Sony A1 II
My thoughts on the latest flagship camera from Sony and what it means for the gear I will purchase in the near future.
My opinions on how the new A1 II compares to other options are clearly biased by how I use my gear and what gear I currently use most of the time so likely won't be the same as your thought process but maybe these thoughts will help you to make your own decisions.
Quick summary of specs on the new camera:
50.1MP Stack CMOS sensor (same as A1)
in body image stabilization up to 8.5EV (improved over A1)
updated subject recognition algorithms and hardware with new automatic subject selection option. (mostly same as A7RV or A9III)
Continuous shooting at up to 30fps (no change from A1)
pre-release capture from .03 to 1 second (similar to A9III)
up to 8K 30p/4k 120p video (I don't believe there are many video changes from the A1)
9.44M dot viewfinder (I believe slightly updated for refresh rates).
3.2 inch 2.1M dot fully articulating tilt rear screen (introduced on A7RV)
body design from the A9III
Nearly four years after stunning the photography world with the A1, Sony has released the next version in that line. Sony has kind of gone the way of Canon and made what looks to be a not very exciting update and more of a small incremental upgrade. But also, much like how Canon does these things, the update turns out to improve the camera in many ways that don't seem exciting but really do improve the use of the camera.
A few months ago I was watching the Canon forums when the R5 II came out and the discussion were very nearly the same and they are now with the Sony A1 II. There were those that thought the R5 II was barely an upgrade at all since it didn't do much more for the type of photography they were interested in and then there were those who thought it was a very useful update. I think I firmly land in the later camp since when I sold my R5 it was in hope that Canon would come out with a higher MegaPixel stacked sensor camera so that I could enjoy the silent shutter that those with the A1 had been using for years. Now we are seeing the same conversations around the A1 II. It seems to be a reasonable update for an already excellent camera (just like the R5 II was) but unless you are interested in the physical improvements or those few added features then it was quite disappointing for those that wanted a release to match the original A1. I do believe that we are more used to this type of update from Canon (5DIII - 5DIV for just one example) than we are from Sony as they really have given us ground breaking new tech in both the A1 and A9 series cameras in the last few years. I do currently own the A9 II which again was not a significant update from the A9 and we had to wait for the next iteration for something brand new again. I do think we are starting to get to a point in camera technology where we will not be seeing such great leaps especially since the cameras we have now really can do so much that we couldn't do before.
Back to the A1 II. What we have here seems to be taking all of the things that Sony has added (that have been improvements) to other cameras over the last 4 years and put them in here. The improvements to the rear screen that is on the A7RV, the body of the A9III, new autofocus chip (with machine learning algorithms) that I believe was also from the A7RV and a few other software features like the pre-shooting that Canon and Nikon have but Sony didn't until now. Those types of updates are similar to what we saw on the A9II based on what had changed at that time. Of those changes I think the only one that could have been put in the A1 (at least in theory) is the pre-shooting since it really should just be a software solution. I doubt that feature will be added to the A1 as a future firmware update but it would really be a nice thing if they did so. We have some solid updates to make the A1 II Sony's best camera but I can see where it is a disappointment to many because there isn't really anything substantially new on this camera that either was already on other Sony cameras or is catching up to the other brands.
So what are the benefits of these improvements? Let's take a look at what you are getting if you already have a previous generation Sony camera of some sort. If you already own the A1 you would basically get the newer body including that rear screen that both tilts and also swings out to the side. It also has the new customizable button on the front that by default allows you to go to a faster number of frames per second very quickly. You also get the new AI (machine learning) based chip with the latest algorithms for subject detection and a new mode that isn't on any other Sony camera that automatically detects the subject type so you don't have to tell it you want to detect birds instead of people or any other combo. It seems like most other things around shooting speed and capabilities are the same as the original A1 including mostly the same video capabilities which may be one of the reasons that many people are disappointed in the update. I have never used the A1 personally but I have seen the improvements in subject detection that I got when I updated to the A7RV compared to both the A7RIV and the A9II. Those updates were significant in terms of how quickly and effectively the camera was able to pick up both animal and bird subjects and was much better at getting the eyes of those subjects. I also found that it was better at getting locks on a subject even in conditions where the background is very busy and contrasty. This is something that I have to deal with a lot and I have slowly seen improvements with each iteration of Sony's tech since the original A6000 started to be able to quickly focus even though it didn't have much in the way of subject detection. I'm assuming the A1 was similar but possibly a little better than the A9II so I think the A1 II is going to just be that much better but you may only notice that improvement when going back to the older one.
