Sony Alpha 7R II Review

The Sony a7R II is a 42MP full frame mirrorless camera with 5-axis image stabilization, featuring the world's first (and currently only) 35mm BSI CMOS sensor, and including a hybrid autofocus system and 4K video capabilities. It's the fifth in the company's a7 range of full frame cameras and the second high-resolution 'R' model. However, although its name and appearance are very similar to the first round of a7s, the R II arguably represents just as significant a step forwards as those first full frame mirrorless models did.

The reasons for suggesting this are two-fold. Although the a7R II's body is essentially the same as that of the 24MP a7 II (albeit with more substantial magnesium alloy construction), the camera includes two significant changes:

The first is that this is the first full frame camera to feature a sensor based on BSI CMOS technology. Although Sony always stressed that the benefits of BSI designs are most valuable in small sensors, its application on larger scales should reduce the pixel-level disadvantages of moving to higher pixel counts (which means an improvement in quality when viewed at a standard output size).

Secondly, and perhaps, most unexpectedly: the camera's phase-detection autofocus capabilities have been increased to the point that it not only focuses quickly and effectively with its own lenses but can also do so with lenses designed for other systems. This may not sound like a big deal until you think about what Sony needs to do to make the camera a success: win-over dedicated photographers, many of whom are already committed to other systems.

Sony a7R II Highlight specifications

• 42MP Full Frame BSI CMOS sensor
• 399 on-sensor Phase Detection points
• 5-axis image stabilization
• Internal 4K recording from full sensor width or 'Super' 35 crop
• Picture Profile system including ITU-709 and S-Log2 gamma
• Full magnesium alloy construction
• 2.36m dot OLED viewfinder with 0.7x magnification
• High speed AF with non-native lenses

The rest of the camera's core capabilities are exactly as you would expect from a high-resolution camera at this level: weather-sealed magnesium alloy body, twin control dials, extensive customization of control points and 5fps shooting.

The camera's video capabilities, though, are well worth highlighting. Like the recently-released, and more video-focused a7S II, the a7R II can record 4K (UHD) video internally. But, unlike the a7S II, its sensor has enough resolution to shoot using a near full-frame crop or a Super 35 (~APS-C) crop. In fact, the camera is over-sampling when you shoot Super 35 4K - which should help control moiré. These two modes should let you choose between the shallow depth-of-field and low-light capability of using the full sensor, vs. the effective extra reach and greater lens compatibility of Super 35 mode (though our testing shows this isn't quite the case).

	Sony a7R II	Sony a7R	Sony a7 II	Sony a7S II
Sensor	42MP full-frame	36MP full-frame	24MP full-frame	12MP full-frame
Image Stabilization	In-body	In-lens only	In-body	In-body
Electronic First Curtain Shutter	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Silent (full electronic) Shutter	Yes	No	No	Yes
ISO Range (Stills) Standard / Expanded	100 - 25,600 50 - 102,400	100 - 25,600 50 - 25,600	100 - 25,600 50 - 25,600	100-102,400 50-409,600
Continuous Shooting (with AF)	5 fps	1.5 fps	5 fps	2.5 fps
AF system	Hybrid (399 phase detect and 25 contrast detect points)	Contrast AF with 25 points	Hybrid with 117 phase detect and 25 contrast detect points	Contrast AF with 169 points
4K from Super 35 crop?	Yes	No	No	No
4K Movie specs	UHD 30/24p XAVC S (100/60Mbps)	N/A	N/A	UHD 30/24p XAVC S (100/60Mbps)
HD Movie specs	1080 60/30/24p (50Mbps) XAVC S	1080 60p (28Mbps) 60i/24p (24/17Mbps) AVCHD	1080 60/30/24p (50Mbps) XAVC S	1080 120p (100/60Mbps) 60/30/24p (50Mbps) XAVC S
Picture Profile (inc S-Log2)	Yes	No	Yes	Yes + S-Log3
Front panel construction	Magnesium alloy	Magnesium alloy	Composite	Magnesium alloy
Optical low pass filter	No	No	Yes	Yes
Battery life (CIPA) LCD/EVF	340/290 shots per charge	340/270 shots per charge	350/270 shots per charge	370/310 shots per charge
Weight w/ battery	625 g	465 g	599 g	627 g
MSRP	$3,199 body only	$2,299 body only	$1,699 body only	$2,999 body only

(Lossy) Compressed Raw

Although, at launch, the a7R II only offered Sony's lossy compressed Raw files, which can reduce the processing flexibility of the files, the company has promised a firmware update allowing uncompressed 14-bit Raws. The dynamic range and Raw analysis section of our review is based on these uncompressed files.