Sony Alpha 7 II vs Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7 II and the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Sony Alpha 7 II was introduced in November 2014 and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS was introduced in September 2018. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 7 II over Canon PowerShot SX70 HS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon PowerShot SX70 HS over Sony Alpha 7 II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Sony Alpha 7 II and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS have 3.0" screens with 1,230k dot and 922k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 7 II has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 7 II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Sony Alpha 7 II features a 24.3 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.8 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 855.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 50 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Canon PowerShot SX70 HS features a 20.3 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Sony Alpha 7 II is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6000 x 3376, 3936 x 2624, 3936 x 2216, 3008 x 1688, 3008 x 2000 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Canon PowerShot SX70 HS is equipped with DIGIC 8 processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 7 II

Sony Alpha 7 II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 4.5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Sony Alpha 7 II

Sony Alpha 7 II has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 7 II has a Micro HDMI and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7 II comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS comes with LP-E12 battery pack with battery life of 325 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7 II has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I supported) card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7 II has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7 II, and up to 1/2000 sec on Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. Sony Alpha 7 II can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Canon PowerShot SX70 HS can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7 II has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 117 focusing points and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has 9 focusing points. Sony Alpha 7 II has detection range from -1 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 7 II ranges from -1 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 7 II and ±3 range on Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7 II and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon PowerShot SX70 HS.

Flash

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS has a built-in flash with maximum range of 5.00 m at Auto ISO. Sony Alpha 7 II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7 II.

Sony Alpha 7 II body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 60 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.36") and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS body has dimensions of 127 x 91 x 117 mm (5.0 x 3.58 x 4.61"). Sony Alpha 7 II weighs 599 g (1.32 lb / 21.13 oz) and Canon PowerShot SX70 HS weighs 608 g (1.34 lb / 21.45 oz).

Sony Alpha 7 II

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

127 mm

96 mm

127 mm

91 mm

96 mm

91 mm

60 mm

117 mm