The Sony a7II is the upgrade to the a7 as we know. And at its announcement, some people simply made the upgrade without giving it much thought. However, you’re here perusing through our Sony a7 vs a7II because you want more information for a more informed decision and as usual, we are here for you.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Between these two cameras is a significant gulf of a price difference. So, it’s okay to halt for a bit to find out if you must absolutely make the upgrade or if you can save some bucks and stick to the a7.
It’s common to see Sony cameras, especially pairs where one is only a slight upgrade of the other, that are quite similar in features. Most times the differences and upgrades are only slight. So it can be quite hard to decide between two of such cameras like the a7 and a7II.
With our extensive side-by-side comparison of the Sony a7 vs a7II though, you’ll be to get all the information you need to make an informed decision. Let’s get this review going!
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Comparison Review
We understand if you can’t spare the time for the full Sony a7 vs a7II review (it’s a pretty long read). Therefore, we have summarized the vital points into bite sizes in the overview section.
First thing to know is that both cameras in question are pro, mirrorless cameras. Now, although both cameras were announced in 2014. The a7 is about 10 months older as it was announced in January of 2014. The a7II, on the other hand, which is the replacement to the a7 came in much later in November.
That said, let’s carry on with the overview.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Our Overall Rating Of Features
This is our overall assessment of the features of the Sony a7 and a7II. Let’s break this into smaller section to make the work easier.
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Where Both Cameras Get It Right
Okay, so there are actually quite a lot of areas where these two cameras do well, yeah.
First off, they both come with a 24 MP, full frame sensor.
Second, their 100 – 25600 ISO is high enough and full HD video quality is crisp.
Other additions like the tilting screen, weather-sealed body, and of course 1/8000 to 30 second shutter speed are also amazing. Plus, the wireless connection, smartphone control, etc. are pretty good too.
So, as you can see, at the very basic level, these two cameras are awesome. Now, let’s see the areas where they outdo each other.
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Sony a7 Vs a7II – Where The Sony a7 Outdoes The Sony a7II
The Sony a7 only outdoes the a7II on three counts. First, on the account of dynamic range. It has a significantly wider dynamic range than the a7.
The a7 comes with a dynamic range of 13.6 while that of the a7 is 14.2. So, the a7 is the clear winner here.
The a7, therefore, will make the better choice for taking photos under bright sunlight. Both cameras will perform well, no doubt. A dynamic range of 13.6 is by no means poor. But since the wider the range the less detail you lose to shadows and highlights, the a7 will always be the winner in such settings.
Furthermore, the a7 is lighter which makes it easier to carry around in comparison to the a7II.
Lastly, it’s the more affordable camera. Right now, the difference between the two cameras is about a couple of hundred bucks. So, there’s that.
Sony a7 Vs a7II _ Where The Sony a7II Outdoes The Sony a7
First and foremost, the Sony a7II comes with a built-in image stabilization while the a7 does not. This can be a sort of challenge for a7 users because as long as you’re using long lenses, you must use a tripod else camera shake can mess up your photos.
And for those who really want to get their image stabilized, they would have to purchase IS lenses in addition to getting the camera.
Also, the a7II has better color depth at 24.9. However, the difference isn’t so significant as the a7 has a color depth of 24.8.
And then the low light ISO. In our opinion, both are quite low, but the a7II outdoes the a7 by clocking in at 2449 while the a7 comes in at 2248.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Where They Both Get It Wrong
First of all, Sony hasn’t improved on their batteries. Big surprise there. Just make sure to have more batteries in hand though.
The auto focus though sucks. It takes a lot of time to get into focus which can be mildly frustrating. But then again, it’s not so bad though as long as the camera is used to take stills, portrait and landscape photography. Taking children and pet though would be a nightmare.
Lastly, there is no built-in flash!
