Sony A9 II Review

December 10, 2019 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Sony A9 II full-frame mirrorless camera is a brand new version of Sony's flagship model for sports photography and photojournalism.

The Alpha A9 II offers a number of evolutionary upgrades to the original A9 camera that was released back in 2017 - Sony say there are 43 improvements over the original model in total.

These include a redesigned body, improved weather-sealing, a low vibration shutter design that offers 500,000 shutter cycles, improved in-body stabilization (up to 5.5 stops), and enhanced connectivity including a 1000BASE-T Ethernet terminal and 3.2 Gen 1 USB port.

In addition the mechanical shutter is now capable of shooting at 10fps, twice as fast as the 5fps of the original Alpha A9, the auto-focus system gains Sony's Real-time AF tracking and newly optimised AF algorithms, there's a new anti-flicker shooting mode, and slightly longer battery life.

Otherwise the A9 Mark II retains the original model's key features. It can shoot continuously at 20fps for up to 241 RAW / 362 JPEG images with no blackout between frames, and has 693 focal plane phase detection AF points that cover approximately 93% of the frame.

It also features the same CMOS sensor offering a resolution of 24.2 megapixels, an ISO range of 100-1200 that is expandable to 50-204800, 4K video recording which uses full pixel readout without pixel binning to collect 6K of information, a top shutter speed of 1/32,000 sec, and records uncompressed 14-bit RAW files.

It has a Quad-VGA OLED Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder with approximately 3,686k dots and a magnification of 0.78x, dual SD card slots (now more logically ordered), and built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity.

The Sony Alpha A9 II is available now priced at £4800 / $4500 / €5400 body-only in the UK, US and Europe respectively.

Ease of Use

The Sony Alpha A9 II offers 43 improvements to the original A9 model, with most of them being pretty minor changes that are predominantly aimed at professional sports photographers and photojournalists.

At first glance the external control layout looks much the same as before, but take a much closer look and you'll notice some subtle differences.

These include a slightly larger, deeper handgrip that accomodates more fingers and offers greater security, a larger, more prominent AF-ON button, a more refined, a more tactile multi-selector joystick, the welcome addition of an exposure compensation dial lock button, and a new position for the rear control dial.

They may sound like relatively small changes, but collectively they add up to make the Sony A9 II a slightly more refined, slightly more enjoyable camera to use than than the original A9.

Sony A9 II
Rear of the Sony A9 II

Sony have also listened closely to their existing base of pro photographers and beefed up the weather-sealing of the Alpha A9 II. The doors for the battery compartment and memory card slots now use a double-sealed sliding mechanism, rather than being hinged, which should help to beef up the camera's dust and water durability.

Interestingly, Sony have also finally reversed the orientation of the dual card slots (both supporting UHS-II), with Slot 1 now more logically at the top, and Slot 2 more logically at the bottom, a small but very welcome change that makes a lot more sense.

One of the biggest improvements to the new A9 Mark II is the ability to shoot continuously at up to 10fps when using the mechanical shutter, which is about 2x the speed of the original A9, making it more adaptable in certain artificial lighting conditions that can negatively affect the electronic shutter.

Talking of artificial light, there's also a brand new anti-flicker mode that automatically detects and adjusts for the presence of fluorescent or other artificial lights to prevent exposure and colour anomalies from appearing in the final image, as well as exposure and colour inconsistency between continuous shots.

Sony A9 II
Top of the Sony A9 II

Note that flicker-free shooting is not available during electronic shutter, BULB exposure, or movie recording, and only 100 Hz and 120 Hz flicker is detected.

Both of these changes make the Sony A9 II better-suited to shooting indoors, which should please the sports photographers at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.

As should the raft of improvements that Sony have made to this camera's connectivity options. The original Alpha A9 was already a well-connected camera, but Sony have listened carefully and really beefed-up this aspect of the new version.

