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A few days ago the Sony A7 II dropped to €850 — let me say upfront, that’s a fantastic deal for anyone wanting a full-frame camera without breaking the bank. At that price, it could even be the opportunity to pick it up as a second body and slap the Sony 85mm 1.8 on it to make an excellent camera for family celebrations.
Warning! This article is not a review — it’s simply a recommendation for beginners entering the full-frame world. I’m not going to go into detail about the better dynamic range of the A7 III , its superior color rendition, or noise handling. I’m simply giving a purchasing recommendation for someone who wants a full-frame camera at a lower cost — what I consider the best value for money.
Online you often see articles comparing full-frame cameras to smaller sensor cameras, with the buying advice leaning toward the smaller sensors. Personally, I’m a fan of wide apertures and bokeh, as you could see in my review of the Mitakon 50mm 0.95 . So I can’t in good conscience recommend a different sensor type, despite the various advantages those can offer (price, compactness).
Comparing the Sony A7 II to the Sony A7 III , you’ll mostly miss the battery life. Basically, the mark 2 with two batteries equals the mark 3 with one battery. That’s the biggest flaw of this camera generation.
For stabilization, the mark 3 is better, but you’ll only notice it if you shoot video.
Eye autofocus is a nice bonus, but some people don’t get on with it, and it can turn into a disaster if it hunts around when it would have found the face much faster on its own.
With the mark II you save 100 grams — always a bonus (even if you’ll lose those back with a second battery).
But still, the mark III is over €2,000 — the price difference isn’t worth it if you don’t already own a full-frame camera.
I used to own a first-generation A7R and the autofocus was really sluggish on that model. By comparison, the mark 2 is much faster.
I also gained stabilization, which is the key improvement this generation brought over the previous one.
Once again, at this price point this full-frame is an absolute joy and won’t let you down. On top of that, you can pair it with an affordable lens (Meike, Viltrox, Sony ).
