Sony a7R II Full-Frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera, Body Only (Black) (ILCE7RM2/B)

Walking around with this camera is very comfortable - yet not as stealthy as my RX1R II. The body is solid though a little small and I find my pinky dangles in the air - so I use it to support the bottom of the body. Middle and ring fingers hold on to the small front grip (which is comfortable) and my index finger lives between the shutter release and shutter speed dial (explained a little more below). There is a slight bump-out on the rear where my thumb comfortably sits and provides quick access to the f-stop dial. It's a slightly different grip on the RX1R II which, though smaller, doesn't make it seem as small - maybe the lack of the bump-out grip in the front of the RX1R II. I enjoy the placement of the buttons and dials on this camera. They are solid and smooth to operate - and the ones that need to click into position do so. At this time, with the camera always in manual (M) mode I have the front dial set to adjust shutter speed, the rear to adjust f-stop and a button on the rear to adjust ISO on the fly. A single click on the button brings up the ISO menu, then the thumb wheel allows me to quickly scroll to the rating I want. The only other button programmed so far is C1 for eye detection. Obviously, only used in portraits but seems to nail it every time. I use this same setup on the RX1R II. I have been using the Exposure Comp wheel more and more to give me the exposure exactly how I want it rather than relying on post to correct that. Also been getting into relying almost solely on the histogram in the viewfinder to expose my work now. The shutter release is smooth and pleasing (and I like the sound of it) and has the option of silent shutter, though I haven't tried that to date. SONY A7R II - SENSOR The A7R II has a 42.4-megapixel back-illuminated 35mm full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor powered by the BIONZ X image processing engine to support 14-bit uncompressed RAW images. Technically, getting an ISO range of 50-102,400 but realistically using ISO 100-25,600. Even more realistically for my style is ISO 100-6400. Unlike my RX1R II, there is no optical low-pass filter on this camera. 5-AXIS IMAGE STABILIZATION The Sony A7R II has 5-Axis Image Stabilization which has been maximized for the 42 MP sensor. This system corrects camera shake while shooting along the 5 axes of angular shake (pitch & yaw), shift shake (along the x/y axis), and rotational shake (roll). Pair this with a IS lens (like the Zeiss Batis 85 I have been using) and you can freehand some ultra-lowlight photography. BATTERY Battery is notoriously bad on these cameras, but there are a ton of tips and tricks out there to increase life. Best thing I suggest is tossing the camera into Airplane mode - this turns off all the Wi-Fi and searching for networks. With this off, I can shoot all day with 3 batteries at the ready. To be honest, I shoot so little on a typical day (200-300 max photos) that I seldom need to jump to a backup. Some other things you can try are reducing the brightness in the monitor and viewfinder, having a short power-save time, turn off the "Sunny Weather" option, turn off audio signals and turn off Pre-AF. If I am walking around between shots, I tend to switch the camera off too. Not sure how much that helps, but a habit I picked up with the RX1R II. I also suggest having a couple battery backups and a couple chargers in the house. Right now, I have 2 Sony stock batteries and 2 off-brand ones. I haven't noticed much of a difference between the two. For the house, I have a pair of chargers, as these batteries seem to take forever to get to a full charge. At least with a pair, I am able to cut the charge time in half. FINDER / SCREEN There are a couple ways to compose images with the A7R II. Either the screen on the back of the camera with LiveView or via the Electronic View Finder (EVF) that's really a godsend. The camera has the intelligence to automatically only power the view you are using. If LiveView, the EVF is powered off. If you put your eye to the EVF, it fires up in an instant and the back screen powers down. Very good for a camera that's a battery whore, as mentioned above. With either of these views, you can increase or decrease the resolution, though they both look really good at standard. Very bright and quite responsive. Nearly identical to what I said about the RX1R II and not like the LiveView of the past (where my last experience was with a laggy Sony NEX-3). I keep the rear screen fairly dim, so I like to use the finder as my review of images when needed. The eye cup for the A7R II finder is much better than the RX1R II, by the way. The former is a proper viewfinder with a rubberized eye cup (see rear image of A7R II below in the My Defaults section) while the later is a pop-up EVF and does not offer eye relief at all. Both screens offer a slew of data from shutter speed, ISO, f-stop to digital levels, histograms and so on. I won't bore you with all the goodies, but there is a plethora of stuff that can be added to or removed from either screen. The rear screen tilts up and down which is nice to hold over your head or at your feet to frame a decent shot. I don't use the screen often, but really enjoy the ability when I need it to compost a shot this way. I find this can be a stealthy way of composing a shot without those around aware of what you're doing - if stealth is your motive. AUTOFOCUS The Sony A7II offers up 25 contrast detection points and 399 phase detection points covering about half the sensor. The modes available here are Single, Continuous and Manual focus as well as AF-A and DMF modes that can be used with the native FE glass. As I don't tend to shoot moving targets, I stick to Single mode for almost all my shooting and have found it to be quite fast and really accurate. As always, you can also switch the focus areas between Wide Area, Zone Area, Center Area (my preference), Flexible Spot, Expand Flexible Spot, Lock-on AF Expand Flexible Spot, Lock-on AF, Eye AF (which I mapped to C1), and Face Detection. Like with the Sony RX1R II, the files spoil me. There is a great deal of latitude in them and so much shadow detail. The IQ is really nice to work with and I am getting the hang of how they behave with my one-click edits. Conclusions It is very early on with this camera to have any firm conclusions, but I have to tell you, I was secretly hoping to not love this one. I have my film cameras that I am more than happy with, and my Sony RX1R II that I figured was all I wanted. I wanted to shoot this, get it out of my system, then return it. Well, it's not going back. As soon as I strapped on the Zeiss Batis 85 and walked around with the Sony A7R II I was smitten. This camera is really offering everything I currently want in a digital setup. Gorgeous files with the colors I enjoy, great speed and a joy to walk around with. I read complaints about the menu system, but really, once you set it up once, you don't need to dig in there much and it truly isn't that bad. This is a fine compliment to my film work and will also be a great compliment to the Sony RX1R II - so yes, they are both staying. I plan to get a ton of use out of this throughout the year and re-touch this review with future thoughts, uses, issues or what have you.

