The new king of full frame
Albert Pedrosa
Photo Mania
THE evolution of digital cameras totally changed the landscape of photography. Of course, the two popular brands, Nikon and Canon, dominated. Both camera manufacturers offered products that ranged from newbie to professional use.
Because of the size and weight of DSLR, compact cameras came in as an alternative. These started out being called as bridge cameras and were supposed to bridge the gap between a point-and-shoot camera and a DSLR.
They’re compact and fully loaded. It has the features of a DSLR minus the size and weight. It’s mirror-less and comes with an electronic viewfinder.
It was an instant hit and definitely filled the gap with a bang.
Fujifilm was the most successful in this particular segment of the industry, until Sony decided to raise the bar. Last year, they released a series of compact cameras that give you all the benefits of a bridge camera but this time, with a full-frame sensor.
The Sony A7 series comes in three variants to cater to the demands of photographers shooting different genres: the A7, A7R and A7S. The A7 carries a decent 24-megapixel sensor while the A7R carries a whopping 36 megapixels without the low-pass filter for sharper details. The A7S, on the other hand, is loaded with only 12 megapixels but with a staggering 409,000 ISO. It can be used for stills but takes all the advantages for video.
Barely a year after launching the A7 series, Sony came up with another addition to the set. They released the A7 Mark II. It carries the same 24 megapixels but is equipped with 5-axis in-body image stabilization. This is the first full-frame camera to use this technology. Image stabilizers are normally found in lenses; this time, it’s part of the camera so you’ll no longer have to spend much for lenses with image stabilizers.
In-body image stabilization technology makes sense because instead of making a stabilizer for each lens, which affects the price of the lens, now you only use one mounted on the camera body. This is definitely one of the coolest features of the A7 Mark II.
What I like about the Sony A7 series is of course the quality you get from a full-frame sensor. The custom buttons positioned in different parts of the camera and the easy-to- adopt camera operation and menu are very much appreciated. With Sony releasing new lenses under its roster, the brand is definitely making waves right now.
Keep on shooting, everyone.
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