Chief amongst the changes is an upgraded built-in 1000BASE-T Ethernet terminal, 10x faster than the 100MB/s one on the A9. Similarly, the USB Type-C port has been upgraded to the latest, fastest 3.2 Gen 1 standard and the wi-fi connection now supports dual 2.4/5GHz.

Sony A9 II
Tilting LCD Screen

Up to 10 sets of camera settings can be stored in a memory card, with saved settings able to be read by other cameras of the same model.

Other new features that will please pro photographers include the ability to attach a 60 second long Voice Memo to an image with automatic transcription into text, enhanced remote shooting via the Remote Camera Tool 2.1 software, and you can save up to nine different FTP settings.

The Sony A9 was already a fantastic camera at auto-focusing, but Sony have managed to improve things here too. Real-time AF tracking has been added, and newly optimised AF algorithms provide even greater AF precision and performance than before.

For videographers, real-time Eye AF for humans and animals is now available when shooting both 4K video and stills.

It's also now possible to choose the colour of the focus frame to suit your needs, move the focus frame even when the shutter release or the AF-ON button are half-pressed, and use the LCD touchscreen for touch-tracking whilst looking through the viewfinder.

Sony A9 II
The Sony A9 II In-hand

A new low vibration shutter design and improvements to the in-body stabilization means that the A9 II offers improved image stabilization of 5.5 stops, up from 5 stops on the A9. The new shutter also boasts an impressive life-span of at least 500,000 shutter cycles.

The digital audio interface has been added to the camera’s Multi Interface Shoe, enabling the new ECM-B1M Shotgun Microphone or XLR-K3M XLR Adaptor Kit to be connected directly to the Sony A9 II for better audio recordings.

Finally, Sony have even been able to improve the battery life, albeit only slightly, with the A9 II now capable of recording 690 shots using the LCD screen and 500 when using the EVF (up from 650 and 480 on the previous model).

We're now going to direct your attention to our detailed Sony A9 review if you want to learn everything else there is to know about the new A9 II.

Once you've read that, come back here to see sample images and videos from the Sony A9 II, plus our final verdict.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 24 megapixel Extra Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 12Mb.

The Sony A9 II produced images of outstanding quality during the review period.

The Sony A9 II has an extensive and very usable ISO range of 50-208800. ISO 50-6400 is virtually noise-free, while ISO 12800 and 25600 produce more than acceptable results, and even ISO 51200 and 102400 are OK for emergency use.

The RAW samples illustrate just how much processing the camera does by default, though, as they're much noisier at all ISO values than their JPEG counterparts.

The long exposure photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and the Bulb mode offering lots of scope for creative night photography.

The effective Dynamic Range Optimizer function extracts more detail from the shadow and highlight areas in an image, without introducing any unwanted noise or other artifacts.

The High Dynamic Range mode combines two shots taken at different exposures to produce one image with greater dynamic range than a single image would produce. It only works for JPEGs and for still subjects, but does produce some very effective results.

The various Picture Effects quickly produce special looks for your JPEG files that would otherwise require you to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom, while the Creative Styles provide a quick and easy way to tweak the camera's JPEG and Raw image output.

Noise

There are 13 ISO settings available on the Sony A9 II. 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

ISO 204800 (100% Crop)

ISO 204800 (100% Crop)

iso204800.jpg iso204800raw.jpg

File Quality

The Sony A9 II has 3 different image quality settings available, with Extra Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

Extra Fine (12.9Mb) (100% Crop) Fine (5.9Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_extra_fine.jpg quality_fine.jpg
Standard (4.18Mb) (100% Crop) RAW (23.9Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_standard.jpg quality_raw.jpg

Long Exposures

The Sony A9 II'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.

night1.jpg

Dynamic Range Optimizer

D-Range Optimiser (DRO) is Sony's solution to improve shadow detail in photos taken in contrasty light. There are 5 different levels and an Auto option.

