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Sony ZV-1 II review – wider vlogging appeal

5:00 pm | May 29, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: AF | Comments: Off

Sony ZV-1 II: Two-minute review

It’s no longer the case that people want a camera just to take pictures – we’re all now content creators and potential vloggers, and that means any new camera has to be a hybrid device that can do photo and video equally well.

Given its tech heritage it was no surprise when Sony launched its pocket sized ZV-1 vlogging camera in 2020, mid-pandemic, and when we were all desperately seeking ways to connect with the outside world without leaving the house.

Now here comes the ZV-1 II, an almost identically pocket-sized, if still rather boxy-looking, refinement of its predecessor. The original model was notable for kicking off a series of ‘video-first’ cameras from Sony aimed primarily at vloggers of varying skill levels. And with some rival manufacturers only now launching their first dedicated vlogging alternatives three years on, this second iteration feels timely.

The obvious question is ‘what’s changed?’ Well, initially at least, the answer is ‘not much’. Despite the three-year gap separating them – a veritable age in tech terms – the core of the ZV-1 II is exactly the same as its predecessor. That means it incorporates a 20.1 megapixel back-illuminated 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor twinned with a Bionz X processor.

Alongside 20MP stills, videographers again get 4K resolution video at 30fps. Maintaining the status quo is perhaps excusable given the intended destination for most users’ videos will be YouTube, and especially so when rivals’ vlogging cameras, such as the also-new Canon PowerShot V10, also feature a one-inch chip and identical video spec.

So why should we be considering the ‘new’ ZV-1 II, and not merely searching out a good deal on an existing ZV-1? To answer that question we spent a few days shooting with the ZV-1 II in advance of the release announcement. So does the newbie deserve to take on its predecessor’s one-time mantle of the best new vlogging camera currently available? Read on to find out.

Sony ZV-1 II camera outside on a wall front with windshield attached over mic — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ZV-1 II: Price and release date

$899 / £870 / AU$1,349
Available from mid-June 2023

Given all that’s changed globally in the three years since the ZV-1’s launch, it’s unsurprising if disappointing that the Sony ZV-1 II is now a more expensive purchase than its predecessor.

Pricing for the new camera, which has promised mid-June 2023 availability, is $899 / £870/ AU$1,349, compared with the 2020 launch pricing for the ZV-1, which was a slightly more reasonable $749 / £699 / AU$1,299.

Additionally, Sony tells us there will be a promotional offer around the launch of the ZV-1 II for those who want to buy the directly compatible GP-VPT2BT wireless shooting grip to improve stability, which many will want to do, as there’s no in-body image stabilization here. Just for reference, the same Bluetooth grip controller was offered alongside the ZV-1 for $138 / £170 / AU$249, so we’d expect that pricing to stay the same.

Sony ZV-1 II camera outside on a wall — (Image credit: Future)

We reckon this accessory will prove useful given there’s no stabilization in the camera itself, only Sony’s ‘Active’ electronic stabilization, as found on the ZV-1, which essentially performs a crop so the image appears less shaky. Its manufacturer also – and rather creatively it has to be said – makes the point that since the SV-1 II’s zoom now starts out wider than its predecessor, that should help footage appear a little smoother. The theory is that the wider angle of view should prevent any camera shake from looking as pronounced as it might with a tighter frame.

Price score: 3.5/5

Sony ZV-1 II: Specs

Sony ZV-1 II: Design

Improved touchscreen operability
More flexible microphone performance
A bit larger than its predecessor, but lighter at 292g

Broadly the size of a packet of cards, if a little fatter because of its camcorder-style flip-out-and-twist LCD screen at the back, the ZV-1 II sees Sony take the old ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach.

Sony has given this new model the ‘II’ suffix rather than simply calling it the ZV-2 to underline the connection to the original and popular ZV-1 model, which will continue to be sold for an unspecified time alongside this second iteration.

Feeling reassuringly solid when gripped, the ZV-1 II is only a hair’s breadth larger than its forebear at 105.5 x 60 x 46.7mm, as opposed to the original’s 105.5 x 60 x 43.5mm. At the same time it’s actually marginally lighter at 292g, compared with 294g for the ZV-1.

Sony ZV-1 II camera on marble table with screen flipped out — (Image credit: Future)

this camera may have only used a smartphone before for capturing stills and video. By comparison with the average camera phone the ZV-1 II is still two or three times the thickness, and too big and bulky for the pocket of a pair of jeans. It does, however, slip conveniently into the pocket of a jacket.

While Sony has packed a lot in here, we missed the likes of an eye-level viewfinder – particularly when taking 20 megapixel stills, and in those instances when bright sunlight renders detail and menu options on LCD screen a little harder to critically ascertain than otherwise.

On top of this we can envisage the Sony GP-VPT2BT wireless shooting grip being a near-essential purchase for those who want greater hands-free flexibility as well as improved stability, particularly when recording pieces to camera while walking, or even just when taking selfies.

Design score: 4/5

Sony ZV-1 II: Features & performance

Battery is good for only 45 minutes of recording
No mains adapter or USB-C cable provided

Most manufacturers have been working hard to improve their cameras’ autofocus performance in recent years, with the goal being to make their systems not only increasingly fast but also increasingly accurate. It’s no surprise, then, that the Sony ZV-1 II’s AF has been tweaked in the interim, although said adjustment is only to enable it to recognise animals when in movie mode, not just the usual of human faces.

Multi-face recognition, as introduced on the ZV-E1, also makes an appearance here, ensuring that the aperture automatically changes to provide a bigger depth of field if someone new enters the frame while recording is in progress, therefore keeping each person sharply in focus.

While such features have been added, rather stingily Sony omits to include a mains adapter for charging, something admittedly it hasn’t included with its cameras for a while, and worse still hasn’t bothered to include the USB-C cable required for charging its slender battery in situ. Given the price of the camera itself, we feel this really is unacceptable.

Sony ZV-1 II camera outside on a wall with the vari-angle screen out to the side for selfie shooting — (Image credit: Future)

For its part, the manufacturer cites ‘sustainability’, suggesting that USB-C cables are now commonplace, and therefore it’s likely owners will already have one in their homes. We’re not quite sure if we buy that one.

Once you do manage to get it charged, the battery is good for around 45 minutes of recording, or 260 shots, which is adequate if hardly earth shattering. Disappointingly, again, battery life hasn’t been improved over that of the ZV-1.

Features and performance score: 4/5

Sony ZV-1 II: Image and video quality

4K video resolution at up to 30fps
Improved video AF now recognizes animals

With the same 20.1 megapixel 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor as its predecessor and the same Bionz X processor too, we weren’t expecting a marked difference from the ZV-1 II’s output. A slightly adjusted if limited focal range this time around does allow for different choices when it comes to composition and framing, and while a new ultra-wide 18mm setting introduces the risk of barrel distortion and a fisheye-type effect, happily these don’t appear too pronounced.

The default aspect ratio for stills is 3:2, though the standard digital camera ratio of 4:3 is also selectable, as are 16:9 and 1:1. The ZV-1 II can record raw files separately or in conjunction with JPEGs, or you can opt for highest-quality Extra Fine JPEGs on their own. While stills are rich in both detail and color in the main, if we’re being picky we did notice occasional instances of purple fringing along high-contrast edges – where the dark branches of a tree meet a featureless sky, for example – though this is only noticeable if you’re actively looking for it. Generally, results aren’t quite as impressive as you’d get from either a DSLR or a mirrorless camera with a larger APS-C or full-frame sensor, although we have to weigh this against this camera’s size and portability, and its positioning as a jack-of-all-trades device.

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Low angle closeup photo of a cute dog — (Image credit: Future)

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Wideangle photo of church with 18mm lens setting of Sony ZV-1 II — (Image credit: Future)

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photo of church with 50mm lens setting of Sony ZV-1 II — (Image credit: Future)

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Low angle through long grass of a country house — (Image credit: Future)

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Ducks on water on a sunny day — (Image credit: Future)

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Closeup of pink flowers — (Image credit: Future)

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While some will bemoan the fact that this second generation model’s video capability of 4K resolution and up to 30 frames per second capture rate, capped at 25fps if shooting in PAL format, hasn’t altered from the original SV-1, this is more than sufficient for the online vlogging community the ZV-1 II is aimed at. Those looking to live-stream content can do so via USB connection to a computer or Sony Xperia smartphone, with Bluetooth connectivity offering the ability to link up with the Sony Creator app and download future software updates.

With the Sony ZV-1 II’s new ability to recognise and track not just human faces, but also animal ones, so we decided to test it out on an excitable dog darting about the frame, and the results were impressive.

Naturally great video is nothing without great sound to accompany it, and while we found the built-in omni-directional microphone located atop the lens to be more than capable, you can additionally attach an external optional ECM-B10 shotgun mic for more professional audio. Otherwise, to prevent breezy conditions from adversely affecting audio capture when shooting outdoors, a ‘dead cat’ style fluffy windshield is included in the box, and slides easily into place via the camera’s vacant hotshoe. There’s no headphone jack on the device for monitoring audio as it’s being captured, though.

We liked how the bright f/1.8 maximum aperture lens allows for some creative shallow depth-of-field effects, with sharp subjects and creamily defocused backgrounds – the so-called ‘bokeh effect’ – enabling the sharpest part of the frame to really pop. The aperture can also be adjusted via the touchscreen. In operation, the zoom is both smooth and silent, so there’s no unsettling jerkiness when altering framing during filming. Likewise, the built-in microphone doesn’t noticeably pick up noise from the zoom mechanics as it adjusts. On a practical note, as the optical zoom is fairly limited in terms of its 18-50mm range, it means you do have to get fairly close to subjects when shooting video or stills. Ultimately the ZV- II is best suited to portraits and group portraits, in catering for the vlogging fraternity.

Videographers should also note that, in terms of differentiation from the ZV-1, the new camera inherits and incorporates a Cinematic Vlog setting from Sony’s ZV-E1. This offers a variety of ‘looks’ including Classic, Clean, more saturated Chic, Fresh and Mono (B&W) settings. A ‘creative look’ color profile is carried over from the existing ZV-E10 too; essentially this provides smartphone filter-like mood-enhancing image processing, with the selectable moods in question here being Auto, Gold, Ocean and Forest.

Image and video quality score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Sony ZV-1 II?

Sony ZV-1 II camera in the hand — (Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Sony ZV-1 II: Also consider

If our Sony ZV-1 II review has you considering other options, here are three more cameras to consider...

How I tested the Sony ZV-1 II

As subsequent iterations of cameras normally add more than a sprinkling of improvements over their predecessors we were very interested in zeroing in on the practical uses for the new features, such as the ZV-1 II’s optical zoom lens starting out wider than the original, but ending slightly shorter at the telephoto end. The best use of the zoom we found was either for landscape type shooting or for pieces directly to the camera. We also wanted to check out the sound quality of the microphone, particularly when ‘walking and talking’ as many vloggers considering this camera will be doing, and outdoors not just inside the studio. A variety of shooting scenarios were therefore undertaken, the camera generally proving itself capable of as a jack-of-all-trades device.

Two minute review

Sony needs little introduction as a major player in the mirrorless camera market. Not only did the company release the first-ever full-frame mirrorless camera with the A7R, it also briefly laid claim to having the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame mirrorless camera with the Sony A7C when it was announced in September 2020, before that honor was taken by Sigma with its fp and fp L models. This camera is completely different to other full-frame Sony cameras, with looks and handling more comparable to the A6000 series of APS-C cameras. And while the A7C may not be one of the best cameras available, it could comfortably be one of the best travel cameras currently available.

While from the outside the A7C looks like a slightly larger Sony A6600, the internals are almost identical to those of the Sony A7 III. Much of the performance is identical, and both cameras feature the same 24.2MP full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS sensor, which is capable of producing excellent image quality. Continuous shooting is available at up to 10fps, which is pretty impressive for a camera that’s aimed at vloggers and content creators.

Sony A7C on top of a wooden table — (Image credit: Future)

Sony A7C Specs:

Sensor: 24.2MP full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS sensor (35.6 x 23.8mm)
AF points: 693-point hybrid AF
Video: 4K up to 30fps
Viewfinder: 2.35m-dot
Memory cards: SD, SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I/II
LCD: 2.95-inch vari-angle touchscreen, 921k-dot
Max burst: 10fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C
Size: 124.0 x 71.1 x 59.7mm
Weight: 509g (with battery and SD card)

With those users in mind, the A7C is capable of capturing 8-bit 4K video at up to 30fps. While this is sufficient for producing videos for sharing on YouTube, it’s a little underwhelming, and possibly rules the camera out of a professional video workflow. That said, you can capture Full HD video at up to 120fps for slow-motion footage, although this is only going to be attractive if you typically output videos at 1080p.

The A7C is an intriguing option that will likely divide opinion. It may be a couple of years old now, but it can still hold its own against the competition and remains Sony’s smallest and lightest full-frame camera. It’s arguably a bit too expensive for what it is, however, at £1,850.00 / $1,799.99 / AU$2,399.00 body-only.

Let’s take a closer look at what it has to offer so that you can make up your own mind about whether this is the Sony camera for you.

Sony A7C release date and price

Announced in September 2020
Costs £1,850.00 / $1,799.99 / AU$2,399.00
Launched alongside the FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 kit lens

The Sony A7C was announced in September 2020. The camera body is available with a silver top plate, which was the only option at launch, or in all-black which is arguably the more appealing of the two options.

The price of the A7C has naturally come down since its launch, and it’s now available body-only for £1,850 / $1,799.99 / AU$2,399. The camera shares many features, and indeed its sensor, with the Sony A7 III, which has now been superseded by the A7 IV; the A7 IV isn’t a great deal more expensive than the A7C, but offers much more in terms of performance and handling.

Sony A7C at an angle — (Image credit: Future)

The A7C was released alongside the FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6, a compact lens that’s the perfect partner for the camera on account of its size and weight; typically for a kit lens it has a variable maximum aperture and a limited focal range, and there are many vastly better FE optics available to be paired with the A7C, although they’re mostly a lot bigger than the 28-60mm.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Sony A7C: design

Follows the APS-C A6000-series design
Vari-angle LCD screen
Weighs just 509g body-only with a battery and SD card

Measuring 124.0 x 71.1 x 59.7mm, and weighing just 509g with a battery and SD card, the A7C was the smallest and lightest full-frame camera at the time of its launch, which is impressive given that the A7C is, to all intents and purposes, a smaller and lighter A7 III. The smallest full-frame mirrorless camera title has since been claimed by the Sigma fp and fp L models, but where the Sony A7C does have the edge is that it features a built-in viewfinder – more on that later.

The small and lightweight body means it’s best to pair the camera with smaller FE lenses that naturally balance well with it. This isn’t a huge compromise, because while you could shoot sport and wildlife with the A7C, it’s more suited towards travel, landscape, portrait, and street photography. For sport and wildlife, there are much more capable models available in the Sony A-series lineup, most notably the Sony A1 and Sony A9 II.

The first thing you notice about the A7C is that it looks like the Sony A6600. This is a rangefinder-style design, with the electronic viewfinder positioned at the top-left of the camera’s rear, the LCD touchscreen below, and several direct-access controls to the right. On the top of the camera, you’ll find the mode dial, exposure compensation dial, video record button, and shutter button on the top of the small grip.

