The Sony a7 II was the first camera that made all the big brands like Nikon and Canon rethink their Mirrorless strategy. And as time has told Sony was right, this camera is perfectly balanced for the average user, making it a perfect buy for any photographer.
Sony a7 II Specifications
In this table we will show you the main features of the Sony a7 II model, both in photography and video, and then we will show you its quality in practice.
SONY A7II | |
SENSOR | Full Frame CMOS (35.8 x 23.9 mm) with 24.3 effective megapixels and maximum resolution of 6,000 x 4,000 dots |
PROCESSOR | Bionz X |
FOCUS (AF) | Hybrid (phase detection + contrast detection) 117 FOCUS POINTS |
VIEWER | OLED electronic (2,359,000 pixels) with 100% coverage and magnification 0.71x |
DISPLAY | Removable 3-inch (1,230,000 dots) Xtra Fine 3-inch TFT LCD (1,230,000 dots) |
ISO | 100 to 25,600 ISO |
SHOTS PER SECOND | 5 fps |
STABILIZER | 5 axes (compensation effect up to 5.5 steps) |
STORAGE | SD, SDXC, SDHC, Memory Stick Duo, Pro Duo and Pro-HG Duo cards |
VIDEO RESOLUTION | 1080p up to 60p |
BATTERY | NP-FZ50 350 SHOTS |
MONTURA | Type E |
WEIGHT | 556 g |
STARTING PRICE (BODY ONLY) | 2000 € |
Focus on the eye Sony a7 ii
The Sony a7 ii lacks eye focus, but does have face focus. Eye focus is only available on the a7r II or a7 III and up.
Sony a7 ii video formats
It is capable of recording in XAVC S format, which helps us to greatly compress our video without losing too much quality in the process. We can also choose the option to convert to mp4 directly although it is not recommended since we lose a lot of quality in the process. Please note that some cards do not support this compression mode.
Recording in slow motion with Sony a7 ii
To record in slow motion we can do it by changing the fps of the camera to its maximum which is 50, then in the processing we will be able to obtain a slow motion of up to half if we use a fps of 25. It is advisable to use video editing software such as Premiere to do this.
Images
Here are some of the images created by users with the Sony a7 II, so you can see for yourself the qualities of this impressive camera.
Deep sky photography with the Sony a7 ii
Here we show you some pictures of what we are able to obtain with this incredible camera in completely clear and moonless skies. Thanks to its focus peaking we can even see if it is in focus in the low light collected by the camera.
Using non-stabilized lenses with the Sony a7 ii
One of the best things that Sony offers us, is to be able to use old lenses in their cameras and have the stabilizer thanks to the fact that it is inside the camera. We will only need the specific adapter for each mount, here we add the most used ones. We emphasize that we cannot use autofocus, but thanks to focus peaking this should not be a problem.
How to make a Time-lapse with the Sony a7 II
For the realization of a timelapse, it is best to use an external intervalometer or remote trigger. Although Sony offers us an app that will help us, it usually fails as well as the store of the brand. The intervalometer will need to have batteries to perform the function automatically. Here are some economical options.
Optimal configuration Sony a7 ii
There are several things you need to change on your Sony a7 ii if you want to get the most out of it. The first thing is to change the color space from sRGB to Adobe RGB. We will also change the measurement mode to spot, to make it much cheaper. As for the approach we suggest working with small and well determined areas in space. Use the custom button for whatever you need, in my case for face focus. And finally remove the option to compress the RAW format. Now you can get the most out of your new camera.
Sony a7 II review
The Sony a7ii is a camera designed especially for those users who are entering the full frame world, thanks to its low price and features that make it the first full frame camera for many photographers. If you are interested in having a landscape or portrait camera, it is a perfect camera. However if you are looking for action photography the best choice is the new Sony a7III.
