Sony A1 II + 16-35mm f2.8 GM II

Sony A1II + 16-35mm GMII | Price SONY A1 II + 16-35mm GMII

Unmatched: the improved mirrorless flagship from SONY

The SONY a1 II is its most versatile camera yet and offers the best overall combination of speed, video capabilities, high-resolution still images and a rugged, pro-worthy body design. It incorporates much of the full feature set of the original a1 in an a9 III body and adds the AF and IBIS technologies introduced with the a7R V. It's a camera designed for working professionals, whether sports, editorial, product, fashion or advertising photographers, and is equally appealing to landscape, portrait, wedding and event photographers. And beyond photography, it has the video tools the a1 series is known for, including 8K recording, along with useful stabilization and framing aids borrowed from the ZV class of cameras.

Enhanced features and functions

AI processing unit: the addition of this key piece of technology greatly improves autofocus, subject detection, and the accuracy, speed and reliability of subject tracking. These new processing capabilities enable the camera to more accurately and intelligently recognize subjects, predict their movements and generally maintain critical focus on them as they move.

Pre-capture and speed boost functions: these two functions are dedicated to continuous shooting in burst mode and make the a1 II an even better choice for action photographers looking to use this camera in high-level sports, wildlife and birdwatching situations.

8.5-Stop IBIS -It's typical for cameras to have better IBIS figures with each new generation, but the a1 II adds no less than 3 additional steps to the performance of its predecessor, meaning it's possible to use the camera without a tripod in noticeably dimmer lighting conditions and at slower shutter speeds, opening up even more shooting versatility.

Video enhancements: core video specifications remain the same between generations, but the a1 II gains some requested features to make it an even greater video powerhouse: dynamic active mode stabilizer, framing stabilizer, 24.00 true frame rate and breath compensation are all welcome additions for content creators.

Renewed body design: the a1 II inherits the body design of the a9 III, making it more comfortable to use, more robust in terms of weather sealing, compatibility with the latest VG-C5 vertical grip, and an improved LCD and EVF.

Improvements in sensors and processing

The original a1 was already known for its powerful imaging performance and the a1 II improves on it with enhanced BIONZ XR processing, an AI processing unit, a more powerful 8.5-step IBIS and the impressive 50 MP stacked BSI CMOS sensor of its predecessor. The sensor and processor continue to offer a shutter speed superior at 30 fps, an expandable sensitivity from ISO 50 to 102400 and an impressive 15-stop dynamic range. In addition, in terms of speed, the a1 II gets the Pre-Capture and Speed Boost functions that debuted on the a9 III.

Continuous shooting up to 30 fps with an electronic shutter, or 10 fps with the mechanical shutter, with AF and AE support.

Pre-capture records at up to 30 fps for up to 1 second before fully pressing the shutter, helping to ensure that you don't miss fleeting moments.

Speed Boost allows you to vary the continuous shooting speed in the middle of a burst; when the C5 button is pressed while shooting in burst, you can switch from the chosen continuous shooting speed to a faster or slower one to suit the pace of the action you are shooting.

Refined 5-axis in-body image stabilization compensates for up to 8.5 stops of camera shake in the center of the frame and 7 stops in the periphery; a 3-stop improvement in motion control compared to the original a1.

Faster, smarter autofocus and subject tracking

The focusing system of the a1 II received significant improvements similar to its predecessor, now with an AI processing unit and improved subject detection and tracking. The phase-detection AF system itself still comprises 759 points, covering approximately 92% of the sensor area and supporting focus down to -4 EV at f/2. Subject tracking and detection has also been improved, specifically, with the camera being 30% faster at detecting human eyes and 50% faster at detecting animal eyes.

First seen in the a7R V and a9 III models, the a1 II features a dedicated artificial intelligence processing unit for refined, responsive and intelligent subject tracking and detection of humans, animals, birds, insects, automobiles, trains and airplanes.

Human pose estimation tracks body and head positions for accurate focusing in portraits and sports settings, and real-time Eye AF performance has been improved by 30%.

In addition, human pose estimation can distinguish between several people and keep the focus on the subject lense; even if someone crosses in front of it, the camera keeps the focus on the key person.

Real-time tracking benefits from AI-based subject recognition to track moving subjects, making it especially suitable for sports and action subjects.

Automatic subject recognition modes no longer require selecting a subject type, allowing the camera to detect and track the desired subject.

XS and XL focus area dot sizes have been added for greater subject versatility or you can customize the AF focus areas to suit uniquely shaped or sized subjects.

Full-time DMF (direct manual focus) allows you to use the lens focus ring to control manual focus at any time, making it easy to shift focus to a different subject even when working with AF.

