Our friend Tony Northup made a very simple introduction video to the new A7rII based on the information he gathered online. Unlike the Canon 5Ds 50MP camera which is just a normal 5DmarkII cam on steroids the new A7rII packs a lot of innovations! Tony explains them all and the A7rII seems to be not only a good A7r successor but also adds features missed on the A7s (like internal 4K and good phase detection AF system). Sony did indeed listen to the customers feedback and fixed most of the stuff that did not work well or that were missing. I can’t wait to see how the A7sII will be :)

My only major Drawback of the A7rII is the quite high price :(

One more thing: One of the very few differences with the A7II is the lock mode on the dial:

Store links:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m2 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
A7rII at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

Store links:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m2 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
A7rII at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

Sony A7r Mk II Autofocus Demo (video on top) by The Phoblographer:

The original Sony A7 has terribly slow autofocus performance–slower than molasses. But from what we’re seeing so far, the Sony A7r Mk II is incredibly fast. In fact, it’s faster than the Sony A7 Mk II and about as fast as the Leica Q.

Dpreview had a short hands-on and writes:

Ergonomically, the a7R II is to the original a7R what the a7 II is to the a7. The grip is much deeper and more defined, the control dial layout is different and the body is a little chunkier. If you’ve used an a7 II, the new a7R II will feel immediately familiar. Near-identical in fact. Interestingly, in a highly unscientific test, it did seem to us that the a7R II’s control dials move a little more freely than the somewhat stiff dials on the a7 II.

Interview with Interview with Sony Artisan Brian Smith about the A7rII:

More tidbits: First look by Adorama (Click here). 5 Reasons Why You Will Want One by Patrick Murphy.

A7rII Image samples via Sony.net:

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Reminder:

Sony decided to allow preorders of the three new camera starting from June 17 at 16.00 London time (confirmed via BHphoto). In other timezones this means:
8am Los Angeles time
11m New York time
17:00 Berlin time
24:00 Tokyo time.

Be sure to be online on SAR on that hour as I will link to all major stores offering preorder options on the very first minute! If you want the camera as soon as it gets stay tuned on SAR :)

Christian Dandyk posted some great new image samples shot with the new Batis lenses. You can find them here:
Batis 85mm samples on Flickr.
Batis 25mm samples on Flickr.

At first glance the performance looks outstanding! Still wondering if that OLED screen will be something I will get used too :)

Both Batis lenses are now available for preorder in USA and Europe (UK/Germany)
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
In Europe and Asia the Loxias can be found in Stock via [shoplink 36456 ebay]eBay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink] and Digitalrev (Click here).

ePhotozine reviewed the new 28mm FE lens and writes:

This lens has a lot going for it. It’s capable of delivering high levels of sharpness, it’s compact, relatively lightweight and not too expensive. It’s a shame the aperture has to be stopped down to improve performance towards the edges of the frame, and to reduce chromatic aberrations, but overall the lens performs well. As a result, it should win over many fans amongst those who own one of Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras.

28mm FE store links:
US at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Europe at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Asia at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

ePhotozine also tested the 24-240mm FE lens and writes:

Depending on your expectations of what a lens designed for a compact system camera, that costs over £800 should deliver, will depend on how pleased you are with this lens. For starters, it is neither lightweght, or compact, in fact it is larger and heavier than some similar lenses designed for SLR cameras. Sharpness towards the edges of the frame could be better, as could control of chromatic aberrations and flare. Quicker autofocus and a constant minimum focus distance would’ve been nice features too. If you’re able to overlook these aspects of the lens, in the name of convenience, then this lens will still be able to deliver decent quality images and should make a decent addition to your Sony Alpha FE mount kit bag. However, despite its flaws, it is a good lens, it just maybe doesn’t meet expectations as well as it should in some areas.

Sony 24-240mm FE lens store links:
USA: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Europe: Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Asia: Digitalrev, CameraPRO, Sony Australia.

The french review site Focus Numerique tested the 90mm FE macro and writes:

The image quality provided by the Sony FE 90mm f / 2.8 Macro G OSS is very impressive. The images are full of fine details from center to edges, and from f / 2.8 to f / 16. We rarely observed as perfect homogeneity and consistency.

