Sony a7 II vs a7 III

Two generations of Sony's basic 24MP full-frame body, both with 5-axis in-body stabilization and a 2.36M-dot OLED finder. The a7 III adds a back-illuminated sensor, 693-point AF with Eye AF, 10 fps, 4K, two card slots and the larger NP-FZ100 battery; the a7 II is about 50 g lighter.

A black Sony a7 II body with its body cap fitted, seen from the front on a white background — **Sony a7 II**24.3MP full frame, 4.5-step IBIS · launched at $1,700 in 2014Photo: Roman Eisele via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized)

Top view of a Sony a7 III mirrorless camera with a zoom lens — **Sony a7 III**24.2MP full frame, 5-stop IBIS · launched at $2,000 in 2018Photo: HellcatSRT via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Side-by-side specs

	Sony a7 II	Sony a7 III
Sensor	24.3MP full-frame Exmor CMOS	24.2MP full-frame back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS
Processor	BIONZ X	BIONZ X with front-end LSI
ISO	100–25600; expandable to 50 (Multi Frame NR to 51200)	100–51200; expandable to 50–204800
Autofocus	117 phase-detection + 25 contrast-detection points; EV −1 to 20	693 phase-detection + 425 contrast-detection points; Eye AF; EV −3 to 20
Stabilization	5-axis in-body, up to 4.5 steps (CIPA)	5-axis in-body, 5.0 stops (CIPA)
Bursts	Up to 5 fps with AF/AE tracking	Up to 10 fps (Hi+)
Fastest shutter	1/8000 s	Same
Video	Full HD; XAVC S 50 Mbps; S-Log2	4K up to 30p; Full HD up to 120p; S-Log2, S-Log3, HLG
Viewfinder	OLED, 2.36M dots, about 0.71x	OLED, 2.36M dots, about 0.78x
Screen	3.0-type tilting, 1,228,800 dots	3.0-type tilting touchscreen, 921,600 dots
Card slots	One: Memory Stick PRO Duo / SD (UHS-I)	Two: SD (UHS-I/II) + SD/Memory Stick (UHS-I)
Battery (CIPA, screen)	NP-FW50; about 350 shots	NP-FZ100; about 710 shots
Weight	About 599 g with battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo	About 650 g with battery and card
Launch price	Nov 26, 2014; $1,700 body-only (US)	Feb 26, 2018; $2,000 body-only (US)

a7 II specs from Sony Europe's November 20, 2014 release and Sony's ILCE-7M2 specifications (battery); a7 III specs from Sony USA's ILCE-7M3 specifications as cited in our a7 III guide; US launch prices from Sony Electronics' November 26, 2014 and February 26, 2018 releases. Battery figures are CIPA, rear screen. ✓ = advantage; blank = tie or not directly comparable (the two weights are measured with different media).

Sample photos

Four photos taken with the Sony a7 II and four with the Sony a7 III, shared on Wikimedia Commons under open licenses.

Sample photo 1 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 II — Taken with the Sony a7 II. Photo: Norbert Reimer from Mettlach-Orscholz, Saarland via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (resized)

Sample photo 2 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 II — Taken with the Sony a7 II. Photo: Christopher Michel via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (resized)

Sample photo 3 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 II — Taken with the Sony a7 II. Photo: Taisuke.Kasuya via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized)

Sample photo 4 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 II — Taken with the Sony a7 II. Photo: Jan Mark Holzer from Boston,MA, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (resized)

Sample photo 5 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 III — Taken with the Sony a7 III. Photo: Nil NZ via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized)

Sample photo 6 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 III — Taken with the Sony a7 III. Photo: Vladimir Buynevich from Moscow, Russia via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (resized)

Sample photo 7 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 III — Taken with the Sony a7 III. Photo: Pierre Blaché from Paris, France via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (resized)

Sample photo 8 of 8 taken with the Sony a7 III — Taken with the Sony a7 III. Photo: Dmitry Djouce via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (resized)

Who should buy which

Buy the a7 II if…

You shoot landscapes, architecture or travel, where 5 fps and 117-point AF are enough.
You use manual-focus or adapted lenses and want in-body stabilization rated up to 4.5 steps.
You want the lighter body: about 599 g vs about 650 g.

Buy the a7 III if…

You shoot people, events, kids or wildlife: 693 phase-detect points with Eye AF and 10 fps.
You shoot video: 4K up to 30p and Full HD up to 120p, with S-Log3 and HLG.
You want two card slots and about 710 shots per charge vs about 350 (CIPA, screen).

Both bodies have 24MP full-frame sensors, 5-axis in-body stabilization and a 2.36M-dot OLED finder, so the choice is mostly autofocus, speed, video, card slots and battery versus weight. See our full a7 II review and a7 III guide, or all comparisons.

Where to buy

Sony a7 II

a7 II · body (new)

Sony a7 II: Launched at $1,700 in 2014 (Sony's US launch price, November 26, 2014).

Check price
Read the full Sony a7 II review

Sony a7 III

a7 III · body (new)

Sony a7 III: Launched at $2,000 in 2018 (Sony's US launch price, February 26, 2018).

Check price
Read the full Sony a7 III guide

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