Sony has pulled out all the stops for its latest top-tier system camera. The Sony A1 II has learned a few lessons from the firm’s other recent mirrorless camera efforts, carrying over a much more ergonomic design and doubling down on tech tricks, including AI-powered autofocus.
The pro-grade snapper uses a 50.1MP full-frame stacked CMOS sensor, which combined with Sony’s Bionz XR image processor, can rattle off full resolution RAW images at a rapid 30fps. It’ll also shoot 4K video at 120p, or 8K footage at 30p. So far, so similar to the outgoing A1. What’s changed is the body design, which borrows heavily from the A9 III launched last year.
It’s wider, with more space for your fingers around whatever chunky and expensive lens you’ve got bolted to the E Mount. The thicker hand grip gives you more to grab onto when shooting, too. Around back, it has the same vari-angle tilting touchscreen as the Sony A7R V, and resolution has taken a big leap from the previous generation. The OLED electronic viewfinder now refreshes at a rapid 240fps, too – up from 60fps on the original A1.
The onscreen UI has been updated, and the button layout made a little more intuitive compared to the old camera. That includes a shortcut to the Speed Boost mode, which lets you increase or decrease the continuous shooting speed when pressed – handy for the times you absolutely have to get the shot and your current settings won’t cut it, but you don’t have time to dive into the menus.
It also helps that the Pre-Capture mode now buffers one second’s worth of shots before you fully press down the shutter button, and Sony has brought a dedicated AI processing chip out to leverage artificial intelligence for its autofocus system. the 759-point AF system has 92% sensor coverage, and will automatically detect insects, vehicles, people and pets.
Other upgrades include 8.5 stops of in-body image stabilisation, up from 5.5 on the first-gen A1.
At a colossal $6500 / £6300 body-only, the Sony A1 II is absolutely courting the professional photographer crowd. So to is the FE 28-70mm F2 GM lens that launched at the same time. Offering a constant f/2 aperture through the entire zoom range, 85mm filter thread and 38cm minimum focus distance, Sony is betting it’ll go down well with wedding photographers wanting maximum bokeh blur from a wider range. It’ll set you back $2699 / £3200. Both will be available in December.