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Comparison Table Of Major Specs And Features
Sony a7 |
Sony a7II | |
| Announcement Date | 22nd January, 2014 | 20th November, 2014 |
| Built-in Image Stabilization | None | Sensor-shift Image Stabilization |
| Dynamic Range | 14.2 | 13.6 |
| Low Light ISO | 2248 | 2449 |
| Color Depth | 24.8 | 24.9 |
| Weight | 474 grams | 599 grams |
| Battery Life | 340 shots | 350 shots |
| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – What Situation Is Each Camera Best For?
Sony a7 |
Sony a7II |
| The Sony a7 and a7II are both quite similar and so they serve the same purposes for the most part. Alright, now let’s see what you can use this camera to achieve and what makes that possible. First, the a7 comes with a full frame senor and an impressive dynamic range as well. With these two features, you can tell that your camera will be able to take in a lot of light without losing all the detail to highlights and shadows. Its large field of view and wide angle also make the camera suitable for architectural photography as well as landscape photography. The Sony a7 is also a wonderful street camera. It has the full frame sensor with its wide angle. Plus, there’s also the tilting screen for those special, awkward angles. Furthermore, although with an impressive shutter speed, the Sony a7 might not be your best bet for action photography. For one, it does not have any form of image stabilization. Also, its battery life is not exactly long and the hassle of changing out your batteries every other hour isn’t exactly the most convenient thing to do especially when it’s an action shot. That said, this camera is great for daily use. It’s considerably lightweight being a mirrorless camera. It’s also compact as well and will make a great camera buddy for everyday photography. | Just like the Sony a7, the a7II is a fantastic everyday camera. It’s lightweight and compact. Plus, it comes weather-sealed just like the a7 which keeps your camera in good condition even with constant use. With a large enough sensor, this camera ensures that the image quality of your camera is maintained even in low light conditions. This is because the camera lets in enough light even though its dynamic range isn’t as large as that of the a7. Plus, its full frame sensor also gives that nice shallow depth of field effect with a nice touch of blur when needed. For landscape and portrait photography, this touch makes the Sony a7II a real win. Just like the Sony a7, the a7II is also just meh for sports/action photography although you could say the a7II is slightly better because it comes with built-in image stabilization which the a7 lacks. However, altogether, the a7II makes a great camera especially for portrait, street, and daily photography. It will also do decently for sports photography and landscape photography as well. Finally, the video quality of the Sony a7II is full HD and it’s good enough as is. By the way, that’s the same with the a7. They both record video in full HD quality. If you’re in the market for a camera to shoot for broadcasting purposes, then you’re in luck, these two cameras make a great choice. This doesn’t mean they can’t shoot fantastic quality for your other projects though. 4K might seem to be the be all and end all for recording video footage but you won’t miss it so much if either of these cameras is all you can afford right now. |
| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Which Features Do They Have In Common?
This section of the Sony a7 vs a7II review shows us all the areas where both cameras share similar features. Remember we did tell you that these cameras are pretty similar. So, on many counts actually, they do bear a strong resemblance to each other.
There will be certain features where the performance of one might outdo the other slightly. However, there’s hardly anything one camera has that its partner lacks. So, gets right to it!
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Full Frame Sensors
So, the first similarity we will be pointing out in the comparison of the Sony a7 vs a7II is their similar sensors. Both cameras have the same sized sensor at the same resolution too but we will be discussing that in the next sub.
The two cameras have their sensors measuring at the exact same dimensions which approximately is 35 millimeters – the industry standard.
Full frame sensors have a number of advantages they bring to the table. For instance, a full frame sensor is pretty large. At least, in comparison to a crop sensor, a full frame sensor has a wider angle. This makes it great for landscape and architectural photography.
Furthermore, full frame sensors typically have a wider dynamic range which means they are excellent at capturing all the detail even in highlights and shadows. Moreover, they are also great at low light settings since they have more space to take in more light.
Besides all of these, full frame sensors are also popular for the bokeh effect, i.e. the shallow depth of field that makes pictures quite appealing. This is one of the reasons many experienced photographers love to work with full frame sensors.
