Sony A99 II Review

February 2, 2017 | Amy Davies | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Sony A99 II is the latest professional / experienced enthusiast full-frame camera from Sony to feature an “SLT” design. These types of camera use a translucent mirror, rather than a traditional mirror design, which allows for faster frame rates. Featuring a 42 megapixel full-frame sensor, other specifications include 4K video recording, a tilting LCD screen, dual memory card slots, an electronic viewfinder and a Bionz X Processor. It uses the Sony A Mount, which makes it compatible with a range of lenses - but crucially is different from the Sony E mount, which is found on the A7 range of full-frame cameras. The Sony SLT-A99 is available now priced at around £2999 / $3199 body only.

Ease of Use

The Sony A99 II is aimed at high-end enthusiast or professional photographers, and as such, it is large and has a high number of dials and buttons. A chunky grip gives you plenty of room for your hand to fit comfortably, with your index finger resting on the shutter release button. The grip, and the rest of the body of the camera is textured with a high-quality coating, which along with the heavy weight and sturdy construction makes it feel very well constructed and durable. It’s also weather sealed, so it should withstand the odd rain shower or splash from a wave without too much trouble. The same goes for dust resistance.

Even though this is a large camera, Sony has actually managed to reduce it in size from the previous generation - quite an impressive feat considering the size of the sensor (full frame) and the technology inside the housing. It manages to reduce down the size while still keeping it big and bulky enough to satisfy enthusiast photographers.

The majority of the buttons are found grouped on the right hand side of the Sony A99 II. On the left of the top plate is a mode dial, which includes P,A,S,M settings as well as a fully automatic mode and space for up to three groups of custom settings. You’ll also find a movie mode, and a panoramic mode. You need to hold down a button in the middle of the dial in order to change between different exposure modes, which is useful for stopping accidental settings changes.

On the right hand side of the top panel, there’s the on/off switch, which is around the shutter release. There is a small panel on top of the Sony A99 II which shows key settings to help you quickly determine how you have the camera setup. You can light up this panel by using a small button just next to it.

Sony A99 II
Front of the Sony A99 II

Just above the panel are four buttons, which control various settings. There’s a button for setting a self-timer, a button for accessing white balance settings, a button for altering exposure compensation and another button for changing the ISO setting. Both the exposure compensation button and the ISO button are placed in a recess which makes it easier to find the correct button when you have the camera up to your eye.

As the viewfinder is electronic, there’s a button just next to it which means you can switch the viewfinder on, and the monitor off. There is also a sensor on the finder itself which means it will switch automatically between the two for a seamless transition. However, you may find that you want to have the screen always on, or the viewfinder always on - for example if you’re shooting at waist level you could switch the viewfinder to always off so that it doesn’t accidentally switch on and stop the screen from showing the view. Alternatively, switching the monitor off could save battery - you need to switch to “manual” in the main menu if you intend to use the finder in this way.

At the top of the Sony A99 II’s grip is a scrolling dial, which can be used in conjunction with another at the back of the camera to change different settings depending on the shooting mode you’re in. If you’re in aperture priority mode for example, both of the dials will control aperture. However, if you’re shooting in manual mode, one will control aperture and the other will control shutter speed.

Concentrating on the back of the Sony A99 II, and there’s also an array of buttons here. There’s a joystick which you can use to move the autofocus point around the frame to where you need it - note that the AF points don’t cover the entire frame. You can also press in the joystick to make certain selections in menus and so on.

Sony A99 II
Rear of the Sony A99 II

There’s a function (Fn) button which allows you to access a quick menu for your most commonly used settings and functions. You can change what appears on this menu to make it suit your specific shooting needs, if for example you don’t use a setting all that often, you can get rid of it. Other buttons on the back of the camera include an AF/MF button, a display button and AEL lock button. There’s a dedicated button for video recording, which is a different colour and feel to the other buttons on the back of the camera - that helps to make it unlikely that you’d accidentally record a video when you didn’t want to.

A button can be used for zooming in to live view - which is handy when you’re photographing still life and macro subjects and want to check critical focus.

