Considering that it’s been nearly five years since the a7S II was released and I’m still filming with it almost every single day, I think it’s finally time to look back at this camera.
On the eve of the Sony a7S III and Canon R5 announcements, this feels like the right moment to talk about what Sony absolutely nailed with the a7S II, what they got wrong, and why, even today, I still enjoy filming with this camera so much.
The Video That Sold Me on the a7S II
When Canon accidentally kicked off the DSLR filmmaking revolution with the 5D Mark II, one of the biggest reasons filmmakers jumped on board was Vincent Laforet’s short film Reverie. That film showcased shallow depth of field and low-light performance that, at the time, felt completely out of reach for affordable cameras.
I remember watching Reverie and being blown away. It played a huge role in why I bought my first DSLR, the Canon 7D.
Years later, the Sony a7S II had a similar moment for me. There’s a short film shot by Makai Creative in Hawaii that absolutely floored me. Content-wise, it’s a bit random, a family playing on the beach, but visually, it showcased the dynamic range and image quality of the a7S II in S-Log3 in a way that felt almost unreal at the time.
That video more than anything else made me want to buy this camera.
My First Wedding With the a7S II
Of course, I bought the camera and filmed my first wedding with it, and honestly, it didn’t look nearly as good as that beach film. It was cloudy, rainy, and the sunset turned everything orange. My footage didn’t have that same magic.
But what mattered was that I knew the camera was capable of it. I knew that look was possible, and that was incredibly exciting.
Why I Chose the a7S II Over the FS5
Around the same time, I also bought a Sony FS5. My plan was to use the FS5 as my main camera and have my wife second shoot on the a7S II. That made sense on paper, especially coming from the FS100.
What I didn’t expect was that the a7S II would arrive a few weeks before the FS5 and completely win me over in that short window. I shot a couple of weddings with it, fell in love with the size and usability, and when the FS5 finally showed up, I barely touched it.
Yes, the FS5 had advantages like unlimited recording time and no overheating, but for run-and-gun event filmmaking, the a7S II just made more sense to me. I ended up returning the FS5 and buying a second a7S II instead. I’ve been shooting with two of them ever since.
What the Sony a7S II Got Right
In-Body Image Stabilization
In-body image stabilization was one of the biggest shifts in how I filmed, ever. In a camera that already had 4K, incredible low-light performance, and a full-frame sensor, IBIS was the real game changer.
Putting stabilization in the camera body meant every lens I owned became stabilized, no matter how old or cheap it was. That completely changed my shooting style.
IBIS was the death of the monopod.
I remember bringing a monopod to weddings out of habit, trying handheld shots, and realizing I didn’t need it anymore. My footage looked just as good without it, and suddenly I was carrying less gear and filming longer without fatigue.
I still use a monopod today, but only for longer lenses. Once you’re above about 100mm, it becomes necessary again. But for everything else, IBIS changed everything.
4K Video in 2015
Today, 4K is everywhere. Back in 2015, it absolutely wasn’t.
The Panasonic GH4 paved the way for 4K mirrorless cameras, but the a7S II added a full-frame sensor to the mix, and that made a huge difference. The image was impressive enough that Sony reused the same basic 4K codec and bitrate across multiple camera generations for years afterward.
That alone says a lot about how good it was at the time.
Dynamic Range and S-Log
Just as important as 4K was Sony’s decision to include S-Log picture profiles in a relatively affordable mirrorless camera. This wasn’t locked behind a cinema camera paywall.
At the time, Canon users were still stuck with neutral profiles and reduced sharpness. Panasonic offered log, but you had to pay extra and wait for a physical activation code to arrive in the mail, which felt absurdly outdated.
Sony simply included it, and that decision played a massive role in why Sony cameras became so dominant in video.
Low-Light Performance
This is the a7S II’s crown jewel, and even today, it still holds it.
If you want to film in near darkness, moonlight-level darkness, this camera can still do it. As a wedding filmmaker who doesn’t always control the lighting, the ability to comfortably shoot at ISO 10,000, 16,000, or even 32,000 without panic is incredible.
Does that mean you shouldn’t light scenes properly? Of course not. But there are moments at weddings where lighting simply isn’t possible, and this camera lets you capture moments you would otherwise miss.
This was the one area where cameras like the GH5 simply didn’t work for me. Above ISO 1600, the image fell apart, and that’s a deal breaker in real-world wedding environments.
What the a7S II Got Wrong
Battery Life
Battery life is the biggest weakness of the a7S II. With barely an hour per battery, you need a lot of them.
I currently own twelve batteries across two bodies, and that’s usually enough for a full wedding day. Usually. I once filmed a wedding in Iceland from 4 a.m. until midnight, with no power outlets anywhere near the glacier lagoon. That day got stressful.
Sony eventually fixed this with their Z-series batteries, and the difference is massive. Renting an a7 III with those batteries was eye-opening. I accidentally rented far more batteries than I needed and never came close to running out.
Overheating
Overheating is the other major issue, especially filming outdoor weddings in Texas summers.
You learn to work around it. Keep the camera in air conditioning as long as possible. Flip out the screen. Use a battery grip. Drop to 1080p if needed.
In five years, I’ve only had my a7S II overheat three times. Being careful and always having a second body helped a lot. Still, if I had known the successor would take so long to arrive, I probably would have upgraded to the a7 III just for the reliability improvements.
Why I Still Love This Camera
Despite all of that, here we are in 2020, and I’m still shooting with the a7S II.
This camera has brought me joy, and that matters more than spec sheets. It made me want to create. It made me want to go out and shoot even when I wasn’t being paid. I genuinely don’t think I would have started making educational videos and tutorials if I hadn’t owned this camera.
Find a camera that excites you to turn it on. Find a camera that makes you want to film things just for fun.
I found that with the a7S II, and with the Canon R5 and the successor to this camera on the horizon, I’m hoping to find that feeling again.
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