Off

Level 1
drange_01.jpg drange_02.jpg
Level 2 Level 3
drange_03.jpg drange_04.jpg
Level 4 Level 5
drange_05.jpg drange_06.jpg

High Dynamic Range

High Dynamic Range Optimiser (HDR) is Sony's solution for capturing more contrast than a single exposure can handle by combining two exposures into one image. There are 6 different EV settings and an Auto option.

Off

1EV
hdr_01.jpg hdr_02.jpg
2EV 3EV
hdr_03.jpg hdr_04.jpg
4EV 5EV
hdr_05.jpg hdr_06.jpg
6EV
hdr_07.jpg

Creative Styles

There are 13 Creative Style preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images. They can be applied to both JPEGs and Raw files.

Standard

Vivid

creative_style_01.jpg creative_style_02.jpg

Neutral

Clear

creative_style_03.jpg creative_style_04.jpg

Deep

Light

creative_style_05.jpg creative_style_06.jpg

Portrait

Landscape

creative_style_07.jpg creative_style_08.jpg

Sunset

Night Scene

creative_style_09.jpg creative_style_10.jpg

Autumn Leaves

Black & White

creative_style_11.jpg creative_style_12.jpg

Sepia

creative_style_13.jpg

Picture Effects

The Sony A9 II offers a range of eight creative Picture Effects, which can only be selected when JPEG is set as the image quality option.

Off

Toy Camera

picture_effect_01.jpg picture_effect_02.jpg

Pop Color

Posterization

picture_effect_03.jpg picture_effect_04.jpg

Retro Photo

Soft High-key

picture_effect_05.jpg picture_effect_06.jpg

Partial Color (Red)

High Contrast Mono

picture_effect_07.jpg picture_effect_08.jpg

Rich-tone Mono

picture_effect_09.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Sony A9 II camera, which were all taken using the 24 megapixel Extra 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 A9 II 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 quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 25fps. Please note that this 21 second movie is 240Mb in size.

This is a sample slow-motion movie at the quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 120fps. Please note that this 62 second movie is 120Mb in size.

Product Images

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Sony A9 II

Conclusion

The new Sony Alpha A9 II is faster, more refined, more durable and more versatile than the two-year-old A9 camera that it succeeds, making it simply a better tool for the professional sports photographers and photojournalists that it's even more clearly aimed at.

With Sony busy adding new, longer lenses in the two years since the original A9 was released, it's never been a better time to use a Sony Alpha camera for professional use, giving Canon and Nikon even more to worry about.

Both of those imaging giants are also busy preparing their own flagship camera for next year's Olympics, but interestingly both are sticking to their DSLR-guns with the imminent launches of the EOS-1D X Mark III and the D6 respectively.

For now, the new Sony A9 II is a compelling option for pro users, with Sony introducing a wide range of relatively minor, but collectively major, improvements to a flagship camera that was already a real speed demon.

They've clearly been listening very closely to their pool of pro users and ambassadors to deliver a camera truly worthy of the Olympic Games that it will be used at next year.

5 stars

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

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Sony A9 II.

Canon EOS 1D X Mark II

The Canon EOS 1D X Mark II is a brand new flagship DSLR camera for professionals. Aimed at sports, press and nature photographers, the 20 megapixel 1DX Mark II builds on the success of the previous 1D X camera with a wealth of improvements, including 4K video recording, a new 20.2 megapixel sensor, 16fps continuous shooting and an expanded ISO range. Can the Canon EOS 1D X Mark II justify its £5,199.99 / $5,999.95 price-tag? Find out by reading our in-depth Canon EOS 1D X Mark II review...

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III

The EOS-1D X Mark III is Canon's flagship DSLR camera for sports and wildlife photographers. With a price tag of £6499 / $6499, does it have what it takes to outpace the likes of the Nikon D6 and the Sony A9 II? Read our Canon 1D X Mark III to review to find out...

