Giveaway ends December 4, 2015 at 11:59 PST. Contest open worldwide, void where prohibited.<\/em> When the a7S<\/strong> was released just one year ago, it completely\u00a0shook up the indie-film\u00a0industry.\u00a0Artists were now able to record\u00a0footage in almost complete darkness with kit lenses.<\/p>\n Sony has just recently unveiled an update to a7S:\u00a0<\/strong>the a7S II<\/strong>, which brings internal 4K, 120fps video, and 169 point autofocus to the already feature-rich camera. We had a chance to get our hands on the new a7S II<\/strong>, so we took it for a test drive and discovered a few interesting things about the new camera. Here’s what we found:<\/p>\n With a retro design and a metal body, the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is one of the slickest-looking cameras on the market right now. The camera is small and portable. In fact, it’s actually\u00a0much\u00a0smaller than my cell phone!<\/p>\n The small design does sometimes work against the a7S II,<\/strong> as you will find your hand in some very strange positions when trying to adjust the various wheels on the camera.<\/p>\n When I first picked up the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>, I was worried that it might make my hand sore after shooting with it for a while.\u00a0However, I shot a ten-hour wedding using the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> and I never felt any physical discomfort the entire time I used it.<\/p>\n The button layout on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> makes a lot of sense and I didn’t have\u00a0any issues at all finding the buttons. The device is designed in such a way that you can easily hit every button on the camera, except the menu button, with just one hand.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> also features an exposure wheel that allows you to quickly adjust the exposure compensation settings without having to press any buttons. I found the exposure wheel to be incredibly helpful\u00a0when working with auto-ISO settings.<\/p>\n The only annoying thing that I found in terms of button design is the locking\u00a0mode-selection dial. While it’s very common to see a locking dial\u00a0in modern cameras, I found\u00a0the one on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> to be a little more difficult to turn than a 5d Mark III or GH4.<\/p>\n The screen on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> does a really good job at displaying images and videos accurately.\u00a0The screen actually takes up close to 50% of the camera’s entire surface area.\u00a0The screen isn’t touchscreen, but you can easily navigate the menus using the small scroll wheel. \u00a0Because the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is a mirrorless camera, there’s also an additional monitor in the viewfinder that’s equally fantastic at producing images.<\/p>\n The only negative to the screen is the fact that it can’t fold out. Despite having a fairly complex tilting mechanism, the camera’s screen can’t flip around to show the person in front of the camera what your framing looks like.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is a fantastic camera for casual to semi-pro photography. It, like all mirrorless cameras, offers a notable advantage to DSLRs, in that users can look through the viewfinder and actually see an accurate example of what the final image will look like. No more having to guess with exposure meters and no more ‘chimping.’<\/p>\n In our experience, we found the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>\u00a0autofocus to be very fast in bright lighting scenarios\u00a0and moderately\u00a0fast in dark shooting scenarios. In everyday portrait\u00a0sessions and event photography, you shouldn’t have any trouble dealing with autofocus issues.<\/p>\n My favorite shooting mode when working with autofocus was the DMF feature, which would use the autofocus and then allow you to manual focus after the camera found what it believed the correct focus to be. The DMF focusing feature, when coupled with the ‘low’ focus peaking guides, made it easy to nail a perfect focus even when shooting at low f-stops.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II’s<\/strong> best feature by far is\u00a0sensitivity. With an expanded ISO of up to\u00a0409,600\u00a0there are few cameras in the world that can shoot in dark conditions like the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>. That’s not to say that images shot at ISO 409,600 are professional quality. In general, we found that a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> images were usable up to ISO 64,000.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II’s<\/strong> high-ISO\u00a0truly makes it a game changer in the photography industry. Instead of having to spend extra money to upgrade your lens line, which can be expensive, users can use virtually any lens in any lighting scenario. We found the perfect workflow to be simply putting the camera in manual mode and setting the ISO to auto. Sony has created an awesome feature which allows users to set the potential low and high value of the automatic ISO so that you can guarantee your images won’t be too grainy.<\/p>\n Once you set your camera to auto-ISO, you can then adjust the exposure dial to compensate for lighter or darker shooting\u00a0scenarios. It’s a fantastic workflow that takes out\u00a0the stress of shooting in regular manual photography.<\/p>\n It’s hard to talk about a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> photography and not mention the resolution.\u00a0The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> only records 12.2 MP images, which is less than the Samsung Galaxy S6 (a cell phone). It’s unfortunate, but without higher resolution photos, the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> will not ever be a great choice for professional photographers, though you could certainly get away with shooting lifestyle photos and some\u00a0paid work. There is simply not a lot of resolution to work with. If you see yourself as more of a photographer than videographer, you might want to look into\u00a0the a7R II<\/strong> instead.