Sony A7RII Review and Hands On Report

[dreed]

Great review and writing... except that what is the "42.3mm BSI sensor" ?

“Since the start of the digital era, I marry my lenses, but I only date my cameras“. This may in fact become a major factor in the photographic marketplace in the months and years ahead. If one buys quality glass, this is a long-term commitment; one not easily changed out. But of one can now change camera brands at will, this is a sea change which the industry has yet to assimilate into its thinking."

Will Canon and Nikon be comfortable knowing that selling lenses no longer requires selling a camera? Sure it is sales and money is money, but wouldn't those companies prefer to sell cameras to go with those lenses?

Yes, the A7RII is a truly disruptive camera. Will it force until Canon and Nikon to adopt mirrorless and abando mirror slappers so that they can return to building "defendable" lock-in systems? At present I think we're at a rare point in digital camera history where it is possible to change camera brands at will.

[Dshelly]

Also, per Michael's review - the camera does have an audio jack, and using a Mini Female to XLR allows you to add a boom mic without having to pay $800. I rent a package with the adapter and Sennheiser MKh50 for $25/day.

[powerslave12r]

Minor typo :

"A Comment on Lenses

It used to be that Sony’s E-mount week spot was their lens availability."

[Peter McLennan]

Indeed an excellent report. Informative and exciting. Possibly enough to cause me to abandon my nearly two-decades-long marriage to Nikon.

Interesting to me was Chris' choice of location for the presentation.  Normally, cameramen avoid hot backgrounds like the plague. Whatever combination of camera hardware and fill light he used, the result is extraordinary.  Chris, have you bought an Amira? 

[Kevin Gallagher]

 i'm still digesting the report and have not yet finished the video but I have to ask, where was that lovely shot taken that appears first under the video. The combination of colors in the mountains and the sky along with the cloud in the top center are great!!


Kevin in CT

[Patrick Downs]

What are thoughts about the lossy-compressed RAW format Sony uses for these A7 cameras? Any concerns? I prefer Nikon's lossless uncompressed RAWs but I'd love to see a side by side comparison of files or large prints from the two.

[Kevin Raber]

Patrick,
Lots of talk about the Sony A7r II RAW format.  We know SONY has heard the message loud and clear.  Let's see if they do anything about it.  Frankly I haven't run into any issues with the RAWs from the a7r II so far and I have been shooting a lot.  Just really amazing files seems to be what I see.  I use C1 to process my RAWs.  Michael uses LR and I haven't heard him say anything negative.  There are reports out there though about issues.  Not sure if that is a result of the RAW files or a RAW processor.  I certainly wouldn't let it hold you off from purchasing the camera.  It really does deliver.

Kevin Raber

[Patrick Downs]

Thank you, Kevin! I am on the cusp of a decision ... upgrade from the D800 to D810 and invest in some new Nikon glass (or Zeiss w/Nikon mount) or go this way. The Sony 90mm macro sounds outstanding. My main lens (>50% of what I shoot with) is the 24-70, and I've read the Sony version isn't all that compared to the Nikon (which is being updated very soon to one with VR/IS). I am a jack of all trades shooter (docu/street/landscape/people/nature/etc) so the 24-70 is perfect, though I like primes too. Lots to consider. I love the idea of having the A7s for night and video too and having the lenses for that and the A7RII, and an EVF is certainly an asset at times. If I only shot wildlife and sports I'd stay with Nikon for sure, for now.  Oh, a pal who's a Sony guy (Paul Gero) shoots portraits for a living and says the eye-tracking AF is amazing ...really an asset.

#thanks

[Kevin Raber]

What can I tell you?  I sold all my Nikon gear and I had a bunch.  No regrets.  The 24-70 Sony lens is not that bad.  The 16-35 is very good.  70-200 outstanding.  I am totally hooked on Sony.  I will admit that last night though I captured some real nice stuff with the Olympus.  I prepping an article on the whole Olympus system.  And, I still love my Fuji and wouldn't be surprised to see more from this year.  Lots of choices these days.

Kevin

[dreed]

I certainly wouldn't let it hold you off from purchasing the camera.  It really does deliver.

At this point the only thing holding me up is camera availability. As soon as camera stores close to me get stock, it is all gone. Whilst I could go on a waiting list, I'd like to try it out in store before committing.

As an example of "lack of stock", stores do not keep a demo camera in the case/window (unlike a couple of DSLRs that have more MP.)

