Sony A1 II review IN-DEPTH hype-free!

My Sony A1 II review - first month with the new flagship!
#mympb @mpbcom

Equipment used for producing my videos

00:00 - Sony A1 II intro and rivals
03:06 - Buy or sell your camera gear at MPB (Sponsor)
04:35 - Sony A1 II design and controls
06:16 - Sony A1 II C5 button and speed boost
07:14 - Sony A1 II viewfinder and new eyecup
07:59 - Sony A1 II viewfinder quality demo
11:48 - Sony A1 II screen
12:43 - Sony A1 II card slots
13:54 - Sony A1 II card speeds SD vs CFE
14:50 - Sony A1 II ports
15:43 - Sony A1 II battery, grip and charger
16:24 - Sony A1 II sensor
17:08 - Sony A1 II photo quality settings
18:55 - Sony A1 II noise high ISO tests
20:13 - Sony A1 II IBIS stabilization
21:06 - Sony A1 II shutter types and drive modes
23:27 - Sony A1 II pre-capture
24:40 - Sony A1 II skewing rolling shutter for photo
25:39 - Sony A1 II focusing
26:09 - Sony A1 II subject detection
26:32 - Sony A1 II auto vs face detection
26:57 - Sony A1 II bird detection
27:31 - Sony A1 II birds in flight
29:24 - Sony A1 II video settings
30:56 - Sony A1 II video quality 1080 vs 4k vs 8k
33:03 - Sony A1 II video autofocus
33:29 - Sony A1 II slow motion 4k 120
34:00 - Sony A1 II video skewing rolling shutter
34:40 - Sony A1 II overheating and recording times
36:35 - Sony A1 II verdict and sample images


As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

[cameralabs]

My Sony A1 II review - first month with the new flagship!
#mympb @mpbcom

Equipment used for producing my videos

00:00 - Sony A1 II intro and rivals
03:06 - Buy or sell your camera gear at MPB (Sponsor)
04:35 - Sony A1 II design and controls
06:16 - Sony A1 II C5 button and speed boost
07:14 - Sony A1 II viewfinder and new eyecup
07:59 - Sony A1 II viewfinder quality demo
11:48 - Sony A1 II screen
12:43 - Sony A1 II card slots
13:54 - Sony A1 II card speeds SD vs CFE
14:50 - Sony A1 II ports
15:43 - Sony A1 II battery, grip and charger
16:24 - Sony A1 II sensor
17:08 - Sony A1 II photo quality settings
18:55 - Sony A1 II noise high ISO tests
20:13 - Sony A1 II IBIS stabilization
21:06 - Sony A1 II shutter types and drive modes
23:27 - Sony A1 II pre-capture
24:40 - Sony A1 II skewing rolling shutter for photo
25:39 - Sony A1 II focusing
26:09 - Sony A1 II subject detection
26:32 - Sony A1 II auto vs face detection
26:57 - Sony A1 II bird detection
27:31 - Sony A1 II birds in flight
29:24 - Sony A1 II video settings
30:56 - Sony A1 II video quality 1080 vs 4k vs 8k
33:03 - Sony A1 II video autofocus
33:29 - Sony A1 II slow motion 4k 120
34:00 - Sony A1 II video skewing rolling shutter
34:40 - Sony A1 II overheating and recording times
36:35 - Sony A1 II verdict and sample images




As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

[richrollin]

The Z8 is only £3200 in the UK at moment - that makes the A1ii a hard sell by comparison - unless you’re already heavily invested.

[sisyphos-orlx]

As an A1 owner: this Mark II Version is the most underwhelming update Sony ever did :(

[charliipresley]

This is exciting. I just preordered 5 of them. I’ll finally be able to get good photos!

[hikertrashfilms]

Very disappointed, as a A1 owner in Sony. They crippled our camera with a lack of firmware support, once the a7IV debuted and withheld “Animal/Bird Eye Support in Video” and “Focus Breathing Comp”. They have still never provided us with Animal Eye tracking in Video, while the old a7C got that firmware update in 12/21. They will do the exact same thing with this body when the a7V debuts in 2025. I am not investing any further into Sony, as a Sony Pro Member, until I see that they change their firmware policy for the Flagship.

