Ready, steady: Sony Alpha 7 II Review

Some consistency throughout the reviews would be nice, every review seems to have different pages, omitting some one page in one review and different in another. For example I can't find what the custom button and wheel assign-ability is with this model here. Hoping you guys take note and better standardize in the future.

I bought this camera and a Sony Zeiss 16-35 F4, and I immediately returned it.I use 10 stop ND filters to get very long exposures. At ISO 100, I noticed a heavy amount of noise after 1 minute, even with NR on. A friend says I may have gotten a bad body. Anyone else notice this with 1-3 minute exposures?

So using the compare mode, The A7II shows image quality in RAW mode is not as good as the original A7! This review needs updating on RAW image quality with the latest firmware. But I suppose like Ming the Merciless the review was only the play thing of the moment.

I really think that DPReview should update its review of the A7ii, in light of the improvements provided by the 2.0 firmware, which both addresses the complained-about RAW compression issue and in the phenomenal improvement in AF with adapted Canon lenses. Frankly, following the firmware update, I cannot imagine that the A7ii would not qualify for a "Gold" award from DPReview. While it may not provide the stellar low light performance of the A7Sii and A7Rii, I would easily say the A7ii is now is 90%+ of the camera that those two are at half the price. That's my $.02.

I have recently noticed that the a7ii is missing the AF-A mode. i don't partcualrly use it, but it just seems handy to have. my a6000 has it and the a7rii has it. but it's missing fro mthe a7ii? any particular reason? (AF-A is when the cmaera switches between af-s and af-c automatically after you have locked on focus)

When I was young, I spent thousands of dollars on cameras, and the 35mm I went with was a Canon EF and later added a Ftb, plus Canon lenses, 24 2.8, 50 1.4, 100 macro f4, and a 200 2.8. Then first came auto focus and Canon changed their mounts and no new cameras worked with my beautiful glass. Well I didn't need auto focus anyway. Then film died and digital was in. I stepped into digital with a Panasonic DMC-FZ10 because I had always wanted a Leica lens because I could see the difference in pictures taken with them over all other 35 mm cameras (from seeing a monthly club contest with one member owning a Leica). I have been dragging my feet on stepping into a high end inter-changeable lens system, but now I have found my camera. Can use my old lenses and get some image stabilization, and prime lenses made by Zeiss, how can I go wrong. First lens will be the 55mm, but the old Canon 50 1.4 will do while I save a little more money.

I'm looking for a new FF camera for photo reportaje, photo documentary and street photography, I like to use legaci lenses as well but I'm still veri confused between Sony A7 II and Nikon D750.
I think is clear what I prioritize on a camera (fast AF, low light performances, size and weight, unintrusive look, etc.).

Does anyone have any good advice for me?

Bad review. Concerning IS, the ability to use slower shutter translates to either lower ISO or better DOF. These are real advantages, and not just when wanting to hand-hold. Put a long lens on a camera on a tripod, and you have shake. You end up either using higher ISO than is desirable, or larger aperture. IS helps greatly. Also, in situations where IS will help with picture quality, it also helps with autofocus. With the a7II, if you find a lens you like but it doesn't have IS, no worries.

My mind is blown by the fact that they gave the a7II demerits for bigness! The rationale: It is a tad bigger than the smaller mirrorless cameras that people who do street photography prefer. What did John McEnroe say? The only thing that truly makes sense is to asses its size in comparison with other cameras with similar capability, i.e., other FF cameras. What they did here is patently absurd, and it reveals the strong prejudice in their mindset. What a horrible, sophomoric review.

@ DPR:
So, does the A7 II have shutter blur (shutter-induced, aka shutter shock) in slow shutter speeds (up to 1/250") or not? Is it as good (or bad, if you like) as A7? If you use electronic first curtain does it have any disadvantage?

I recently replaced my D800E with A7II ... and I am very satisfied so far ... check this link on my blog for my switch little story : http://wp.me/p4moFe-gt

Sony is dire need of a professional level 2.8 24-70mm FE lens.

Yea, that shutter noise... wtf? My 5D iii is quieter.. how's that even possible?

Thanks so much for including the shot of the band and description of that low light focus performance. Really appreciate the attention to that kind of shooting, since that's my main interest.

I do wish you'd been specific in mentioning that that photo was taken with the FE35 f/1.4, either by stating that in the write up or by including the EXIF data. I suppose it only stands to reason, since that's the only f 1.4 native lens available, but still...

I notice that sample shot was not included with the others in the FE35 f1.4 gallery. Not surprising, since the noise is so pronounced, I suppose. The notes say that the photo was processed in Lightroom. Is that the final product after applying noise reduction???

Not a an other dial. If you got have that PASM dail. You should have a small LCD to tell you all the stuff you need to know.....like DSLRs.

I do not know why SONY does not add a dial on the other side of the top plate where just has the empty space right now.

I am looking at trading my Sony A7 Mk2 for a Pentax K3. I find the Pentax fits perfectly in the hand and seems very straightforward with all its controls and dials. Sony feels like a square black brick and many of its usefulness is buried in the menus. Am I doing the right thing or should I hang on to the Sony. Sony's lens for the A7 are more expensive than the Pentax lens too.

Steve Huff says the A7II's JPEGs are some of the best JPEGs he's seen. Why is there such a LARGE disparity between what he's seeing and what you're seeing?

I'm wondering if Sony has a design department?

