A7RII vs A7SII

[a_squeakycat]

So I gather from reading some tidbits from various sites the A7RII trumps the A7SII for stills. And the A7SII is more geared toward video. I know the A7SII is an ISO monster but can someone explain to me why it's more suited to video and the A7RII would be favored by those mostly into stills ?

Thanks much

 

[tamas970]

Both are pretty recent cameras, being the A7S II only a month old - not much meaningful reviews yet...
Both does the same 4k video, however the 7rII relies on pixel binning while the 7sII simply has larger photosites. The 7sII inherited the sensor of the 7S thus I don't expect
much better low-light performance - which is on par with the 7rII.
I'd choose the 7rII of the two, if great optics provided, those 42MP can produce stellar stills, maybe better video too.

 

[a_squeakycat]

Both are pretty recent cameras, being the A7S II only a month old - not much meaningful reviews yet...
Both does the same 4k video, however the 7rII relies on pixel binning while the 7sII simply has larger photosites. The 7sII inherited the sensor of the 7S thus I don't expect
much better low-light performance - which is on par with the 7rII.
I'd choose the 7rII of the two, if great optics provided, those 42MP can produce stellar stills, maybe better video too.

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. Wouldn't the A7RII start showing noise a lot sooner than the A7SII ? ISO 1600 on the A7RII still looked very good from the sample I saw but what about higher, wouldn't the A7SII win out ?

 

[tamas970]

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. Wouldn't the A7RII start showing noise a lot sooner than the A7SII ? ISO 1600 on the A7RII still looked very good from the sample I saw but what about higher, wouldn't the A7SII win out ?

On the pixel level yes, the 7rII will be noisier. However in print/normalized size we shouldn't notice a difference. Since the 7rII does pixel binning this should stand to some extent for video too. This is all theory, here is a test vs the predecessor A7s (no 4k unfortunately), it seems, until ~6400 4k from the A7rII is fine, downsampled to fHD shows me more details than the native fHD from the A7s. Full test video (also in 4k) can be downloaded here.

AFAIK the A7sII uses the same sensor as the A7s, I don't expect a significant breakthrough here. At and below ISO3200 I'd certainly choose the A7rII for the added detail, above I'd invest in more video lights...Of course detail needs stellar optics too, which is not an easy task for wide angle video. There are some nice options around I hope to hold in my hand in the future, mounting a Nikonos 15mm would be the first.

I am still reluctant to enter the sony world (departing Olympus)- one definitely positive thing I saw that the A7rII fits in the A7II housing (less hassle, "cheap" camera upgrade!). Downside is that I have to carry twice the weight in lenses.

 

[a_squeakycat]

Thanks tamas970. I guess I'll have to do more thinking. Mainly want to get one or the other for topside. Still using my NEX-7 uw, can't justify housing another one

 

[tamas970]

The NEX7 is a strong base, it is difficult to justify any camera to replace it with. Simply put: you pay ~10k$ (body, housing, lenses, ports minus the sales value of your present system), you get: ~2stops for stills, 2stops and 2x the resolution for video.

Thanks tamas970. I guess I'll have to do more thinking. Mainly want to get one or the other for topside. Still using my NEX-7 uw, can't justify housing another one

 

[a_squeakycat]

The NEX7 is a strong base, it is difficult to justify any camera to replace it with. Simply put: you pay ~10k$ (body, housing, lenses, ports minus the sales value of your present system), you get: ~2stops for stills, 2stops and 2x the resolution for video.

Ahhhh, my wallet thinks you're right

 

[tamas970]

Half of the costs comes from the housing/ports side, I asked Ikelite if they plan to support the Alpha 7II line anytime soon. They have a refenrece for the A7 on their website, but that camera is history...

---------- Post added October 22nd, 2015 at 07:43 AM ----------

Just learned something new from this review: Four Days of 4K: Hands on with the Sony a7RII | explora It appears that the FF binning is faulty, it results noisier video even if it is using more pixels(or maybe not using them properly just line skipping?). Anyway, this tells me not to rush into the store and rob the bank for financing a new a7rII.