a7r II or a7s II? Question for the owners...

[Shield3]

Anyone who has owned or used both of these cameras - I realize the specs and the differences.  For stills obviously the a7r II wins resolution wise.

Regarding the UHD video - is the a7r II "that bad" in low ISO without using the s35 mode?  Both cameras have dropped around the $2500 range used and I have money burning a hole in my pocket waiting in the 1dx II.  I owned the a7s and really liked it, but the Metabones IV didn't play well with some of my lenses (Sigma 150-600 C shooting sports).

Is the AF speed with Metabones EF significantly better on the 7 II?  Or should both bodies be basically considered MF only for video AF with adapters?

[agolex]

18 minutes ago, Shield3 said:

Regarding the UHD video - is the a7r II "that bad" in low ISO without using the s35 mode?

In decent light it's really good, but it gets dirty really really quickly indoors/in low light situations. Purple spots, banding and everything.

[The Chris]

There are various comparisons floating around on Youtube that show the difference. Here's a test with the A7sII and A7rII in s35 and FF. FF is fine in good light, once you hit 3200 its get pretty noisy and you really start to lost detail, so its max for me is 1600. In s35 mode its really clean and a tad sharper, but RS is worse. Once you hit 3200 the differences are obvious and the gap widens pretty quick. Good light you can cut both and nobody will ever notice. If you need to go above 1600 s35 is the only way to fly.

I have the cheap Fotodiox AF adapter and I get great AF with the Canon lenses I've used. I'm using the Canon 16-35 over the FE. Others say the Metabones IV is better, since its getting FW updates to improve performance I'm sure that's the case. Mine flares bad at times too. There's a really good adapted lens thread on Fred Miranda with lots of user input. AF with the A7rII and Canon lenses is nothing like it was with any of the other A7's, its really good. You can't use eye AF, but you can use basically everything else. Dpreview outlines it really well in their test videos.

If you want to shoot FF or take advantage of Slog3 I'd go A7sII, but AF is bunk. If you want good/great AF with Canon lenses the A7rII is really your only option in E-mount until the a6300 drops.

[DBounce]

2 hours ago, agolex said:

In decent light it's really good, but it gets dirty really really quickly indoors/in low light situations. Purple spots, banding and everything.

Can't say I've noticed purple spots and banding on mine. I think if you are lighting your scenes or shooting in anything other than extreme low-light the A7Rii will serve you best. If however, you want to turn night into day, the A7Sii is the better option. Me, I like night to look like night... That is, dark... Because it supposed to be night.

[agolex]

16 minutes ago, DBounce said:

Can't say I've noticed purple spots and banding on mine.

Just talking about the FF mode, it gets problematic pretty quickly if the light isn't decent.

[IronFilm]

Reading this thread just reminds me why Panasonic is still a viable option! 

[Shield3]

Is the binned A7r2 footage as bad as say, the Sony A99 was?

Also which would look better- 1080p60 on the a7r + Metabones Speedbooster + S35 mode vs A7s2 + Metabones non SB ?

Assuming Canon glass here, like say a 16-35 F4 IS.  If anyone can give me a link with how the SB + S35 + a7r2 auto focuses in video mode that'd be great.  Seems to AF fine with native glass.  Thanks

[agolex]

1 hour ago, Shield3 said:

Is the binned A7r2 footage as bad as say, the Sony A99 was?

It's really good with decent lighting.

[The Chris]

Here's two with SII/RII comparisons. The second one is from Wolfcrow and it really in depth. That guy knows his shit, footage looks great on my 4k monitor.

 

[Shield3]

Picked up a lightly used A7r 2 for about $2500 today with some extras.  B&H had the Metabones Ultra adapter used for $499 so I had to hop on that as well.  The tipping point for me was the 42MP, the PDAF, and the fact I can go FF in good daylight and get nice results.  Speedbooster for shallow DOF manual focus fluff stuff.  Thanks for the links; been watching comparison videos for like 12 hours straight now (first day off in like 19 days).

[The Chris]

32 minutes ago, Shield3 said:

Picked up a lightly used A7r 2 for about $2500 today with some extras.  B&H had the Metabones Ultra adapter used for $499 so I had to hop on that as well.  The tipping point for me was the 42MP, the PDAF, and the fact I can go FF in good daylight and get nice results.  Speedbooster for shallow DOF manual focus fluff stuff.  Thanks for the links; been watching comparison videos for like 12 hours straight now (first day off in like 19 days).

Haven't seen any reports about the SB Ultra on the A7rII, please post about its performance after you get it. 

[64mulford]

On 11 February 2016 at 0:59 PM, The Chris said:

There are various comparisons floating around on Youtube that show the difference. Here's a test with the A7sII and A7rII in s35 and FF. FF is fine in good light, once you hit 3200 its get pretty noisy and you really start to lost detail, so its max for me is 1600. In s35 mode its really clean and a tad sharper, but RS is worse. Once you hit 3200 the differences are obvious and the gap widens pretty quick. Good light you can cut both and nobody will ever notice. If you need to go above 1600 s35 is the only way to fly.

I have the cheap Fotodiox AF adapter and I get great AF with the Canon lenses I've used. I'm using the Canon 16-35 over the FE. Others say the Metabones IV is better, since its getting FW updates to improve performance I'm sure that's the case. Mine flares bad at times too. There's a really good adapted lens thread on Fred Miranda with lots of user input. AF with the A7rII and Canon lenses is nothing like it was with any of the other A7's, its really good. You can't use eye AF, but you can use basically everything else. Dpreview outlines it really well in their test videos.

If you want to shoot FF or take advantage of Slog3 I'd go A7sII, but AF is bunk. If you want good/great AF with Canon lenses the A7rII is really your only option in E-mount until the a6300 drops.

Just about to get the a7s2 with metabones smart adapter and a set of Sigma ART primes. Anyone know how the auto focus performance will be? Quite fast auto focus for photos is essential. 

[BD]

You have likely made your choice by now, but FWIW, I have used several Canon bodies, and now own a a7s2 with metabones adapter. The autofocus is near useless on the Sony. That said, it's MUCH easier to do manual focus on the Sony. My biggest challenge on the Sony/metabones, however, is the metering. But, that's another discussion.

Also, stills on a7s2? Insane. Amazing. Is a7r2 better, apparently, and that is astonishing. But, if you are shooting raw and understand LIGHTROOM post, any new DSLR, even a Rebel with good glass, will get you professional still images.