Sony Alpha a7RII Simply the Best Mirrorless Full Frame Digital Camera: See Features, Specs, Price and Reviews
The Sony Alpha a7RII could probably be the ultimate mirrorless full frame digital camera, featuring 42.4 megapixel sensor, Ultra HD 4K video recording, 399 AF points and many more features. I’m very much excited about this new camera, it has lots of new exciting features and it’s built with the world’s first full frame back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor. This is the successor of the previous Alpha a7R but the gap between these two cameras is huge. There are many features in the new Alpha a7RII that you don’t get to enjoy with the older a7R. Let’s take a look below and find out if this will be your next camera.
See latest pricing and availability of the Sony Alpha a7R II at Amazon here.
Sony Alpha a7RII Mirrorless Digital Camera is a Beast
The Sony Alpha a7RII mirrorless camera is the world’s first to have a full-frame back-illuminated Exmor R 42.2 megapixel CMOS sensor. This new sensor enhances light collection efficiency, expands circuitry scale and outputs data about 3.5 times faster, while minimizing image noise. Conventional sensors are layered with a Gapless OCL, Aluminum wiring layer and Photodiode substrate at the bottom. Meanwhile, the new back-illuminated sensor is layered with Gapless OCL, Photodiode substrate and Copper wiring layer. The Light receiving surface is moved on the second layer.
Sony uses the BIONZ X image processing engine in the Alpha a7R II. This engine works hand in hand with the Exrmor R CMOS sensor to produce high-resolution stills and video that are sharp, clear, more natural looking, low-noise depiction and at improved speeds. The Sony a7RII also features a 5-axis image stabilization system called SteadyShot INSIDE. This SteadyShot compensates for blur caused by 5 types of camera shakes (vertical, horizontal, roll, pitch and yaw) while taking photos or videos with your hands.
Another main feature of the Sony Alpha a7RII is the fast Hybrid AF (AutoFocus) system with 399 focal plane phase-detection AT points. The 399 AF points covers 45% of the total image area, plus 25 contrast-detect AF points, improves accuracy, speed and tracking performance of the camera even when shooting at 5fps. Other AF features are the Lock-on AF and Eye AF.
The Sony Alpha a7R II is also capable of recording videos up to Ultra HD 4K in XAVC S Format at 30 fps or 24 fps. You can also record videos in Super 35mm format which uses oversampling with full pixel readout and no pixel binning. This reduces moiré and aliasing which is common in high resolution sensors. Video recording also benefits from the SteadyShot 5-axis image stabilizer and 399 AF features I mentioned above, producing crisp, clear and detailed videos.
Sony Alpha a7RII 4K Video Sample
This full frame mirrorless camera has an electronic viewfinder. The Sony Alpha a7RII features a 0.5-inch 2.36M-Dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder with 4-lens optical system, ensuring clarity and detail of the display. It also has a 3-inch Xtra Fine LCD display that can be tilted up to 107 degrees up and 41 degrees down. This makes it easy for the user to shoot low or high angled shots or if you simply just want to see a different perspective.
The Sony a7R II’s body is made out of magnesium alloy with a robust lens mount that offers greater sealing for dust and moisture resistance. However, it’s not waterproof or splash proof, so you may want to avoid wet or rainy environments. It also has a built-in WiFi and NFC connectivity making it very easy to connect with an iOS or Android device. The body of the Alpha a7RII has also been redesigned to have a better grip, refined controls and improved shutter mechanism that reduces vibration by around 50%.
There is a video review below (more like and detailed overview) that covers all about what you need to know about the Sony Alpha a7R II. For complete and detailed specifications of the a7R II, see the table below.
Price and Availability
Want this camera much? You can now order the Sony Alpha a7RII Full Frame Mirrorless Camera (body). It comes with a retail price of $3,198.00 USD (price at post), and shipping will start in August. The package includes the following: NP-FW50 Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery (1020mAh), AC-UUD11 AC Battery Charging Adaptor, shoulder strap, body cap, multi-interface shoe cover, eyepiece cup, micro-USB cable and you also get a 1-year limited warranty.
