Sony Alpha 7R vs Sony Alpha 7R II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7R and the Sony Alpha 7R II, 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 7R was introduced in February 2014 and Sony Alpha 7R II was introduced in June 2015. 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 7R over Sony Alpha 7R II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 7R II over Sony Alpha 7R.

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 7R and Sony Alpha 7R II have 3.0" Tilting screens with 1,230k dot and 1,229k dot resolutions respectively. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 7R has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 7R II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Sony Alpha 7R features a 36 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600. Sony Alpha 7R II features a 42.4 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 576 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

Sony Alpha 7R II 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.

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

Cameras are equipped with BIONZ X processor.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Sony E lens mount. Due to their Full Frame sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on either of the cameras. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 7R II

Sony Alpha 7R 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 (802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz on Sony Alpha 7R II) 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

Cameras have 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 7R has a Micro HDMI and Sony Alpha 7R II has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7R and Sony Alpha 7R II come with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 340 shots on Sony Alpha 7R and with battery life of 290 shots on Sony Alpha 7R II.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7R has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo card slot. Sony Alpha 7R II has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7R and Sony Alpha 7R II have Electronically controlled Vertical-traverse Focal-plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R, and up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R II. Sony Alpha 7R can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps. Sony Alpha 7R II can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7R has 25 focusing points and Sony Alpha 7R II has 399 focusing points. Sony Alpha 7R II has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

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

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe to Sony Alpha 7R II. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 7R and 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7R II.

Sony Alpha 7R body has dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89") and Sony Alpha 7R II body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 60 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.36"). Sony Alpha 7R weighs 465 g (1.03 lb / 16.40 oz) and Sony Alpha 7R II weighs 625 g (1.38 lb / 22.05 oz).

Sony Alpha 7R

Sony Alpha 7R II

127 mm

94 mm

127 mm

96 mm

94 mm

96 mm

48 mm

60 mm