Mirrorless Camera News

Sony had a surprise camera announcement this morning: Sony Japan, that is. The Sony mothership in Tokyo unveiled the new Sony Alpha A7 II, a successor to the Sony Alpha A7, which was the first full-frame mirrorless camera on the market. (The 24.3-megapixel Sony A7 was announced with the 36.4MP Sony A7R, a similar model without an optical low pass filter, a little over a year ago.)

Some key details of the new Sony A7 II, including whether it will also be available in North America remained unclear, however, this morning. (UPDATE: Shutterbug has confirmed that the Sony A7 II will be sold in North America as well. More details coming soon. We have also added new photos of the A7 II to this post.)

The A7 II appears to be a Japan-only model right now and the press release to announce the A7 II is entirely in Japanese. (We’ve reached out to our Sony US contact to see the A7 II will be released here too but have not heard back yet.)

The Sony A7 II appears to use the same, 35mm-sized, 24.3-megapixel CMOS sensor as the previous model but the new camera adds 5-axis image stabilization, making it the first full frame camera with this feature. According to Sony, 5-axis image stabilization gives photographers compensation against camera shake equivalent to using a 4.5-step faster shutter speed. (You can see a demonstration of Sony’s 5-axis image stabilization on the A7 II in the video below.)

The A7 II also has a 117-point phase detection autofocus (AF) system, a larger camera grip, a revamped shutter button, and a durable, magnesium alloy weather-sealed body. It can shoot at 5 frames per second with AF tracking, records full 1080p HD video at 60p, 50p, 25p, and 24p and has an ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 25,600, with an expanded option down to ISO 50.

The Sony Alpha A7 II is slated to go on sale in Japan on December 5, 2014. No pricing or a U.S. release date have been announced. You can see sample image shot with the Sony A7 II here.

(Via ephotozine)