See latest pricing and availability of the Sony Alpha a7R II at Amazon here.
Sony Alpha a7RII Reviews
Sony α7R II Product Feature:
Sony a7R II Review by Tony Northrup:
Sony Alpha a7RII Full Specifications
General | Camera type | Interchangeable-lens digital camera |
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Lens compatibility | E-mount | |
Image sensor | Type | 35 mm full frame (35.9 x 24.0 mm), Exmor R CMOS sensor |
Number of pixels (effective) | Approx. 42.4 megapixels | |
Number of pixels (total) | Approx. 43.6 megapixels | |
Image sensor aspect ratio | 3:2 | |
Anti-dust system | Charge protection coating on optical filter and image sensor shift mechanism | |
Recording system (still images) | Recording format | JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver. 2.3, MPF baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format) |
Image size (pixels) | [3:2 aspect ratio] 35 mm full frame L: 7,952 x 5304 (42M), M: 5168 x 3448 (18M), S: 3984 x 2656 (11M) APS-C L: 5168 x 3448 (18M), M: 3984 x 2656 (11M), S: 2592 x 1728 (4.5M) |
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[16:9 aspect ratio] 35 mm full frame L: 7,952 x 4,472 (36M), M: 5,168 x 2,912 (15M), S: 3,984 x 2,240 (8.9M) APS-C L: 5168 x 2912 (15M), M: 3984 x 2240 (8.9M), S: 2592 x 1456 (3.8M) |
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[Sweep Panorama] Wide: Horizontal 12,416 x 1,856 (23M), vertical 5,536 x 2,160 (12M) Standard: Horizontal 8,192 x 1,856 (15M), vertical 3,872 x 2,160 (8.4M) |
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Image quality modes | RAW, RAW & JPEG, JPEG Extra fine, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard | |
RAW output | 14 bit | |
Picture Effect | 13 modes: Posterization (Color, B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R, G, B, Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera, Soft High-key, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature, Watercolor, Illustration | |
Creative Style | Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves, Black & White, Sepia (Contrast -3 to +3 steps, Saturation -3 to +3 steps, Sharpness -3 to +3 steps) (Style Box 1-6 also provided) | |
Dynamic range functions | Off, Dynamic Range Optimizer (Auto/Level (1–5)), Auto High Dynamic Range: Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure Difference Level (1.0-6.0 EV, 1.0 EV step) | |
Color space | sRGB standard (with sYCC gamut) and Adobe RGB standard compatible with TRILUMINOS™ Color | |
Recording system (movies) | Recording format | XAVC S / AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant / MP4 |
Video compression | XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 | |
AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 | ||
MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 | ||
Audio recording format | XAVC S: LPCM, 2ch | |
AVCHD: Dolby Digital (AC-3), 2ch, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator | ||
MP4: MPEG-4 AAC-LC, 2ch | ||
Image size (pixels) | [NTSC] XAVC S 4K: 3,840 x 2,160 (30p/100 Mbps, 30p/60 Mbps, 24p/100 Mbps, 24p/60 Mbps) XAVC S HD: 1,920 x 1,080 (60p/50 Mbps, 30p/50 Mbps, 24p/50 Mbps), 1,280 x 720 (120p/50 Mbps) AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (60p/28Mbps/PS, 60i/24Mbps/FX, 60i/17Mbps/FH, 24p/24Mbps/FX, 24p/17Mbps/FH) MP4: 1,920 x 1,080 (60p/28 Mbps, 30p/16 Mbps), 1,280 x 720 (30p/6 Mbps)[PAL] XAVC S 4K: 3,840 x 2,160 (25p/100 Mbps, 25p/60 Mbps) XAVC S HD: 1,920 x 1,080 (50p/50 Mbps, 25p/50 Mbps), 1,280 x 720 (100p/50 Mbps) AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (50p/28Mbps/PS, 50i/24Mbps/FX, 50i/17Mbps/FH, 25p/24Mbps/FX, 25p/17Mbps/FH) MP4: 1,920 x 1,080 (50p/28 Mbps, 25p/16 Mbps), 1,280 x 720 (25p/6 Mbps) |
