After typing out the review of the Sony A7ii, I realized that it is WAYYYYY TOO LONG. Way too many words to go through. Hence I will be splitting up the review into a few posts. So that nobody dies halfway while reading. On to the introduction of the review! Oh yes, and I will compile everything into one heck of a lengthy post after done posting all of the separate posts. Just for you guys who love the scroll button so much.

I’ve been using the camera for about one month in and I am really LOVING the Sony A7ii. The photos do turn out really beautiful in full frame quality, but I got to keep in mind the difference between the lens and the camera. Currently, I am using a pair of Sony ZM prime lenses, 35mm/f1.4 and 28mm/f2.0. First off, the camera was markedly more difficult to use than a standard DSLR, which is definitely more difficult to use than a Point and Shoot compact camera. I believe that this difficulty is due to me being used to operating DSLRs. So the interface felt quite alien initially. But I must say that when compared to a film camera… the film camera still stands right at the top as being the most difficult type of camera to use. Don't you think that it is kind of amazing that people in the past only have film cameras but yet now with digital, we rely so much on the sensor, the electronics, the stabilizer and the playback function that we seem to forget the complexity of the camera. I like to compare using the film camera to driving a manual car — that when you drive, you get to understand how the car works and you have to make it work based on your own skill. Without the human input, it would not function. Whereas now when you use the digital camera, flip the dial to the magical green ‘auto’ function and snap away for an easy shot. It is neither a good or bad thing that we now have these amazing technological advancements to aid us, just the difference there, Okay now back to the A7ii!

I’ve handled a few DSLRs, Nikon and Canon and so far, there are the differences. The Sony A7ii is NOT a DSLR. Although it functions very much like a DSLR and is just as capable as one. It is a mirrorless camera which means that the sensor is right there when you look into the camera, unlike the all too familiar mirror in a DSLR. Which… in my opinion a bit annoying when it comes to then changing of lenses. Because you would not want to point the sensor directly upwards causing dirt to fall in. For this post, I will be comparing the Sony A7ii a lot to the DSLR as both are in the full frame camera category. One notable difference when you pick the S and not the C or the N is the accessories available. Pretty much like how iPhone and Samsung rules the smartphone universe, Canon and Nikon is pretty much the same. Hence when you join the spankin’ new Sony boat, you soon realize how (painfully) annoying it is that you have so much lesser accessories to choose from. Having more does not equal to better quality, but still its the choices available. Thankfully, the horseshoe mount and screw port underneath makes the Sony A7 so much more welcoming. Going without these two would be blasphemous. 

In the coming posts, I will be covering on

1. Ergonomics and weight
2. EVF
3. Peaking
4. Screen

5. Card slots

1. Ergonomics & Weight

The most notable difference to me would be the build of the camera. It is constructed very differently as compared to the DSLR and there are good sides and down sides to that. The good side first, the size was the first thing I took note of when I first saw the camera in real life was the dimensions. It is considerably a lot smaller than a DSLR, which is a good thing! It has a full magnesium metal body construction as compared to the polymer body of a DSLR, which makes it more hardy. To my surprise, it is lighter than a bricky DSLR! But that is because of the reflex mirror mechanism that is not needed. This is how the camera looks like without the extended grip. Mind you, it shoots in full frame and full frame DSLRs are pretty bulky!

Now it makes the ZM lens look huge when actually it's a really small lens. The A7 is a whole lot lighter than a DSLR, which is a good thing and it is much smaller also. Which to me is not a good thing as I have always loved the chunky grip on the DSLR. It’s like the “you got this” feeling grip on the camera. Sometimes when something is too small, especially for the weight of a DSLR, having a small grip can prove to be counterproductive. With the camera going light and small, it should appeal better to the female users! The grip of the camera is a very big thing to me as that is one of the key parts in using the camera. If you ask me if Sony should produce the camera in a bigger grip or a smaller grip, I would prefer them to produce it in a smaller grip as that way, it would suit more hands. Those that want a bigger grip can always opt for the extension grips and there are a couple in the market! Holding it the first time in my hands without the extended grip felt really weird. For an extension grip, there are a ton of grips out there, big and small so you don’t have to buy the original Sony product! The extended grip takes over the battery housing in the Sony A7 and has a double battery housing in the grip. Which makes the camera par out with the DSLR with respect to weight. Also, because there is a double battery tray for the grip, it may get cumbersome if you want to just swap out a battery as there is no indication as to which battery is drained. As such you have to remove the grip and slot in the batteries to figure. Alternatively, if you have (lots of) bucks laying around, you CAN buy a double battery tray from the Sony spare parts department so that your grip can accept 2 by 2 batteries. So the scenario would be something like: swaps out the whole tray, slots in a new tray. Then you send 2 batteries off to recuperate. Instead of having to figure out which one is flat and changing just that one. Note: The double battery tray is not sold as an actual product off the shelves but you can buy it from the spare parts department which is located in the 313 Sony outlet. 

The Sony A7ii already retails for approx SGD$2k whereas the S and R variants would go as much as SGD$4k which is totally out of my range. Neither do I see a need to go to that extent.