There are two buttons labelled c1 and c2, which can be customised to your preferred functions. There’s also a small dial on the front of the Sony A99 II which can be customised to a function - you need to press a button in the centre of the dial to activate the setting, and you can hold the button down to choose a different setting for this dial. It’s also possible to change the function of the central joystick button.

Sony A99 II
Top of the Sony A99 II

The main menu button is pretty much the only button on the back of the Sony A99 II which is found on the left hand side. With this you can access more complicated functions and settings than through the function menu or direct access buttons. As we’ve often found with Sony cameras, the menu is a little complicated, being subdivided into several different menus and pages. You will likely get to know it with some studying, but it feels like Sony probably could go further to simplify the menu.

As already mentioned, the viewfinder is electronic. That’s because the Sony A99 II uses a translucent mirror, making a conventional pentaprism optical viewfinder not possible. There will still be many who just don’t like electronic viewfinders, but this one is about as good as you can find. It’s large, bright and seems to suffer from no lag. There are benefits to electronic viewfinders - for a start you can see exactly what effect changing settings will make, and you can also preview your image in the viewfinder making it easier to tell if you’ve got the shot quickly. On the downside for this particularly finder, it can be quite difficult to see the AF point, depending on the subject you’re trying to photograph.

The screen is attached to a hinge which pulls out from the body into a range of different positions. It has an unusual mechanism which allows you to rotate it to face sidewards, but you can also face it completely forwards which is useful for group portraits and so on. Sony has decided not to make the screen for the Sony A99 II touch-sensitive. Although it may be useful in certain scenarios, when there as many direct access buttons, including the joystick, it’s not as missed as it may be on some other cameras.

Sony A99 II
Tilting LCD Screen

There are 399 contrast detection autofocus points on the Sony A99 II’s sensor, along with 79 phase detection autofocus points on the AF sensor. Where these points coincide, the system can use both, giving 79 hybrid cross-type AF points. Fifteen of the phase-detection points are cross type, while the central point is dual cross-type.

Luckily, you can tell which one you are using through the viewfinder, as the more sensitive points will be signified by a rectangle, while the other points will use a square. Focusing is generally excellent, but with some notable exceptions. In good light, the camera has zero trouble locking onto the subject quickly and easily, however, for very low contrast subjects in tricky low light, only the cross-type points generally focus correctly - and even then it can be a little on the slow side - you may find that you have to get the camera to attempt to focus several times before it locks on fully.

When it comes to tracking focus, the Sony A99 II is very good at keeping the subject in focus - especially for subjects which follow a reasonably predictable path. Sony is hoping that this camera will appeal to sports and action photographers, and it has some excellent features that appeal - such as being able to shoot at full resolution for 12fps. It’s important to remember that this camera can shoot at that fast frame rate, but it’s available at the same kind of price as cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark IV, which only manages 7fps - generally speaking to get rates such as that, you need to step up to something like the Nikon D5 or the Canon 1DX II - cameras which cost in excess of £5,000.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 42.4 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 15Mb.

As we’d expect from a camera such as this, image quality is excellent, especially once you get to know the Sony A99 II and its quirks.

In some conditions, the Sony A99 II tends to underexpose a fair amount, so you might find you need to dial in some positive exposure compensation - especially if you’re photographing something which is low contrast. The good news is that if you shoot in raw format, there’s plenty of detail you can bring back from underexposed shots should that happen. If you’re mainly concerned with shooting JPEGs, you can help a little by switching on the Dynamic Range Optimiser, which works to even out shadow and highlight areas.

Detail is excellent, with the high resolution sensor doing an excellent job to pick up fine detail, especially of course at low ISO speeds. At ISO 100, if you examine at 100% it’s possible to see extremely fine detail. The overall impression of detail is maintained very well as you go through the sensitivity range, but you will find as you get into higher numbers, such as ISO 3200, that detail is a little more painterly if you examine closely.

ISO 51200 is useable if you intend to share an image at a very small size, or print it small, but it’s best to stick to ISO 12800 or below if possible. The top speed of ISO 102400 is there if you’re absolutely desperate, but with a loss of detail and noise creeping in, it’s not recommended.

The automatic white balance setting tends to err towards yellow tones when faced with some types of artificial light. It’s best to switch to a more specific white balance setting if possible - you can even change the colour tone priority to “white” for better accuracy in automatic white balance. Alternatively, you could shoot in raw format so you can tweak as necessary in post production.

