plus the A7 II has a metal front plate like the A7S and sturdier mount, so it should be similar to A7S if not a bit more damped due to the extra stuff inside.
It would still be nice to have the option, there are still many static objects to work with that could use the silent shutter, it’d be nice to have some functions even if they’re half-baked, Sony could release it in a form of…beta patch, that doesn’t have to get updated, not a full firmware upgrade.
Doesnt matter if it’s quieter than the a7r. The a7r is noisy as hell and is a poor benchmark to compare it to.
Are the rubberized dials the same as those in the A99 and A77, which have frequently been criticised for their tendency to collect dirt and become erratic?
I really do like the look, layout and improvements of the MkII, but I agree with Mike and prefer the existing dials (I can’t see how they could incorporate both styles though!)
Criticised by who, Someone like you that doesn’t own the camera? Is it your life goal to make at least one ridiculous nonsensical post per day. Keep up the good work Peter, you’re batting 1000.
Doesn’t own ‘the’ camera’? Effectively there are four mentioned (A99, A77, A7 and A7 MkII), so to which one are you referring?
As it happens, I previously owned 2 A900 and 1 A850, followed by 2 A99 and an A55, and now I own 2 A7 and 2 A7s. Furthermore I used and use them all in a professional capacity, so am well qualified to judge the merits of the controls.
Not only that, a halfwit could google ‘erratic control wheel behaviour’ and see that it has often been mentioned. Of course, you don’t even possess a half…
I’m always so impressed with trolls like you who refer to me by name but haven’t got the balls to identify yourself. What a miserable existence you and your ilk lead, shut away in your little troll holes, pretending to be oracles of all that is wise and yet you probably would fail in a test to tie your shoelaces.
Most notable in these descriptions is that this is a heavier larger more substantial camera than people have come to expect in E mount.
This is a very good thing.
There is an unfurtanite stereotype that E mount is for compact cameras and lenses only.
This has generated resistance to larger more substantial lenses that are absolutely necessary in building a versatile system to compete against the dslr.
E moouunt needs to lose this stereotype to move on and be considered a real proffesional tool.this is a goyod step in that direction.
Overall I think this is a very good camera with some inovative features and a big step forward for E mount.
The decision to make this available before the hoiday buying season is a smart one…I hope this camera sells well.
That being said this is definitely not a professional level camera…that we expect to come a little later in the a9.
I am not in the market for a 24mp bayer senser ff camea and therefore do not need this camera
I anxiosly await the
I think they will come up with the A9 only after they develop a full frame version of the A6000 sensor with fast AF. Otherwise an A9 does not make sense (and they wouldn’t want to devalue an A9 designation). A year or two after that such a sensor will trickle down into the A7 series.
However, I personally, being only an enthusiast, am awaiting the A5 version (FF in NEX7 body, no EVF) perhaps in 2-3 years time with fast AF, or sooner with current A7II sensor.
The rumors posted for the a9 have said from the beginning that it will have an updated faster version of the a6000 AF system.
I would certainly hope of course that this is a new tech sensor and not similar to the a6000 sensor
Agree with Barry. It needs to do much better than A6000, given the A9’s presumed top price.
If Sony can make these cameras why can’t we get an ultra slim A99II. Everyone wants to write off A mount like the idea of small and light can’t be taken further because of the mount. I bet if Sony really wanted to they could make an A mount camera almost the same freaking size as this A7II.
They could make compact mirrorless A mount if they actually want to keep A mount.
I don’t think they want to.
>E mount needs to lose this stereotype to move on and be considered a real profesional tool
Yep. I don’t see enthusiasts and pros taking FE serious until they get most basic lenses like FE 24-70 f/2.8 and such.
Unfortunately, that hype camera would require a lot of fixes by the engineering team (which they don’t remotely understand because they are no photographers) and a sensible mount, which E is not. I would stick to cheap APS cameras if I was Sony, they just don’t get it.
I have at times been critical…but this comment goes beyond what I would consider reasonable and I dissagree.
Anyone given a thought to that extra electronics/stabilization, which I why its thicker, will mean even crappier battery life.
That was pretty much my first thought. Any recommendations on a decent aftermarket battery in the UK? I used to use expro with my a77 and was quite pleased with the results…
yeah you will need at least 8 batteries for one day shootting than only 4 ;)….
i will carry 10 with me all the time…..horrible should be improved with the introduction of the sony a9 with a better more durable battery and slightly weight increase …hopefully
Where do you store the 10 batteries, up your A$$.
