It was an inevitable announcement, and today we finally got it: the Sony a7S II has been introduced with internal 4K.
[This post will be updated frequently]
Building off the stellar quality of the a7S, the a7S II has better internal processing to handle shooting 4K up to 30fps straight to the SD cards. Another first for this series, the a7S II is capable of shooting 120fps at 1080p. While the other internal 4K Sony camera, the a7R II, has fantastic image quality, it's not nearly as good in low-light as the a7S, and that's really where the a7S II is going to stand out, especially now that you no longer need a 4K recorder. The a7S II is going to come in at $3,000, and should be available this fall.
Check out some 4K footage from this camera:
The specs:
- Full-frame 35mm 12.2 Megapixel Sensor
- Full Pixel Readout (no binning) of Entire Sensor Means No Aliasing
- Shoot 4K UHD Using the Full-Frame Image Area
- 3840 x 2160: 30 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps
- 1920 x 1080: 120 fps, 100 fps
- 1920 x 1080: 60 fps, 50 fps, 30 fps, 25 fps, 24 fps
- XAVC S 4K: 3840 x 2160 (30p/100Mbps, 30p/60Mbps, 24p/100Mbps, 24p/60Mbps)
- XAVC S HD: 1920 x 1080 (60p/50Mbps, 30p/50Mbps, 24p/50Mbps, 120p/100Mbps, 120p/60Mbps)
- AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (60p/28Mbps/PS, 60i/24Mbps/FX, 60i/17Mbps/FH, 24p/24Mbps/FX, 24p/17Mbps/FH)
- MP4: 1920 x 1080 (60p/28Mbps, 30p/16Mbps), 1280 x 720 (30p/6Mbps)
- ISO 100 – 102400, Expandable to ISO 50-409600
- 0.5" 2.36m-Dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder EVF
- S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3
- New Gamma Assist Display
- Enhanced Zebra Function
- HDMI Output: [NTSC] 3840 x 2160 (30p/24p) / 1920 x 1080 (60p/24p) / 1920 x 1080 (60i), YCbCr 4:2:2 8bit/ RGB 8bit
- 5-Axis Image Stabilization
- 30 Minute Clip Length
- Availability: Fall 2015
- Price: $3,000
Here's a look at 120fps on the camera:
Autofocus with movies:
Here's a look at the 5-Axis stabilization:
You can pre-order the camera right now from B&H.
Your Comment
87 Comments
same sensor as a7s
September 11, 2015 at 1:57AM
Fine by me
September 11, 2015 at 11:55AM
Finally!!
September 11, 2015 at 2:10AM, Edited September 11, 2:10AM
not a big difference to the A7r II i think...
September 11, 2015 at 2:13AM
A7Rii: 42 Megapixel sensor(more detail), iso 800 for slog(easier to use)
A7Sii: 12 megapixel sensor(better low light), 1080p 120fps(better slow mo), Slog-3 (better grading)
Those are the big differences in general. It really depends what kind of shooter you are
September 11, 2015 at 7:17AM
Does that mean that the A7Rii has more alliasing/moure?
September 11, 2015 at 8:24AM, Edited September 11, 8:23AM
a7rii will have some moire in fullframe mode not in s35 mode. A7s wont in fullframe
September 11, 2015 at 9:36AM
a7rii will have moire in fullframe mode not in s35 mode(cropped)
September 11, 2015 at 9:37AM
Yet they still put that awesome video sensor into a camera designed for still photography.
September 11, 2015 at 2:16AM
This will be the camera everyone will want! The price will not drop on this thing for a long time. Did you see the shot at 0:42 in the main promo video though? Looks like rolling shutter is going to be a huge problem in 4K.
September 11, 2015 at 2:26AM
I think those jitters are the IBIS at work.
September 11, 2015 at 2:36AM
The a7s could only do 60 fps 1080p, while this one does 120fps 1080p. If that is a full sensor readout on the 120fps, then rolling shutter should be improved.