<\/p>\n The battery life on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is also not very good. This is probably\u00a0a combination of high sensitivity and\u00a0the reality that you will always have a screen on, no matter if you are looking through the viewfinder or the rear LCD. You could probably get through an entire portrait\u00a0session with only a single battery, but if you shoot a wedding, you will likely need at least three batteries. I recommend getting an additional battery grip if you’re going to be shooting with this camera for an extended amount of time.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> has\u00a0virtually all of the modern day features you could want in a hybrid photography\/video camera.\u00a0It’s fantastic to get a diverse video feature set without having to hack your camera (looking at you, Canon).<\/p>\n The camera comes complete with an adjustable focus-peaking menu that allows you to not only adjust the intensity of the focus peaking guides, but also the color. We found these guides to be\u00a0very accurate.<\/p>\n There are a slew of different screen overlays which you can place on your screen.\u00a0Users can place guides for cinematic 2.35:1 cropping all the way to 4:3 SD cropping guides. It should be noted that these are just overlays; users can’t record in irregular formats. You must crop the footage later once you begin editing.<\/p>\n The high sensitivity is, of course, the reason why most people consider the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>…\u00a0and it’s easy to see why. The sensitivity is nothing short of amazing. It can literally pick up on lights that your eyes can’t even see.\u00a0If you were to use an a7S II<\/strong> and a battery-powered LED, you could quite literally shoot in virtually any lighting scenario. It’s easy to quickly see that an a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> would be a fantastic\u00a0camera for shooting gritty narratives or dark wedding receptions.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0the grain produced on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> shouldn’t be confused with the type of grain recorded on a high-end film camera. In my opinion, the grain produced by the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> looks a lot more like ‘video’ grain than ‘film’ grain. So once you get to post, you’ll probably want to take out as much grain as possible and add in a little film grain, if that’s your style.<\/p>\n This camera, in contrast to the original a7S, allows users to record video up to 4K\u00a0with 4:2:2 color sampling. Users can also record footage in S-Log, which can increase the dynamic range of the camera by two stops when coupled with an accompanying LUT in post.<\/p>\n The camera can shoot HD video at up to 120 fps. If you decide you want to shoot in HD, you can pick between APS-C cropped HD or full-frame HD. If you happen to have a cropped sensor lens, but still want to shoot HD footage, this is actually a surprisingly useful feature.<\/p>\n We found that the 5-axis stabilizer was helpful in stabilizing handheld footage. It wasn’t stable enough to be comparable\u00a0to a Steadicam\u00a0or glide-cam, but it was steadier than video shot with, say, a Canon 5D Mark III and a lens with stabilization.<\/p>\n The small size of the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> begins to work against the camera when shooting handheld video. Despite having a conveniently placed button on its side, the camera is so light that even the slightest twitch\u00a0of a muscle can make it shift around. I found that the camera was also a little too light when mounted to steadicams. Sometimes having a little weight on your camera can actually lead to steadier shots, but\u00a0the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> only weighs in at 3 lbs.<\/p>\n There is a significant amount of rolling shutter on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>.\u00a0There isn’t enough wobble to justify not purchasing the camera, but you should definitely keep it in mind if you will be shooting high-speed video.<\/p>\n We found that the battery on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> went surprisingly fast. Despite being on a full charge, we went through the entire battery in about an hour and a half. If you compare that to a normal shooting day, you’re looking at needing at least 7-8 batteries.<\/p>\n The photography options on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> are fantastic for casual photography. With 169-point autofocus and expanded ISO up to 409,600, the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is a wonderful camera for everyday photography. While the price tag may be a little steep for the standard consumer, if you’re a creative person with an interest in photography, you’ll really enjoy this camera.<\/p>\n 4K and HD up to 120 fps is usually enough to get the attention of\u00a0the indie filmmaking community. But couple that with high sensitivity\u00a0and a feature-rich interface, and you have yourself a great camera for filmmaking. The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> will help you save money in the end by eliminating the need for an external recorder to record 4K. Plus you can save money on expensive lenses because the camera is sensitive enough to make virtually\u00a0any lens a low-light lens.<\/p>\n It’s crazy to think that\u00a0a camera\u00a0smaller than an Xbox controller\u00a0is making such a splash in the industry. Having the ability to record sequences in near-darkness\u00a0unlocks a whole world of creative possibilities. You probably won’t want to record an entire narrative film on an a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>, but if you have a low-light sequence, you should definitely look into renting this camera for a few shots.