Sony A7 II Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha A7 II is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was revealed to the public in November 2014 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Sony A7 II a good camera? The A7 II has a Camera Elo of 2193. This rating puts the A7 II below average of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the A7 II also ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 2.5-star performance rating. – Well, the Sony A7 II is more than 10 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2014.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Sony A7 II vis-à-vis a credit card. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All width, height and depth dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A7 II alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony A7 II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	599 g	350	Y	Nov 2014	EUR 2 099	ebay.com
2.		Panasonic GH5	139 mm	98 mm	87 mm	725 g	410	Y	Jan 2017	EUR 1 999	ebay.com
3.		Sony A7	127 mm	94 mm	48 mm	474 g	340	Y	Oct 2013	EUR 1 499	ebay.com
4.		Sony A7 III	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	610	Y	Feb 2018	EUR 2 299	amazon.com
5.		Sony A7C	124 mm	71 mm	60 mm	509 g	740	Y	Sep 2020	EUR 2 099	amazon.com
6.		Sony A7R II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	625 g	290	Y	Jun 2015	EUR 3 499	ebay.com
7.		Sony A7S II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	627 g	370	Y	Sep 2015	EUR 3 399	ebay.com
8.		Sony A9	127 mm	96 mm	63 mm	673 g	650	Y	Apr 2017	EUR 5 299	ebay.com
9.		Sony A9 II	129 mm	96 mm	76 mm	678 g	690	Y	Oct 2019	EUR 5 399	amazon.com
10.		Sony A77	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	732 g	470	Y	Aug 2011	EUR 1 299	ebay.com
11.		Sony A77 II	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	647 g	480	Y	May 2014	EUR 1 199	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A7 II was launched in the US market at a price of $1,999. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A7 II offers at
ebay.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. All other things equal, a large sensor will have larger individual pixel-units that offer better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be associated with larger, more expensive camera bodies and lenses.

The Sony A7 II features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A7 II among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The following table provides an overview of the physical sensor characteristics, as well as the sensor quality measurements for a selection of alternatives.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A7 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.9	13.6	2449	90
2.		Panasonic GH5	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/60p	23.9	13.0	807	77
3.		Sony A7	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.8	14.2	2248	90
4.		Sony A7 III	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.7	3730	96
5.		Sony A7C	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.7	3407	95
6.		Sony A7R II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	13.9	3434	98
7.		Sony A7S II	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/30p	23.6	13.3	2993	85
8.		Sony A9	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.9	13.3	3517	92
9.		Sony A9 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.0	3434	93
10.		Sony A77	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.0	13.2	801	78
11.		Sony A77 II	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.4	13.4	1013	82

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but also of capturing video footage. The A7 II indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A7 II can use is 1080/60p.

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the A7 II has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2400k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.71x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Sony A7 II and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A7 II	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
2.		Panasonic GH5	3680	n	3.2 / 1620	swivel	Y	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
3.		Sony A7	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	n
4.		Sony A7 III	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
5.		Sony A7C	2360	n	3.0 / 922	swivel	Y	1/4000s	10.0/s	n	Y
6.		Sony A7R II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
7.		Sony A7S II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
8.		Sony A9	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
9.		Sony A9 II	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
10.		Sony A77	2359	Y	3.0 / 921	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	Y	Y
11.		Sony A77 II	2359	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	Y	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha A7 II is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One feature that differentiates the A7 II from many older cameras is in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The A7 II reduces the risk of handshake-induced blur with all attached lenses, while cameras without IBIS have to rely on optical image stabilization in OIS-equipped lenses to achieve the same effect.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha A7 II and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A7 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
2.		Panasonic GH5	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
3.		Sony A7	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
4.		Sony A7 III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
5.		Sony A7C	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	Y	Y
6.		Sony A7R II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
7.		Sony A7S II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
8.		Sony A9	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
9.		Sony A9 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
10.		Sony A77	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
11.		Sony A77 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-

It is notable that the A7 II has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A7 II can be found in the free online Sony A7 II Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the A7 II handle or perform in practice. User reviews that are available, for instance, at amazon can sometimes shed light on these issues, but such feedback is all too often partial, inconsistent, and inaccurate. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The adjacent table relays the overall verdicts of several of the most popular camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony A7 II	5/5	+	4/5	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Nov 2014	EUR 2 099	ebay.com
2.		Panasonic GH5	4.5/5	+ +	..	85/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jan 2017	EUR 1 999	ebay.com
3.		Sony A7	5/5	+ +	..	80/100	5/5	5/5	Oct 2013	EUR 1 499	ebay.com
4.		Sony A7 III	..	+ +	4.5/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2018	EUR 2 299	amazon.com
5.		Sony A7C	3.5/5	..	3.5/5	86/100	4/5	4/5	Sep 2020	EUR 2 099	amazon.com
6.		Sony A7R II	5/5	+ +	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Jun 2015	EUR 3 499	ebay.com
7.		Sony A7S II	5/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	5/5	Sep 2015	EUR 3 399	ebay.com
8.		Sony A9	5/5	+ +	4.8/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Apr 2017	EUR 5 299	ebay.com
9.		Sony A9 II	..	..	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Oct 2019	EUR 5 399	amazon.com
10.		Sony A77	5/5	91/100	..	81/100	..	5/5	Aug 2011	EUR 1 299	ebay.com
11.		Sony A77 II	4/5	..	..	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	May 2014	EUR 1 199	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. A score, therefore, has to be seen in close connection to the price and market introduction time of the camera, and rating-comparisons among cameras that span long time periods or concern very differently equipped models make little sense. Also, please note that some of the review sites have changed their methodology and reporting over time.

Check A7 II offers at
ebay.com

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just use the search menu below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

~

Did you notice an error on this page? If so, please get in touch, so that we can correct the information.

You are here:  Home  »  CAM-parator  »  Sony A7 II Review