Gear/ Professional Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera
LENS OPTIONS Almost as important as the camera that you choose are the lenses that you use with it, so glass is an important consideration. The A7 range uses Sony’s full-frame E-mount range (dubbed FE) and, while there aren’t a huge number of FE-mount lenses on the market, the ones that are available are highly regarded. Alongside Sony’s own prime and zoom E-mount lenses, the likes of Zeiss, Mitakon, Samyang and Lensbaby all offer full-frame E-mount optics. Furthermore, there are also several adaptors available to fit different fitment lenses to the A7R II, the most popular of which being adaptors to use SonyA-mount and Canon EF lenses. One key selling point of the A7R II is the five-axis image stabilisation. As the stabilisation system is housed within the camera body itself, it can stabilise any lens with electrical contacts. Even older, manual focus eBay bargains benefit from three-axis stabilisation, once you manually tell the camera the focus length being used via the menu system. Clever stuff!
SONY A7R II The second generation A7 range looks to build upon the strong foothold gained by the first. Has the A7R II now caught up to speed? Test: JORDAN BUTTERS
SPECIFICATIONS Price: £2,600 (body only) Image sensor: Full-frame BSI CMOS (35.9 x 24mm) Resolution: 42.4-megapixels Maximum image resolution: 7952x5304 pixels AF points: 339 phase- & 25 contrast-detection ISO range: 100-25600 (expandable to 50-102400) Shutter speeds: 1/8000sec-30 seconds & Bulb Continuous frame rate: Five frames-per-second Built-in flash: No LCD monitor: Tilting 3in, 1,228,800-dot Storage: SD (SDHC/SDXC) Size: 126.9x95.7x60.3mm Weight: 625g (including battery and card)
Exposure: 1/640sec at f/8 (ISO 200)
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ACK WHEN I ATTENDED the launch of the original A7 and A7R in London, in 2013, I remember being incredibly excited about these promising propositions. A duo of high-resolution, full-frame mirrorless models that boasted amazing image quality in a small package with a sturdy, premium feel – on paper, the A7 range sounded idyllic. However, when I finally got to spend a good amount of time using one I was disappointed. The sensor was fantastic and the image quality was everything I’d wished for, but the camera’s clumsy button layout, frustrating menu system and seemingly archaic autofocus completely ruined the experience. Since the launch of the initial models, Sony has been very busy tweaking and building upon the base that it created and there are now a plethora of A7 models to choose from. The A7S arrived mid-2014 and offered video shooters a small full-frame camera with incredible low-light sensitivity. Later that year the A7 II was announced, followed by the A7R II during the summer of 2015 and the A7S II most recently at the end of last year. The A7S II is primarily targeted at videographers, so I’ve concentrated this test on the flagship A7R II. First things first, let’s talk about the sensor. A jump from the original A7R’s not-tooshabby 36.4-megapixels, and a big leap from its stable mate the A7 II’s 24.3-megapixels, the A7R II packs a whopping 42.4-megapixel backside illuminated full-frame sensor. The images that this camera are capable of are mind-bogglingly detailed, thanks in part to the in-body five-axis image stabilisation and lack of optical low-pass filter. The A7 family is highly regarded for its dynamic range, too, and the A7R II is no exception. As a Nikon D800 photographer, I’m used to being able to pull detail out of deep shadow without
100 Digital SLR Photography March 2016
• FUJIFILM X-T1: Another hero in the mirrorless revolution, Fuji’s offering is stylish and features a 16-megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS II sensor. Despite the lower resolution, image quality is very good and the X-T1’s electronic viewfinder is rivalled only by the Sony on test. It’s cheaper too, weighing in at around £850 (body-only).
SECOND-TIME LUCKY The A7R II's slightly deeper form and grip should sit well with DSLR users tempted by this impressive mirrorless full-frame model.
