Sony A1 Mark II
50 MP @ 30 FPS, 8K30, 4K120, ISO 32,000 (102,400H)
(2024 ~ today)
Introduction New Since the Original A1
Specs Performance Recommendations
Sony: A9 III A1 II A1 A9 II A7R V A7R IV A7 V A7 IV A7 III A7S III A7CR A7C II A7c FX3 FX2 ZV-E1 A6700 A6600 A6400 ZV-E10 II ZV-E10 ZV-1 II RX1R III RX10/4 RX100/7 Flash Lenses
Sony Alpha 1 II (26.2 oz./743g with battery and one SD card, two slots each taking a normal SD or an exotic CFexpress Type A cards; CFexpress Type B cards do not fit, $6,498). bigger. I'd get mine at B&H or at Adorama, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
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Original A1 (2021-)
Introduction top
Introduction New Since the Original A1
Specs Performance Recommendations
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This Mark II version of the A1 adds a few simple updates to what is mostly the same old A1.
This new A1 II has the same sensor, same still and video frame rates, same resolution, same ISO range, same AF sensitivity, same shutter, same finder and same NP-FZ100 battery as the old A1.
Sony's marketing department's biggest claim for this Mark II is some magic AI pixie dust to improve autofocus. This always makes me laugh because Sony cameras have always had superb autofocus for at least the past ten years; autofocus is the last area in which Sony's cameras need improvement. AF cameras since the 1980s have used AI for continuous AF; it just wasn't called AI back then. AI has been in cameras since the 1970s, if not earlier.
I'd get my A1 II at B&H or at Adorama, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay — or save $1,000 and get the almost identical original A1 instead on sale.
New Since the Original A1 intro top
First Sony Alpha that can recognize subject types automatically, which is way behind other brands that have done this for years. On every other Sony we have to tell it what kind of subject we have, which is far from "autofocus" if we have to tell it in a menu.
Precapture saves images from before you pressed the shutter.
In-camera stabilization now rated 8.5 stops, up from 5.5 stops. Honestly few of these systems come close to their rated numbers, so this is not a big improvement.
Exposure compensation dial now spins freely without the dedicated markings of the original A1. I prefer solid markings, while I'll assume this dial lets you set a wider range.
The "S&Q" and MOVIE modes have been removed from the top mode dial and are now on a new dial concentric to and under the main mode dial.
The Drive Mode dial adds a "✻" setting where you instead can set these in the camera (and hopefully also save and recall in the 1, 2 and 3 preset modes on the top mode dial).
New programmable C5 button on the front above the lens release button is usually a "frame-rate boost" button for still frame rates.
Additional "deep" eyecup included, along with the regular one that comes on the camera.
This Mark II version no longer offers S-Log2 video option; it only shoots in S-Log3.
Slightly larger and higher resolution rear LCD, but still just a tiny 3.2" 2.1 MDot LCD.
LCD now swivels around the same as it does on the A7R V.
Very slightly less battery life, now rated 420/520 shots EVF/LCD compared to the original A1's 430/530.
Now includes a dual external battery charger rather than the single charger.
Ethernet port now is 2.5Gbps, up from 1Gbps. I remember my year 2000 PowerMac G4 which introduced "Gigabit Ethernet," and Sony has barely gotten beyond that. The USB-C port is rated 10 Gbps, but you can't run more than about 10 feet of cable at that speed, which is why we have Ethernet that goes far longer. I've never used wired Ethernet on a camera, but we all have different needs.
USB-C now goes to 10 Gbps, up from 5 Gbps.
Can now be remotely powered ON and OFF and controlled over Ethernet.
Slightly heaver, now rated 0.2 oz. (6g) heavier.
Now rated 6mm wider with about the same height and depth.
Specifications top
Introduction New Since the Original A1
Specs Performance Recommendations
I'd get my A1 II at B&H or at Adorama, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay — or save $1,000 and get the almost identical original A1 instead on sale.
