Well, my Sony a7r II is on order. The new camera has so many improvements over my current a7r that I’m expecting I may have trouble finding a buyer for my old camera. I’m still absorbing the advantages in the lens choice department.

• 18MP images with APS-C lenses. The a7r II can automatically switch to crop sensor mode when you mount a non-FE Sony E Mount lens. Thanks to the 42.5MP sensor, you still get images with 17.7MP of resolution using those lenses. I own a full set of the compact APS-C lenses that I used with my NEX-7, a6000 (and, soon, their successors), so won’t be losing much in terms of resolution or size.
• Minolta/A-Mount lenses at full resolution. I also own quite a few old Minolta A-Mount lenses, as well as Sony full-frame lenses that I used on my a99. I’m dying to test those out on the a7r II using the EA-LA4 adapter I already own. I have some A-mount APS-C lenses, as well, currently being used on my a77 II. They’ll work in crop mode at 17.7MP. It’s all good.
• Canon EF lenses with adapter. It’s likely that some people will switch to the a7r II from Canon, especially since it’s a few hundred dollars cheaper than the new EOS 5DS and 5DS R models, should match or exceed them in image quality, and — here’s the kicker — they don’t necessarily have to purchase all new lenses. Spend $650 for the Metabones Smart Adapter IV, and many (but not all) of your existing EF lenses will autofocus nearly as fast, and you don’t lose image stabilization or Av exposure mode.

Granted, using A-Mount lenses or Canon EF lenses on the a7r II defeats the advantage of having such a tiny, lightweight camera body. But I should note that not all of the E-mount and FE-mount lenses I’m currently using are all that petite, particularly my favorite, the 70-200mm f/4. Sony is adding native FE lenses all the time, but the ability to use a wide variety of optics (including Nikon and other mounts with adapters) opens up your options and, for many, eliminates or postpones the need to purchase special lenses for this great camera.

It’s no secret that the original Sony a7r full frame mirrorless camera is one of my two or three favorite cameras, which I have been using on a daily basis since late 2013.  Coupled with the Zeiss “holy trinity” of lenses (16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm optics, each with an f/4 maximum aperture), I’ve prized the high-end model for its combination of image quality, high resolution 36MP sensor, compact size, and full feature set. And, since the introduction of the first of the new generation mirrorless full frame models — the 24MP Sony a7 II — I’ve been looking forward to the successor to my original a7r, which was introduced on June 10, with availability slated for August, 2015.  Does this new model justify the level of anticipation that we’ve seen?   I’ve put together a list of the most important new features.

•  Surprise!  The new camera’s 42.4 megapixel resolution is not the most significant feature.  What Sony owners will absolutely love is the potential autofocus speed increase possible with the a7r II.  To understand why, you need to consider that the largest image capture bottleneck in most mirrorless cameras (and in dSLRs in “mirrorless” Live View mode), is the crippling slowness of  conventional contrast detect AF.

When focusing using the image captured by the sensor alone, a camera must tediously examine the edge contrast of parts of the subject and, frequently, hunt back and forth until the highest contrast (sharpest) image is found.   Many mirrorless cameras use nothing but contrast detection, and even optimized systems  may not be as speedy in achieving focus as the slowest dSLR that relies on contrast detection.  The chief advantage of contrast detect AF is that focus isn’t restricted to a small set of AF sensors, as well as the systems’ relative simplicity.

The a7r II’s back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor has 399 phase detection AF points embedded within its full frame.  That means the camera can use rangefinder-like phase detection to achieve focus much more quickly, up to 40 percent faster than the previous model, according to Sony.  “Hunting” isn’t necessary; by examining the AF points, the camera knows instantly which direction to focus, and exactly how much of an adjustment to make.  This superior phase detect AF can bring the a7r II up to the level of premium dSLR cameras in terms of autofocus.   An additional 25 contrast detection points are also used as required in Sony’s Fast Hybrid system.

• Five-axis image stabilization.  Sony introduced 5-axis SteadyShot IS with the 24MP a7 II.  It’s an in-body system that works with virtually every lens, and makes adjustments along the x and y axes, and compensates for pitch, roll, and yaw, too.  (In plain English, x and y movement of the camera is along the focal plane in the left/right, up/down directions, respectively; pitch is tilting the camera up or down; roll is rotating the camera along a line passing through the center of the lens; yaw is rotating the camera from side to side along the axis of, say, the tripod socket.)  Depending on camera movement, any one of these or any combination may occur as you frame and shoot.
  This enhanced SteadyShot should give you a conservative minimum of two or three stops (i.e. you can shoot at 1/30th s where 1/250th s might be required before), and potentially much more.  (Keep in mind that IS does nothing to prevent subject blur.)   Since the a7-series cameras are so compact and light in weight, the ability to use them without a tripod in many situations is a significant advance.
  As a bonus, if you own a lot of old Minolta or newer Sony A-mount lenses, you can use them with the a7r II and  the EA-LA4 adapter.  You lose a bit of compactness, but gain versatility without sacrificing AF speed.

