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a77ii, can a7ii match or beat it in picture quality?

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polymixa1

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Several days ago, I almost pulled trigger on the a7ii deal. I have a few old Minolta AF lenses. So I thought I should try a Sony FF camera with Wife's approval. Then I stopped myself at the last minute after reading a few comments and reviews. It does not look the PQ of a7ii can outdo a77ii, which is my no. 1 criteria on the list of things I look at when choosing a Sony camera. The only benefits I can see are the crop factor and the weight/size (which is important, I admit). What do you think? Have you ever been attempted too?

Here are a couple of shots I randomly took in my office with the 16-50mm kit lens, straight out of camera without any processing. I thought the pictures are pretty sharp, and the colors nice.

--
Polymixa

7b8e3d56e70a4cdb9a17ac4c3315ee27.jpg

00669937d83840cb8e7c437db03ca989.jpg

a6eacf95e8434673a79e33829bfac1e9.jpg
 
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In low light, the A77ii would be at a severe disadvantage to the A7.
 
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polymixa1 said:
Several days ago, I almost pulled trigger on the a7ii deal. I have a few old Minolta AF lenses.
Click to expand...
If they're screw-drive lenses you'll need the LA-EA4 adapter in order to have AF with the A7II ... and that AF will actually be inferior to the AF of the A77II.
polymixa1 said:
It does not look the PQ of a7ii can outdo a77ii, which is my no. 1 criteria on the list of things I look at when choosing a Sony camera. The only benefits I can see are the crop factor and the weight/size (which is important, I admit).
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You'll have full frame capability, which will allow you roughly one stop better low light performance than the A77II, assuming the LA-EA4 is attached.
polymixa1 said:
What do you think?
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Doesn't really matter what I think. What matters is what you want, and what you're willing to give up.
 
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polymixa1 said:
Several days ago, I almost pulled trigger on the a7ii deal. I have a few old Minolta AF lenses. So I thought I should try a Sony FF camera with Wife's approval. Then I stopped myself at the last minute after reading a few comments and reviews. It does not look the PQ of a7ii can outdo a77ii, which is my no. 1 criteria on the list of things I look at when choosing a Sony camera. The only benefits I can see are the crop factor and the weight/size (which is important, I admit). What do you think? Have you ever been attempted too?

Here are a couple of shots I randomly took in my office with the 16-50mm kit lens, straight out of camera without any processing. I thought the pictures are pretty sharp, and the colors nice.
Click to expand...
What the A77ii has going for it is that SAL1650 f/2.8 kit lens. No one else ships an US$800 lens as a kit lens. The kit lens that comes with that A7ii deal can't match it.

What the A7ii has going for it is that big full-frame sensor. By sensor size alone, in low-light situations (night, in dim restaurants, etc) you're going to get 1 stop ISO performance increase.

There's probably a big difference in low-light focus performance with the A77ii coming out on top. I don't know enough about the A7ii to tell you how it will perform with your Minolta Maxxums - you'll need to purchase one of the LA-EA adapters.

--
Lance H
 
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polymixa1 said:
Several days ago, I almost pulled trigger on the a7ii deal. I have a few old Minolta AF lenses. So I thought I should try a Sony FF camera with Wife's approval. Then I stopped myself at the last minute after reading a few comments and reviews. It does not look the PQ of a7ii can outdo a77ii, which is my no. 1 criteria on the list of things I look at when choosing a Sony camera. The only benefits I can see are the crop factor and the weight/size (which is important, I admit). What do you think? Have you ever been attempted too?
Click to expand...
Full Frame camera always get better low light performance than APSC when using same FF lenses. However, some people are moved from "A77mk2 + 16-50 F2.8" to "A7ii + 24-70 F4.0",in such case, there will be very little different in low light performance.

For AF performance, ergonomic & battery life, A77mk2 win hands down. :-)
Also APSC camera can be better than FF if you are using APSC lenses or require heavy cropping.
 
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I tried out an A7II today. I was surprised my local store was stocking it as they haven't stocked E-mount previously. The FE 28-70 OSS kit lens is much nicer than I thought it would be. I was mainly interested in the body ergonomics because I dislike both my A68 and A6000. The A7II did feel better, but it is pretty heavy. I don't think I would want to carry it everyday.

I recently picked up my first FE lens a Rokinon AF 35 F2.8 pancake and find it quite good on the A6000.
 
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polymixa1 said:
Several days ago, I almost pulled trigger on the a7ii deal. I have a few old Minolta AF lenses. So I thought I should try a Sony FF camera with Wife's approval. Then I stopped myself at the last minute after reading a few comments and reviews. It does not look the PQ of a7ii can outdo a77ii, which is my no. 1 criteria on the list of things I look at when choosing a Sony camera. The only benefits I can see are the crop factor and the weight/size (which is important, I admit). What do you think? Have you ever been attempted too?

Here are a couple of shots I randomly took in my office with the 16-50mm kit lens, straight out of camera without any processing. I thought the pictures are pretty sharp, and the colors nice.
Click to expand...
All said and done, I believe you are better off keeping the A77m2 and save up for the A99m2. Crème de la crème camera...

Is that a Sony 717 in one of your shots? I loved that camera and mine still works.

-Martin P

www.flickr.com

Martin Passchier

Explore Martin Passchier’s 973 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
 
I have both an A7ii and A68, which is kind of a budget A77ii with about the same size and weight body and focusing system. The A68 is definitely better than the A7ii with LA-EA4 and older screw drive lenses--which is why I got it. With Tamron 28-270 PZD it is about equal with A7ii kit in focusing and sharpness, however A7ii dynamic range is definitely better. Sharpness would be more a lens then camera function and the 16-50 is a heck of a good lens.

