Sony announced three cameras nowadays, all of them updates to current fashions. But the improvements are dramatic, despite the fact that the body designs are ones we’ve visible before.
The most expensive of the bunch, the full-frame mirrorless Alpha 7R II uses the body design we first saw in the Alpha 7 II, but internally it’s a very different camera.
It uses a forty two.Four-megapixel complete-body photograph sensor with a BSI CMOS design. It’s the first full-frame sensor to benefit from a backlit layout, which movements the photosites to the the front of the silicon and additionally replaces aluminum circuitry with copper, a better conductor. It is not the best decision chip out there—the Canon EOS 5Ds and 5Ds R feature 50-megapixel sensors—but it may be driven all the manner to ISO 102400. Every other gain of the brand new sensor is a faster readout, three.5 times the speed of the unique A7R, which lets in for improved video talents.
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And it’s a vast improvement. The A7R II records 4K footage using the entirety of the image sensor area, and it does it to an internal memory card. Footage is compressed using the XAVC S codec. There’s no line skipping involved, but the camera does do some pixel binning to accomplish this feat. If you’re willing to deal with a cropped image area, you can also use a Super 35 (roughly the same size as an APS-C sensor) area of the frame to record 4K footage with no line skipping or pixel binning. The camera samples 15 megapixels of information and downsamples it to the 8-megapixel 4K frame. Sony showed off some test footage using this method that was downright stunning—it’s extremely crisp and lifelike. You can record 4K footage at up to 30p, with 24p available for a cinema look. Standard 1080p footage can also be recorded at up to 60 frames per second.
Focus has additionally been stepped forward. The sensor has a hybrid machine that mixes 399 section come across factors (protecting approximately 45 percent of the floor location of the sensor) and a preferred array of comparison discover regions. The two attention methods work in live performance when native FE lenses are hooked up and support image capture at as much as 5fps with continuous autofocus and publicity. You can additionally set the digicam to use handiest the segment discover sensors whilst the usage of SLR lenses through an adapter.
This means you won’t have to use a bulky adapter with its own phase detect system like the LA-EA4 to enjoy the full focus speed when mounting Sony and Minolta A-mount lenses, and it also means that you can enjoy speedy focus when using a Canon or Nikon mount lens via a Metabones lens adapter. That makes the A7R II a true universal back that can use a variety of lenses without sacrificing performance.
The body layout may be very just like the A7 II, with only a couple changes. One within reason minor—the mode dial can be locked through a button. But although it makes use of the equal OLED EVF from an electronics perspective, the optics within the A7R II’s viewfinder had been modified to enhance the viewfinder magnification. At zero.78x it is the very best magnification finder available, greater than even the optical finders located in large, pro bodies just like the Canon EOS-1D X and Nikon D4S. I had a few quick arms-on time with the camera (I wasn’t able to take it out and shoot with it, sadly), and that i do have to say that the larger viewfinder is a marked development.
There are some changes made in order to improve image clarity. Like the original A7R, the sensor omits an optical low pass filter (OLPF). With the A7R you had to ensure you had a fast shutter speed and a steady hand (or sturdy tripod) to get the most out of its 36-megapixel resolution. With even more pixels, Sony is putting a completely new shutter mechanism in the A7R II, and it states that it reduces internal vibration by half. The new camera also supports an electronic first curtain shutter, with further reduces vibration, or it can be set to use a full electronic shutter, which of course eliminates it completely. The image sensor itself is stabilized using the same 5-axis system used by the Alpha 7 II, which further helps to capture crisp images.
All of this capability comes at a fee. The Alpha 7R II is going to sell for round $3,two hundred whilst it is going on sale in August.
This allows both cameras to record video in 4K resolution using the XAVC S coded at a 100Mbps bitrate. You can set the frame rate to 30fps or 24fps when shooting in 4K, but keep in mind that the RX100 IV will be limited to a 5-minute clip length, while the RX10 II supports the more standard 29-minute limit. You can start a new video clip immediately after one ends.
Sony is also updating two models in its compact RX line. Both share a lot of the same new features, as they share the same image sensor and processor. The RX100 IV and the RX10 II are identical to their predecessors (the RX100 III and RX10) in terms of physical design and lens coverage.
Both cameras still use a 1-inch image sensor with 20-megapixel resolution, but it’s a stacked CMOS design, which means that the image processor and DRAM are built right into the image sensor. This allows for a readout that’s about five times the speed of a standard BSI CMOS sensor.
Both RX cameras also support recording 1080p footage at up to 60fps. And both have a brand new sluggish movement mode that captures short bursts of motion at an splendid 960fps. If picture nice is a priority it can control 2 seconds of movement (that allows you to play out over sixty four seconds when played lower back at 30fps and for eighty seconds at 24fps), or you may downgrade video first-class and record for 4 seconds. The frame is cropped a chunk, and the decision does crop to 384p for a 2-second clip and 270p for a 4-second clip. You can reduce the gradual movement effect for more resolution—a 480fps setting information at 566p (2-2d) or 384p (four-2d), and a 240fps mode nears HD excellent at 1026p for two seconds of action and 566p for a 4-2nd capture. In case you’re worried about missing a moment while capturing in slow motion you could set the digital camera to buffer pictures, which permits you to capture motion rapidly after it is already took place.
Other improvements garnered from the new sensor include a full electronic shutter that can fire at an extremely short 1/32,000-second exposure, and the elimination of rolling shutter effects when recording stills and video alike. Burst shooting is also improved; the RX100 IV can fire off shots at 16fps and the RX10 at 14fps, both using the mechanical leaf shutter.
Each cameras are set to head on sale in July. The RX100 IV is priced at $1,000 and the RX10 II will promote for $1,three hundred.