The Sony a1 collection has been in a barely awkward place because the a7R V and a9 III landed, every sporting a brand new devoted synthetic intelligence processor and improved autofocus options. The a9 III particularly introduced so much to the desk, together with a superb new design and person expertise. Lastly, Sony’s flagship digital camera has these new options, bringing much-needed modernization. At its core, the a1 Mark II is an terrible lot like its predecessor. It has the identical 50.1-megapixel stacked picture sensor and the identical picture processor. Positive, there’s a new devoted AI processor that powers autofocus and a few picture processing — for JPEGs, at the very least — however the total imaging pipeline is unchanged. No matter photographers bought when it comes to picture high quality from the unique a1 is what they’ll anticipate with the a1 II. Nonetheless, quite a few upgrades on provide purpose to make the a1 II a extra highly effective, satisfying digital camera to make use of and, finally, seize high-quality pictures extra reliably. One of many extra significant enhancements on provide is the brand new in-body picture stabilization, which now provides 8.5 stops of stabilization. Sony a1 II Whereas the brand new IBIS helps hold photographers and videographers secure, the improved autofocus system goals to extend the speed of keepers, particularly throughout high-paced motion taking pictures. The a1 II nonetheless shoots at as much as 30 frames per second, the identical as its predecessor, however the autofocus system guarantees improved pace and accuracy due to the extra AI processing energy and the implementation of extra strong topic detection. Sony guarantees a 50% enchancment in eye detection for birds, 30% for animals, and 30% for people in comparison with the unique a1. There’s additionally a brand new computerized topic detection mode, so photographers not want to choose individuals, animals, or automobiles individually. The core autofocus system is similar — 759 factors masking about 92% of the full-frame picture space. It’s correct to -4 EV and phase-detect AF works all the way down to f/22. The elements surrounding the system have modified, and Sony argues that the affect is significant.
Unsurprisingly, sheer taking pictures pace hasn’t modified given using the identical imaging pipeline, however there are additionally efficiency tweaks. The a1 II provides pre-capture taking pictures, a boon for sports activities and wildlife photographers. This mode has an as much as one-second buffer, enabling as much as 30 frames to be shot earlier than the shutter is totally depressed. Whereas the a1 II requires its swift digital shutter for its quickest taking pictures speeds, the digital camera nonetheless has a mechanical shutter possibility. Whereas this may increasingly appear odd within the age of quick digital shutters, the a1 II has the identical spectacular 1/400 second flash sync pace as its predecessor, though solely when utilizing the mechanical shutter. The digital shutter syncs at 1/200 second. From the operability facet, the a1 II borrows closely from the a7R V and a9 III. The improved grip design and management format of the a9 III, together with its Enhance button, makes its approach to the a1 II. The grip itself is deeper, and primarily based on how the a9 III dealt with, will really feel wonderful within the hand. The person interface has additionally been refreshed to maintain tempo with the a7R V and a9 III, full with an up to date, improved menu format. There are important adjustments to shows with the a1 II. Whereas the a1 had a tilting display, the a1 II will get the four-axis multi-angle LCD of the a9 III. This 3.2-inch panel has 2.1 million dots. The EVF has been upgraded and is similar 9.44-million dot OLED because the a9 III’s EVF. It has a 120Hz refresh fee with no noticeable drop in high quality and a sooner 240Hz possibility, which comes with a decision dip.
Different interface options haven’t modified. Like its predecessor, the a1 II options twin CFexpress (3.0) Kind A card slots, which double as UHS-II SD card slots. It additionally has a full-size HDMI port, USB-C, and an Ethernet port, which truly is upgraded to 2.5Gbps, two and a half occasions sooner than the a1’s port. The a1 II makes use of the identical FZ-1000 battery, though the digital camera ships with Sony’s new twin battery charger. Pricing and Availability The Sony a1 II will ship in mid-December and retail for $6,499, the identical launch worth as the unique a1 introduced in January 2021.