Aside from white balance issues in some shots, colours are very well reproduced, with rich, warm and vibrant tones which don’t generally stray into unrealistic territory. Choosing between the different Creative Styles is a good idea since you can match how the tones to the situation - it’s worth experimenting with the different options available to find something you like.

Noise

There are 12 ISO settings available on the Sony A99. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW formats:

JPEG RAW  

ISO 50 (100% Crop)

ISO 50 (100% Crop)

 
iso50.jpg iso50raw.jpg  
     

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

 
iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg  
     

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

 
iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg  
     

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

 
iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg  
     

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

 
iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg  
     

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

 
iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg  
     

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

 
iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg  
     

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

 
iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg  
     

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

 
iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg  
     

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

 
iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg  
     

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

 
iso51200.jpg iso51200raw.jpg  
     

ISO 102400 (100% Crop)

ISO 102400 (100% Crop)

 
iso102400.jpg iso102400raw.jpg  

Night

The Sony A99's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's also a Bulb mode for even longer exposures, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds at ISO 100.

Night

night.jpg

Creative Styles

There are 11 Creative Style preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images.

Standard

Vivid

CreativeStyleStandard.JPG CreativeStyleVivid.JPG
   

Neutral

Clear

CreativeStyleNeutral.JPG CreativeStyleClear.JPG
   

Deep

Light

CreativeStyleDeep.JPG CreativeStyleLight.JPG
   

Portrait

Landscape

CreativeStylePortrait.JPG CreativeStyleLandscape.JPG
   

Sunset

Night Scene

CreativeStyleSunset.JPG CreativeStyleNight.JPG
   

Sepia

 
CreativeStyleSepia.JPG  

Picture Effects

The Sony A99 offers a range of 8 creative Picture Effects.

Toy Camera

Pop Color

PictureEffectToy.JPG PictureEffectPop.JPG
   

Posterization

Retro Photo

PictureEffectPosterize.JPG PictureEffectRetro.JPG
   

Soft High-key

Partial Color (BW)

PictureEffectSoftHighKey.JPG PictureEffectPartialColorBW.JPG
   

High Contrast Mono

Rich-tone Mono

PictureEffectHighContrastBW.JPG PictureEffect-RichBW.JPG

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Sony A99 II camera, which were all taken using the 42.4 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Sony A99 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Sony RAW (ARW) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 21 second movie is 240Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 50 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 132Mb in size.

Product Images

Sony A99 II

Front of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II

Front of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II

Front of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II

Rear of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II

Rear of the Sony A99 II / Turned On

 
Sony A99 II

Rear of the Sony A99 II / Image Displayed

 
Sony A99 II

Rear of the Sony A99 II / Main Menu

 
Sony A99 II

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Sony A99 II

Top of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II

Bottom of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II

Side of the Sony A99 II

 

Sony A99 II

Side of the Sony A99 II

 
Sony A99 II
Front of the Sony A99 II
 
Sony A99 II
Memory Card Slot
 
Sony A99 II
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

Sony has produced an excellent camera with the A99 II, following on from the excellent work of the original A99. We may have thought that Sony was giving up on its SLT range as it has been concentrating on its E-mount range for some time, but with this camera, it shows that the company is still concerned with larger, more traditional cameras too. 

Thanks to the high build quality and extensive range of buttons and dials, the Sony A99 II is pleasant to use - and of it feels like you’ve got a high performing piece of kit in your hand. 

Images are nicely saturated, but there is an issue of underexposure in some situations which mean that you often have to dial in exposure compensation where you might not normally want to do so. If you’re planning on shooting a lot of low light, low contrast shots, then this is something to be aware of - but perhaps if you’re mainly concerned with sports, wildlife, action and so on - it will be less of an issue for you. 

The A99 II performs well in those scenarios, being able to focus quickly and accurately, and having a high frame rate is useful for fast moving action. 

Other manufacturers generally have resisted putting a manoeuvrable screen on their full-frame professional cameras, so it’s great to see one of those here - it’s particularly useful for video recording. Naturally, as we’d expect from an electronics giant like Sony, the A99 II is 4K compatible, too. 

