I've been a Sony/Minolta shooter for a long time. I have a decent assortment of A-mount glass that I've hung onto. Last year, I went from the A77 up to the A7ii and into e-mount. Since Sony announced the a99 II, I've noticed that used A99 prices have come down a LOT.
I have the LAE-4 for the A7ii, but it's so chunky, it feels like it defeats the purpose. I also have large hands and prefer back button focus, which has been a challenge with the A7ii (cramped).
So, here is the question. What would I REALLY be giving up going to a used a99 over the A7ii? Manual lenses are a nice novelty, but in practice I find I don't use them all that much. Most of what I do for others is available light candids/portraits at golden hour, often with kids, and anything I do for fun tends to be long exposure on a tripod.
Anyone own both that can speak to the real pros/cons? The A99 II announcement makes me believe Sony isn't completely done with the a-mount yet.
I don't have any experience for the A72 and A7r2. But I have both A99 and A7r. I enjoy using A99 much more. In terms of IQ, I didn't feel A7r is that much better over A99 other than 36mp resolution. I didn't upgrade to A7r2 but will be considering upgrading to A99ii.
OP mentions price of a99 so advice to 'go forward' comes at great expense. Has a7II not a7rII.
manderplex, very little is lost in some respects and some large gains in others. a99 is the only Sony FF I am aware of that has better DR at ISO 50 than ISO 100, and it is a lovely camera at that setting. Strengths are soft portraits and very sound open field work. EFCS and soft shutter, grain like noise, ex ergonomics, dual SD slots, very good controls overall. At 816 grams dry, still about as light as Sony's next 'small camera' (my prediction), ex battery life, strong body. High ISO not a strong point, not bad out to ISO 3200 due to SLT. Almost never gets dust on sensor due to stationary mirror. Has very good EVF, a little behind a7 series, but ahead of RX1 'Disney color' screen.
Recommended, esp at the current prices. We keep ours for DSLR size lenses, images never disappoint. Truly elegant highlights lacking in 42mp sensor. See examples:
I've never used an a7ii but I've had an a99 for three years and the thing I love about is that there isn't anything I can't shoot with it. It may not be the best tool for everything but it can do the job for pretty much any situation. I was shooting my daughter's band competition Saturday night and I suspect the a7ii would have struggled to AF with the 70-400 at f5.6 with so little light but the a99 did not struggle at all. It is fairly noisy at 6400 but at the sizes i print and display, the images are still quite usable. Another thing I love about the a99 if that there are a lot of buttons and controls such that I can change all necessary settings quickly without removing my eye from the viewfinder.
I've owned both, and if I were only interested in using natives or lenses I could adapt to the a-mount, then the a99 would be my choice. It's a very comfortable camera to use without being overly large, the multi-control dial next to the lens mount makes quick changes in settings easy, and I really miss that fully articulating screen, particularly when I'm shooting macros. It is a generation behind the a7II so far as electronics and AF development go, though I'm betting the AF performance will be either as good as or better than an adapted solution on the a7II, depending on the lens.
The 5-axis SteadyShot can let you get away with more handheld, though in my experience, it's not useful close-focused. With the Touit 50 and the kit zoom on the a7II, and now with the FE 50 on the a7rII, once I get past a 1:4 magnification ratio in landscape, or a 1:7 in portrait, I'm better off turning off SteadyShot, particularly at low shutter speeds. I don't know if the camera thinks I should be less steady or if there's something about my technique that causes it, but I get less movement-induced blur without it in those scenarios. I don't have that problem with manual lenses in 3-axis mode, and I never had that problem with the a900 or a99.
