DXOMark released the results of their tests with the Sony A7r Mk II today–and they’re not really surprising. Why not? We kind of expected the Sony A7r Mk II to wipe the floor with everyone else–and it does. Receiving an overall score of 98%, it seems to excel in pretty much every area of their tests. With a 42.2MP full frame sensor, we would assume that the camera is bound to have lots of color depth and dynamic range information but not so great high ISO output. Right?
More of an analysis is after the jump.
Overall, the camera is receiving very high scores and rendering lots of color depth, good dynamic range and pretty good high ISO output according to their ratings. During Sony’s presentation of the camera to the US press, they talked about how the sensor was designed to be much better than the one in the A7R. Part of the design has to do with a BSI sensor–which means it’s back-side illuminated and potentially does better at the high ISO ranges. The Sony a7r Mk II goes up to 12,800 ISO. We’d also expect lots of color range versatility and dynamic range just because of how good Sony has done in the past.
First off, when it comes to the overall score, we can see that lots of the top cameras are dominated by Sony and Nikon. Later on in the top 10 list we start to see Phase One. But this means that Sony and Nikon are possibly the best out there right now. Unfortunately though, that may not be the truest statement as DxOMark doesn’t really test Fujifilm’s X Trans sensor.
When it comes to high ISO output, the Sony A7r Mk II is only second to the A7s–a camera with less than half the megapixels. Indeed, our tests so far seem to be right in line.
Then there is the story of color depth–where it is in the #3 spot compared to lots of medium format cameras. This really isn’t surprising as the color in Sony’s files can be pushed very, very far.
But where it’s apparently lacking is in dynamic range. The A7r Mk II takes the 18th spot here–but we’re not too sure about that. Lots of details can be recovered from the highlights and the shadows with no real problems if you have advanced knowledge of how to use Lightroom.
Then there is the comparison to the newer cameras. All of them are quite good according to DxOMark’s tests.
As it is, the older cameras aren’t too bad either. The year still isn’t over though, and we have yet to see what Sony will release. Then consider the fact that next year is a Photokina year, so we may see even bigger and better technology then.