Alpha's video capabilities

The basic video specifications of the original a1 were ahead of their time and, in many ways, still are. The a1 II retains many of the basic resolutions and frame rates, but refines the video recording capabilities with more compatible modes and features, including access to dynamic area stabilization and support for a true 24.00 frame rate for a cinematic look and feel and timecode input with optional adapter. This makes the a1 II as capable on a professional film set as it is in a photo studio.

Known recording formats: 8K 30p with 10-bit 4:2:0 sampling and 4K 120p with 10-bit 4:2:2:2 sampling. When using a Super 35 recording area, 4K footage can use 5.8K oversampling to enhance detail and the full-frame area offers 8.6K oversampling for 8K footage.

The included S-Cinetone profile, ProRes RAW output via HDMI and the ability to import LUTs point to the wealth of color control offered by the a1 II.

AI subject recognition, obtained from the AI Processing Unit, benefits the Framing Stabilizer mode, which can be used to automatically crop and recompose so that the subject remains centered in the image.

The active mode's dynamic stabilization also helps maintain accurate framing while shooting, especially when shooting while walking or moving.

Supports breath compensation mode, which reduces the effects of focus breathing when using selected lenses.

Pre-capture and speed boost: never miss a moment

In addition to the key technology offered by the sensor, the a1 II brings additional features to unlock the camera's full potential.

Pre-capture: The a1 II can be set to begin buffering images when the shutter button is pressed halfway down. Users can set this time between 0.03 and 1.0 seconds. When the shutter button is pressed, these images will be saved to the memory card.

Speed Boost: With Speed Boost and the C5 button, which is conveniently located near the grip on the front of the camera, users can instantly switch their camera from its usual continuous shooting frame rate to a faster one to ensure their next shot is perfect. Photographers will be able to select multiple frame rates up to 30 fps.

Professional body design and connectivity

The a1 series has always been a high-end model for SONY and, as such, had one of the most durable and refined physical designs within the system. However, the a1 II gets a bit of an upgrade to bring it in line with the a9 III in terms of button layout, screen and EVF implementation, and durability. It is a camera designed for professional use and has the most rugged and reliable design in the SONY lineup.

Versatile and durable design

The a1 II incorporates the latest mirrorless body design from SONY first seen on the a9 III, which includes a custom C5 button on the front of the camera body and an improved grip.

For transfer, an enhanced 2.5GBASE-T wired LAN port offers faster transfer speeds to accommodate high-profile connection recording applications. There is also a USB-C port and a full-size HDMI port.

USB-C port offers fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds of up to 10 Gb/s.

For transfer, an enhanced 2.5GBASE-T wired LAN port offers faster transfer speeds to accommodate high-profile connection recording applications. There is also a USB-C port and a full-size HDMI port.

Dual memory card slots accept CFexpress type A or type SD memory cards. The dual slot design allows for flexible file storage and management and can be configured to partition file types or used for additional recording. In addition, both card slots are designed to support UHS-II memory cards for faster transfer speeds.

Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder and tiltable touch screen LCD display

The impressive Tru-Finder OLED QXGA OLED electronic viewfinder has a resolution of 9.44 million dots and 0.9x magnification for exceptionally bright, clear and detailed eye-level viewing. There is also a 120 fps option that maintains the higher resolution for a better combination of clarity and fluidity of motion.

3.2", 2.1 million dot, 4-axis, 3-axis, multi-angle LCD touchscreen (first seen on the a7R V). This display has a wide color gamut covering the DCI-P3 space.

Intuitive menu structure that complements different workflows with different setting options for movie recording and photo shooting. The menu system also works in conjunction with the touchscreen design of the rear LCD.

Improved functionality and ease of use

Sony has continued to enhance its professional camera workflows with updated and additional features:

The voice memo function allows clearer recordings to be made with a microphone placed close to the user. These notes can be transferred via FTP and converted to text using the Transfer & Tagging application at SONY.

IPTC metadata can be automatically added to images and up to 20 presets can be saved.

Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet can be used for fast network data transfer during shooting.

Composite firing modes

By capturing multiple images and combining them in post-production, users can achieve image quality and resolutions that are not possible with core sensor technology alone. The a1 II offers two different options for composite photography:

Pixel Shift Multi-shot - This unique compositing mode allows you to achieve even higher resolution than the 50.1 MP sensor offers. Working in conjunction with sensor-shift image stabilization, this mode shifts the sensor while making 16 consecutive exposures to acquire approximately 199 MP of information for greater color accuracy and detail than is possible with a single exposure. These files can be merged during post-production using the SONY Imaging software package.

Noise Reduction - This method uses multiple images to reduce noise in an image without sacrificing sharpness or detail. By taking advantage of information from multiple frames, users will be able to improve the legibility of detail and minimize the impact of noise without the smoothing effect common with more conventional noise reduction techniques.