Sony a7 II vs. The New Guys: $998 Sale Questions Answered

You have questions, I've got a few answers.

Big shout-out to adorama for making an a7 II with kit lens available on short notice so I could see for myself.

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Gear Used to Make This Video:

Sony a7 II with Sony 28-70 for $998

Panasonic GH5 wLeica DG Vario-Elmarit /12-60.2.8-4

FujiFilm X-T3 (w/16-55/2.8)

Canon EOS R w/24-105/4

Nikon Z7 w/24-70/4 and FTZ Adapter

Sennheiser ew 500 Film G4 Wireless Combo System Kit with MKE2 Lavalier Microphone AW+

Sennheiser MKE 600 - Shotgun Mic

Genaray MonoBright LED Bi-Color 750

Genaray Crux 10" Round Bi-Color LED Light

Aputure Light Dome Mini

Falcon Eyes BL-10TD Build-in Battery LED Light 100W Photography Light Bi-Color 3000k-8000k

Aputure LS1 Studio Daylight Balanced

Aputure LS 1/2W Daylight Balanced

Cartoni SDS 8 Fluid Head Tripod

FULL EDIT SUITE

Apple 2018 iMac with 5K Retina Display (maxed out)

G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttle XL 24TB (8 x 3TB) 8-Bay Thunderbolt 2

Apple 2018 Macbook Pro 15.4", 2.6Ghz Quad Core i7 with 16G RAM, AMD Radeon 560X, 512GB SSD

Glyph Technologies Atom RAID 2-Terabyte SSD

[FabiusMaximus]

This guy is the Jeff Goldblum of photography.

[kumitetoday]

Listening to this is like ASMR for camera reviews

[opsdaddy]

As a reviewer, Hugh, you are without peer. Not only do each of your videos reflect great preparation and an unparalleled breadth of knowledge, but your presentation is superlative. I love your carefully measured delivery and reflective pauses. It adds heaps of nuance and emotion to your content. This video motivated me to finally pull the trigger on an A7II. It's a terrific deal made better by the fact that I was able to retain all the legacy glass, adapters, and batteries from my venerable (but tired) Sony NEX-6 kit. Thank you for all you do, good sir! You are an inspiration!

[ephemeral]

I know this video came out a month ago but I wanted to chime in on my personal experience with the A7ii.

It’s very capable. Dated, yes, but capable nonetheless. Battery sucks compared to competitors, but for a portrait shooter like me who rarely shoots high frame “run and gun” I can easily make one battery last a whole session. That also makes its low 5fps high continuous limit irrelevant to me.

Autofocus? Sure it’s no A7iii, XT-3 or *insert flagship camera here* but AF-S eye af is still highly useful for portraits taken in the field or studio where quick and sudden movements are minimized anyways. Heck, I’ve shot professional studio headshots with a manual-focus-only Samyang 85mm lens. More so, back button AF in continuous with flexible spot achieves 90% of the functionality of continuous eye af.

Would I like a newer A7iii? Damn right I would but nevertheless the A7ii gives me more value in that I can get out there and shoot all the time with my piece of modest yet superb glass; referring to the Sony 55mm 1.8. The bank is not broken.

Cameras like this and deals like this allow photographers at lower price points to get in there and create which I feel is a highly overlooked fact. 90% of the functionality and the remaining 10% made up by willpower. I’ll take that every day.

This was a wonderful review and I loved hearing you thoughts on this matter.

[HumorBagel]

Seriously considering the A7II for my channel (in addition to some nice glass). Also seriously considering hiring you to tell me bedtime stories about literally anything. You have a great style! This video has been super helpful, thank you! I've been rocking a Canon t3i since 2012 and I'm due for an upgrade.

[MrNelsonofficial]

I still own a A7ii shot over 70 weddings with it no problem at all very sharp images with the right glass autofocus is kinda slow but when it lock in I have no problem with it plus I shoot manual a lot so it doesn’t matter

[markschofield]

Thank you Hugh for yet another wonderful and insightful review. In a world that is too fast, it is lovely to sit back, relax and listen to you.

[rymdskrotet]

I get goosebumps looking at your videos. They have a good tempo, and everyting just seems, well - professional. No hysteric intromusic, no weird dramatic talking (almost). The best YT camera channel for me! Nothing comes near. thank you!!

[BMEP]

NEW update: Sony A7 II going back on sale at $999 CONFIRMED, beginning November 18th at multiple retailers!

[voyageruno]

I'm 200.000 shots in with my "old" AtII from 2014 and still in love with it. Honestly, if you combine it with quality glass (that you can keep for future upgrades) and you don't plan to shoot fast action (like sports or birds) it's almost a perfect camera. And at this price in comparison to the mad market these days? C'mon...it's just a steal.

[joemachrom]

Can I just say that I love the way you talk? Great content, keep up the great work!

[benjaminthorpe]

I feel I’ve just discovered a visual audio book of the photography world

[justinbuice]

This looks like a great deal for photographers, but for video, coming from the a6500, I think I’ll wait a year until the a7III gets discounted

[alfredbassDoP]

i just bought one, i think is amazing. its a great tool

[falgorn]

i sell cameras for a living and i have to say this is one of the best deals ive seen in years. Today alone i sold 3 of these kits. If you are new to photography this deal cant be beat, honetly getting a FF sensor at less than 1000$ is unheard of

[BMEP]

UPDATE: one of our viewers just wrote that Best Buy will have this sale again for Black Friday. If this is correct, those of you who missed it may be in luck. Keep an eye out!

[jfperkins]

I always appreciate your experienced and articulate commentary.

[markusi]

I know this video is 2 years old. Still watched it and just snapped up black friday deal a7ii with 28-70 lens for $740. I own a 6400 which i mainly use for video. Really want to get into FF photography though!

[russellrandolph]

I stumbled upon your video while researching this model. Wow. Very entertaining, funny and cerebral. Love the style.

[RS.Outdoors]

Started with an A6300 and went full frame to the A7ii and it is an excellent camera. Then got the a7r2 which would kill my computer when editing. The main issue I had is that I couldnt afford the the best quality full frame lenses and images just didnt seem that good. Sold it all and went back to the A6300 and got the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 And although it is a prime the image quality blows away the shots I got on my A7r2 with the 16-35 f4 in my opinion. I hope that Tamron bring out a new sharp 16-35 lens and if so I would move back to full frame with the a7ii or a7iii.