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Picture Profile | Yes (Off/PP1-PP7) Parameters: Black level, Gamma (Movie, Still, Cine1-4, ITU709, ITU709 [800%], S-Log2), Black Gamma, Knee, Color Mode, Saturation, Color Phase, Color Depth, Detail, Copy, Reset | |
Movie functions | Audio Level Display, Audio Rec Level, AF Tracking Sensitivity, AF Drive Speed, Auto Slow Shutter, HDMI info. Display (On/Off selectable), Time Code/User Bit, Picture Profile, Creative Style, Picture Effect, Rec Control, Dual Video Rec, Marker Setting, PAL/NTSC Selector | |
Color space | xvYCC standard (x.v.Color when connected via HDMI cable) compatible with TRILUMINOS™ Color | |
Clean HDMI output | Clean HDMI output | NTSC: 3,840 x 2,160 (30p/24p) / 1,920 x 1,080 (60p/24p) / 1,920 x 1,080 (60i), YCbCr 4:2:2 8 bit / RGB 8 bit |
PAL: 3,840 x 2,160 (25p) / 1,920 x 1,080 (50p) / 1,920 x 1,080 (50i), YCbCr 4:2:2 8 bit/ RGB 8 bit | ||
Media | Media | Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro (M2), SD memory card, SDHC memory card (UHS-I compliant), SDXC memory card (UHS-I compliant), microSD memory card, microSDHC memory card, microSDXC memory card |
Slot | Multi slot for Memory Stick Duo / SD memory card | |
Noise reduction | Noise reduction | Long exposure NR: On/Off, available at shutter speeds longer than 1 sec. High ISO NR: Normal / Low / Off selectable |
Multi Frame NR | Auto/ISO 100 to 102400 | |
White balance | Modes | Auto WB / Daylight / Shade / Cloudy / Incandescent / Fluorescent (Warm White / Cool White / Day White / Daylight) / Flash / Color Temperature (2,500 to 9,900K) & Color Filter (G7 to M7: 57steps, A7 to B7: 29steps) / Custom / Underwater |
AWB micro adjustment | G7 to M7 (57 steps), A7 to B7 (29 steps) | |
Bracketing | 3 frames, H/L selectable | |
Focus system | Type | Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF / contrast-detection AF) |
Focus point | 35 mm full frame: 399 points (phase-detection AF) APS-C: 357 points (phase-detection AF) / 25 points (contrast-detection AF) |
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Sensitivity range | EV -2 to EV 20 (at ISO 100 equivalent with F2.0 lens attached) | |
AF modes | Automatic AF (AF-A), Single-shot AF (AF-S), Continuous AF (AF-C), Direct Manual Focus (DMF), Manual Focus | |
Focus area | Wide (399 points for phase-detection AF / 25 points for contrast-detection AF) / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L) / Zone / Expand Flexible Spot / Lock-on AF (Wide / Zone / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L) / Expand Flexible Spot) | |
Other features | Lock-on AF, Eye AF, Predictive control, Focus lock; Eye-start AF and AF micro adjustment (both only available with optional LA-EA2 or LA-EA4 attached), AF illuminator (built-in, LED type, range: Approx. 0.30–3 m), AF ON | |
Exposure control | Metering type | 1200-zone evaluative metering |
Metering sensor | Exmor R CMOS sensor | |
Metering sensitivity | EV -3 to EV 20 (at ISO 100 equivalent with F2.0 lens attached) | |
Metering modes | Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot | |
Exposure modes | AUTO (iAUTO, Superior Auto), Programmed AE (P), Aperture priority (A), Shutter-speed priority (S), Manual (M), Scene Selection, Sweep Panorama, Movie | |