September 11, 2015 at 6:37AM
120fps is a full sensor readout
September 11, 2015 at 7:18AM
I think the jitter looks like the camera's autofocus. It looks like the same jitter in the autofocus vid below it.
September 11, 2015 at 9:30AM
hope this one will be weather proof - with that could see myself swapping from my GH4
September 11, 2015 at 2:26AM, Edited September 11, 2:26AM
Is the AF finally going to be usable?
September 11, 2015 at 2:42AM
İt seems very usable to me
September 11, 2015 at 7:15AM, Edited September 11, 7:18AM
"New Gamma Assist Display" - some kind of preview LUT?
September 11, 2015 at 2:56AM, Edited September 11, 2:56AM
I feel weird with this camera, also i felt the same with the A7s.. Is like the low lights have no quality / detail at all.. Maybe is the internet compression or maybe im too used to the BMPCC in RAW where the low lights are beautiful, when you expose correctly..
I m not in love with it by the moment.. Of course i like all the nice new features that the camera has.. Slow mo.. 4K.. But for me a nice and strong image is more important in most of the projects..
September 11, 2015 at 3:06AM
I don't think that for more or less the same price anything can beat any of the Black Magic cams as they shoot in a much better codec and color space.
September 11, 2015 at 4:37AM
I think that no quality detail at all is due to web compression. Compression always favors brighter parts because it is easier to compress already dark and low detail parts of a footage. I doubt that BMPCC would be anywhere close to how a7sii performance in say 6400 iso. Raw and 12bit are great things on blackmagic cameras but they have different purposes. You have to have a more controlled lighting for blackmagic cameras. Just saying, if you think blackmagic has advantages(and it sure has) a7sii has 1080p 120 fps 4K ibis lowlight fullframe and so on... There are pros and cons for both cameras...
September 11, 2015 at 7:15AM, Edited September 11, 7:19AM
Hmm... I dunno what it is, but I feel like I exepected more from this camera.
The highlights and saturated colors looked dead awful in that slow mo vid. I mean... really awful.
And what was up with those jitters in the slide shot? Hopefully that is either an idiot pulling the sled or a function you can disable.
It looks nice in 4k, but even on a 4k monitor it's not like I'm going "wauw that's amazing!"
Is it only 4:2:2 in hdmi out? Or will it do it internally as well.... really can't see why we can't get rid of that 4:2:0 bs we've been stuck with for years in dslr's.
September 11, 2015 at 3:43AM, Edited September 11, 3:44AM
I know what you mean but a lot of that may be due to the filming process and to the very 2009-cell-phone-in-HDR-mode color grading.
September 11, 2015 at 5:42AM, Edited September 11, 5:42AM
Knowing how good a7s was, I can only assume that it is because of the grading and overexposing. Many cinematographers would probebly shoot in slog-3, not overexpose anything, and then grade it to perfection. Would really love to see some test footage from good cinematographers when it gets released, can't really judge from this demo footage.
September 11, 2015 at 7:11AM
STILL............8 bit color depth!
September 11, 2015 at 3:53AM
8bit 4K = 10bit HD
September 11, 2015 at 11:58AM
That's a common misconception.
Actually, if you break it down, it's pretty obvious that a video recorded with 8 bits of color data per channel can't suddenly generate more color values than it has when it was recorded just because it was downsized. 4:2:0 can become 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 through downscaling, but that's because those are proportions of color detail; they measure detail, not range.
Some have said that downscailing from 4K to HD can produce the equivalent of 10-bit luma (which is not the same thing as a true 10-bit file). I have a hard time figuring out how that could work, though, without having the computer estimate its own brightness values – ones that weren't recorded by the camera – through some sort of effects, edits, or other modifications applied prior to downscaling. Either way, the end result is not the same as actually having 10 bits of data from the beginning.
September 11, 2015 at 9:08PM
8bit = One out of every four pixels has color detail.
4K has approximately four times as many pixels as HD.
That's easy math.