Sony A7C on top of table with flip out screen out to the side — (Image credit: Future)

The overall design, which includes a small and awkward-to-use viewfinder, alongside the 2.95-inch vari-angle touchscreen and top-mounted shutter button, suggests that the A7C is designed more for use with the LCD screen than with the viewfinder. The EVF is clear enough in use, but the display is simply too small for a full-frame camera and is uncomfortable to use. In bright conditions especially, it’s better to have than not, but a larger viewfinder with increased magnification would make a world of difference here.

Conversely, while the 2.95-inch vari-angle touchscreen only has a resolution of 921k dots, it’s comfortable to use for shooting both photos and video. Plus, it can be swung outwards to change the angle, and rotated forwards, making it ideal for vlogging. This is also useful for general video shooting and, of course, for stills, enabling you to comfortably shoot from high or low angles.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sony A7C: features and performance

Real-time AF tracking and Eye AF
Up to 10fps continuous shooting
5-axis in-body image stabilization

While the A7C is undoubtedly a camera that’s capable of producing excellent image quality, the feature set is, on the whole, rather underwhelming. The features on offer can’t be complained about, but there’s nothing that makes this camera stand out or gives it the ‘wow’ factor. To put it bluntly, if the A7C was a car it might be a Toyota Corolla; it’s dependable, and does everything you need it to do, but it’s far from being exciting.

For the many photographers who make minimal use of all of the bells and whistles their cameras have to offer, this will be ideal. That said, let’s take a look at a few areas where the A7C provides features that even the most demanding photographers would be happy with, and the first is autofocus performance, with 693 hybrid AF points covering approximately 93% of the frame.

Birds eye view of Sony A7C top plate — (Image credit: Future)

Autofocus locks positively onto subjects most of the time thanks to 693 phase-detection and 425 contrast-detection AF points; the number of active points is naturally reduced when shooting in APS-C mode. Then there’s Real-time AF tracking, where the camera uses AI to track moving subjects for both photos and video. Another useful AF feature is Real-time Eye AF for both humans and animals, which performs well, and makes shooting portraits at wide apertures incredibly easy.

When it comes to performance, 5-axis in-body image stabilization provides up to five stops of compensation for both photos and video. For stills, you can shoot handheld at shutter speeds of up to five stops slower than you would normally for a given lens/focal length. For video, image stabilization helps to provide smoother footage when shooting handheld.

For photographers who enjoy shooting at high frame rates, the A7C offers up to 10fps continuous shooting. Sony claims that you can capture around 215 continuous shots when shooting in JPEG Extra Fine, or around 45 uncompressed raw files. Another potentially useful feature, and one that’s more commonly found in professional cameras, is wireless tethering to a computer over 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. This allows you to transfer images for instant viewing and/or editing, which can be useful when shooting in a studio.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sony A7C: image and video quality

24.2MP full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS sensor
Video features could be better
Excellent high-ISO handling

There’s one area where no one is going to be complaining about the A7C, and that’s image quality. Photos can be captured in 14-bit raw, with compressed and uncompressed options available, alongside JPEG. Dynamic range is good, particularly at the base ISO of 100, with the camera able to capture detail throughout reasonably high-contrast scenes. Dynamic range, like all cameras, naturally reduces as ISO levels are increased, with the best results in a wider sense up to ISO 1600.

The native ISO range covers ISO 100-51,200, with an expanded range of ISO 50-204,800. In terms of noise handling, the A7C is a great performer with usable results up to ISO 25,600. ISO 12,800 is markedly better, with the best results at ISO 100-1600, although even up to ISO 6400 images retain impressive levels of detail, with low color and luminance noise.

Back LCD screen of Sony A7C onto of a table — (Image credit: Future)

Video quality is good overall, as you’d expect from a Sony A-series camera, but it’s not breathtaking, and some of the specs in this area are mediocre at best, especially when you consider that the camera is aimed at vloggers and content creators. On the plus side, the A7C offers S-Log2, S-Log3 and HLG modes as well as both microphone and headphone sockets.

As you’d expect, you can shoot video at up to 4K, but this is limited to 8-bit, 30fps at 100Mbps. This is perfectly adequate for producing videos for YouTube, but it wouldn’t stand up in a professional workflow. 10-bit 4K at 60fps or higher would be beneficial, but to put this into perspective even the new Sony A7R V only offers this level of video, which also seems lacking for such a high-end camera. On the plus side, 4K video is oversampled 6K, and you can shoot at up to 120fps in Full HD to capture slow-motion footage.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Should I buy the Sony A7C?

Sony A7C on to pf the table with lens attached — (Image credit: Future)

Buy it if....

Don't buy it if....

Also consider

Sony A7 IV
The Sony A7 IV will cost you a bit more at £2,399 / $2,498 / AU$3,499, but for your money you get a newer 33MP sensor, and 4K video up to 60fps in 10-bit. It’s a slightly bulkier camera that weighs more, but the onboard technology and the handling are significantly better. Plus, the viewfinder is leagues ahead of the A7C’s, and the vari-angle LCD screen provides the same level of convenience.View Deal

Fujifilm XT-5
If you’re looking for a small and lightweight camera that punches well above its weight, the Fujifilm XT-5 is worth considering for both photography and video. The 40.2MP BSI X-Trans sensor is APS-C, but Fujifilm cameras are well known for being able to match, and in some cases exceed, the performance of full-frame mirrorless cameras. The body-only price is the same as the A7C, but it’s packed with the latest Fujifilm technology. View Deal

How I tested the Sony A7C

I tested the Sony A7C over several days, with a focus on travel and the outdoors, to put the camera through its paces in situations it’s been designed for. I took photos in a variety of lighting conditions in order to test factors such as dynamic range, autofocus, ISO handling and, of course, how easy and comfortable the camera is to use for its intended purpose, alongside more general shooting.

Most shooting was handheld as this fits with the travel aspect of the camera while necessitating the use of a variety of settings to achieve correct exposures. Photos were taken in different shooting modes according to the subject being photographed – for example, Shutter Priority for panning shots and Aperture Priority for general shooting. I used several different lenses to assess how well they balanced with the A7C’s lightweight design.

With nearly 30 years of photographic experience and 15 years working as a photography journalist, I’ve covered almost every conceivable subject, and used many of the cameras that have been released in that time. I’ve also used and reviewed almost every full-frame Sony A-series camera since the launch of the A7R, so I have first-hand experience of the development of the system.

Sony ZV-1F Review: vlogging simplified

12:00 pm | February 5, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: AF, JPEG, LCD, US | Comments: Off

Two-minute review

The Sony ZV-1F is designed for anyone who wants to create quality video content, but doesn’t perhaps have the most advanced camera knowledge. It’s neat, fits easily into a pocket, and offers great 4K video footage, making it a brilliant choice for beginner vloggers.

It’s ideal for anyone wanting to move away from shooting video on their smartphone, and will absolutely hold its own if you’re wanting to make the move into videography to upload to YouTube or social media.

Canon EOS R6 II specs

Sensor: 20.1 Megapixel 1" CMOS
AF points: 4,897 point Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, 100% coverage
Video: UHD 4K at 24, 25, 29.97 FPS, HD at 24, 25, , 29.97, 50, 59.94, 100
LCD: 3-inch LCD vari-angle touchscreen, 921,600 Dot
Memory card: Single Slot: SD/SDHC/SDXC
Max Burst: Up to 16 fps
Connectivity: Micro-HDMI Output, 1/8" / 3.5 mm TRS Stereo Input, USB-C Input, USB-C (USB 2.0) Data Output (Shared with Power Input), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Size: 105.5 × 60 × 46.4mm
Weight: 256 grams (Battery and Memory Card)

You can adjust the settings on this camera as little or as much as you’d like; you’ll get fantastic results either way. It features Intelligent Auto modes, which read the scene you’re shooting and makes the decisions for you like how bright the picture is, or you can set it to manual mode where you have control of all the settings and exposure levels.

Photography is possible, but it plays second fiddle to video. If you do want to delve into the menus and you’re new to Sony, be warned that its cameras take getting used to; many users can be overwhelmed and confused by the dense menus. Much of the time it's easier just to set the custom buttons to what you want, then stay out of the menus as much as possible.

Sony ZV-F1 with flip out screen out placed on a bench — (Image credit: Future)

Other than that this is an incredibly intuitive little camera. It will turn on as soon as you flip the screen open, making it very quick and easy to get recording, and it has three main modes – video, S&Q (Sony’s ‘slow’ and ‘quick’ in-camera modes for videos such as timelapses and slow motion), and photo — all accessible with just the press of a single button on the top of the body.

Image stabilization is super impressive, while the face and eye tracking is second to none, as is standard for Sony cameras.

Sony claims you can easily transfer all your images and videos over to your smartphone or computer using its Imaging Edge smartphone app – but anyone who's actually used this app will tell you it’s… not great. If Sony could put as much effort into its app as it does in its cameras and autofocus, then it would make sharing your images an awful lot easier.

This is definitely a camera for vloggers rather than photographers, though, as it doesn't have raw capture capabilities. Also, its lens isn't interchangeable, and while the 20mm lens is decent for video, it limits your photography options somewhat.

Sony ZV-F1 on a tripod in the middle of a frozen field — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ZV-1F: release date and price

Benefits from optional accessories like the GP-VP2BT grip
Cheaper in the US
Accessory bundles not available in all regions

The Sony ZV-1F was released on October 17 2022, and you can buy it now for £550 / $499 / AU$845.

An accessory and travel bundle that includes memory cards, a flexible tripod, a pouch to keep your camera safe and dust free, and cleaning supplies is available on Amazon US priced at $598, but it didn’t appear to be available in the UK or Australia at the time of writing.

The handling of a vlogging camera like the Sony ZV-1F is enhanced with optional accessories like the GP-VP2BT grip (£170 / $139.99 / AU$249), which gives more stability when vlogging. This grip can be used both as an extension of your arm and as a mini tripod.

Price Score: 4/5

Sony ZV-F1 showing side connectivity — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ZV-1F: design

Small and lightweight at just 256 grams
Optimized for auto rather than manual shooting
You’ll likely need to use a grip if you don’t have small hands

The Sony ZV-1F probably isn’t going to be the best-designed camera you’ve ever come across, but it does have some great features which lend themselves to the types of shooting you’d likely be doing with this camera.

Part of the beauty of the Sony ZV-1F is its small size — it weighs just 256 grams and measures 10.5 x 6 x 4.6cm, making it incredibly easy to travel with, or to just stick it in your pocket when you’re out and about and want to access it quickly.

That said, while nobody wants to lug a heavy camera around all day, its small size could be a disadvantage, depending on the user. It’s a tiny little camera, and it doesn’t have the biggest front grip, meaning it could be fiddly to hold onto if you don’t have small hands. You can alleviate this potential issue by using it with the aforementioned GP-VPT2BT grip, however, that does involve spending more money.

Sony ZV-F1 held in the hand showing back of the camera — (Image credit: Future)

The Sony ZV-1F has been built with partly recycled plastic material as part of Sony’s Road to Zero environmental plan, and the fibers of the windscreen are made exclusively from recycled polyester.

It’s designed to be dust-proof and moisture-resistant, but it isn’t weather sealed. This does make it a less than ideal proposition for traveling as, obviously, you can’t control the weather, but – unless you’re a storm chaser – you probably won’t be using it much in wetter weather anyway, so it’s not a huge deal breaker for us. Additionally, if you’re looking at this camera after handling some top-of-the-line stills cameras, it’s going to feel plasticky and flimsy in comparison.

On the top of the camera is a button to switch between photo, video, and S&Q shooting modes, a video record button and a camera shutter button with a zoom toggle, and a Background Defocus button (great for showcasing products). On the back of the camera body there are the standard function, menu, playback and delete buttons, along with a control wheel via which you can access the ISO, timer, drive modes and exposure compensation — although these can all be reprogrammed to perform other functions.

Design 3.5/5

Sony ZV-F1 placed on a countertop showing top plate and windscreen — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ZV-1F: features and performance

Decent eye and face tracking for humans and animals
Versatile touch-screen
Impressive SteadyShot

For such a small camera, the Sony ZV-1F can actually do quite a lot once you delve into its settings and features. Although the Intelligent Auto mode works a treat, you can also shoot fully in manual if you want to, as well as in Aperture and Shutter Priority, plus a few other modes.

There’s also a Background Clear/Defocus button on the top of the camera, which is great for showcasing products or focusing on a certain person in your shot. In photography terms, this is basically a quick and easy way to change your aperture to create a nice bokeh effect. You can also change the aperture manually when the camera is in the right shooting mode, with the available range running from f/2 to f/8.

When I was out reviewing this camera, I was very impressed and pleasantly surprised with how effective SteadyShot is, particularly when shooting video. When I looked back at the footage it was obvious that I was walking around with the camera, but those movements didn’t ruin the footage and overall it did seem very smooth. Matters would be improved even further if you were to use the camera with a gimbal.

Sony ZV-F1 showing flip out screen — (Image credit: Future)

I’m primarily a stills photographer with little video experience, so I’m very much in the target audience for the ZV-1F. At a Christmas market, I found it’s quick to take out when needed, and switches on as soon as you flip the screen out, so I was able to start shooting almost instantly.

One frustration every photographer is familiar with: you see something happen that you want to capture, but by the time you’ve got your camera out of your bag, done the bag up again, turned the camera on and selected the right settings, the moment you wanted to shoot is long gone; so this was a nice change. I’m also quite a clunky walker, and I noticed just how good SteadyShot was when the video footage wasn’t going all over the place.

Even in the dark, Sony’s incredible autofocus was brilliant. One odd limitation of this camera is that it uses an older contrast-detection system, rather a hybrid setup that includes both contrast- and phase-detect technology, which makes it slightly less reliable than its predecessor.

Having said that, when I was walking around the market I noticed the AF automatically recognizing and tracking people’s faces as they walked across the frame, even when they weren’t looking directly at the camera. There’s animal recognition too, although when I tested this on a couple of camera-shy black cats it didn’t seem to detect and track their faces unless I focused myself by tapping on the screen, so it seems that its effectiveness depends on the lighting, and the color of the animal you’re working with.

Features and performance 4/5

Sony ZV-F1 held in the hand — (Image credit: Future)

Sony ZV-1F: image and video quality

Better suited for daytime or well-lit shooting
Can only shoot JPEG images
Good audio, but you’ll need an external mic for the best results

While it’s not the most powerful, all-singing all-dancing camera in the world, the Sony ZV-1F does actually produce great image and video quality. It has a 1-inch sensor with 20.1MP resolution which isn’t bad at all, and can record 4K video and slow motion in Full HD with its wide and sharp 20mm lens.

We found that the ZV-1F performed better during the day than in lower-light situations, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning on shooting content at night. Looking at the footage we shot of a Christmas market, overall the camera handled the contrasting light levels pretty well.

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You can see in our sample images and videos that well-lit subjects and scenes were captured very well, although with the occasional blown highlights; the darker skies had noticeable noise and grain - something we’d expect from a 1-inch sensor.

The ZV-1F is designed to capture your voice clearly, whether you’re shooting inside or outdoors. It’s perfect for recording dialogue, as it features a built-in directional three-capsule microphone. It also comes with a windscreen to eliminate any muffling from winds, which can make or break a video. We found the sound was captured very well for casual day-to-day vlogging, but for anything more professional you’ll definitely need an external mic for better audio quality.