[dyong]

Great review. I like the different approach to the review by focusing (pun intended) on things not mentioned by other reviewers. I especially appreciate the clarification around the EVF quality given the 3 parameters that one can toggle. This is especially important for me as I dislike the loss in image quality or resolution when the camera is focusing or thinking. I currently own the A7R4. Previous to that I have the A7 Original.

[naturealbums]

Excellent work Gordon a very thorough review. I think the only extra important feature over mark 1 is the pre capture for me... but it looks implemented well in that it does raw mode as Z8 is jpg only. I wonder how easy it would have been to just give a firmware update for the pre capture on the MK1. It does seem the ultimate camera but I expect UK prices will make it an easy win for a Z8 for wildlife. Canon R5II is excellent too but lenses for wildlife not quite as good as Nikon's long primes.

[kingghidorah]

9:22 PEOPLE have claimed that this issue DOES NOT AFFECT the a1/a9 series because they have stacked sensors. Surprisingly enough, they do! I prefer to have a 3.6m dot evf that goes from hd 720 to vga 480 than a 9m dot full hd viewfinder that also goes to vga 480 when focusing. A7IV's 120fps refresh is cool, though.

[HISPEKK]

How much better in the rear screen is it brighter, thanks for the great review.

[Rollergold]

Tbh as someone who been shooting with an A7III and been waiting for an body upgrade to everything (MP, Shooting Speed, Ergonomics, video featrues, etc) this ticks all the boxes for me. Sure the Canon R5 II or the Nikon Z8/Z9 can get me what I want for cheaper but switching mounts would cost even more. Also while the lack of some features the OG A1 could have does suck for those that have OG A1s, I only buy based on what the equipment can do TODAY and not what it "could" do tomorrow, I assume the camera body will get no software feature upgrades, I really think others should have the mindset when buying anything electronic.

[JojoJoget]

Sony likes to use the same hardware (same processor, sensor etc) for at least 2 generations before they move on so this is sort of expected.

I doubt the A7V would be a generational leap but the A7R and S series might.

[jacobnathanielzpayag]

I feel like some of these upgrades could have been a firmware update on the A1 (2021). Sure, some stuff like the improved subject detection definitely needs the new processor but other stuff like pre-capture could have been integrated easily with existing hardware. Actually, camera firmware regardless of brand is another can of worms entirely. Look at Canon seemingly artificially limiting the functionality of their newer lenses on older bodies that can easily be patched via firmware. Ultimately, I think these new wave of releases show how negligent camera makers had been with regards to software support. And for an investment that a professional would be using for years to come, I think software support should be better especially with the feature sets expected these days.

[bulendkaynar]

Is there in camera focus stacking on a1m2. Thanks

[GungKrisna]

Anyome realized that Sony never use top-mounted LCD display on their mirrorless cameras?

[trivacker]

Thanks for the detailed reviews. The A1 II 8K rolling shutter looks the same as with the A7RV 8K. What's your opinion?

[stefanterbekke]

Thank you Gordon. I own the 7RV for 2 years now, and I do photography only, so no need to move to this, but do you feel the autofocus is actually better than that from the 7RV? Julia Trotti mentioned that the auto recognition may need tweaking.

[leledreher]

so if my math is right, according to the spec sheet, you should have been able to stabilize that 70mm shot for 4-5 seconds with the IBIS alone? no way! under what lab circumstances did they get that number lol! thanks for keeping it real gordon

[geargeekpdx]

So what happens when the A2 is released? Will that be the A2 1? Names are a joke in this market and I'm getting sick of them.

[JamesClark]

Great review! Wondering, does focus breathing compensation now work in the 8K video mode?

[ThomasRudolf-sk]

Is anyone really expecting anything groundbreaking out of a flagship update currently? The closest we’ve come in recent memory is the A9III global shutter, and that is a niche capability with trade offs in noise and dynamic range. I don’t think anyone was expecting Sony to be able to pull off a high resolution global shutter, so what does that leave? Tweaks to autofocus and ergonomics, menu changes, maybe a faster sensor readout speed. That’s about what I’ll expect from a Z9 II. As for the A1 II, I’ll be cheeky and say this should have been a firmware update.