It seems unlikely that anybody who is already a dyed in the wool Canon or Nikon user is going to be tempted over to the Sony system just yet, but, when you look at the price, you may think twice - it’s currently retailing for £500 less than the Canon 5D Mark IV, which was announced at a similar time, so if Sony can keep up this aggressive pricing strategy, it could convince people to switch and make savings over time. 

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4
Value for money 4

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Sony A99 II.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

The long-awaited Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR has now arrived, improving on its predecessor, the incredibly popular 5D Mark III, in almost every way. Does the new 5D Mark IV offer enough to justify the £3629 / $3499 asking price? Read our Canon EOS 5D Mark IV review to find out...

Fujifilm X-T2

The Fujifilm X-T2 is a new compact system camera that builds on the success of the popular 2-year-old X-T1, most notably by adding 4K video recording, a more sophisticated auto-focusing system, and a wealth of other improvements. Read our in-depth Fujifilm X-T2 review to find out if it's worth the upgrade...

Nikon D810

The Nikon D810 is a brand new 36 megapixel full-frame sensor DSLR camera with no optical low pass filter. The D810 also offers 1080/60p HD video, a 3.2-inch LCD screen, an optical viewfinder with 100% coverage and 5fps burst shooting. Read our in-depth Nikon D810 review to find out if it can emulate the success of the previous D800/E cameras...

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

Capable of shooting at 18fps with focus tracking, the new Olympus O-MD E-M1 Mark II is a blisteringly fast professional compact system camera. Read our in-dpeth Olympus O-MD E-M1 Mark II review to find out if this speed demon can really deliver the goods...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 is a new premium compact system camera aimed firmly at enthusiast photographers. With a new 20 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, dual lens and in-body image stabilization, built-in tilting electronic OLED viewfinder, 3 inch free-angle OLED touchscreen, 4K video and photo modes, integrated wi-fi and NFC connectivity, and a weather-proof rangefinder-like design, can the Panasonic GX8 live up to its early promise? Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 review complete with sample images, test shots, videos and more to find out...

Pentax K-1

The new K-1 is the long-awaited full-frame DSLR camera from Pentax, based around a 36.4 megapixel CMOS sensor. Is this the best ever Pentax DSLR? Read our in-depth Pentax K-1 review to find out...

Specifications

Lens

Lens Compatibility
Sony A-mount lenses, operation with Minolta/Konica Minolta lenses confirmed
Lens Mount
Sony A-mount

Image Sensor

Aspect Ratio
3:2
Number Of Pixels (Effective)
Approx. 42.4 megapixels
Number of Pixels (total)
Approx. 43.6 megapixels
Type
35mm full frame (35.9x24.0mm), Exmor R CMOS sensor
Anti-Dust System
Yes

Recording (still images)

Recording Format
JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver.2.31, MPF Baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format)
Image Size (pixels) [3:2]
35mm full frame L: 7952 x 5304 (42M), M: 5168 x 3448 (18M), S: 3984 x 2656 (11M), APS-C L: 5168 x 3448 (18M), M: 3984 x 2656 (11M), S: 2592 x 1728 (4.5M)
Image Size (pixels) [16:9]
35mm full frame L: 7952 x 4472 (36M), M: 5168 x 2912 (15M), S: 3984 x 2240 (8.9M), APS-C L: 5168 x 2912 (15M), M: 3984 x 2240 (8.9M), S: 2592 x 1456 (3.8M)
Image Size (pixels) [Sweep Panorama]
Wide: horizontal 12,416 x 1,856 (23M), vertical 5,536 x 2,160 (12M), Standard: horizontal 8,192 x 1,856 (15M), vertical 3,872 x 2,160 (8.4M)
Image Quality Modes
RAW, RAW & JPEG, JPEG Extra fine, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard
Picture Effect
8 types: Toy Camera (Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Pop colour, Posterization (B/W, colour), Retro Photo, Soft High-key , Partial colour (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Rich-tone Monochrome,
Creative Style
Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn leaves, Black & White, Sepia, Style Box (1-6), (Contrast (-3 to +3 steps), Saturation (-3 to +3 steps), Sharpness (-3 to +3 steps) ), Yes (Off / PP1-PP9) Parameters: Black level, Gamma (Movie, Still, Cine1-4, ITU709, ITU709 [800%], S-Log2, S-Log3), Black Gamma, Knee, Color Mode, Saturation, Color Phase, Color Depth, Detail, Copy, Reset
Dynamic Range Functions
Off, Dynamic Range Optimizer (Auto/Level (1-5) ), Auto High Dynamic Range (Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure Difference Level (1-6 EV, 1.0 EV step) )
Colour Space
sRGB Standard (with sYCC gamut) and Adobe RGB Standard compatible with TRILUMINOS colour
RAW Output
14bit RAW
Uncompressed RAW
Yes

