The Sony α7S II (model ILCE-7SM2) is a 12.2-

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera A mirrorless camera is a photo camera featuring a single, removable lens and a digital display. The camera does not have a reflex mirror or optical viewfinder like a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but may have an electronic v ...

made by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. It was publicly announced on at a press conference held at the

IBC IBC is an initialism that can stand for: Broadcasting *Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, Channel 13, Philippines * International Beacon Project, Worldwide network of radio propagation beacons *International Broadcast Centre *International ...

2015 exhibition in Amsterdam and was released in with a suggested retail price of (body only) at the time. The α7S II is offered as a body only or in a package with a Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS zoom lens. It was succeeded by the

Sony α7S III The Sony α7S III (model ILCE-7SM3) is a 12.2-megapixel full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera made by Sony. It was publicly announced on online with a suggested retail price of (body only) at the time. The α7S III is offered as a ...

in October 2020.

Features

Image features

The α7S II features a 35mm (35.6 x 23.8 mm) full-frame

Exmor Exmor is the name of a technology Sony implemented on some of their CMOS image sensors. It performs on-chip analog/digital signal conversion and two-step noise reduction in parallel on each column of the CMOS sensor. Exmor RS is the world's ...

CMOS sensor An active-pixel sensor (APS) is an image sensor where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) active-pixel sensor, MOS field-effec ...

capable of capturing approximately 12.2 effective megapixels.

Autofocus and metering

The camera's 169-point autofocus sensors use contrast-detection AF to capture and record.

ISO

For still images, the α7S II's ISO is 100–102400 with expansion down to ISO 50 and up to ISO 409600 equivalent. For movies, the α7S II's ISO is 100-102400 equivalent with expansion down to ISO 100 and up to ISO 409600 equivalent. For still images or movies on auto setting, the camera's ISO is 100–12800 with selectable lower and upper limits.

Shutter

The α7S II's shutter speed range is 30 s to 1/8,000 s for still images. For bulb movies, the shutter speed range is 1/4 s (1/3 s step) to 1/8,000 s. The camera has an approximate maximum continuous shooting speed of 5.0 frames per second in Speedy Priority Continuous shooting drive mode and a shooting speed of 2.5 frames per second in Continuous shooting drive mode.

Ergonomics and functions

The α7S II has a

TFT LCD A thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) is a variant of a liquid-crystal display that uses thin-film-transistor technology to improve image qualities such as addressability and contrast. A TFT LCD is an active matrix LCD, in cont ...

screen with a size of 7.5 cm (3 inches) and resolution of 1,228,800 dots with an adjustable tilt angle of 107 degrees up and 41 degrees down (approximate). The

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

electronic viewfinder has a resolution of 2,360,000 dots and a .78x magnification. The camera additionally has built-in

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

with

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

compatibility.

Video

The camera can record 4K UHD (QFHD: 3840 x 2160) internally in full frame format. The camera allows for movie image size to be set, as well as the frame rate per second, and compression method. ''

The Possession of Hannah Grace ''The Possession of Hannah Grace'' (also known in some countries as ''Cadaver'') is a 2018 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Diederik van Rooijen and written by Brian Sieve. It stars Shay Mitchell, Kirby Johnson, Stana Kati ...

'' was filmed entirely using the A7S II

Firmware update

On , Sony announced batch firmware updates for the α9 and α7 line of cameras including firmware version 3.01 for the α7S II; its main change was improving overall stability of the camera body.

International Space Station

In , Japan's national aero-space agency,

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...

, installed a Sony α7S II outside the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

's KIBO Japanese Experiment Module after determining it would be durable enough to withstand the

vacuum A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often dis ...

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

. According to Sony, the a7S II captured the first 4K footage in space using a commercial level camera. In order to mitigate the temperature extremes of outer space, the camera mount is equipped with a heater and radiator. Sony stated that the camera body was not modified but the software was modified to include the ability for full remote control from inside the Space Station. JAXA selected the

Sony FE PZ 28-135mm F4 G OSS The Sony FE PZ 28-135mm F4 G OSS is a full-frame constant maximum aperture advanced standard zoom lens for the Sony E-mount, announced by Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquarter ...

lens to capture images and record video for the purpose of this assignment.

Accessories

According to Sony's website, the α7S II model comes equipped with: * Sony ILCE-7SM2 Camera Body * Battery Pack NP-FW50 (rechargeable) * Battery Charger BC-VW1 * AC Adapter AC-UUD11 * Neck/Shoulder Strap * Micro-USB Cable and Cable Protector

References

External links

Product page
* {{Sony MILC cameras α7S II Cameras introduced in 2015 Full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras Personal cameras and photography in space