Sony A7R II impression and images

FE 35 1.4

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xUrQ​dj

OK, so as part of my making sure the A7RII is for me process I decided to do an ISO comparison between my 5DIII and the A7RII. I figured that if it at least matched the Canon i would be happy as im more than happy with the 5DIII ISO performance. What was concerning me was that on the A7RII LCD images were looking noisier than images on my 5DIII LCD at the same settings. I wont clog up the thread with boring test images but below is what I done and what I found

To test I done the following -

1 - Setup a tripod in my house with the A7RII and TSE-24 II lens (It was cold outside)
2 - Exposed a shot manually at ISO 100 and f/8
3 - I then took 9 photos from ISO 100 to ISO 25600 by changing the ISO and the shutter speed only. f/8 throughout
4 - I then switched the A7RII for the 5DIII and repeated from the same setup position using the same lens and the same exposure settings
5 - I imported all images into LR and turned off NR and then synced all images.
6 - I then opened each pair of images in photoshop as layers
7 - I ran the auto-align process and then zoomed to 200%
8 - I then toggled the top layer on and off whilst viewing different parts of the photo so that I could check the noise difference at each pair of ISOs

Findings - I found the A7RII to be better at all ISOs but not by as much of a margin as reports may have you believe. The noise was definitely smoother though and there was more detail left (expected with the MP difference I suppose). At ISO 100 the Sony was noticeably sharper. ISO 6400 is where I will be setting my ISO limit when in auto ISO on the Sony which is the same as where I set my limit on the Canon however the Sony is cleaner and the noise/grain is smoother and more pleasing to the eye IMO. At a pinch 12800 is useable and cleans up fairly well.

One thing I would say though is that until I aligned the images in photoshop so that they were the same size the Canon had initially looked cleaner i.e. in lightroom if you toggle between the canon and the sony shot the canon looks cleaner but the sony shot is more zoomed in due to the larger resolution. The magnification was then making the noise look worse. Once aligned though and the view looked the same when toggling between shots the Sony is definitely cleaner at all ISOs

Im happy with this and now 99% sure im keeping the A7RII. The only thing still to check is the long exposure noise/hot pixel "issue" to see whats going on there

True high ISO test for me would be photo of humans. I am interested in what skin tones and colors are retained at high ISO.

I don't like the A7 at 6400, but will use it.

First shoot today with the A7R II and Canon 24-70. I may just sell everything else I own except for the 70-200 f/2.8 and call my kit complete. I'm in love with this setup.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xWPd​8s

thenextguy wrote in post #17688159
First shoot today with the A7R II and Canon 24-70. I may just sell everything else I own except for the 70-200 f/2.8 and call my kit complete. I'm in love with this setup.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xWPd​8s Emmy by Steve V, on Flickr

Lovely. How's the A7R2 AF with the 24-70 and more importantly with the 70-200?

Puckman wrote in post #17688169
Lovely. How's the A7R2 AF with the 24-70 and more importantly with the 70-200?

I actually haven't used the 70-200 yet, but I'll post when I do.

As for how the AF is, well, for my purposes it's quite usable for me. I'm still getting used to the oddities of it. When it works, it's very fast. And most of the time it does work. It does hunt on occasion. Every so often it seems like it freaks out and it can't seem to find focus. I found that focusing on something far away sort of "wakes it up" and all is well again.

Of course, I generally shoot static subjects or with some directed movement. I have no idea if this would be sufficient for someone that shoots action. But for me it works just fine.

Thanks for the reply!

You guys are really selling me on a camera that I do not need right meow! I just got rid of my Nikon D750 and might be in the market for another camera. Not since the Canon 5DII has there been such a talked about camera.

Guys, thought some of you would be interested in my long exposure hot pixel test findings. After reading lots of horror stories which made me think the A7RII was useless for 30 second exposures I decided to check. I took some photos of the night sky last night and found the following -

What I tested -

ISO 100 - LENR OFF - f/3.5 - 30 Seconds - No hot pixels visible in EVF and image super clean
ISO 6400 - LENR OFF - f/22 - 30 Seconds - Hot pixels visible in EVF and normal ISO 6400 noise (I chose ISO 6400 as this is the max ISO I would ever use for night photography)
ISO 6400 - LENR ON - f/22 - 30 Seconds - No hot pixels visible in EVF and normal ISO 6400 noise

As a comparison -

5DIII + Same lens as above - ISO 6400 - LENR OFF - f/22 - 30 Seconds - One or two hot pixels visible but no where near as many
5DIII + Same lens as above - ISO 6400 - LENR ON - f/22 - 30 Seconds - No hot pixels visible but image looks noisier at 100% than the LENR OFF version (Which I found odd)

Conclusion -

The hot pixel "issue" is blown out of proportion. The "confetti noise" as its been called isnt even visible unless you underexpose by 5 stops then push it back in post.

Although there are a lot of white hot pixels visible they are easy to remove in post. You can either remove them using the NR slider in lightroom (They were pretty much gone with a setting of +25). Alternatively you can use Fred Mirandas photoshop action - http://www.fredmiranda​.com …/topic/1380165/​2#13144133 - Which I found to work perfectly (keep NR switched off in lightroom then run this action in PS). This action seems to retain slightly more detail although not much detail is lost at all with either method.

Alternatively keep LENR switched ON and the issue is gone. Obviously this option isnt practical if doing start trail photos as you will have a gap in the trails between each shot. If I am doing star trail photos I will use the PS action above in post.

Still to check -

At what shutter speed the hot pixels start to appear at ISO 100 EDIT - Just tried a 4 minute exposure with the Lee big stopper at ISO 100 and there are no hot pixels at all with LENR OFF
At what ISO do they start to appear with a 30 second exposure
Does the photoshop action above also remove some stars in addition to hot pixels (it was cloudy last night)

Overall I am not concerned one bit and will continue doing long exposures with the A7RII the same as I would have with the 5DIII, the only difference is I will either have LENR ON or I will have an extra step in post

FE 90mm f2.8

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/x42b​SX

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/y1yY​M8

Thank you Eddie! This is good news.

digital_AM wrote in post #17688520
Thank you Eddie! This is good news.

It is indeed. Unless you are doing high iso long exposures its not an issue. And even if you are its fixable in post or with the built in LENR

good find on the bulb stuff. I understand it can show up if you make it show up in some underexposed shots, but here's the deal with bulb shots...... they're under your control! If you're underexposed, you can take another properly exposed frame, it's like HDR in that you're not going to be capturing moving life.

hot pixels have been a part of bulb mode for the longest time, I recall the 5Dc had TONS, 5D2, had less, 6D, I didnt notice, and A7r I didnt notice as well. I'm seeing that the issue can be overcome and likely not a big issue to start with. Bulb HDR if you have to....

FE 90mm f2.8:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xJk1​24