Sony's new Alpha 7 II mirrorless camera launching in the US next month, starting at $1700

[Himanshu Arora]

Just a week after first unveiling the Alpha 7 II, Sony has announced that the mirrorless camera will be available for purchase in the US on December 9th. It will be priced at $1,699 as body-only and $1,999 with an FE 28-70mm, f/3.5-f/5.6 OSS zoom lens, which is the same price as its predecessor.

The Alpha 7 II offers several new features compared to the Alpha 7, including the latest 5-axis in-body stabilization system, something which can be used while capturing still photos as well as video footage. It also includes some design improvements to help reduce camera shake regardless of the lens that may be attached to the camera body.

In addition, the camera incorporates an enhanced autofocus system that combines 117 phase and 25 contact points to provide 30 per cent faster autofocus responsiveness, and also supports high bit rate XAVC-S recording.

The Alpha 7 II retains several features from the Alpha 7 as well, including a 24.3-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, the 3″ tilting LCD display on the back, offering a 3:2 aspect ratio capable of displaying 1.23 million dots, the ability to tilt the screen 107 degrees upwards and 41 degrees down, shutter speeds of up to 1/8000 second, an ISO sensitivity that can range between 100 to 25,600.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/59004-sony-alpha-7-ii-mirrorless-camera-december.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

All thats left to do is install Android 5.0 on it then you'll have a camera phone to die for.

 

[JakeT]

Geez my Olympus cameras have had tilt screens since 2003 on a P&S and since 2007 on SLRs. 1/8000th of a second, been doing that since 07 on my E3 and now on the E5. Sony isn't the innovator it once was.

 

[Arris]

Geez my Olympus cameras have had tilt screens since 2003 on a P&S and since 2007 on SLRs. 1/8000th of a second, been doing that since 07 on my E3 and now on the E5. Sony isn't the innovator it once was.

Obviously the tilt screen and 1/8000th aren't the show stoppers in it's specifications (although many mid level DSLRs have 1/4000th as the fastest shutter speed).

The Nex series of cameras followed by this transition to full frame mirrorless camera bodies have been innovations. The previous Nex series featured APS-C sensors the same as mid level DSLR cameras but in a much more compact size(most others were micro 4/3 sensor cameras which is a smaller sensor again) They now have the same size sensor(35mm film equivalent) as pro level DSLRs in a much more compact body, and with the A7II they have in body stabilization in the same small body (a little bit fatter). If you look at the main players Sony are one of the Full Frame players that are actually innovating. Canon are still relying a little too much on name alone. The every day or so I read about another videographer switching from a Canon 5DMKIII to the Sony A7S model due to its small size, weight and amazing low light performance. To say Sony isn't innovating in their camera business is very uninformed, and they supply Nikon with sensors, and quite a few of the smartphone manufacturers.

 

[JakeT]

Obviously the tilt screen and 1/8000th aren't the show stoppers in it's specifications (although many mid level DSLRs have 1/4000th as the fastest shutter speed).

The Nex series of cameras followed by this transition to full frame mirrorless camera bodies have been innovations. The previous Nex series featured APS-C sensors the same as mid level DSLR cameras but in a much more compact size(most others were micro 4/3 sensor cameras which is a smaller sensor again) They now have the same size sensor(35mm film equivalent) as pro level DSLRs in a much more compact body, and with the A7II they have in body stabilization in the same small body (a little bit fatter). If you look at the main players Sony are one of the Full Frame players that are actually innovating. Canon are still relying a little too much on name alone. The every day or so I read about another videographer switching from a Canon 5DMKIII to the Sony A7S model due to its small size, weight and amazing low light performance. To say Sony isn't innovating in their camera business is very uninformed, and they supply Nikon with sensors, and quite a few of the smartphone manufacturers.

Thanks for pointing all that out, I'm informed now. I'm actually getting rid of my Oly gear for a FF and I'm still not absolutely sold on which brand/model, what with everything going so fast in the mirror-less camera world. Weight is now a top priority for me and I may just go mirrorless if I can find something that suits my needs.

 

[Arris]

Thanks for pointing all that out, I'm informed now. I'm actually getting rid of my Oly gear for a FF and I'm still not absolutely sold on which brand/model, what with everything going so fast in the mirror-less camera world. Weight is now a top priority for me and I may just go mirrorless if I can find something that suits my needs.

The article was also a little short of pointing out the actual true innovations Sony has made with this model. There were rumours that the IBIS that Sony have implemented was licensed from Olympus but in fact it's now been stated that it is of their own design from scratch. Only problem with making the step up to FF is that you lose the benefit of M43 with smaller lens designs. I personally went from Nex to A7 (hence why I'm as informed about it) and some of the lenses aren't that much smaller/lighter than a standard DSLR. With that said I have a 70-200 F4 that is much lighter than my friends Canon 70-200 F2.8 L series lens. Obviously for F2.8 the number of elements or thickness of them is different but the weight difference between his Canon 5DMKIII with the 70-200 F2.8 on it compared to my A7 with 70-200 F4 is hard to believe. I now understand why so many photographers complain about neck/back ache from carrying these big heavy cameras and lenses.

If I had to go for one of the major names I'll be more tempted by Nikon's latest offerings. The D750 looks like a great offering without going to top of the range D810. Shares more in common with the D800/810 than it's lower sibling D610, but lower price.

 

[Arris]

Also check out their stacked CMOS sensor for phones that is in development:
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201411/14-112E/index.html

Phase detection AF for phones!