Aside from visiting my family in NYC for the past few days, the main reason why I am here is to attend a very special press event held by Sony to announce the much sought after a7R II Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and major updates to the RX100 IV and RX10 II. There have been months of anticipation and speculation about this body and now it’s finally here… and it certainly does not disappoint!

The Sony a7R II

This is the camera everyone has been waiting for. One of the hardest things was knowing the details of this camera for a while and not being able to share the goodness. But now, here we are! Let’s dive in and take a closer look at the more notable specs for this camera are:

  • A world’s first back-illuminated full frame sensor weighing in at 42.4(!) megapixels. This sensor technology gives the a7R II superior low light sensitivity, expandable up to ISO 102,400
  • Much faster AF speeds thanks to the 399 focal-plane phase detection points. It clocks up to 40% faster than the a7R!
  • Let’s not forget native 4K video shooting and recording. And thanks the advanced XAVC S codec, the a7R II can record at 100 Mbps with 4K recordings and 50 Mbps with full HD recordings. It also supports 120fps HD recordings (720p), Picture Profile, and S-Log2/S-Gamut.
  • 5-axis in-body image stabilization first introduced in the a7II, now tuned to support this high resolution sensor
  • A new reduced-vibration shutter that is highly durable and is capable of shooting in Silent Mode, whereby sensor vibration and movement is eliminated
  • An updated XGA OLED Tru-Finder with the worlds highest (0.78x) viewfinder magnification
  • Improved ergonomics and custom function controls thanks to the updated camera chassis introduced with the a7II

The Sony a7R II will be available in August for approximately $3200 at www.store.sony.com and a variety of Sony authorized dealers nationwide. The release of the a7R II is also going to be joined by an addition of 8 new FE full frame lenses by early 2016, bringing the FE lineup to 20 lenses.

Preorder the Sony a7R II from B&H Photo

The Sony RX100 IV and RX10 II

As an RX100 III owner, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sony put more wood behind the arrows of this exceptional little camera. It is a perfect solution when going minimal is a must without sacrificing on image quality and features. Sony has elevated the prowess of this camera and its slightly larger brother with the RX100 IV and RX10 II. Let’s take a closer look at what both cameras offer:

  • A worlds first 1.0 type stacked sensor, which allows for more than a 5x increase in the readout of image data compared to both previous models, allowing Sony to include features in both cameras that have previously only been available in a few professional-level video cameras
  • The RX100 IV has a 20.1 megapixel sensor and the RX10 II has a 20.2 megapixel sensor.
  • Both cameras have the ability to record video at rates almost 40x slower than the standard rate. Users can choose to record super slow motion video at frame rates of 960fps, 480fps, and 240fps and playback formats of 60p, 30p, and 24p.
  • Thanks to the new 1.0 type stacked sensor, the RX100 IV can capture photos at a continuous speed up to 16fps and up to 14fps on the RX10 II for an extended period of time.
  • The improved sensor performance also allows both cameras to use a high speed Anti-Distortion shutter with a max speed of 1/32000 second, resulting in sharp, clear images even at a wide open aperture and even during bright scenes when using the build in ND filter.
  • Both cameras also feature an upgraded Fast Intelligent AF system, enabling users to lock on moving subjects in as little as 0.09 seconds.
  • Both the RX100 IV and RX10 II can shoot and record at 100 Mbps with 4K recordings and 50 Mbps with full HD recordings. The RX10 II is capable of recording 4K video for approximately 29 minutes and the smaller form factor RX100 IV can record 4K video for approximately 5 minutes in length.
  • The RX100 IV retains the same retractable EVF as the RX100 III and has a ZEISS 24-70mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.8-2.8 lens.
  • The RX10 II retains the same body design as the original RX10 and has a ZEISS 24-200mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens.

Both the RX100 IV and RX10 II will be available this July and preorders will begin on June 17th. The price of the RX100 IV is expected to be about $1000 and the RX10 II is expected to be about $1300. Both cameras will be available at www.store.sony.com and a variety of Sony authorized dealers nationwide.

Preorder the RX100 IV and the RX10 II from B&H Photo