DxOmark (Click here) published their A7II sensor results. And it’s really no surprise that the sensor performs very close to the A7:
Improvements to build quality and handling alongside the addition of a new sensor shift image stabilisation system make the new Sony A7II an even more appealing prospect to both serious amateur and professional photographers. Packing essentially the same 24.2Mp full frame sensor there’s no discernable improvement in image quality over its predecessor the Sony A7, but it still remains one of the best scoring sensors on our database ranking in 11th place overall.
At CES Sony also launched that new A7II promotion video. And there is also a new review by Tony Northrup:
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.
81 Responses
no a7000 ? new high-end APS-C camera… ?
It’s called the A6000. The 6 and 7 numbers don’t directly translate from last generation, don’t try the Tri-Nav nonsense either. The NEX7 only needed that, as the menu system was truly horrific. (A6000 has the new menus)
Tri-Nav nonsense ….really, used it much.
Best thing ever happened to cameras according to most users on NEX-7.
Ask any person who moved from NEX-7 to NEX-6 or A6000 and most will tell you that is the one feature missing.
i quite agree as i can say the 3rd dial (compared to A6000) could be useful to get direct access to one dedicated feature, but it s not at all mandatory.
However with the A7mk2 assigning the IL to one specific dial was not a smart choice in my opinion, a Cx button would have been enough.
Indeed the more they assign features to dial , the less the camera is customisable.
In that case they could have made a real Tri Navi by letting users choosing what to assign on that dial 😉
I could not resist the Decembers promotions and I’m owner of a7 almost for a month now… amazing camera… it misses only FE 24-104 f4.. 🙂
just curiosity what happens with E-mount APS-C cameras…
a6000 is too big… for that size i’ll always prefer a7..
this one just beat 5DMK2 on every aspects, great selling price too as for an entry FF with IBIS. if there is another FF either A7r or A7s incorporate IBIS and A6K AF system, this will be nice. A7rMK2 must incorporate electronic shutter too.
A9 surely to see new 4D AF system. May be 66/8K video too. IBIS will be baseline for future mirrorless. A9 definitely will be using a new sensorrrrr 😀
Do you realise this sort of specs is worthless? Do you take pictures at all?
Or maybe you took too much 5D AFS APC 67/999? (it’s also called heroin)
Yes worthless to Canon fanboys because their sensors suck so bad.
The Canon sensors are not a high bar to beat, like being compared to the slowest kid in the class.
Lower dynamic range but better high iso performance. Interesting. Sensor or software? I wonder if they will retest with updated firmware.
In all the advertising spiel for the MkII Sony made a lot of a new image processing algorithm. It supposedly is responsible for the quicker AF and I’m sure it must be the reason behind the slight variation in these figures too.
The sensor toppings could have something to do with it as well, A7 II doesn’t suffer the same reflection issues as the A7 did.
Quite possibly. I’d be interested to know how that aspect varies, along with the process of how such things are decided. Leica certainly got something wrong with the M8, so it wouldn’t be unique.
You take from Peter to pay Paul………
Hooray for Peter, actually said something that makes sense. You’re on a roll Pete.
Canon’s claim to fame.
WHY DOES IT HAVE LOVER DR THAN THE OLDER TYPE?
POSSIBLY BECAUSE THE SENSOR WAS TWEAKED TO IMPROVE LOWLIGHT PERFORMANCE, A7S WAS THE SAME (BETTER LOWLIGHT, SLIGHTLY REDUCED DR AT ISO100).
I THINK YOU MAY BE RIGHT.
TO MATT AND MARCEL,
SARCASM, PERHAPS? 🙂
It doesn’t, it has reduced DR compared to higher res sensors WHEN down sampled (negating the resolution advantage).
I presume that makes this the highest-scoring image-stabilised sensor yet?
There is no significant difference in sensor performance. The slight drop in DR at ISO 100 could be due to IBIS. The lack of touchscreen is a bummer, especially given the poor interface design overall.
The sensor sits on a float in the camera, when the camera is jogged the sensor doesn’t move as much. Rather like a ball in a bowl of water, move the bowl and the ball doesn’t much a lot but it does a little. Why would IBIS effect this?
Because the sensor is floating, the heat may not dissipate as well as on a fixed mount, EM shielding could also be affected because the platform is driven by some kind of motors (stepper/piezo/voice coil… I don’t know).
Any data to back up this claim you just pulled out of you a$$?
Yes you were correct; “I don’t know” Leave it at that.
I wish a AF-area joystick for the A9 – and weather sealed + GPS.
Touchscreens are for amateurs. Try using you touchscreen in rain/snow or with glows, try using it in cold temperatures or very hot temperatures. It just won’t work.
