Sony A1-2

[HotGates]

I think the A1 II looks great and truth be told I wasn't a Sony fan but I like this and it seems the specs look better than my R5II but I could be wrong, But it sure looks better than my Z9 that has stupid jpeg features.
Does the new A1 have multiple exposure feature?

 

[HotGates]

NA

 

[Ed Erkes]

I wanted raw precapture so I sold one of my a1s 2 months ago. So that one upgrade is enough for me to get it it, but I do wish the frame rate had increased a little. But my only other precapture choice is the a9iii for about $6000 and 24 MP is a deal breaker for me.
I hope the AF is significantly improved although I've seen contradictory opinions on it. Arbitrage sounded disappointed in the A9iii AF while othere were impressed. I would like more feedback on that.

 

[sh1209]

I wanted raw precapture so I sold one of my a1s 2 months ago. So that one upgrade is enough for me to get it it, but I do wish the frame rate had increased a little. But my only other precapture choice is the a9iii for about $6000 and 24 MP is a deal breaker for me.
I hope the AF is significantly improved although I've seen contradictory opinions on it. Arbitrage sounded disappointed in the A9iii AF while othere were impressed. I would like more feedback on that.

I don’t have the A9iii but have two Sony bodies with the AI processor. Having said that, both the A7RV and A6700 have better autofocus than my A1. I feel like both pick up the subject faster as well as maintain focus for a longer duration than the current A1.

 

[arbitrage]

I read the DPReview and a few other things I haven't seen mentioned:
1) 30FPS is still only in Lossy Compressed
2) The EVF can run at 120hz in the High quality setting so that is improved over A1. 240Hz still does the reduced resolution where the image shrinks just like in eyeglasses mode.

 

[sh1209]

I read the DPReview and a few other things I haven't seen mentioned:
1) 30FPS is still only in Lossy Compressed
2) The EVF can run at 120hz in the High quality setting so that is improved over A1. 240Hz still does the reduced resolution where the image shrinks just like in eyeglasses mode.

That really stinks about still having to use compressed. The more I hear the better I feel passing it up

 

[nmerc_photos]

This may help some, maybe not... I tried to put together my own pro-con list of my current setup, and what I could gain from swapping to Sony with this A1 II release.

Most likely I'm just bored with Nikon and suffering from GAS, but there are some appreciable benefits to the Sony side - I think. In order of priority for me:

1. Precapture Raw - I think this is the "must have" feature of the A1 II. Rumors are unsure if the Z9 will get it in a firmware upgrade, or if they'll hold it until 2025/2026 when the Z9 II comes out. If it's the latter, that's basically a whole year I could use the A1 II with that benefit.
2. Better AF - many have seen or read my struggles with Nikon AF. It would be nice to be back to Sony/Canon levels of accuracy.
3. Size and weight - I would not mind a ~20% weight reduction across the board, especially as I spend more time traveling - often on international flights.
4. FPS - I had 30 FPS on my R3 and loved it. A bit sad that the A1 II didn't have 40+ though.

Ultimately, I could see it as a toss up. I'd project it would cost around 10% of my setup to swap ($3K on $30K of gear) which isn't terrible.

I may give it some time and if Nikon comes out with precapture raw via FW, that would probably be enough for me to stay put for now.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[DavidT]

That really stinks about still having to use compressed. The more I hear the better I feel passing it up

Nothing wrong with the compressed files but if you aren’t shooting that many fps it’s a nothing burger.

 

[sh1209]

Nothing wrong with the compressed files but if you aren’t shooting that many fps it’s a nothing burger.

I honestly don’t like compressed files from Nikon or Sony especially for macro work.

 

[arbitrage]

This may help some, maybe not... I tried to put together my own pro-con list of my current setup, and what I could gain from swapping to Sony with this A1 II release.

Most likely I'm just bored with Nikon and suffering from GAS, but there are some appreciable benefits to the Sony side - I think. In order of priority for me:

1. Precapture Raw - I think this is the "must have" feature of the A1 II. Rumors are unsure if the Z9 will get it in a firmware upgrade, or if they'll hold it until 2025/2026 when the Z9 II comes out. If it's the latter, that's basically a whole year I could use the A1 II with that benefit.
2. Better AF - many have seen or read my struggles with Nikon AF. It would be nice to be back to Sony/Canon levels of accuracy.
3. Size and weight - I would not mind a ~20% weight reduction across the board, especially as I spend more time traveling - often on international flights.
4. FPS - I had 30 FPS on my R3 and loved it. A bit sad that the A1 II didn't have 40+ though.