I agree with one of the comments that cameras these days are all amazing in terms of quality, performance that we are just splitting hairs!

I think the review was too focused on image quality comparison at crazy ISO ranges and the bulk of the camera, which to anyone who does a blind test realizes the a7ii is much smaller and lighter than any other Full Frame camera.

What the review looked over entirely (or didnt stress enough) was the huge amount of compatiability this camera has with legacy lenses. Add in IBIS and suddenly all those MF lenses has OSS!
Also, it never mentions any of the app driven aspects, where you can do some neat post processing, upload to social media automatically and best yet, use your phone as a viewfinder when trying to take shots of groups or even when putting the camera on crazy ledges in nature.

On the flip side, the bad battery life was never mentioned? It sux! did they actually use the camera? I have nikon and this...nikon collects dust!

Excellent review with lots of useful information!

Thank you for the review of this camera. I was waiting for it to be online, because I really was thinking about buying this camera.

Unfortunately, the conculsion of your testing was not as I wanted it to be... But I think this is not your fault... seems to be the fault of the camera...

But there is one thing that makes decision-making diffcult: When I'm looking now at your latest review of the Samsung NX1, I could think that this is probably the right camera for me. Gold award.
But when I want to compare it to the Sony A7II, it's not possible. I know that this is not possible because these two are cameras from different groups, APS-C vs. FF.
BUT... the price ist almost the same. So what should I do if I want to spend about this amount of money for my new camera, and it does'nt matter if it's APS-C or FF - which one should I take? Which one offers the better value for my money? I know that this of course depends on my individual demands, but you probably know what's my problem now.

Dan Barcaglia... If, as you say, the A7ii is within a stone's throw of equalling a D750, Sony's done very well. I've spent an hour with the camera in a store, and I think the heft is actually an advantage vs. the A7. The bulk that bothers you is a function of adding the grip, which improves the camera. (In the review, you show the A7 next to the A7ii with a larger lens, which is not quite fair.)

I use a 5D Mark II, and the A7ii is a lot lighter and it's a great deal smaller. For a FF DSLR user, it's a very comfortable step away from lugging a brick. It's only bulky compared to its lesser APSC brethren.

The only thing holding me back is the lossy RAW, and I thank you for making a strong point about that. Maybe Sony will do something about that with a firmware update... Fuji would.

I havent found the shutter to be excessively loud at all?
Maybe compared to a phone cam it is.
The image stabilisation works really well with adapted lenses, i was using it handheld with 1/15-s/speed @ fstop-11 at 7pm in the evening iso 600 28/3.5 ais nikon lens getting pretty sharp reasonably bright results.
I couldnt believe it!!!, never been able to do that before. There may be better allround ff options out there, but its still a hell of a camera for the money, just got to learn how to get the best out of it, like any new cam/
The colour is natural, resolution is plenty, some files when taken properly kinda look great to me.
I dont really care what anyone says in reviews, glad i bought it and feel like i got a nice bit of kit for my budget. If canikon, fujolympus, or sonysung made something like it, i probably would have considered buying it from them, but, they dont yet, so how can i?They all make good cams though.Id have any, within my budget.
All about bang for buck.

I had a go with the A7II in the store, and I agree with you about the dials. I had an NEX-7 and am now using the A6000, and while the grip on the original A7 isn't as nice as the one the A7II, the dials were much better. I shoot in full manual, and the original A7's dials are way more comfortable for quick changes.

Like the NEX-7, the A7 is a camera that you needed to spend an hour or two painfully customizing buttons and settings, but once done, it becomes pretty darned good.

I'm not sure why you'd consider the shutter loud however. With the electronic first curtain, it's only slightly louder than the A6000, and still a more discreet package than most DSLRs. I do agree it's a bit heavy though. Not unbearably so, but it does feel less of a size/weight advantage (for a mirrorless) compared with my A6000. I suppose if you were coming from a full frame DSLR, the weight savings are immediately obvious. But if portability was your first priority, this wouldn't be your first choice anyway.

Reading these comments, I'm a little surprised at the lack of professionalism from reviewers and other commenting DPR Staff. I kind of expect it from random internet folks, but I'm not sure why the reviewers are in the comments calling people "sony fanboys" and such.

I understand that reading the comments must be frustrating, but getting down in the mud yourselves doesn't exactly give credibility to the review or the site.

Hi All, How does the A7II JPEG compare to the XT-1 JPEG? I played with the X-T1 at the store and love the JPEG colors, however I haven't tried out the A7II.

I thought DPReview's A7II review was justified to criticize the lossy Raw files. It didn't used to be that way for Sony's files. Nikon's option to select lossy RAW or non-lossy RAW is a much better way to go.

I am disappointed that DPReview treated the A7II so shabby with regard to its Mirrorless FF status. The conclusion states:

Traditionally, mirrorless cameras appeal to users seeking a smaller, lighter option to DSLRs. The a7 II is not particularly small or light, though to be fair, it is smaller and lighter than any full-frame DSLR on the market.

Not only are the A7's lighter and smaller than the full-frame DSLRs, they are also lighter and smaller than some APS DSLRs. That is an amazing accomplishment. Here's some sample weights:

A700 1079gms
A750 750 gms
K3 800 gms
A7II 600 gms
A7R 500 gms

Unfortunately, DPReview chose to exhibit their bias against mirrorless FF. I don't own any A7 cameras - but they are at the top of my list as a future purchase.