September 14, 2015 at 8:12AM
You are wrong Josh. 4:2:0 means: One out of every four pixels has color detail. 8 bits means: Each composant (Y, Cb, Cr) can have 256 values (from 0 to 255). 10 bits means each composant can have 1024 values (from 0 to 1023). That's four times more information. When you downscale from 4K to HD, it is indeed possible to sum for each composant the 8bits information of 4 pixels and get a 10bits "superpixel". But as Mr Blah points out, when recording in 8 bits, a lot of information is lost for ever (especially in very dark and very bright area of the image) and cannot be reconstructed at all.
September 26, 2015 at 3:41AM
Looks like a nice upgrade. I hope the 4K doesn't have the overheating problem the A7R II does. Too bad the 4K is still 8-bit. ( hopefully 10-bit to an external recorder )
September 11, 2015 at 6:11AM, Edited September 11, 6:11AM
External HDMI is still 8-bit like the previous model.
September 11, 2015 at 7:19AM
Anyone know if we're still stuck at 3200 ISO when shooting S-log?
September 11, 2015 at 6:54AM
S-log 3 1600 iso
September 11, 2015 at 7:09AM
According to the sony rep you see in this video, the A7S II native ISO has been reduced to 1600 ISO. She mentions this at about the 3:50 mark in the following video...
https://vimeo.com/138963542
September 11, 2015 at 7:18AM
Very disappointed.... I was hoping that the A7s II would be a drastic upgrade from the A7r II in terms of video performance, but it isn't a huge difference. Of course film people would prefer this over the A7r due to S-log3 (but not CineEI mode like FS7 I don't think) and 120 fps HD. But I was hoping that this would be 4:2:2 10bit, it's still 8 bit 4:2:0..... it's really bad. And just UHD not even 60p.
I don't see a reason to upgrade from A7s Mark I since if I want 4K stuff I will just use my FS7 anyway.
September 11, 2015 at 7:29AM, Edited September 11, 7:29AM
Having just finished working on a feature using the FS7, the CineEI + Slog3.cine is pretty darn impressive! I wish CineEI is available in the a7S II and also the FS5. It is a great way to shoot once you learn what it can do.
September 16, 2015 at 7:47PM
I agree completely, can't go back once you start using CineEI, every other Sony without it has that Sony video look
September 20, 2015 at 6:36PM
Battery life? That should be an improvement, for God's sake.
September 11, 2015 at 7:31AM, Edited September 11, 7:31AM
No DCI 4K internally or externally ?
September 11, 2015 at 8:22AM
I was hoping to see that too. . .
September 11, 2015 at 8:09PM
I'm afraid to ask, but has the battery life improved? I can only guess it hasn't because that packed MORE into this camera than the orignal A7s and it doesn't look like the body or battery has been redesigned. Still, I look forward to trying one if I get the chance. That low light performance.
September 11, 2015 at 8:26AM, Edited September 11, 8:26AM
This might sound weird to some. But I'd prefer a 5Dmk4 even with super 1080/60p, C-Log2 and therefore 422 10bit HDMI out anytime over the A7sII.
September 11, 2015 at 8:26AM, Edited September 11, 8:26AM
do you really think canon would put that into the 5Dmk4? I'm not holding my breath. 1080/60 is the only sure thing
September 11, 2015 at 11:02AM
C-log could realistically be implemented, maybe in a 5Dc that'd bring 4K/30 and 1080/60. 10bit hdmi out is still just a wish though.
September 11, 2015 at 1:44PM
Lord, prepare my pocketbook for the damage it is about to endure.
September 11, 2015 at 8:30AM
I love that sweet 8 bit internal......
September 11, 2015 at 9:09AM
it will be cool if this camera could shoot in 4*3 aspect ratio for standard widescreen when using x2 anamorphic lenses/adapters
September 11, 2015 at 9:15AM
It's amazing that Sony can put out such an amazing camera at this price, and people still complain and call it garbage. The only complaint we should have with this camera is that the record button hasn't changed!!!
September 11, 2015 at 9:54AM, Edited September 11, 9:54AM
If you're not putting a $40,000 camera's features into your $4000 camera, then your camera is TRASH.
