Sony a7R II

econfly

econfly

Member
Mine arrived today. This is one amazing little machine.

I don't have any Sony E-mount glass at this point (a Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 is inbound), so all of my playing around today has been with Canon lenses and a Metabones EF-E converter (Mark IV with the latest firmware).

This may not be the camera that kills my interest in Canon bodies, but now I can see that happening some day. I have a Canon 1DX and it is the best camera I've ever owned for autofocus and tracking. It's excellent in low light, and it is blazing fast. For sports and action this new Sony just can't touch it. Also, for my tastes, Sony's new a7Rii can't compete with it on just general usability (Canon may be slow to market, but they really know how to build a camera).

But, having said all of that, if the subject isn't moving quickly (i.e., sports/action), the Sony may be my go-to option. The 42 megapixel files out of the new a7Rii are just so detailed. I have to get this camera in the air. It may be THE killer aerial photo camera. The 35mm Zeiss should be a great lens for aerials.

What really amazes me so far is how well a7Rii is interacting with my Canon lenses. At this point I've tried the 16-35 f/4 L IS, the 24-70 f/2.8 L ii, and the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS ii, and with all I'm getting very usable autofocus speed. It's not 1DX fast, but it's good.

One more thing: manual focus on the mirrorless a7Rii is a real pleasure. With its big bright electronic viewfinder you can punch in while manual focussing (even have that punch in happen automatically with the Metabones EF-E IV when you turn the focus ring). It's a very cool and useful feature that (obviously) is impossible with a DSLR.

I have not tried video yet -- it is 4K capable with clean HDMI out. I have a GH4 and this new Sony crushes it for photos. I wonder how it will compare to the GH4 at video...

Has anyone else had time to play with this new camera?
 




violetwolf

violetwolf

Member
Envy!

I keep thinking to myself that Canon would sell a ton more lenses if they were to follow Sigma et al and start offering different mounts as a stock option :)
 

econfly

econfly

Member
Agreed on Canon glass. But now the market is coming to them. The Metabones converters are great, and so far I think the AF on this new Sony combined with the Metabones EF-E IV converter and Canon lenses is very good. For aerial work I am planning on using the Zeiss 35mm f/2, which is all manual but that's not an issue for aerial photo/video. On the ground it is a real pleasure to have a totally new take on what can be done with all of the Canon lenses I already own. I even got out the 500 f/4 L IS today and the Sony can drive AF on it. It's not great (not nearly as good as on the lenses I mentioned in the OP) but it works.

This camera is interesting in that it both steps up focussing ability for the a7 line (so I read -- this is my first full-frame Sony camera), yet has such pleasurable manual focus ability that I'm really appreciating using MF again.

I've been pushing this camera a little more today. One obvious issue is battery life. It's awful. Not BMPCC awful, but certainly irritating. It seems like I can shoot all day with my Canon 1DX. This new Sony is more in the realm of bringing along a few extra batteries. The batteries are small, so it's not a huge deal, but they could double the battery life and it would be just OK.

Video looks very very good. The internal bitrate at 4K30 is 100 mbit/sec. That's the same as the GH4 and not bad at all. I don't have any a7S experience (and everyone says that is the camera for video) but this a7Rii is pretty decent on video -- definitely in GH4 comparable territory (likely much better than the GH4 in low light). You can get 1080p60 out while recording 4K internally, so sending a signal off to a downlink/FPV monitor is possible. Some say heat can be an issue with the a7Rii and 4K. No problems here, but I've been shooting relatively short clips in decent temps. While I mainly got this camera for ground and aerial stills, I can see using it for video too, though I bet whatever Sony has in mind for the a7Sii will be better.
 
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econfly

econfly

Member
The gimbal arrived yesterday and it's a perfect fit to the a7rii. Hope to get some aerial footage/stills done this week.

As a general update on this camera, I'll say that it meets or exceeds anything my Canon 1DX can produce at the image level. That is to say, assuming I can capture the shot with the a7rii, the image file at any ISO is as good or better than the image file out of my 1DX. At low ISO, the a7rii is clearly superior due to its massive resolution. In lower light at higher ISO I see more noise at the pixel level on the Sony, but normalized for resolution (i.e., scaled down to the Canon 1Dx's resolution) the results are comparable and maybe even better for the Sony. This is just my subjective view and not a scientific test, but with respect to noise the Sony sensor is excellent.

