The Sony Alpha a7 II is an image-stabilized full-frame mirrorless camera, the fourth version of Sony’s a7 series and the successor to the original a7. It uses the same 24-megapixel sensor as its predecessor and the same Bionz-X processor as the rest of the a7 series. Improvements come in the form of 5-axis sensor-based image stabilization, improved AF performance, and some general design enhancements.
Controls are arranged similarly to the a7, but the grip, command dials, and shutter release button have been completely redesigned. The body of the a7 II is larger and about 25% heavier than that of the original a7 cameras. It is also now made entirely of magnesium alloy, as with the a7S; the original a7 and a7R had a composite front panel. The A7 II uses the same hybrid AF system as the A7, with 117 phase detectors and 25 contrast points.
Sony claims that autofocus has been improved by about 30% over the previous model thanks to optimized algorithms, and tracking has been increased by 1.5x. The biggest news with the A7 II was that it is the first full-frame digital camera with body-based stabilization. This means that the sensor can move to correct for accidental camera movement in five directions during shooting.
When a stabilized Sony lens is used, the stabilization effect is optimized but not cumulative: either one or the other system is used. Although the A7 II has the same hybrid AF system as the still-available A7, Sony claims that new focusing algorithms provide a 30% increase in AF speed, with faster and longer high-speed drive and a 1.5x improvement in AF tracking performance.
Lock-on AF (Wide/Zone/Center/Flexible Spot) has also been added to track moving subjects. Sony has also given the A7 II some of the video features of the A7S. For example, it can now record in XAVC S, AVCHD or MP4 formats. Picture profiles offer the ability to set gamma to Sony’s S-Log2 for lower contrast and wider dynamic range, while the Timecode feature helps with scene recognition and syncing shots with multiple cameras.
Other features of the A7 II include a sensitivity range of ISO 50 to 25,600, a 0.5-inch 2.4 million-dot electronic viewfinder (EVF), a tiltable 3-inch 1,228,800-dot RGBW LCD screen, 350-shot battery life, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, a maximum continuous shooting rate of 5 frames per second, and a standard hot shoe with additional contacts for connecting accessories such as the microphone adapter.
