Sony’s impressively powerful new flagship camera has started making some waves on the mirrorless market since its arrival.
However, the curious thing about the new flagship model from the best-selling Sony brand is just how little it seems to offer over its already superb predecessor.
When the now discount-priced original A1 hit the market in 2021, it was loaded with many features that placed it far ahead of its competitors and pretty much all other Sony cameras too.
It was expensive, and a serious purchase, but if you did decide to go for it, you could expect some truly spend-worthy performance.
The A1 II offers the same, but it does so in the context of the 2024 camera market, in which technology in a number of other cameras has advanced enough for the performance improvement to be much slimmer.
Not only that but the A1 II also doesn’t really exceed what the original A1 offers by an exciting enough margin.
The basic reason for this is, as I mentioned above, the original A1 was so robust, that Sony made it hard to beat, even by its own new creation.
Also, even cameras such as Sony’s own A9 III and the flagship models of other major brands are good enough to take away some of the A1 II’s steam.
For example, Nikon’s Z8 and Z9 cameras are close enough to the A1 II in their speed and performance to be considered reasonable alternatives, but in the case of the Z8 especially, with the added bonus of notably lower price tags.
However, the Sony A1 II does have a few specific things that definitely make it stand out.
One outstanding aspect of the A1 II is its autofocus performance, it’s not so drastically better than that of competitor models that you’d just have to get this particular camera, but it is truly excellent.
In specific terms of other differences between the A1 and the A1 II, here’s a quick breakdown of notable new characteristics.
The most immediately notable changes with the A1 II apply to its outer build. The new camera offers a deeper, more ergonomic grip and a new front custom button. It also sports a better EVF and a much more user-friendly menu system.
The LCD on the new A1 is also an upgrade, with a four-axis tilt and a tilt mechanism that lets you adjust the screen extremely flexibly. This, as any field photographer can attest to, is especially practical in a camera.
The EVF improvement for the A1 II specifically applies to its frame rate. In this edition, it reaches up to 240fps, vs. the 60fps of the original AI
Generally, the A1 II is just a better camera for handling than the original A1, so on this, it certainly delivers notably superior quality.
All of these things make it easier to use, though they certainly don’t justify its higher price by themselves.
Internally, the A1 II features the latest in Sony’s autofocus technology. The new camera edition offers the same 759-point hybrid AF system with 92% frame coverage but now does so with the help of a dedicated AI chipset.
AI AF technology has gotten a lot of hype for mirrorless cameras in the last couple years, during which it sometimes seems that just about every software and physical product has to include at least some supposedly groundbreaking new AI feature, whether it really delivers results or not.
In the case of the autofocus AI of the A1 II, the AI chipset really does seem to boost autofocus performance.
Its subject detection modes have been expanded from those of the A1 to include new objects such as insects and new vehicle types and the camera does a better job of gauging human poses. The A1 II also can be set to define a broad range of custom focus areas.
The A1 II also focuses much more quickly than is the case for the already fast A1. Its AF speed performance is especially notable in challenging contexts and Sony claims that it can detect animal and human eyes 30% faster and even detect bird eyes twice as quickly as the original A1.
The AI AF of the A1 II is essentially the same base system as that of the A1 but with new performance levels and features.
The most fundamental feature of the A1 II, its sensor, is the same as it is in the older A1. This new camera offers an identical 50.1MP Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor with Bionz XR image processing and identical image processing via AI.
Overall, the image quality in this camera is little or no different from what you’d get with the original A1.
Shooting speed also remains unchanged, with a 30fps burst rate with electronic shutter and 20fps for lossless RAW files with electronic shutter.
Using the mechanical shutter, the camera shoots at the same 10fps as the original A1.
In other words, the key difference over its predecessor that the A1 II offers during photo shooting is in how well its AI autofocus works. Sensor and shooting speed mechanics are basically unchanged with two exceptions.
These exceptions are the camera’s Pre-Capture and Speed Boost features. The first of these lets the camera buffer up to one second’s worth of shooting before you fully depress the shutter. This amounts to 30 frames and is particularly useful for unpredictable, fast-moving subjects.
As for Speed Boost, it lets you apply variable shooting speed to the custom C5 button at the front of the camera. Thus, if you’re shooting at 15fps and suddenly need 30fps, pressing the front custom button can let you do that as needed.
The A1 II comes with the same storage ports as the A1. These are CFxpress Type A slots and these can also perform as UHS-II SD ports.
The new Sony flagship also offers in-body image stabilization (obviously), but with a beefed-up 8.5 stops of stabilization instead of the 5.5 stops that the original A1 offers. Some users might not find this important, but in certain contexts, it can make a major difference.
Finally, as far as video performance is concerned, the A1 II doesn’t deliver many new features compared to the A1.
Most notably, the camera includes LUT import and monitor LUT support, and AI-based Auto Framing, focus mapping and a couple of other minor novelties like automatic creation of still shots from shot marks, new log shooting settings and a movie self-timer.
A slightly more important new video feature is the addition of new shutter 1/48 and 1/96 shutter speeds for a 180-degree shutter angle.
Recording resolutions and speeds are otherwise similar to what they are in the Sony A1. These settings include 8K/30p oversampled from 8.6K, 4K/60p video in 4:2:2 10-bit with full-width recording and 4K at 120fps with a 1.1 crop factor.
Overall, given the modest to moderate differences between the A1 and the new A1 II, and the existence of many similar features in other cameras like Sony’s A9 III and rival brand cameras like the Z8, it’s hard to absolutely justify the need for this model.
If you don’t already own a top-shelf Sony camera and want one, then the A1 II is as superb a choice as you can find despite its high price. However, if you’re already using the A1 or working with Nikon’s best full-frame mirrorless devices, jumping to the A1 II probably isn’t necessary.
Also, the original A1, which offers largely identical performance, is currently selling for $1000 off its typical retail price.
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