Full frame sensors are able to achieve this shallower depth of field in comparison to crop sensors because they use a longer focal length than crop sensors to capture the same field of view. So, in the end, pictures taken from cameras with full frame sensor typically have that shallower depth of field in comparison to those taken from cameras with crop sensors.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
24 Megapixel Sensor Max Resolution
We say this often enough on this site that more megapixels does not necessarily translate into better quality pictures. You’ve got to know where to draw the line and not just fall for the myth that says “the more the megapixels the better.” There are actually rules to these things.
If you’re simply taking pictures to share online, then you have no business buying cameras with uncountable megapixels. Even a 16 or 12 MP camera would suffice.
However, for our dear aggressive croppers in the house that do some heavy cropping to their photos, then you’re going to need a higher megapixel count. You need more megapixels because you don’t want to use the detail and clarity of the original image once you begin to crop.
Lastly, ask yourself how large you want to print. You can look up charts online that compare these things – i.e. the number of megapixels and how large it can print. Usually though, if you intend to print large, you’d need more megapixels.
Alright that said, let’s bring all we have learned down to what we’re discussing today – the Sony a7 vs a7II. These two cameras both have a 24 MP sensor. A 24 MP camera would be considered a high res camera even though Sony has a camera with a higher resolution at 42 megapixels.
Of course a 24 MP camera would be enough for those who crop aggressively. But just how large can it print? Well, you’ll be happy to know that your camera would be able to print a nice 16 x 20 inch photo and could also do a 16 x 24 inch photo pretty nicely too.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
High ISO
A high ISO tells you that your camera is super sensitive to light. And according to the experts, any camera with a max ISO of 25600 and above has a high ISO. This high ISO impacts on the quality of the images such cameras produce. Typically, they are much better than cameras with lower ISO.
Especially in low light settings where it’s rather difficult to get a good picture, adjusting your ISO as well as other features like your aperture and shutter speed settings can really make all the difference.
Now there’s one thing to note though when adjusting your camera’s ISO. The higher the ISO of your camera when taking a photo, the higher your chances of suffering noise in the resulting image. If too much, the noise could even render the whole image unusable.
This is why experts usually advise you to also adjust your shutter speed and aperture settings in order to beat down the chances of noise.
You might wonder why high ISOs are so important if they can cause all that “damage.” But here’s the thing. High ISOs allow you work with slower shutter speeds and a smaller aperture to get high quality images. It’s not as easy to achieve that on a camera with low ISO.
To put things in perspective, if you take a photo with two cameras with the exact same settings for the shutter speed and aperture, one high ISO and one low ISO, you’re sure to notice a difference in quality. The one taken with the high ISO will surely beat the one with low ISO in quality even without taking the photo with extra light.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that photographers love cameras with high ISOs. On this count, therefore, with a max ISO of 25600 both of these cameras fit the bill.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
3 Inch Tilting Screen
Another similarity between the Sony a7 vs a7II is their 3 inch tilting screen. There’s a lot of convenience that comes with a tilting screen but essentially it makes things more convenient for the photographer especially when they have to take photos at weird angles.
There are many times you’d have to take a photo at a weird angle. This usually means you’d have to bend, kneel or squat uncomfortably to do that. However, with a tilting screen, you can take such photos more conveniently simply by adjusting the screen to a position that works for you.
Even when your camera is on a tripod, tilting screens can also come in handy. They help you read your menu more conveniently. Plus, if you’re taking a video footage, they help you compose your scenes more conveniently.
By the way, neither of the a7 or the a7II have a touch screen which a couple of customers seemed to have wanted.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
Dynamic Range
In comparing the dynamic range of the Sony a7 vs a7II, you find that it’s significantly higher than that of the a7II. The a7II is just okay at 13.6. However, that of the a7 is only a few stops shy of 15 at 14.2. In the camera community, that is considered an excellent dynamic range. But these are just numbers, what do they really mean to you?
First, the dynamic range of your camera tells you how much brightness your camera can capture without losing so much detail to the highlights and shadows. As this number increases, the camera’s ability also increases along with it.