No, CIPA numbers indicate a slight improvement with IBIS on. With IBIS off, that improvement will likely be larger, that much I can agree with.
I had similar suspicions. Based on the spec sheet it is 30 more pictures better than A7. Go figure.
3 downsides it seems…
no lossless raw file option
no dual card slot
no substatially improved af esp. low light still hunting going to -1ev saidly not to -3ev like the d750
no or only slightly improved quieter shutter sound
any mentioning of reflections when wide angle lens are attached….maybe this issues is solved compeltley/sufficiently
IBIS is great but hopefully the sony a9 will do better esp. with regard to the mentioned issues…….
those are 4 (let’s say 5 with the last “any”).
And I would wait full reports before judging “in the dark”.
The original a7 was absolute junk in low light. I can get better focus with my phone. Since Sony thought it fit to bring it to market I have no doubt this has the same tragic flaw as its predececesor
Absolute junk… ok… LOL
Your opinion is absolute junk in any light because you’re a know nothing troll with sensor and IBIS envy.
I have an A7 and only one AF lens which I never use.
I do use manual lenses and I can manually focus in very low light, in light so low that you wouldn’t be able to AF with a DSLR and I can focus in low light way past the point at which I could with an OVF system.
Your experiences just don’t match mine.
Yes that is easy if the subject is not moving and you have all the time in the world.
But that is not the point of AF. At low light events/weddings things move too quickly for that.
LOL, loss raw… get a grip.
No dual card slot- I’ll give you that one.
And you know all this without ever laying hands on the camera, you must be the Oracle at Delphi.
The D750 is a warmed over D600 with a cheap plastic body and junky shutter mechanism. It’s old news.
Cheap plastic body?
Yes!
The major problem is the low light AF, it renders the camera useless in half of real world situations. Even a bottom barrel cheapo consumer grade DSLR can AF in low light with the flash IR assist. These cameras are incapable of using that so you have the option of the horrid orange light which only works a small portion of the time and looks aweful and annoys subjects as well as only having a three foot range or not focusing at all.
No useful MF assist, either. Sensor reflections. Horrid menus. Badly engineered mount. Horrid flash system. Bad build. I’d sooner buy a phone than the Sony toys.
I see a problem here. The A7II is getting so big that I can’t really see any size advantage compared to a DSLR. Shouldn’t the E-mount cameras be much smaller than a DSLR, even at the same sensor size ?
nevertheless the sony a7II will still be less heavy and bulky than a classical dslr d750 ….with regard to.lenses only if you use small primes sonys upcoming 28 f2 series, 35 2.8 lens the f4 zooms of course not or the 1.4 primes no advantage to dslrs…..and do not underestimate the balancing issues if the lens is bigger and heavier than the body….no go for me……no joy of shooting anymore…
Omfg what?
Its not that much bigger than A7, so a FF DSLR is still huge compared.
Maybe just use a RX100 instead if you care more about size than quality…
No. Why does it need a ‘size advantage’ there are loads of other advantages other than size for many many people.
Go big or go home…it applies to small things as well. EM1 gets all the praise in micro land but it’s pretty much DSLR size. People want “bigger” options even for their smaller electronic choices- if that makes any sense.
If the A7II is too big then buy something smaller, there are many cameras to choose from.
Still much smaller than D600:
http://cutieplus.jp/bbs/data/attachment/forum/201411/28/002309d5er2o66g66eirb1.jpg
http://cutieplus.jp/bbs/data/attachment/forum/201411/28/002312akj37z3gmzxcxcm8.jpg
How about this, 6D vs A7II:
This is your only example of a lens small enough to be comparable in size to mirrorless bodies? All other Canon lenses + body combinations are huge. Next time, try to put a comparable quality lens on the Canon.
The A7ii is a vastly superior camera in every aspect, except AF in low light, but the A7ii is even close here and MF is leagues better on the A7ii than the 6D. If we talk video then the A7ii will obliterate the Canon in every aspect.
Denial must be such a bliss for Canon fanboys.
It is superior in many aspects, not “vastly” in “every” aspect. It remains to be seen whether AF or CAF and high ISO will be “vastly” “superior”. (I’m not a Canon shooter)
I have compared the smallest full-frame lenses on each camera. I’m not a Canon fanboy (except for the colors – Sony really sucks) but I wish that Sony would also release smaller full-frame mirrorless cameras. Removing the viewfinder in a lower-end model would remove a lot of volume, for example.