Another thing worth noting is that when it comes to photography, this camera can only shoot JPEGs. While the images that came out of it were very good, you don’t have as much detail, or editing headroom, as you get with raw files. That said, if you just want to snap quick images that you can upload quickly with little or no editing, this camera will be absolutely fine.

Image and video quality 3.5/5

Should I buy the Sony ZV-1F?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If our Sony ZV-1F review has you wondering about alternatives, here are three rivals to consider:

Sony ZV-1F: testing scorecard

First reviewed: January 2023

Canon EOS R6 II review: hybrid just got better

8:00 pm | January 27, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: AF, LCD, UK, US | Comments: Off

Two-minute review

If you’re buying into Canon’s EOS R mirrorless system, you might well be weighing the do-it-all EOS R6 II against the more expensive and high-powered EOS R5. Plenty chose the original EOS R6 for its price, low-light capability, burst shooting and video features, and the R6 II removes one remaining barrier – the original model’s 20MP resolution.

The Mark II’s resolution increase will may not make much difference to the detail rendition, but it’s an important psychological bonus which puts the Canon on a par with rivals like the Lumix S5 (and now the S5 II), Nikon Z6 II and Sony A7 III (though not quite the A7 IV).

Canon EOS R6 II camera on a tripod with no lens and image sensor visible — (Image credit: Future)

The R6 Mark II’s burst mode frame rates are doubled to 40fps with the electronic shutter but stay at 12fps with the mechanical shutter, and while the AI-powered AF subject recognition has been extended with more subject types, the original was pretty good already.

Canon EOS R6 II specs

Sensor: 24.2MP full frame CMOS
AF points: 4,897 point Dual PIxel CMOS AF II, 100% coverage
Video: 4K UHD up to 60p, FHD up to 180p
Viewfinder: OLED 3.69m-dot
LCD: 3-inch vari-angle touch 1.62m-dot
Memory card: 2x SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II
Max Burst: 12fps mechanical shutter (1,000+ JPEG, 110 RAW/1,000 CRAW), 40fps electronic shutter (190 JPEG, 75 RAW/140CRAW)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mic, Headphone, HDMI Type D, USB 3.2
Size: 138.4 × 98.4 × 88.4mm
Weight: 670g (inc. battery and SD card)

For video, the original 30-minute recording limit has been scrapped and Canon reckons the R6 II can shoot for over 40 minutes at 4K 60p, and up to 6 hours at 4K 30p. It also has Canon C Log 3 and can capture 6K ProRes RAW over HDMI.

These things are all great, but they are incremental rather than revolutionary improvements, and they make for a pretty expensive camera that’s only worth it if you need everything that it does.

The EOS R6 II is nice to use and captures very attractive stills and video, but the 8-stop IBIS system will not necessarily deliver that in real life and does not have the fluency for smooth camera movements in video. The EOS R6 II feels like one of the better cameras in its class, but not necessarily the best and definitely not the cheapest.

Canon EOS R6 II: release date and price

About the same price at launch as the old R6, which is welcome
Much more expensive in the UK than the US
Seems expensive compared to the Sony A7 IV and Lumix S5 II

New Canon cameras typically arrive with premium price tags relative to the competition and take a while – sometimes a very long while – to move back down to a more competitive price point. Launch price for the Canon EOS R6 II is $2,499.99 / £2,799 / AU$4499 body only, and $3,599.99 / £3,999 / AU$6399 bundled with the RF 24-105mm F4 lens.

It’s no surprise then, that the EOS R6 II immediately looks expensive compared to its rivals. These include the Nikon Z6 II, Sony A7 II and the brand new Panasonic Lumix S5 II, all of which are around $500 cheaper. Indeed, even the 30MP Sony A7 IV currently costs less than the Canon. And if you’re thinking of getting the R6 II and 24-105mm f/4 lens bundle, that’s almost the price of an EOS R5 body.

Canon EOS R6 II in the hand of reviewer — (Image credit: Future)

So is the EOS R6 II good enough to make it worth the extra compared to its direct rivals? At this level, you commit to a system rather than a specific camera, and if you’re starting from scratch you’ll need a lot of trust in the Canon brand to pay the extra for the R6 II. If you’re a Canon shooter, the R6 II might make a logical upgrade for existing kit, but if you already use Sony, Panasonic or Nikon gear, it’s hard to see why you would switch.

Price Score: 3.5/5

Canon EOS R6 II: design

Curved shapes and smooth materials make it nice to handle
Very good EFV and rear display
Some minor control niggles

Canon does make very nice-handling cameras. When other makers seem to be favoring hard-edged rectilinear designs, the EOS R6 II has comfortable curved contours and soft, grippy surfaces. Your little finger is still left dangling at the bottom of the grip and it does feel overbalanced by bigger lenses – we tested it with the RF 24-105mm f/4 – but it’s more comfortable than its rivals.

The three-dial control layout does take some learning, since the dial functions depend on the mode and in some modes two dials do the same thing, but it’s all part of learning a sophisticated camera.

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Canon EOS R6 II video and photo mode dial close up — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II top plate from above — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II shooting mode dial and controls close up — (Image credit: Future)

It would have been nice to have had dedicated ISO and WB buttons, and why doesn’t the stills/video lever on the far left of the top plate have a continuous shooting option? It’s something this camera is especially good at, so it’s a bit annoying to have to dig around the the interface to find it.

And you might wish there was some quick way to disable the subject-recognition system for when you want to choose the focus point – though you could do that with the C1, C2 and C3 settings on the main mode dial.

It does feels as if Canon has gone away from the idea of a camera that has buttons and dials you can see, to a camera you customize and program yourself.

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Canon EOS R6 II in the hands of reviewer — (Image credit: Future)

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Reviewer taking a picture with Canon EOS R6 II looking through the viewfinder — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II with memory card door open and SD card — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II ports door held open revealing USB-C and HDMI out ports — (Image credit: Future)

The EVF offers superb clarity, definition and contrast, though it can also be a bit jittery as you move the camera, and while the vari-angle rear screen is equally excellent, could Canon not have stretched to a 3.2-inch display rather than 3-inch?

If you like cameras with power levers around the shutter release, right where your forefinger is, you won’t like the R6 II’s big Off-Lock-On lever further back on the top plate. There must be some ergonomic reason why you should need one hand to hold a camera and another to switch it on and off. Answers on a postcard.

There’s no status panel on the top plate, but the menu system, although extensive, is very clear and easy to navigate. The video record button on the on the top plate looks to be in a random position but it’s actually quite easy to find with your index finger.

Design 4/5

Canon EOS R6 II: features and performance

Really good AI autofocus and tracking
Operation all-round is smooth, responsive and satisfying
We didn’t get Canon’s claimed 8-stops of IBIS

Canon’s latest AI autofocus system is very impressive – mostly because you can set its subject-recognition to auto and let it get on with it. Almost always it figures out what your subject is and focuses on it without you having to do a thing. It’s especially effective with animals and humans, but it’s also very good at identifying cars.

If you choose Zone AF or single point AF, it will still show you what it’s recognized in the EVF or on the rear screen, but it will respect your area/point AF choice, which saves you getting into a fight with the camera over what to focus on.

Canon EOS R6 II profile and outside on a tripod

(Image credit: Future)

The eye AF and tracking is very good, and ideal for one-person vlogging crews filming themselves. In our tests it tracked us doggedly as we walked about talking to the camera, and only failed with sudden frame entries for fast and erratic movements. Basically, as long as you’re not deliberately trying to trip it up, it doesn’t put a foot wrong.

It was also excellent for tracking squirrels in our local park. With a squirrel face-on it didn’t quite figure out the eyes, but with the squirrel sideways it got the focus bang on.

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Canon EOS R6 II rear screen with subject tracking AF active — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II white balance menu on rear screen — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II subject tracking AF menu on rear screen — (Image credit: Future)

The 8-stop (claimed) IBIS is less convincing. It’s quoted with the RF 24-105mm lens at 105mm, which is just how we tested it. We got an acceptable hit rate at around 4-stops compensation, but pretty poor results after that.

We didn’t find it great for video or long lenses, either. For static filming it’s excellent, but for any kind of camera movement it does too many ‘jump-resets’ for reliable footage in the hands of all but the most skilled operators. We tried it with the RF 800mm f/11 super-telephoto and got the same results – if you can’t keep this lens’s movement under tight control, the stabilizer just jumps from one ‘stable’ position to another, making accurate framing very difficult.

Features and performance 4/5

Canon EOS R6 II on a tripod outside with no lens and sensor protector active — (Image credit: Future)

Canon EOS R6 II: image and video quality

Very attractive color rendering for both stills and video
Excellent high-ISO image quality
24MP resolution enough for most but unremarkable

The JPEGs we got from the R6 II are really attractive. The auto WB seems to judge the lighting and the colors of the scene perfectly, and the evaluative exposure metering seems to know exactly how you would want a scene rendered. We shot both JPEG and raw, but the exposure system and the JPEG rendering proved so effective that the raw files were largely superfluous.

The resolution was no better and no worse than we’d expect from a 24MP full frame camera with an anti-aliasing filter. For resolution, the EOS R6 II is good but utterly unremarkable. At least it’s not at a megapixel disadvantage compared to most rivals, unlike its predecessor.

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Canon EOS R6 II gallery seaside town reflected in the ocean on calm sunny day — (Image credit: Future)

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canon eos r6 II gallery season toiwn reflected in ocean with overcast weather — (Image credit: Future)

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canon eos r6 II gallery dilapidated pier on a sunny day — (Image credit: Future)

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canon eos r6 II gallery squirrel in sharp focus — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II wildlife squirrel picture with back focusing — (Image credit: Future)

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canon eos r6 II gallery close up of colourful graffiti — (Image credit: Future)

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canon eos r6 II close up of buddhist statue — (Image credit: Future)

The low-light, high-ISO performance is extremely good. We set up a test scene with the same subject shot at a range of ISOs with the camera on a tripod and operated with the self-timer to eliminate any possible shake. The results were very good indeed right up to ISO 6400, when it was possible to start seeing some loss of detail and image smoothing, but it wasn’t until ISO 12,800 when we felt there was any significant quality loss.

This was all done by comparing JPEGs. The danger of comparing raw files is that different raw converters handle noise differently.

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Canon EOS R6 II sequence of studio images of a Leicameter this one at ISO 100 — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II sequence of studio images of a Leicameter this one at ISO 400 — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II sequence of studio images of a Leicameter this one at ISO 1600 — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II sequence of studio images of a Leicameter this one at ISO 6400 — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II sequence of studio images of a Leicameter this one at ISO 25600 — (Image credit: Future)

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Canon EOS R6 II sequence of studio images of a Leicameter this one at ISO 102400 — (Image credit: Future)

The video quality was very impressive too. We shot 4K 30p and 4K 60p in-camera in standard mode (no log flattening) to see what the R6 II could do straight out of the box. Detail was sharp, the color rendition was rich and natural and the exposure – as with stills photography – gave enough dynamic range for most needs and lighting conditions. The AF kept up well too, with smooth shifts for changing subject distances.

The IBIS was less convincing, failing to properly smooth out walking footage and not handling long focal lengths or smooth camera movements (or as smooth as we could make them) particularly well.

The IBIS could get you out of a hole if you’re shooting handheld and you don’t have your tripod or gimbal but, realistically, you need those supports to really get the best from this or any camera.

Image and video quality 5/5

Should I buy the Canon EOS R6 II?

Don't buy it if...

Canon EOS R6 II outside on a tripod with 24-105mm lens attached — (Image credit: Future)

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If our Canon EOS R6 II review has you wondering about alternatives, here are three rivals to consider.

Canon EOS R6 II: testing scorecard

First reviewed: January 2023

Sony A7R V review

4:06 pm | January 16, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers Gadgets Mirrorless Cameras | Tags: AF, EVF | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: January 2023
• Sony's best AI-powered autofocus performance
• Launch price: $3,899 / £3,999 / AU$5,899 (body only)
• Official price now: $3,199 / £3,699 / AU$5,499 (body only)

Update: February 2024. The full-frame A7R V's max 61MP resolution is only matched by Sony's own A7C R and various Leica cameras including the Q3. Put simply, in this sensor format you won't get better detail in your pictures. Furthermore, it's autofocus is powered by a dedicated AI chip for improved subject detection, and that's still the best AF performance in any Sony camera, now matched by the A9 III. It's one of the best professional cameras that has also dropped in price on Sony's website since its January 2023 launch, making it better value, too. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Sony A7R V: Two-minute review

Sony released the first high-resolution full-frame mirrorless camera – the A7R back in 2013 – and we’ve had an updated model every couple of years since, culminating in the fifth iteration of the series, the A7R V. A lot has changed in the cameras since then in terms of the ergonomics, handling and, of course, the technology employed. But with more rivals on the scene now, the A7R V is up against some stiff competition from the likes of the Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z 7II.

The Sony A7R V on a table straight from above with lens attached — (Image credit: Future)

Being the newest model on the block, and offering some impressive specs, the A7R V ultimately has little to worry about, despite not providing the highest performance in all areas. Features include a new 61MP sensor and Bionz XR processing engine, up to eight stops of in-body image stabilization, increased burst shooting and AI-powered subject recognition to improve autofocus. Then there’s video capture up to 8K at 24fps and 4K up to 60fps.

Sony A7R V specs

Sensor: 61MP BSI full-frame CMOS
Processor: Bionz XR (with AI processing unit)
Autofocus: 693-point phase-detection
AF subject recognition: human, animal, bird, insects, car, train, automobile
EVF: 9.44-million dot Quad XGA
In-body stabilization: up to eight stops
Continuous shooting: 10fps
Continuous shooting buffer: 184 raw (compressed)
Video: 8K/24p, 4K/60p, 10-bit 4:2:2

Image quality is, as you’d hope, excellent for both photos and video. But with the high-resolution sensor, you’ll need to use Sony’s best lenses in the G and GM ranges with the resolving power to complement the camera. It’s unlikely that you’d be using lower-end lenses if you’re prepared to pay approximately $3,900 / £4,000 / AU$5,900 for a camera body so it shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re upgrading from a lower-resolution A7 model and already have some cheaper lenses, it’s certainly something to bear in mind.

Sony A7R V: Release date and price

Went on sale in December 2022
Launched with a list price of approximately $3,900 / £4,000 / AU$5,900
Price close to medium format

The A7R V was announced in October 2022, and was available to buy from December 2022, costing approximately $3,900 / £4,000 / AU$5,900. We might have expected a slightly higher price given the launch price of the A7R IV and the consequent rise in camera prices over the last year or two.

The Sony A7R V on a table straight on front — (Image credit: Future)

That said, the cost of the camera is getting close to that of medium-format models. For instance, the Fujifilm GFX 100S costs approximately $6,000 / £4,800 / AU$9,300 body-only. Those shooting faster subjects such as sport and wildlife, and/or video, the A7R V is undoubtedly the better option, but landscape, portrait and studio photographers could benefit from the larger sensor (1.7x) and higher 100MP resolution of the GFX 100S.

Price Score: 4/5

Sony A7R V: design

Versatile 4-axis articulating touchscreen
Moderate 10fps continuous shooting
Dual SD/CFexpress Type A card slots

The overall design of the A7R V is extremely similar to that of previous models, with most innovations occurring under the hood, although there are a few design tweaks that improve upon the A7R IV. Current Sony users will almost certainly feel at home, and newcomers should be able to navigate the main settings with little to no problems.