Scene Selection | Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports Action, Sunset, Night Portrait, Night Scene, Hand-held Twilight, Anti Motion Blur | |
Exposure compensation | +/-5.0 EV (in 1/3 EV or 1/2 EV steps), with exposure compensation dial: +/-3.0 EV (in 1/3 EV steps) | |
AE bracketing | Bracket: Single/Bracket: Cont., 3/5/9 frames selectable. With 3 or 5 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 EV increments, with 9 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1.0 EV increments. | |
AE lock | Available with AE lock button. Locked when shutter button is pressed halfway. Can be disabled from the Menu. | |
ISO sensitivity (Recommended Exposure Index) | Still images: ISO 100-25600 (expandable to ISO 50-102400 for shooting still images), AUTO (ISO 100-6400, selectable lower limit and upper limit) Movies: ISO 100-25600 equivalent, AUTO (ISO 100-6400 equivalent, selectable lower limit and upper limit) |
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Viewfinder | Type | XGA OLED, 1.3 cm (0.5 type) electronic viewfinder (color) |
Total number of dots | 2,359,296 dots | |
Brightness control | Auto/Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2) | |
Color temperature control | Manual (5 steps) | |
Field coverage | 100% | |
Magnification | Approx. 0.78x (with 50 mm lens at infinity, -1 m-1) | |
Diopter adjustment | -4.0 to +3.0 m-1 | |
Eye point | Approx. 23 mm from the eyepiece lens, 18.5 mm from the eyepiece frame at -1 m-1 (CIPA standard) | |
Display | Graphic Display / Display All Info. / No Disp. Info. / Histogram / Digital Level Gauge | |
Real-time image-adjustment display | On/Off | |
LCD screen | Type | 7.5 cm (3.0 type) TFT drive |
Total number of dots | 1,228,800 dots | |
Brightness control | Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2), Sunny Weather mode | |
Adjustable Angle | Up approx. 107 degrees, down approx. 41 degrees | |
Display selector (Finder/LCD) | Auto/Manual | |
Display | Graphic Display / Display All Info. / No Disp. Info. / Histogram / Digital Level Gauge / Shooting information for viewfinder mode | |
Real-time image-adjustment display | On/Off | |
Zebra | Yes | |
Peaking MF | Yes (Level setting: High/Mid/Low/Off, Color: White/Red/Yellow) | |
Other features | Face detection | On / On (Regist. Faces) / Off, Face registration, Face selection (Max. number of detectable faces: 8) |
Auto Object Framing | Yes | |
Clear Image Zoom | Still/Movie: Approx. 2x | |
Digital zoom | Smart zoom (still images) M: Approx. 1.5x, S: Approx. 2.0x Digital zoom (still images) Approx. 4x Digital zoom (movies) Approx. 4x |
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PlayMemories Camera Apps | Yes | |
Lens compensation | Peripheral shading, chromatic aberration, distortion | |
Shutter | Type | Electronically controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane type |
Shutter speed | Still images: 1/8000 to 30 sec., Bulb Movies: 1/8000 to 1/4 (1/3 step) NTSC: Up to 1/60 in AUTO mode (up to 1/30 in Auto Slow Shutter mode) PAL: Up to 1/50 in AUTO mode (up to 1/25 in Auto Slow Shutter mode) |
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Flash sync. speed | 1/250 sec. | |
Electronic front curtain shutter | Yes, On/Off | |
Silent Shooting | Yes, On/Off | |
SteadyShot INSIDE (image stabilization) | Type | Image Sensor-Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation (Compensation depends on lens specifications) |