Nikon D5

The Nikon D5 is a brand new flagship DSLR camera for professionals. Aimed at sports, press and nature photographers, the 20 megapixel D5 builds on the success of the previous D4s camera with a wealth of improvements, including a new 20.8 megapixel sensor, 4K video recording, touch-screen control, and an expanded ISO range. Can the Nikon D5 justify its £5,199.99 / $6,499.95 price-tag? Find out by reading our in-depth Nikon D5 review...

Nikon D6

The Nikon D6 is the 2020 update of Nikon's flagship DSLR camera for professional sports, press and nature photographers. Is this the best DSLR that Nikon have ever made? Find out by reading our in-depth Nikon D6 review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X

The Olympus OM-D E-M1X is a new professional mirrorless camera offering enhanced reliability and performance. The most compact and lightweight camera system in its class, the EM1X features a 20.4 megapixel Live MOS sensor, Cinema 4K movie recording, 18fps burst shooting with AF/AE tracking, the world’s best image stabilization, a…

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Sony A9 II from around the web.

digitalcameraworld.com »

The Sony A9 II is the fastest, most ferocious full-frame sports camera we've ever used. Its blistering speed and autofocus performance are matched only by its phenomenal connectivity, which promises to be a game changer for pro shooters. We would love to have seen Sony implement something akin to Olympus' Pro Capture feature, so that you never miss the critical moment. However, if our most damning criticism is that the A9 II is too fast for us to keep up with, surely that's nothing but mission accomplished for Sony!
Read the full review »

Specifications

Lens

LENS COMPATIBILITY
Sony E-mount lenses
LENS MOUNT
E-mount

Image Sensor

ASPECT RATIO
3:2
NUMBER OF PIXELS (EFFECTIVE)
Approx. 24.2 megapixels
NUMBER OF PIXELS (TOTAL)
Approx. 28.3 megapixels
SENSOR TYPE
35mm full frame (35.6×23.8mm), Exmor RS CMOS sensor
ANTI-DUST SYSTEM
Charge protection coating on optical filter and image sensor shift mechanism

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: 6000 x 4000 (24M), M: 3936 x 2624 (10M), S: 3008 x 2000 (6.0M), APS-C L: 3936 x 2624 (10M), M: 3008 x 2000 (6.0M), S: 1968 x 1312 (2.6M)
IMAGE SIZE (PIXELS) [4:3]
35mm full frame L: 5328 x 4000 (21M), M: 3488 x 2624 (9.2M), S: 2656 x 2000 (5.3M) APS-C L: 3488 x 2624 (9.2M), M: 2656 x 2000 (5.3M), S: 1744 x 1312 (2.3M)
IMAGE SIZE (PIXELS) [16:9]
35mm full frame L: 6000 x 3376 (20M), M: 3936 x 2216 (8.7M), S: 3008 x 1688 (5.1M), APS-C L: 3936 x 2216 (8.7M), M: 3008 x 1688 (5.1M), S: 1968 x 1112 (2.2M)
IMAGE SIZE (PIXELS) [1:1]
35mm full frame L: 4000 x 4000 (16M), M: 2624 x 2624 (6.9M), S: 2000 x 2000 (4.0M), APS-C L: 2624 x 2624 (6.9M), M: 2000 x 2000 (4.0M), S: 1312 x 1312 (1.7M)
IMAGE SIZE (PIXELS) [SWEEP PANORAMA]
-
IMAGE QUALITY MODES
RAW, RAW & JPEG (Extra fine, Fine, Standard), JPEG (Extra fine, Fine, Standard)
PICTURE EFFECT
8 types: Posterization (Color), Posterization (B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera (Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Soft High-key, 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 (-5 to +5 steps))
PICTURE PROFILE
-
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 Color
14BIT RAW
Yes
UNCOMPRESSED RAW
Yes

Recording (movie)

