Sony a7R II Review

Table of Contents

Image and Video Quality

Having the world’s first backside-illuminated full-frame sensor on 35mm format and a BIONZ X image processing engine for more natural images with minimal noise, the a7R II produced exceptional images for a compact shooter. Colors are naturally vibrant, details are very much intact, and its low-light clarity is just satisfying.

Below are some sample photos using the 35mm lens that Sony lent us. Keep in mind that these are raw images and haven’t been altered in any way. Some of the effects seen here are all made in-camera by tweaking the settings.

#gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

We have uploaded more sample photos straight out of the a7R II in this post — Gallery: Walking Around New York City With a Php155K Camera.

As for video capabilities, this able shooter could record up to 4K resolution (QFHD at 3840 x 2160) at either 30 or 24fps. We were able to capture footage with lively hues and smooth edges, while jaggies are kept to a minimum. Apart from that, it also records Full HD video at 60, 30, and 24fps.

We went around Times Square in New York City and took some sample videos at its highest resolution possible. Here are the results:

Battery Life

While going around in a foreign city as a tourist, you could safely say that we were using the camera every once in a while for any interesting/new things we see. And with that frequency of shooting, the a7R II was able to last a day and a half of usage before its battery got juiced out. That’s not so bad considering all the things happening inside to produce those shots.

Charging time is normal and similar to the previous cameras we’ve tried before — taking a couple of hours to recharge from 0-100%.

Conclusion

Sony-a7Rii-review-philippines-22

The Sony a7R II undoubtedly has what it takes to be one of the best full-frame mirrorless cameras out in the market. It’s a fitting example of what a camera should be with all the useful features squeezed inside a compact body.

With it, you have a capable photo device that isn’t restricted by low light scenes, while also being able to shoot videos at an impressive 4K resolution. Of course, with those chunky specs also come a steep pricing. The a7R II has a price tag of Php154,999 and that’s only for the body (lens excluded).

Sony a7R II specs and key features:
42.4MP Backside-Illuminated CMOS sensor
Sensor Type: Full-frame (36 x 24mm)
Bionz X Image Processor
14-bit uncompressed RAW format
Contrast detect + on-sensor Phase detect AF w/ 399 AF points
ISO 50 – 102400
30 sec. – 1/8000 sec. shutter speed
5fps continuous drive
Optional External Flash via Hot-shoe
2.4M-dot Electronic Viewfinder
0.78x Magnification, 100% coverage
2.95-inch articulating 1.2M-dot TFT LCD
4K video recording at 30/25/24fps
1080p video recording at 24/60fps
MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC-S video formats
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
NFC
SD / SDHC / SDXC
RAW + JPEG file format
Micro-HDMI
NP-FW50 Lithium-Ion battery, rated for 290 shots
Dimension: 127 x 96 x 60 mm
Weight: 625g

What we liked about it:

Compact, robust body
Produces vibrant and detailed images
Astounding ISO sensitivity
Easy to navigate dials and instrumentations
Snaps silently
Satisfactory AF

What we didn’t like:

EVF sensor is sensitive
Record button is oddly-placed
Takes a while to pair with other devices using Wi-Fi

a7r iicompact camerafull framemirrorlessphilippinespricereviewsonyspecs

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

http://www.yugatech.com

No Comments