Compensation effect | 4.5 steps (Based on CIPA standard. Pitch/yaw shake only. With Sonnar T* FE 55 mm F1.8 ZA lens mounted. Long exposure NR off) | |
Flash Control (with optional external flash) | Control | Pre-flash TTL |
Flash compensation | +/-3.0 EV (switchable between 1/3 and 1/2 EV steps) | |
Flash bracketing | 3/5/9 frames selectable. With 3 or 5 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 EV increments, with 9 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0 EV increments. | |
Flash modes | Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Red-eye reduction (On/Off selectable), Hi-speed sync*1, Wireless*1 | |
External flash | Sony α System Flash compatible with Multi Interface Shoe. Attach the shoe adaptor for flash compatible with Auto-lock Accessory Shoe. | |
FE level lock | Yes | |
Drive | Drive modes | Single shooting, Continuous shooting, Self-timer, Self-timer (Cont.), Bracketing (Cont., Single, White Balance, DRO) |
Self-timer | 10 sec. delay/5 sec. delay/2 sec. delay/Continuous self-timer (3 frames after 10 sec. delay/5 frames after 10 sec. delay/3 frames after 5 sec. delay/5 frames after 5 sec. delay/3 frames after 2 sec. delay/5 frames after 2 sec. delay)/Bracketing self-timer (Off/2 sec. delay/5 sec. delay/10 sec. delay) | |
Speed (approx., max.)*2 | Continuous shooting Hi: Max. 5fps, Continuous shooting Lo: Max. 2.5fps | |
No. of recordable frames*2 (approx.) | Continuous shooting Hi: 24 frames (JPEG Extra Fine L), 30 frames (JPEG Fine L), 37 frames (JPEG Standard L), 23 frames (RAW), 22 frames (RAW & JPEG) | |
Playback | Modes | Single (with or without shooting information, Y RGB histogram & highlight/shadow warning), 9/25-frame index view, Enlarged display mode (Maximum magnification L: 24.9x, M: 16.2x, S: 9.4x), Auto Review (10/5/2 sec, off), Image orientation (Auto/Manual/Off selectable), Slideshow, Panorama scrolling, Folder selection (Still / Date / MP4 / AVCHD / XAVC S HD / XAVC S 4K), Forward/Rewind (Movie), Delete, Protect |
Interface | PC interface | Mass-storage, MTP, PC remote |
Multi/Micro USB Terminal | Yes*3 | |
Wireless LAN (built-in) | Wi-Fi Compatible, IEEE802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz band)*4 Playback of still images and movies on smartphones, PCs and TVs |
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NFC™ | Yes (NFC Forum Type 3 Tag compatible, One-touch remote, One-touch sharing) | |
HD output | HDMI micro connector (Type-D), BRAVIA Sync (link menu), PhotoTV HD, 4K still image playback | |
Multi Interface Shoe | Yes | |
Others | Auto-lock Accessory Shoe compatible with supplied shoe adaptor, Microphone terminal (3.5 mm Stereo minijack), Headphone terminal (3.5 mm Stereo minijack), Vertical Grip Connector | |
Audio | Microphone | Built-in stereo microphone or ECM-XYST1M / XLR-K2M (sold separately) |
Speaker | Built-in, monaural | |
Compatible standards | Exif Print, Print Image Matching III, DPOF setting | |
Custom function | Type | Custom key settings, Programmable setting |
Memory function | Yes (2 sets) | |
Power | Battery | Rechargeable battery pack NP-FW50 |
Still images | Approx. 290 shots (viewfinder) / approx. 340 shots (LCD screen) (CIPA standard) | |
Movies | Actual*5*6: Approx. 50 min. with viewfinder, approx. 55 min. with LCD screen (CIPA standard) Continuous*5*7: Approx. 95 min. with viewfinder, approx. 95 min. with LCD screen (CIPA standard) |
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External power | AC Adaptor AC-PW20 (optional) | |
Operating temperature | Range | 32–104°F/0–40°C |