First officially original post by the trolls! be it taken directly from blackberry and precluding direct interaction from what in this case would surely benefit from it especially with moving subjects…and in as much identical to a four way control as they are already minus the easier incremental control for fine adjustments and without the ‘random access’ of the whole screens surface as is the case with touch screen (multi-touch would even allow for multiple focus point selections XD)…If using ‘glows’ i advise using the end of the ‘glow’ itself XD or super glueing a small pad on the tip of a pair of gloves finger points. I’ve posted the keyword, watch this space for the lesser troll to now try and feed the greater ones effort…
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I don’t feed trolls sorry…
Schrödinger’s cat? You don’t… but you do.
So amateurs don’t wear glows?
Other than that, this is the kind of tripe we’ve been hearing for decades about cameras. Auto-aperture on SLRs is for amateurs. Auto exposure is for amateurs. Auto focusing is for amateurs. Built in flash if for amateurs.
Given that amateurs will make up the majority of sales of this or any other Sony consumer product, I’d suggest amateurs are a very good target segment for Sony to pursue.
Yes, I am an amateur. I want touchscreen. I won’t upgrade my A7 for IBIS, but I would for a touchscreen (did it with the Nex 5 back then).
BTW, as an amateur, I don’t make photos at minus 20 or with heavy rain or during an earthquake… I leave that to the professionals..
Butttt great tundra snow skape is fantaaszztik! you must make photo in 20 minus it is ochin coolio! Then make hole in ice and dive!
Oh, it´s Tony Cockthrob and DXSonymark again…
Was wondering where you’ve been… Trollidays?
hulk & sharpshooter are same troll person
This makes sense. Disconnected statements…long rants. Is sharpshooter also Sony Sony Sony????
Tony’s review ain’t very helpful. Watched a few. All he does is read the spec sheet.
We do “previews” before a camera is released, which are (out of necessity) based on manufacturer specifications. Our “reviews” (like this one) are always real-world, and based on our actual experiences using the cameras (including time spent with the camera that you don’t see on the video).
Based on the urban dictionary definition of Hulk’s nickname for me, I have to say that I’m flattered, but already in a relationship.
I assume when you say you’re already in a relationship, that you are referring to the A7II. Touche sir….touche.
You don’t seem to have watched the full review. The Northrup’s don’t cast the A7ii in a very good light. Although they did enjoy it and think it’s a good camera, they didn’t feel that it’s ready to “go pro”.
Problem with these reviews is usually the lack of familiarity with the equipment. Note my comment above. Set-up properly the A7’s will hit focus more accurately than my 5D3’s in dim light.
That may be true, I haven’t spent much time with a 5D3. When watching the Northrups with the Sony cameras, I haven’t seen them make use of the intelligent object tracking feature. I will admit that the auto area focus isn’t fantastic, but on my a6000 I rely heavily on the object tracking (assign shortcut key, usually centre button, to object tracking) to get my focus. It’s incredibly convenient. You select a subject once, and even after it goes off frame, the camera will still remember it and grab it instantly should it reappear. This works for faces, animals, etc.
For wide aperture portraiture, having a shortcut button for eye autofocus is also useful. I will admit this can be finicky, especially with glasses or long bangs/hair, but most of the time it will instantly lock right on to the eye and nail the focus.
Some people say that you shouldn’t have to spend time setting up a camera to get the most out of it, and I personally think that’s absolute rubbish. This complaint often comes up with Sony cameras, but I find it’s largely just because people are very accustomed to the Canikon way of doing things, and anything else must be wrong (I wouldn’t say Tony does this, he seems to give the benefit of the doubt to new ideas – for the most part). Any professional or even enthusiast photog should spend a goodly amount of time getting things just right in the camera, learning how it works, before taking any ‘serious’ pictures. That’s half the business and half the fun: mastering your camera.
Absolutely agree. Look backstage in say the press area at the Olympics, both Nikon & Canon have techs fine-tuning/helping their pros set-up kit. These mirrorless cams are quite often the polar opposite of what we think they should be. It’s 99% user-error with all this kit when stuff goes south. Watching Tony’s wife with the A7 did make me cringe a little, as did his video about shooting portraits on the long-end of a 70-200. But each to their own I suppose. I couldn’t find any of his portrait and wedding work when I looked, I’d like to see it.
Hint: I didn’t watch it.
Tip:
Live-View, Setting Effect OFF. When you want faster/more accurate focusing. Be it manual or A/F.
PLUS, the picture style makes a huge difference to the A/F on EVF equipped cameras. You can see this on the A7s, set her to SLOG-2 and A/F becomes basically useless.
You get a +1 for that comment…but only for this one.
Sony makes most of the pro sensors out there, so it only stands to reason that the sensors in the their cameras would be good. And that’s all that DxO is rating. There are many other factors that go into making a good camera (as Tony points out).
What happened to the dynamic range?! It’s worse than that of A7
It’s only worse at ISO 50. The rest of the range is pretty much identical.
