Sony A7Rii field tested review (vs Nikon D810)

[TonyAndChelsea]

Great review and gorgeous photos of Bhutan!

[nickdsnik]

Refreshingly honest and open review. Thanks Matt.

[TheSmartWoodshop]

I added the Sony a7rII system to my tool kit. I shoot the Canon 1Dx for wildlife and sports, but everything else; I like the Sony. The files are very nice and detailed. I have not noticed any sluggishness or delay that you mentioned. Since I shoot the 1Dx, I think I would notice if the Sony were slow. I have used the A7rII with metabones and my Canon big glass, with focus fast enough to capture moving birds. I still wouldn't give up the 1Dx unless I decided not to shoot wildlife and sports anymore. The best thing I can say about the Sony is that I always have it and get a lot more photos. If any camera is seeing less use because of the Sony, it is my iPhone6. My wife also added the Sony a7rII and has completely stopped using her Canon 5DIII. I would like a FE mount 24-70 2.8 with iq equal to my Canon 24-70 2.8 II. I do get great results using it on the Sony with metabones, but it is very large.

[jeffmcclure]

Hey Matt, the video was great! In response to your question, I've been a DSLR enthusiast for a number of years, my current body is the D800. Earlier this year I added the Sony a6000 as a lighter weight more portable option. I have a number of awesome lenses for my D800, and for the a6000 I bought the Sigma 19mm and the Sony 35mm to go along with the kit lens. I can carry the a6000 body and all three lenses in a small messenger bag, and it is very nice. I am in alignment with your thinking that I have *added* mirrorless, but it does not replace DSLR. Thanks for all the videos over the years!

[joeljrichards]

great review. I always appreciate it when a reviewer acknowledges their biases. It will be interesting to see what you think of the camera in a year. The mirrorless cameras work fundamentally different than DSLRs and that can take some deep level rethinking.

[PieterBreda]

80% of the shots taken with the Sony kind of says it all.
What I like about the tests is that it is about gear and not about emotional hysterics as in some cases.
In that regard, your tests are way up on top, just like Tony Northrup's

[curtisjudd]

Nice review Matt. Refreshing to have your perspective.

[mcrazza]

Hi Matt.

How many lenses do you have for the A7Rii? In the meantime will you be using adapters to use your f-mount lenses as a sort of stopgap?

[andreaswheeler]

great comments, nice to hear what someone really thinks, especially after using it for some time in the real world..

[HiPnautique]

+Matt Granger, as others had commented, you actually can change the iso button. it is marked on the body as iso, but you can change it in the custom keys menu as the "right button". but the fact that your iso changes accidentally may be because of the wheel rather than the button, as by default when you turn the wheel it changes the iso immediately. you might want to disable the wheel or change its function.
you can also change the focus point with one button press just like on your nikon body (i have a D300, so i loved that setup too), simply set the center button (the one in the middle of the wheel) to "standard" in the custom keys menu. it is rather hidden, because "standard" does not mean anything, but it is actually the exact function you need.

for quick access to less frequent functions, you can also customize the Fn menu. that's where i put the silent shooting option.

i was wondering if the delay with a black screen you get comes from a full buffer. if your card is slower than what the camera expects, the camera will still allow you to shoot while it writes to the card until the buffer is filled up. As you shoot RAW+JPG, it has a lot to write to cards, so i think your delays occur less frequently if you upgrade your cards to latest speeds, like UHS2 U3.

if you like the Black & White rendering of the Sony (they had great B&W since the RX1, but requires JPG), you might want to try and disable the noise reduction completely. the noise then becomes grain and adds a very nice visual touch to your image like what we had on film, instead of making it worse. you then might actually like to shoot in high iso on the A7RII after that :)

[artmaltman]

Very high quality review. Punchy, gets to the point, and raises important issues.

[paulbynre]

Hi Matt, On 12th Sept I went to China for a month. I normally use Nikon D3 & D4 with a variety of lenses. However, I was determined to travel light and wanted a mirrorless camera to go with. I tried a number of them but each seemed to 'not quite fit the bill'. Then along came the Sony A7rii which seemed to have all the bells and whistles. I read about it and watched several reviews before buying one at the very last minute. The camera arrived the morning before I set off. I bought a 24 - 240mm lens which I thought would be a good all purpose lens and would be less to carry and eliminate the need to change lenses all the time. Having used it extensively during the past few weeks I TOTALLY agree with your review. This is the most accurate, unbiassed review I have read. All the irritations you mention, I have experienced and I could not have done a better job than you did in pointing them out. Like you I still like the camera and will persevere to master it. The video is excellent and I'm sure that given a little more time I will crack it. It will never replace my Nikons but it is a useful addition to my bag of tricks.

[cooloox]

Great review Matt and great images too. Thanks for your professional opinion on the A7r ii.

DSLRs are clearly still the way to go for now, but the mirrorless cameras make great backup cameras.

[mattypaxton]

Hi from Back home! (Sydney) :)
Thanks for your review Matt. I agree with the laggy-ness of the A7RM2.. Surprisingly this is the least laggy a7 yet! Ergonomics wise I think this is the best of the a7's but it's still no Nikon.. Though I'm actually a FUJI user who was Nikon.. Went small after a trip to the states with a D600.. Experienced the dust spots and was just done with the size considering my style of photography being "lifestyle" documentarian and street stuff..
Still wouldn't mind a D750 or similar though my XT1 is honestly my favourite camera I've ever had, I have fun I feel creative and I take it with me almost everywhere everyday.. (Wouldn't mind a 24mp sensor though) but it's ergonomics are pretty friendly. JPEG processing is awesome. Lens choice is good for me.
My journey:
Canon 40DOlympus E-P1Nikon P6000Nikon D600FUJI X-T1
Anyway, thanks for all your videos and enthusiasm.. Always makes me wanna get outside and shoot. Thanks for your humour. And thanks for Tina 😉
Cheers, Matt

[stakstonkvinge]

It is very useful to hear your opinions regarding handling issues. To me, that makes a big difference.

[tusker]

Thanks Matt... think I'll stick to the 810!

[Lofote]

@Matt: You *CAN* reprogram the right button, as well as the left button, the down button, the center button, and the AF/MF button in both positions (AF/MF and AEL) and of course the 4 custom buttons seperately. Only few buttons are fixed (e.g. up button is always DISP). ANd there you have the 6 more customizable buttons...

[ericknorpp]

Are all the images of Bhutan with the Sony A7rII? Also what lens set up did you have for Bhutan? Your images look really nice, Good job..

[shouldiworry]

Did you see the new version of the nikon to sony adapter? Which allowes the phase detect points.

[AlexMegremis]

Great review. I'm looking at this camera, and you touched on a lot of real life practicality bits that would matter to me.

On a side note, my D800E also occasionally just locks up for what feels like 10+ sec as it seems to access one of the cards (has happened with all my cards).