Sony really suck for the color… yeah… right…
Like Canon or Nikon are perfect. LOL..
Actually, not LOL, LMFAO
By comparison, Canon sucks at everything, especially banding in shadow areas. Are you blind?
No it does not. Are you stupid or are you a paid shill?
Not sure about color, but mum yours sucks many things….
You like banding in shadow areas, go Canon.
So what, an FE 70-200 f/4 is smaller than a Nikkor 70-200 f/4?
Or when they make FE 70-200 f/2.8, you expect that to be compact?
Wake up, there’s very little size/weight difference between an FE and a DSLR.
But you’re still stuck with a crap sensor.
Really? Did you read it in some “expert” website?
But the 6D has an inferior sensor and no ISBS, and it’s still bigger. If you currently own a 6D keep it, if you’re in the market for a new camera the A7II is by far a better choice.
Vastly superior what? You are free to buy whatever junk you want, but if you spread lies, you will be corrected.
LOL, what a comparison.
Let’s do this! https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/11015638594_b1bfb84286.jpg
Not sure if 2014 or 1955…Die Hipster scum!
Besides, the Canon will get you the shot in many situations where the Sony toy just drops its pants. Toys and gadgets vs useful tools. And then, we have the less useful tools here rubbishing the (vastly superior) competition to sell their cra_p.
Hmm, another Vlad.
No. If you want compact, it’s RX1 and 5100.
Don’t just compare bodies, the FE series won’t be compact because of the lens sizes anyway.
the “rubberized” part worries me. they tend to get sticky. why cant they have the all metal dials like the A7r?
Wash you hands after eating fried chicken.
Sometimes you can’t wash your hands halfway up on a mountain.
There is no fried chicken up on the mountain.
But there’s sweat.
Put deodorant on your hands.
And you think that’s not gonna corrode the rubber?
Looks like Sony has increased the weight to 556g from 295g. the A7R weighs 416g and the 5DMKlll is 860. What is nice is the footprint is still pretty much the same with the improved shutter button location. Theoretically will be able to use unstabilized lenses which will reduce the weight.
The A7 did not weigh 295g.
Your right I found that on a google search but obviously it wasn’t correct, thanks. B&H says it is 416g .
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I’m grateful for Sony imports “stuffed” with features so that I can “feast” on a vast array of vintage lenses. Here’s to family pictures, carb overloads and not getting any food on your gear today.
Cheers
Hope that family holds steady, and in the sun.
If 7 means IBIS, doesn’t it work better on shorter lenses? Or is Sony’s implementation more advanced?
Well you don’t particularly need IBIS with a 35mm lens unless you’re taking a picture in a boat in a storm or something. He probably meant “more useful” with longer lenses.
I think it’s still much needed for a 50mm, as I get many blurry shots under 1/25, and would be very grateful if I get sharp shots ensured at 1/4, but I don’t know how steady a 35mm is.
As steady as your hand can hold your camera 😉
So the camera still cannot focus in lowlight. What the hell is up with a 2015 camera that doesn’t have a working autofocus. We have had autofocus since the 80s. I would prefer one focus point that works to 300 ones which cannot actually focus the camera in real world situations. Useless for half the photographic situations one will encounter. This is why I sold the a7 a week after i bought it and bought the a7s. I will be passing on this POS
The camera still has no ability to focus in low light. How useless. 2015 design, 300 autofucs points and not one of them work.
It does focus in low light.
Yes, after about 5 minutes, if your lucky and you dance around the cake three times each time praying to allah. It will lock in low light usually, unfortunately the camera locking on focus has nothing to do with the actual subject being in focus. Have you shot an a7? I sold it a few weeks after I bought it after it ruined multiple receptions. I had to shoot on an old apsc cam just so I would get something. A7 is junk. This is just more junk. Most advanced IBIS in the world and a great sensor, glass etc with out the ability to actually focus. Garbage. The totally addressed this deficit in the a7s. So it seems they only produce one camera in the FE that can be used in low light with any confidence.
But don’t take my word for it. Buy the junk and enjoy your sunny days. Really really treasure those sunny days.