• Back-illuminated CMOS sensor.  Sony pioneered back-illuminated sensor technology, and cleverly applies it to the new a7r II.   With conventional sensors, the matrix of photosites and the “wiring” they require reflect some of the light striking them, preventing that illumination from reaching the photosensitive layer that actually captures the image.  For a back-illuminated sensor, the order of the layers is reversed, so the illumination falls directly on the photosensitive elements, with the matrix and wiring relegated to the reverse side.  That allows the sensor to use virtually 100 percent of its area to capture light, making it more sensitive.  There is no optical low pass “blurring” filter in front of the sensor, enhancing resolution (you may need to remove moire manually.)
  This configuration provides three benefits.   Sony has been able to squeeze 42.4 megapixels onto a 24 x 36mm sensor without needing to reduce their size as much as would be required with a conventional sensor.  That translates into improved sensitivity, too.  The a7r II should provide improved image quality at ISO settings up to 25,600.  When production models are available, we’ll see whether the improvements will make photography at the equivalent of ISO 102,400 possible as well.
  The back-illumination configuration also allows improving the wiring on the back of the sensor (because there is no longer any concern about its interfering with light gathering), such that Sony says data transmission can occur up to 3.5x faster than with the original a7r.
  An anti-reflective coating on the surface of the sensor helps improve light gathering — and also should reduce problems you might face from light bouncing off the sensor, and then bouncing back from the rear elements of your lenses (frequently older, pre-digital lenses.)
  Don’t expect the a7 II to rival the current a7s for the low-light championship, but the results should be good.  Best of all, you won’t need to make some difficult choices about bumping up the ISO while reducing image quality.  You should be able to have some cake, and eat it, too.

• Other goodies:  Videographers will like the ability to shoot and record 4K video in multiple formats including Super 35mm (without pixel binning) and full-frame format, a world’s first for digital cameras .   The rest of us should love a shutter with 50% less vibration, and which includes a (virtually) Silent Shooting mode.  The optional electronic first curtain shutter can further reduce shutter shake.  The XGA 2,359,296-pixel organic light emiting diode (OLED) viewfinder now boasts a 0.78 magnification, and the 1.2MP rear-panel LCD remains.  Wi-Fi and NFC (near field communications) allows the a7r II to communicate with your favorite Android and iOS devices.

Most of us like to pack a full set of lenses so we’ll be ready for anything.  Yet, I’ve found that many people will happily settle into one of two camps…either they are a Telephoto Person or a Wide-Angle Person. Although either group will frequently travel into the other’s territory, they tend to “see” many picture-taking opportunities either from a telephoto or a wide-angle perspective, and tend to approach their subjects from one “angle” or another.   With a telephoto view, selective focus and emphasis on fine details or textures often takes precedence, as shown in this shot of a blue and yellow macaw in Islamorada, Florida.  Wide-angle lenses may be favored by those who want to use apparent perspective distortion for effect (the distortion is only apparent, not real, because it is not due to a defect in the lens), or who wish to take in a broad expanse of the surroundings.

I wanted to isolate this macaw against a busy background, and used my Sony 70-200mm f/4 lens at 200mm to capture the bird from a distance of about 40 inches, wide open at f/4 and 1/800th second at ISO 200.  As you can see from the inset, this lens can be used as a great macro lens, too.  The telephoto let me keep my distance from the macaw (although it was more likely I’d get bitten than frighten the bird), while the wide open aperture and lovely bokeh of this lens de-emphasized the background.  And for this “macro” shot, no tripod was required.  The fast shutter speed and the lens’s optical image stabilization was all I need for a sharp image.

 

My Sony a7r and a6000 were two of my mainstays while I was shooting down in the Florida Keys during my January-March escape from the bitter Winter we had up North as 2015 opened.  Although I favored the a6000 with the Sony 70-200mm f/4 lens for wildlife, sometimes I found myself with an opportunity to shoot an interesting creature, such as this heron, when toting only my a7r and 24-70mm f/4 Zeiss Vario-Tessar FE 24-70mm f/4.  As you can see from the slightly cropped main image at left, I really was able to get no closer than about 50 feet from the bird at Long Key State Park before it began to display skittish tendencies.  I was already knee-deep in murky water, so I shot away.   Back at my Winter “headquarters” I was pleased to see that 36 megapixels were plenty to allow some judicious cropping.  Exposure was about 1/800th second at f/5.6 at ISO 100 and OSS active.   I can’t remember whether I was more concerned about my feathered friend flying away, or slipping and giving my mirrorless camera a salt-water bath.