DPC Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 A7R ii owners, do you have overheating problems? How is battery life?I do a lot of event and documentary work, long days filming things that can't be repeated. The A7Rii seemed like an obvious buy but I've read a lot about overheating problems and can't risk spending 3500 euros on kit that might let me down... All information welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpanazio Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 It doesn't overheat in 1080p (will overheat in 4k). I've recorded for four hours yesterday in the sun and nothing happened. The battery life was one per hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanuel Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 If you'll use an external recorder and trigger from there (i.e. press recording directly from the device), you'll overcome the heating issues for 4K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Personally, I hate the a7rii for documentary work and ended up selling it. Overheating will definitely occur in 4K, though the 1080p image is nice. Battery life is terrible, and you'll need several and will have to switch often. Beyond that, the menus, ergonomics, and usability of the camera are just a pain to deal with. If you can deal with all of that though, the image and features are certainly great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPC Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thanks for your replies.Thing is, if I'm going to spend that amount of money on a camera that is supposed to be able to shoot 4K internally, I would like it to be able to do 4K internally....And if I'm going to need to add 700 euros of batteries to get me through an 11 hour day, this isn't going to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I found batteries to last about 1-2 hours, closer to 1 if shooting 4K. Your mileage may vary but that should give you an idea on cost for an 11 hour day. If you really do want solid 4K internally and all day, GH4 might be a better option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I am extremely happy with the a7rii. Never had it overheat. I prefer the ergonomics over dslrs and battery is good enough. But that is for casual shooting. If I was shooting 11hours/day I would choose a different camera. Overheating, batteries, ergonomics are going to be a big problem for that type of shoots. Not even a a7sii will be good enough, it's where a professional camera makes a big difference. A gh4 could do it but if you have many projects like that an fs5 might be even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPC Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 I've been (happily) using GH4s since they came out but had them stolen recently. At the moment I'm renting but wondering what to do next and how soon "next" should be. The more I investigate, the more I come to appreciate what a great compromise the GH4 is but I'm reluctant to re-buy a camera that's coming to the end of its life cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Rent the ones that you might be interested in. Gh4 will still be great even after gh5 comes out and can be had new for $900! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted December 15, 2015 Administrators Share Posted December 15, 2015 The A7S II doesn't overheat as quickly. Perhaps consider that if you are shooting 11 hours a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorge Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Batteries: 45 minutes working, two hours (maybe more) charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timpy Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Hi!I'm also hovering over the a7rII. The main points for me are:- Colour: To me eye, it looks a lot better than the a7s.- IBIS- FF 1080p Mode: 13ms rolling shutter, superb dynamic range in slog2, 50mb/s codec and good quality fulHD (acording to cinema5d ***URL not allowed***/sony-a7s-ii-vs-a7r-ii-test-which-one/). Not so good in low light though, but for that you can use:- S35 4k Mode + Speedbooster: FF look, very good low light performance. The cons would be 100mb/s and slow rolling shutter, but I would use this mode not that often.- Slow motion: 120fps in FF or S35 and not 2.2x like the a7sII. I know it is just 720p, but it still looks great to me.- Image Clear: Seems not to care to people, but I have lots of c-mount s16 lenses that I can use thanks to this feature.- External power: You can plug the camera via usb while using it.There is not a lot of info about all this points, so yeah, it would be great to have some feedback from people who actually use the camera.Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 In general it's a great camera for small projects. I just wouldn't recommend it for heavy professional use as the OP is planning. - Image Clear: Seems not to care to people, but I have lots of c-mount s16 lenses that I can use thanks to this feature.This is one of the least mentioned feature and I have found it to be extremely usefull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Plagaro Mussard Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Sony FS5 makes more sense, no?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPC Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Xavier, it's also on the list... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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