RECORDING FORMAT
XAVC S, AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant
VIDEO COMPRESSION
XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
AUDIO RECORDING FORMAT
XAVC S: LPCM 2ch, AVCHD: Dolby Digital (AC-3) 2ch, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator
COLOUR SPACE
xvYCC standard (x.v.Color when connected via HDMI cable) compatible with TRILUMINOS Color
PICTURE EFFECT
Posterization (Color), Posterization (B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera(Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Soft High-key
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 (-5 to +5 steps))
PICTURE PROFILE
-
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), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 25M), 1920 x 1080 (30p, 16M), AVCHD:1920 x 1080 (60i, 24M, FX), 1920 x 1080 (60i, 17M, FH)
IMAGE SIZE (PIXELS), PAL
XAVC S 4K: 3840 x 2160 (25p, 100M), 3840 x 2160 (25p, 60M), AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (50i, 24M, FX), 1920 x 1080 (50i, 17M, FH)
SLOW & QUICK MOTION (SHOOTING FRAME RATE)
NTSC mode: 1fps, 2fps, 4fps, 8fps, 15fps, 30fps, 60fps, 120fps, PAL mode: 1fps, 2fps, 3fps, 6fps, 12fps, 25fps, 50fps, 100fps,
SLOW & QUICK MOTION (RECORDING FRAME RATE & IMAGE SIZE)
NTSC mode: 1920x1080 (60p, 30p, 24p), PAL mode: 1920x1080 (50p, 25p)
MOVIE FUNCTIONS
Audio Level Display, Audio Rec Level, Proxy Recording (1280 x 720(Approx.9Mbps)), TC/UB (TC Preset/UB Preset/TC Format/TC Run/TC Make/UB Time Rec), Auto Slow Shutter, REC Control, Clean HDMI Info. (ON/OFF selectable)
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

Recording System

LOCATION INFORMATION LINK FROM SMARTPHONE
Yes
MEDIA
SD memory card, SDHC memory card (UHS-I/II compliant), SDXC memory card (UHS-I/II compliant), microSD memory card, microSDHC memory card, microSDXC memory card
MEMORY CARD SLOT
SLOT1: Slot for SD (UHS-I/II compliant) memory card, SLOT2: Slot for SD (UHS-I/II compliant) memory card
RECORDING MODE ON 2 MEMORY CARDS
Simult. Rec (Still), Simult. Rec (Movie), Simult. Rec (Still/Movie), Sort (JPEG/RAW), Sort (Still/Movie), Auto Switch Media (On/Off), Copy

Noise Reduction

NOISE REDUCTION
Long exposure NR: On/Off, available at shutter speeds longer than 1 sec., 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 /Underwater/ Color Temperature (2500 to 9900K) & color filter (G7 to M7 (57-step), A7 to B7 (29-step)) / Custom
AWB MICRO ADJUSTMENT
Yes (G7 to M7, 57-step)(A7 to B7, 29-step)
PRIORITY SET IN AWB
Yes
SHUTTER AWB LOCK
Yes (Shut. Halfway Down/ Cont. Shooting/ Off)
BRACKETING
3 frames, H/L selectable

Focus

FOCUS TYPE
Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF/contrast-detection AF)
FOCUS SENSOR
Exmor RS CMOS sensor
FOCUS POINT
35mm full frame: 693 points (phase-detection AF), APS-C mode with FF lens: 299 points (phase-detection AF), with APS-C lens: 221 points (phase-detection AF) / 425 points (contrast-detection AF)
FOCUS SENSITIVITY RANGE
EV-3 to EV20 (ISO100 equivalent with F2.0 lens attached)
FOCUS MODE
AF-S (Single-shot AF), AF-C (Continuous AF), DMF (Direct Manual Focus), Manual Focus
FOCUS AREA
Wide (693 points (phase-detection AF), 425 points(contrast-detection AF)) / Zone / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L) /Expanded Flexible Spot/ Tracking ( Wide / Zone / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L)/Expanded Flexible Spot)
OTHER FEATURES
Eye-start AF (only with LA-EA2 or LA-EA4 attached (Sold separately)), Tracking, [Still images] Human (Right/Left Eye Select) / Animal, [Movie] Human (Right/Left Eye Select), AF micro adjustment with LA-EA2 or LA-EA4 (Sold separately) , Predictive control, Focus lock, Swt.V/H AF Area, AF Area Regist., Circ. of Focus Point
AF ILLUMINATOR
Yes (with Built-in LED type)
AF ILLUMINATOR RANGE
Approx. 0.3m - approx. 3.0m (with FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS attached)
FOCUS TYPE WITH LA-EA3 (SOLD SEPARATELY)
phase-detection

