Sony A7SII Review

Most of the photos and video you see on this site were shot with the venerable Sony A7S ii. This camera is a great tool despite some of it's idiosyncrasies. 

Note: I'm a firm believer that you do not need an expensive camera to take beautiful pictures. Some people put far too much stock in specs and equipment while ignoring the artist and perspective behind the camera. Having said this, I love what the Sony A7SII can do for me, especially in the context of professional video in difficult conditions. I enjoy using native and vintage lenses with this camera.

What I like about the Sony A7S ii

1) Excellent dynamic range and resolution for both video and photography. Full frame and a lot to work with when shot in RAW. 

2) A small camera with durable construction. It feels great in hand. 

3) The sensor has amazing capabilities in low light and at night. 

4) Sony has a growing range of excellent native lenses, but I also appreciate the added flexibility provided to use a wide array of vintage manual lenses. 

5) The 4K video footage has a film-like quality when used with the right lenses. 

6) A bright and clear electronic viewfinder which harkens to Sony's video cameras where they mastered this technology. 

 

What I don't love about the A7SII (nitpicks for most part) 

1) The labyrinthian menu system is a headache and takes a while to learn your way around. 

2) The battery life leaves something to be desired. I carry several spares for longer shoots, especially for video. 

3) The Sony native lenses are often a bit overpriced. They are excellent though. 

4) The apps are useful, but needlessly difficult to download. I use the time-lapse one a lot, but I'd rather see the feature built into the camera. 

Overall, I'm very happy with the camera and I would buy it again. 

I bought mine on Amazon (affiliate link)

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Recommended Resources for further exploration: 

1) A trusted review site. https://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/slrs/sony_a7sii

2) A great field test of the camera. http://briansmith.com/sony-a7sii-field-test-review/

3) A full and un-biased review. http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2015/11/10/the-sony-a7sii-review-the-king-of-the-night-gets-updated/

4) For info on great lenses to use with the Sony. https://phillipreeve.net/blog/