Sony A7 II Hands-on, First Impressions: Technological Wonder

Sony A7 II Hands-on, First Impressions: Technological Wonder

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We go hands-on with Sony’s newest camera, the A7 II!

We attended Sony’s official Singapore launch of the company’s newest camera, A7 II. The A7 II, or Alpha 7 Mark II, is the first of its kind in the world. It is a full-frame, mirror-less camera, with five-point axis stabilization, sporting the Japanese company’s E-mount lenses. The Alpha 7 Mark II was recently released in Japan a couple of weeks ago, but a few days ago Sony announced that it would soon be available to the rest of the region. You might want to think about holding onto your Christmas bonus if you haven’t spent it yet. This camera is an absolute beast, but more on that later. Here is a quick rundown on some of the A7 Mark II’s notable specs:

Sony A7 Mark II specs

  • 24.30 Effective Megapixels
  • 35mm Full-Frame Exmor CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor
  • Fast Hybrid AF (Phase Detection AF/Contrast-Detection AF)
  • Sensitivity Range EV -1 to EV 20 (at ISO 100 equivalent with F2.0 lens)
  • ISO 200-25600 equivalent, AUTO (ISO 200-6400)
  • Electronic Viewfinder (XGA OLED Tru-Finder)
  • 5CM TFT Drive; 1.228M Dots; Adjustable Angle
  • WiFI and NFC
  • PlayMemories Camera App

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No More Camera Shake 

While optical 5-axis image stabilization might not be new to the game, Sony is actually the first in the world to ever mount such a system using a full-frame sensor. Their engineers from Tokyo explained the challenge of having to build hardware and still be able to fit within the parameters of a compact body that has been tied to the A7 line of cameras.

The optical 5-axis image stabilization compensates for camera shake that includes angular (pitch and yaw), shift shake (x and y axis), and roll. This allows users of the A7 II more freedom to shoot handheld where otherwise images would be rendered unusable and is said to compensate up to 4.5 steps faster shutter speed of correction. It works extremely well whether shooting stills or video. Check out the sample images below.

as
Without OIS
as
With OIS

Zippy Auto Focus 

The Fast Hybrid AF on the A7 II is definitely something that will wow its users. Its tracking is absolutely superb as a 117point focal plane phase-detection AF sensor and 25 contrast detection AF points are placed over a wide area of the screen. It’s focuses 30% faster than previous models and an improved tracking algorithm help with continuous shooting, which goes up to 5 frames per second.

Sony A7 Mark II 05

We can spout all the technical jargon at you about the Fast Hybrid AF, but it’s quite different when you experience or even see it action for yourself. There’s an amount of skepticism when brands mention certain features, but we were certainly surprised at just how fast this auto focus system works.

Sony A7 Mark II 04

Improvements All-Around 

Sony has listened to its adoring masses and has made major improvements to the actual hardware of the camera as well. An improved handgrip makes it feel good in the hand and, even though its more compact, feels closer to holding an actual SLR; definitely something that most of us are more accustomed to these days. Kudos to Sony for listening to its customers.

The tilting 3-inch LCD screen has also received a few little extra tweaks here and there to improve its usability when choosing to shoot from the waist; this time it extends a little further to clear the EVF. It is also equipped with White Magic that allows better viewing even in situations that would usually make it hard to see the shots you have just taken.

There are also 10 customizable buttons to allow users of the A7 II to have the settings they usually fiddle with within a press of a button rather than having to delve into its robust menu.

Speaking of the buttons, the main buttons and dials are sealed to help keep dust and moisture out of its, now, sturdy magnesium alloy construction of its top, front cover, and internals keeping the a7 II light but definitely more durable.

Sony A7 Mark II 01

More Hands-On Time Needed Wanted 

Each of us who attended the event was given 40 minutes to play around with the A7 II to see what this camera can really do. Though more time is needed to give you guys a more in-depth review of the camera, the 40 minutes given to us was more than enough to tell you to maybe set aside the budget you might have if you’re buying a new camera and consider the a7 II. It will definitely make the list we send Santa this Christmas.

Sony representatives from the Philippines have said that we can expect the A7 II next, which is only a few weeks away. No official price tag for our shores has been given, but we’ve seen it up on Amazon UK for around £1,200 that puts it above the Php 100,000.00.

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