Exposure

METERING TYPE
1200-zone evaluative metering
METERING SENSOR
Exmor RS CMOS sensor
METERING SENSITIVITY
EV-3 to EV20 (at ISO100 equivalent with F2.0 lens attached)
METERING MODE
Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot, Spot Standard/Large, Entire Screen Avg., Highlight
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
+/- 5.0EV (1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps selectable) (with exposure compensation dial: +/- 3EV (1/3 EV steps))
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
Locked when shutter button is pressed halfway. Available with AE lock button. (On/Off/Auto)
EXPOSURE MODES
AUTO (iAuto), Programmed AE (P), Aperture priority (A), Shutter-speed priority (S), Manual (M), Movie (Programmed AE (P) / Aperture priority (A) / Shutter-speed priority (S) / Manual (M)), Slow & Quick Motion (Programmed AE (P) / Aperture priority (A) / Shutter-speed priority (S) / Manual (M))
ISO SENSITIVITY (RECOMMENDED EXPOSURE INDEX)
[Still images] Mechanical Shutter: ISO 100-51200 (ISO numbers up from ISO 50 to ISO 204800 can be set as expanded ISO range.), AUTO (ISO 100-12800, selectable lower limit and upper limit), Electronic Shutter: ISO 100-25600 (ISO numbers up from ISO 50 can be set as expanded ISO range.), AUTO (ISO 100-12800, selectable lower limit and upper limit), [Movies] ISO 100-51200 equivalent (ISO numbers up to ISO 102400 can be set as expanded ISO range.),AUTO (ISO 100-12800, selectable lower limit and upper limit)
ANTI-FLICKER SHOOT.
Yes2
SCENE SELECTION
-

Viewfinder

VIEWFINDER TYPE
1.3 cm (0.5 type) electronic viewfinder (color), Quad-VGA OLED
NUMBER OF DOTS
3 686 400 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-1
EYE POINT
Approx. 23mm from the eyepiece lens, 18.5mm from the eyepiece frame at -1m-1 (CIPA standard)
FINDER FRAME RATE SELECTION
STD 60fps / HI 120fps
DISPLAY CONTENTS
Graphic Display, Display All Info., No Disp. Info., Digital Level Gauge, Histogram

LCD Screen

MONITOR TYPE
7.5cm (3.0-type) type TFT
NUMBER OF DOTS
1,440,000 dots
TOUCH PANEL
Yes
BRIGHTNESS CONTROL
Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2), Sunny Weather mode
ADJUSTABLE ANGLE
Up by approx. 107 degrees, Down by approx. 41 degrees
DISPLAY SELECTER (FINDER/LCD)
Yes (Auto/Manual)
REAL-TIME IMAGE ADJUSTMENT DISPLAY (LCD)
On/Off
QUICK NAVI
Yes
FOCUS MAGNIFIER
Yes (35mm full frame: 4.7x, 9.4x, APS-C: 3.1x, 6.2x)
ZEBRA
Yes (selectable level + range or lower limit as custom setting)
PEAKING MF
Yes (Level setting: High/Mid/Low/Off, Color: Red/Yellow/Blue/White)
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, For viewfinder, Monitor Off