A lot of people here seem to not realise that a mirror in a camera is there for a reason, not just some kind of tradition. And this reason is, exactly, to enable the camera to focus properly. They seriously compare A7x with 5D3 and actually denounce the 7D-II with 65 cross-type AF points…
The mirror is there to provide reflex viewing through an optical viewfinder. It can also be used for other functions but that’s primary.
There is not optical viewfinder in an SLT camera, yet the mirror is there for a reason.
Check your quote: “A lot of people here seem to not realise that a mirror in a camera is there for a reason, not just some kind of tradition. And this reason is, exactly, to enable the camera to focus properly.” This statement is incorrect. You made no mention of SLT in your statement. Check yourself.
So? In any modern camera with a mirror it’s there to provide PDAF. It may or may not also serve to provide reflex viewing through an optical viewfinder (as there may be or not be one present). Since the OVF is optional, PDAF is the primary purpose of the mirror.
I know it used to be different, historically.
That is again wrong since there is a secondary mirror behind the primary mirror that is deflecting light onto the PDAF sensor which is situated underneath the mirror box in every DSLR (not in SLT but they are not a DSLR). The primary big mirror serves the function of providing reflex viewing historically and contemporary.
A nice scheme how that works can be seen here: https://photographylife.com/how-phase-detection-autofocus-works
It’s unbelievable how people can talk about things about which they have no understanding whatsoever.
Thank you, I didn’t know that. So, it’s actually a separate mirror that’s optional.
Anyway, the mirror that’s in both DSLR and DSLT is there to provide PDAF.
Where is the problem, he generalized, so included SLT and SLR.
Yes, like sunblocker for black people…makes much sense…yawn
duott knows just enough to troll but not much else.
The a7s has zero issues focusing in low light and in fact the a6000 does a much better job the the a7 or a7r
All the more the reason to WAIT for the A9…..;-)
Yes, I own one. But I doubt that you ever have. If you had, you’d know that while it’s not blazingly fast in low light, it works fairly well. Better than a 5D Mark II for instance – wedding photographers didn’t seem to mind using that camera.
That is simple, any dslr will use the ir assist off the flash so will focus fine regardless of lighting systems. The a7 cannot do that. As for why I used it for multiple because my a99 was being serviced and I bought it to try. To be honest I thought I was somehow not use the camera right but after trying ever possible combination from using the adapter with alpha glass (still won’t focus on low light) to different styles I sold it and bought an a7s which is a far better camera. I don’t care if you don’t believe I owned one. It’s a 1400$ camera.. Ask me anything about it. I can recite the menu ffs. You must have got the Magic version. Or more realistically your an amateur who doesn’t know how to evaluate a camera. Not surprising since you don’t seem to know how older dslrs were able to AF in low light.
Junk belongs in the bin, and your legend about the 5D2 goes hand in hand with the sensor legend. Of course wedding photogs “did not seem to mind”: when you are shooting, legends evaporate.
If you pray to Allah, your camera blow up itself, so no focus, stupid! Why you not use real camera for work, yawn…”professionals” these days…HULK never use anything except HULK for SMASH!
I think you mean no light. Yeah, I don’t think that camera exists yet.
Yes it does, its called the a7s, or the a77 II or the 5d mark III
6D and D750.
That’s exactly what he is getting at. He can’t use the A7 so has to rely on the Canon 5DM3 or Nikon D4 or Canon 1DX
who shoots in dark??? if that’s your thing why not just get one of the cameras that specifically goes after that market? why whine about a camera that’s not designed for that? You could pretty much add any DSLR to your list, take the entry level canon and nikons and they all focus with a fast lens in near darkness nearly instantly. Use those for when you’re in the basement!
Maybe he likes the camera otherwise and would like to use it for those situations, too? After all, they are advertised as professional tools, aren’t they?
Exactly – these cameras have all sorts of virtues but a camera needs to be able to capture photographs in a variety of real world situations. I am not talking slow autofocus, or missing the occasional tracking shot, I am stating that the autofocus is so bad in low light that it cannot reliably focus on a static subject, never mind trying to capture something as “wild” as a first dance.
It is abysmal, dont get me wrong, I would LOVE to be able to purchase this cam for all sorts of reasons but who wants a camera that cannot autofocus in half the real world conditions you use one in?
Are you serious? Who shoots in the dark? How about.. PHOTOGRAPHERS.
A full frame camera is a pro camera, any event photographer will spend a majority of time in low light situations, in fact even a soccor mom might bring her cam to say, a wedding and want to capture some shots. Maybe you just sit there and shoot in sunlight but you are a minority, by no means representative of average photographers.