Recording (movie)

Recording Format
XAVCS, AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant, MP4
Video Compression
XAVCS: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
Audio Recording Format
XAVCS: LPCM 2ch, AVCHD: Dolby Digital (AC-3) 2ch, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, MP4: MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2ch
Colour Space
xvYCC Standard (x.v.colour when connected via HDMI cable) compatible with TRILUMINOS colour
Picture Effect
Toy Camera (Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Pop colour, Posterization (colour), Posterization (B/W), Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial colour (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome
Creative Style
Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn leaves, Black & White, Sepia,Style Box (1-6), (Contrast (-3 to +3 steps), Saturation (-3 to +3 steps), Sharpness (-3 to +3 steps) )
Picture Profile
Yes (Off/PP1-PP9) Parameters: Black level, Gamma (movie, Still, Cine1-4, ITU709, ITU709 [800%], S-Log2, S-Log3), Black Gamma, Knee, colour Mode, Saturation, colour Phase, colour Depth, Detail, Copy, Reset
Image Size (Pixels), NTSC
[XAVC S 4K] 3840 x 2160 (30p, 100M), 3840 x 2160 (24p, 100M), 3840 x 2160 (30p, 60M), 3840 x 2160 (24p, 60M), [XAVC S HD] 1920 x 1080 (120p, 100M), 1920 x 1080 (120p, 60M), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50M), 1920 x 1080 (30p, 50M), 1920 x 1080 (24p, 50M), [AVCHD] 1920 x 1080(60p, 28M, PS), 1920 x 1080(60i, 24M, FX), 1920 x 1080(60i, 17M, FH), 1920 x 1080(24p, 24M, FX), 1920 x 1080(24p, 17M, FH), [AVC MP4] 1920 x 1080(60p, 28M), 1920 x 1080(30p, 16M), 1280 x 720(30p, 6M)
Image Size (pixels), PAL
[XAVC S 4K] 3840 x 2160 (25p, 100M), 3840 x 2160 (25p, 60M), [XAVC S HD] 1920 x 1080 (100p, 100M), 1920 x 1080 (100p, 60M), 1920 x 1080 (50p, 50M), 1920 x 1080 (25p, 50M), [AVCHD] 1920 x 1080(50p, 28M, PS), 1920 x 1080(50i, 24M, FX), 1920 x 1080(50i, 17M, FH), 1920 x 1080(25p, 24M, FX), 1920 x 1080(25p, 17M, FH), [AVC MP4] 1920 x 1080(50p, 28M), 1920 x 1080(25p, 16M), 1280 x 720(25p, 6M)
Image frame rate
NTSC mode: 1fps,2fps,4fps,8fps,15fps,30fps,60fps,120fps, PAL mode: 1fps,2fps,3fps,6fps,12fps,25fps,50fps,100fps
Image size (frame rate)
NTSC mode: 1920x1080 (60p, 30p, 24p), PAL mode: 1920x1080 (50p, 25p)
Movie Functions
Audio Level Display, Audio Rec Level, PAL/NTSC Selector, Dual Video REC, TC/UB (TC Preset/UB Preset/TC Format/TC Run/TC Make/UB Time Rec), AF Tracking Duration, Auto Slow Shutter, REC Control, Gamma Display Assist
HDMI Output
3840 x 2160 (25p), 1920 x 1080 (50p), 1920 x 1080 (50i), 1920 x 1080 (24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1920 x 1080 (60i), 3840 x 2160 (30p), 3840 x 2160 (24p), YCbCr 4: 2: 2 8bit/RGB 8bit
Clean HDMI output
Yes (On/Off)