Other Features

PLAYMEMORIES CAMERA APPS™
-
CLEAR IMAGE ZOOM
Still images:Approx. 2x, Movies:Approx. 1.5x (4K), Approx. 2x (HD)
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 6.1x, 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:Face Priority in AF(On/Off), Face Priority in Multi Metering(On/Off), Regist. Faces Priority(On/Off), Face registration, Max. number of detectable: 8 faces
SELF-PORTRAIT SELF-TIMER
-
OTHERS
Interval Recording, Touch Focus: Yes (Touch Focus/Touch Pad/Touch Tracking), ISO AUTO Min. SS, Bright Monitoring, Copyright Info, Set File Name, FTP Transfer Func., Help guide, Area Setting, Shop Front Mode, Video Light Mode, Zoom Ring Rotate
EYE-FI READY
-

Shutter

TYPE
Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane type
SHUTTER TYPE
Auto/Mechanical shutter/Electronic shutter
SHUTTER SPEED
[Still images, Single shot]3 Mechanical Shutter: 1/8000 to 30 sec, Bulb, AUTO: 1/32000 to 30 sec, Bulb, Electronic Shutter: 1/32000 to 30 sec, [Still images, Continous shooting]3 Mechanical Shutter: 1/8000 to 30 sec, AUTO: 1/32000 to 1/8 sec, Electronic Shutter: 1/32000 to 1/8 sec, [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 sec.4
ELECTRONIC FRONT CURTAIN SHUTTER
Yes (ON/OFF)
SILENT SHOOTING
Yes (Electronic Shutter)

Image Stabilization

TYPE
Image Sensor-Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation (Compensation depends on lens specifications)
COMPENSATION EFFECT
5.5 stops (based on CIPA standard. Pitch/yaw shake only. With Planar T* FE 50mm F1.4 ZA lens mounted. Long exposure NR off.)

Flash Control

TYPE
-
GUIDE NO.
-
FLASH COVERAGE
-
CONTROL
Pre-flash TTL5
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., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction (on/off selectable), Wireless6, Hi-speed sync.6
EXTERNAL FLASH COMPATIBILITY
Sony α System Flash compatible with Multi Interface Shoe, attach the shoe adaptor for flash compatible with Auto-lock accessory shoe
FE LEVEL LOCK
Yes
WIRELESS CONTROL
Yes (Light signal: Available with Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Hi-speed sync. /Radio signal: Available with Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Hi-speed sync.)

Drive

DRIVE MODES
Single Shooting, Continuous shooting (Hi/Mid/Lo selectable), Self-timer, Self-timer (Cont.), Bracket: Single, Bracket: Cont., White Balance bracket, DRO bracket
CONTINUOUS DRIVE SPEED (APPROX. MAX.)
AUTO/Electronic Shutter: Continuous shooting: Hi: max. 20 fps, Mid: max. 10fps, Lo: max. 5 fps 789, Mechanical Shutter: Continuous shooting: Hi: max. 10 fps, Mid: max. 8fps, Lo: max. 3 fps10
NO. OF RECORDABLE FRAMES (APPROX.)
JPEG Extra fine L: 361 frames, JPEG Fine L: 361 frames, JPEG Standard L: 361 frames, RAW: 239 frames, RAW&JPG: 226 frames, RAW(Uncompressed): 131 frames, RAW(Uncompressed)&JPG: 120 frames10
SELF-TIMER
10 sec. delay/5 sec. delay/2 sec. delay/Continuous self-timer (3 frames after 10 sec. delay/5 frames after 10 sec. delay/3 frames after 5 sec. delay/5 frames after 5 sec. delay/3 frames after 2 sec. delay/5 frames after 2 sec. delay)/Bracketing self-timer (Off/2 sec. delay/5 sec. delay/10sec. delay)

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: 15.0x, M: 9.84x, S: 7.52x), Auto Review (10/5/2 sec,Off), Image orientation (Auto/Manual/Off selectable), Slideshow, Folder selection (Date/ Still/ MP4/ AVCHD/XAVC S HD/XAVC S 4K), Forward/Rewind (movie), Delete, Protect, Rating, Display as Group, Voice Memo

