Sony A7 II’s full-frame stabilization heads inside, gets beefed-up video and AF

Sony took the wraps off its successor to its year-old A7, the first of its increasingly increasing line of full-frame interchangeable-lens models. The A7 II (aka the ILCE-A7M2 or A7M2) doesn’t incorporate a lot of updates over its predecessor, but the few it does are noteworthy.

First, Sony shifts from optical image stabilization to sensor-shift in this model. Sony put sensor-shift stabilization in its fixed-mirror dSLR-style Alphas, like the A99, but has been using OSS in all its A7 series cameras until now. I suspect the problem was getting manufacturers to produce full-frame OSS lenses; OSS makes lenses larger, heavier and more expensive, and bigger is not better when you’re touting a compact system. This way, you can even attach a lens like the big, heavy Zeiss Otus 85mm f1.4 (with an A-to-FE mount adapter, of course) and still get stabilization. Win.

Another very welcome improvement, Sony upgrades to its newer video codec, XAVC S which supports higher bit rate encoding for HD video. Sorry, no 4K here — that’s still available only in the A7S.

Sony also claims improved performance from the autofocus system. The A7 is the only one of the family that uses the hybrid autofocus — a combination of phase-detection and contrast AF. And both the autofocus and metering systems have gained a stop of sensitivity at the low-light end.

There’s one disappointing omission, though; the battery life is still miserable. Sony bumped it up from 340 to 350 shots with the LCD, and it’s still only 270 shots with the viewfinder. It’s physically a little deeper than before, but that’s to be expected with the bulkier sensor mechanism.

The A77 II was initially launched in Japan, but the camera is also coming to Australia in mid-January 2015 for AU$1,999 (body only). I’ll update with the relevant details for other regions when they become official.