Sensor specifications top
50 MP.
24.0 × 35.9 mm CMOS.
4.2 µm pixel pitch.
3:2 aspect ratio.
1.0 × crop factor.
Ultrasonic cleaner.
ISO specifications top
ISO 100 ～ 32,000 for stills and movies.
Auto ISO covers ISO 100 ~ 12,800 for stills and movies.
Also as low as ISO 50 (L) and ISO 102,400 (H) in push and pull modes for stills only.
Image Sizes specifications top
8,640 × 5,760 pixels (50MP or 49,766,400 pixels), almost as much as my beloved Canon 5DS/R (8,688 × 5,792) which is selling for next-to-nothing on closeout.
5,616 × 3,744 (Medium, 21 MP).
4,230 × 2,880 (Small, 12 MP).
Cropped Aspect Ratios
Square 1:1, Ideal-Format 4:3, 16:9 and APS-C crops from the above.
Frame Rates specifications top
To 30 FPS with tracking autofocus & exposure, electronic shutter.
Hi+ is 30 FPS, while H, M and L settings are settable to different values.
Mechanical shutter only goes to 10 FPS.
Electronic Shutter |
Mechanical Shutter |
|
Hi+ |
30 FPS (only 20 FPS with uncompressed raw) |
10 FPS |
Hi |
20 FPS |
8 FPS |
Mid |
15 FPS |
6 FPS |
Lo |
5 FPS |
3 FPS |
Buffer (Burst) Sizes specifications top
JPEG LARGE
400 frames Fine or Standard.
182 frames Extra-Fine.
Raw
238 frames compressed.
96 frames losslessly compressed.
82 frames uncompressed.
Raw & JPG
192 frames compressed raw + JPG.
83 frames lossless raw + JPG.
78 frames uncompressed raw + JPG.
Finder specifications top
Big, Fat Eyepiece, Sony A1. bigger.
16mm (0.64") 9,437,184 dot OLED.
2,048 x 1,536 pixels.
4:3 aspect ratio, so 3:2 images will have black borders along top and bottom while 4:3 images can fill the screen.
0.90× magnification.
41° diagonal apparent angle.
21mm eyepoint (25mm from lens itself).
Auto brightness control.
-4 ~ +3 diopters.
Shutter specifications top
Silent Electronic Shutter
1/32,768 ～ 30 seconds. Only as slow as ½ second in continuous shooting.
1/200 flash sync speed (1/250 in APS-C crop.)
Mechanical Focal Plane Shutter
1/8,000 ～ 30 seconds, Bulb.
1/400 flash sync speed (1/500 in APC-S crop) with "flash sync priority" ON. Otherwise 1/320, or 1/400 in APC-S crop.
It uses both springs and electromagnetic control of carbon-fibre shutter blades to get them moving fast enough for these sync speeds.
Flash specifications top
1/200 to 1/500 sync speed as explained immediately above.
Built-in Flash
NONE.
External Flash
Dedicated hot shoe.
Prontor-Compur (PC) terminal.
Still Formats specifications top
JPG
Standard, Fine or Extra Fine.
sRGB and Adobe RGB.
HEIF
MPEG-A MIAF
Standard, Fine or Extra Fine, which use Sony's choice of 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 YCrCb subsampling.
sRGB and Adobe RGB.
Raw
14-bit ARW 4.0.
Video specifications top
File Formats
XAVC S (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) or XAVC HS (MPEG-H HEVC/H.265).
Frame Sizes and Rates
XAVC HS 8K (7,680 × 4,230)
(4:2:0, 10bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 30p (400 Mbps / 200 Mbps), 24p (400 Mbps / 200 Mbps), 7680 x 4320 (4:2:0, 10bit, PAL) (Approx.): 25p (400 Mbps / 200 Mbps).
