This weekend at IBC 2015, the major competitors in the camera industry will be making their announcements with regards to upgrades of past models and new eye turning products. And Sony is no exception. Their a7S mirrorless camera made waves last year what with its full 4K HD, Super 35mm sensor and the ability to shoot up to 400,000ISO. And now they’ve announced the a7SII. While the differences between the two might seem minimal, the newer version can now shoot full frame, 1080p HD at 120 frames per second. Last year’s model could only shoot up 120 in 720p HD. Not only that, 4K HD can now be recorded internally as opposed to recording to an external source with the a7S.
This is a first for the a7 line of Sony cameras. Another improvement is the 169 AF points for “fast, precise focusing” allowing for greater accuracy than the previous model. Also, the camera’s XGA OLED True-Finder viewer will offer a magnification of .78x which, according to Sony, is roughly 38.5 degrees in diagonal field of view. Supposedly this will offer a more accurate take on how exposure, white balance and other settings will look in camera as opposed to most optical viewfinders.
One more difference involves the adoption of Sony’s 5 axis camera stabilization system that was introduced in the a7R II. This may afford cinematographers the opportunity to make those tracking shots without having to weigh the camera down.
The a7SII will retail for about $3000 and is compatible with Sony’s line of lenses including 13 “FE” full frame lenses. Sony also plans to add an additional 7 new lens to their FE series. And they plan release the a7SII for purchase in October of this year.
• ISO 100 – 120400, expandable to 50-409600
• QFHD: 3840 x 2160. 4K resolution available for both internal and HDMI output recording
• SDXC memory card required for XAVC S recording
• UHS class 3 memory card required for recording at 100Mbps
• Viewfinder magnification approximately 0.78x
• 24fps/30fps in 4K mode. 60fps/120fps in full HD mode (1080 x 1920)
• Is compatible with 64 Sony lenses including 13 native FE lenses
• WiFi and NFC compatible
• Wide dynamic range of up to 14 stops in the S-Log3 setting
