Test ResultsDesign Show  Height 3.8" (9.6 cm) Width 5.5" (13.9 cm) Depth 2.9" (7.3 cm) Volume 59.4 in³ (972.8 cm³) Weight 1.34 lbs (0.61 kg) The Sony a7II is fairly portable for a full-frame camera. It's a tad smaller and lighter than the Sony α7 III thanks to a slightly shallower handgrip but ultimately looks and feels very similar. The camera's build quality is great overall. It's made of durable hard plastic and magnesium alloy and feels sturdy. The buttons are clicky and provide good physical feedback. The SD card is covered by a spring-loaded locking door that feels secure, as is the battery. However, the inputs on the side of the camera are only covered by plastic tabs that click into place, and they feel a bit more vulnerable than more typical rubber flaps. Unlike newer models like the Sony α7 IV, the camera isn't weather-sealed at all. Body Type SLR-Style Water Resistance No Mirrorless Yes Rugged No Hot Shoe Yes Customizable Button Yes Command Dial 3 Tripod Mount Yes Lens Mount E-Mount Built-In Flash No Fastest Shutter Speed 1/8,000 s The design is similar to the Alpha models that came after the Sony α7 II, although some buttons are placed differently. For the most part, the layout feels very familiar to other Sony cameras.
Hand Grip: Small Hand Yes Hand Grip: Medium Hand Yes Hand Grip: Large Hand Yes Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand No The Sony Alpha 7 II has great ergonomics, although it can feel cramped for those with very large hands, with fingers hanging off the bottom of the body. It has a more rubbery texture around the grip than its successor, giving it a slightly more secure feel in the hand. The buttons are also well-placed for the most part, with several custom buttons that make it easy to tailor the camera to your own shooting preferences. However, the video record button is somewhat awkwardly placed near the thumbrest. Viewfinder Type Electronic Advertised Coverage 100% Advertised Resolution 2.36 million dots Advertised Magnification 0.71 The electronic viewfinder (EVF) is nice and big, with a comfortable rubber eyecup. However, the EVF has a slightly lower magnification than that of the Sony α7 III, so your view will appear slightly smaller through the viewfinder than it does to the naked eye. Still, its resolution is good, with a 2.36 million dot display. While more and more cameras are have surpassed that in the years since this camera's release, it's still a fairly common EVF resolution and provides a pretty crisp view. Screen Articulation Type Tilting Screen Max Brightness 990 cd/m² Advertised Resolution 1.23 million dots Size 3.0" (7.5 cm) Touchscreen No The camera has a tilting screen, which is great for waist-level shots. It's a lot brighter than the screen on the Sony α7 III, which is great for sunny days. It has an even higher resolution, but that comes at the expense of not having any touch capability, which can get annoying if you want to quickly change settings in the menu or change your focus point. Guide Mode Yes App Name Imaging Edge Mobile The Sony α7 II uses an older version of Sony's user interface, which isn't all that great, especially compared to the new and improved menu introduced with the Sony α7S III. The menu on the α7 II even lacks some of the more useful touches found on the still-mediocre interface of the α7 III, like the 'My Menu', which lets you save specific settings in a separate custom menu for easier access. It's not entirely unusable, but settings aren't very logically organized and often buried in non-descript submenus. On the upside, it has a useful 'In-Camera Guide' feature to explain what some settings do. Bafflingly, however, you must first map that feature to a button to access it. Maximum Aperture No built-in lens Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent) N/A Minimum Focal Length N/A Maximum Focal Length N/A Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent) N/A Optical Image Stabilization No Luminance N/A Light Falloff N/A Sensor Type CMOS Advertised Effective Pixels 24.3 MP Sensor Size Full Frame Processor BIONZ X Extended ISO Minimum 50 Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO) 100 Native ISO Maximum 25,600 Tested Firmware Ver. 4.01 The camera uses a 24.3-megapixel full-frame sensor with the same BIONZ X processor as the newer Sony α7 III. That said, it isn't backside-illuminated like the α7 III and newer cameras, so the light-gathering ability of the pixels isn't as efficient. Note that, although Sony Japan released a statement in December 2021 suggesting that the α7 II was being discontinued due to parts shortages, stock is still available as of the time of writing. However, the last firmware update for the camera was on May 15, 2019. Battery Type Sony NP-FW50 USB Charging Yes Power Delivery While Recording No Advertised Battery Life In Photo 350 photos Tested Battery Life In Video 104 min The camera's battery life is okay. It's CIPA-rated for 350 shots on a full charge when using the display and 270 shots when shooting through the EVF. CIPA ratings don't always reflect real-world usage, so take those numbers with a grain of salt. It doesn't have a particularly long battery life relative to other mirrorless cameras. However, depending on your settings and shooting habits, you could still get a fair amount of use out of the camera before it dies. Since the camera can't record in 4k, we tested the video battery life in FHD. It lasts a fairly long time in