We are at it again. Pro this, pro that. The camera doesn’t work for your needs, that’s it. How about DSLRs in 2015 that can’t MF properly in half the real world conditions?
How about them? Have you got any experience with that? Can you describe it in English?
Hi Harry, not following the discussion again?
I take it as a no then. Why do you keep writing about stuff you don’t know, I wonder.
Which ones? Have you ever owned a camera?
Dude, apparently you are not one of them. If a photographer finds themselves in a situation when the camera’s having hard times to focus, they switch to the manual focus, and every amateur knows that. Photography is “painting with light”, it’s all about the light. If the light is crappy, you should either bring your own lighting equipment or just find a way to use what you’ve got. If both ways look too hard for you – well, you are a “soccOr mom”…
BY the time you got you manual focus working perfectly, the shot will have moved on and you’ll have captured NOTHING.
Good luck using manual focus in the dark in a fast paced wedding or other reception.
“The camera still has no ability to focus in low light. How useless. 2015 design, 300 autofucs points and not one of them work.” Aaron Ashley
No ability? Not one of them work? Wow that escalated quickly.. Read properly below
“- AF is more more faster than a7 but NOT GOOD at low light scene (COMPARE WITH A7S).”
Majority of cameras even in 2014 doesnt focus well in low light, except the A7s
I don’t kow what you shoot Red Dango but I have shot all of Sony’s cameras
and the major cameras from Canikon, Leica and panasonic. The a7 is by far the
worst low light focusing camera I have ever used. The a77 for instance focuses
fine in low light.
For those cameras that don’t focus in low light, or even no light, the IR AF assist from the flash will enable them to focus. The A7 series cannot use the flash to asssist in focus and just has a hideous looking orange light that does almost nothing.
I am a pro wedding shooter and the a7 was useless at reception level lighting or shooting in a dim ceremony. I am not talking stressful conditions, I am talking conditions where an iphone can successfully focus. In addition the a7 EVF gains up so much that manual focus becomes inaccurate as well in those conditions.
Under ideal conditions this camera will produce stellar resutls. For real world shooting conditions it’s junk.
I have had very similar experience in real life reception level lighting. If you think A850 AF is relatively slow and innacurate in low light, A7 is quite a bit worse. A99 is better, 5D3 is much better. No experience with Nikon cameras, so cannot comment on those.
But most people do not understand or need this, AF speed or double card slots. I really hope, however, that these will be addressed in A9, or perhaps they will release A99II until it can be done.
The A7II also isn’t waterproof. This is 2015! We take pictures in rain and under waterfalls, so why can’t this camera do that? The Sony A7 line is the worst camera line ever. If you want a real camera, go with Nikon.
your “real world” as a wedding photographer. For shooting those you’d be much better off with a camera half the price, the Canon 5Ti would do you much better. The Sony focuses fine for me with the 55mm, but maybe you’re using a cheap lens on it. It’s ridiculous to talk about focusing without saying what lens you use. If it were me I’d use a fast manual focus lens and do it the old fashioned way. But for weddings I’d just use a cheap dslr.
Hnriot consider the following points:
– It is 2015, one should not have to resort to manually focusing with a camera equipped with autofocus. This camera should not be on the market without some very clear indicators that it cannot focus as good as a last generation cel phone in low light
-You cannot actually reliably depend on Manual focus in a wedding environment, and actually the a7 EVF gains up so much in low light that the grain obscures what is sharp and what is not. And focus peaking is only nominally accurate.
-Did I not mention I am a professional photographer? I own all the FE lenses, in fact the 55 is one of my favorite lenses, and have tried the camera with both leae4 and leae3 adapters. They all suck, terribly. Its not a little problem it is an absolute abysmal failure for anyone who needs to capture pictures accurately in lowlight, and this applies to the entire FE lens line up. Its not the lenses its the camera, the a7s does fine.
Faster AF does’t mean ability to focus in low light. Ashley is right, A7II focuses -1EV with f/2, same as A7 0EV with f/2.8, so no improvement AF performance in low light. Some do not care about it, but some, as me, do because I shoot mainly in dim/low light. Hope A9 Pro will focus -3EV with F/2.8, than it can compate with 6D, D750 and some other DSLR.
Why wouldn’t you invest into a good lighting kit?
REally, now.