On the back of the camera is a new 4-axis 3.2-inch articulating touchscreen, which allows the screen to be tilted and flipped out sideways, and twisted to face forwards; perfect for both stills photography and video. This makes the screen slightly bulkier than on the previous two models, which only had a tilting screen, but this doesn’t impact overall handling. The electronic viewfinder is the same one as on the A7S III, and features an excellent 9.44-million dot resolution with 0.9x magnification.

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The Sony A7R V on a table from above with screen flipped out — (Image credit: Future)

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The Sony A7R V on a table with dual hinge screen flipped out — (Image credit: Future)

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The Sony A7R V on a table straight on back with screen on — (Image credit: Future)

Moving up to the top of the camera, the exposure compensation dial is now unmarked, and like most of the buttons and dials it can be set to perform another function if users wish, although having it set to exposure compensation is the most convenient option, despite the almost infinite ways in which you can customize Sony cameras.

Just like previous A7R models, there are two card slots on the side of the grip that can be set to record in several different ways when two cards are installed. On the A7R V, the card slots can take both SD and CFexpress Type A cards, with the latter being the faster of the two options. This is great if you prefer the cost and capacity benefits of SD cards, but to realize the full speed potential of the camera, considerably more expensive CFexpress Type A cards are a must

The Sony A7R V close up of the ports — (Image credit: Future)

Shooting speed has also been improved, and the buffer is also larger, with a continuous shooting speed of 10fps available. Sony claims that up to 583 compressed raw images can be captured in Hi+ mode with compressed raw files. For testing, we used a 128GB Kingston Canvas React Plus SD card with transfer speeds of up to 300MB/s. This allowed us to separately shoot 170 JPEGs in Fine quality, 100 Compressed raw files and 50 uncompressed raw files before the camera began to stutter. It’s a far cry from the claimed buffer performance, but is still respectable, and more than most photographers would ever need.

This card was absolutely fine for shooting 8K video, and the camera was able to shoot for 30 minutes. The camera body did heat up during recording in a 64.5F / 18C room, which wasn’t an issue, but in warmer temperatures when shooting outdoors this could be problematic. One way to aid heat dissipation in warmer temperatures when shooting video is to open the battery door on the bottom of the camera, although this presents obvious risks.

Design 5/5

Sony A7R V: features and performance

Subject-recognition autofocus
8-stop image stabilization
Improved Pixel Shift Multi Shooting

While the A7R IV didn’t offer a great deal more to entice A7R III owners to upgrade, the A7R V aims to address the deficiencies of its predecessor, and is a much more well-rounded camera overall. The improvements Sony has implemented, alongside the inclusion of some welcome new features, make it significantly more attractive, whether you’re upgrading from an earlier model or switching to Sony from another brand.

One new feature, which is designed to address sensor dust complaints from A7R IV users, is the ability to have the shutter close when the camera is switched off. This might work, but after only using the camera for a few weeks it’s impossible to test this claim. Although, given that DSLR shutters close after each shot has been taken, and these cameras still suffer from sensor dust, whether it’ll be effective is questionable.

The Sony A7R V on a table without a lens — (Image credit: Future)

Image stabilization has been improved, with up to eight stops of compensation available when shooting stills. During testing, it was easy to shoot sharp handheld images with a shutter speed of around 1/8 sec, and with a particularly steady hand it was even possible to shoot as slow as one second. For video, Active Mode image stabilization aids smooth handheld shooting, and can be paired with some lenses that feature optical image stabilization for even smoother video.

Pixel Shift Multi Shooting has also been improved. In this mode the camera captures 16 frames, with the sensor position shifted slightly between each, which can then be merged into a huge 240.8MP image that’s claimed to be better corrected for minor movement in scenes. This requires Sony’s Image Edge Desktop software to be used, but it would be much more convenient if these composite images were merged in-camera.

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The Sony A7R V on a table angled front with lens — (Image credit: Future)

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The Sony A7R V on a table straight close up of top controls — (Image credit: Future)

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The A7R V features 693 AF points and offers Real-time Recognition AF, enabling you to select from Human, Animal/Bird, Animal, Bird, Insect, Car/Train and Airplane. The Human option is much more advanced than simply eye or face detection, and can identify people in wider scenes. The feature generally works well across subjects, but it’s not perfect, and turning off subject recognition requires delving into the camera menu. The best way to switch Real-time Recognition AF on and off is to include this in My Menu, which is the camera’s custom user menu.

My Menu is incredibly useful overall, because Sony cameras are infamous for their labyrinthine menu systems. Another feature worth including here is Bulb Timer Settings. With this, when shooting in Bulb mode you can select any exposure duration from two to 900 seconds, which is incredibly useful when shooting long exposures. With this setting turned on, you can use the self-timer to release the shutter and the camera will time the exposure for you – fantastic when using a Big Stopper.

Features and performance 4/5

Sony A7R V: image and video quality

New 61MP Exmor R sensor boasts 15 stops dynamic range
Impressive ISO handling
Sharp video up to 8K video

Image quality in many respects comes down to the optics you attach to the camera, with higher-quality lenses naturally offering the best possible image quality. And with the A7R V, this is certainly the case – you’ll get the best results using higher-quality Sony G lenses such as the 20mm F1.8 and 90mm F2.8 Macro and the flagship G Master lenses. The high-resolution sensor is unforgiving when the camera is paired with cheaper and lower-quality optics, so you do need to avoid these if you want the A7R V to achieve its potential.

With high-quality lenses, image quality for both stills and video is excellent thanks to the new 61MP Exmor R sensor and Bionz XR processing engine. Dynamic range is advertised at 15 stops, and you can certainly increase the exposure of underexposed raw files considerably before image degradation becomes problematic. Photo capture is available in 14-bit raw, compressed raw, HEIF and JPEG, so you’ve got plenty of options.

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A long exposure seascape taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

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Details of a bridge against a sunny sky taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

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Details of crumbling wall taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

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A modern building on a sunny day taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

ISO performance is impressive within the native ISO 100-32,000 range, with the expanded range taking settings from ISO 50-102,400. The best quality comes at settings up to ISO 1600, with images shot at up to 6400 still looking reasonably good, and those taken at up to ISO 25,600 providing usable results. Beyond this, noise and color loss become very evident, leaving images pretty much unusable.

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Inside an abandoned building taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

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Beach homes in the sun taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

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A river and sunny landscape taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

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A cityscape reflected in water on a sunny day taken with the Sony A7R V — (Image credit: Future)

Video quality is equally impressive, with 8K video available at 24fps, 4K up to 60fps, and FHD up to 120fps in NTSC or 100fps in PAL, with a 4:2:2 10-bit color depth available. Color profiles include S-Cinetone and S-Log3 among others, so there’s plenty to keep hybrid stills/video shooters happy. Videographers will find the A7S III is a better camera overall for shooting video; you could certainly shoot professional video with the A7R V, but it’s not the best Sony A-series camera for the job.

Image and video quality 5/5

Should I buy the Sony A7R V?

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If our Sony A7R V review has you wondering about alternatives, here are two rivals to consider.

Sony A7R V: testing scorecard

First reviewed: January 2023

OM System OM-5

7:54 pm | November 4, 2022

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers Gadgets Mirrorless Cameras | Tags: AF, LCD | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: November 2022
• Launch price: Body only $1,199.99 / £1,199 / AU$2,150
• Official price now: Body only $1,199.99 / £1,199 / AU$2,150

Update: March 2024. OM System does compact mirrorless camera systems for photography better than anyone, using a micro four thirds sensor that strikes an excellent balance between performance and size, not to mention a huge range of lenses available for all types of photography and budgets. The OM-5 feels great in the hand, looks the part and boasts superb image stablization meaning you can ditch the tripod and pack light. It was a minor update of the EM5 III, but in 2024 it remains one of the best travel cameras for enthusiasts.

OM System OM-5: two-minute review

The OM System OM-5 is kind of new, but not in a big way. It’s really a refresh and an update of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III, with new branding, improved stabilization and weatherproofing, and a couple of new features from higher-end models, including starry sky AF, and live ND filters for longer exposures in bright light.

The main specs stay the same, including the 20MP MFT sensor, 121-point phase-detect AF, and video up to 4K 30p. That might sound a little disappointing, but there’s more to the OM-5 than the headline specs.

OM System OM-5 specs

Sensor: 20.4MP MFT Live MOS

AF points: 121-point phase detect

Video: C4K 24p, 4K 30p, FHD 60p, High-speed 120p FHD

Viewfinder: OLED 2.36m-dot

Memory card: Single SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II

LCD: 3-inch vari-angle touch 1.04m-dot

Max Burst: 10fps mechanical shutter (buffer unlimited JPEG / 149 raw), 30fps electronic shutter (buffer 20 JPEG / 18 raw), 30fps Pro Capture

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mic, HDMI Type D, USB 2

Size: 125.3 x 85.2 x 49.7mm

Weight: 414g (inc. battery and SD card)

For a start, like the E-M5 III before it, it packs a lot of features, controls and performance into a very small body. This is a pocket-sized interchangeable lens camera that can shoot at 10fps, or 30fps with 14-shot pre-buffer in Pro Capture mode. It has Live Bulb and Live Composite modes for watching exposure build ‘live’ at night, and its pixel-shift High Res capture mode can create 50MP images handheld, and 80MP images on a tripod.

The external controls are remarkably well laid out for a camera so small, with a real quality feel to them, and as well as an EVF you get a vari-angle screen. OM System is pitching this as a go-anywhere adventure camera and it’s certainly one of the best travel cameras you can buy, thanks in part to some excellent, compact and affordable lenses.

The OM-5 may not break any technical barriers, but as a piece of intelligent product design, it’s pretty remarkable.

OM System OM-5: price and release date

• OM System OM-5 body only: $1,199.99 / £1,199 (about AU$2,150)
• OM System OM-5 with 12-45mm f/4 Pro lens: $1,599.99 / £1,499 (about AU$2,850)
• OM System OM-5 with 14-150mm f/5.6 II lens (UK only): £1,499

The previous Olympus OM-D E-M5 III was never a cheap camera, and that’s worth mentioning, because although the OM-5 has a new maker and a new model name, it's largely the same camera.

So if the OM-5’s predecessor seemed stubbornly pricey back then, the same applies now. The OM-5 is a powerful little camera, but it does not do anything remarkable for the money; it's worth its price tag in our opinion, but you're not getting a bargain in terms of value for money.

It’s up against some good cameras in the same price bracket, including the Canon EOS R10, Fujifilm X-S10, Nikon Z50 and Sony A6400, all of which have APS-C sensors. But then the Canon and the Nikon don’t have any lenses to speak of (it’s true!), and the A6400 is an old camera with no IBIS, which leaves the Fujifilm X-S10 as the most serious competitor.

The OM-5 has a smaller MFT sensor, of course. A lot of folk are convinced this gives it a serious image quality disadvantage – wrongly, as it happens. What it also has is a range of lenses that's broadar then those of it's rivals, and the lenses themselves are physically smaller. You can’t use a camera without lenses.

• Value rating: 4/5

OM System OM-5 design and handling

• Mini-DSLR style design
• Flip-out vari-angle screen
• Single SD card slot
• Twin control dials
• Dual mode function lever

For a camera packing this performance, power, and range of features, the OM-5 is very small. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether you're using big professional, constant-aperture lenses, or the smaller zooms and primes from the Olympus range – and whether you're looking for a tiny travel camera or a big do-it-all mirrorless with serious grunt.

With smaller lenses, the OM-5 is just divine. If you want to use larger lenses, it really needs the optional grip (this doesn't take extra batteries; it's just a bigger grip) in order for it to feel balanced and comfortable.

Regardless of that, OM System (not ‘Olympus’, remember) has done a remarkable job of getting a lot of very usable physical controls onto such a small body.

The EVF is good enough, though it lacks the outright resolution of newer and more expensive rivals, and the flip-out vari-angle screen on the back is a nice feature on a camera as small as this, and a useful one too.

The single SD card slot might deter power users looking for the additional security and backup options of a dual-card setup, but there’s a limit to how much you can fit into a body as small as this. One reason for choosing two card slots is to cover the possibility of card failure, which is rare. Another is to separate stills and video, JPEGs and raw, captures and backups – all of which are reasonable pro requirements, but somewhat outside the remit of a camera like this.

There are two control dials on the top of the E-M5 and these work really well, and are given extra versatility by the dual-mode lever on the back of the camera which switches their functions. You do have to remember what you’ve set these dials up to do for each function mode, but if you can do that you’ll get a very quick system for changing a multitude of settings from shutter speed to aperture, and from white balance to EV compensation.

The OM-5’s external controls have a quality feel, and a logic that’s very endearing. Olympus (sorry, OM System – it still takes some getting used to) is very good indeed at making the controls on small cameras work as well as, or better than, those on larger ones.

• Design score: 5/5

OM System OM-5: features and performance

• 6.5-stop IBIS (7.5-stop with sync IS)
• Extensive and customizable Art Filters
• Pro Capture with pre-shot buffer
• In-camera focus stacking
• 50MP/80MP High Res Shot
• Live Composite, Live Bulb, Live ND

Practically every camera maker in the world now offers 5-axis in-body stabilization systems which it considers the best on the market. But OM System (see, we didn’t say ‘Olympus’!) and Panasonic between them have, we would say, the best. It’s perhaps to do with the smaller sensor size and mass, or the algorithms used, but the OM-5’s stabilization is pretty remarkable. It has its limits for video – an IBIS system simply can’t smooth camera movements like a gimbal – but for all the perceived ‘faults’ of MFT systems, the stabilization is remarkable.

The OM-5 has many other strengths. One of these is its Pro Capture mode, which can capture still images at 30fps with a 14-shot pre-capture buffer to allow for your reaction time. So you can half-press the shutter release for a ‘rolling’ capture, then press it the rest of the way when the action starts, and the camera will record the half-second of action while you were still thinking about it. That’s clever. The only drawback is that the focus is fixed from the start – but that’s fine for setups where you know where the action is going to happen, such as the jumps in a horse race or the bar in a high jump.

The OM-5 uses a lot of computational features that include in-camera focus stacking, which you can use handheld, and a 50MP High Res Shot mode, also handheld, for those times when you might actually need the resolution of a high-res full-frame camera – and it really does generate natively higher-resolution images, not some kind of lame substitute.

On top of that, you've got Olympus’s Live Composite, Live Bulb and Live ND modes. The first two are really good for night shots – once you’ve worked out the settings and parameters – while the second promises the same effect as ND filters for blurring skies, surf and water. This is limited to a 4-stop reduction, however, when for long exposures in bright light you really need a 10-stop reduction.

Finally, Olympus’s Art Filters are worth a mention. These are not the pretty plain 'looks' you might get from other cameras, but actually rather good analog effects.

• Features and performance score: 5/5

OM System OM-5: image and video quality

A lot has been said, and probably will continue to be said, about the perceived deficiencies of the Micro Four Thirds format. First, it's half the size of APS-C; however, it's also far larger than the 1-inch sensor format widely employed in compact cameras, and far larger again than the sensors in phones and point-and-shoot compacts.

