Sony Alpha 7 II vs Leica S2

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7 II and the Leica S2, 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 Leica S2 was introduced in September 2008. 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 Leica S2.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Leica S2 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 Leica S2 have 3.0" screens with 1,230k dot and 460k 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. Leica S2 has a Fixed screen

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 7 II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution and Leica S2 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. Sony Alpha 7 II has 100% coverage with 0.71x magnification and Leica S2 has 96% coverage with 0.86x magnification.

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. Leica S2 features a 38 megapixel Medium format CCD sensor with dimensions of 45 x 30 mm and a total area of 900 mm². Its native ISO range is 80 - 1,250.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

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. Leica S2 can take pictures up to 7500 x 5000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 7 II has Sony E lens mount and Leica S2 has Leica S lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 7 II its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to Medium format sensor in Leica S2 its crop factor is equal to 0.79x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 0.79.

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 on Sony Alpha 7 II

Sony Alpha 7 II has a 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.

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 Leica S2 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7 II comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7 II has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Leica S2 has a single 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 1/4000 sec on Leica S2. Sony Alpha 7 II can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Leica S2 can shoot continuously up to 1.5 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7 II has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 117 focusing points and Leica S2 has . 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. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7 II and and manual exposure adjustment on Leica S2.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Intelligent Hot Shoe to Sony Alpha 7 II and via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Leica S2. 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 Leica S2 body has dimensions of 160 x 120 x 81 mm (6.3 x 4.72 x 3.19"). Sony Alpha 7 II weighs 599 g (1.32 lb / 21.13 oz) and Leica S2 weighs 1410 g (3.11 lb / 49.74 oz).

Sony Alpha 7 II

Leica S2

127 mm

96 mm

160 mm

120 mm

96 mm

120 mm

60 mm

81 mm