As you know it’s still almost impossible to find a Zeiss Batis Lens in Stock somewhere. There are a few in Stock on [shoplink 39613 ebay]eBay Japan (worldwide shipment)[/shoplink] and with 2 weeks shipment at Digitalrev. That’s it. A couple of SAR readers contacted Zeiss and got the answer that the request of Batis lenses is much higher than the production. So we will have to wait some more time before everyone can get their preorder fulfilled.

In the meantime check out those new reviews:

Michael Reichmann and Kevin Raber share their thoughts on the Zeiss Batis Lenses

Luminous Landscape writes:

I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to recommend the Batis lenses, but I would say that as a photographer using the Sony camera line you have choices and those choices should be factored in when determining which lens you need. For me, I will order the 25mm Batis lens as soon as possible. The 85mm lens can wait since I already have the 90mm Sony Macro lens. As I mentioned, I have a number of primes already, but I lust after the 55mm Sony 1.8 lens which is one of the sharpest lenses on the market. I am curious to see what Zeiss Batis lens comes next. A 135mm, 50-50mm and a 200mm would be on my wish list. What’s on yours?

Sony A7RII/ Batis 25mm , Batis 85mm and Sony 35mm 1.4 System Tests at Getdpi.com.

Batis store links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.

Note: The A7rII waiting list is getting shorter. If you order the A7rII now at Amazon (Click here) you will have to wait 2-5 weeks to get it.

–

Dpreview just posted an article about the ISO behaviour of the A7rII. While the state that the A7rII has a very high dynamic range they also complain about the lossy Raw files showing some posterization artifacts in certain conditions:

With the a7R II, Sony continues the tradition of lossy Raw files, with no option for lossless 14-bit Raw. This isn’t going to affect all your photographs, but it can rear its unsightly head at high contrast boundaries of pushed files. The area around the sign in the ISO 100 + 6EV and ISO 200 + 5EV shots have artifacts not present in the higher ISO shots. These posterization artifacts are due to Sony’s lossy compression, which you can read more about in Iliah Borg’s excellent study here.
We think this Raw compression is particularly a shame, especially when you consider how ISO-invariant this camera is otherwise. As you saw above, the pushed ISO 200 shot has very little additional noise compared to the ISO 6400 shot. This is because of the high dynamic range, and ISO-invariance, of the camera, which means that realistically you can save much of your image brightening for post-processing as opposed to increasing your ISO setting in-camera. However, you’ll be limited in your ability to do so because of Raw compression, essentially meaning the camera isn’t as ISO-invariant as it could be.

I am 100% sure Sony will release a firmware update to allow current A7 owners to shoot real 14 bit RAW. The pressure on Sony is too high to not bring this feature.

One more interesting note: DearSusans actually claims the Sony RAW files on the A7rII are “tweaked”. They shoot stars with the A7r and A7rII and noticed a clear improvement on the A7rIi files:

Doing so with files from the A7r produces square artifacts around stars, as seen above. The same intermediate processing on A7rII files did nothing of the kind. Now, this is not to say lossy compression is ideal or perfect. And, if it adds significantly to the already improved image quality, we’re all for lossless RAW compression, here at DS. But something already has changed and, apparently, in the right direction.

Give us 14 bit Sony, we on SAR want to get the best out of our great Sony sensors! P.S.: My personal request…add 64 ISO too :)

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

A7rII case:
Gariz leather case in [shoplink 39113 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39108 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39110 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39111 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39112 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Gariz Alcantara case in [shoplink 39094 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39095 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Lim’s case in [shoplink 39107 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39102 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39103 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39104 ebay]Yellow (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39105 ebay]Navy Blue (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39106 ebay]Khaki (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).

A7R II vs Leica Q (Camerasize).

Diglloyd is criticizing Sony for many reasons like their subpar repair service in US, poor product quality control (assimetry issues on some lenses) and the missing real lossless 14 bit raw. He is one of the very few bloggers/reviewers who openly critizes Sony:

I like the A7R II a lot in various ways, but what I want to see is Nikon D810 quality in the compact form factor Sony A7R II. There is no technical reason Sony can’t do it right, but it looks like we’re in for a long wait from a company that really does not understand photography.
Sony cameras feel like camera imitations, not the real thing (the Leica Q feels like the real thing, as does the Nikon D810 or Canon 5DS R). The Sony gestalt seemd to be deeply cultural and it may take a long time, if ever, to overcome. Which gives NiCanon some breathing room, in theory.

Beside that (too?) harsh statement the issues raised by Diglloyd are definitely real. But maybe he is too extreme in the way he puts in on words. And in Sony’s defense Sony is innovating very hard and that of course makes it more vulnerable to issues and problems that have to be fixed in future generations of cameras/lenses or (hopefully) via firmware upgrade. Nikon and Canon simply do rely on the same “old” and solid tech. And even then they have still major issues (D810 had huge thermal issues leading to bright spot problems). And yes, while the Leica Q feels certainly “the real thing” it has much fewer features and costs more than the A7R II. Diglloyd says that that for Sony “it may take a long time, if ever, to overcome“. This is just my very personal impressions: Yes Sony has to learn a couple of important things, but from what I have seen the past years I am pretty sure they will improve those areas where they don’t offer a decent quality. And there is already a good news that backups my claim: Sony contacted Diglloyd to get feedback about the service and quality issues…

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

A7rII case:
Gariz leather case in [shoplink 39113 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39108 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39110 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39111 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39112 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Gariz Alcantara case in [shoplink 39094 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39095 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Lim’s case in [shoplink 39107 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39102 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39103 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39104 ebay]Yellow (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39105 ebay]Navy Blue (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39106 ebay]Khaki (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).

