Another good camera choice in 2021?)
Related course: Photography for Beginners Sony pioneered the world of full-frame mirrorless cameras. The latest edition to the Sony Alpha series is the flagship camera, the Alpha 1. But the...
14/09/2021
Associated course:
photography for beginners
Sony paved the way in the world of full frame
without mirror
cameras. The latest edition to the Sony Alpha series is the flagship camera, the
Alpha 1
. But the new features come with impressive price tags.
Sony continues to produce and support older models of its cameras. The price of one
Sony a7II
is about half the price of the high end
a7R IV
. In this article, we'll explore the features of the Sony a7II to see if it's still a good camera choice in 2021. Can you get the full-frame Sony experience at a lower price?
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the
Sony a7II
(ILCE-7M2) is a full frame mirrorless camera. Sony launched the camera in November 2014 as an upgrade to the original a7.
Sony has designed this camera as a versatile and versatile camera. It is offered alongside the specialized a7R II and a7S II. Within the Sony range, the R-series has higher resolution and the S-series offers performance and low-light video. Since the release of the a7II, Sony has upgraded each of the cameras in this series at least once. The company also introduced the a9 and a9 II cameras. They are designed for sports and action photography. The latest edition to the Alpha line is the flagship Alpha 1 camera.
The most recent versions of the alpha series cameras are the a7 III, a7S III, a7R IV, a9 II and Alpha 1.
I travel with an a7II as a spare, often with a wide-angle or telephoto lens. In this case, I had the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens attached for the unexpected close-up of a weather pattern forming on a distant peak
All Alpha series cameras are professional or semi-professional full frame cameras. Cameras in this series use the E-mount system. You can safely invest in high-quality E-mount lenses knowing they will work on upgraded camera bodies like the a9 or Alpha 1 .
Sony also offers a range of advanced amateur lenses
< p>crop sensor cameras. These also use the system
E-mount
, making them attractive backup cameras because they use the same lenses as their full-frame cousins. But APS-C bodies aren't just watered-down versions of full-frame systems. Sony often packs its best features into crop sensor bodies. The latest crop sensor camera is the a6600, released in November 2019.
It's easy to get overwhelmed by Sony's mirrorless camera offerings. Comparing the Sony a7II with the flagship Alpha 1 is unreasonable. You can buy four of these bodies for the price of an Alpha 1. But it's worth comparing the a7II with the upgraded a7III
a7III
and the newest crop sensor,
a6600
, which is currently at the same price.
the
Sony a7II
is a versatile, semi-professional camera. It is aimed at the discerning amateur looking for an entry-level full-frame camera. The availability of newer versions of this camera reduces the price.
You can use this camera in most travel, street and family photography situations. As we will see in the review, the camera has limitations when it comes to action photography. Photographers shooting large prints will be better off with the higher resolution a7R II, III or IV. Photographers who do a lot of
concert photography
, or shooting in other low-light situations, should consider the a7S II or III.
In terms of price, the a7II is equal to the newer crop sensor, a6600, and costs about $500 less than the upgraded a7III.
Let's look at some key features of the Sony a7II to help you decide if this is the camera body for you. We will pay particular attention to comparing this camera with the improved a7III and the a6600 crop sensor.
Sony is one of the world leaders in the production of sensors. It's no surprise that their cameras have some of the best sensors on the market.
the
a7II
features a 24.3-megapixel full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor. . This gives a maximum resolution of 4000 x 6000. The a7III's sensor is similar in size (24.2 megapixels) but uses an enhanced Exmor R CMOS sensor with back-illuminated (BSI) technology. The a6600 uses a 24.2 megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor.
It's easy to confuse more megapixels with better camera quality. But the 24MP size is a good choice for many cameras. It balances image size with speed. Although the flagship Alpha 1 model increases the sensor size to 50.1 MP, Sony has kept 24.2 MP sensors on the more expensive a9 series for sports and action photography.
The Sony a7II captures 14 stops of
< p>dynamic range. This is similar to the a6600. The a7III adds an extra stop of dynamic range. The camera can capture a wide range of light, from dark shadows to highlights. Sony cameras are among the best on the market in terms of dynamic range. This camera is no exception.