XAVC HS 4K (3,840 × 2,160)
(4:2:0, 10 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 119.88p (200 Mbps), 59.94p (150 Mbps / 75 Mbps / 45 Mbps), 23.976p (100 Mbps / 50 Mbps / 30 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:0, 10 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 100p (200 Mbps), 50p (150 Mbps / 75 Mbps / 45 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:2, 10 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 119.88p (280 Mbps), 59.94p (200 Mbps / 100 Mbps), 23.976p (100 Mbps / 50 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:2, 10 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 100p (280 Mbps), 50p (200 Mbps / 100 Mbps).
XAVC S 4K (3,840 × 2,160)
3840 × 2160 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 119.88p (200 Mbps), 59.94p (150 Mbps), 29.97p (100 Mbps / 60 Mbps), 23.976p (100 Mbps / 60 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:0, 8 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 100p (200 Mbps), 50p (150 Mbps), 25p (100 Mbps / 60 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:2, 10 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 119.88p (280 Mbps), 59.94p (200 Mbps), 29.97p (140 Mbps), 23.976p (100 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:2, 10 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 100p (280 Mbps), 50p (200 Mbps), 25p (140 Mbps).
XAVC S-I 4K (3,840 × 2,160)
3840 × 2160 (4:2:2, 10 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 59.94p (600 Mbps), 29.97p (300 Mbps), 23.976p (240 Mbps); 3840 × 2160 (4:2:2, 10 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 50p (500 Mbps), 25p (250 Mbps).
XAVC S (1,920 × 1,080)
(4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 119.88p (100 Mbps / 60 Mbps), 59.94p (50 Mbps / 25 Mbps), 29.97p (50 Mbps / 16 Mbps), 23.976p (50 Mbps); 1,920 × 1,080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 100p (100 Mbps / 60 Mbps), 50p (50 Mbps / 25 Mbps), 25p (50 Mbps / 16 Mbps); 1,920 × 1,080 (4:2:2, 10 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 59.94p (50 Mbps), 29.97p (50 Mbps), 23.976p (50 Mbps); 1,920 × 1,080 (4:2:2, 10 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 50p (50 Mbps), 25p (50 Mbps).
XAVC S-I (1,920 × 1,080)
(4:2:2, 10 bit, NTSC) (Approx.): 59.94p (222 Mbps), 29.97p (111 Mbps), 23.976p (89 Mbps); 1,920 × 1,080 (4:2:2, 10 bit, PAL) (Approx.): 50p (185 Mbps), 25p (93 Mbps).
Over & Undercrank ("Slow & Quick" Modes)
NTSC mode: 0.999 fps, 1.998 fps, 3.996 fps, 7.992 fps, 14.985 fps, 29.97 fps, 59.94 fps, 119.88 fps, 239.76 fps.
PAL mode: 1 fps, 2 fps, 3 fps, 6 fps, 12 fps, 25 fps, 50 fps, 100 fps, 200 fps.
Audio specifications top
Recorded only along with video.
XAVC S: LPCM 2ch, LPCM 2ch (48 kHz 16bit), LPCM 2ch (48 kHz 24bit), LPCM 4ch (48 kHz 24 bit), MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2ch.
S - t - e - r - e - O microphone built in.
Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.
Headphone jack.
Autofocus specifications top
759 phase-detection AF points covering 92% of the image sensor.
425 contrast-detection points.
Range rated LV -4 ~ +20 with an f/2 lens.
Light Meter specifications top
1,200 zones.
Range rated LV -3 ~ +20 with an f/2 lens.
Multisegment, center-weighted, spot (variable size), full-frame average, highlight-weighted.
LCD Monitor specifications top
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Sony A7R Mark V multi-flip "4 axis" screen. click any to enlarge.
3.2" diagonal flipping touch screen.
4:3 aspect ratio, so 3:2 images will have black borders along top and bottom while 4:3 images can fill the screen.
