It looks like the Sony A7 II specs have leaked out, which should replace the well-received Sony A7. The camera looks to get an improvement in the image stabilization and video departments.
What makes me raise my eyebrow the most is the inclusion of the XAVC S codec. There are no specs concerning video resolution of the A7 II; however, XAVC S is generally seen on Sony cameras that offer 4K video capture. Will Sony bring compressed, in-camera 4K video capture to the A7 line with the new A7 II?
See the full set of what appear to be leaked specs on the A7 II below.
Sony A7 II Leaked Specs
- 35mm full frame Exmor CMOS sensor
- 24.3MP resolution
- 5-axis in-camera shake correction
- 3.0-inch 1.23 million dot tilting LCD monitor
- 107 degrees upward
- tilt 41 degrees down
- EVF 0.5-inch 2.36 million dot
- ISO 100-25600 (extended with ISO 50)
- ISO 200-25600 (for video)
- Shutter speed 30s -1/8000s
- Battery life
- 270 shots for EVF use
- 350 shots for LCD monitor use
- Frame rates
- continuous shooting 2.5 frames / sec.
- When speed-priority continuous shooting 5 frames / sec
- Video formats: XAVC S, AVCHD, MP4
- Battery: NP-FW50
- Size 126.9mm x 95.7mm x 59.7mm
- Weight 599g (including battery and memory)
- Vertical position grip VG -C2EM (sold separately)
- Media Memory Stick PRO Duo / PRO-HG Duo / XC-HG Duo
- SD / SDHC / SDXC (UHS-I compatible)
I think we should see the A7 II and possibly more A7 models introduced at CES 2015 in January. Stay tuned for the latest.
[via DCI]
This would make it a direct competitor to the GH4, and personally think the Sony E-Mount is better than M4/3. As a stills camera, the A7 is really more of a 5DMk3 competitor than anything else, but changing or adding in-camera 4K (even if compressed) would be a great upgrade.
Early reviews on the Samsung 4K NX1 are decent, but the workflow with the H.265 codec is a massive pain at the moment. Maybe that will change in time, but it’s back to the days of converting footage before you can really do anything with it. At that point, I would consider shooting RAW or directly to ProRes using an AJA box – at least that workflow is reliable and pretty fast, considering. But if you have the money and budget for that, I’d be curious why someone would be shooting with that camera over something more film-centric.
Would be curious to know if they’re changing the lens bayonet mount to an all metal version based on some feedback from users with concerns over how the A7 was mounted. Will be interesting to see how this camera progresses. More impressive is the possible update cycle, which looks like it could be around 12-18 months… add to that the fact that Sony is LISTENING to it’s user base and it seems like a winning combination, on paper. Exciting things coming from Sony for sure with their “7” lines!
My RX100 mk3 have XAVCS, so I wouldn’t get my hopes too high.