For practical purposes, the Sony also seems to have a bit more dynamic range, but that is very hard for me to judge subjectively. It's not like I am blown away by it -- just that I've been happy with what I see so far in shadow detail and highlight retention.

I've been shooting stills with Canon bodies for so long that there is an adjustment necessary to deal with these Sony files. Maybe a Nikon guy wouldn't have this issue, but to my eye the Canon sensors just produce a more pleasing image / color rendition. But, a little tweaking in Lightroom and that's not a huge issue.

So, I'm keeping my 1DX for one reason only: The tracking AF and shooting speed is still the best I've ever experienced. If anything is moving at more than a saunter then I want the 1DX over this new Sony. For anything else, the Sony delivers as good or much better images, and particularly when I can use all of my Canon lenses with it.

Finally, the Sony is not even comparable to the GH4 for stills -- the GH4 images look like pocket cam pics compared to the Sony. For video, the Sony files are much cleaner as well, but I still like the GH4 as a video cam, and particularly for the money.
 

A

Aerialmediaone

Member
I saw a review of the metabones adapter on Sony a while back. (Having trouble locating it now). The reviewer was comparing the speed of a canon lens using the adapter to a Sony e mount lens and the speed was drastically different. I'd be curious to hear of your speed finding once you get the Sony glass.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

econfly

econfly

Member
All I have as of now is a manual focus prime for the Sony, so I can't tell. The high end drive for the Sony is 5 fps, so even if it tracks wonderfully with Sony E lenses it is still fairly slow. Single shot AF through my Canon lenses is actually pretty good on the Sony. Tracking just isn't working for me on these lenses, however, and with the slow 5 fps drive mode it's not even worth trying when I have 12 fps in the Canon 1DX. The Zeiss Batis primes look nice, but I can't see buying when I have similar coverage and speed in Canon lenses right in front of me. Baby steps...
 

P

photoflyer

Member
econfly said:
The gimbal arrived yesterday and it's a perfect fit to the a7rii. Hope to get some aerial footage/stills done this week.

As a general update on this camera, I'll say that it meets or exceeds anything my Canon 1DX can produce at the image level. That is to say, assuming I can capture the shot with the a7rii, the image file at any ISO is as good or better than the image file out of my 1DX. At low ISO, the a7rii is clearly superior due to its massive resolution. In lower light at higher ISO I see more noise at the pixel level on the Sony, but normalized for resolution (i.e., scaled down to the Canon 1Dx's resolution) the results are comparable and maybe even better for the Sony. This is just my subjective view and not a scientific test, but with respect to noise the Sony sensor is excellent.

For practical purposes, the Sony also seems to have a bit more dynamic range, but that is very hard for me to judge subjectively. It's not like I am blown away by it -- just that I've been happy with what I see so far in shadow detail and highlight retention.

I've been shooting stills with Canon bodies for so long that there is an adjustment necessary to deal with these Sony files. Maybe a Nikon guy wouldn't have this issue, but to my eye the Canon sensors just produce a more pleasing image / color rendition. But, a little tweaking in Lightroom and that's not a huge issue.

So, I'm keeping my 1DX for one reason only: The tracking AF and shooting speed is still the best I've ever experienced. If anything is moving at more than a saunter then I want the 1DX over this new Sony. For anything else, the Sony delivers as good or much better images, and particularly when I can use all of my Canon lenses with it.

Finally, the Sony is not even comparable to the GH4 for stills -- the GH4 images look like pocket cam pics compared to the Sony. For video, the Sony files are much cleaner as well, but I still like the GH4 as a video cam, and particularly for the money.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your opinion. I'm seriously considering purchasing this camera. Have you had a chance to put it in the air? I'm trying to decide what role this cam will play for me. Aerial stills only or stills and video. I have the GH4 for aerial video but have read that the A7Rii has a lot of rolling shutter. I'm sure the ground and night video will look nice from it.
 


Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
thanks for getting this thread going Rob. looking forward to seeing what you conclude. :)
 

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