2.1 MDots.
Manual brightness control with Sony's usual "Direct Sunlight" mode.
Connectors specifications top
Sony A1 II Connectors. bigger.
From Top Left:
Ethernet .
"Multi," which is both a Micro Super-Speed 10 Gbps USB 3.2 as well as Sony's analog A/V interface.
Prontor/Compur (PC) flash sync terminal.
From Top Right:
3.5mm powered stereo Mic-in.
3.5mm stereo headphone out.
USB-C 3.2, 10 Gbps.
Full-size HDMI-A.
Wi-Fi specifications top
Yes, also for FTP.
NFC specifications top
Yes.
Bluetooth specifications top
Bluetooth version 5.0.
2.4 GHz.
Transfer specifications top
10 GB/s USB-C and double-fast Wi-Fi.
GPS specifications top
None, use the app to tag files.
Storage specifications top
Sony A1 (A1 II has same slots). bigger.
Dual slots.
Each slot is clever enough to accept either an SD or CFexpress type A card!
SD (up to 2GB), SDHC (up to 32GB) and SDXC (up to 2TB) cards, UHS-I and UHS-II.
Power & Battery specifications top
Battery
NP-FZ100 battery rated 420 shots (520 with LCD), or 90 minutes of video with the LCD:
Sony NP-FZ100 battery. enlarge.
Sony NP-FZ100 battery. enlarge.
It's 7.2V, 2,280 mAh, 16.4 Wh.
Power Consumption & A/C Adapter
It can run powered by USB-C PD.
With LCD: Rated 3.7W for stills or 6.6W for movies.
With finder: Rated 4.6W for stills or 6.8W for movies.
Charging
It charges from USB PD (Power Delivery) sources in-camera, or also charges in the included BC-ZD1 Corded Battery Charger.
Size specifications top
3.81 × 5.34 × 3.26 inches HWD.
96.9 × 136.1 × 82.9 millimeters HWD.
Weight specifications top
Rated 26.2 oz. (743 g) with battery and one SD card.
Rated 23.2 oz. (658 g) stripped naked.
Operating Environment specifications top
0º ～ 40º C (32º ～ 104º F).
Sony's Model Number specifications top
ILCE-1M2, as seen in EXIF data and on the sticker on the bottom.
Included specifications top
A1 II with attached FDA-EP19 Standard Eyepiece Cup and ALC-B1EM Body Cap.
FDA-EP21 Deep Eyepiece Cup in the box.
NP-FZ100 battery.
Cable Protector.
Strap.
Hot Shoe Cover.
Shoulder strap.
Limited 1-Year Warranty
Announced specifications top
9:35 AM, Tuesday, 19 November 2024, NYC time.
Promised for specifications top
16 December 2024.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
19 November 2024 (introduction)
The almost identical original A1 is now only only $5,498.
Performance top
Introduction New Since the Original A1
Specs Performance Recommendations
I'd get my A1 II at B&H or at Adorama, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay — or save $1,000 and get the almost identical original A1 instead on sale.
I don't yet have my A1 II, and seeing how similar it is to the A1, see my Sony A1 Review for everything you need to know.
Recommendations top
Introduction New Since the Original A1
Specs Performance Recommendations
I'd get my A1 II at B&H or at Adorama, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay — or save $1,000 and get the almost identical original A1 instead on sale.
I prefer shooting Canon because I prefer the ergonomics, I prefer Canon's color rendition, Canon's support and the fact that Canon still makes almost everything domestically in Japan. It just feels better shooting Canon, and I greatly prefer Canon's colors for my vivid style of shooting.
This A1 II is for action and sports shooters who worry more about image quantity than image or ergonomic quality.
We're all different and have our preferences. For those who shoot Sony, this is a top camera and it's wonderful for sports and action.
If you're not a full-time pro and are considering the A1 II, also look at the almost identical original A1 which sells for $1,000 less for essentially the same thing.
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