This is the best camera I've ever owned. I've gone through tons of cameras looking for professional quality videos (I rarely use my a7R for pictures) and this camera has bested them all in terms of quality and performance! With my particular situation, I record videos in low lighting.. very low lighting. I was using a Canon Rebel T5i before swapping to the Sony and while that camera can manage great video quality, it doesn't handle low-light very well. The Sony a7R not only handles my particular situation well, the way it deals with color is superb! I have a blue screen behind me that's almost pitch black, yet the picture quality is so clear that I can chroma key it out without problems. If you're buying the a7R for pictures, it's VERY easy to get a stunning photo in crystal clear quality. I should also point out I'm using the T * FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens which has no zoom function. One issue I have is that the touch screen on the back of the camera doesn't pull out, making it difficult for me to adjust settings while having the camera on myself, but anybody buying a camera like this isn't buying it for selfies, so it's just a personal issue.

totally excellent very fast shipping prompt courteous service. the images from this camera are incredible. I use it for coin photography. It is way beyond any DSLR. I have ever owned this camera has taken my photography to a new level. I have been invited to do some family portraits. see how that goes thank you so much. great deal and a great camera.

What can i say that hasn't already been said? It's one amazing camera packed full of features. While priced out of the reach of most amateur/newbie photographers, if you can afford it don't be scared away by it's feature list. Sony has made this camera very user friendly. After a very brief tutorial on how to use it, my friends were blown away by the pictures they were able to get with no real camera knowledge. That being said, you are really doing yourself an injustice to buy this camera and not learning how to use it's many different options to take your photos to the next level. The 2 biggest complaints so far have been battery life and an overheating issue when shooting 4k video. First the battery life is awful if you are a pro photographer who's camera is on all the time. My first time out with the camera i took it to my friend's daughter's 2 year old birthday party. Young kids meant i had the camera on fast continuous shooting for that fraction of a second when they would look and smile just right. With 1 fully charged battery i was able to shoot a little over a 1,000 42MP Raw + JPEG stills, about 5 min total of 4K + MP4 video and sent about 50 photos to my iphone via wifi. Not to mention showing people the camera and going back to review and pick out which photos came out best all over about 5 hours. While not impressive battery life, it's very usable. The batteries are also very small and it's easy to stick one or two in your pocket/bag just in case. As for the overheating 4k video, I have not filmed enough yet to run into this issue. From other reviews, it sounds like for most people this will not be a problem. It seems to only really affect those filmmakers shooting all day. Once again there are plenty of reviews out there to understand if this really will be an issue for you. Personally i have only run into 4 things i don't like/issues with the camera: First, lack of 2nd SD slot. I think Sony really dropped the ball on this one since many seem ready and eager to jump over but can't afford to take the chance because they shoot one time events like weddings. Not having this backup is really an annoyance on such a feature rich camera. Second, the size/weight. Many like the slightly larger si larger lenses, and with added features like stabilization and a much quieter shutter, the added weight is understandable & acceptable. However after enjoying the size and weight of the original A7R, my first physical impression of the mark 2 was disappointment over the added bulk. Especially since i like taking the camera out with me, carrying it in my hand all day, letting it dangle from a wrist strap. or slipping it into a pocket. This new camera will take some adjustments on my part. I'm also not a fan of the locking mode dial, as i never had issues with the original and i now have to remember/retrain myself to push the unlock button down before turning. ze, especially with the Third, the wifi connection to my iphone is still disappointing. Especially in video mode, the picture goes from nice and smooth to slow/choppy. I was hoping to use the iphone as a video screen but unless i can find another wireless option it looks like i'm plugging back into the HDMI. Speaking of the side ports they once again feel cheap vs the metal original doors i preferred, however sony has added a cable accessory that is suppose to keep the cables plugged in. I haven't used yet but it looks promising. Finally the lack of GPS/geotagging. I understand it's not for everyone, many would not enjoy the added startup time and drain on the battery. But i strongly feel that this camera should have had this feature, probably disabled from factory, for those who want it. Geo tagging can be added if you have you phone connected and are running the remote/playmemories app, however i really don't want to have to keep my phone on all day while i walk around shooting. Sony seems to be listening to what the public wants so i wouldnt be surprised to find these features in the mark 3 cameras or even a "pro level" rumored A9, however i would personally be surprised if such a camera was released any time soon. It seems like this camera is packed full with just about everything. When most things try to do too much they usually have to make great sacrifices and end up as just mediocre products. While this camera is far from being the best at all it does, it succeeds in doing everything to such a high degree that it will constantly exceed expectations. The best way i can put it is you are not buying a ridiculously fast Arial Atom V8, a luxurious Rolls Royce Phantom nor a high tech Tesla S. You are buying a Mercedes S65 AMG. Something that may not be #1 but blows your mind at doing so much at such a high level. Both are also very expensive, but when you realize what they offer over what is out on the market that costs twice as much you come to realize they worth every penny.