Recording System

Location information Link from smartphone
Yes
Media
Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro (M2), SD memory card, SDHC memory card (UHS-I compliant), SDXC memory card (UHS-I compliant), Micro SD memory card, Micro SDHC memory card, Micro SDXC memory card
Memory Card Slot
SLOT1: Multi-slot for Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD cards, SLOT2: Slot for SD cards

Noise Reduction

Noise Reduction
Long exposure NR: On/Off, available at shutter speeds longer than 1 s, High ISO NR: Normal/Low/Off
Multi Frame NR
-

White Balance

White Balance Modes
Auto/Daylight/Shade/Cloudy/Incandescent/Fluorescent , Warm White/Cool White/Day White/Daylight /Flash/colour temperature 2500 to 9900K , colour filter G7 to M7, A7 to B7 /Custom 1/2/3 /Custom Set/Underwater
AWB Micro Adjustment
Yes (G7 to M7, 57-step) (A7 to B7, 29-step)
Priority Set in AWB
Yes
Bracketing
3 frames, H/L selectable

Focus

Focus Type
TTL Phase-detection AF
Focus Sensor
Detector 1: CCD line sensors, Detector 2: Focal Plane Phase Detection sensors
Focus Point
Detection sensor 1: 79 points (15 cross-type points, F2.8- sensitive at the center point), Detection sensor 2: 399 points (323 selectable points, 79, hybrid-cross auto focus points*)* When Hybrid Phase Detection AF is activated
Focus Sensitivity Range
Detector 1: Center area EV -4 to 18 (at ISO 100 equivalent, with F2.8 lens attached)
Focus Mode
Single-shot AF (AF-S), Continuous AF (AF-C), Automatic AF (AF-A), Direct Manual Focus, Manual focus
Focus Area
Wide/Zone/Center/Flexible Spot/Expanded Flexible Spot/Lock-On AF (Wide/Zone/Center/Flexible Spot/Expanded Flexible Spot)
Other Features
Eye-start AF, Lock-on AF, Eye AF, AF micro adjustment, Predictive control (AF-A, AF-C), Focus lock, AF On
AF Illuminator
-

Exposure

Metering Type
1200-zone evaluative metering
Metering Sensor
Exmor R CMOS sensor
Metering Sensitivity
EV-2 to EV17 (at ISO100 equivalent with F1.4 lens attached)
Metering Mode
Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot (Standard/Large), Entire Screen Avg. Highlight
Exposure Compensation
+/-5.0 EV (1/3EV, 1/2EV steps selectable)
Exposure Bracketing
Bracket: Cont., Bracket: Single, 3/5/9 frames selectable. With 3 or 5 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 EV increments, with 9 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, or 1.0 EV increments.
AE Lock
Available with AE lock button. AE is also locked when focus is locked in multi-segment metering mode. (AEL w/shutter (Auto/On/Off) is supported)
Exposure Modes
AUTO (iAuto), Programmed AE (P), Aperture priority (A), Shutter-speed priority (S), Manual (M), Memory recall (MR1/2/3), Sweep Panorama, Movie/slow-motion and quick-motion (Programmed AE (P), Aperture priority (A) /Shutter-speed priority (S) /Manual (M) selectable)
ISO Sensitivity (Recommended Exposure Index)
Still images: ISO 100-25600 (ISO numbers up from ISO 50 to ISO 102400 can be set as expanded ISO range.), AUTO (ISO 100-6400, selectable lower limit and upper limit), Movies: ISO 100-25600 equivalent, AUTO (ISO 100-6400, selectable lower limit and upper limit)
Anti-flicker Shoot.
Yes

Viewfinder

Viewfinder Type
1.3 cm (0.5 type) electronic viewfinder, XGA OLED
Number of Dots
2 359 296 dots
Brightness Control (Viewfinder)
Auto/Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2)
Color Temperature Control
Manual (5 steps)
Field Coverage
100%
Magnification
approx. 0.78 x (with 50mm lens at infinity, -1m-1)
Dioptre Adjustment
-4.0 to +3.0m style name="sup" -1 /style
Eye Point
Approx. 23mm from the eyepiece lens, 18.5mm from the eyepiece frame at -1m-1(CIPA Standard)
Display Contents
Graphic Display / Display All Info./ No Disp. Info. / Digital level gauge / Histogram