So, in essence as long as the brightness of the subject can fall within your camera’s dynamic range, you’re good to go. You now understand why the higher the value of the dynamic range, the better for your camera, right?
Thankfully, these two cameras are good enough, dynamic range wise. Nonetheless, the a7 will outperform the a7II significantly in bright settings thanks to its much wider dynamic range.
As a rule, a good camera should have a dynamic range between 12 and 14. However, anything beyond 14 and below 15 is considered darn good.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
RAW Support
It’s no surprise finding RAW support on these cameras as even smartphones these days can shoot raw.
As the name suggests, RAW photos are unprocessed, uncompressed images taken by a camera with RAW support. Usually, processing and compressing makes a picture lighter and share-ready like you have with JPEG. Because JPEG pictures have been compressed and processed, they are lighter and immediately good to go for online sharing. This is not the same with RAW photos.
RAW photos will usually come out muted and flatish because no processing yet. They also typically come in really large sizes which is why you need to get enough space if you’re going to be working with RAW photos.
Their large sizes also makes it somewhat tedious to edit them in the sense that they demand a fast-processing computer to else it could easily be frustrating.
In addition, RAW photos can’t be edited with just any software, you’ll need to get pro software like Lightroom or Photoshop.
Now, it might look like we’re trying to dissuade you from shooting RAW but we aren’t. There’s a reason professional photographers always shoot RAW. The resulting image quality, detail, and sharpness you’d get from shooting RAW, for one, would leave you so impressed the “price” you had to pay would seem so small.
Plus, you’d also love working with RAW photos when it’s time to edit. There’s something called non-destructive editing. This means that all the editing you do on a RAW photos does not disturb the original quality of the image. So, if you ever have to take things back to how they were, you lose nothing. Your picture is still great.
Plus, it’s easier to salvage a RAW image with errors from when the photo was taken than it is to salvage a JPEG photo.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Mirrorless Cameras
Although not exactly a feature, we thought it important to explain this other thing that’s unique to the Sony a7 vs a7II. They are both mirrorless which means that they both lack mirrors. Actually, it primarily means that they lack an optical viewfinder which is what led to the lack of mirrors. Here’s how it works.
In DSLR cameras, there is a mirror which reflects light from the lenses to the optical viewfinder from where the light bounces sensor. In mirrorless cameras though, there is no optical viewfinder, so there is no need for a mirror. Instead light just goes from the lens straight to the sensor. The processed image is now what you find on the electronic viewfinder.
Initially, people were worried that the lack of an optical viewfinder would compromise picture quality. However, these days, it would appear that these cameras are actually doing mighty find jobs as regards to image quality as even professionals are turning to mirrorless cameras.
The major benefit of getting mirrorless cameras is that of traveling light. The absence of mirrors makes mirrorless cameras more compact than their DSLR counterparts. They are also much lighter which makes them great for traveling or as everyday cameras.
Moreover, they also come with way fewer settings than DSLR cameras. So, they are a better option for beginners seeing as they are less intimidating for them.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Shutter Speed
As with most Sony cameras, the a7 and a7II have the same max shutter speed of 1/8000 second. This is pretty fast as you can see. However, the shutter speed of these cameras can also slow down to as much as 30 seconds. Let’s see what you can do with these options.
One principle to keep in mind when discussing shutter speed is that it determines how much light reaches the sensor. That makes sense, right? If the shutter is released really fast, only so much light can pass through. However, if it takes more time to be released, there is more time for more light to pass through to the sensor, right?
Understanding shutter speed and its impact on the quality of your image is important to maximizing the potential of your camera. You can get drastically different effects on your photos simply by adjusting shutter speed.
For example, in low light settings, besides adjusting your ISO, you can also increase shutter speed so the sensor can get more light in order to brighten pictures a bit.
In fact, to take pictures of our Milky Way at night, for instance, a slower shutter speed is what you need to be gunning for.
Furthermore, since a slower shutter speed typically creates a blur around the objects in motion, it is used in advertising to create an illusion of speed in automobiles.