I decided to move to Sony's platform from shooting Nikon's D810 and I'm really glad I did. While the controls might not be quite as intuitive as my Nikon D810 and this camera definitely wouldn't work well as a weapon in a pinch, the image quality is so perfect and amazing that it's forgivable. Here are the pros and cons as I see them to owning the SonyA7rII: Pros: Amazing image quality - the best I've ever seen - and I did a lot of side by side with the D850. When dealing with high end camera's that occupy very top of the DxoMark scale, it really comes down to specific needs and personal preference. The EVF is absolutely fantastic to use. It's clear, the colors are wonderfully vibrant and true to life, and the ability to zoom in on far away objects from the viewfinder for perfect focus is a great benefit worth the extra demand on the battery. Silent mode which uses an electric front shutter is great and now (after upgrading to the latest firmware version) appears to work when uncompressed RAW is selected Though small, this camera feels solid and, with the grip, fits my large hands comfortably Though Sony doesn't have a large lens selection, the lenses they do have are insanely sharp and bar none among the best I've ever owned, particularly their Zeiss lenses and new Sony "G" lenses. To give some perspective - the best lens for Nikon ends at a 36 sharpness rating, Sony's lens lineup almost starts where Nikon leaves off and goes up to an insane 46 rating (per DxoMark). I can use this camera with ALL of my vintage glass including Nikkor AI and NAI MF lenses, Helios, Pentacon, Zeiss, and INDUSTAR, etc. All that's needed is a simple adapter and each of every one of theses lenses benefits from Sony's 5-axis in-body image stabilization. the shallow depth of the camera body ensures it's compatible with virtually every 35mm camera lens ever made - something that I ran into trouble with on my D810 because Nikon actually has the widest body of all camera makes. My M42 mount lenses (for example) would have to be mounted slightly inside of the D810 body to get the right magnification and infinite focus. And that's not even an option because doing this risks destroying the mirror. Even vintage Nikkor AI and NAI lenses can't be used without fairly major modification which also ruins the lens value. A lot of people seem to really dislike the A7 line UI. I personally kind of like the interface. Maybe it’s because I work with a lot of technology, but I find it pretty simple to use and after owning my camera for a few weeks have the placement of everything committed to my long-term memory. It also looks more modern than Nikon or Cannon’s UI. It might seem a little segmented at first, but in the end, everything kind of makes sense as a whole so I’m counting it as a pro. Love that Sony included two batteries and a charger. This really makes me feel like I bought a high-end camera. If they’d throw in a screen protector (see my grumble below), I’d be completely happy with the included accessories. Cons: The battery life could be better I'd love to see the build quality be just a bit more robust. I.e. I wouldn't take this on out in sub zero weather, do a photo-shoot in a sand storm, or bring it with me white water rafting. Even decent weather sealing would be a nice gesture. This one is probably on the top of my list - I'd love to see dedicated controls for all major settings that I use every day. I can set the aperture from the back dial and the exposure from the front dial, but it would be great to have a control for the ISO. I virtually always shoot in full manual mode and having to right click on the wheel to bring up an ISO dialogue before selecting the ISO is just the tiniest bit annoying. The camera should come with a snap on screen protector like Nikon provides. When you spend this much on a camera and don't get basic protective equipment, you feel like Sony is being a tad on the penny pinching/apathetic side. Some tips: Knowing how short the battery life would be I loaded on six batteries and bought a grip for the camera so I can use two at a time. With the grip I can shoot about half of what I used to get away with using my D810, which is workable Get a good protective carrying case/backpack for this camera to keep it safe. My final verdict: It's overall the best camera I've ever owned. While it is quirky in some way, some of the quirks are starting to grow on me. Now we'll see about longevity. The shutter is rated at 500,000 actuations, so I'm hopeful.