Sony A7R II Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha A7R II is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was officially introduced in June 2015 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 42.2 megapixel.

Is the Sony A7R II a good camera? The A7R II has a Camera Elo of 2322. This rating puts the A7R II below average of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the A7R II also ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 2.5-star performance rating. – Well, the Sony A7R II is more than 8 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2015.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Sony A7R II relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three consecutive perspectives from the front, the top, and the back are presented. All width, height and depth dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A7R II alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A7R II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	625 g	290	Y	Jun 2015	3,199	ebay.com
2.		Sony A1	129 mm	97 mm	81 mm	737 g	530	Y	Jan 2021	6,499	amazon.com
3.		Sony A7R	127 mm	94 mm	48 mm	465 g	340	Y	Oct 2013	2,299	ebay.com
4.		Sony A7R III	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	650	Y	Oct 2017	3,199	ebay.com
5.		Sony A7R IIIA	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	650	Y	Apr 2021	3,199	amazon.com
6.		Sony A7R IV	129 mm	96 mm	78 mm	665 g	670	Y	Jul 2019	3,499	ebay.com
7.		Sony A7R IVA	129 mm	96 mm	78 mm	665 g	670	Y	Apr 2021	3,499	amazon.com
8.		Sony A7R V	131 mm	97 mm	82 mm	723 g	530	Y	Oct 2022	3,899	amazon.com
9.		Sony A7S II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	627 g	370	Y	Sep 2015	2,999	ebay.com
10.		Sony A7S III	127 mm	97 mm	81 mm	699 g	600	Y	Jul 2020	3,499	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99 II	143 mm	104 mm	76 mm	849 g	490	Y	Sep 2016	3,199	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A7R II was launched in the US market at a price of $3,199. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A7R II offers at
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Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Moreover, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more control over depth-of-field in the image and, thus, the ability to better isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Sony A7R II features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A7R II among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The following table provides an overview of the physical sensor characteristics, as well as the sensor quality measurements for a selection of alternatives.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A7R II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	13.9	3434	98
2.		Sony A1	Full Frame	49.8	8640	5760	8k/30p	25.9	14.5	3163	98
3.		Sony A7R	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/60p	25.6	14.1	2746	95
4.		Sony A7R III	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	14.7	3523	100
5.		Sony A7R IIIA	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	14.7	3523	100
6.		Sony A7R IV	Full Frame	60.2	9504	6336	4K/30p	26.0	14.8	3344	99
7.		Sony A7R IVA	Full Frame	60.2	9504	6336	4K/30p	26.0	14.8	3344	99
8.		Sony A7R V	Full Frame	60.2	9504	6336	8k/24p	26.5	14.8	3187	100
9.		Sony A7S II	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/30p	23.6	13.3	2993	85
10.		Sony A7S III	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/120p	23.7	13.9	2520	86
11.		Sony A99 II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	25.4	13.4	2317	92

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The A7R II indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A7R II can use is 4K/30p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the A7R II has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2400k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.78x. The adjacent tables list some of the other core features of the Sony A7R II along with similar information for a selection of comparators.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A7R II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
2.		Sony A1	9437	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
3.		Sony A7R	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	4.0/s	n	n
4.		Sony A7R III	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
5.		Sony A7R IIIA	3686	n	3.0 / 2340	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
6.		Sony A7R IV	5760	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
7.		Sony A7R IVA	5760	n	3.0 / 2340	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
8.		Sony A7R V	9440	n	3.2 / 2100	full-flex	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
9.		Sony A7S II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
10.		Sony A7S III	9440	n	3.0 / 1440	swivel	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
11.		Sony A99 II	2400	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha A7R II is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One feature that differentiates the A7R II from many older cameras is in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The A7R II reduces the risk of handshake-induced blur with all attached lenses, while cameras without IBIS have to rely on optical image stabilization in OIS-equipped lenses to achieve the same effect.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha A7R II and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A7R II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
2.		Sony A1	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
3.		Sony A7R	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
4.		Sony A7R III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
5.		Sony A7R IIIA	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	Y	Y
6.		Sony A7R IV	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
7.		Sony A7R IVA	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	Y	Y
8.		Sony A7R V	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
9.		Sony A7S II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
10.		Sony A7S III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
11.		Sony A99 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y

It is notable that the A7R II has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A7R II can be found in the free online Sony A7R II Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the A7R II handle or perform in practice. At times, user reviews, such as those published at amazon, address these issues in a useful manner, but such feedback is on many occasions incomplete, inconsistent, and unreliable. This is why expert reviews are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A7R II	5/5	+ +	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Jun 2015	3,199	ebay.com
2.		Sony A1	5/5	o	4.5/5	93/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jan 2021	6,499	amazon.com
3.		Sony A7R	5/5	+ +	..	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Oct 2013	2,299	ebay.com
4.		Sony A7R III	..	+ +	4/5	90/100	4.5/5	5/5	Oct 2017	3,199	ebay.com
5.		Sony A7R IIIA	..	+ +	4/5	90/100	4.5/5	5/5	Apr 2021	3,199	amazon.com
6.		Sony A7R IV	5/5	+	4.5/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jul 2019	3,499	ebay.com
7.		Sony A7R IVA	5/5	+	4.5/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Apr 2021	3,499	amazon.com
8.		Sony A7R V	5/5	+ +	4.5/5	92/100	..	..	Oct 2022	3,899	amazon.com
9.		Sony A7S II	5/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	5/5	Sep 2015	2,999	ebay.com
10.		Sony A7S III	4.5/5	+ +	5/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jul 2020	3,499	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99 II	..	..	4.5/5	85/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2016	3,199	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

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Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review with another camera, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. Alternatively, you can follow any of the listed hyperlinks for comparisons that others found interesting.

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