-NFS commenter
September 11, 2015 at 10:39AM, Edited September 11, 10:39AM
Kind of comical... Reality checks are needed... these are companies in business to stay in business.. aka make money, have different products at different price points for different needs... And compare it to what Canon is doing, gimme a break... Sony is kicking ass in almost every segment right now, and I believe they will only continue to separate themselves on technology superiority..
September 11, 2015 at 11:41AM, Edited September 11, 11:41AM
Yeah Sony is kicking ass, it's own ass. The only camera this competes against is the A7s and A7RII. Photographers are still going to buy Canon or Nikon, video professionals are still going to buy a higher end video camera. I don't see GH4 owners switching to full frame and nixing all their lenses. This is strictly a camera Sony made to please the commentators on NFS.
September 11, 2015 at 2:33PM
Haha, I know, jeez. People really need reality checks. They want a camera that gives them blow jobs, lights the set by itself, makes actors and crew nail takes in one shot, make vanilla lattes, and win Oscars, etc.
What 90% of the haters really need to learn is how to shoot and actually create content. We creatives are living in an amazing age where companies are competing like crazy to get our business. Just listen to Scorsese and even Robert Rodriguez when they barely had access to decent film-making technology to make their earlier flicks.
September 11, 2015 at 2:57PM
Gosh I wanna sell my A7s.... STOP IT!!!
September 11, 2015 at 10:05AM, Edited September 11, 10:05AM
WOW, on paper the technical details of this camera look terrific, but somehow I do not really like the colors coming out of the Sony A7 camera's. They look either too videoish or too flat/blueish. Or is that just me? Perhaps it is the 8 bit 4:2:0 limitation.
I would love to love this camera! Not sure yet tho. I'l stick with my GH4 for a while more AND I will take a good look at the Blackmagic URSA Mini. That has a superior codec (HQ Prores) and 12 bit dynamic range (fully available in RAW, no LOG tricks needed) Cheers!
September 11, 2015 at 10:33AM, Edited September 11, 10:33AM
I'm totally with you on this. The colour looks a bit crushed and I think it's that prosumer grade codec. A big let down. I was waiting too, but I'm going to wait a bit longer...
September 11, 2015 at 11:41PM
I bought my Samsung NX1 in the interim while I was waiting for this camera. Now that it's here I really think I'm going to stick with my NX1. Sure, there are a few things about this camera that are better, but I LOVE my NX1. It shoots true cinema 4k, the h.265 codec is an advantage in my opinion, and it's a far better stills camera,.....not to mention it's HALF the price. I'm not knockin' the A7s II though. Looks like a bitchin' camera.
September 11, 2015 at 10:54AM, Edited September 11, 10:54AM
RGB 8bit.... LOL! Who need it? WE want 14 or 16 bit in now days...
September 11, 2015 at 11:21AM
I know nothing about photography. After reading the specs and watching the videos. I want to try this camera out so bad. So, let me start saving.
September 11, 2015 at 12:35PM, Edited September 11, 12:35PM
What I can see is that Slog3 is slightly overexposed compared to the Slog2 clips, and that's why the Slog3 footage seems to look better than the Slog2's, I can get the same footage by changing exposure. And the color depths is still 8bit weather internal or HDMI out. So...nothing to buy here : P
September 11, 2015 at 6:48PM
So, it's essentially the a7S sensor in the a7 II body and with internal 4K.
That's pretty much what most people were expecting, but I was sort of hoping, especially after seeing the a7R, that they'd go a little bit beyond just the basics.
I like that they added 1080p120, a Gamma Display Assist, adjusted the zebra-striping, and have continued to use a full-pixel readout, though I was expecting other relatively simple upgrades like DCI 4K and maybe an anamorphic mode. Most of all, I was hoping for 10-bit color output via HDMI. Especially for a camera shooting professional log gammas like S-log3, I would think 10-bit would be almost essential to be able to recover proper color and contrast from the resulting images.
While it seemed somewhat unlikely, I was also hoping they would apply the same BSI sensor tech to the a7S and release it with about 16 MP and even better low light, but I can't have everything, I guess :-P – maybe next time.
