Who’s buying the Sony a1MK2?

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Are you buying the Sony a1MK2

  • Total voters
    124
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I'm definitely not upgrading to the A1ii. I'm still hoping to move to the Nikon setup but so many of these comments have me doubting that move.

Like you, I'm very frustrated with the lack of FW and can't justify spending more money knowing the FW will likely be limited and/or go backwards. Thankfully, I stopped FW updates after 1.32.
 
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RikWriter said:
What do you shoot? I've never had any AF difficulties with the A1.
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Not speaking for her but I never had issues until 2.00. There are times when mine will not focus at all. Having said that, I completely wiped mine today and reset to factory defaults. So far it seems good and I’m hoping it has resolved the firmware induced issues.
 
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Mommacat said:
I'm definitely not upgrading to the A1ii. I'm still hoping to move to the Nikon setup but so many of these comments have me doubting that move.

Like you, I'm very frustrated with the lack of FW and can't justify spending more money knowing the FW will likely be limited and/or go backwards. Thankfully, I stopped FW updates after 1.32.
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Yeah that’s when mine went downhill.
 
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RikWriter said:
What do you shoot? I've never had any AF difficulties with the A1.
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Yes, my A1 will go to the water instead of staying on the bird. Same issue Jan Wagener reported with the A1ii. Also, it isn't as sticky as the Nikon (eg, bird flying in blue sky to a busy background). Nikon didn't miss a beat.

Also a noticeable improvement in VR and buffer with the Nikon! Just my experience.

Please know I too love the Sony IQ and EVF. 😊
 
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Mommacat said:
Yes, my A1 will go to the water instead of staying on the bird. Same issue Jan Wagener reported with the A1ii. Also, it isn't as sticky as the Nikon (eg, bird flying in blue sky to a busy background). Nikon didn't miss a beat.

Also a noticeable improvement in VR and buffer with the Nikon! Just my experience.

Please know I too love the Sony IQ and EVF. 😊
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Same thing here that started with 1.32. If an eagle, duck or other waterfowl are close to the water surface it will immediately drop focus. Did not do this at 1.2. The strange thing is, not all cameras are affected this way.
 
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Mommacat said:
Yes, my A1 will go to the water instead of staying on the bird. Same issue Jan Wagener reported with the A1ii. Also, it isn't as sticky as the Nikon (eg, bird flying in blue sky to a busy background). Nikon didn't miss a beat.

Also a noticeable improvement in VR and buffer with the Nikon! Just my experience.

Please know I too love the Sony IQ and EVF. 😊
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Ah. I've never experienced that issue. I've never updated my firmware though. I've also never filled the buffer on my A1 and I've hand-held my 600 f4 with the 1.4X TC at down to 1/250 with good results. I don't think I share your assessment of the camera.
 
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Mommacat said:
I have to say I'm confused that many hear think the z9 AF is subpar. I'm currently an A1 with 2-6 shooter who rented the 600GM and the Z9 with 600 TC this summer and found the Nikon AF superior to the Sony, at least for the subjects I try to document and their challenging environments. Perhaps the A1ii has better AF but according to Jan Wagener, who is honest and accomplished, it had some struggles. I will also say the Nikon VR, buffer, and cards were far superior to either of the Sony setups. Those are very important in my book.

Yes, all of these setups, including Canon and others, produce beautiful images and as many have said we are fortunate to have great options. I just wanted to share my experience again and give some "love" to Nikon.

Wishing everyone success in their photography and their decisions.
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I think it largely depends on your subject. If you're mainly a large mammal shooter, you could likely shoot the Z9 24/7 and never miss a shot due to the AF.

If you are a backyard birder and trying to chase little buggers in dense foliage, I'd expect a lot of issues with the Z9. Or atleast that's what I experience.

I'm very interested to compare the Z9 and A1 II IBIS/VR. I shot my Z9 + 400TC/600TC down to 1/10 handheld with sharp results pretty frequently, so I think it'd be hard to improve on that. I would hope Sony is at least as good though. Especially with their new claims 8 stops of IBIS vs 5.5 prior. If the Sony can't compete there, it may send me right back to Nikon camp since I am primarily a handheld shooter.
 