On the other hand, faster shutter speeds kinda freeze moving subjects in time. This is why super fast shutter speeds are desired features in action photography. Whether you’re taking the photo of a flying bird or falling rain, a faster shutter speed is your go to.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Time Lapse Recording
If you’ve ever watched a time lapse sequence, you’ll understand why it’s a big deal that both cameras can do time lapse recording.
So, usually when recording a video footage using time lapse, you record the footage at a film rate much slower than what you intend to playback the sequence in.
When this happens, the playback sequence progresses much more speedily than it occurred naturally. Time lapse might have even sped up the course of events by a factor of millions and the view is truly magical. You can literally watch events that took years to occur in a matter of minutes or even seconds as the case may be.
Focus Points
Auto focusing seems to be a small issue when it comes to Sony cameras as we have come to observe. We are talking about the speed of focusing now. Except you’re doing stills, it can be quite frustrating when it seems like you’re spending half your time waiting for your camera to focus especially if your subject moves around quite a lot.
At 117 focus points each, these two cameras do leave a lot to be desired when it comes to auto focus. Usually, the more the focus points, the faster it is for your camera to focus. Sony makes an effort to salvage this slow auto focus as you climb higher up the alpha series though.
However, more focus points do have their challenge as they could make it a bit confusing for your camera to decide where exactly to focus. This is why many prefer to use manual focusing when dealing with many focus points except the subject is a child or pet that tends to move around a lot.
But don’t be too disappointed just yet. Even though the focus points are few and it takes a little while to for the camera to zoom into focus, this camera is still fantastic for portrait and landscape photography.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
5 FPS Continuous Shooting
If you know much about cameras, you probably already know that 5 FPS continuous shooting isn’t something to rave about. You usually need continuous shooting for genres where there is a lot of action. So, yeah action, sports, wildlife, those categories especially. These are areas where you’ll be needing the continuous shooting feature.
For such categories, usually 5 FPS is not enough. 5 FPS means you get only five pictures per second when you depress and hold on to the shutter release button.
In a world where continuous shooting counts hit up to 11 FPS, 20 FPS, and even 60 FPS, you can see that 5FPS does not even come into the competition. This is one drawback these two cameras suffer in terms of action photography.
However, Sony a7 vs a7II, the a7II would make a better camera for sports and action because of its built-in image stabilization.
1920 x 1080 Full HD Video Resolution
Alright, still on the Sony a7 vs a7II, there’s one more feature the Sony a7 and a7II have in common which is their full HD video. It might seem a bit disappointing to some that these cameras are not 4K. However, there’s no need for that. Full HD video is also pretty excellent quality good enough for everything you want to do and many who want 4K do not really need it per se.
Especially for beginners who might not everything they need just yet to do the processing 4K video footage requires. The fast computer and loads of storage especially, not forgetting the external HDMI recorder that most 4K cameras require to record 4K.
Full HD is great for nearly any kind of project you have even professionally. For broadcasting, for instance, the video format used isn’t 4K but full HD. Strictly full HD.
Moreover, it’s possible to upgrade your full HD video into 4K video quality. Of course it won’t be the same as shooting 4K from the get go. The same way downsampling a 4K video to full HD isn’t the same as shooting full HD from the get go. But it would pass for most purposes except you’re sending it to Netflix which we’re sure you don’t plan to do. Otherwise, sharing a full HD video upgraded to 4K on the internet would look totally rad.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Check out this side-by-side comparison of full HD and 4K here.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
Weather-Sealed Bodies
To ensure that your camera continues in mint condition regardless of constant use and exposure to the element, Sony weather-sealed the most vulnerable parts of the camera with rubber. These parts include the joints and buttons. This way, even though these parts of the camera are constantly coming in contact with your fingers and other objects like table tops, the camera remains durable. Cameras with weather-sealed bodies are generally more rugged than cameras without.
Get the Sony a7 here! Get your Sony a7II here!
