Sony A1 II Hands-on Review
Summary Verdict
The Sony A1 II refines an already excellent formula, enhancing speed, autofocus, subject detection and handling while maintaining the high resolution and versatility many professionals demand. Its incremental updates may not break new ground, but the combination of AI-driven subject recognition, improved stabilisation and robust video features ensures it stands as one of the most attractive all-rounders for photography and videography in its class.
Score: TBC
For
50MP full-frame sensor
AI-based subject recognition
Full-resolution 30fps continuous shooting capability
Against
High price
Predictable and modest upgrade of the A1
What is the Sony A1 II?
The Sony A1 II is the successor to Sony's Alpha 1, taking its place as the company's flagship camera and including cutting-edge technology designed to enhance its capabilities for photography and videography. With its 50.1MP stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor, 30fps blackout-free continuous shooting and advanced AI-driven autofocus, this full-frame mirrorless camera combines speed, resolution and subject recognition, making it an all-rounder aimed at professional photographers.
Sony A1 II Price and Availability
Available from December 2024, the Sony A1 II's price is £6,299 / $6499.99 / €7,500.
The Sony A1 II seen here has a chunkier grip than the original A1.
Specification
Camera type: Full-frame mirrorless
Announced: 19th November 2024
Sensor: 50.1Mp full frame (35.9 x 24.0mm) Exmor RS CMOS sensor
Processor: BIONZ XR
Lens mount: FE
Sensitivity range: Stills: ISO 100-32000 (expandable to ISO 50 to ISO 102400) Video: ISO ISO 100-32000 (expandable to ISO 100-12800)
Autofocus system: Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF / contrast-detection AF)
Maximum number of phase-detection AF points: Stills: 759, Video: 627
Maximum flash sync speed: 1/400 sec
Video compression: XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264,XAVC HS: MPEG-H HEVC/H.265
Maximum video resolution: 8K (7680 x 4320) 4:2:0, 10bit, 29.97p (400 Mbps / 200 Mbps)
Viewfinder: 0.64-inch 9,437,184-dot electronic viewfinder (Quad-XGA OLED) with 0.9x magnification
Screen: 3.2-inch 2,095,104-dot touchscreen on adjustable angle bracket: up 98 degrees, down 40 degrees, side 180 degrees, rotation 270 degrees
Storage: Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I/II) & CFexpress Type A slots
Dimensions (W x H x D): 136.1 x 96.9 x 82.9 mm / 5 3/8 x 3 7/8 x 3 3/8 inches
Weight: 743 g / 1 lb 10.3 oz with battery and memory card, 658 g / 1 lb 7.3 oz body-only
Sony A1 II Key Features
At its heart, the Sony A1 II features a retuned version of the Sony A1's 50.1MP stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor, paired with Sony's latest processing engine, the BIONZ XR processor and a dedicated AI processing unit. This combination enables advanced subject recognition and real-time tracking with settings for a wide range of subjects including Human, Animal, Bird, Animal/Bird, Insect, Car, Train, Airplane. Notably, there's also an Auto setting that instructs the camera to look for any of the detectable subjects. The AI system includes pose estimation, which predicts the position of a subject's eyes even when they are partially obscured or turned away from the camera. According to Sony, the A1 II's eye detection is up to 30% more accurate than the A1's.
For photographers, the camera delivers 50.1MP stills with 15 stops of dynamic range, capturing fine detail and colour with reduced noise at mid-to-high ISO settings. The A1 II gives blackout-free shooting at up to 30fps with full autofocus and auto-exposure (AF/AE) tracking and performs up to 120 autofocus and autoexposure calculations per second. There's also Pre-Capture mode that allows photographers to capture images for up to one second before the shutter release is pressed home (it records while the shutter button is half-pressed).
No camera is complete without in-camera image stabilisation (IBIS) and Sony claims the A1 II gives up to 8.5 stops of shutter speed compensation at the centre of the frame, dropping to 7-stops around the edges.
Naturally, Sony's flagship camera has some impressive video features. These include 8.6K oversampling for 8K 30p footage with full-width, full-pixel read-out, 4K 120p recording and Super 35 mode. There's also Real-time subject recognition in movie mode and in-body image stabilisation. The A1 II also has Auto Framing which crops the video but follows the subject around the frame, keeping it at the centre of attention.
The Sony A1 II’s screen can be tilted to give a clear view whether you are shooting in landscape or portrait orientation.
Build and Handling
Sony has refined the A1 II’s ergonomics compared to the original A1, borrowing from the Sony A9 III for a more comfortable and secure grip. The grip feels chunkier than the older camera's, but the A1 II still only weighs 743g with a battery and memory card, 658g, body-only.
The redesigned body has an improved shutter button position and a new C5 custom button on the front. By default, this button acts as a speed boost, ramping the continuous shooting rate from whatever is selected to the 30fps maximum. That's a useful option when the action develops quickly.
There are also lock buttons the exposure mode, drive mode and top-rear dials to prevent accidental changes.
The 0.64-inch electronic viewfinder (EVF) has an excellent 9.44 million-dot OLED display with 0.9x magnification and blackout-free operation. Meanwhile, the 3.2-inch 2,095,104-dot touchscreen is mounted on a four-axis multi-angle bracket that is useful when shooting in vertical and horizontal orientation.
For professionals on the move, the A1 II introduces faster-wired image transfer, improved FTP capabilities and integration with Sony’s Creators’ Cloud for automatic file uploads to services like Adobe Lightroom or Google Drive. It's even possible to use the new microphone system to record, tag and transcribe audio into metadata, streamlining workflows.
All of the controls on the back of teh Sony A1 II are within convenient reach.
Performance
After shooting with the Sony A1 II in a studio, I’m looking forward to taking it outside and shooting a wider range of subjects. It’s immediately clear that the A1 II’s autofocus system is fast and accurate, while the human eye detection does a great job with moving subjects, even when the yes is partially obscured.
Sony A1 II Sample Images
The images below are cropped and resized Jpegs straight from the camera, with no additional processing. Follow the link to see full-resolution Sony A1 II images. Please respect our copyright.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson. These playful otters are very hard to keep in the frame and while the A1 II’s animal eye detection didn’t always hit the mark, it does a great job and makes getting ‘keepers’ easier.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS with Sony 2x Teleconverter, at 342mm, F/5.6, 1/1000 Sec and ISO 1000.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson. Another image that benefited fro the Sony A1 II’s animal eye detection.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS with Sony 2x Teleconverter, at 304mm, F/5.6, 1/1000 Sec and ISO 1600.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson. An otter enjoying a contemplative moment in the sun. Don’t be fooled, though; its head never stayed still.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS with Sony 2x Teleconverter, at 284mm, F/5.6, 1/1000 Sec and ISO 500.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson. The ability to shoot at up to 1/400 sec while using flash is useful when you want to use a wide aperture.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM at 37mm, F/2, 1/400 Sec and ISO 50.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson. The Sony A1 II’s eye detection system does a great job of keeping up with moving, turning subjects.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM at 30mm, F/8, 1/250 Sec and ISO 200.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM at 50mm, F/8, 1/250 Sec and ISO 200.
Image Credit: Angela Nicholson.
Camera: Sony A1 II, Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM at 32mm, F/8, 1/250 Sec and ISO 200.
Early verdict
The Sony A1 II builds on the solid foundation of its predecessor, incorporating advanced AI-driven technologies and practical improvements that cater to professional photographers and videographers. It doesn't make any really groundbreaking introductions itself but incorporates Sony's latest technology to make an attractive all-rounder with an impressive autofocus system, high-resolution sensor and versatile shooting capabilities.