ISO Sensitivity
on the a7II ranges from 100 to 25600. Results are good up to ISO 6400. But Sony has improved the ISO performance on the new version of the camera. ISO on the a7III is double the previous model (100 to 51,200 expandable to 204,800). In low-light situations, the a7III performs well up to ISO 12,800. The ISO performance of the a6600 falls between the two. The camera has an ISO sensitivity of 100-32,000, expandable to 102,400.
You can see the noise in this lotus flower at ISO 4000 taken with the a7II. But nothing that a little noise reduction can't handle in post-processing.
The a7II was the first in the a7 series to include in-body image stabilization
p>. It includes 5-axis compensation, which has become standard on Sony cameras. This allows you to hand-hold the camera at slower shutter speeds. Even at 1/10th of a second, a good percentage of handheld shots are sharp.
On the a7 models, you have the possibility of filming in
Raw
, JPEG or both. You can choose between three JPEG quality levels (standard, fine or extra-fine quality). In Raw, you can select 14-bit compressed or uncompressed files. The a6600 creates both JPEG and Raw files, but Raw files are compressed.
In general, the a7II creates good quality images at a size competitive with even the more expensive Alpha series cameras. The camera will struggle more at higher ISOs, but the differences are minimal in everyday shooting conditions. Image stabilization is slightly better in newer models, but the a7II is almost as good.
the
autofocus system
of the a7II was an improvement over the previous generation. The fast hybrid AF system uses both phase and contrast detection points. This hybrid system is now standard on Sony cameras.
The a7II features 117 phase-detection AF points and 25 contrast points. Sony continued to increase the autofocus speed and tracking capabilities of its cameras. The upgraded a7III features a hybrid AF system with 693 phase detection points and 425 contrast points. This is a significant and noticeable increase in focusability. The new model generally focuses faster and is particularly in low light situations. The a6600 also features an improved autofocus system with 425 phase detection points and 425 contrast detection points. The a6600 also includes real-time tracking, which uses AI for faster, more accurate focusing. The camera analyzes colors, patterns, depth and searches for faces and eyes.
It is not impossible to track movements with the a7II, such as when catching insects or flying birds. It's just a lot harder than with newer versions of the camera.
Sony has significantly improved autofocus speed and tracking. But many photographers will find the a7II's autofocus system to be all they need. The additional AF points and tracking capabilities of the a7III and a6600 are useful for shooting sports and wildlife.
The Sony a7II includes face detection and recognition. The camera will autofocus on animal and human faces. Eye detection is also advertised as a firmware upgrade, but I was never able to use it. Eye detection only works in AF-S mode and with certain lenses. None of my Sony E-mount lenses work with eye detection. But face and eye detection works well on my a7R III.
Continuous shooting rate is another area that Sony has improved in new versions of its cameras. The a7II has a burst rate of 5 frames per second (fps). This is similar to the frame rate of the original version of the camera. The a7III increases the burst rate to 10 fps, and the a6600 takes 11 fps.
Newer cameras also have larger buffers. This camera can handle approximately 20 Raw images or 50 JPEGs at full speed. The a7III can handle 89 Raw or 177 JPEGs. The a6600 again falls between the two models and can buffer 46 Raw images or 99 JPEGs. The larger buffer means you can keep shooting longer bursts on the newer models. The camera will continue recording in the background and you won't have to wait for the buffer to empty. This is only a problem if you are shooting wildlife or sports where you can use continuous shooting mode for an extended period.
The a7II records Full HD video at frame rates of 24p, 30p, and 60p in XAVC Format S at 50 Mb/s. It doesn't take 4K video like Sony's newer models or the a6600. Both a7 models are limited to 29 minutes of video recording. The a6600 records an unlimited number of videos.
You can use the camera to create short video clips in HD. But the a7S series was created to specialize in both low-light photography and video. The a6600 is a better camera for video.
