New A7II Users Reports

[k-hawinkler]

Crap I had mine set on standard.


Folks I'm just going to say this which is extremely rare to do because I never want to sound bias and not neutral in anyway since I do reviews and test a lot on many diffrent cams. More importantly not because I guessed correctly and/or bought something. But my feeling that this is the 2014 camera of the year IMHO. Everything about it is just about perfect. This to me is a MAJOR upgrade to the FE series mount. I'm tempted to buy a second one. Sony do me a big favor stop drop and roll. Throw the 36 mpx in this and make it a A7rII today. Im dead serious Sony than make your A9 or whatever but do not miss the opportunity to sell a 36mpx version of this. More about my feelings later on this but this is the most balanced Sony camera to date in the FE mount. I may give the A7s second for its high ISO and the A77II for it AF speed in a DSLR style can than Nikon D810 for its upgrades over the D800e but this A7II is the most balanced and user friendly upgrade. All the little improvements really add up.

Thanks Guy. Yeah, just like A7 II but with 36 MP! Bulls eye! Spot on! :clap:

:worthless:

 

[iiiNelson]

I'm dead serious and I don't make a penny saying this but to all A7 users UPGRADE.

I was afraid of reading that but I do see immediate IQ improvements that bring the A7II a lot closer to the A7R in the amount of standard clarity and acuity in quite a few images I've seen here. Truthfully I could probably get by with 2 A7II's but I want to see what'll come from the A9 (or if there will even be one) before I make a jump in any direction.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I have some images i shot yesterday to post and some more thoughts and maybe if I get time today to post all my camera settings as a guide. Im dedicating myself to my office today, i have a lot of catching up to do. Heading in for Espresso number 3. LOL

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I was afraid of reading that but I do see immediate IQ improvements that bring the A7II a lot closer to the A7R in the amount of standard clarity and acuity in quite a few images I've seen here. Truthfully I could probably get by with 2 A7II's but I want to see what'll come from the A9 (or if there will even be one) before I make a jump in any direction.

I say that without getting too much involved with the IQ yet. That part maybe the bonus. The A7 IQ is very good, if we get a bump here its a nice bonus for sure.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Shot from yesterday with the Canon 24mm TSE shot at F10 with some rise in it and tilt. I processed it in ACR.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

This is a Frank Lloyd Wright Home that is being renovated and will be forever more a historical site.

And YES that is a Angel in the sky. LOL

 

[jonoslack]

I was afraid of reading that but I do see immediate IQ improvements that bring the A7II a lot closer to the A7R in the amount of standard clarity and acuity in quite a few images I've seen here. Truthfully I could probably get by with 2 A7II's but I want to see what'll come from the A9 (or if there will even be one) before I make a jump in any direction.

Hi Tre
Thing is - no matter what the A9 turns out to be I cannot see that this could be anything worse than a great backup - it really does seem to be very good.

Without having an A7 with me to compare, I can't do exact IQ comparisons, but I do get the impression that the acuity has improved - I have the same lenses, and the shots I took a year ago. Maybe they've lightened the AA filter? It'll be easier to tell for sure when Aperture provides raw support.

The body seem to me to be a real improvement - it feels better, and it looks better as well. I don't think the shutter is much quieter BUT it seems to be better damped, so that you can't feel the camera shake when the shutter fires. I'm going to assume that the weather sealing is reasonable, so I'll shoot in the rain, but keep it under my arm as much as possible.

IBIS just works really well - dunno if it's 2 stops or 3 stops or 4 (probably depends on the circumstances), but the combination of the damped shutter and the IBIS means I can shoot my beloved 75 'cron down to 10th second without any problems (as long as the subject keeps still). 1/20th is feasible with the 80-200 f4 Leica R.

To be honest I haven't changed the settings all that much - I've switched off as much noise and noise reduction as possible (both audible and noise reduction). I've also put the IBIS focal length selector on the C4 button (trash). I've also switched off auto-review and selected RAW - I've turned on EFC and changed the monitor to high quality.

Criticisms? Well, not many really - I have turned the camera off a couple of times when turning the front dial (they're a bit close). I've also had some problems with AF at infinity (try to focus on cloud detail and it'll often give focus confirmation, but it's actually focused at about 6ft. Battery life isn't steller - but this doesn't cause me any grief - it seems to last for a couple of hundred shots with the camera on all the time.

All the best
Jono (the enabler) Slack

 

[Vivek]

Shot from yesterday with the Canon 24mm TSE shot at F10 with some rise in it and tilt. I processed it in ACR.

