Alpha dog: Hands-on with Sony a7R II

Yes I can't believe how threatened the Canon/Nikon fanboys are by this camera. Of course DPR is filled with fanboys of all brands.

yes,I know,but I hope that the speed of the electronic shutter can increase speed sync.

The X100S goes up to 1/4000 with flash sync mechanical.

Darngooddesign

The X100S like the X100 and X100t have leaf shutter lenses, this was the reason it quickly became one of the favorite cameras of David Hobby the guy who writes the Strobist Blog.

http://strobist.blogspot.com.es/2013/05/leaf-shutter-nd-flash-fuji-x100s.html

http://www.mikekobal.com/strobists-delight-the-leaf-shutter-advantage-of-the-fuji-x100s/

Leaf shutter lenses are also available in many medium format gear (Hasselblad, Phase One, etc.) and that is part of what makes those lenses expensive. They include that in lenses because pros want to have more room to sync their flashes regardless of the ambient light there is.

friemelfrottel.

There was a time when there were APS-C sensors that could sync at any speed, those sensors where the ones inside the D70, D70s, D40 and D50, while they allowed you to sync at the speed your flash could keep up (t.1) but they had a problem, blown highlights would bleed weirdly to the pixels around it and made a gate bloom or CCD gate.

mh:

Don't make the mistake of implying that Nikon only uses Sony sensors.

It doesn't tell me anything about Sony; it tells me you should buy Nikon.Also you should buy another couple of batteries. The nature of a battery is to run down, either through use or non-use. One of the great problems of living on an unfinished World.

1. As @setaside2 said, naming folders in date format is a good first step.
2. Other tools do this but in Windows I use "XXCOPY" (not XCOPY) to transfer files with Archive attibute set AND to add folder name in middle of file name so it is MUCH closer to unique - this also gives you 1nnYMMDD in file name so you can see at a glance the date the photo was taken from the name. If desired the date part cam be removed once the file is safely stored. Using rename if there are two files that would then be identical the 2nd rename is not done. Very safe and useful overall.
3. Using XXCOPY allows me to progressively download even to multiple destinations if desired as the in card files records whether it has been copied already. This works superbly. 4. Once you have day folders and progressive copy you can delete copied folders on the fly if desired. Due care is of course needed but it is "easy enough" to not lose files this way. Sample: DSC06511`10101105 <- Folder 101, 5th November, (201)0.

Yes, of course I put them in named folders with the camera and lens used in the title, that is not the problem. The problem comes editing. In Photoshop, or worse, Lightroom, where your images get sorted by their filenumbers. And when you save, they get saved by their file numbers. So then you have to create another folder for each camera into which you save its images, and only its images, instead of being able to put all your jpegs or Tiffs or whatever into the same folder because Sony had the grace and insight to make sure each camera has either its own code (as so 1Ds Canons) or the ability to rename the file like Sony sensors in Nikons do.
What you wrote to help should be unnecessary!!

Good call Russell. I haven't seen that XXCopy but I do use Bulk Rename Utility which is a pretty sophisticated renaming tool allowing a variety of naming options (time, date, etc incl.)
It's Open Source software so free and tested.

http://download.cnet.com/Bulk-Rename-Utility/3000-2248_4-10174242.html

The battery grip negates the point of this small series of machines IMHO. And as you cannot rename their files, your new camera will run exactly the same file numbers in jpeg and raw as the Sonys you have/had already.

I have years of experience in software, but even I have overwritten several vital raw files, that cannot be retrieved. This only happens with Sony machines, and it simply highlights how little they consider photographers- as does the lack of weatherproofing.

These things are great in tests, but not so good in practice, and dare I venture the idea that shutter lag may not have improved over its predecessor, quite possible.

At least it now does 4K in-camera, just like an LX100! The £1800
A7S 12MP body could not- it was obsolete upon release and you had to have an expensive outboard thingy to use it at 4K, doubling its cost, and weight. All done on purpose. Crazy

Harrap... don't blame your shortcomings on your gear. You quite obviously knew of the file management before you dropped the ball. Next time, be more careful.

Vanitas, meh, weird pasta twig arms are unrelated to equipment!
The big Nikons and Canons power through 3 times what even a giant mountaineer or Arnie can appreciate relative to an A7 series or NEX machine, but their batteries are not 3 times the size and they have huge heavy pasta and twig-munching mirrors to raise and lower as well. So with the incompatible mount, lack of weatherproofing, etc, these machines do not sell well.
Even you mehumans do not buy them, because even a meh human can understand how the pasta armed Arnies of Creation need reliable stuff whose files can be renamed to suit, and whose lenses can work on other machines.

Those of the twig-armed pasta race salute you, because you realize, as do we, that the Sony Problem results from their devising lens mounts nobody else uses, like Apple with its ports and connectors, failing to notice that the market has rapidly provided adaptors that can replace all their expensive incompatible glass with anything BUT a Sony lens!

Firstly, I am pretty sure Sony (or Zeiss) doesn't have a "Problem" as you say... but if they do and are as successful as Apple in dealing with it... well, 'nuff said.

Twig-armed pasta race? I suggest you up your meds, bro...

NO it wont. Well be buying DSLRs because we like them.

So this is the new Queen of the Mirrorless cameras. Well met.