too much noise, but the A7R II blows the Nikon out of the water. Underexposing towards the sun without the need for filters and pulling up the shadows in processing reveals more detail than I remember seeing with my own eyes, and with perfectly acceptable noise levels – it’s really quite extraordinary! The low-light ability of the A7S has been passed on to its bigger brother too – the A7R II boasts a native ISO of 100-25600, expandable to ISO 50–102400. Files are usable up to ISO 1600 with noise creeping in from ISO 3200. A new shutter mechanism is said to eliminate the shutter slap problems that the A7R suffered from. There’s also an electronic front shutter option to reduce vibrations further, or you can choose a silent shooting mode for noise-sensitive environments. For the video fans, the A7R II is a highly covetable item – you can record 4K video without the need for an external recorder, although you do need super-fast Class 10 UHS-3 cards. There’s a Super 35 (APS-C) crop mode too – the resolution is so high that this output is in 4K as well. The A7R II is equipped with a clean HDMI output and external headphone and microphone connections, plus you can output video to the same S-Log2 profile also found on Sony cinema cameras, making it perfect for advanced or professional videographers. In hand, the A7R II is slightly bigger than its predecessor due to the in-body image stabilisation. It’s no worse off for the extra
bulk, however – the body is still small and made from magnesium, it's strong, light and has a premium feel. It’s weather sealed too. A large rubber grip offers good purchase and the camera feels nicely balanced, even with a heavy lens on the front – surprising for a camera of this size. The button layout has changed slightly from the original model – most notably the shutter button sits further forward on the top-plate, which is a far more comfortable and natural position. The front control wheel has been moved and is more ergonomically pleasing than before. There is an array of buttons to the rear, almost all of which can be programmed to perform virtually any function. I’m all for customisation, however each button is labelled with its standard function (with the exception of three custom buttons – C1, C2 and C3), so why would you want to change a button labelled ‘ISO’ to control something else? This is not something I can see many using. After a time with the A7R II you quickly learn how to perform the vital functions using the existing layout. The 'mod cons' of WiFi and NFC are included as well. A 1,228,800-dot 3-inch LCD screen occupies the remaining space on the back. It tilts up about 107° and down by roughly 41° too, which is handy. Most of your compositions will likely be made via the OLED electronic viewfinder however, which has also improved since the last model. Boasting a 0.78x magnification, it's fast and clear and can display a large amount of information as well as focusing aids such as zebra or focus peaking. Shooting with the A7R II, I noticed a big improvement in autofocus speed over the
• CANON EOS 5DS: If big resolution is your thing then consider Canon’s behemoth – a 50.6-megapixel full-frame monster. Choose between the EOS 5DS and 5DS R, the difference is that the R model packs a self-cancelling filter for sharper images. The EOS 5DS is around £2,700 and the EOS 5DS R costs £3,200. • NIKON D810: The D810 boasts a full-frame 36.3-megapixel sensor minus optical low-pass filter. It’s not as well equipped for video as the A7R II, but it makes up for this with fantastic dynamic range, incredible detail and fast and accurate autofocus. The D810 is currently available for around £2,400 body-only. Exposure: 1/30sec at f/8 (ISO 200)
previous version. The AF system is impressive in numbers alone: 399 phase-detection and 25 contrast-detection points can be put into action to keep subjects in focus. There are a number of customisable tracking modes to play with, but setting the camera to single-point continuous AF demonstrated the camera’s increased ability. It was able to track changes in focal distance quickly and coped well with moving targets, but was a little sluggish on objects approaching the camera. The burst mode has been upped considerably to 5fps from 1.5fps – a marked improvement. These changes bring the Alpha 7R II in line with any mid-range DSLR, but it is still definitely not an action camera. Battery life is nothing to write home about and there's always going to be a trade-off when utilising a small form – bigger batteries means longer life and there simply isn't the room in this camera. I think Sony realise this
too, and that's why the A7R II body ships with two batteries – a nice touch and one that users will appreciate. While being able to shoot at this resolution has its obvious advantages, it has its pitfalls too. The resulting files are huge and there’s a requirement for your memory cards and hard drives to be too. Even using a Class 10 SD card you can forget about rattling off a large number of Raw files as the buffer soon fills up. While the camera is writing to the card you cannot review images or use the LCD screen either – this is hugely frustrating and sometimes results in a long wait before the camera becomes usable again. Furthermore, the A7R II only offers one SD card slot, so if you want to shoot Raw and JPEG you are putting all of your eggs in one basket – this is a major oversight and something that could put off many professional users.
VERDICT The camera that the A7R should have been; almost all of the original’s problems have been addressed. The new sensor is incredible and images quality is second to none – packed with detail, great dynamic range and colour. The A7R II has its frustrations, but if you can get past these, and learn to love its controls, menus and little quirks then you won’t be disappointed. Handling
18/20
Ease of use
16/20
Features
19/20
Performance
20/20
Value
17/20
Overall
90/100
March 2016 Digital SLR Photography 101