Is the Sony A7ii a lousy Camera?

It's not a bad camera, but it's definitely older than its release date indicates. I'm enjoying mine, but if we get an A7III this year I will sell it.

IQ wise though, at least under ISO1600, I have no complaints. It's a good camera for general photography.

JJoyce4699 said:

Seeing Bill's comments around there, the differences would not be noticeable. That is a about a 1/4 point of DR.

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The differences between the A7II and the R2/R3 are bigger at high ISOs - the A7II is the only "current-gen" camera that lacks dualgain.

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

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Cut your losses if you can find someone to buy it. You will feel this way until you get something newer. This is a sign of GAS. If you have the money, then embrace it. The next train leaves when they put 4K 60fps into one of these A7’s.

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

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Yes

I own one and it is my main camera. I love it, because i have taken my best photos with it. But i also hate it. And that is not because the AF is slow, or the low light doesn't compete with other cameras today. I hate it because i fight it every day.

There are so many small things wrong with the camera, that Sony fixed with later models. Like you can't set the AutoISOminSS, you can not combine bracketing and self timer. There is no electronic shutter, having only one card slot f***** up 3days worth of vacation images for me. Sony's own speedlights cause an awful shutter delay and i could go on and on and on...

I really can understand people upgrading. And if sony ever brings the app features back to the A7R III i will switch to.

Entropy512 said:

JJoyce4699 said:

Seeing Bill's comments around there, the differences would not be noticeable. That is a about a 1/4 point of DR.

Click to expand...

The differences between the A7II and the R2/R3 are bigger at high ISOs - the A7II is the only "current-gen" camera that lacks dualgain.

Click to expand...

That is the unnoticeable 1/4 point of DR past ISO 800 I mentioned...

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

Click to expand...

So many people believe that they must have the latest and greatest gear.

Worse still many people seem to believe that it will make their photographs and their photography magically better when in reality it's usually the idiot holding the camera who is the biggest problem.

All I know for certain is that having the latest tech can also be lots of fun (re: my A9).

Whatever the reasons it keeps companies like Sony (and Apple and others) pushing these technologies forward and it also keeps folks like you supplied with plentiful supply of cheap and excellent (often barely) used camera bodies.

Hurrah for capitalism

BTW, I try not to play the "upgrade game" and I typically skip at least one generation. My next body is likely to be the A9III skipping the A9II.

If you must upgrade something buy yourself a really good lens! It's nearly always a better move (and you can get most of your money back selling the high end ones used but in mint condition)

JJoyce4699 said:

Entropy512 said:

JJoyce4699 said:

Seeing Bill's comments around there, the differences would not be noticeable. That is a about a 1/4 point of DR.

Click to expand...

The differences between the A7II and the R2/R3 are bigger at high ISOs - the A7II is the only "current-gen" camera that lacks dualgain.

Click to expand...

That is the unnoticeable 1/4 point of DR past ISO 800 I mentioned...

Click to expand...

From my own experience, using the cameras side by side, I tend to agree with you.

The A7rII does handle noise (processing?) slightly better than the A7ii, but unless you pixel peep or crop, this is a not a big factor.

For most of us non-pixel peepers the gap between the A7ii and A7rII is not as big as one would thing reading the various posts on this and other boards.

Now with the A7rIII this only points back to how current the A7ii really still is.
It also has the IBIS and related features. The changes are more about (A6000) handling speed, not as much about achievable IQ.

Still, the A7rII won over many hearts by having 'best-in-class' IQ. The race goes on.

Member said:

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--
Cheers,
Henry

I swapped some expensive m43 lenses and sony a7ii for a grey a7riii. Yes, it is a GAS,

BUT

I know myself - there is very limited amount of enthusiasm and time. So while I'm in, I'd better have the latest gear.

Mick Porter said:

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

Click to expand...

The A7ii is an excellent camera. I still use mine for a lot of wedding shooting (along with an A7Rii). Last year I won some significant awards here for travel work shot with the A7ii - I highly doubt anyone could tell the difference between my prints from one body or the other.

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That’s impressive. Any links to view your works? I Guess my issue is that I am a lousy photographer thus holding on to a lousy camera and comparing it with others makes me even not wanting to go out and shoot More. I’m pathetic.