video mode. However, it's still shorter than the Sony α7 III's battery life in 4k, so that newer battery does make a notable difference. Photo General Low Speed Continuous 4 fps High Speed Continuous 5 fps Silent Shooting Continuous N/A Raw Buffer Size 11 Photos JPEG Buffer Size 65 Photos Buffer Empty Time 13 s This is one of the areas where the Sony a7 II shows its age. With a max burst rate of just 5 fps, it's much slower than the Sony α7 III and newer cameras that are increasingly faster. There's also no silent/electronic shutter mode, which is unfortunate and makes it harder to take photos in settings where discretion is required. The buffer isn't very deep, either, especially if you shoot in RAW. It's a little better with JPEGs, but you won't get to shoot continuously for long before the camera slows down. It also takes a fairly long time to empty its buffer once full. Perfect Focus Hit Rate 35% Usable Focus Hit Rate 56% While the Sony α7 II had an impressive autofocus system in its heyday, it falls far short of the standard set by the Sony cameras that have followed. With 119 phase-detection AF points, coverage is good, but the tracking system is nowhere near as sophisticated as the increasingly AI-driven autofocus systems that we've seen on cameras like the Sony α7 IV or Sony ZV-E1. Tracking on the α7 II is called 'Locked-on AF' and as far as performance goes, it can track moving subjects fairly well in less busy scenarios, when you have just a single subject in the frame. However, because the camera lacks a touchscreen, there's no way to manually select a particular subject if there happens to be more than one face in the frame, so you're at the mercy of what the camera decides to focus on. Alternatively, if you want a little bit more control, you can use the 'Flexible Spot' or 'Zone' area modes to narrow down the focus area. In the 'Wide' area mode, the camera continually prioritized the mannequin head in the foreground over our moving human subject, so we used the 'Flexible Spot' mode to get the results above. It's worth noting that you're likely to get a better hit rate in a more straightforward scenario, but overall, the AF isn't the most reliable. Autofocus Center Point Shots Perfect Focus Hit Rate 60% Usable Focus Hit Rate 76% When using a single focus point for AF-C, the camera is a lot more sluggish than newer models. The AF just isn't fast enough to seamlessly keep up with moving subjects the way it does on, say, the Sony α7 III or later models. Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved 1/10 s In-Body Image Stabilization Yes The camera has in-body image stabilization, and it works well to help reduce camera shake, particularly if you use a lens with 'Optical SteadyShot' as well. We managed to get clear handheld shots at very slow shutter speeds using the FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens. That said, stabilization performance can vary depending on many different factors, including the lens, focal length, and how steady your hands are. Photo Image Quality Dynamic Range At Base ISO 11.1 f-stops Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time 9.8 f-stops Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time 7.4 f-stops Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time 6.8 f-stops The camera has excellent RAW dynamic range and still largely holds up compared to newer sensors. It can capture a wide range of shadow and highlight detail, which is ideal for high-contrast scenes and gives you more leeway to shoot in trickier lighting without losing detail. Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 2,041 LW/PH Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 2,574 LW/PH The camera's high-resolution sensor does an amazing job of resolving fine detail. There's plenty of detail and sharpness even when you zoom in or crop your photos. SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms) 34.0dB SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms) 31.9 dB SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms) 27.6 dB SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms) 22.2dB The camera's noise management in low light is good, especially for an older camera. Noise does look notably more apparent than it does on the Sony α7 III, but it still performs well overall. However, one thing to note is that the limits of the older sensor are also more apparent here. The Sony α7 II maxes out at ISO 25600, while the α7 III, for example, maxes out at ISO 51200. That makes it possible to shoot at faster shutter speeds with very little light hitting the sensor. You don't have quite as much low-light capability in that sense with the α7 II, but in most situations, a 25600 ISO is more than adequate. Pictures Sample Gallery Video General Full HD Video Yes 4k Video No 6k Video No Clean HDMI Output Yes Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI Not Advertised Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI N/A Log Picture Profile Yes Recording Light No The Sony Alpha 7 II can only record video in a max resolution of 1080p. This camera isn't designed for advanced video work, so video specs and features are slim compared to newer hybrid cameras. That said, you still have the option to shoot with the S-Log2 gamma curve to preserve a wider range of detail in your footage. Overall, it can still capture relatively high-quality FHD video—just don't expect the latest features, like 10-bit capture and