Sony A7R2 Shutter Modes Explained in Super Slo-Motion

On that video Jonathan Stewart shows you in slow motion how the different A7rII Shutter mode do work. Supercool!

More A7rII tests and discussions:
A7RII causing you to sell Canon lenses? (SonyAlphaForum).
My Sony A7RM2 First Images From J Cole Forest Hills Drive Tour (SonyAlphaForum).
A7RII Narraganset, RI Sunrise (SonyAlphaForum).
“This is the Tesla of cameras” (User Review at BHphoto).
Here’s How Fast Canon Lenses Focus On the New Sony A7r Mark II (Gizmodo).

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

A7rII case:
Gariz leather case in [shoplink 39113 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39108 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39110 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39111 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39112 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Gariz Alcantara case in [shoplink 39094 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39095 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Lim’s case in [shoplink 39107 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39102 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39103 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39104 ebay]Yellow (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39105 ebay]Navy Blue (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39106 ebay]Khaki (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).

So what do we think? Our video review of the Sony RX100 IV (Dpreview).

Sony RX10 II Field Test (Imaging Resource).
Sony RX10 II review-in-progress (CameraLabs).
Camera Test: Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 IV (Popphoto).
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II Sample Images (Photographyblog).
Sony RX100IV and RX10II: Best P&S Cameras of 2015! (TheDigitalDigest on Youtube).
RX100 IV Quick Unboxing and Stupid Slow Motion (Jeffrey Smee on Youtube).

New RX cameras store links:
In USA:
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
RX100m4 at DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX10m2 at DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

Federico spotted that giant construction of the new A7rII (image courtesy Fovitech):

“Just an interesting exhibit in Lima, Peru for the FOVITECH fair going on now. The local Sony office apparently made a huge mock up of the new A7RII for their exhibition booth, to promote the new camera.“

In Stock status: The A7rII is in Stock at [shoplink 39493 ebay]E-infinity on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink], Digitalrev (Click here).

More Sony A7rII news:
What is a good off camera flash solution for the A7R II (SonyAlphaForum).
A7RII SD card speed and continuous mode (SonyAlphaForum).
Hands-on Review: Sony Alpha A7R II (Cameta).
Sony A7RII Update Part 2: Best Camera ever made? (TheDigitalDigest on Youtube).

Jay: “Was Invited to a7r mkii Launch in Chennai , India… Had an Opportunity to Test it with my Zeiss Otus 85mm 1.4 (.ZF mount + Canon adapter + Metabones Mk iv) RAW + JPEG at WeTrasfer (Click here)“.

Anonymous: “http://www.dslr-forum.de/showpost.php?p=13397235&postcount=1087. Thats not a rumor but an interesting information. The user in that link had problems with hot pixels especially when recording videos (white pixels). He contacted Sony Berlin and they told him to take a 15-20 minutes video with lens cap on and ISO 25k. After the video he was told to change the date of the camera to +4 months into the future and then to turn of the camera. After a 10 seconds wait he turned on the camera and his problem with hot pixels was fixed. Might be interesting to post as other people also could have same issues with their A7rii.”

Your Sony A7R II, RX10 II & RX100 IV Questions Answered by Sony

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

A7rII case:
Gariz leather case in [shoplink 39113 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39108 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39110 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39111 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39112 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Gariz Alcantara case in [shoplink 39094 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39095 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Lim’s case in [shoplink 39107 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39102 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39103 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39104 ebay]Yellow (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39105 ebay]Navy Blue (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39106 ebay]Khaki (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).

Luminous Landscape (Click here) posted their full A7rII review. They conclude:

With so many cameras crossing my desk each year it’s hard not to cozy up with the prettiest new face on the street. But the A7RII is more than just a pretty face. It’s a highly competent tool for creating images that gives up almost nothing to any competitor, and while it doesn’t win every race, it places in the top three if not the very top in every category.
It’s now only August, and there’s a long way to go until December 31st. But, unless another company pulls the proverbial rabbit out of a hat I wouldn’t be at all surprised if when year-end comes that the Sony A7RII doesn’t become most reviewer’s “2015 Camera of The Year“.

They also shared some “impression” about the A-mount future:

I can’t give a definitive answer, but when I met with the senior Sony executives in Portland, and asked this question, I found their responses evasive and vague. In my experience this usually means “No“, but with no one really wanting to actually say so. It may well be that the answer is yes. I just can’t be sure.
More informative was the unsolicited comment from one of the people at the table. The gentleman said…”The A7RMII would make an excellent camera for anyone invested in A mount lenses. Just add one of the inexpensive mount adapters, such as the LEA-3 and all A series lenses will work perfectly”. This adapter sells for about $199. The more expensive LEA-4 isn’t needed because the A7RII has Phase Detection AF built into the sensor itself and doesn’t need the Translucent Mirror Technology of the LE-A4.

An interesting comparison has been made with the Pentax 645Z medium format camera using the large 50MP Sony MF sensor:

Colour rendition differs (both were set to Daylight WB) but most obvious is that the Sony with its 90mm Macro has higher internal contrast. When subjected to ultimate pixel peeping (200X and 300X) it is extremely hard to see any difference in resolution, which really is a testament to the Pentax 120mm Macro. Subjectively, overall, I give the win to the Sony, but only slightly, showing that the 50MP over 43Mp sensor size is a quibble.

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

A7rII case:
Gariz leather case in [shoplink 39113 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39108 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39110 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39111 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39112 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Gariz Alcantara case in [shoplink 39094 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39095 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Lim’s case in [shoplink 39107 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39102 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39103 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39104 ebay]Yellow (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39105 ebay]Navy Blue (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39106 ebay]Khaki (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).