90mm Store links:
In USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony FR, Sony IT, Sony ES, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony AT, Sony CH, Sony SE, Sony FI, Sony NO, Sony PT.
In Asia at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

SAR readers are sharing plenty of adapted Lens test and image samples on our new SonyAlphaForum. If you like to see how third party lenses will work on your E-mount camera check out that list. And if you have some tests to show feel free to post them on the forum!
Sony A7m2 with the Samyang 14mm f2.8 E-Mount lens on SonyAlphaForum.
Tokina AT-X Macro 90mm 1:2.5 test at SonyAlphaForum.
Contax G 45/2 vs the Zeiss Loxia 50/2 and the Sony 55/1.8 on SonyAlphaForum.
A7S + Leica 90mm Summicron on SonyAlphaForum.
Samyang 135mm T2.2 VDSLR ED UMC on SonyAlphaForum.
Minolta MD vs Canon FD 2.8/20 comparison review on SonyAlphaForum.
Sony 70-200G f4 compared to Leica 90mm f2.8 on SonyAlphaForum.
Minolta MC/MD lenses images thread on SonyAlphaForum.
Canon FD lenses images on SonyAlphaForum.
A little 85mm comparison: Minolta 1.7/85, 2/85 and others on SonyAlphaForum.
Using Mamiya 645 medium format lenses on an A7r on SonyAlphaForum.
Minolta for Leica M-Rokkor 90mm f/4 on SonyAlphaForum.
A7S + Voigtlander Nokton 35mm 1.2 on SonyAlphaForum.
Minolta for Leica M-Rokkor 28mm f/2.8 on SonyAlphaForum.
Minolta for Leica M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 on SonyAlphaForum.
Voigtländer 40mm Nokton f1.4 on SonyAlphaForum.
Zeiss ZF.2 25mm f/2 on SonyAlphaForum.
Minolta for Leica M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 on SonyAlphaForum.

Chad Wadsworth (Click here) shared a first impression of the new Batis lenses he tested:

Batis 25mm: Where the FE 28mm is in-your-face sharp, the Batis looks a bit smoother, yet zoom in to pixel peep and bam, there’s the same level of sharpness and micro contrast. The render of the Batis very much reminds me of the ZA 24mm f/2 but without all the field curvature AF issues that were endemic to that A-mount lens.

Batis 85mm: Focus was quick and sure – and dead on accurate. Pixel peeping shows an impressive amount of sharpness and detail at f/1.8. Having previously owned the legendary ZA 85/1.4 I have been anxiously awaiting an FE replacement but was concerned that the lens would be too large or too slow. Again with the Goldilocks reference but the Batis seems to nail it with just the right dimensions, weight and image quality.

You can chat with Chad Wadsworth on his SonyAlphaForum thread (Click here).

Both Batis lenses are now available for preorder in USA and Europe (UK/Germany)
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
In Europe and Asia the Loxias can be found in Stock via [shoplink 36456 ebay]eBay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink] and Digitalrev (Click here).

Sony A7s VS Panasonic GH4

Ryan: “I shot this feature for /DRIVE run-and-gun style with the Sony A7S a couple months ago. The A7S was rigged with a SmallHD DP4, JuicedLink XLR, Westside AV Sony L battery adaptor and a Movcam cage. Filming took three very long days in direct Arizona sun. The full 27-minute piece was edited and graded in 2 days with Final Cut Pro X. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SwWoTYJp9A”

Almos: “his a super low light test I did with the sony A7s, testing out how well the autofocus works in very low light at f5.6 for video. I used the stock 28-70FE lens. Let me just say, it works unbelievably well (in addition to the A7S being an unbelievable low light camera, that we already know). I did this test when recording a BTS footage of a band recording in a pitch dark studio. I like it so much I cut it into a Birdman tribute, enjoy :) https://vimeo.com/122160970”

Sean: “I made this during the Sony/B&H/Philip Bloom event, and was hoping you might share it on your sight: https://vimeo.com/115041588”

Danas: “Maybe you would like to see and post a short video done with A7s – perfect travel partner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DXPiK6R2Mc“

Florian: “May I ask your attention a moment to introduce the first film project “WAITING” made in Lisbon. All clips are shot up with sony A7S. This project aims to provide an artistic vision of a city, a country, a place … The films of this project are available in several more or less short formats. Some were processed in time “capsules”, while others have been so longer and documented. https://vimeo.com/123554872“

Jannik: “I found it to be very easy compared to the conventional way of grading, because the Software seems to handle the footage better. And best of all, it’s free! Here’s the link to my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCmnuYXl7Gw”

Peter: “Not a rumour but just sharing my wedding video production shot with a pair of A7S. Quality from these cameras are just amazing! https://www.facebook.com/PETERTAN.Photography/videos/vb.115270480558/10153295662500559/?type=2&theater. Am waiting for A7sII now to buy more!”

Sony A7s store links:
Sony A7s in USA/CA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony USA, Sony Canada.
Sony A7s in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PL. And Wex UK.
A7s Gariz leather case in [shoplink 27569 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27570 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27571 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 27572 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink].