This camera is still my workhorse for landscape photography. It was released as a “game changer” by rave reviews in August 2015, which was towards the end of my year on the road. I had read the press but had no chance of getting my hands on one. It must have been late 2016 or early 2017 before I managed to scrape the pennies together in order to purchase this amazing camera body.
As I am writing this I have already been asked (several times) – Why have you not upgraded to the A7RIII? My answer – I would love to, but I just can’t justify it.
Let me explain…
From a landscape point of view, the A7RII is doing everything I need, which makes it very hard to justify the £1000+ upgrade. Yes, the better battery life and the dual card slots would be nice. (Side note: I did buy an A7III – see above). For my landscapes, I nearly always shoot on a tripod so the improved image stabilisation wouldn’t make a big difference. The sensor is the same 42.4MP as the A7RIII so no advantage there. I also nearly always shoot with an ISO range of 100 – 400, the largest I have used is probably 6400 -12800 for Astro shots, so again the higher ISO range – not a deal breaker. Also I ‘nearly’ always use manual focus and while the new autofocus system is great, I have no use for it from a landscape point of view.
The A7RII is a fantastic camera and paired with a great lens it will give you fantastic results. It has a large sensor, great dynamic range, image stabilisation and it’s not too shabby for video either.
If money wasn’t an option – yes I would have the A7RIII as an all-around camera, all day long. It has better battery, autofocus, image stabilisation and dual card slots. It would fit well with my A7III but currently, my A7RII gives me everything I need from a landscape point of view.
If you are just getting started and looking to get a great camera body I still would not look past this piece of kit especially as the price has dropped since the release of the A7RIII.