Sony’s Alpha line of mirrorless cameras are undoubtedly rank among the top choices for content creators and professionals, or even casual users looking for a reliable and high-quality camera. With that in mind, Sony recently unveiled its second-generation Alpha 1 II, which according to the company is its new flagship full-frame mirrorless camera. It packs some versatile features, but also comes with Sony’s new AI processing unit. Priced starting at £6,300, the camera doesn’t launch until December 2024, although here’s quick rundown of what you can expect with the Alpha 1 II.
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Hardware Details
Let’s go over some hardware details – the Sony Alpha 1 II comes with a fairly-large 3.2-inch LCD monitor (at least by camera standards) with a 4-axis multi-angle design, allowing for better flexibility during framing. Sony has also included an improved grip and more accessible shutter button, as well as a new deep-type padded eyepiece cup (available as an optional accessory). The camera also comes with a dual-battery charger that can charge two NP-FZ100 batteries simultaneously, and there’s even a compatible vertical grip that adds a bit of battery life and improved handling.
For more streamlined workflows, the Alpha 1 II also supports 2.5GBASE-T wired LAN for data transfers, and users have the option of using it with a portable 5G data transmitter. Captured data can likewise be transferred to Adobe Lightroom or Google Drive via Sony’s Creators’ Cloud storage platform.
Imaging and AI
For photos and videos, the Sony Alpha 1 II features a full-frame Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor with approx. 50.1 MP resolution, which works alongside the latest BIONZ XR image processing engine. Sony claims that the camera can capture high-resolution images even in APS-C crop mode, capturing approximately 21 effective MP. Users can access high-speed continuous shooting with support for AF/AE tracking even at up to 30 frames per second, which can likewise keep up with more complex motion using AF/AE calculations at up to 120 times per second. The camera also comes with a Pre-Capture function, essentially letting users shoot photos at up to one second before the shutter button is fully pressed.
As with a lot of other tech products from the past few years, Sony has added AI capabilities with the new camera. One example is Real-time Recognition AF which works partly via the onboard AI processing unit. Sony says that this allows the A 1 II to keep focus on subjects, with recognition for humans, animals, birds, insects, and vehicles. The Alpha 1 II also supports Real-time Recognition AF which now includes an “Auto” feature, that can automatically recognise the subject target without specifying a subject mode.
Finally, the Alpha 1 II also comes with an anti-distortion shutter that allows users to shoot images with much less distortion, and improved optical image stabilisation of up to 8.5 stops (center) and 7.0 stops (periphery) for stills, and Dynamic active Mode for video capture.