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I’ll stay right or wrong with Nikon. I have few complaints and am comfortable with the system. I have shot with the Sony a1 and it was just fine but the weight issues for me are a non issue as I use large glass and balance is more important to me then saving 1/2 a pound. Also I still think other than the 300f2.8 Sony that Nikon has a better lineup of lenses at this point in time.
 
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macwalter said:
I’ll stay right or wrong with Nikon. I have few complaints and am comfortable with the system. I have shot with the Sony a1 and it was just fine but the weight issues for me are a non issue as I use large glass and balance is more important to me then saving 1/2 a pound. Also I still think other than the 300f2.8 Sony that Nikon has a better lineup of lenses at this point in time.
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With the TC superteles and the 800 6.3, they sure do.
 
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nmerc_photos said:
I bought into the "Nikon has better glass" thing which is how I got here. But I think knowing what I would know now, I would say "Nikon has better mid tier glass". The 400 4.5, 600PF, and 800PF are budget marvels. If you're in the $5K - $10K range, I don't think a better system exists for wildlife photography.

However, if you have a 400TC or 600TC - you'll always get better quality images from those lenses, which means there often isn't a reason to have the 400 4.5, 600PF or 800PF unless you just want to save weight.

At the top end (think $15K+ budget) most people are going to have their 400 f2.8 or 600 f4 that all brands have, and while the built in TC is really nice - I value precapture raw, more FPS, better AF, etc. more than that built in TC. in most cases you're paying $3K USD+ for that built in TC as well, which can get you a lot of other glass, bodies, or accessories (CF cards).

My expectation (and I'll post more when I learn if I was right or wrong) is that the A1 II + 300GM + 600GM combo will outperform any of Nikon's current offerings for the majority of people.

Even adapting my 300GM to Nikon bodies (which means reduced image stabilization and AF), the 300GM with TC outperforms both the 400 4.5 and 600PF, meaning those don't provide much, if any value.
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The 300 GM with a tc is approx. $6500 compared to $4200 for the 600 PF and $3000 for the 400 f4.5. I have not shot any of these lenses but I would hope that for $3000 more the 300 gm + tc would perform better.
 
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Mommacat said:
Yes, my A1 will go to the water instead of staying on the bird. Same issue Jan Wagener reported with the A1ii. Also, it isn't as sticky as the Nikon (eg, bird flying in blue sky to a busy background). Nikon didn't miss a beat.

Also a noticeable improvement in VR and buffer with the Nikon! Just my experience.

Please know I too love the Sony IQ and EVF. 😊
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I think it comes down to the scenario being compared. Steve had a comparison video where he showed the A1 going to the water more than the Z9 too. I’ve also seen complaints from people here saying the Z9 loses a diving Osprey for a few frames right before impact and the A1 doesn’t. I haven’t experienced that myself but I also don’t shoot a lot of Osprey. I think it comes down to each camera has its own struggles and in some situations one will perform better than the other. If you tested the Nikon and found it to work better for you I wouldn’t let the other comments impact your experience. I spend a lot of time shooting bears in the spring and have friends with other brands. Sometimes their camera struggles with something my Z9 doesn’t and sometimes my Z9 doesn’t want to find the subject and their Sony or canon does. It’s pretty rare I have focus issues with my Z8 or Z9 and usually switching to a different AF area resolves it. I have heard both Sony and Canon require less user input from the AF but I haven’t used either enough to compare.
 
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Ralph said:
The 300 GM with a tc is approx. $6500 compared to $4200 for the 600 PF and $3000 for the 400 f4.5. I have not shot any of these lenses but I would hope that for $3000 more the 300 gm + tc would perform better.
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I am pretty happy with Z9 & 400 f 4.5
Hence I am sure I am going to be even more happier with the just ordered 300 f2.8 & 2 TC ( I have been using 200-600 till now) 😎
 
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Steve said:
Sorry guys, by "all in" I mean for my Sony kit I'm committing to the new camera, not going 100% Sony and ditching Nikon. I'm still shooting both. This year and a good part of last was mostly Nikon gear (since they had a lot of new releases), but it seems like they are cooling off a little on new stuff so 2025 will be a lot of Sony shooting I think. I want to spend time with the a1-2 and my 300 2.8 is still feeling' pretty new so I have to change that :)
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The best of both worlds, you'll be the "Consumer Report" for the camera world. I'm sure if Nikon comes out with some thing new, you'll do the review. You'll just be twice as busy.
 