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Features Unique To Each Camera
When it comes to the Sony a7 vs a7II, there are so many similarities and only very few unique features. In fact, only the Sony a7II has a unique feature it brings to the table. So, let’s dig in.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Features Unique To The Sony a7
The Sony a7 has no unique feature that it doesn’t share with the a7II.
Sony a7 vs a7II – Features Unique To The Sony a7II
Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization
The only unique feature we will be looking at in the Sony a7 vs a7II review is that of the a7II. That feature is the built-in sensor-shift image stabilization. Of the two cameras, it’s just the a7II that has any form of image stabilization. Let’s see why that makes the a7II the better camera.
Camera shake is something that photographers everywhere have to deal with. It can be quite frustrating to have deal with the effects of camera shake especially when you’re not working with a tripod or when you’re using longish lenses. These are situations that call for image stabilization.
Typically, in a camera with image stabilization, there is an accelerometer that detects and calculates the speed and direction of camera shake. When it does this, it then moves the sensor in the accordingly in order to counter the shake from the camera. So, this way, the sensor remains stationary in relation to the image projected from the lens.
However, sensor-shift is not the only type of image stabilization there is. There’s also optical image stabilization. Sony though is known for using mainly sensor-shift stabilization in its camera and this system has its advantages.
Sensor-shift image stabilization makes things more affordable and convenient for the photographer. Affordable in the sense that they don’t have to purchase additional IS lenses. Convenience in the sense that you don’t have to lug extra lenses around in the name of image stabilization.
Although not super precise, sensor shift image stabilization is particularly helpful in situations where you can’t access a tripod and you have to work with longish lenses in low light.
Moreover, technology is advancing and, these days, sensor-shift image stabilization occurs along five axes – left, right, up, down, and rotation wise too.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Unique Pros
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Pros Unique To The Sony a7
- The Sony a7 is lighter than the a7II at 474 grams.
- It also has a significantly wider dynamic range at 14.2.
- The Sony a7 also sells for a more affordable price than the a7II.
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Pros Unique To The Sony a7II
- The Sony a7II comes with a built-in image stabilization while the a7 does not.
- Battery life is slightly longer, giving 350 shots per single charge as opposed to the a7’s 340.
- Also, low light ISO is a lot better at 2449 in comparison to the a7’s 2248.
- Color depth is better at 24.9.
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Unique Cons
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Cons Unique To The Sony a7
- The Sony a7 does not come with any form of image stabilization.
- Its battery life is poorer than that of the a7 by 10 shots.
- Color depth is also slightly lower at 24.8.
- Low light ISO is also lower at 2248.
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony ay vs a7II – Cons Unique To The Sony a7II
- The Sony a7II is the heavier camera of the two at nearly 600 grams.
- Its dynamic range is not as wide as that of the a7II at 13.6.
- It’s also the more expensive camera of the two.
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Common Pros
Here are the common pros between the Sony a7 vs a7II. And there are many of them.
Sony a7 |
Sony a7II |
| Comes with a wireless connection which is important for snappy transfer of your files either to your laptop or to your phone. | Also comes with wireless connection. |
| Features a tilting screen which increases convenience when shooting at awkward angles. Screen isn’t a touch screen, though. | Also features a tilting screen. |
| External flash shoe included | Also comes with an external flash shoe |
| Comes with RAW support for your best, sharpest, and most detailed photos | Also features RAW support |
| 24 megapixel max sensor resolution which is great for cropping and great for printing significantly large sized photos. | Also applies here. |
| Excellent LCD screen resolution | Same here. |
| Comes with both headphone and microphone ports | Also comes with both headphone and microphone ports. |
| Weather-sealed for ruggedness and durability | Also comes weather-sealed. |
| Comes with time lapse recording | You also get time lapse recording here |
| Smartphone remote control is an option with this camera | Also an option with this camera. |
| Shutter speed ranges from 1/8000 second to 30 seconds which is pretty impressive. | Also applies here. |
| Mirrorless cameras with excellent image quality | Same here. |
| Excellent choice for architectural, portrait, landscape and stills | Also applies. |
| 1920 x 1080 pixel, full HD video quality is totally impressive | Also applies as well. |
| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – Common Cons
Sony a7 |
Sony a7II |
| Does not come with a built-in flash | Also does not come with built-in flash |
| As usual, Sony batteries suck. These cameras hardly last long and you might have to keep swapping your batteries every other hour. | Same goes for the a7II as well. |
| Another problem is with auto focus, the a7 does not get into focus fast enough which can be annoying. With 117 focus points, the camera is great for stills but not so great when the subject in question is fidgety. | Same here. |
| A 5FPS continuous shooting feature isn’t good enough. | Also applies here. |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – What Users Are Saying?
