 I'm Dan Seifert with The Verge and these are the Sony a7 and a7R cameras. At $1,700 and $2,300 respectively, these are Sony's most expensive and advanced interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras yet. The a7 and a7R are significant for one reason. They are the first interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras with full-frame 35mm sensors. They are the smallest, lightest, and most portable full-frame cameras on the market. All other mirrorless cameras have smaller sensors that are not as good in low light or other difficult shooting situations and they can't match the image quality of a full-frame DSLR. As the adage goes, the best camera is the one that you have with you and it's a lot easier to have a smaller camera with you more often. For many that means a smartphone, but smartphones don't offer anywhere near the image quality of a proper camera. Sony's managed to make two cameras that aren't a chore to lug around and can hold their own in nearly any photo situation. Both cameras clearly come from Sony's NEX line of mirrorless cameras, only they are slightly bigger and have a few more dials and switches on them. They are also similar in appearance to the RX1 fixed lens camera. Physically, there aren't really any noticeable differences between the a7 and the a7R, save for the tiny badge on the upper right of the camera. Both have 3 inch tiltable displays, high resolution electronic viewfinders that look absolutely great, sizable rubbery grips, and enough buttons and dials to satisfy even the most demanding photographer. Both cameras are also solid and well made and feel worth their price tags. Inside is where the two models differ, as the a7 has a 24 megapixel sensor and the a7R has a 36 megapixel chip. The a7 also has a faster autofocus and continuous shooting speed, but other than that the two cameras are almost identical. They also feature built-in wifi and NFC for pairing to an android or iOS smartphone, and can shoot 1080p video at 24 or 60 frames per second. Shooting with the two cameras is almost the same as well. Neither camera is particularly quiet, which is disappointing, but the a7R's shutter is significantly louder and just doesn't sound nice. Likewise, the a7's autofocus is faster in practice, but neither camera is particularly quick when it comes to focusing, and I noticed that the cameras tended to mis-focus a bit more than proper DSLRs. Also, the a7's 5 frames per second continuous shooting is passable, but it's not going to impress any sports photographers. The a7's can be shot in a variety of full automatic modes, but they're really designed to let you the photographer take control and make decisions about focusing and exposure. But the output from these cameras is quite remarkable. Both models capture an immense amount of detail, with the a7R taking the edge due to its higher megapixel count. Both cameras also shoot incredibly well in low light, and at high ISOs, with a slight nod to the a7. Like we saw with the RX1, the a7 and a7R can hold their own with any other full frame camera up to ISO 6400, and higher ISOs are even usable in most situations. There are some ugly JPEG processing artifacts if you pixel peep on the images, but they're not visible most of the time and aren't an issue if you shoot raw. I'm partial to the $1700 a7, because it has enough resolution for my needs, and I can put the money saved towards other lenses and accessories. It can be purchased with an optional 28-75mm zoom lens for an additional $300. The lens is not particularly bright, and it's pretty slow to focus in dim light, but if you're considering the camera at all, you should probably pick it up just for its versatility. Both cameras shoot well with the zoom lens, but they really come alive with a fast prime, such as the 35mm f2.8 or 55mm f1.8. Autofocus is much quicker, and the image quality from a prime lens is almost always better than with a zoom lens. The a7s aren't perfect, and they do succumb to the sum of the trappings of other mirrorless cameras, namely poor battery life, I tapped it out after only a few hundred shots, slow autofocus, and limited lens selection. But you can't ignore the incredible image quality they offer that has been previously reserved for much larger and more expensive cameras, and can't really be touched by any other compact mirrorless camera on the market. With the a7s, Sony's managed to defy expectations when it comes to the laws of physics, and what you can expect from a compact camera. It's clear that Sony thinks this is the future of photography, and there's a good chance that in a few years, the big bulky DSLRs of today will be mere relics of the past, and limited to very specific specialties. It's a taste of tomorrow's photography that you can get today.
 I'm Dan Seifert with The Verge and these are the Sony a7 and a7R cameras.