<\/p>\n At 12.2 MP, the images captured on the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> are simply too low in resolution to\u00a0replace a high-res camera like the 5D mark III. You might be able to get by on 80% of your shoots, but as soon as you need to crop or blow up one of your images, you’re going to find yourself in a bind. This is a shame because the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> truly is a\u00a0fun camera to shoot with.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> shoots really good video, but there are a few notable limitations that make it somewhat painful to work with in a professional context. The battery life is pretty dreadful, especially if you are outputting HDMI footage while simultaneously recording 4K footage. The rolling shutter isn’t horrible, but it is noticeable\u00a0if you have a fast moving subject. The camera also can’t record in RAW, which could limit what your colorist can do in post.<\/p>\n Altogether, the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is a great camera with low-light abilities that will impress any photographer or filmmaker. The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> has no shortage of features, making it incredibly easy to work with. With improved autofocus, 4K video, 120 fps HD footage, improved buttons, and a larger design, the new features included in the a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> are definitely worth looking into if you already own the original a7S.<\/p>\n If resolution isn’t that big of a deal to you, this camera could easily replace your go-to photography camera. And if you’re a filmmaker that’s dreamed of a camera that can both shoot in the dark and in 4K, then you really can’t beat this camera. The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> is the best photography\/filmmaking camera on the market right now. It will be fun to see where this camera evolves to over the next few years.<\/p>\n The a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> currently retails for\u00a0$2,998 on B&H<\/a>\u00a0and is immediately available for shipping.\u00a0Want to get an a7S\u00a0II<\/strong> for free? Just enter our ‘Low Light Dynamite’ giveaway <\/a>for your chance to win an a7S\u00a0II<\/strong>, a Sony lens, and a camera bag, all courtesy of PremiumBeat and B&H<\/a>.<\/p>\n What do you think of the a7S\u00a0II? What has been your experience with this camera?<\/strong> Share in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Sony a7S II adds some welcome improvements to the already incredible a7S. So, the camera is perfect… right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":67699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4519,3843,715,617,583],"tags":[4558,1093,536,4817,1315,4586],"class_list":["post-class-post-67042","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-cinematography-2","post-class-category-filmmaking-2","post-class-category-industry","post-class-category-photography","post-class-category-video-production-2","post-class-tag-a7s-ii","post-class-tag-cinematography","post-class-tag-filmmaking","post-class-tag-low-light-camera","post-class-tag-sony","post-class-tag-sony-a7s-ii"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Sony](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/giveaway-blog-image.jpg\" "\\"Sony")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOne lucky winner will be randomly picked and contacted on December 5, 2015.
\nLimit one entry per email address for giveaway duration.<\/em><\/p>\nThe Sony a7S\u00a0II: Pros and Cons<\/h3>\n
Pros:<\/h4>\n
\n
Cons:<\/h4>\n
\n
\nDesign<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/a7s-ii-with-iPhone-6-Plus.jpg\" "\\"Sony")
<\/p>\nErgonomics<\/h3>\n
![\"Holding](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Holding-an-a7s-II.jpg\" "\\"Holding")
<\/p>\nButton\/Dial\u00a0Layout<\/h3>\n
![\"a7S](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Exposure-Wheel.jpg\" "\\"a7S")
<\/p>\nScreen<\/h3>\n
![\"a7S](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/a7s-Screen.jpg\" "\\"a7S")
<\/p>\n
\nSony a7s II Review:\u00a0Photography<\/h3>\n
Things We Like<\/h4>\n
![\"Sony](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/a7s.jpg\" "\\"Sony")
<\/p>\nThings We Don’t Like<\/h4>\n
Unedited Examples<\/h3>\n
![\"a7S](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSC00445.jpg\" "\\"a7S")
\n<\/a>Above: 50mm \u00a0 ISO 100 \u00a0 f\/1.8 \u00a0 1\/250<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Another](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSC00967.jpg\" "\\"Another")
\n<\/a>Above: 50mm \u00a0 ISO 2,000\u00a0 \u00a0f\/1.8 \u00a0 1\/100<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Another](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSC00904.jpg\" "\\"Another")
\n<\/a>Above: 50mm \u00a0 ISO 10,000\u00a0 \u00a0f\/2.8 \u00a0 1\/125<\/em>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Another](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSC01148.jpg\" "\\"Another")
\nAbove: 50mm \u00a0 ISO 256,000\u00a0 \u00a0f\/1.8 \u00a0 1\/125<\/em><\/p>\n
\nSony a7s II Review:\u00a0Video<\/h3>\n
Things We Like<\/h4>\n
![\"Low-Light](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Low-Light.jpg\" "\\"Low")
\nVideo still: ISO 409,600 \u00a0f\/2.8 \u00a01\/50<\/em><\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/a7s-ii-Images.jpg\" "\\"")
<\/p>\nThings We Don’t Like<\/h4>\n
\nSony a7s II Review: Who Is It for?<\/h3>\n
![\"a7S](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/a7s-ii-tilting-screen.jpg\" "\\"a7S")
<\/p>\nCasual Photographers<\/h4>\n
Independent Filmmakers<\/h4>\n
Professional Filmmakers Looking for a Low-Light B-Camera<\/h4>\n
Sony a7s II Review: Who Isn’t It for?<\/h3>\n
![\"a7S](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/a7s-II-top.jpg\" "\\"a7S")
<\/p>\nProfessional Photographers<\/h4>\n
Professional Filmmakers Looking For a Great\u00a0A-Camera<\/h4>\n
Conclusion<\/h3>\n
Price<\/h3>\n