At low-medium ISO settings, you won’t see much difference in quality between the OM-5’s images and those from an APS-C camera. At higher ISOs you might start to see more difference, but again, it’s not huge. If you compare the OM-5’s results to those from a full-frame camera you'll see more difference but, even here, you have to weigh this against the OM-5’s far lower price, its portability and unobtrusiveness, and the performance of its image stabilization system.

This is extremely effective for stills photography, and pretty good for video too. For static handheld shots it’s so steady that images can look as if they were filmed on a tripod, and with care it’s possible to produce smooth panning movements too. It’s less effective for walking and filming, but that’s true of every mirrorless camera's IBIS system. The stabilization in the OM-5 is just about the best on the market, aided no doubt by the smaller sensor.

The autofocus is competent without being game changing. It doesn’t have the AI subject recognition found in the latest cameras like the Sony A7R V or Canon EOS R6 II, but its face recognition and tracking seem to be pretty ‘sticky’. It’s easily good enough for casual vlogging and photography, especially since the shorter focal lengths used with MFT systems give you more depth of field latitude anyway.

For its size, this camera delivers excellent video and stills quality, with a stabilization system that gives you a really high hit rate of sharp shots.

It’s also worth mentioning the lenses. We tested the OM-5 with three Pro f/4 Olympus lenses: the 12-45mm f/4, the 8-25mm f/4, and the 40-150mm f/4 (which is actually branded OM System). These f/4 lenses are a good match for the OM-5’s size and price (the f/2.8 Pro lenses and f/1.2 primes are a little large). All three are really well made and finished, and deliver excellent results.

The OM-5 isn’t just small and powerful in its own right; it comes with a small and powerful lens range too, which isn’t just lighter than larger-format alternatives, but cheaper too.

• Image and video quality score: 4/5

Should I buy the OM System OM-5?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider...

Testing scorecard

Canon EOS R7 review

11:43 am | August 3, 2022

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers DSLRs Gadgets | Tags: AF, EOS, LCD | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: May 2022
• Canon's first flagship APS-C model for mirrorless
• Launch price: $1,499 / £1,349 / AU$2,349 (body only)
• Official price now: $1,399 / £1,379 / AU$2,469

Update: February 2024. Canon has filled out its APS-C range of cameras for EOS R mount mirrorless, but the EOS R7 remains the flagship model that still offers excellent value if you don't need full-frame. No other camera in this crop sensor format can better the EOS R7's 32.5MP resolution, and that class-leading detail is supported by excellent in-body stabilization, rapid high-speed shooting and superb autofocus performance. In short, the EOS R7 remains an excellent camera for wildlife and sports photography. Unfortunately there's still a sore lack of native RF-S lenses to choose from. If you're keen on wildlife and looking for a high performance telephoto lens, you'll need to use one of Canon's full-frame RF offerings, like the RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 or the pricier RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L. The uncertainty surrounding the system's lenses is worrying, but the EOS R7 itself is a certainty as one of the best mirrorless cameras in its class. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Canon EOS R7: Two-minute review

If you're a keen amateur photographer who also likes to shoot video, the Canon EOS R7 is one of the best cameras you can buy and also the sweet spot in the camera giant's EOS R range for amateur shooters.

Sitting in between classic DSLRS like the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and EOS 90D, it combines Canon's latest Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus system with speedy 15fps burst-shooting speeds (or even 30fps speeds, when you use its electronic shutter). It's pricier than the Canon EOS R10, but the R7's higher-resolution 32.5MP sensor, in-body stabilization, deeper buffer and dual card slots will justify the cost for many.

Unlike Canon's full-frame cameras, the EOS R7 has an APS-C sensor. While these can't gather as much light as the full-frame sensors seen in cameras like the Canon EOS R6, they do bring a few benefits – including a smaller, lighter overall camera system and a lower price tag.

For its price, the EOS R7 delivers an impressive range of features that show why it's now Canon's flagship APS-C camera. Unlike the EOS 90D, you get in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which helps preserve image quality when you're shooting handheld. You also get two UHS-II card slots and a solid range of video-shooting specs, including headphone and microphone inputs, plus the ability to shoot uncropped 4K/60p video.

The Canon EOS R7 camera sitting on a stone step — (Image credit: Future)

Together, these features make the EOS R7 one of the best mirrorless cameras who can't justify Canon's full-frame models, which share the same RF-mount. But this mount is also, currently, the EOS R7's main weakness – at the time of writing, there are only two native RF-S lenses for this camera's sensor.

One of these lenses is an 18-150mm 'all-rounder' that comes available in a package with the EOS R7, with the other being an 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 kit lens. Other than these two lenses, you have two choices when it comes to optics – use existing full-frame RF lenses, or use either EF or EF-S lenses via the optional EF-to-RF adapter. Neither solution is ideal for keeping things on the light and small side, but hopefully as the system ages, it will also grow to include more options.

Confusingly, you might already be aware of Canon’s 'other' APS-C mirrorless system, which uses the EF-M mount. Lenses from this system are not compatible with the EOS R series' APS-C models, and there’s no way to mount them via an adapter either. Canon has yet to outwardly admit that it’s going to stop making EF-M models. But the arrival of the EOS R7 and EOS R10 means the EF-M series has now likely reached its end.

Aside from this limited range of native lenses, the EOS R7 is otherwise an excellent all-rounder. With up to 30fps shooting combined with Canon’s latest autofocus wizardry, it’s a dream for wildlife, action and sports photographers – especially as that crop sensor will allow you to get closer to the action with your long lenses.

Canon EOS R7 specs

Sensor: 32.5MP APS-C CMOS
AF points: 5915 manually selectable, 651 automatic selection
Video: 4K/60p, Full HD/60p, High-speed 120p Full HD
Viewfinder: 0.39-inch OLED 2.36m-dot resolution
Memory card: Double SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II
LCD: 2.95-inch vari-angle touch 1.62m-dot
Max Burst: 15fps mechanical shutter (buffer 224 JPEG / 51 raw), 30fps electronic shutter (buffer 126 JPEG / 42 raw)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Size: 132 x 90.4 x 91.7mm
Weight: 612g (inc. battery and SD card)

You also get in-body stabilization (IBIS), something that was missing from Canon's mid-range Canon DSLRs. With up to eight stops of compensation, this is ideal for shooting handheld with slower shutter speeds or in low light.

The EOS R7 is also a nice little camera to use. You get a reasonably solid and chunky grip, plus a good range of dials and buttons that make it enjoyable to change the settings in different situations. Its vari-angle touchscreen is also helpful for shooting from different angles – and while the electronic viewfinder is a little pedestrian, it does the job.

Dual UHS-II card slots are a nice bonus for a camera like this (and at this price), hinting it might also be favored by pros looking for a good, fast backup model to their main full-frame body. A range of useful video specifications, including uncropped 4K/60p video, round out the specs sheet nicely to make the R7 a great little all-rounder.

In our real-world tests, the camera produced lovely images in a range of conditions, though as we’d expect it’s not quite on par with full-frame siblings when it comes to low-light or high ISO shooting.

The main problem is that lack of a real lens system to harness the EOS R7's potential. Having to compromise on lenses from the get-go isn’t ideal, particularly when the likes of Sony and Fujifilm have a solid set of lenses to back up APS-C cameras like the Sony A6600 and Fujifilm X-T5. But if the R7 and R10 prove to be as popular as Canon surely hopes they will be, that lack of native lenses should become less of a problem in time.

Canon EOS R7: release date and price

Available to order now
$1,499 / £1,349 / AU$2,349 (body only)
$1,899 / £1,699 / AU$1,959 (with 18-150mm lens)

The Canon EOS R7 is pretty aggressively priced to make it much more appealing to those on a budget, compared to full-frame models. It also compares favorably to other APS-C big-hitters, too.

The EOS R7 is just a shade more expensive than the three-year-old Sony A6600. It’s also significantly cheaper than the higher-spec Fujifilm X-H2S, another flagship model with fast-shooting and quick-autofocusing smarts.

It’s a little closer in price to the Fujifilm X-T5 – the EOS R7 edges it on autofocusing but loses on native lenses, so a decision between the two very much depends on your existing lens collection.

Older full-frame Canon tech, such as the full-frame Canon EOS RP, is available for less than the EOS R7, but uses much older technology that means autofocusing and video is not a patch on the R7.

We’re yet to see a direct 'entry-level' full-frame replacement for the Canon EOS RP, and it's possible that one could be coming in 2023. Right now, there's no real evidence to suggest an EOS RP successor is imminent, and the EOS R7 nicely fills the gap as an affordable mirrorless camera for hobbyists, as long as you prefer the advantages of APS-C cameras over full-frame.

Canon EOS R7 review: design

Combined control wheel and joystick
Vari-angle screen and modest viewfinder
Weather-sealing to same standard as EOS 90D DSLR

Canon has combined elements from both its DSLR line-up and its existing EOS R series cameras to make the EOS R7 both portable and intuitive.

If you’ve used a Canon EOS camera before, you’ll likely be very at home. But even if this is your first time with the brand, it won't be too difficult to find everything you need. Impressively for such a small camera, the EOS R7 manages to include a deep chunky grip, which should prove popular among photographers. At the same time, the overall size of the camera isn't too big for travel shooting.

As you’d expect for a mid-range cameras you don’t get a top-plate LCD for quickly checking settings. The same is true of the full-frame EOS R6, so APS-C users shouldn’t feel too hard done by here. What you do get is a sensibly laid out control system, which includes a mode dial to the right of the viewfinder, a control dial just behind the shutter button and dedicated buttons just behind that for ISO and video recording.

Flipping to the back of the camera, there’s a joystick-cum-control wheel hybrid that some will love, and others may well hate. It does take some getting used to, especially if you’re an existing Canon owner. But after a few days in its company, it works quite well in tandem with the principal control dial. The dials can be used to adjust shutter speed and aperture – depending on the shooting mode you’re in – as well as flip through menu items and images in playback.

The joystick is ideal for moving the AF point around the frame when shooting through the viewfinder, though you can also use the screen to do this so long as you have 'Touch and Drag' enabled in the main menu.

Other buttons include a four-way d-pad, a useful ‘Q’ button for quickly accessing your common settings, and buttons for playback and deleting photos. Almost all of the controls are found on the right-hand side of the camera, which is ideal for one-handed operation, with the small size of the body meaning everything is within easy reach of your thumb.

If you’re moving to the EOS R7 from a DSLR, one thing you might find yourself getting used to is an electronic viewfinder. The R7’s is arguably a little dated, offering 2.36m-dots, 1.15x magnification and a 120fps refresh rate. But if you’ve never used anything better, then you’ll likely find it perfectly serviceable. Those switching from a DSLR can also switch on OVF (optical viewfinder) simulation, which might help ease you in if you’re not totally convinced about EVFs just yet.

The fully articulating touchscreen is just shy of three inches, but being able to maneuver it into whatever position you need is helpful for video and awkward angle shots. It’s also nice to be able to fold the camera's screen in on itself when carrying it in a bag to keep it free of scratches. A similar standard of weather-sealing to the EOS 90D means the EOS R7 should be able to stand up to a light sprinkling of rain, but we’d probably keep it away from heavy downpours or extensive sea-splashes where possible.

Some had expected the EOS R7 – a camera for wildlife/sports fans – to include a CFexpress slot for ultra-fast shooting. Instead, we get double UHS-II slots. On the one hand, it’s a shame not to have the speeds of CFexpress, but it’s not particularly surprising for an APS-C camera at this price, and it’s undeniably a more straightforward setup. It’s also a lot cheaper to buy SD cards for now, so it’s a better setup for those on a budget.

Design score: 4.5/5

Canon EOS R7 review: features and performance

Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, subject recognition and eye-detection
Up to 30fps shooting with electronic shutter
500-shot battery life

The Canon EOS R7 is being heavily targeted towards wildlife and sports shooters, thanks to its high-quality autofocusing and burst-shooting prowess. If you’re coming across from an older DSLR, it's this technology that's likely to impress you the most. It also outshines some of the older EOS R entry-level models, as well as Canon’s EOS M APS-C models, too.

This power is ably supported by Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, which is Canon’s latest autofocusing system. Broadly speaking, this is something we’ve seen on more advanced full-frame models like the EOS R5 and the EOS R6, which means you get very good performance for the price.

Covering the whole frame, Dual Pixel CMOS AF II also includes clever and useful technology such as intelligent subject-tracking, which can identify animals (dogs, cats and birds), vehicles and people.

Pro cameras like the EOS R5 and R6 have more AF zones (1,053) than the R7 (651 when the camera is left to automatically select them), so it isn't exactly the same system as Canon's pricier models. But in our tests it kept up extremely well with whatever subject we were trying to follow across the frame, almost unfalteringly so.

As well as subject-tracking, you'll also see face and eye-detection kick in when you're photographing animals or humans. This also works impressively well – during our tests, it was able to pick out a bird’s eye from a few hundred meters away and easily track it around the frame.

Similarly, when photographing a dog running around the beach, it did exactly the same – keeping up with a dark eye surrounded by dark fur. Human eyes are just as easily picked out, making it ideal for sports photography and portraits.

Of course, you also need fast shooting speeds for sports and wildlife, and the EOS R7 offers this, too. You get up to 15fps with the mechanical shutter, which is pretty good in itself, but switching to the electronic shutter you get around 30fps. Considering this includes raw shooting and continuous AF, that's excellent for the price. The trade-off is the risk of rolling shutter – which can give slanted vertical lines – but this isn’t something we experienced much.

While 30fps is great, what you don’t get is the same deep buffer such as you’d see on a more expensive model like the EOS R6 or the R5. At 30fps, the camera will need to take a pause after just 42 raw files. But as long as you aren’t too trigger happy and practice controlled bursts, this will be enough for most hobbyist users hoping to catch a specific moment.

It’s worth noting that to take full advantage of these speeds, you’ll need a fast UHS-II memory card. We found when photographing a fast running dog, more shots were in focus than weren’t, making photographing wildlife, sports and action easier than ever before at this price. That said, it's worth noting that the EOS R10 offers a similar hit-rate and is even cheaper than the EOS R7.

The 500-shot quoted battery life is decent for a mirrorless camera. Remember also that this is a lab-specification – in real-world shooting, you can also always eke out more shots if you’re careful with power saving or if you're not doing something power intensive (like shooting 4K video).

In our tests, the camera always lasted a full day without dropping more than a couple of bars of battery. You can also charge the camera via USB, so if you were particularly concerned, you could always carry a battery pack for power bursts on the go.

Features and performance score: 4.5/5

Canon EOS R7 review: image and video quality

At 32.5MP, the EOS R7 has a high megapixel count for an APS-C camera. The advantages of this are that images are beautifully detailed, plus you’ve got good scope for cropping – which often comes in handy when shooting wildlife and action-type subjects.

The downside of all those pixels crammed onto a fairly small surface area is that low-light shooting can’t compete with full-frame models, or even APS-C models with more modest resolutions. That might not be too much of an issue for most photographers, but there are some instances where it can lead to less than perfect imagery. For example, during our test, we used the RF 600mm f/11 lens.

Image 1 of 2

A pink flamingo in front of other flamingos at a nature reserve — The R7’s subject detection and eye-recognition picked out the eye on this bird from quite some distance away, following it easily around the scene. (Image credit: Future)

Image 2 of 2

A flamingo shaking its head and releasing water droplets — Shooting with lenses like the 600mm f/11 and an APS-C sensor means that you might have to shoot at high ISOs even in relatively good light – some image smoothing can be seen here. (Image credit: Future)

While this is a great lens for wildlife shooting, thanks to its compact size and long reach (960mm equivalent when mounted to the R7), having f/11 as its maximum aperture generally means using fairly high ISOs, even when light is pretty abundant.

