A7S II SUMMARY
The Sony A7S II takes the A7S to the next level. The redesigned camera body, improved autofocus, and bevy of new features make the A7S II a very capable full-frame mirrorless camera no matter the lighting conditions. With its 12.2-megapixel full-frame sensor and native ISO range of 100-102,400, the A7S II is designed to provide excellent performance across a huge range of ISO speeds. Utilizing Sony's 5-axis image stabilization to provide up to 4.5 stops of vibration reduction, the A7S II is poised to provide great images in low light. This impressive camera delivers high-quality results no matter the situation.
PROS
Comfortable and surprisingly compact camera body; Improved low light performance; Built-in image stabilization; Wide range of usable ISOs; More sophisticated autofocus performance; Excellent video capabilities.
CONS
Relatively low resolution; Mediocre continuous shooting performance; No built-in flash; No losslessly compressed RAW option.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Available since October 2015, the Sony A7S II retails for just under $3,000 USD.
IMAGING RESOURCE RATING
5.0 out of 5.0
After the "Mark II" refreshes of the venerable Sony A7 and A7R cameras earlier this year, the Sony A7S remained the last of the three still in its first generation stage. So, it's no surprise that Sony has come along to bring this large-pixeled, ultra-high ISO shooting camera up to speed with a "Mark II" refresh of its own.
Sporting the familiar, updated A7-series body design, the new Sony A7S II looks practically identical to the A7R II, aside from the model-specific branding. In one minor detail, unlike the A7 II, the A7S II shares the locking mode dial that was introduced with the A7R II. The Sony A7S II also features the much-welcomed ergonomic refreshes that were debuted on the earlier A7 II, including the repositioned front control dial and shutter-release button as well as re-contoured handgrip and all-around beefier, stronger magnesium alloy body and lens mount.
The big changes, however, are all under the hood. Though the Sony A7S II maintains the same unique, large-pixel 12.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor as its predecessor, the sensor has been incorporated into Sony's impressive 5-axis Image Stabilization system as in the other Mark II models, which works for both stills and video. With its SteadyShot INSIDE system providing up to 4.5 stops of correction combined with the camera's impressive ISO range up to an expanded ISO 409,600 equivalent (like the predecessor), the Sony A7S II makes easy work of capturing images and video in extremely low-light situations. Furthermore, the BIONZ X image processor features tweaked processing algorithms, with a particular focus on the mid to high ISO sensitivity range, for improved image quality and detail for both still images and video.
Seeing as the Sony A7S model was heavily emphasized not only as a stills camera, but also as a professional video powerhouse, it's also no surprise that the video features of the A7S II get improved as well. The original A7S was the first of the Sony A7 family to feature 4K Ultra HD video capture capabilities, however, it came with a large caveat: you needed an external HDMI capture/recorder device since the camera was incapable of recording 4K video internally to the memory card. The A7R II changed this, being the first full-frame Sony A7-series model to provide internal 4K recording, and the new Sony A7S II now supports this capability as well. This should certainly make A7S video shooters very pleased, as it undoubtedly simplifies the video workflow considerably and makes on-the-go shooting of 4K UHD video with this model much easier. It should be noted that despite its video-centric focus, the A7S II does not support Cinema 4K (4096 x 2160) video resolution.
Like the A7R II, the new A7S II's 4K Ultra HD video recording uses full pixel readout of the large full-frame sensor without pixel binning for reduced moiré and aliasing artifacts. Also like the A7R II, the Sony A7S II allows for simultaneous clean HDMI output up to a 4K 4:2:2 signal, while still recording up to 4K XAVC S video internally (though Sony does specify that the rear LCD display will go blank while streaming a 4K signal). The camera also comes with a nifty HDMI cable lock protector to help prevent the cable from coming loose.
Other video improvements includes new, additional cinema-oriented Picture Profiles called S-Gammt3.Cine/S-Log3 and S-Gamut3/S-Log3. Using these S-Log3 and S-Log2 profiles, the A7S II is said to provide up to 14 stops of dynamic range with 1300% wider dynamic range than a non-Picture Profile video for improved color grading and smoother gradations between highlights and shadows. The S-Log3 gamma profile is said to improve tonal gradation