If you currently are shooting with the A9 or A9II upgrading to the A1II would get you all the benefits above along with a stacked sensor that can now do 30 frames per second instead of 20 and has 50 MegaPixels instead of 24. While I enjoy using the A9II for the silent shutter I do find the lower resolution to be limiting for getting that detail that I prefer to have in my nature photography (once I know what I can get it is hard to go back to lower resolutions). There is also more room to crop for those times that you just can't get as close as you would like to your subject.
If you are shooting with the A7RV the main thing that you might be missing is that stacked sensor. What this gives a nature photographer is a fast silent electronic shutter for those times that any noise can change the behaviour of your subject and an electronic shutter where you don't have to worry about artifacts in your image due to the slow readout of that A7RV sensor.
Currently I have to choose between that beautiful high resolution sensor of the A7RV and the high frame rate of the A9II so that I can increase the possibility to capture just the perfect moment. When it comes to my landscape work there really isn't any benefit of that electronic sensor and the A7RV is very nearly the perfect camera but for capturing interactions between birds or animals that A9II can sometimes be nearly perfect. It would seem that the A1 II could be the best of both worlds if it wasn't also currently more expensive than buying both the A7RV and the A9II (used), but then again the A1 already had many of those benefits.
If you currently have any other Sony camera (and do mostly photography and not so much video) then the A1 II is the best camera you can get but also by far the most expensive one. Be aware that like most technology there are diminishing returns as you move up to the highest end gear. Most of the time the difference between an entry level camera and those just below the top tier gives more return than the difference between that second tier and the top but as you get deeper into any hobby this is often true.
Comparing the A1 to the flagship (or equivalent) cameras from other companies is much more difficult as most people who are looking for these top tier cameras are unlikely to switch to another company since the cost of purchasing a whole new set of lenses at that level would eclipse the costs (and benefits) of the differences in those cameras. For the sake of just understanding the differences we have Canon with the R1 which to me is more like the A9 series than the A1 and the R5 II which at nearly $1700 USD cheaper than the A1 is actually pretty comparable but doesn't have quite the same buffer as the A1 II and does have some interesting new autofocus tech. If you are currently using Canon then the R5 II is a great choice for a top tier nature photography camera. Nikon has taken a different approach to a similar set of technology with both the Z8 and Z9. The Z8 is significantly less expensive than the A1 II (and the R5 II) but is quite compelling in the technology that it has. The autofocus is not quite as good as the other two, the frames per second is lower (for raw images) and it has no physical shutter which can still be useful. On the other hand, the Nikon systems has been quite busy with a very good set of nature photography lenses that go from around $2000 USD, with options all the way up to the price of a small car. Sony has more 3rd party options but not as many interesting prime lenses and Canon has a much more limited selection of glass (mostly great at the highest end).
What would (did) I purchase?
This is a very difficult question. I currently still have a lot of good EF lenses but I don't see myself investing in the RF glass and the 3rd party options are pretty much nonexistent. I currently have a 500mm F/4 IS II that is not getting as much use as I would like and selling EF primes is not really going to get me much so that I could purchase either a big Sony or Canon RF lens so the purchase of a R5II has been an option to allow me to continue to use that 500mm for at least another 5 years with a pretty great camera. On the other hand we currently own a bunch of Sony cameras and a used A1 might be a good choice to have almost everything I want by trading in some older gear. If I could sell the 500mm I might be able to pick up a 300mm f/2.8 used which would be great for bear photography in the fall. In all likelihood I would keep the A7R5 and have the A1 and I would be pretty happy without completely breaking the bank. If money was not a consideration I would absolutely pick up an A1 II as that camera has everything that I would like to have in a camera. This is a tough question and I will likely wait to see how the A1 drops in price (both new and used) over the next couple of months as well as see if anyone is interested in any of my older gear. It is never easy when money is the limiting factor.
UPDATE: (I waited a few months and ended up purchasing the Canon R5 II to use with my 500mm lens. This camera currently is proving to be much better than the R5, no crashes and the stacked sensor allows me to use the silent shutter nearly all the time. I do think this combination will be useful for quite a while or at least until I could trade up to the A1 II and the new Sigma 300-600 f/4….but that is another story)