Ultimately, I could see it as a toss up. I'd project it would cost around 10% of my setup to swap ($3K on $30K of gear) which isn't terrible.

I may give it some time and if Nikon comes out with precapture raw via FW, that would probably be enough for me to stay put for now.


View attachment 101415

A1II does have Eye-AF for everything in Video according to the DPReview article.

 

[thelordofthelight]

In the announcement video I saw the A1 ii had 30fps with AF tracking advertised as a new feature and wondered what's so new in it but then I see a post in FM referring to a YT link where Mark Galer seems to mention the original A1 could shoot at 30fps only without tracking. Is this correct? Then the qn is, when you set the A1 at 30fps in cRaw and use AF with tracking, does it shoot at lower FPS or does it shoot at 30fps but default to AF mode without tracking?

EDIT: Just linking the video: It is clear at 11.50 that the A1 shoots at reduced FPS when AF tracking is enabled.

 

[Tom Reynolds]

My view as an OM-1 user.

1. Weight-yes. It is only slightly heavier than the OM-1
2. AF-maybe. It does not appear to acquire AF as fast as the OM-1 but once it finds the subject all the shots are in focus
3. Buffer-Yes
4. Pre-capture-yes. I would set at .3 or .4
5. Frame rate-no. With the 150-400 the OM-1 is 50 f/s
6. Sensor-yes, yes 50 mp is the reason I might switch
7. Lens-no. The 200-600 Sony zoom is not the equal of the OM Systems 150-400

I would not sell my OM-1/100-400 because of its light weight but for when I don't need to walk far it would be a choice between an A1-2/200-600 and the OM Systems 150-400. If the A1-2 had 50 f/s I would choose the A1-2

Tom

 

[Lee R]

This may help some, maybe not... I tried to put together my own pro-con list of my current setup, and what I could gain from swapping to Sony with this A1 II release.

Most likely I'm just bored with Nikon and suffering from GAS, but there are some appreciable benefits to the Sony side - I think. In order of priority for me:

1. Precapture Raw - I think this is the "must have" feature of the A1 II. Rumors are unsure if the Z9 will get it in a firmware upgrade, or if they'll hold it until 2025/2026 when the Z9 II comes out. If it's the latter, that's basically a whole year I could use the A1 II with that benefit.
2. Better AF - many have seen or read my struggles with Nikon AF. It would be nice to be back to Sony/Canon levels of accuracy.
3. Size and weight - I would not mind a ~20% weight reduction across the board, especially as I spend more time traveling - often on international flights.
4. FPS - I had 30 FPS on my R3 and loved it. A bit sad that the A1 II didn't have 40+ though.

Ultimately, I could see it as a toss up. I'd project it would cost around 10% of my setup to swap ($3K on $30K of gear) which isn't terrible.

I may give it some time and if Nikon comes out with precapture raw via FW, that would probably be enough for me to stay put for now.


View attachment 101415

I’ve been saying Nikon should really firmware RAW precapture because being behind with that feature for a year or more is not a great place to be. If they released that this week at 20fps that would go a long long way for happy Nikon users. People will want the inevitable 30fps or more upgrade later anyway.

The Z9ii is probably mostly finalized for feature set but I do feel like the Canon R5ii and A1ii were pretty mild refreshes compared with the originals so that does leave them the opportunity to leap frog across the board in the Z9ii if they can pull that off. At which point they would have the best feature set for at least a few years until canon and Sony move on 4 years from now to mark 3 versions.

This A1ii looks like a refinement of an already great camera and it’s the current market leader for feature set.

Nikons now got to answer to Canon and Sony so we all keep getting nicer cameras to choose from.

I feel like when you guys who shoot Sony get hands on this one may be more impressive in use with the refinements than the spec sheet.

 

[Tom Reynolds]

Based on my experience with the OM-1, having 20 f/s or 30 f/s in pre-capture is simply NOT adequate. I have lots of shots @ 25 f/s where one frame has the bird on the perch and the next frame the bird has left. Mike Lane has an interesting video of the difference between 25 and 50 f/s.

Canon and Sony's f/s limitation gives Nikon the ability to provide 20 f/s in pre-capture RAW with the current Z8/9 and 60 f/s RAW in a new camera.