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The A1II online manual is now available: https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2440/v1/en/index.html

Unfortunately it confirms what was shown in Gordon (CameraLabs) video in that there hasn't been any change to the EVF quality settings. Setting to 120Hz still forces the display quality to Standard. Many other reviewers mentioned that one change was that the A1II could be in High Display Quality while in 120Hz but it appears that was false information. Not sure how so many were told this. But of course no one but Gordon actually bothered to test it or double check in the menus.

 
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arbitrage said:
The A1II online manual is now available: https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2440/v1/en/index.html

Unfortunately it confirms what was shown in Gordon (CameraLabs) video in that there hasn't been any change to the EVF quality settings. Setting to 120Hz still forces the display quality to Standard. Many other reviewers mentioned that one change was that the A1II could be in High Display Quality while in 120Hz but it appears that was false information. Not sure how so many were told this. But of course no one but Gordon actually bothered to test it or double check in the menus.

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It sure makes keeping the first generation more easier by the day to me. I’m sure I will be tempted at some point lol but it is certainly not a wow update.
 
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arbitrage said:
The A1II online manual is now available: https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2440/v1/en/index.html

Unfortunately it confirms what was shown in Gordon (CameraLabs) video in that there hasn't been any change to the EVF quality settings. Setting to 120Hz still forces the display quality to Standard. Many other reviewers mentioned that one change was that the A1II could be in High Display Quality while in 120Hz but it appears that was false information. Not sure how so many were told this. But of course no one but Gordon actually bothered to test it or double check in the menus.

Click to expand...
Really proves that Sony did zero development work for the A1mkii and only added parts from other cameras they could bring over easily. Nothing objectionable in itself, but then it should have happened a year ago, all the parts already existed, and it would have been better received if the “rush” was justified by the Olympics. Now it’s too little, too late, too expensive 😡 You can get away with one of the three, you may even get forgiven for two of the three when you have a solid track record, but all 3 is not a recipe for success.
 
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FB101 said:
Really proves that Sony did zero development work for the A1mkii and only added parts from other cameras they could bring over easily. Nothing objectionable in itself, but then it should have happened a year ago, all the parts already existed, and it would have been better received if the “rush” was justified by the Olympics. Now it’s too little, too late, too expensive 😡 You can get away with one of the three, you may even get forgiven for two of the three when you have a solid track record, but all 3 is not a recipe for success.
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Well said👍
 
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My shop in Canada has confirmed Dec 20th is the day. I see B&H has also updated their page to say Dec 20th (previously Dec 31st)
My shop was only allocated enough to cover ~1/3 of their preorders (they did mention the allocation is not 100% set in stone yet).
They expect a 2nd (but even smaller shipment) before the end of the year.
 
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FB101 said:
Really proves that Sony did zero development work for the A1mkii and only added parts from other cameras they could bring over easily. Nothing objectionable in itself, but then it should have happened a year ago, all the parts already existed, and it would have been better received if the “rush” was justified by the Olympics. Now it’s too little, too late, too expensive 😡 You can get away with one of the three, you may even get forgiven for two of the three when you have a solid track record, but all 3 is not a recipe for success.
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Throwing in my2 cents - although the A1ii which has nice upgrades at $6,500 it's overpriced given the market has changed since the A1 launched. It should have been priced at $5k at most. Especially when you consider the Z9 is $5,500 and the R5ii is $4,300. I have the a9iii and really like the body, AF and the colors out of the camera--which are a lot better than any other Sony. It looks like the A1ii inherited those things but what I can’t get over is the price. For me I would want to add the grip so now you’re talking about $6,900 which is just stupid.
 
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