So, we also tried to get the word on the street concerning the Sony a7 vs a7II showdown. Here’s what customers had to say:
Sony a7 |
Sony a7II |
| The first thing we noticed about customers and their Sony a7 was that they loved the feel of their camera. That is, the build, the way it looks and the way it feels to the touch. So, it wasn’t just about the performance of the camera. It was also about how the camera made them feel when they held it. And being lightweight only served to make matters better. The light weight and compact size of the a7 made the camera a common choice as a daily cam for most users. It’s small, portable, and can fit into most people’s purses. As for photo quality, everybody had a unanimous opinion on that one with evidence to back them up. This camera produces amazing pictures of great quality. This is possibly, in part, as a result of the camera’s 24 MP resolution. Users also loved the sensor of their camera as well. Now to the complaints. You probably are already saying this in your head and you are right. Battery. The complaint on the battery life was as unanimous as the commendation for this camera’s picture quality. Nearly everyone who had something to say mentioned that. Also, we have the continuous shooting feature. Turns out we weren’t the only ones that weren’t impressed. A number of customers had their complaints as well, although we suspect these are guys that do action photography, reason being that the complaint wasn’t consistent. One thing that surprised us though was that not many people complained about the lack of image stabilization. | Okay people, this is a camera that was loved by users. You find loads of positive, 5 star reviews on all kinds of ecommerce platforms where the camera is sold and for good reason too. Most customers considered the price a steal, all things considered. The camera gives a lot of tech for a sub-$1000 camera, after all. And then size was another customers were truly happy about. The ease of movement, compactness, and light weight of the camera really appealed to customers. Of course, that’s expected. No one wants to develop muscles from carrying a camera around. As for picture quality? Niiiiceee. It was indeed another aspect where customers were wowed and you could see a lot of photo exchanges from proud photographers. We had the usual Sony battery life complaint. But in addition, the auto focus speed also drew some murmuring from users as well who felt it could be a bit faster. Yeah, we won’t forget the ISO. For some reason it fell short of some customers’ expectations. However, altogether, and from what we could see, there was more love than hate for the a7II. Even though comments from customers seemed to suggest that there is room for improvement (and isn’t there always room for improvement?), with some giving the nod to the a7II as the ultimate upgrade, we still think the Son a7II had a really warm reception from its customers. |
| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
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| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
Sony a7 Vs a7II – In Summary
So, here’s the summary of everything we have reviewed so far. The Sony a7 and a7II are practically the same camera except for one tiny upgrade Sony makes to the a7II. This is the image stabilization system built into the Sony a7II.
Comparing the Sony a7 vs a7II, you find that there isn’t much of a tough competition between the two cameras. Both cameras are practically the same except when it comes to the dynamic range where the Sony a7 takes the cake at a range few stops shy of 15. However, in other areas like the presence of image stabilization, high low light ISO, better color depth (not by much), and longer battery life (which, by the way, is still crap!), the a7II is the clear winner.
In pretty much every other regard, these two cameras share the same strengths and weaknesses.
So, if we were to pick, which is it going to be? The upgrades are just slight but nonetheless, we will go with the Sony a7II. For the world we’re in right now, you’ll be better off with the a7II. At least, if not for anything for the fact that it comes with built in image stabilization.
| Get the Sony a7 here! | Get your Sony a7II here! |
