Sony A7II Full Frame Mirrorless Camera

Camera shake. It’s a point of frustration that every pro and every casual photographer deals with — even your grandmother with a camera phone. Since the dawn of photography, the drive for stable images has created an industry of its own, as tripods and video stabilizers are costly, complicated and absolutely necessary. Could cameras become more stable on their own? Sony thinks so. The new Sony A7II full frame mirrorless camera introduces a new system to combat camera shake, the first-ever 5-axis sensor stabilizer.

The 5-axis stabilizer in the Sony A7II is a mechanized system built around the image sensor. The sensor stabilizer responds to camera shake by keeping the sensor still on the focal plane. The camera shakes, the sensor doesn’t. The images that result remain crisp in some very demanding situations.

When compared to the other big guns of the digital camera industry, Sony’s focus on sensor stabilization is a fresh departure. While the others are still fighting the good fight in the ISO arms race, Sony breaks the mold with something completely different. The end goal is the same — still images in low light and stable video — but the Sony A7II introduces a totally new tool.

If you’re having trouble wrapping your mind around the technology and it’s promise, it should be seen to be believed:

The 5-axis sensor stabilization system in the Sony A7II will have great value to low-light photographers and just about any videographer. For the latter, having an additional level of stabilization will make for a crisp end product that won’t require as much heavy lifting in post. For photographers, you can’t always use a tripod and you don’t always want to boost your ISO to its peak. This stabilization will yield crisp images at moderate ISO and manageable shutter speeds.

The Sony A7II is a full frame interchangeable lens camera, and it’s stable sensor is a 24MP unit. Since it’s a part of the A7 line, you should already have extraordinarily high expectations for its quality. We consider that to be implied. The story here, and why this camera is so remarkable, is that it promises a new level of stability and a heavy blow against one of photography’s oldest frustrations — camera shake.

The Sony A7II will be primed for a release date soon, but no word yet on its price. Expect it to not be as costly as the A7R, but close…

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