The resulting photos show a reasonable degree of noise and image smoothing. This isn't too bad when looking at images at small sizes, but is pretty apparent as soon as you view them at full size or scrutinize them closely.

On the whole, though, we’ve been very impressed by the EOS R7's image quality. Colors are rich, warm and attractive, just as we’d expect from Canon. The automatic white balance setting proved a winner in every lighting scenario we threw at it - and you can even ask it to prioritize warm tones or cool tones depending on your preference.

Image 1 of 5

The petals of a white flower in a field — You can still achieve attractive shallow depth of field effects even with the smaller than full-frame sensor and shooting at reasonably narrow apertures. (Image credit: Future)

Image 2 of 5

A dark street leading to a high-rise building — Evaluative metering does a good job of providing well-balanced exposures, even when there are areas of high-contrast. (Image credit: Future)

Image 3 of 5

A small dog running on the beach — The R7 easily keeps up with fast moving subjects. This image has been cropped slightly for better composition - something which the 32.5 megapixel sensor gives you plenty of scope to do. (Image credit: Future)

Image 4 of 5

A small dog running on a beach — ye-recognition works very well for animals, keeping the image sharp where you want it to be. (Image credit: Future)

Image 5 of 5

A tomb inside a church — Shooting in low light reveals some loss of detail, plus some image smoothing, but it’s still perfectly usable at normal sizes. This image shot at ISO 10000. (Image credit: Future)

The all-purpose metering mode (known as evaluative metering for Canon cameras) worked well to produce well-balanced exposures, even when presented with high-contrast scenarios.

Raw files show a good amount of scope for making adjustments, allowing you to pull back a good degree of missing detail in lowlights and highlights when you need to. You can also change the balance of smoothing and noise if you’d prefer to see a little more detail than the JPEG output provides.

Image 1 of 3

A man looking away in front of a graffitied wall — Colors, including skin-tones, are rendered very nicely in straight out-of-camera JPEGs. (Image credit: Future)

Image 2 of 3

The interior of a large church — The EOS R7’s sensor is capable of capturing plenty of detail. (Image credit: Future)

Image 3 of 3

The roof of a stadium in front of a cloudy sky — (Image credit: Future)

Video quality is also good, with the benefit of uncropped 4K/60p video with 4:2:2 10-bit color depth. We’ve been critical of Canon’s mid-range (EOS M) mirrorless options for their video limitations for some time, so it’s nice to see a good hybrid camera at a reasonable price.

Content creators may want to consider the EOS R7, especially considering other useful features include the flip-out screen, mic and headphone sockets. One downside of video is that there’s no 4K/120p mode for slow-mo shooting, but that won’t be a deal-breaker for most.

Image and video quality score: 4/5

Should I buy the Canon EOS R7?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Canon EOS R7: Also consider

If our Canon EOS R7 review has you considering other options, here are three more mirrorless cameras to consider...

Testing scorecard

Fujifilm X-T30 II review

7:11 pm | May 4, 2022

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers Gadgets Mirrorless Cameras | Tags: AF, LCD | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: May 2022
• A modest upgrade to Fujifilm's APS-C mirrorless hybrid
• Launch price: $899 / £749 / AU$1,585 (body only)
• Official price now: $999 / £799 / around AU$1,349 (body only)

Update: May 2024. Picking up where the X-T30 left off, Fujifilm’s second-gen mirrorless hybrid doesn’t change too much. It remains a beginner-friendly, retro-style camera with a solid set of specs, including strong autofocus and uncropped 4K recording with the same 26.2MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor as before. Given that the original X-T30 is now harder to find in new condition, the Mark II is Fujifilm’s most affordable option for beginners who want a travel-friendly camera with a capable sensor. In the UK and US, official prices have crept up since the camera hit shelves in 2022, although we still think it represents good value in 2024. It’s also worth looking out for deals on the X-T30 II during upcoming sales events: as the model gets older and rumours of an X-T30 III start to circulate, there’s an increased chance of finding discounts online.

Two-minute review

Launched back in 2019, the original Fujifilm X-T30 was intended as a ‘lite’ version of the Fujifilm X-T3, boasting several of the same specifications in a more consumer- or travel-friendly body.

Fast-forward to 2022, and the X-T30 II represents only a modest upgrade; although considering that the original camera was so good, that’s perhaps no surprise. If you already own the X-T30 there’s probably little point in upgrading, but, if you’re looking for a good all-rounder which doesn’t put too much of a dent in your wallet, and fits neatly into your bag for everyday and travel use, then it’s worth considering – and the fact that it’s a treat to look at is a nice bonus too.

Since 2019, Fujifilm has also had a bit of a shift around in its lineup, doing away with some of its more basic models, and the X-T30 II currently its most beginner-friendly option. But that’s not to say you don’t get some excellent specs for your cash – and indeed in many ways it’s a very similar camera to the superb Fujifilm X-S10.

Fujifilm X-T30 II — (Image credit: Future)

Housed inside the X-T30 II is a 26.1 megapixel APS-C sensor, while you also get high-end features such as uncropped 4K video and 20fps shooting (which can be boosted to 30fps if you’re happy to employ a crop). There are also a slew of film simulation modes, a cracking autofocus setup and customizable controls.

All of that could be found on the original X-T30 though – so what’s new here? Well, very little really, but there are just enough incremental upgrades to make the overall proposition very good. We’ll go into more detail below, but the headlines are a higher-resolution screen, the addition of more film simulations and the ability to record high-speed video in Full HD, and greater sensitivity in low-light shooting.

Fujifilm X-T30 II specs

Sensor: 26.1MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS

AF points: 425

Video: 4K 30p, Full HD 60p, High-speed 240p Full HD

Viewfinder: 0.39-inch OLED 2.36m-dot

Memory card: Single SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I

LCD: 3.0-inch tilt type touch LCD, 1.62m-dot

Max burst: 8fps mechanical shutter, 20fps electronic shutter, 30fps with crop

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Size: 118.4 x 82.8 x 46.8mm

Weight: 378g (with battery and SD card)

Given that this is the same basic setup as the original X-T30, we were already confident that image quality was going to be great, and we haven’t been disappointed. Colors are beautifully vibrant, and images have bags of detail – and those film simulation modes are always fun to experiment with.

So what’s not to like? Again, we’ll go into this in more detail below, but the main bad news is the lack of in-body stabilization, a little bit of awkwardness when it comes to button placement, the screen only tilting (not ideal for selfies and vlogging), and of course the fact that it’s such an incremental upgrade over its predecessor that you might be better off just sticking with that camera.

All of that aside, if you’re looking for a good-value mid-range camera, especially to take with you on trips, the Fujifilm X-T30 II makes for a very tempting proposition - indeed we think it's one of the best travel cameras you can buy, as well as being one of the best beginner mirrorless cameras. You’ll get fabulous pictures, an attractively styled body, access to a good range of lenses and a slew of useful specs. If you have a little more cash to play with – and don’t mind going a little bigger – it makes sense to plump for the X-S10, but otherwise, there’s a lot to like here.

Fujifilm X-T30 II release date and price

Available to buy now from $899 / £749 (body-only) / AU$1,585
Cheaper at launch than the X-T30
Cheaper than the Fujifilm X-S10

Announced in October 2021, the Fujifilm X-T30 II went on sale for $899 / £749 / AU$1,585 in its body-only configuration. Most users are likely to buy it with either the 15-45mm or the 18-55mm kit lens, in which case the price is increased.

The cheaper 15-45mm is lower in quality, but being smaller in size it may appeal to those looking for something ultra-compact for traveling. You can pick up the X-T30 II and the 15-45mm for $999 / £849 / AU$1,694.

It’s worth going for the higher-quality 18-55mm lens if you’ve got the budget, and the space in your bag. At $1,299 / £1,099 / AU$2,099 for the kit combo it still represents good value for money, and gives you more flexibility.

Good news – and perhaps surprising in the current electronics climate – is that the Fujifilm X-T30 II was actually cheaper at launch than its predecessor. It’s difficult to find the original X-T30 now, especially new, but you might pick up some good second-hand deals.

Less good news is that stock levels in certain regions, including the UK, aren’t always high, so you may need to shop around if you’re keen to buy.

Fujifilm X-T30 II review: design

Classic retro styling
Tilt-type touchscreen
Just one SD card slot

Fujifilm has used the exact same chassis for the X-T30 II as for its predecessor – so there are no surprises here, for better or worse. What that means is that you get a retro-styled body, which we think looks particularly attractive in the black and silver finish; an all-black model is also available.

As is commonplace with Fujifilm cameras, there’s a scattering of dials and buttons across the top and back of the camera, and a good degree of customization options. Beginners shouldn’t be put off however, as there’s also a good Auto mode which you can use, and lets you happily ignore as many of the dials and buttons as you want to.

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On the camera’s top plate there’s a shutter speed dial, an exposure compensation dial and a drive mode dial. Several of Fujifilm’s lenses have aperture rings, but if you’re using a lens that doesn’t have one (such as the 15-45mm kit lens), you can use one of the dual-control dials on the front and rear of the camera to make those changes. Focus mode is adjusted via a switch on the front of the camera.

A Fn button on the top of the camera can be changed to control a variety of different settings. On the back of the camera you’ve got a joystick for moving focus points around the screen or moving through the various menus available, and there’s a ‘Q’ button which can be used to access commonly adjusted settings. A frustration of the original X-T30 was this button’s placement – it’s awkwardly situated on the thumb grip, and it’s ridiculously easy to push it when you don’t want to, and conversely slightly hard to find when you do. Sadly, Fujifilm hasn’t seen fit to move this for the Mark II version, which is a bit of a mystery considering the number of reviews that complained about it.

The grip on the front of the camera is fairly slight. This isn’t a chunky camera, but it still feels relatively secure and comfortable in your hand; those with large hands may find it just a little on the small side, in which case we’d probably recommend the X-S10 instead.

Underneath the electronic viewfinder (a 2.36m-dot OLED EVF, the same as on the X-T30) is a tilt-type touchscreen. Unlike other models in Fujifilm’s lineup, such as the X-S10, this can only tilt up and down, and doesn’t have an extra mechanism to fold out towards the front. For many, this won’t be an issue, but if you’re keen on vlogging or taking selfies, it’s a bit of a shame not to have that flexibility. On the plus side, it’s here that we find one of the XT-30 II’s upgrades over its predecessor, as the screen offers a higher resolution at 1.62 million dots than the X-T30’s 1.04 million-dot panel.

There’s just one memory card slot, which is to be expected on a mid-range camera like the Fujifilm X-T30 II. It’s an SD/HC/XC compatible slot, but it’s a shame not to see it offering UHS-II, especially considering how fast this camera can shoot. It’s also a little awkwardly placed if you’re using a tripod – you’ll find it behind the same door as the battery, next to the tripod thread, rather than behind a separate door on the side of the camera.

Fujifilm X-T30 II review: features and performance

Same sensor and processor as X-T30
Same Intelligent Hybrid AF system as X-T30, with improved algorithms
Improved low-light autofocusing capability

It's safe to say that Fujifilm hasn’t done much more than tweak the original X-T30 for the Mark II iteration, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing when you’re working with some pretty impressive features in the first place. A good example is the same 26.2MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor. This is Fujifilm’s current top-line sensor, also found in its higher-end cameras, so you can’t get better than that.

In continuous shooting mode the X-T30 II can shoot at 8fps using the mechanical shutter. However, if you’re happy to shoot with the electronic shutter you’ve got the option to record at 20fps, or 30fps with a 1.25x crop applied. This makes the X-T30 II a good option for those who like to photograph fast-moving subjects, though the buffer is relatively small, giving you 26 JPEGs / 17 raw files at 30fps, or 32 JPEGs / 17 raws in 20fps mode before you’ll need to take a short pause – it’s best if you’re therefore able to predict at least roughly when some action will be taking place.

Interestingly, if you’re using the electronic shutter, there’s also a ‘Pre-shot’ burst mode, which records images so long as you keep the shutter button half-pressed, saving those captured up to a second before you fully press the shutter, and hopefully ensuring that the moment is successfully captured.

Fujifilm has also employed the same 425-point AF system for the X-T30 II as for its predecessor; again, that put in a solid performance last time, and again it’s the same system you’ll find in the X-S10, the X-T4 and the X-Pro3. As well as the option to select from one of the 425 points, you can also choose Zone AF and Wide/Tracking AF for following moving subjects. Here’s where we see a little difference from the X-T30, as the Mark II version uses a newer algorithm which is designed to more accurately track subjects that are moving towards or away from the camera.

Another improvement is the focus point sensitivity, which now goes to an impressive -7EV, compared to the X-T30’s -3EV. In theory this should mean that the X-T30 II is a little more adept at acquiring focus in very low lighting, and that seems to be borne out well in practice – during our testing, it did a good job of picking out fine details even when light was pretty limited.

Tracking focus performs generally pretty well, albeit not consistently perfectly. It works best when following a subject that’s moving in a relatively predictable fashion, but it’s a solid performance from a camera sitting in the mid-range. If you’re someone who just likes to take the odd wildlife shot, or photograph kids and pets, it’s likely better than you need.

Fujifilm X-T30 II review: image and video quality

Given that we’ve seen the X-T30 II’s sensor in multiple cameras, we didn’t expect any surprises when it came to image and video quality. In fact, this sensor is probably the best APS-C sensor on the market right now, so you’re all but assured of good image quality.

Fujifilm has earned a lot of fans for the way its cameras handle color, and as we’d expect, you get beautifully rich tones and vibrancy. JPEG images directly from the camera look fantastic, while the raw files give you lots of scope to make adjustments as you see fit.

Shooting in the standard film simulation mode yields pleasingly accurate colors, with skin tones rendered nicely. The many different film simulation modes are also great fun to experiment with; the two new options for the X-T30 II are Classic Neg and ETERNA Bleach Bypass, bringing the total number of simulations now available to 18. It’s worth playing around with all the modes when you first unbox the camera to get a feel for which ones you like best.

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Video quality is good, with footage containing plenty of detail. However, the lack of in-body image stabilization means the camera has its limitations for handheld work – you’ll be relying on lens stabilization, or shooting from a stable surface, for the most part. It's fine for the odd video clip, but if you’re looking for a really capable video camera you’ll be better served elsewhere.

One of the disadvantages of a smaller than full-frame sensor is that low-light shooting can result in noisier images. How much you actually like to shoot in very low lighting is worth thinking about, but here we’re treated to pretty clean images up to around ISO 6400, with some noticeable (but not overly objectionable) noise starting to creep in thereafter.

Should I buy the Fujifilm X-T30 II?