I know a lot of Nikon users will question if an upgrade of 20 f/s to 60 f/s is enough to warrant the expense, but 20 f/s will give Nikon users experience using pre-capture and show them the limitations due to the frame rate.

 

[arbitrage]

In the announcement video I saw the A1 ii had 30fps with AF tracking advertised as a new feature and wondered what's so new in it but then I see a post in FM referring to a YT link where Mark Galer seems to mention the original A1 could shoot at 30fps only without tracking. Is this correct? Then the qn is, when you set the A1 at 30fps in cRaw and use AF with tracking, does it shoot at lower FPS or does it shoot at 30fps but default to AF mode without tracking?

EDIT: Just linking the video: It is clear at 11.50 that the A1 shoots at reduced FPS when AF tracking is enabled.

It doesn't reach 30 but others say it is between 25-28. I never use Tracking for action/BIF so I've never concerned myself with that and totally forgot it was even a thing.

 

[sh1209]

It seems like if someone is wanting a fast action only camera, then the A9iii is going to be the best bet even though the resolution isn’t ideal. Plus it saves a thousand bucks or so as well which is also nice.

 

[arbitrage]

It seems like if someone is wanting a fast action only camera, then the A9iii is going to be the best bet even though the resolution isn’t ideal. Plus it saves a thousand bucks or so as well which is also nice.

In Canada the price difference between A9III and A1II is $200 CAD. Of course there may be other deals to be had on A9III like used copies or certain sellers on FM selling BNIB for less than retail.

 

[sh1209]

In Canada the price difference between A9III and A1II is $200 CAD. Of course there may be other deals to be had on A9III like used copies or certain sellers on FM selling BNIB for less than retail.

I was just under the assumption that you wanted higher frame rate? I definitely think the A9 was overpriced from the start so to me the A1 would certainly be the better deal.

 

[FB101]

It doesn't reach 30 but others say it is between 25-28. I never use Tracking for action/BIF so I've never concerned myself with that and totally forgot it was even a thing.

That’s correct. On the A1 original frame rate drops if tracking; how much is subject dependent. Same thing if you choose AF priority instead of release priority. I found that setting having a bigger impact (sometimes falling below 20fps).

 

[nmerc_photos]

In Canada the price difference between A9III and A1II is $200 CAD. Of course there may be other deals to be had on A9III like used copies or certain sellers on FM selling BNIB for less than retail.

luckily for us in America, A9III can be had BNIB for $4500, or used for $4000 or less compared to $6500 for the A1 II

I think I might lean towards selling my Nikon gear now, picking up an A9 III to play with and then grabbing an A1 II when it comes available

there are certain instances like with loons where I know I can fill the frame every time, so 24MP wouldn't be a big hurdle - and 120 FPS would be advantageous for getting different positions of the fish flipping in their mouths. would be nice to have at Katmai for fishing bears as well

 

[sh1209]

luckily for us in America, A9III can be had BNIB for $4500, or used for $4000 or less compared to $6500 for the A1 II

I think I might lean towards selling my Nikon gear now, picking up an A9 III to play with and then grabbing an A1 II when it comes available

there are certain instances like with loons where I know I can fill the frame every time, so 24MP wouldn't be a big hurdle - and 120 FPS would be advantageous for getting different positions of the fish flipping in their mouths. would be nice to have at Katmai for fishing bears as well

Where have you seen the A9 for that price. Even open box is $5500 on B&H

 

[nmerc_photos]

Where have you seen the A9 for that price. Even open box is $5500 on B&H

all on fredmiranda forums and greentoe

as Geoff mentioned, there are a lot of people who have access to BNIB camera gear, can "make" receipts in your name at MSRP, and sell it for far below MSRP

not sure how it all works, but it seems common enough and nobody is having issues with it

 

[DavidT]

Where have you seen the A9 for that price. Even open box is $5500 on B&H

Greentoe you can get an a9III under $4500.

 

[DavidT]

It seems like if someone is wanting a fast action only camera, then the A9iii is going to be the best bet even though the resolution isn’t ideal. Plus it saves a thousand bucks or so as well which is also nice.

The a9III rocks! Everyone should be happy the af from the a9 is making its way to the a1.

 

[sh1209]

Greentoe you can get an a9III under $4500.

I have never heard of green toe but getting down to that price the A93 is even tempting to me lol