LCD Screen

Type
7.5 cm (3.0-type) type TFT
Number of Dots
1,228,800 dots
Touch Panel
-
Brightness Control
Auto, Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2), Sunny Weather
Adjustable Angle
Tilt angle: 134 degrees upward and 180 degrees downward. Rotation angle: 180 degrees clockwise and 90 degrees counterclockwise.
Display Selecter (Finder/LCD)
Yes (Auto/Manual)
Real-time Image Adjustment Display (LCD)
ON/OFF
Quick Navi
Yes
Focus Magnifier
APS-C: 5.1x, 10.1x), Yes (35mm full frame: 7.8x, 15.5x
Zebra
(selectable level + range or lower limit as custom setting), Yes
Peaking MF
Yes (Level setting: High/Mid/Low/Off, colour: White/Red/Yellow)
Others
WhiteMagic, Grid Line(Rule of 3rds Grid/Square Grid/Diag. + Square Grid/Off), Movie Marker(Center/Aspect/Safety Zone/Guideframe)
Display Content
Graphic Display / Display All Info./ No Disp. Info. / Digital level gauge / Histogram, Graphic Display / Display All Info./ No Disp. Info. / Digital level gauge/ Histogram / Shooting information for viewfinder mode

Top Panel

Top Panel
Yes

Other Features

PlayMemories Camera Apps™
-
Clear Image Zoom
APS-C: L: approx. 2x, M: approx. 2.6x, S: approx. 4x, Movies:Approx. 2x, Still images: 35mm full frame: L: approx. 2x, M: approx. 3.1x, S: approx. 4x
Digital Zoom
Smart zoom (Still images): 35mm full frame: M: approx. 1.5x, S: approx. 2x, APS-C: M: approx. 1.3x, S: approx. 2x, Digital zoom (Still images): 35mm full frame: L: approx. 4x, M: approx. 6.2x, S: approx. 8x, APS-C: L: approx. 4x, M: approx. 5.2x, S: approx. 8x, Digital zoom (movie): 35mm full frame: approx. 4x, APS-C: approx. 4x
Face Detection
Modes: On/On (Regist. Faces)/Off, Face selection
Others
ISO AUTO Min. SS, Bright Monitoring, Copyright, Set File Name, Help guide, Area Setting, Shop Front Mode, Video Light Mode, Smart Teleconverter(approx.1.4 x / 2x)
Eye-Fi ready
Yes2

Shutter

Type
Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane type
Shutter Speed
PAL mode: Still images:1/8000 to 30 sec, Bulb, Movies: 1/8000 to 1/4(1/3 steps) up to 1/50 in AUTO mode (up to 1/25 in Auto slow shutter mode), NTSC mode: Still images:1/8000 to 30 sec, Bulb, Movies: 1/8000 to 1/4(1/3 steps) up to 1/60 in AUTO mode (up to 1/30 in Auto slow shutter mode)
Flash Sync. Speed
1/250 s3
Electronic Front Curtain Shutter
Yes (ON/OFF)

Image Stabilization

Type
Image Sensor-Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation
Compensation Effect
4.5 steps (based on CIPA Standard. Pitch/yaw shake only. With SAL 135F18Z lens mounted. Long exposure NR off.)

Flash Control

Type
-
Control
ADI, Pre-flash TTL
Flash Compensation
+/- 3.0 EV (switchable between 1/3 and 1/2 EV steps)
Flash Bracketing
3/5/9 frames selectable. With 3 or 5 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 EV increments, with 9 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0 EV increments.
Flash Modes
Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync. Red-eye reduction (on/off selectable), Rear Sync. Hi-speed sync, Wireless 4
External Flash Compatibility
Sony α System Flash compatible with Multi Interface Shoe, attach the shoe adaptor (ADP-MAA, sold separately) for flash compatible with Auto-lock accessory shoe, Compatible with Sony Radio-controlled Lighting System
FE Level Lock
Yes