Buy it if…

Don't buy it if…

Also consider

If you're looking at rival cameras to the Fujifilm X-T30 II, here are three to consider:

These are the best mirrorless cameras you can buy

Sony A7 IV review

1:35 am | February 4, 2022

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers DSLRs Gadgets | Tags: AF, LCD, UI | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: February 2022
• Yet to be replaced
• Launch price: $2,499 / £2,399 / AU$$4,299
• Official price now: $2,499 / £2,399 / AU$3,499

Update: February 2024. History would tell us that the Sony A7 IV, announced in October 2021, could be updated with a fifth-gen model at the end of 2024 – Sony's typical three year product cycle for this line of mirrorless camera. Of course we don't know that for sure, and until a potential successor comes the A7 IV remains one of the best mirrorless cameras around for the money. Leading retailers are selling the A7 IV for closer to $2,000 / £2,000 / AU$3,500 and for that price you're still getting superb autofocus performance (although the pricier Sony A7R V stepped things up with an AI autofocus chip and improved subject detection). You're also getting a lovely blend of photo and video skills; 33MP stills vs the typical 24MP in rival models still be launched today, plus an accomplished 4K video performance, even if there's better elsewhere. If you love photography and video, then the A7 IV offers excellent bang for buck. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Sony A7 IV: Two-minute review

The Sony A7 IV is the best mirrorless all-rounder you can buy right now. It isn't as powerful as the Sony A1, as fast as the Canon EOS R6, or as affordable as the Fujifilm X-T4, but it does offer a brilliant blend of photographic power and video versatility. By effectively combining two cameras in one, it's the best example so far of the hybrid convenience that modern mirrorless cameras can offer.

Three years on from the classic A7 III, the A7 IV brings improvements across the board, including a new 33MP sensor, Bionz XR processor and significantly upgraded video skills.

Its autofocus system may have now been trumped by the AI-powered tracking of the Sony A7R V, but it still offers some of the best AF skills we've seen outside of professional sports cameras. Whether you're shooting photos or video, the Sony A7 IV does an unerringly good job of sticking to your chosen subject and, in the case of people and animals, locking focus onto their eyes.

With a cropped 4K/60p mode and rolling shutter issues, it isn't quite the perfect video camera. But with support for 10-bit video, no recording limits and new tricks like focus breathing compensation, it does offer more than enough quality and flexibility for photographers who are increasingly looking to shoot an equivalent amount of video.

The front of the Sony A7 IV camera with a zoom lens — (Image credit: Future)

As always with all-rounder cameras, there are some small compromises on the A7 IV. Its outright image quality isn't actually a big jump up from the Sony A7 III, with the extra detail from that resolution boost somewhat counter-balanced by some understandable noise at higher ISOs. This means that you may well want to look out for discounts on the A7 III in the Black Friday camera deals, as well as E-mount lenses in the Black Friday deals.

The A7 IV's battery life, in-body image stabilization and burst shooting speeds are also merely average rather than class-leading. This also isn't exactly a discreet camera for travel or street shooting either, nor a light one for long landscape hikes. If that's important to you, we'd recommend checking out APS-C cameras like the Fujifilm X-T4 (and imminent Fujifilm X-T5).

Sony A7 IV specs

Sensor: 33MP full-frame
AF points: 759-point hybrid phase/contrast-detect
Video: 4K/30p, or 4K/60p with Super35 crop
Viewfinder: 3.69 million-dot Quad VGA EVF
Memory cards: 1x CFexpress Type A/SD UHS-II, 1x SD UHS-II
LCD: 3-inch fully articulating touchscreen, 1.04m dots
Max burst: 10fps, up to 828 raw+JPEG (with CFexpress Type A card)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Size: 131.3 x 96.4 x 79.8mm
Weight: 658g (with card and battery)

And then there's the price tag. At $2,499 / £2,400 / AU$$4,299 (body only), it's moved into another bracket compared to the entry-level A7 III. For those who are new to full-frame cameras, it's arguably overkill when you consider the existence of the Nikon Z5 ($1,699 / £1,719 / AU$3,099) and Panasonic Lumix S5 ($1,999 / £1,799 / AU$3,199). That spare change could buy you a very nice lens to support your preferred style of photography or video.

But if you do shoot a fairly balanced mix of photos and video, and need a powerful hybrid camera that'll last you for years, then the Sony A7 IV should be right at the top of your shopping list.

With Sony's latest G Master lenses on hand to make the most of that 33MP resolution, it offers pro-level quality that just about gives it the edge over the Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS R6, even if those cameras do offer superior burst-shooting speeds. It's undoubtedly one of the best cameras for photography, and a fine choice for video, too. Read on for our full Sony A7 IV review.

Sony A7 IV release date and price

Available to buy now for $2,499 / £2,400 / AU$$4,299
A price jump from the Sony A7 III
Similar price to the Canon EOS R6

The Sony A7 IV went on sale in December 2021 for $2,499 / £2,400 / AU$$4,299. Early stock levels were quite low, but at the time of writing those issues have now eased and the camera is widely available.

The A7 IV's price is a hike of around 20%-30% over the Sony A7 III, depending on which region you're in – this pushes the A7 IV away from its 'entry-level' full-frame heritage, though it remains a more affordable all-rounder than the Sony A1 and new high-resolution Sony A7R V.

This premium may lead many photographers and videographers to think twice before hitting the 'buy' button, particularly as lower-powered but impressive alternatives like the Nikon Z5 are less than half the price.

But when you consider the A7 IV's across-the-board upgrades, and its impressive hybrid power, that price tag isn't too excessive compared to the competition. Its closest rival is the Canon EOS R6 ($2,499 / £2,499 / AU$4,499), which is lower-resolution at 20MP, but offers faster 20fps burst speeds.

Sony A7 IV: design

Modern 3.69-million dot electronic viewfinder
Useful vari-angle touchscreen with Sony's latest UI
Takes CFexpress Type A cards, which are rarer than Type B

The Sony A7 IV might look like a clone of its predecessor, but there are quite a few subtle upgrades that collectively make it a much more enjoyable camera to use.

On the top you'll find an improved electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a 3.69-million dot resolution and 120fps refresh rate. While this is now fairly standard at this price – you'll find an almost identical viewfinder on the Canon EOS R6 – it is a much-needed upgrade and performs particularly well when you're trying to track moving subjects.

The Sony A7 IV's vari-angle screen flipped forwards — (Image credit: Future)

Below the EVF there's a new vari-angle touchscreen. This can swivel around to face the direction you're shooting in, which is a big bonus for solo video shooters. Photographers may prefer the more old-school tilt-screen found on the Sony A1, though.

Delve into the menus on this screen and you'll find they also have Sony's latest UI, first seen on the Sony A7S III. These are a major improvement on the labyrinthine menus seen on older Sony Alpha cameras and respond to touch.

In the hand, the A7 IV's grip feels more substantial than its predecessor, but otherwise it'll be comfortably familiar to anyone who's used an Alpha camera before. Beneath the mode dial, there's a new ring that lets you flick between stills, movies and 'S&Q' mode (for recording slow-mo footage and timelapses). There's also a new dedicated red 'record' button for shooting video and a lockable exposure compensation dial.

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The Sony A7 IV camera's top dials and controls — (Image credit: Future)

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The Sony A7 IV's rear screen showing a photo of Canada geese — (Image credit: Future)

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The side of the Sony A7 IV camera showing its ports — (Image credit: Future)

Elsewhere, everything is where you'd expect to find it, with a nicely-balanced joystick for choosing AF points, a pronounced AF-On button for back-button focusing, and a rear scroll wheel that has a useful resistance to stop you from accidentally changing your shutter speed.

One additional bonus on top of the A7 IV is Sony's Multi-Interface hotshoe. This means you can plug in external microphones like Sony's ECM-B1M and ECM-W2BT without needing any extra cables or a power source. It's another big string to the A7 IV's video-shooting bow, compared to its predecessor.

But the news is slightly more mixed when it comes to the A7 IV's card slots. Unlike the Sony A7 III, it does now have a CFexpress Type A slot. These newer cards give you write speeds of up to 700MB/s, which effectively gives you an unlimited buffer during continuously shooting.

But CFexpress Type A cards are also rarer and pricier than the Type B cards favored by Nikon, Canon and Panasonic, so you'll have to weigh up whether you really need them. Speedy UHS-II SD cards may well be enough for you, and A7 IV's second card slot does only support SD cards.

Sony A7 IV: features and autofocus

The Sony A7 IV isn't quite the game-changer that its predecessor was for full-frame mirrorless cameras, but its upgrades bring it close to the Canon EOS R6 – which means it's a fine choice for everyone from wildlife shooters to wedding photographers.

The key to these performance boosts is the Bionz XR processor, which is the same as the one in the Sony A1. Unlike the Sony A1, the Sony A7 IV doesn't have a stacked sensor, so it can't quite unlock the same burst-shooting performance. But the two obvious improvements this processor brings are Sony's latest autofocus smarts, and a much-improved buffer depth when burst-shooting.

Because the Sony A7 IV has now jumped up to a 33MP resolution, its top burst-shooting speed (10fps) is actually the same as the A7 III. If you want to shoot lossless raw files, this falls to only 5fps or 6fps. This makes it significantly slower than the Canon EOS R6, which can hit top speeds of 20fps when you use its electronic shutter. But the A7 IV's autofocus speeds and buffer do a lot to compensate for this.

The top plate of the Sony A7 IV camera — (Image credit: Future)

We tested its burst shooting skills with a UHS-II card and the buffer is more generous than most people will need. When shooting JPEGs, the A7 IV consistently hit speeds of 9fps for over a minute. It also managed the same speeds with raw files for the first eight seconds, dropping down to a still-decent 6-7fps after eight seconds. In both cases, it was heading towards Sony's claimed 828 shots (for CFExpress cards) before our memory card filled up.

In all likelihood, you won't need to shoot continuously for that long, because the A7 IV's autofocus skills ensure a very good hit-rate. It has Sony's latest AF system, which means you get Eye AF for humans, animals and birds, in both stills and video. This is a big upgrade from the A7 III and is the most reliable AF system you'll find in any camera, even if the Canon EOS R6 isn't too far behind. It sticks to subjects like glue, even with distracting foregrounds.

The front of the Sony A7 IV camera showing its viewfinder bump — (Image credit: Future)

The A7 IV is clearly a very capable stills camera, but what about video? It makes even bigger leaps here. For filmmakers who like to color-grade their videos, the jump to 10-bit 4:2:2 color sampling (from 8-bit on the A7 III) is a big one. The maximum video bit-rate has also jumped from 100Mbps to 600Mbps, and you can shoot 4K/30p video using the full width of the sensor.

Perhaps the only slight disappointment is that the A7 IV's 4K/60p mode is only available with a 'Super 35' crop (which is similar in size to an APS-C sensor). Naturally, Sony wants video shooters to upgrade to cameras like the Sony A7S III, but that might still be a slight disappointment to those who were hoping for a completely uncompromising hybrid camera.

To sweeten the video deal, Sony has included a host of other bonuses on the A7 IV, including a 'Focus Map' (similar to focus peaking, only it uses colored blocks to show you what's in focus) and the popular S-Cinetone picture profile, which mimics the look of Sony's cinema cameras. Like all great hybrid cameras, the Sony A7 IV is just as comfortable shooting videos as it is stills.

Sony A7 IV: performance

Generous buffer for burst shooting
Moderate burst-shooting speeds of 10fps (compressed raw)
Battery rating of 520 shots (CIPA rating)

As we discovered in the features section above, the Sony A7 IV isn't a true speed demon when it comes to burst shooting. Sony's decision to boost its resolution to 33MP has effectively cancelled out any power gains of its new processor, which means its offers the same 10fps top speed as the A7 III (and that's with compressed raw files).

Still, while the Canon EOS R6 is likely a better choice if you spend a lot of time holding down the shutter and shooting speeding objects, the A7 IV is still more than good enough for wildlife shooting.

It's also worth factoring in the benefits of its class-leading autofocus system and deep buffer – when a camera so consistently nails focus, you don't necessarily need to rattle off frames at 20fps to capture a moment. Thanks to a firmware update in September 2022, you can also now choose 'S' and 'M' file sizes (in addition to 'L') when shooting lossless compress raw files.

A deer shot on the Sony A7 IV camera — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/400s at f/4.5, ISO 160 (Image credit: Future)

Other areas where the Sony A7 IV achieves 'good enough' status are in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and battery life. Its Active Stabilization mode, which adds a steadying electronic hand to its mechanical IBIS, is certainly decent and helpful for handheld shooting or vlogging. We managed to go down to shutter speeds of around 1/20s, before our micro-jitters started obscuring fine details.

That's by no means class-leading, though, and it certainly won't replace either a tripod or a gimbal if you want clean shots or smooth video in challenging conditions. Sony's Active Stabilization mode also incurs a crop of around 15%, creating a much narrower field of view. A good alternative is applying stabilization in post-production using Sony's Catalyst Browse software, which uses the camera's gyroscopic data to smooth out your footage.

The Sony A7 IV's rear screen showing a photo of a squirrel — (Image credit: Future)

This works particularly well for more challenging scenarios like walk-and-talk vlogging, and can also help suppress one of the Sony A7 IV's other weaknesses: rolling shutter. Because the camera lacks a stacked sensor, its read-out speeds aren't as fast as the Sony A1's – which means quick panning motions can lead to warped verticals in video or stills, if you're using the electronic shutter (like in our sample video below). This is unlikely to be a huge issue for most shooters, though.

Battery life is, again, solid rather than spectacular. The official CIPA rating is 520 shots per charge (when using the electronic viewfinder). While that's actually a 15% drop from the Sony A7 III, we found that estimate to be a little conservative and it can shoot 4K video for around two hours. In our tests, it managed to shoot 4K/60p for two hours and 20 minutes with no overheating, and a few minutes longer in 4K/24p mode before the battery died.

Sony A7 IV: image and video quality

Image quality isn't a dramatic step up from Sony A7 III
Excellent oversampled 4K/30p video quality with 10-bit 4:2:2 option
S-Log 3 and S-Cinetone profiles for video editors

If you'd hoped the Sony A7 IV's new 33MP sensor might dramatically improve its image quality from the A7 III, you may be disappointed.

That extra resolution is handy for those who like to regularly crop into their photos, but in general the A7 IV's improvements are geared more towards versatility rather than absolute image quality.

Sample photo taken in London on the Sony A7 IV camera — See the full-size image (Image credit: Future)

More megapixels means smaller photosites on the A7 IV's sensor, so Sony has used image processing to help in areas like low-light performance.

As you'd hope, it produces clean results low ISOs, but noise becomes fairly prevalent from ISO 6400 upwards. That's understandable for a relatively high-megapixel sensor, but it's fair to say that the Sony A7 IV leans more towards capturing detail than being a low-light monster.

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The inside of Southwark Cathedral — Sony A7 IV with FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, 1/250s at f/3.5, ISO 8000 (Image credit: Future)

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A bride and groom embracing — Sony A7 IV with FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, 1/320s at f/4.6, ISO 100 (Image credit: Future)

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A autumnal tree in London's Bushy Park — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/800s at f/2.8, ISO 100 (Image credit: Future)

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A bird perched on a fence post — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/640s at f/4, ISO 320 (Image credit: Future)

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A smiling bride and groom — Sony A7 IV with FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, 1/250s at f/4, ISO 320 (Image credit: Future)

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A pink flower photographed on the Sony A7 IV camera — Sony A7 IV with FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, 1/800s at f/3.2, ISO 100 (Image credit: Future)

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An entertainer breathing fire from an instrument — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/500s at f/5, ISO 1600 (Image credit: Future)

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A bride and groom in a park — Sony A7 IV with FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, 1/250s at f/4, ISO 250 (Image credit: Future)

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An organ's pipes in Southwark Cathedral — Sony A7 IV with FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, 1/30s at f/4.5, ISO 400 (Image credit: Future)

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Autumnal trees is London's Bushy Park — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/640s at f/4, ISO 200 (Image credit: Future)

Still, the impressive dynamic range gives you plenty of leeway when it comes to boosting shadows in raw files, even if this can reveal some noise in gloomier scenes. And we also found the straight out-of-camera JPEGs to have pleasing, true-to-life colors and nicely-rendered skin tones.

