Sony Alpha A7 II is first full frame camera to bring 5 axis optical image stabilisation

Monday, 01 December 2014 16:38

Sony has announced its latest Alpha A7 II interchangeable lens compact system camera with full-frame sensor smarts.

And it has a world first: it's the first camera with a sensor of this size to feature a 5-axis image stabilisation system (OIS).

But this is not a one trick pony. The A7 II is the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens full-frame camera, complete with a full-frame 24.3-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor.

Thanks to the on-board optical image stabilisation system, Sony claims the Alpha A7 II offers the equivalent of up to 4.5 stops of added stabilisation to counteract those unsteady hands.


The built-in OIS will work with multiple E-mount lenses - even those without Optical SteadyShot.

The 117-point focal plane phase-detection AF sensor combines 25-point contrast detection for what should be 30 per cent faster autofocus responsiveness than in the original A7 model.


There's also an improved motion prediction algorithm that should increase tracking ability by 1.5 times. Plus the startup time has been improved by 40 per cent.

Video recording supports high bitrate XAVC-S at Full HD 1920 x 1080 at 50Mbps. There's also AVCHD for 1920 x 1080 at 60p, 50p, 60i, 50i and 24p.

The viewfinder is a high contract XGA OLED that manages 2.36-million dot equivalent. The screen is a TFT with 1.23-million dots and is adjustable between 107 and 41 degrees thanks to its tilt-angle bracket.

Wi-Fi and NFC are built-in for quick connectivity and photo sharing.

The Sony Alpha A7 II will be available in Europe from January 2015. Pricing has not been announced yet.

Last modified on Monday, 01 December 2014 16:44