 At $1,700 and $2,300 respectively, these are Sony's most expensive and advanced
 interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras yet. The a7 and a7R are significant for one reason.
 They are the first interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras with full-frame 35mm sensors.
 They are the smallest, lightest, and most portable full-frame cameras on the market.
 All other mirrorless cameras have smaller sensors that are not as good in low light or other difficult
 shooting situations and they can't match the image quality of a full-frame DSLR.
 As the adage goes, the best camera is the one that you have with you and it's a lot easier to have a
 smaller camera with you more often. For many that means a smartphone, but smartphones don't offer
 anywhere near the image quality of a proper camera. Sony's managed to make two cameras that aren't a
 chore to lug around and can hold their own in nearly any photo situation. Both cameras clearly
 come from Sony's NEX line of mirrorless cameras, only they are slightly bigger and have a few more
 dials and switches on them. They are also similar in appearance to the RX1 fixed lens camera.
 Physically, there aren't really any noticeable differences between the a7 and the a7R,
 save for the tiny badge on the upper right of the camera. Both have 3 inch tiltable displays,
 high resolution electronic viewfinders that look absolutely great, sizable rubbery grips,
 and enough buttons and dials to satisfy even the most demanding photographer. Both cameras are also
 solid and well made and feel worth their price tags. Inside is where the two models differ,
 as the a7 has a 24 megapixel sensor and the a7R has a 36 megapixel chip. The a7 also has a faster
 autofocus and continuous shooting speed, but other than that the two cameras are almost identical.
 They also feature built-in wifi and NFC for pairing to an android or iOS smartphone,
 and can shoot 1080p video at 24 or 60 frames per second. Shooting with the two cameras is almost
 the same as well. Neither camera is particularly quiet, which is disappointing, but the a7R's
 shutter is significantly louder and just doesn't sound nice. Likewise, the a7's autofocus is faster
 in practice, but neither camera is particularly quick when it comes to focusing, and I noticed
 that the cameras tended to mis-focus a bit more than proper DSLRs. Also, the a7's 5 frames per
 second continuous shooting is passable, but it's not going to impress any sports photographers.
 The a7's can be shot in a variety of full automatic modes, but they're really designed to
 let you the photographer take control and make decisions about focusing and exposure. But the
 output from these cameras is quite remarkable. Both models capture an immense amount of detail,
 with the a7R taking the edge due to its higher megapixel count. Both cameras also shoot incredibly
 well in low light, and at high ISOs, with a slight nod to the a7. Like we saw with the RX1,
 the a7 and a7R can hold their own with any other full frame camera up to ISO 6400,
 and higher ISOs are even usable in most situations. There are some ugly JPEG processing artifacts if
 you pixel peep on the images, but they're not visible most of the time and aren't an issue if
 you shoot raw. I'm partial to the $1700 a7, because it has enough resolution for my needs,
 and I can put the money saved towards other lenses and accessories. It can be purchased with an
 optional 28-75mm zoom lens for an additional $300. The lens is not particularly bright,
 and it's pretty slow to focus in dim light, but if you're considering the camera at all,
 you should probably pick it up just for its versatility. Both cameras shoot well with the
 zoom lens, but they really come alive with a fast prime, such as the 35mm f2.8 or 55mm f1.8.
 Autofocus is much quicker, and the image quality from a prime lens is almost always better than
 with a zoom lens. The a7s aren't perfect, and they do succumb to the sum of the trappings of other
 mirrorless cameras, namely poor battery life, I tapped it out after only a few hundred shots,
 slow autofocus, and limited lens selection. But you can't ignore the incredible image quality they
 offer that has been previously reserved for much larger and more expensive cameras, and can't really
 be touched by any other compact mirrorless camera on the market. With the a7s, Sony's managed to
 defy expectations when it comes to the laws of physics, and what you can expect from a compact
 camera. It's clear that Sony thinks this is the future of photography, and there's a good chance
 that in a few years, the big bulky DSLRs of today will be mere relics of the past, and limited to
 very specific specialties. It's a taste of tomorrow's photography that you can get today.