Sometime you just CANNOT use any external lights whatsoever.
Please get a grip.
Best friend got a D750 its af performance in low ligth is amazing…..thinking of gong back from sony a7 to oldschool dslr just because of this….but probably waiting until sony a9 are announced..;)
So Admin please….;)
“Thank” sony for that: instead of advancing software methods of focusing they chosen to develop defected by design hybrid focusing, which is initially limited by amount of points assigned for pdaf, so the amount of light available for focusing is too few. And now take a look at Panasonic, which focuses at -4ev and tracks about as good as a6000, even though it’s only first generation tech (remember how crappy NEX-6 was in tracking?)
well, my A700 and A900 focus superb in low light, even in no light at all up to 10 meters or more. Focus illuminator is what you need:-)
Which (the AF illuminator on the flash) doesn’t work with LA-EA4 because Sony crippled its system on purpose
Wonder how is the EVF ‘proximity sensor’
I thought the A7 looked amazing.
I think they have ruined the look of the A72 – making it chunky makes it look like an early 90s bridge camera. Looks cheap now!
I would not say cheap at all, but I share some of your thoughts… I don’t like that it became FAT and I too think the previous A7x look better.
The place for the stabilisation mechanism has to be somewhere, I guess that’s why it’s thicker now.
If you want stabilisation and better ergonomics, that’s the price you have to pay…
Yeah, and of course IBIS is much more welcome, I’d choose A7II over A7, just prefer the design of the A7.
Yeah, and of course I really do welcome IBIS, design is secondary, just my opinion about aesthetic.
youre probably the first person i saw who said that and you never had a a7x in your hand obviously.
I do not own one, but I did try A7 and A7R both several time, from what I remember they felt good enough in hands, my comment was just aestetically. Obviously I do welcome IBIS and I much prefer IBIS over the slimer design. No need to make assumption about myself.
The previous model is still available for those who want it, but in previous discussions tons of people, including me, said they were happy for the camera to be a little bigger if it included IBIS.
And I like the bigger grip too – because of the poor grip design and the way you have to shift your grip to hit the shutter, my a7 is actually more tiring to carry in hand all day than the a99 is; despite the weight difference!
Well I did not say I do not like, I still think it looks great and IBIS is much more than welcome, design is secondary, I’d buy it over the original A7 for sure. I just prefer the old look, I did not use it long enough to tell if the previous design was bad, though from what I remenber it felt quite good in hands.
Your moma had her best times in the early 90ies, too, but she is still good! HULK congratulates!
Looks like your best material is that old too. Hulk go back in cage
Yes, it does look fatter now. That’s why they changed the grip. Handgun grip is more suitable to fat camera(most DSLR actually). Nikon FM like grip(or the lack thereof) is more suitable to classic SLR(or classic A7 series).
The look has very little function when you take photographs the fit and usability is much more important. .. there are offcourse those people that dress like all the other hipsters of this time. For them the look might be imporant when they sit still in some trendy cafe and try to portay an image of some intelligence. But in the end it’s irrelevant. Your pictures are what matters.
WEX UK has just increased their price to £1599…an increase of £300!!
Pre-orders must be looking good!
Your mom, too, with HULK d… in mouth!
Think you’ve said this about ten times now. Proves mental deficiencies of Hulk
Wobbly sensor, wobbly prices!
How did HULK get in photography anyway?
i prefer to wait a littl more till the summer of 2015, when at this time will be available more interesting divices such as a-9 and a-99 M2 .
If you wait even more till 3015 – there are much more exciting devices coming: the A9M100 & A99M101. The only problem you’re gonna be dead by then, and now it’s a good time to invest into a nice freezer and hibernate for a hundred years 😉
Not really. I have an A700 and a Nex-6 and those cameras are working just fine.
The only reason to upgrade at this stage is GAS.
Hence, I can wait for the A9 and or A99M2.
These are the things I’m hoping for in ONE camera:
No AA filter.
Around 32Mp – 36Mp.
Clean, completely usable Hi ISO of 6400 – perfectly doable if they use their new backside illuminated sensor technology and copper wiring.
Completely Silent shooting, preferably global shutter. Already shown to be possible with their current technology.
Much better EVF. Fuji and Samsung has shown what’s possible.
Fast AF that’ll work down to -3EV.
5-axis IBIS.
Flash sync 1/250 sec or better, even up to 1/8000 sec.
