[ruggiex]

Will be interesting to see how Nikon and Pentax's results are with the similar sensor, perhaps without space allocated for PDAF and no compression and no reverting to 12bit in various shooting modes.

[rawr]

Interesting DxOMark.

A7RII SNR is basically the same as A7R and D810, and is impressive in either screen or print mode. But no major low-light shooting boost from BSI.

However the new sensor pulls away from both A7R and D810 mainly in dynamic range (past ISO 800). Plus colour sensitivity seems to get a boost with the new sensor. So BSI tech seems to make the biggest difference in those areas of IQ.

[DeadJohn]

DPR also commented that Sony lossy raw compression limits shadow recovery on the A7Rii. They demonstrated with extreme underexposure but the data loss affects actual usage. It seems like an arbitrary limit, not inherent to the sensor, because other brands that share Sony sensors can use lossless raw files.

[clackers]

DPR also commented that Sony lossy raw compression limits shadow recovery on the A7Rii. They demonstrated with extreme underexposure but the data loss affects actual usage. It seems like an arbitrary limit, not inherent to the sensor, because other brands that share Sony sensors can use lossless raw files.

Don't mention this to Osv, it does his head in. ;-)

[Jonathan Mac]

Why?

Even Sony themselves have actively revised the A7 design a lot from model to model, to the point that they are beginning to look like regular, bulky DSLR's - just without a mirror.

Relatively compact full frame, mirrorless, interchangeable-lens camera.

It won't be too many years before we look back on these huge, bulky DSLRs that don't know what a human eye looks like and wonder how we ever put up with them.

[Ratcheteer]

It won't be too many years before we look back on these huge, bulky DSLRs that don't know what a human eye looks like and wonder how we ever put up with them.

nah some douchebag will be promoting them as lomography cameras since cameras of the future will be mirrorless and wont feature an optical viewfinder

[Rondec]

Relatively compact full frame, mirrorless, interchangeable-lens camera.

It won't be too many years before we look back on these huge, bulky DSLRs that don't know what a human eye looks like and wonder how we ever put up with them.

How much difference is there really in size? My experience is that for a given quality level/sensor size, that mirrorless cameras end up being equivalent size and price to SLRs, particularly when you include a lens in your factor. A camera like the Nikon Df is not particularly large in size, while some of the NEX cameras are getting pretty big. Lense are basically similar size, as long as you keep aperture constant. The easiest ways to make lenses smaller (for any sensor size) are to make their apertures slower (there are few native lenses faster than f2.8 for FE mount currently) and to under engineer them (Sony has had a tendency to depend on software manipulation to fix lens flaws).

More important to me than absolute size (none of these cameras is pocketable) is ergonomics of a given camera body/lens combo and here is where many mirrorless cameras suffer.

In the end, I think it will come down to how much benefit EVFs really give over OVFs. Probably some, but there is definitely a trade off of less battery life (battery tech has not come along in the same way that other technology has).

[Ratcheteer]

In the end, I think it will come down to how much benefit EVFs really give over OVFs. Probably some, but there is definitely a trade off of less battery life (battery tech has not come along in the same way that other technology has).

actually there is a few alternative battery technologies, i wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing lithium–air and nanowire batteries in a year or two (both cheaper to manufacture than li-ion and higher power density to mass)

and there is nothing really stopping the evf from being backlit from natural light (apart from size of the light collector)

[Rondec]

actually there is a few alternative battery technologies, i wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing lithium–air and nanowire batteries in a year or two (both cheaper to manufacture than li-ion and higher power density to mass)

and there is nothing really stopping the evf from being backlit from natural light (apart from size of the light collector)

Maybe. It seems like whatever technology improvements we see with mirrorless batteries will improve battery life with SLRs too.

I'm really OK with both, I just see this as being more evolutionary for most photographers, rather than a revolutionary improvement. Companies that sell mirrorless cameras tend to pick the largest SLRs with large lenses to compare to mirrorless cameras with slow primes to give the impression that SLRs are all big and hulking (some are and some aren't) and mirrorless are small and nimble (some are and some aren't).

[ruggiex]

More important to me than absolute size (none of these cameras is pocketable) is ergonomics of a given camera body/lens combo and here is where many mirrorless cameras suffer.

In the end, I think it will come down to how much benefit EVFs really give over OVFs. Probably some, but there is definitely a trade off of less battery life (battery tech has not come along in the same way that other technology has).

This is kind of how I feel as well when it comes to size, weight and ergonomics. However, one thing that have sold me on MILC technology is the ability to track eyes. It makes taking portrait a breeze - have the camera auto focus on the eyes then you adjust from there as needed. The Live Composite feature Oly has in their camera is a nice touch as well. I think the fact that MILC is able to analyze the image as part of the pipeline can have many other interesting potentials in the future. I'm willing to pack 5 more batteries with me for some of the conveniences, but I'm still waiting for someone to release one without so many flaws (c'mon Pentax!).

[rawr]

alternative battery technologies

Zinc-bromide is starting to catch on for batteries. It will be interesting how in the next few years all these storage technologies find their way into consumer electronics, not just into larger scale storage.

Since Moore's Law doesn't apply to battery chemistry , power storage is a real limiting factor for the further evolution of consumer tech, particularly portable devices like cameras, mobile phones etc.