high-efficiency codecs. Audio Recording Stereo Microphone Level Display Yes MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC Yes MP4 H.265 / HEVC No MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC No MOV H.265 / HEVC No AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC Yes All-I Compression No 4k Video 240 fps In 4k No 120 fps In 4k No 60 fps In 4k No 30 fps In 4k No 24 fps In 4k No 4k Crop At Max Available fps N/A The Sony a7II doesn't support 4k video recording. Bitrate Maximum In 4k N/A Bitrate Minimum In 4k N/A Chroma Sampling In 4k No Bit Depth In 4k 0 Bit Record Time Limit In 4k 0 min Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k N/A The Sony a7II doesn't support 4k video recording. Object Tracking In 4k Face Tracking In 4k Face Detection In 4k No Eye Detection In 4k No The Sony a7II doesn't support 4k video recording. Low Light Capability In 4k Test Scene Extract In 4k N/A The Sony a7II doesn't support 4k video recording. 4k Rolling Shutter N/A The Sony a7II doesn't support 4k video recording. Full HD Video 240 fps In FHD No 120 fps In FHD No 60 fps In FHD Yes 30 fps In FHD Yes 24 fps In FHD Yes FHD Crop At Max Available fps 1 x The Sony Alpha 7 II can capture 1080p video at up to 60 fps without a crop. That's pretty good, allowing you to capture smooth footage and slow things down slightly in post. However, the camera lacks higher frame rate options that would be better suited to creating slow-motion videos. Bitrate Maximum In FHD 50 Mbps Bitrate Minimum In FHD 21 Mbps Chroma Sampling In FHD 4:2:0 Bit Depth In FHD 8 Bit Record Time Limit in FHD 30 min The camera's internal recording capability is good but nothing special in today's video-centric market. Though it supports Log recording with S-Log2, the camera is limited to 8-bit 4:2:0 capture. That's okay for less demanding video projects, but you won't have as much flexibility to push your footage and color grade as you would with 10-bit video. There's also a pretty standard 30-minute recording time limit. Recent cameras are increasingly doing away with these time limits, but it's still fine for shorter takes. Object Tracking In FHD Face Tracking In FHD Face Detection In FHD Yes Eye Detection In FHD No The autofocus is decent in video mode, although it's very bare-bones regarding settings. The camera supports face detection but doesn't have more precise eye tracking and lacks any options for subject detection. The face tracking works quite well overall, though it isn't seamless—it can sometimes be a bit slow to catch up if a subject moves too quickly or pops in and out of frame. If you want to manually select a subject, your options are limited. You have to stick with 'Center Lock-on AF', which uses a single center focus point and locks on after half-pressing the shutter. That means you must focus and recompose the shot to capture a subject off-center. While fairly accurate, it's slow to adjust focus after a subject or object moves. Low Light Capability In FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD The camera's FHD video quality is decent. It isn't as sharply rendered as newer cameras, but it's still very usable. It performs surprisingly well in low light, retaining a fair amount of detail. Note: Due to the addition of a new light source in the hallway we use to evaluate low-light video quality, it's all but impossible to provide a meaningful comparison in video quality between this camera and any other cameras tested before this change in environment. To compensate, we also recorded a sample in a darker part of the garage, which you can see here, and based our score on how it performed overall across both sample videos. FHD Rolling Shutter 4.7° Rolling shutter effect is fairly noticeable with panning camera movements. It isn't terrible, but you'll see some skewed verticals and wobble effect with quick side-to-side movement. Storage And Connectivity Card 1 Slot SD Card UHS-I Card 2 Slot No 2nd Card Slot The Sony α7 II has just a single UHS-I SD card slot, which is also compatible with Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo. While the lack of a backup slot may disappoint those who are used to dual SD cards, it isn't too surprising, given the camera's age. Thankfully, the slot is easily accessible on the side of the camera, so you can switch out cards even when using a tripod. USB Micro USB HDMI Micro (Type D) Headphones Yes Microphone Stereo Wi-Fi Yes Bluetooth No The camera uses an older Micro USB port for charging and file transfer. There's no Bluetooth capability, but it does support WiFi if you prefer to transfer files wirelessly. It also includes both a headphone and mic jack and a Micro HDMI port to connect an external display. Is the Sony A7 II any good?The Sony A7 II is a great camera. Once programed, it shoots fast, focuses and shoots in any light with ease. How old is Sony A7 II?The α7 II was announced in November 2014, and is the first in the family to revise the original body and ergonomics. The α7C introduced an even more compact form factor, being the smallest full-frame camera with in-body image stabilization. What are the benefits of Sony A7 II?Excellent sharpness with few sharpening artifacts. Very good dynamic range. Very good high ISO performance, particularly in RAW files. Excellent 5-axis image stabilization. Is Sony A7 Mark II full frame?The a7 II has a full frame 24.3 MP Exmor CMOS sensor. This gives a maximum resolution of 4000 x 6000 pixels. |