:thumbs:

Way better than a whole lot of :talk028:

 

[Guy Mancuso]

My feelings on battery are maybe the biggest downfall but here is my theory . IGNORE it all run the dang thing to the end toss in another and continue on. Just don't ever walk out the door without a spare.After that i don't really care. There is a benefit to the small battery too. I happen to have 6 of them and those off brand Wasabi and Watson batteries work good. I just tossed out a Wasabi as i can't charge it in my new 2 slot watson charger which BTW i really like. So folks buying that charger may want to ignore the Wasabi batteries and get the Watsons

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Sometimes you just can't correct when windows are just not square. This was built in 1955. I was born in 1956 and i know for damn sure I am not square. ROFLMAO

Shot with the Canon 24mm TSE at F10. I did not bring any flash with me but I am going back when finished and shoot this house for real.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Actually I can correct it easily in C1 just this cam is not supported yet

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Okay full lens profile applied here as it is in CS6

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Nice look at a very cool historical home. For those that do not know Frank Lloyd Wright was a very famous architect here in the US. Big influence here in the Southwest. He also designed the Arizona Biltmore Resort which is world famous for its design. Right here in Phoenix

 

[iiiNelson]

I say that without getting too much involved with the IQ yet. That part maybe the bonus. The A7 IQ is very good, if we get a bump here its a nice bonus for sure.

It's actually pretty easy to see the IQ improvements even at web sizes (and believe me when I say I wanted this to be just like the A7 with IBIS added.) There is more definition to the A7II images when compared to the first version and a weaker low pass filter was my first impression/thought but I don't pretend to be an expert when it comes to that sort of stuff. I've just lived with the A7 and A7R nearly exclusively for the last year.

 

[cam]

LOL well it is Christmas and all us GAS folks do buy our own presents. Did you know that is the rule and not the exception. ROTFLMAO

Actually, Guy, I already bought mine (thanks to Monsieur Slack). This really would be for my guy, so I can get my A7s out of his hands

 

[Guy Mancuso]

That could be tough. Like to have a A7s myself actually. I did have a passing thought of selling my A7r to get the S than get whatever replaces it next year. It is not a bad plan either than have all three but than that would also classify me as a real gear slut too. Lol

 

[Vivek]

It's actually pretty easy to see the IQ improvements even at web sizes (and believe me when I say I wanted this to be just like the A7 with IBIS added.) There is more definition to the A7II images when compared to the first version and a weaker low pass filter was my first impression/thought but I don't pretend to be an expert when it comes to that sort of stuff. I've just lived with the A7 and A7R nearly exclusively for the last year.

I actually like to measure (thickness and such) instead of speculating but from the images of the pictures to demonstrate the sensor shake mechanism, I can immediately pick out the difference in the cover glass in A7II vs A7. It looks thinner to me (and every micron near the sensor counts!).

 

[Vivek]

That could be tough. Like to have a A7s myself actually. I did have a passing thought of selling my A7r to get the S than get whatever replaces it next year. It is not a bad plan either than have all three but than that would also classify me as a real gear slut too. Lol

That is the beauty of the A7 series. One for every purpose. I have one UV (only), would like to add one for IR and keep the A7r for now for visible. Being compact and not requiring to own a yacht with a glass bottom (price wise), it is very tempting.

 

[mbroomfield]

I actually like to measure (thickness and such) instead of speculating but from the images of the pictures to demonstrate the sensor shake mechanism, I can immediately pick out the difference in the cover glass in A7II vs A7. It looks thinner to me (and every micron near the sensor counts!).

That is really interesting Vivek. One problem with the A7 for night shooters is some rotten flare for starburst lights, the A7r does better. A few examples of the A7II I've seen so far suggests it's better, perhaps about the same as the A7r now.

If anyone has the chance to post some night images with offcenter starbursts it would be appreciated.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

VERY clear case where IBIS works amazingly well. I shot this at 4:30 in the morning in my family room only lit by the Christmas tree. I shot this with the Canon 24mm TSE wide open which is F3.5 at ISO 1600 at get this 1/3 of a second. Thats 1/3 not 1/30 of a second. This is mind boggling as i am normally a rock at holding a camera this makes me a rock star at it.

100 percent crop. Look at the wall switch and the picture frames, not a touch a movement anywhere.

to me case closed it works brilliantly. Now let me remind you a canon 24mm TSE is NOT A SMALL LIGHTWEIGHT LENS to handhold. LOL