I would prefer a beffier body without mirror though, like an A99 style body with A7RII tech (kinda what they did with the A3000 a SLR body without mirror and all ILC tech)

Surlezi one thing that is bothering me recently as a Canon shooter is to have to deal with micro adjustments for many of my lenses (canon, tamron, sigma it is the same)

To be precise, you're not really seeing the RAW... (a 3.2Mpixels can't be showing the 42Mpixels of the RAW) I don't know exactly how this image is made...
However I agree it's way more useful than any optical crap seen through an Optical Viewfinder, and the best way to preview the RAW or an idea of the RAW.

Sony will come out with a new body by the time you save up for this one... The problem I have is the older body prices drop too fast with Sony with new cameras every year... I guess it's good to have improved cameras, but the value of the old ones drop too fast...

You can forget that it will have the same ergonomics as a Pro Canon, it is a very thin camera, in fact I have said this before, it looks like something built in the 1960's. I am no Sony fan, on anything they make, I have had nothing but problems with just about everything Sony makes, I cannot believe this camera is built any better and I would never be fooled by the advanced tech they have been talking about. There are much more to a great camera, and one is exactly what you are talking about "ergonomics" Sony has never really cared about the "consumer" and that is a shame, they have good tech departments and do make great sensors, but they seem to just miss the little things that people truly want. Like battery life, it is terrible on this camera, ergonomics bad, low light and auto focusing, all things that most users want from a camera. It does do some neat things, but when you cannot even program the Raw compression to something usable, then that tells me a lot about Sony.

I do agree with what you are saying. I have a a7r and I'm having some major problems with it. The camera whites out for a few seconds when I turn it on and keeps on doing it. It's not dependable. That is why I don't want to spend 3K on the new Sony a7rII. I'm keeping the Sony system for now but will not expand on it until I think they can really make pro equipment.

LOL, upgrade your firmware, that what I did to fixed that problem.

you can adjust things quicker

Since I'm reading for the video specs, it just dawned on me...are you saying there is no RAW still formatat? That would be crazy indeed! As far as no RAW video, that is out there anyway since there are such good 4k codecs that are so much less demanding in workfow and post.

Sony's RAW still format is compressed lossy, meaning that some information is lost when the RAW file is saved in the camera. Nikon has a LOSSLESS RAW option. Sony does not.

I haven't found any info on Sony's having lossy RAW files? Nikons and Canons give you the choice of cutting your RAW files down to smaller RAW files (lossy). Sony doesn't give this choise, but I assumed that the RAW files were full RAW files, with no small RAW files available.

I think Sony needs to provide the lossless raw simply because so many people want it. Whether it makes huge difference or not doesn't matter. It seems like people are practically screaming and Sony to do it and they would buy it.

The raws I've seen from this have the colour problems of every Sony that shoots compressed raws. I is NOT simply dynamic range thing.

August 1st, there are raws at PhotographBlog, posted July 30th.

what does a 35mm have to do with 300mm?????????????????????????????????????????????

sibuzaru, some people want AF lenses on their AF cameras.

Yeah, I was actually interested in the Zeiss 55mm F-1.8 or the Zeiss 24-70mm F-4 so I'm covered for my current lens needs in terms of what Sony is offering. Most likely will get the Sony A7RII. The OVF in a DSLR has it's advantages and disadvantages when compared to the EVF on the Sony. The camera won't be used for action shots so panning won't be something I would be doing but spending this type of money you want to get as much as you can for your $$. Thanks for the speedy reply. Can't wait to see a real world review of the A7RII.

one thing that Sony hasn't changed
and it is IMPORTANT for some pro's is FLASH MOUNT

Sony flash mount so scrappy, it is taken from Minolta mount

Almost all legacy glass vignette. Film was simply more forgiving and people were more accepting.

tongki , sony has changed the flash mount back to the industrial standard long ago, although the Minolta AF flash mount was bad at all, it was quick and secure. you had great adaptor to covert it to single point hot shoes too.

Sounds like these are still travel cameras (due to lighter weight) or maybe studio. I'm using Sony a6000 for travel and fun, Nikon D750 for serious work.

What you mean by standard hotshoe ?
It is taken from Minolta, right ?
The mount that just slide and lock without any rotating lock,
it is not dependable, it's a crap !
Camera headed forward it is firing, upward and not firing

focus very well compare to what ?
I am talking it compare to 5D mark II and 7D that time,
after selling Sony A900, I get 1D mark IV and AF is the best (that time)

Wrong - I have the camera and the viewfinder does that under bright light conditions with no artificial lighting around at all. High frequent flicker, probably some sequential driving of the LED display, and some distinctive grain. It just screams "EVF" when looking into it. Competition has far superior viewfinders but allegedly the A7R II has also received a newly designed one and it better has.

But unfortunately I bought my camera in exactly the kind of shop environment that you describe. Noticing the flicker and graininess I attributed these to the dim artificial lighting and its 50 cycles mains flicker. And wasn't exactly pleased to notice the EVF's overall extremely poor performance later on.

And no, I currently don't use the camera. It feels like a toy, is built like a toy and way too many issues/compromises... Not tempted to try another Sony anytime soon.

@thiom:

It is your point of view. I and more and more users and professionals do not share that view. Of course one can criticize the Sony A7 series. There are things that can be improved, but to call it a toy and thus also say that it is a bad and poor camera ... that’s a complete misfire, and demonstrates very clearly that you do not own this camera and/or do not have the insight/knowledge about camera technology ano 2015. Happy shooting :-)

Personal attacks rather than facts - all that Sony fanboys can deliver... Happy shooting as well.

Facts? Sure buddy boy

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/3427945410/ifixit-tears-down-sony-s-new-a7r-ii-to-find-its-secrets

Pro grade dust and weather sealed build, huh? And that's the A7RII...