September 11, 2015 at 7:53PM
Can someone please clarify this for me:
If I want to shoot 4k internal or 120fps HD, then I have to be using a full frame lens on the A7Sii?
September 11, 2015 at 9:30PM, Edited September 11, 9:30PM
does anyone know the answer to this?
September 13, 2015 at 11:51AM
On paper I must admit I'm a bit worried about just how useful the 8bit 4:2:0 log footage will be for grading, how far can we push it to get it where it needs to be?
Hopefully it wont start falling apart too easily
September 11, 2015 at 11:29PM, Edited September 11, 11:29PM
I was praying for a much better codec upgrade. We've been given XAVC-S (the consumer grade XAVC) with 4:2:0, 8-bit compression. What a let down. On top of that, still only 8-bit output to a recorder. Come on Sony! You have a world class full frame sensor and you are killing it with crappy compression. This is not rocket science. You have the chips. You do 10-bit/4:2:2 internally with the PXW-X70 (which is cheaper), so why not the A7S II?
September 11, 2015 at 11:32PM, Edited September 11, 11:36PM
It's a (very high end) consumer camera, therefore a consumer grade codec and such... This is the camera people will ditch their DSLRs for in order to video their children and take occasional stills. Many of my friends or their spouses are making this change.
I'm sure some professionals here will be able to fit it into part of their workflow, but I don't think it is meant to be a professional video or stills camera. Surely there are better tools out there.
September 12, 2015 at 1:35AM
I think what is defined as "consumer level" has now become pretty blurred. We've seen A7S footage on Nation Geographic documentaries and the like. If I bought this with 3 decent primes for video we're talking minimum $7-8k. I'd expect a decent video codec for that. Yet the so-called professional PXW-X70 for $2K records 10bit 4:2:2 internally. Go figure.
September 12, 2015 at 7:21AM
I don't see how the cost of additional prime lenses should factor at all into whether or not this camera has 8/10 bit for it's price. You keep referencing the X70, but that has a 1" chip compared to the full frame sensor in the a7sii, so that isn't a fair apples to apples comparison.
February 1, 2016 at 6:53AM
Really great camera, a bit expensive though. I'm using NX1 for a feature doc and does most of the things this one does (apart from low light, 5 axis) and for half the price. My lenses are all S35 so migrating to FF could get quite expensive. I'll wait for A7s iii or NX2 for 4k 120fps. Why everybody moaning about 8 bit? What are you shooting? Can't you expose properly?
September 12, 2015 at 2:40AM
Why is everyone in the comments saying it's 4:2:0 8-bit when the spec in the article says it's 4:2:2 8-bit, just like the a7s is?
September 12, 2015 at 2:48AM
they might talk about internal recording whereas you refer to external recording.
September 12, 2015 at 4:30AM
Thanks, that's what I thought it might be. It seems a shame that the two should differ, because if you want 4:2:2 you still have the added expense of an external recorder.
September 12, 2015 at 5:19AM
Personally, I'm not able to tell a difference between 420 and 422 footage while grading it. Its advantages are so minor that most people keep asking for it, because "its a thing" and not because they actually see an advantage in it. To me its a leftover from interlaced times...
Now, 10bit on the other hand is an entirely different story. this i need badly and i was kinda hoping that the A7sII would deliver. Sadly it didn't.
September 12, 2015 at 1:24PM
Has anybody some input why companies are struggling so hard to implement 10bit video? is it a licensing thing? because i really dont get why this thing still doesnt feature 10bit.
the A7sII is a small upgrade compared to the A7rII. i was probably expecting too much. The A7rII still seems like the much better camera for video work.
September 12, 2015 at 4:27AM
They are protecting their higher end cameras and also giving themselves an upgrade path for future models. For example: the new Sony FS5 doesn't shoot 10-bit 4:2:2 in 4K mode, but the FS7 does.
September 12, 2015 at 6:57AM
Not sure what you mean by higher end. And what's with these arbitrary categories anyway? The A7S has found a professional niche. Rigged out with a basic set of set of video primes wouldn't leave much change from $10k. Come on. The codec sucks and it's well within Sony's capabilities to do better.
