Product Reviews

I am primarily a wildlife photographer. I have only used the A1ii for two weeks, so, I am still gaining the deep knowledge required to use the camera to its full potential. However saying that it is without any doubt the best camera I have ever used. I have the original A1 which is a very capable camera about which I have no complaints. The A1ii just puts the icing on the cake with fantastic auto focus, pre-capture, improved lowlight performance, better image stabilisation, more dynamic range and a better body.

I've had an original A1 for over a year along with an A7RV for aviation and wildlife photography. I very much enjoyed the superior subject detect on the A7RV but didn't enjoy the rolling shutter issues. On retirement I have treated myself to an A1ii which blends the superior handling/response of the A1 with the subject detect of the A7RV. One welcome feature is the slightly bigger body as I found the older bodies to be a little small for my hand especially in the gap between the lens and the grip, that is now no longer an issue for me. I have only dabbled with the precapture but hope to be reaping the rewards of this feature soon. All in all a positive step forward and the A7RV traded in.

Didn’t think it would be better than my a1 but it’s a huge improvement

Being an A1 owner i held of until the a1ii price came down enought to make me buy it , really only got it for the precapture , the dual battery charger is a bonus plus the extra small spot etc in the focus area settings , pity they decided the make the battery grip non interchangeable between both models. Have not had chance to test how amazing the "Ai" is.

I love my a1 mk2 it never lets me down. All weathers all genres it holds strong.

I've now had a bit of time to use the new A1ii to leave an honest review.. Firstly my background is that I'm a keen amateur photographer mainly specialising in wildlife. Coming from Minolta Dynax 7000i and 8000i to a Sony a700 before graduating to mirrorless a7iii, a1 and now this fantastic upgrade from the original A1. My key points are 1...ai auto focus with subject recognition.. Once set it doesn't let go of the subject 2... Crisper sharper images with a better handling of noise at the higher iso values 3... Pre-capture, I wasn't expecting it to be as good or as useful as it is.. 4.. The speed boost button I have it set so I can toggle between on and off but I may change it back to press and hold to activate it as I keep forgetting it's turned on so end up with loads of photos. But this is down to how I've set it up. 4.. Custom buttons.. This is a very customisable camera to set it up to suit your own needs for whatever you are shooting.. I'm still learning with it and setting it up for my own style of photography.. But I can say that I am very impressed so far.. When it was 1st announced I didn't think that I would get the benefit or it was much of an upgrade from the original a1... How wrong I was! I am in no way sponsored by Sony and have purchased all of my own equipment.. I absolutely love this camera.. Please Sony do not bring out an a1iii just yet as I can't afford to upgrade again so soon. As a foot note I have tried to add some superb photos of a Kingfisher that I took with this camera but Sony's moderator twice declined them saying that they were inappropriate... quite how they worked that out beats me!

Bought the a1 ii earlier this month. Very pleased so far.

Just getting used to this camera. So far it exceeds expectations. So FAST so Easy.

It took me several months to make my mind up to trade in my A1 which was almost 4 years old having bought it soon after it was issued.. I'm so pleased I have moved on despite being very happy with the A1. The new functions included are perfect for wildlife and action photography which is my main interests. If you are reading my feedback with doubt in your, go for it, I'm pleased I did, It's a truly great camera.

I got the Sony a1 ii about 3 weeks ago and couldn’t wait as I have the a6700 and a7iv for sports and to be honest am disappointed in the sharpness and quality of photos. I shoot sports and the only thing I like is pre-capture

I bought this A1 ii to replace my A1. The A1 is still a fantastic camera but the A1 ii is just amazing. The auto focus is soo good. the new floppy screen is so convenient. All in all it is the best camera I have ever used. I love it.

I like the ergonomics over the a1 mk1. Focus acquisition is excellent and a definite improvement. I was disappointed to see the same hot shoe cover as the A1 is still there. It lets water onto the contacts and the camera locks up. I did mention this when I bought the A1 but nothing has been done to address this weakness. If the mk2 locks up in the same way, I will have to resort to using a Nikon hot shoe cover Bs-3 to protect the contacts and prevent damp getting to them. I am not the only one to have this issue but so far it has been ignored by Sony. So a brilliant camera with one potential Achilles heel. Come on Sony listed to your users as I shouldn’t have to be going to a third party rival at this price point.

Fully featured camera. Pre-capture and animal/bird tracking a game changer.

I have had the camera two weeks now, I can’t believe how good it is. I use it mainly for wildlife, the tracking features are second to none, the low light capabilities are just amazing.

I’ve had the camera for a few weeks now,and enjoying every bit of it,love the customising on the buttons best,and the tilt back screen.

I've had my A1 II for a week now but not much chance of using it so far due to the weather and work commitments. However, my initial thoughts. Note: I used the Mark Galer camset with a bit of Colby Brown and my own mods to get me going. I always liked the relatively small size of the Mk1, the Mk2 is larger but more comfortable with the shutter button better placed. The right-hand strap point slightly higher so it no longer rubs on my finger. The power switch is slightly more resistant/stiffer; a definite bonus as my Mk1 was always switching on in my camera bag. Although fractionally lighter, I don't notice it, probably due to the increased size making me think it's actually heavier 🙂 Low light performance is excellent and the improved IBIS awesome - you can hand hold are very low speeds. AI subject recognition is super-fast and sticky. I have it set to auto and it happily switches between dogs, cats and people. Nice to have the focus bracketing - I use it a lot for macro on my A7RV. I've taken a range of landscape and street photographs with the 24-70GM2 but lack of support for RAW in my chosen editor Capture One is holding me back a bit. I could use JPEG or HEIF but happy to wait. ON1 and Affinity Photo 2 do work with the Mk2 raw so will try them. Looking forward to trying BIF when I get the chance.