The a7II has been redesigned from the original a7 case. It is slightly larger and heavier than the original, with more grip. It measures 126.9 x 95.7 x 59.7 mm (5 x 3.8 x 2.4 inches) and weighs 556 g (1.22 lb). The new generations of a7 are largely modeled on second-generation bodies. Although the handle is again larger to accommodate larger batteries. The crop sensor body is smaller at 120 x 66.9 x 69.3 mm (4.72 x 2.63 x 2.73 inches) and lighter at 503 g (1.11 lb).
The sensation is not significantly different between a7III and II. There are more function buttons on newer versions and a joystick used to move focus points, as well as AEL and AF-On buttons. The newer version moves the video record button from the side of the camera to a more convenient position near the right thumb. The C3 customization button has moved and is left thumb controlled.
The Sony a7II features a 3-inch articulating LCD monitor with a resolution of 1,230,000 dots. This is a slightly better resolution than the new model. The screen tilts 90 to allow for high or low level shooting. There's a slight redesign to the LCD, making the new generation easier to tilt. But the screens of the APS-C cameras allow a tilt as well as a rotation of 180 . This is especially useful when shooting video.
It lacks touchscreen functionality now standard on a7 models. It's not necessarily a deal breaker. But it's a sign that this camera belongs to an older generation of technology.
The a7II has the same electronic viewfinder as the a7III, although the newer model has slightly higher magnification.
The a7II has only one card slot (UHS-1). To compete with pro-level DSLRs, Sony now includes two card slots in the Alpha series. The a6000 series continues to have only one card slot. A card slot is suitable for most photographers. Only photographers who need the faster UHS-II card slot or need to save their footage will notice the absence of the second card slot.
The a7II uses NP-FW50 batteries. These are smaller than the newer NP-FZ100 batteries used in the a7III series. You can take approximately 350 images with a single battery. Limited battery life is a known issue with early Alpha cameras. Using this camera means carrying more batteries and scheduling frequent recharges.
Sony has made changes in response to customer experiences. Using the old a7II means living with known issues, like a confusing menu system. The a7III improves the menu system, although there are still complaints. Adding customizable menus is useful in new templates. This makes finding frequently used features much faster.
This camera cannot shoot in silent mode. But this feature is available in the a7R II and a7S II; and a7III cameras. Along with a firmware upgrade, Sony has also added built-in interval shooting to the a7III series. The a6600 includes both silent shooting and interval shooting.
Sony chose not to upgrade the menu system. The last
firmware update
took place in May 2019. But you can download
PlayMemories camera apps
that add functionality to your camera. For example, you can take double exposures or simulate long exposures without ND filters. PlayMemories camera apps do not work on the new camera version.
The Sony a7II is still a good camera in 2021, especially if you can find one at a reasonable price. I purchased this model shortly after its release and continue to carry it with me as a backup body. The body stood up to the wear and tear of travel with few construction issues. This image quality is good even in direct comparison with my third generation cameras. It has almost the same dynamic range and image stabilization as newer versions.
The feel is similar to the new a7III. In most situations, the slower focus system and burst rate don't impact my photography. The focus system struggles in low light conditions and it can be hard to follow fast action. The camera has 117 focus points and a burst rate of 5 frames per second.
The upgraded Sony a7III also features a 24.2 MP full-frame sensor. It has 693 focus points, records 4K video and has a 10fps burst mode. This is similar to the a6600, which has a 24.2MP crop sensor, 425 focus points and an 11fps burst rate. The a6600 is better for video because it shoots in 4K and has a screen that rotates 180 .
There are a few downsides to the camera. It uses the older, less powerful battery system, there's only one card slot, and it doesn't have touchscreen capabilities.
Buying an a7II on sale or used is an inexpensive way to get a good full-frame, mirrorless camera. Quality E-mount lenses are worth the investment as they will transition over time as you upgrade to newer Sony bodies. But at full price, the old version is not as attractive as the a7III or the a6600. Instead, consider spending the extra $500 to get the a7III or, for the same price, buy the a6600 crop sensor.
Quality of basic features compared to competition, 15/25 Additional features, 10/25 Value, 15/20 Handling and ergonomics, 12/15 Construction and durability, 15/15
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