Yup.

blue_skies said:

JJoyce4699 said:

Entropy512 said:

JJoyce4699 said:

Seeing Bill's comments around there, the differences would not be noticeable. That is a about a 1/4 point of DR.

Click to expand...

The differences between the A7II and the R2/R3 are bigger at high ISOs - the A7II is the only "current-gen" camera that lacks dualgain.

Click to expand...

That is the unnoticeable 1/4 point of DR past ISO 800 I mentioned...

Click to expand...

From my own experience, using the cameras side by side, I tend to agree with you.

The A7rII does handle noise (processing?) slightly better than the A7ii, but unless you pixel peep or crop, this is a not a big factor.

For most of us non-pixel peepers the gap between the A7ii and A7rII is not as big as one would thing reading the various posts on this and other boards.

Now with the A7rIII this only points back to how current the A7ii really still is.
It also has the IBIS and related features. The changes are more about (A6000) handling speed, not as much about achievable IQ.

Still, the A7rII won over many hearts by having 'best-in-class' IQ. The race goes on.

blue_skies said:

Click to expand...

--
Cheers,
Henry

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The a7ii is by no means a lousy camera. Many of the better images posted here are taken with it.

Not the newest by any means. I bought the a7rii primarily for silent shooting (required for some Events) and to a lesser extent, the ability to set min. shutter speeds in auto ISO.

Looking at past images (I do not shoot Vids) it is not a huge step up from my , now sold, D700 but one heck of a lot lighter/smaller. At home we only print A3+ and A2.

Anyone that cannot take good images needs to work on their skills (yes, I'm in that category )

Welcome to the age of consumerism, where wonderful Widgets and Doodads are replaced long before the end of their lifespan is reached, you could go 5-10 years on a single body if you didn't shoot a ton, you might miss a few functional upgrades, but it never improved IQ, that came from your lenses and the film, Lenses were the reason for buying into a brand, now days, the body is the center about which everything revolves, IQ/noise, resolution, AF speed, battery life, and lots more...

camczy said:

Mick Porter said:

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

Click to expand...

The A7ii is an excellent camera. I still use mine for a lot of wedding shooting (along with an A7Rii). Last year I won some significant awards here for travel work shot with the A7ii - I highly doubt anyone could tell the difference between my prints from one body or the other.

Click to expand...

That’s impressive. Any links to view your works? I Guess my issue is that I am a lousy photographer thus holding on to a lousy camera and comparing it with others makes me even not wanting to go out and shoot More. I’m pathetic.

Click to expand...

There is a cure!

Just use the camera at hand (dive fully into photography, not just be snapping or clicking away) and you soon forget what camera is at hand, and all you will concentrate on is the final image.

Just immerse yourself into the activity, and the activity in itself will be what matter.

Still use A7 cameras as my main cameras - bring a lot of great images back home...

Pathetic? Maybe if the camera is the point, not so if the final images are what matter... ;-)

Oh, sorry, forgot for a moment that this is a gear only forum... :-D

camczy said:

Mick Porter said:

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

Click to expand...

The A7ii is an excellent camera. I still use mine for a lot of wedding shooting (along with an A7Rii). Last year I won some significant awards here for travel work shot with the A7ii - I highly doubt anyone could tell the difference between my prints from one body or the other.

Click to expand...

That’s impressive. Any links to view your works? I Guess my issue is that I am a lousy photographer thus holding on to a lousy camera and comparing it with others makes me even not wanting to go out and shoot More. I’m pathetic.

Click to expand...

Reading the forum can persuade you that the problem with your images is your camera or lens. Or you.

It's neither. It's just experience, best salted with study.

Most photographers simply haven't had "exposure" to good photograph and photography teachers. They go to a forum, but a recommended camera and lens - and start shooting. And get disappointed.

Buy a copy of "The Family of Man" from The Museum of Modern Art. Buy a book of landscape images by Ansel Adams. Don't just "look at the photos" - study them. See how they're lit. See how they're composed. See how the portraits are posed and lit. Think about how you might recreate them.

For landscapes, see what time of day they've been shot. How they were composed, with sensitivity to foreground, middle ground, background.