Much more ability to automate using apps or macros, i.e. programmable shooting.
WiFi.
Internally stored 4K, even if limited to 10 or 15 minutes only.
H265. Codec.
Light weight – A9, not more than A7II will do.
Not so heavy A99M2. Slightly lighter than current A99 will suffice.
All of this is possible right now. It just needs to be put together.
So : I’ll wait.
And yes, because I’ve been saving for it, they can start out at a rip-off price.
You forgot the touch screen to locate focus points.
+100
PEEENISSSSSSS
You shall stop doing drugs and playing with your little pen*s hulkyboy, it’s bedtime!
His doctor also called – there is still no solution to his mental problems.
It ain’t easy being green 🙂
They shouldn’t of moved the shutter button for cry baby dslr users. It should of stayed on top. Its a lot harder to support the camera with a heavy lens with your index finger forward.
That’s absurd. It’s wrong to try to “support” the camera with one hand.
Previous mirrorless models had the button on the grip too, a7 is an exception. I tried and it works out badly.
better to support the camera by holding the lens, surely?
Also, Sony has specifically increased the depth of the grip to accommodate those heavier lenses.
Coming from the Nex-6, I think the button is in the right place – and so do thousands of others.
Guess he’s more used to shooting with a compact…
So what you are saying is that dSLR users who have been using heavy lenses for decades are wrong?
Go back to your iPhone, it suits your girly hands.
SHUTTER SOUND????
I am sorry nothing improved about the shutter sound.
Meep is below halfwit 🙂 He is genotypesukker attempting to troll.
muhhhh
I want to love these cameras, but using these cameras professionally are almost out of the question for me. I have had the Sony A7r for 9 months and want to love it , but the battery life is so bad! I spend a lot of time shooting in remote areas and am using 4 batteries to every 1 canon battery . This is a huge issue as most of the time do not have 4 hours a night ( after 12 hour shoot day ) to spend charging and swapping batteries.
You will find a lower MP camera has lower power demands. The Canon vs Sony battery issue is partly a MP vs MP issue. This is due to increased processing per shot. To really compare you would need cameras with similar specifications.
It’s the EVF not the megapixels.
Yes I would have thought the EVF being on all the time is sucking power. Sometimes I will go through half a battery and have only shot 5-10/frames. really that bad ! Also start up times are really long, so need to leave the camera on most the time.
guys,
admin on holiday! i help him put the poison there –> 1st ever REVIEW of A7II 😛
http://www.eoshd.com/2014/11/sony-a7-ii-review-5-axis-stabilisation-video-mode/
I like where sony is going with this. If the A7s is the king of low light and the A7r is the resolution beast, the A7 should be the AF and stabilization king. I bought the original A7 because of the phase detect, but it’s not as good as it could be. I wonder if this AF ability is possible through a firmware update?
Given that most of the information (even from Sony) seems to indicate the sensor is the same and the processor is the same, but it is the image processing algorithm that provides the AF speed and tracking, it would seem possible.
However, as Sony very rarely issue firmware upgrades, even when needed to resolve bugs, the likelihood of them offering one which might well detract from sales of the new model must be almost non-existent.
Pure conjecture.
I seem to remember you moaning about Sony spending money on a promo video because their profits aren’t good. Now you think they should throwing money at firmware upgrades which have a marginal effect at best on their profit margin.
Make your mind up Pete.
Uh… you misread him Justtakethepicture. He’s saying the same thing you are. Read again, the second half of last sentence.
I don’t know how you believe Peter Kelly suggests “they should throw money at firmware upgrades”… as you say. Where did you get that?
To Justtakethepiss,
As has been pointed out, it would help if you could read and comprehend, but being reasonable is not the motivation for miserable little trolls like you, is it?
It is so noticeable that your only contributions are one-liner put-downs and you don’t have the strength of your convictions to identify yourself properly, hiding behind an avatar.
Sad, very sad.
For the record, my name is ‘Peter’, not ‘Pete’.
Ok Pete.
Such wit and repartee! Aren’t you just the pinnacle of the intellectual elite. There’s a perfect word for such as you from where I come from:
Gobshite!
At least you’re not going on about being anonymous any more, that was making you look really dumb.
Have a great day Pete!
Don’t waste time lamenting a lack of firmware upgrades. For most companies, firmware upgrades are only prioritised when needed to correct bugs. Try to enjoy the camera you bought already for a few years.