Drive

Drive Modes
Single Shooting, Continuous shooting (Hi+/Hi/Mid/Lo selectable), Self-timer (10/5/2 sec delay selectable), Self-timer (Cont.) (with 10/5/2 sec delay 3/5 frames selectable), Bracket: Cont., Bracket: Single, White Balance bracket, DRO bracket
Continuous Drive Speed (approx. max.)
Continuous shooting: Hi+: 12 fps, Hi: 8 fps, Mid: 6 fps, Lo: 4 fps 5
No. of recordable frames (approx.)
[Continuous shooting: Hi+] Extra fine: 60 images/Fine: 63 images/Standard: 64 images/RAW & JPEG: 54 images/RAW: 54 images/RAW (Uncompressed) & JPEG: 24 images/RAW (Uncompressed): 25 images, [Continuous shooting: Hi] Extra fine: 65 images/Fine: 71 images/Standard: 74 images/RAW & JPEG: 56 images/RAW: 57 images/RAW(Uncompressed) & JPEG: 25 images/RAW(Uncompressed): 26 images 56

Playback

Photo Capture
Yes
Modes
Single (with or without shooting information Y RGB histogram & highlight/shadow warning), 9/25-frame index view, Enlarged display mode (L: 24.9x, M: 16.2x, S: 12.5x, Panorama (Standard): 25.6x, Panorama (Wide): 38.8x), Auto Review (10/5/2 sec,Off), Image orientation (Auto/Manual/Off selectable), Slideshow, Panorama scrolling, Folder selection (Date/Still/MP4/AVCHD/XAVCS HD/XAVCS 4K), Forward/Rewind (movie), Delete, Protect

Interface

PC Interface
Mass-storage, MTP, PC remote
Multi / Micro USB Terminal
Yes7
NFC™
Yes (NFC forum Type 3 Tag compatible) One-touch remote, One-touch sharing
Wireless LAN (Built-In)
Wi-Fi Compatible, IEEE 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz band), View on Smartphone, Send to Computer, View on TV8
Bluetooth
Yes (Bluetooth Standard Ver. 4.1 (2.4GHz band) )
HD Output
HDMI micro connector (Type-D), BRAVIA Sync (Control for HDMI), PhotoTV HD, 4K movie output/4K still image PB
Multi Interface Shoe
Yes9
Mic Terminal
Yes (3.5 mm Stereo minijack)
DC IN Terminal
Yes
Sync Terminal
Yes
Remote Control(Wired)
Yes
Remote Control(Wireless)
Yes (Wi-Fi, Infrared)
Headphone Terminal
Yes (3.5 mm Stereo minijack)
Vertical Grip Connector
Yes
PC Remote
Yes

Audio

Microphone
Built-in stereo microphone or XLR-K2M/XLR-K1M/ECM-XYST1M (sold separately)
Speaker
Built-in, monaural

Print

Compatible Standards
Exif Print, Print Image Matching III, DPOF setting

Custom function

Custom Function Type
Custome key settings, programmable setting
Memory Function
Yes (Body 3 sets/memory card 4 sets)

Lens Compensation

Setting
Peripheral Shading, Chromatic Aberration, Distortion

Power

Supplied Battery
One rechargeable battery pack NP-FM500H
Battery Life (Still Images)
Approx. 390 shots (Viewfinder) /approx. 490 shots (LCD monitor) (CIPA Standard)10
Battery Life (Movie, actual recording)
(CIPA Standard)1112, Approx. 85 min (Viewfinder) /Approx. 85 min (LCD monitor)
Battery Life (Movie, continuous recording)
(CIPA Standard)1113, Approx. 135 min (Viewfinder) /Approx. 135 min (LCD monitor)
Internal Battery Charge
-
External Power
AC Adaptor AC-PW10AM (sold separately)

Others

Operating Temperature
0 - 40℃/32 - 104℉

Size & Weight

Weight (with battery and memory card included)
Approx. 849 g;approx. 1 lb. 13.9 oz.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
Approx. 142.6 mm x 104.2 mm x 76.1 mm;approx. 5 5/8 inches x 4 1/8 inches x 3 inches

What's In The Box

  • Shoulder strap
  • Body cap
  • Accessory shoe cap
  • Eyepiece cup
  • Micro USB cable
  • Battery Charger BC-VM10A
  • Rechargeable Battery NP-FM500H

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