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A group of deer shot on the Sony A7 IV camera — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/1000s at f/3.5, ISO 100 (Image credit: Future)

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A white bird perched on a branch on water — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/400s at f/2.2, ISO 200 (Image credit: Future)

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A duck photographed by the Sony A7 IV camera — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/1000s at f/4, ISO 500 (Image credit: Future)

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A chandelier in Southwark Cathedral — Sony A7 IV with FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, 1/320s at f/2.8, ISO 1250 (Image credit: Future)

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A candle in the dark shot on the Sony A7 IV camera — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/250s at f/2, ISO 200 (Image credit: Future)

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Three deer photographed on the Sony A7 IV camera — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/400s at f/4, ISO 100 (Image credit: Future)

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A sticker on the side of a streetlamp — Thanks to the stabilization, you can comfortably handhold shots down to 1/20s or 1/10s (Image credit: Future)

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A statue in Southwark Cathedral — Sony A7 IV with FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, 1/320s at f/2.8, ISO 5000 (Image credit: Future)

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A bird perched on a branch over water — Sony A7 IV with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, 1/100s at f/4.5, ISO 125 (Image credit: Future)

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The bigger step up from the Sony A7 III, though, is undoubtedly the A7 IV's video quality. Because it oversamples its 4K/30p video from the sensor's 7K resolution, you get an impressively sharp, noise-free image even up to ISO 12800. The ability to shoot 4K in 10-bit 4:2:2 also gives color graders much more flexibility than on the Sony A7 III.

To really squeeze the best video quality out of the Sony A7S III, you'll want to shoot in the flat S-Log3 profile, as that provides the most dynamic range. But a quicker alternative is the S-Cinetone profile, which comes with much of the saturation and contrast baked in. It's worth familiarizing yourself with the quirks of these two profiles, as both have different dual native ISOs – for S-Log3 they're at ISO 800 and ISO 3200, while the ones for S-Cinetone are much lower at ISO 125 and ISO 500.

This gives the Sony A7 IV a lot of flexibility and depth for different shooting situations, marking it out as a true hybrid camera that's pretty much the equal of the Sony A7S III if you don't need high frame-rate modes. But if you're relatively new to video, the excellent autofocus means it's also easy to shoot some excellent video without delving into any color grading, like the sample clips above.

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The A7 IV's in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which now claims up to 5.5-stops of compensation, also lets you shoot with shutter speeds as low as 1/10sec and still get pretty sharp results. This is also a potential bonus for those who regularly use polarizing filters, because it allows you to handhold the camera rather than reach for the tripod.

Should I buy the Sony A7 IV?

The Sony A7 IV camera sitting on a wooden bench — (Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Sony A7 IV: also consider

If our Sony A7 IV review has you wondering about alternatives, here are three rivals to consider.

Canon EOS R6
With a similar price to the Sony A7 IV, the EOS R6 is its closest rival. The main difference between the two is burst shooting speeds, with the EOS R6 hitting speedy 20fps top speeds. That said, the A7 IV offers a 33MP resolution that's better for cropping than the 20MP EOS R6.

Check out our guide to the world's best cameras for photography

First reviewed: March 2022

Nikon Z6 II review

1:03 am | November 19, 2020

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers Gadgets Mirrorless Cameras | Tags: AF | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: November 2020
• Successor rumored for later in 2024
• Launch price: $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499 (body only)
• Official price now: $1,599 / £1,859 / AU$2,699 (body only)

Update: February 2024. The Nikon Z6 II was first pitched in 2020 around the $2,000 mark and a highly capable all-rounder at that price point, delivering a faster processor and longer burst rates than the first-gen model it replaced, while offering the same 24.5MP stills from its full-frame sensor. It's also a capable filmmaking tool, especially when paired with an external monitor through which you can get 4K recording in raw format. In short, image quality in any light is excellent in what is a speedy operator for action photography. The Z6 II's subject detection autofocus performance lags behind today's rivals and it's not as capable as the camera's own human detection AF. And now there are rumors of a long awaited replacement on the way – the possible Z6 III – that could become the best mirrorless camera for most people. Until then, there are few better full-frame mirrorless cameras at what is now a reduced price point. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Nikon Z6 II: Two-minute review

The Nikon Z6 II is the follow-up to the company’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, the Z6. Now over three years old, the Nikon Z6 is the former holder of our best mirrorless camera crown. But there's still room for improvement, and with the Z6 II Nikon has opted to retain the core spec and design of the Z6, while addressing its weaknesses.

To that end, pretty much all the main features of the Z6 II are inherited from the Z6. This includes the excellent full-frame 24.5MP BSI CMOS sensor, which delivers images with excellent levels of detail, plenty of dynamic range and a very good high-ISO noise performance.

Compared to one of the Z6 II’s closest rivals, the 20.1MP Canon EOS R6, the extra pixels here give you that bit more flexibility when it comes to framing and cropping, whereas the EOS R6 has a slight edge at higher sensitivities. Comparing the Z6 II to its other close rival, the Sony Alpha A7 III, there’s really not much between them when it comes to results.

While the sensor remains the same, Nikon has equipped the Z6 II with a second EXPEED 6 image processor. This brings a number of performance improvements, most notably an increase in burst shooting speed, from a maximum of 12fps to 14fps. That’s faster than the Alpha A7 III, and a match for the EOS R6 (although the R6 can shoot at 20fps using its electronic shutter).

The extra processor has also allowed Nikon to improve on the 273-point AF system that’s in the Z6. As well as general performance improvements and the ability to focus in darker conditions, human and animal eye/face detection are now available in Wide area AF mode. It’s a solid system that’s great for general photography, although if you’re going to be shooting lots of action (or portraits), then the focusing systems in both the EOS R6 and A7 III have the edge here.

The Z6 had a strong set of video specs, including the ability to shoot oversampled 4K for footage with plenty of detail. For the Z6 II, Nikon has tweaked the video capabilities to enable 4K capture up to 60p, although this won’t be available until around February 2021 via a firmware update. The Z6 II also gains a number of output options that include the capture of 10-bit HLG HDR footage to an external recorder. For these reasons, we think the Z6 II is one of the best video cameras you can buy right now.

With the Z6 II using the same design as the Z6, there are few surprises when it comes to build quality and handling. The magnesium alloy body parts, weather sealing and comfy grip make the Z6 II feel more durable than rivals, while Nikon has managed to squeeze in a UHS-II SD card slot alongside the XQD/CFexpress card slot, resolving one of the key weaknesses of the Z6.

There’s no getting around the fact that the updates found in the Z6 II are modest at best; however, while existing Z6 owners shouldn’t be tempted to upgrade, if you’re looking for a quality full-frame mirrorless camera you’re not going to go far wrong with the Nikon Z6 II. It's undoubtedly one of the best cameras for photography.

While rivals might outclass it in some areas, the Z6 II has consistency on its side, performing strongly across the board. If you can live without the upgrades though, do check out the Z6 – it’s still on sale for now, and the money you’ll save over a Z6 II will go a long way towards a new lens.

Nikon Z6 II: Release date and price

The Nikon Z6 II launched on October 14, 2020
It costs $2,600 / £2,549 / AU$4,399 with the 24-70mm f/4 lens
You can also buy the Nikon Z6 II body-only

The Nikon Z6 II was announced in October alongside the Z7 II, and is available to buy now.

Like the Z6, the Z6 II can be purchased with the excellent Nikon 24-70mm f/4 S standard zoom for $2,600 / £2,549 / AU$4,399. If you’re looking to upgrade or invest in a second body you can buy the Z6 II body-only for $2,000 / £1,999 / AU$3,399, while those looking to pair the Z6 II with their F-mount DSLR lenses can add the FTZ lens adapter for around $150 / £150 / AU$250.

The Nikon Z6 II will naturally be compared to Sony’s Alpha A7 III, while the arrival of the Canon EOS R6 means many will also see that camera as a key rival. The A7 III is almost three years old now, but it still packs a serious punch and will cost you in the region of $2,880 / £2,650 / AU$4,640 with Sony’s 24-105mm f/4 G, which is a little more versatile than Nikon’s kit lens.

The EOS R6 is also priced a bit higher than the Z6 II at $2,799.99 / £2,849 / AU$4,799, although this comes bundled with the relatively slow and variable-aperture 24-105mm f/4-7.1 lens, which isn’t quite a match for the lenses paired with the Z6 II or A7 III.

Nikon Z6 II: Design

Design is virtually identical to the Z6
Now features a second card slot
Tilt-angle display not perfect for video

The Nikon Z6 II arrives just over two years since the Z6 launched, and Nikon has opted to keep the new camera’s design virtually identical to that of its predecessor.

While this might seem unimaginative on Nikon’s part (and also a way to save some R&D costs), the decision to use the same body is no bad thing – the Z6 is one of the best-handling mirrorless cameras out there, with controls falling easily to hand and key settings quick to access. The joystick (officially known as the sub-selector) is also weighted nicely, while all this is complemented by a large and comfy hand grip and well-defined thumb rest.

Simply put, the Z6 II is one of the most pleasant mirrorless cameras to shoot with.

Sticking with the same design does, however, mean the Z6 II uses the same tilt-angle display as the Z6. This shouldn’t be too much of an issue if you’re predominantly shooting stills, but those shooting video (and self-shooters in particular) might be disappointed not to see a fully articulating vari-angle display worked into the design of the Z6 II.

That gripe aside, the Z6 II feels really durable, with magnesium alloy top, front and back covers, and the same excellent level of weather sealing as Nikon’s pro-spec DSLR, the D850.

Not everything has stayed the same though. One thing that compromised the Z6 was its single XQD card slot. While this is a media format that can be incredibly reliable, XQD cards are significantly more expensive than even the best SD cards.

Nikon listened to complaints about this, and on the Z6 II it’s managed to squeeze in a second UHS-II SD card slot to accompany the XQD/CFexpress slot. The addition of the SD slot makes the camera more accessible to more users, while those upgrading from the Z6, or who already use the XQD format, will be able to use their existing cards.

There are benefits when it comes to shooting too, with the extra slot providing options for simultaneous backup, overflow storage or recording JPEGs while the XQD/CFexpress slot takes care of raw files.

Nikon Z6 II: Features

Full-frame 24MP BSI CMOS sensor
3.69 million-dot electronic viewfinder
4K video recording up to 60p

For the Z6 II, Nikon has opted to stick with the same full-frame 24.5MP BSI CMOS sensor that’s in the Nikon Z6. This enables a native ISO range that runs from ISO100 to 51,200, and which can be expanded to ISO50-204,800.

While the Z6 II keeps the same sensor, Nikon has managed to squeeze in a second EXPEED 6 processor. This delivers a number of improvements, the most notable of which is an increase in burst shooting speed to an impressive 14fps, up from an already quick 12fps on the Z6.

The Z6 II also uses the same 273-point AF system as the Z6, though there have been some improvements here too. Overall performance has been improved, while human or animal eye/face detection is now available in the Wide-Area AF modes, rather than just the Auto-Area mode. Focusing in low light should also be better, as the Z6 II can focus in light levels as low as -4.5EV (improving on -3.5EV of the Z6), while a low-light AF mode sees the Z6 II able to achieve focus at an incredible -6EV.

The Z6 already had some impressive video credentials, and the Z6 II improves on these further. As well as using the full width of the sensor to capture 4K footage at up to 30p, the Z6 II is also able to shoot 4K60p.

A little caveat here though: there will be a 1.5x crop when shooting at this rate, and the upgrade won’t be available until around February 2021 via a firmware update. The Z6 II will also be able to continue shooting when connected via USB-C for recharging, which wasn’t possible with the original Z6.

Other key features remain the same though, including the excellent 3.69 million-dot electronic viewfinder (EVF) and 5-stop in-body image stabilization (IBIS) system.

Nikon Z6 II: Performance

Fast burst shooting speed
Very capable AF performance
Better battery life than the Z6

While the Nikon Z6 II can shoot at 14fps, the details are in the small print – at this maximum rate, you’re limited to 12-bit raw files and a single AF-point.

If you want a little more dynamic range in your files, and want to take advantage of the Z6 II’s tracking AF, this drops to a still very good 12fps – that’s faster than the Alpha A7 III’s 10fps, and a match for the EOS R6’s 12fps (though the R6 can shoot at up to 20fps using its electronic shutter). The buffer should be more than enough for most scenarios as well, with the Z6 II able to handle 124 12-bit raw files or 200 JPEGs at its highest frame rate.

The Z6 II’s 273-point AF system has 90% coverage across the frame, which is good in isolation, although it’s left trailing the 693-point system in the Alpha A7 III and the class-leading 6,072-point AF system in the EOS R6.

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Those predominantly shooting people (or pets) might favor the systems in the Z6 II’s rivals, as they’re a bit more sophisticated when it comes to eye and face tracking, but the Z6 II still does a very good job here, locking quickly and accurately on to the subjects we tested it on.

It’s a similar story if you’re tracking subjects – use the Z6 II in isolation and you’ll be very impressed with the speed of acquisition, but it’s not quite a match for the EOS R6 (which uses pretty much the same AF system as the flagship Canon EOS-1D X Mark III).

The built-in 5-stop image stabilization system in the Z6 II is a consistent performer. Again, it’s not quite as impressive as the EOS R6’s 8-stop system (which is lens-dependent), but you can happily shoot at super-slow shutter speeds and come away with sharp, shake-free images.

Another key area Nikon has addressed with the Z6 II is the battery. The Z6 could only achieve an official figure of 310 shots (though it performs better in real-world scenarios), and the Z6 II gets an improved EN-EL15c battery that’s rated for 410 shots using the LCD and 340 with the viewfinder. This is a welcome improvement, although here again the Z6 II still lags behind rivals like the EOS R6 and Alpha A7 III.

Nikon Z6 II: Image and video quality

Same image quality as Z6
Excellent sharpness and detail
Good high-ISO performance

As we’ve mentioned, the Z6 II uses exactly the same sensor as the Z6 – and that’s good news, as results from the Z6 were pretty much class-leading.

The full-frame 24.5MP BSI sensor in the Z6 II delivers excellent levels of detail. If you need to regularly print above A3 you might be swayed by the 45.7MP sensor in the Z7 II (or the D850), but the resolution on offer here should satisfy most shooters.

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Thanks in part to the back-illuminated technology in the Z6 II’s sensor (which is missing from the lower-priced Z5), it performs well across the sensitivity range, delivering great results at higher ISOs, although if you’re shooting JPEGs it’s worth bearing in mind that the default noise reduction can be a bit heavy at higher ISOs, which can result in the unnecessary loss of detail.

Dynamic range is also very good if you’re shooting in raw, with plenty of flexibility in post to recover detail in the shadows and pull back highlights.

A quick note on lenses to conclude – the 24-70mm f/4 is a solid choice that performs very well, but since its launch more than two years ago Nikon’s S-series lens range has expanded significantly, and includes some excellent f/1.8 primes and f/2.8 zooms.

Should I buy the Nikon Z6 II?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

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