A7ii with 28-70 kit is a very light compact unit compared to A68 with almost anything which was why I bought it. In a comparison in size or weight the FF body is definitely lighter, but if you put higher quality lenses on it the weight difference might add up in a hurry due to larger FF lenses.

Future of the system could be a consideration or not depending on what lenses you already have and how much faith you have in A mount future.
 
Lensmate said:
Is that a Sony 717 in one of your shots? I loved that camera and mine still works.
Click to expand...
My 717 broke while on a trip to NYC. Fortunately, NYC has camera stores that at the time, stocked the R1.
 
Lensmate said:
How did it break?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure. I was walking around and the screen suddenly looked like a bizarre special effect. Same in the viewfinder, and same when I reviewed shots on my computer later. It just "broke" at a specific instant in time. I can use the camera to review shots, which look normal. So something in the data flow from the sensor (or possibly the sensor itself).

I loved the night shot feature, really made low light concert photos possible back in the oughts.
 
MediaArchivist said:
Lensmate said:
How did it break?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure. I was walking around and the screen suddenly looked like a bizarre special effect. Same in the viewfinder, and same when I reviewed shots on my computer later. It just "broke" at a specific instant in time. I can use the camera to review shots, which look normal. So something in the data flow from the sensor (or possibly the sensor itself).

I loved the night shot feature, really made low light concert photos possible back in the oughts.
Click to expand...
That's unfortunate... but then, look how far the camera has come in such a short span of time. I also had the R1 [like yourself] which was a nice wide fixed-lens Zeiss optic for the time.

-Martin P

https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosauraus_rex/
 
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polymixa1 said:
Several days ago, I almost pulled trigger on the a7ii deal. I have a few old Minolta AF lenses. So I thought I should try a Sony FF camera with Wife's approval. Then I stopped myself at the last minute after reading a few comments and reviews. It does not look the PQ of a7ii can outdo a77ii, which is my no. 1 criteria on the list of things I look at when choosing a Sony camera. The only benefits I can see are the crop factor and the weight/size (which is important, I admit). What do you think? Have you ever been attempted too?

Here are a couple of shots I randomly took in my office with the 16-50mm kit lens, straight out of camera without any processing. I thought the pictures are pretty sharp, and the colors nice.

--
Polymixa

7b8e3d56e70a4cdb9a17ac4c3315ee27.jpg

00669937d83840cb8e7c437db03ca989.jpg

a6eacf95e8434673a79e33829bfac1e9.jpg
Click to expand...


So you have been told about the better Iso performance of a FF sensor, but another thing to take into account concerning 100% MILC is the image quality edge to edge, corner to corner which is another league than A-mount stuff.

If IQ enters your criterias then can you consider a MILC
 
I loved the R1. I still do, but it is now an emergency backup.

The shutter froze on my a99 last year, towards the tail end of one night of a series of concerts. I used my R1 for the next two nights. I shot raw, and tried every trick I have picked up in the years since I last regularly used it. Suffice it to say that, in low light, the a99 performance handily surpasses the R1. Where I might get 25 good shots of a band during their 15 minute set, with the R1 I might get 7 good shots— and if I was lucky the shot might be of a particularly good pose.

My a99 was under warranty, and a month later I had it back. Then, I dropped it (again) onto a concrete floor. The sensor disconnected itself from the IBIS mechanism, causing an error message on the screen and (duh!) no IBIS. I can see the sensor jiggle freely when I examine it. It does, however, still take pictures. The lack of stabilization is quite noticeable! I did not realize how much I had grown to depend on it for my type of work. What to do?

I got an a99ii :)

The R1 is now a backup backup camera. I still take a few shots every now and then to make sure it still works. It does.
 
MediaArchivist said:
I loved the R1. I still do, but it is now an emergency backup.

The shutter froze on my a99 last year, towards the tail end of one night of a series of concerts. I used my R1 for the next two nights. I shot raw, and tried every trick I have picked up in the years since I last regularly used it. Suffice it to say that, in low light, the a99 performance handily surpasses the R1. Where I might get 25 good shots of a band during their 15 minute set, with the R1 I might get 7 good shots— and if I was lucky the shot might be of a particularly good pose.

My a99 was under warranty, and a month later I had it back. Then, I dropped it (again) onto a concrete floor. The sensor disconnected itself from the IBIS mechanism, causing an error message on the screen and (duh!) no IBIS. I can see the sensor jiggle freely when I examine it. It does, however, still take pictures. The lack of stabilization is quite noticeable! I did not realize how much I had grown to depend on it for my type of work. What to do?

I got an a99ii :)

The R1 is now a backup backup camera. I still take a few shots every now and then to make sure it still works. It does.
Click to expand...
Good call getting the A99m2. Fabulous camera and great for the kind of difficult concert shooting you do so well.

-Martin P

www.flickr.com

Martin Passchier

Explore Martin Passchier’s 973 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
 
MediaArchivist said:
Lensmate said:
How did it break?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure. I was walking around and the screen suddenly looked like a bizarre special effect. Same in the viewfinder, and same when I reviewed shots on my computer later. It just "broke" at a specific instant in time. I can use the camera to review shots, which look normal. So something in the data flow from the sensor (or possibly the sensor itself).
Click to expand...
Sounds like the dreaded "Sony 5MP sensor failure syndrome". A number of cameras from different manufacturers that used the same Sony 5 MP 2/3" CCD sensor suffered from it, like e.g. the Minolta DiMAGE A1. For a certain period of time, Sony replaced the sensor for free in all those cameras in case you had this problem, even if the camera was no longer inside the warranty period. IIRC this service ended in 2011.

The list of cameras that could be affected was quite long: https://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.html
 
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Unfortunately yes. The free fix period ended years ago, IIRC in 2011.
 
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