Go to Flickr and check out the Flickr group for A7II: https://www.flickr.com/groups/a7m2/pool/with/25084142317/

Check out a creative landscape photographer with a rather common camera like the Nikon D5100 - I just randomly picked https://www.flickr.com/photos/107485243@N04/with/23499461179/ Study her photos. See how she gets spectacular images with a camera MUCH less sophisticated than an A7II.

Study. Then go shooting - take your A7II to an interesting new place with the money you would spend on an A7RIII. You'll get vastly better images without buying a new camera.

Mordi

Nearly every great photo ever taken was shot on a camera worse than the A7ii.

A used A7ii is probably the best deal in photography if you want to get into full frame.

camczy said:

ever since the A7riii came out people have been dumping their A7ii in the local marketplace clubsnap even the professional Sony Photographers are switching to A7riii. I’m a hobbyist using the A7ii and I feel like dumping it away and buy the latest. It is v depressing to see this.

Click to expand...

I see more a7riis that a7ii in clubsnap now that the a7riii is out. There will always be a bunch of people that sell their camera after the new ones come out, whether or not they actually need it.

I'm using the a7ii and although I want the a7riii the a7ii is more than sufficient for my current purposes.

Mordi said:

Buy a copy of "The Family of Man" from The Museum of Modern Art. Buy a book of landscape images by Ansel Adams. Don't just "look at the photos" - study them. See how they're lit. See how they're composed. See how the portraits are posed and lit. Think about how you might recreate them.

For landscapes, see what time of day they've been shot. How they were composed, with sensitivity to foreground, middle ground, background.

Go to Flickr and check out the Flickr group for A7II: https://www.flickr.com/groups/a7m2/pool/with/25084142317/

Check out a creative landscape photographer with a rather common camera like the Nikon D5100 - I just randomly picked https://www.flickr.com/photos/107485243@N04/with/23499461179/ Study her photos. See how she gets spectacular images with a camera MUCH less sophisticated than an A7II.

Study. Then go shooting - take your A7II to an interesting new place with the money you would spend on an A7RIII. You'll get vastly better images without buying a new camera.

Mordi

Click to expand...

Yes.

When I see a photo I like and think about what makes me like it, it's NEVER the gear used.

Mine routinely focuses just fine with a variety of native and adapted lenses. I don't routinely shoot higher than ISO 3200, because my lenses are fast enough (f1.2, f1.8, f2, f2.8).

Here are a few low-light portraits from one pro bono shoot - most with a Canon FD 85mm f1.2L @ f2 to f4. They may not be good enough for you and other forum members, but they pleased the client and the many global media that published them.

You meant A7r II or A7 II that latter is in different category? There is a rumor of future A7 III but we don't know until it is actually announced.

I used A7 II for a few trips complemented to my A7r as I usually carry two cameras in trips. It has IBIS and pleasing colors (less green tint by default compared to A7r). I traded-in for A9.

For new buyers there are few threads in this forum that maybe worth to get used or grey-imported new A7r II instead as it is better in every aspect that related to your OP actually since A7r III released.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums
http://pwphotography.zenfolio.com

Just a fine example of how Sony makes us believe we need to upgrade. There is enough information here already to convince an enthusiast to invest in an A7ii. Perhaps you would feel differently if you focused on all the blog or write posts comparing Sony APS-C to A7ii or A7 to A7ii. Its just how GAS works, trust me I am a big victim and yet just an enthusiast. Your need to upgrade should ideally be proportionate to your usage. I don't know what you shoot but if its more as an enthusiast and not professional, I would focus on lenses rather than the body. There are some excellent lenses across ecosystems which now work with Sony Mirrorless, albeit with adapters. You of course are aware of this, but you have cheap Minoltas from $20 to GM lenses for above $2k. I am thoroughly enjoying the Minoltas and other rare legacy lenses which give quite a different feel and look to your photography.

Lately, when I have been feeling the need to upgrade, I simply look at what people have accomplished with my current camera, then I compare it to my work. Usually convinces me to stick to what I have.

None of these arguments apply if money is not a problem for you.

Overall, I do not think it is a lousy camera at all.