Praise for DXO having finally fabricated numbers for these cameras based on inaccurate algorithms rather than actual sensor and system testing. Now the Sony trolls (under contract with Sony’s Ministry of Fraud and Misinformation) can continue their charade that any of the current Sony cameras actually have 14 bit files and that shutter shock and pixel blur are only myths and user error. The A7r is the Fisher Price camera for inept newbies that just don’t know any better. Take 1 side by side comparison of an A7r and D810 file and you’ll wonder how you’ve been able to deceive yourself with Sony’s lossy files. Google the term to learn more.
Thats why everybody should support ….
Put pressure on Sony and convince them to change/impove something long seeked…
https://www.change.org/p/sony-enable-uncompressed-or-lossless-compression-raw-files-on-the-a7-cameras-and-future-f-e-mount-cameras
85 guys are missing…
It won’t do any harm at least……
Unfortunately fanboys think they get extra points from Sony for praising them. The truth is that only complaints and loss of sales make companies want to make a better camera. I think it’s ridiculous the files are undoubtedly lossy but I don’t think it is going to change
No, we give them a hard time, one based on actual knowledge of using the camera. Not one based on internet lore and someone else’s opinion. There’s a laundry list of improvements, compressed RAW is number 20 of 20.
You guys are serious about this huh. Lossy files? I don’t know man.
Show us some of you examples. We googled you, you don’t exist. You have no work to show. YOU ARE A FRAUD!
Admission that you’re a team of Sony trolls. Nice.
YOU REALLY ARE AS DUMB AND GULLIBLE AS THE AVERAGE NIKON CAMERA-CLUB WANNABE TROLL – AREN”T YOU.
YOUR NEW NAME WILL BE “NIKKOR-EL-STUPIDO” hence forward!
Yeah, that’s why Berlin buys into everything he reads over on DigLloyd. Even when he has never peer-reviewed anything he reads over-there, he simply bites and flips his whole system based ON WHAT HE READS ON-LINE. Textbook definition of IDIOT.
Yeah, that’s correct. I posted that…….LOL
What are your thoughts on the D810/750/610 flare issue? I notice DigLloyd ain’t touched any of that stuff mit long pole!
Yep, you get the “Most Gullible Troll Award for 2015.” And we just got the year started……..
Probably just one idiot spoofing, usually the biggest attention seeker who writes the most ridiculous bullcrap. Admin should turn of guest posting to get rid of this nonsense.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/12/24/nikon-d750-flare-problems-heres-why-and-what-to-do-about-them-its-not-lens
SONY aren’t on this list. They must be making special “flare-resistant” cameras that work in sunlight!
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/12/24/nikon-d750-flare-problems-heres-why-and-what-to-do-about-them-its-not-lens
OH, you aren’t being quoted by Berlin……..
Here’s your D810. LOVELY FILE. NOT!
YOU are an absolute MORON. Furthermore I’m banning you from my site! NO REFUND EITHER!!!!!
Quick better go trade in the D810 before Nikon admit that it too has a flare issue! But, where ya gonna go baby. Burnt your bridges over here at Sony and Canon sensors are even worse than ours. What’s a girl like you to do?
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/6783820232/update-nikon-will-service-flare-affected-d750s-for-free
In a perfect world according to DxO aka Nikonisdabest, we’d all be using Knee-khan cameras because they take other company’s sensors and can magically use and understand those sensors combined with their secret sauce to get the best image quality known to man. But of course they have no idea how to make sensors of their own. Hail KNEE-KHAN!
Two things stand out in the comparison between the A7’s and the A72’s sensor test scores. First of all, they have the same overall score of 90, which is no surprise. But it is surprising that the A7 scored .6EV higher in dynamic range, which is significant. The reason they have the same overall score is the A72 has slightly better low light performance, which to my mind is less important than dynamic range in most shooting situations. I think I’ll hang onto my A7.
About half a stop less DR at ISO100 than the original A7. What a disappointment… Thumbs down for Sony.
Does it matter? There are times when you don’t want to miss a stop. Like- for instance- the bus stop or a stop sign in front of a convalescence home. For all other times, it doesn’t really matter. Just “stop” it.
For people who used that extra half a stop on the A7, it DOES matter. When a successor is released people expect the same stuff they already have + improvements. In this case it’s a clear step backwards. You don’t believe me? Check this out….
http://3.static.img-dpreview.com/files/p/E~forums/55055931/8e18f5136aba4031be69ea74babcbca4
I’m not sure what to make of it. Outside of context I think it’s of little use. Some decent sized prints might help clarify the matter. They say the average shot is 10 stops- at least when decent and soft lighting is of interest.
Relax, it’s plenty for brick walls anyway.
Another Expensive Firmware Update for Sony.
TonyNorthrup’s review was a surprise: I was expecting “A6000 speed” focus tracking. I’d like to have seen speed tests in better light. Regardless, why can’t this camera focus as fast as a DSLR, given the fast prime, phase detect and many focus points?