Day 2: The Sony A7II meets my Fuji X-T1

What began as a one week trial is going to have to be put on hold for awhile. The Sony A7II died on me in day 2 when I received a "Camera error: turn the camera off, then on" message. Nothing worked. The camera is essentially a doorstop at the moment. I am going to have to wait for a replacement  model to continue my tests. I'm not holding anything against the camera. It is a test camera, after all, and probably subject to a lot of abuse.

One funny thing that happened is that I kept mistaking my X-T1 for the A7II. I keep my X-T1 handy near my desk, and the two cameras do have a similar profile so it was easy to confuse the two. Once, I even tried to mount a Fuji lens on the Sony and was annoyed that it didn't fit, until I realized my mistake and laughed. As I looked at the two cameras next to each other, if gave me a chance to think a bit about the differences in ergonometrics of the two. No question that I prefer the Fuji with its clear-cut and accessible dials. The Sony works more from a menu. The menu layout is quite similar to that of the Sony RX-100 so I am familiar with it, but I did find the X-T1 a much easier and quicker camera to use.

Note that I am not making any comparison of image quality, just physical characteristics. For that, the Fuji is hard to beat as a mirrorless system.

The two cameras are similar is size with the X-T1 being only slightly larger. In this photo my X-T1 has a hand-grip on it which raises it up a little. 

Sony could take some lessons from the Fuji top control layout. Everything you need to control exposure is sitting right there in a top view of the camera. With a lens mounted on the X-T1 even the aperture control is accessible with a control ring with the apertures stops visible on many of the lenses. This is retro design at its best -- i.e. most intuitive and convenient.

The whole point of my A7II test was to determine if it would make a good second body for a Leica M system. I chose the A7II over the A7r so I could also test the efficacy of the in-body vibration correction with the lenses. If I do decide to add the Sony to my Leica kit, I will probably wait until an A7r II model comes out so I could have both the higher megapixels and the vibration control. 

I only had time for a few preliminary test shots before the camera conked out. I'll have to wait until I recieve a replacement before continuing the testing. 

Here's a sample image taken with the Voigtlander 15mm lens and an ISO of 100. Click here to download the high res version.

Taken with a Leica 50mm Summilux lens. 

Taken with the Leica 135mm APO telyt on the A7II