[aaron]

Does the AR72 have any sort of sRaw ability? I don't see it listed so assume not....
Thanks

[ACH DIGITAL]

Thanks Michael and Kevin for the video Discussing the Sony a7r II and thanks Michael for the interesting review.
I agree very much with the comment in the video about people hanging their hat on one single argument about the Raw file bit count. I use the A7R and I'm very critical pixel pepper and I tell you no problems with that.
The only thing that I noticed against the Nikon D800's series is that when you turn the highlights recovery slider on ARC way too much, you get like a halo in the transition between the dark and the light side. Other than that it is way better than any DSLR out there, and when I say better I mean versatility + file quality.
I use the A7R like I said and just have tried a few RAW files from the A7RII. I cannot say about the handling or the IBIS stability but I guess it helps a lot.
Well that said, thanks for this review. By the way I like the the PZ 28-135mm image of the wheat filed very much. Look to have a nice bokeh.
ACH

[michael]

Also, per Michael's review - the camera does have an audio jack, and using a Mini Female to XLR allows you to add a boom mic without having to pay $800. I rent a package with the adapter and Sennheiser MKh50 for $25/day.

My error, left over from an early draft.

Applogies.

Michael

[michael]

i'm still digesting the report and have not yet finished the video but I have to ask, where was that lovely shot taken that appears first under the video. The combination of colors in the mountains and the sky along with the cloud in the top center are great!!


Kevin in CT

Taken from the lodge at about the 6000 foot level of Mount Hood.

Michael

[Tedd]

Can you comment on any over heating issues with the camera?  There seems to be a lot of discussion that it will only run for a limited time before automatically shutting down when shooting 4K video.

Thanks!

[michael]

I read about it, but not seen it myself.

I suspect it could happen when shooting long (more than 10 minute) video sequences in very warm weather.

Since few things that I shoot last more than about 30 seconds to 1 minute per take, it hasn't been part of my experience. I suppose that an outdoor interview might do it, like the ones that we do. But the camera hasn't been subjected to this yet by us.

Michael

[John Camp]

<snip> I am totally hooked on Sony.  I will admit that last night though I captured some real nice stuff with the Olympus.  I prepping an article on the whole Olympus system.  And, I still love my Fuji and wouldn't be surprised to see more from this year.  Lots of choices these days.
Kevin

Indeed, lots of choices. In the film days, the only choices really involved acceptable image quality, and for most of us, that meant a 35mm system. Now, there's a whole range of cameras, all providing excellent image quality, only some more excellent than others. I have a D800, which I hardly use any more, because I like the size and weight of the Panasonic m4/3 system, and the Panny quality is good enough for my purposes. By the way, I've been waiting to pounce on the Panasonic GX8, but the release date has now been delayed twice, from mid-August to late August and now to Sept. 7. Hope there's not an issue...

Michael devoted some of his review to Sony history and its aggressiveness; I would point out that it also has a history of losing its way. For example, they were pioneers in high-end TVs, home movie players and portable music players, and were quickly run over by competitors. I think what happens is that it's such a huge and diverse company that the upper management loses its focus on a product, and it's left to languish. Will that happen with cameras? We'll see.

[Guillermo Luijk]

Excellent article. I only one one thing to point in the dynamic range debate:

"As for dynamic range, both cameras appear comparable in the shadow areas while the Sony has about a stop more recoverable in the highlight end".

When shooting RAW there is no such thing as cameras good in the shadow areas and good in the highlights. There are simply cameras with more or less total dynamic range. Should the Pentax RAW file had been shot at one stop lower ISO (same aperture/shutter) and the highlights would have been the same with increased shadow noise.

Effective ISO gain is arbitrarily set by camera vendors. This makes RAW highlight headroom from camera metering to sensor saturation also an arbitrary value, independent from sensor's total dynamic range.

Regards

[michael]

Excellent article. I only one one thing to point in the dynamic range debate:

"As for dynamic range, both cameras appear comparable in the shadow areas while the Sony has about a stop more recoverable in the highlight end".

When shooting RAW there is no such thing as cameras good in the shadow areas and good in the highlights. There are simply cameras with more or less total dynamic range. Should the Pentax RAW file had been shot at one stop lower ISO (same aperture/shutter) and the highlights would have been the same with increased shadow noise.

Effective ISO gain is arbitrarily set by camera vendors. This makes RAW highlight headroom from camera metering to sensor saturation also an arbitrary value, independent from sensor's total dynamic range.

Regards

Understood. But people think in terms of available highlight and shadow detail.

The take-away is that the A7rii has a bit more overall DR.

[Uhoh7]

Would be much more interesting to compare with a wide, like the new Batis 25/2, against the medium format. 90mm is a sweet spot for the often problematic and picky Sony sensors, with their thick covers. UWA and WA performance has been the issue since the introduction of the series. Still a problem.

Even on the r2 the WATE is the best UWA option, and it does not reach the level of best UWA on Canikon or Leica. The 1635 is very very close to the WATE.

With Kolari mod on the earlier models, it's much better.

A landscape camera which is meh UWA is like......boys without girls I sent my original A7r back for this reason, and now use a Kolari A7 as back to Leica. Hype me once, shame on me. Hype me twice: not happening.