ceony made waves in the filmmaking world with the A7S, but the newly released A7R II might be a better choice for many filmmakers.
I’ve never owned a Sony A7S, but I’ve shot with this camera many times and have always been impressed with it. I love its small, compact body, top-notch image quality, and best-in-class low-light performance.
That said, the A7S has never been the perfect camera for me. When it was released, I already had a GH4 that could do internal 4K recording, and the A7S required an external recorder for 4K recording, which kind of defeated my purpose. I know internal 4K isn’t a concern for all shooters, but for me it’s an issue… When I shoot with a camera as small as the A7S, I usually shoot guerilla style and want to keep my The kit and overall footprint are as small as possible. Adding Shogun to the camera to effectively achieve 4K would make the overall setup larger and make it less attractive for my needs.
I’m also not a huge fan of the A7s’ color science, but the same is true of almost any other Sony camera. Sony has done a great job pushing the boundaries of camera technology, but they still haven’t nailed the science of color. Manufacturers like Blackmagic and Canon have been downgrading some of their cameras for a while… but Sony’s colors have always felt a bit harsh to me, and even after grading they still often feel a bit video-y.
So, taking all of this into consideration, I ended up not investing in the A7S. I’ve rented/borrowed it multiple times as needed, but for me it serves a very specific purpose…low light. For ultra-low light conditions, it offers the best performance of any camera I’ve ever used, so it’s a smart choice when shooting this type of material. If I were the type of shooter who was always working in no-light/run-and-run situations, I would probably invest in the A7S. But realistically, most of the time I don’t need to shoot above ISO 1600, and this is where the A7S really starts to set itself apart from other cameras.
The A7R II, on the other hand, offers a lot of great new features that make it more attractive to me than the A7S, despite the fact that it doesn’t have the same low-light performance (due to the higher megapixel sensor).
Here are some A7R II specs to get you started quickly:
- 42MP full-frame Exmor R BSI CMOS sensor
- BIONZ X image processor
- Internal 4K XAVC S video and S-Log2 gamma
- 5-Axis SteadyShot Internally Stabilized
- 399 phase detection AF points and 5 fps burst shooting
- 0.5-inch 2.36 million dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder EVF
- 3.0″ 1,228.8k dot flip LCD monitor
- ISO 102,400 with silent shutter mode
- Durable shock-absorbing shutter design
- Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC
I need to shoot with the A7R II first before making a firm decision whether it’s worth the investment for myself. But I must say that for me, it is indeed a better choice than A7S for the following 5 reasons:
4K built in
As I mentioned above, one of the biggest drawbacks of the A7S for me is the lack of built-in 4K. The A7R II has solved this problem, as the camera allows you to record 4:2:0 8-bit 4K footage directly to the SD card. Yes, it would be nice to have 4:2:2 10-bit (at least via HDMI output), but that’s not the case. However, it will give you 4:2:2 8-bit over HDMI, which should help. Regardless, the fact that this camera allows you to shoot with extra resolution without the need for a camera not only makes it more practical, but also more cost-effective.
rolling shutter
One of the biggest issues I encountered with the A7S was severe rolling shutter artifacts when shooting in full frame mode. Shooting in Super 35 mode can greatly alleviate the rolling shutter problem, but it doesn’t completely eliminate it. However, with the advent of the A7R II, things have improved a lot in this regard. Again, I haven’t shot with the camera myself – but based on the footage I’ve seen and the research I’ve done, the A7R II has almost no rolling shutter artifacts in Super 35 mode… even when panning quickly in this way.
Low light is still great
There is no doubt that the A7S will perform better than the A7R II in low light conditions just based on megapixel count. We all know that larger pixels provide better low-light performance, so naturally the pixels of the 12-megapixel A7S will be much larger than those of the 42-megapixel A7R II. Still, the A7R II is likely to perform very well in low-light conditions. Pixel size isn’t the only factor in producing sharp low-light images, Sony gives us great low-light results on many other higher megapixel cameras… so I have high hopes for the A7R II in that department as well expectations. Personally, I rarely shoot above ISO 3200 (and even then, it’s usually an emergency) – so I’m pretty confident that the A7R II can deliver excellent low-light results at fairly high ISOs, even if the digital It’s not that crazy what the A7S can offer.
5-axis stabilization
Like some of Sony’s other cameras, the Sony A7R II has 5-axis stabilization built into the body. This means that no matter what lens you use (even a fully manual vintage lens), you can take advantage of image stabilization. To me, this is one of the most exciting features the A7R II has to offer, for many reasons. Firstly, as I mentioned, I like to keep the footprint as small as possible when shooting with a mirrorless camera, and the built-in stabilization of the camera means that in many situations I may not need a shoulder rig or rail system . And, considering I’m not currently looking to invest in Sony glass, the fact that I can use my fully manual lenses on the A7R II is huge.
Photo quality
Of course, I mostly shoot video, but I also shoot stills professionally and personally, and the A7R II would be a better stills camera than the A7S. Of course, the biggest difference is the megapixel count, which is 42MP on the A7R II. That’s pretty crazy considering the size of the body and the other features built into the camera itself. While stills may not be an important consideration for some filmmakers, I’m guessing many of you need to take high-resolution photos from time to time and are able to do so with a 42 MP camera in your back pocket It’s incredible.
final thoughts
There will never be a perfect camera, and naturally everyone has different needs when it comes to choosing the right tool for their job. Still, the A7R II seems like a better choice than the A7S for the type of work I do. If I needed ultra-low light capabilities, I’d still choose the A7S…but other than that, the A7R II beats the A7S in many ways. I’ll need to shoot with it to really make a decision, and I do have some concerns (like moiré and aliasing), but I certainly have high hopes.
While I may not be a huge fan of Sony’s color science, I’m sure they will continue to improve it through firmware updates, and all things considered, the A7R II still offers a lot of performance in a very small package. The price is relatively high (around $3200), but you don’t need a Shogun to shoot 4K, and the features built into the camera will certainly extend its lifespan. All in all, I think this will be a worthwhile investment for many people.
I’m sure that when the Sony A7S II launches, we’ll see many of the same features as the A7R II (such as internal image stabilization)… and the Sony A7S will probably outperform the A7R II. But in reality, this is always the case. There are always new and better cameras coming out, which is why it can be hard to decide which camera to buy and when. Regardless, for many of us, the A7R II will offer everything we want in an A7S and more, and I personally can’t wait to shoot with it.
If you are interested in purchasing the A7R II, you can purchase it through B & H using the link below:
Sony A7R II – B & H $3198.00
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