September 12, 2015 at 7:32AM
With Canon, Panasonic, Sony "higher-end" usually means "prosumer" to their professional cameras and the price point used to start at $5K and up.
Pretty much all cameras priced at the Sony FS7 price point or higher ( $8K+ ) support 10-bit 4:2:2 recording. ( the Sony FS5 supports this but only for 1080 HD shooting )
I don't think there are any DSLR / Mirrorless hybrid cameras that can record 10-bit 4:2:2 internally. ( the Pansonic GH4 supports 10-bit 4:2:2 externally ) The only exception at this price point are the Blackmagic cine cameras that don't shoot still photos. This is Blackmagic's own niche market, and it doesn't look like any of the major camera brands are going to try and compete with them.
September 12, 2015 at 8:40AM, Edited September 12, 8:43AM
The question "what is higher end" was purely rhetorical. I'm attempting to highlight certain absurdities in current market sector thinking. All the information you provide is well understood (thanks for helping me to make to my point), and underlies my irritation with the status quo. I would like it to be otherwise. Beside showing the rather obvious spots on the tiger, so to speak, I'm not sure what point you are trying to make, other than that this is tactical marketing by the big boys. Hmm...why didn't I think of that? Meanwhile, there are pro film makers such as Renan Ozturk who will sometimes use this camera over an Red Epic due to its form factor. Yes - it needs a better codec.
September 12, 2015 at 12:23PM, Edited September 12, 12:27PM
Going out on a limb but I think by "higher end" he probably means "higher end". Arbitrary categories? Really?? Why on earth would we expect to get the same features on lower priced models? In which industry on earth does this happen?? Good luck changing that.
September 13, 2015 at 6:02AM, Edited September 13, 6:07AM
Yes, really: PXW-70, entry level Sony XDCAM pro video camera series, 10-bit 4:2:2 in camera recording, cost ~$2.5k for the 4K version.
Yes, and thanks for wishing me good luck. Never liked boxes. I prefer to rattle the walls a bit.
September 13, 2015 at 12:12PM
is 4k internal and 120fps HD limited for use with full-frame lenses then?
September 12, 2015 at 7:07AM, Edited September 12, 7:07AM
This is so frustrating. I am very close to buying a GH4. I still feel it is a great deal for $1300. I thought, "hey, if I want some great low light shots, I can save up later and get an A7s"
But now, the A7s II does not have the same low light performance, and is $3000 (predicted to stay at that price point for some time?)
I don't know... I wish I saw this as an easy decision. 1300 is a lot less than 3000. Anyone think the same?
September 12, 2015 at 2:25PM, Edited September 12, 2:25PM
Absolutely.
September 12, 2015 at 4:34PM, Edited September 12, 4:34PM
I am finding A7S's low light ability to be extremely helpful. Just shot this catwalk video at ISO 25,000:
https://instagram.com/p/7mHPbskFwb/?taken-by=zakrividoroga
The guys with the ISO 2,000 cameras kept asking the hostess to get the house lights up and got told to make do.
The original video I have is sharp and handles grading very well. Once Insta gets hold of it somehow it gets softer and I can see artifacts that are not in the original video -- this is probably me messing up the upload.
September 13, 2015 at 10:25PM
Oh hey, it's the A7s that should have come out the first time. Congratz sony!
September 14, 2015 at 5:40AM
Why you should rent the A7s ii
www.customcoastalproductions.com/blog/a7sii
September 21, 2015 at 5:03PM, Edited September 21, 5:03PM
This versus GH4 ...what makes it better besides the low light? Or nothing at all?
September 30, 2015 at 11:05AM, Edited September 30, 11:05AM
the sensor stabilization is the selling point for me! The GH4 still have better battery life and 4:3 aspect ratio over the A7sII but I can live with the battery especially because you can use a dummy battery/charge through USB port.
I'm sure a firmware update will bring 4:3 to this camera
October 1, 2015 at 9:55AM