Interface

PC INTERFACE
Mass-storage, MTP, PC remote
MULTI / MICRO USB TERMINAL
Yes11
NFC™
Yes (NFC forum Type 3 Tag compatible), One-touch remote, One-touch sharing
WIRELESS LAN (BUILT-IN)
Wi-Fi Compatible, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz band/5GHz band)1213, View on Smartphone, Remote control via Smartphone, Send to Computer, View on TV
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
Yes (with Digital Audio Interface)14
AUTO-LOCK ACCESSORY SHOE
-
SMART ACCESSORY TERMINAL 2
-
MIC TERMINAL
Yes (3.5 mm Stereo minijack)
DC IN TERMINAL
-
SYNC TERMINAL
Yes
HEADPHONE TERMINAL
Yes (3.5 mm Stereo minijack)
VERTICAL GRIP CONNECTOR
Yes
PC REMOTE
Yes
LAN TERMINAL
Yes (1000BASE-T)

Audio

MICROPHONE
Built-in, stereo
SPEAKER
Built-in, monaural

Print

COMPATIBLE STANDARDS
Exif Print, Print Image Matching III, DPOF setting

Custom function

TYPE
Custom key settings, Programmable Setting (Body 3 sets /memory card 4 sets), My Menu, My Dial Settings, Reg Cust Shoot Set

Lens Compensation

SETTING
Peripheral Shading, Chromatic Aberration, Distortion

Power

SUPPLIED BATTERY
One rechargeable battery pack NP-FZ100
BATTERY LIFE (STILL IMAGES)
Approx. 500 shots (Viewfinder) / approx. 690 shots (LCD monitor) (CIPA standard)15
BATTERY LIFE (MOVIE, ACTUAL RECORDING)
Approx. 110 min (Viewfinder) / Approx. 120 min (LCD monitor) (CIPA standard)16
BATTERY LIFE (MOVIE, CONTINUOUS RECORDING)
Approx. 195 min (Viewfinder) / Approx. 200 min (LCD monitor) (CIPA standard)
INTERNAL BATTERY CHARGE
Yes (Available with Multi/Micro USB Terminal or USB Type-C Terminal)
EXTERNAL POWER
-
POWER CONSUMPTION WITH VIEWFINDER
Still images: approx. 3.9W (with FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached), Movies: approx5.0W (with FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached)
POWER CONSUMPTION WITH LCD SCREEN
Still images: approx. 2.9W (with FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached), Movies: approx4.9W (with FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached)
USB POWER SUPPLY
Yes (Available with Multi/Micro USB Terminal or USB Type-C Terminal)

Others

OPERATING TEMPERATURE
32 - 104 degrees F / 0 - 40 degrees C

Size & Weight

WEIGHT (WITH BATTERY AND MEMORY CARD INCLUDED)
Approx. 678 g / approx. 1 lb 8.0 oz
DIMENSIONS (W X H X D)
Approx. 128.9mm x 96.4mm x 77.5mm, Approx. 128.9mm x 96.4mm x 67.3mm (from grip to monitor)/Approx. 5 1/8 x 3 7/8 x 3 1/8 inches, Approx. 5 1/8 x 3 7/8 x 2 3/4 inches (from grip to monitor)

What's In The Box

  • Power cord
  • Rechargeable Battery NP-FZ100
  • Cable Protector
  • Battery Charger BC-QZ1
  • Shoulder strap
  • Body cap
  • Accessory shoe cap
  • Eyepiece cup
  • USB Type-C(TM) cable

News

The new Sony A9 II full-frame mirrorless camera offers significantly enhanced connectivity and file delivery, continuous shooting at up to 10fps with mechanical shutter, evolved AF performance with newly optimised algorithms, a re-designed build to enhance durability and operability, and more.

The Sony A9 II will ship in the UK, US and Europe in October 2019, priced at approximately £4800 / $4500 / €5400 respectively.

Sony Europe Press Release

Sony Introduces A9 II Adding Enhanced Connectivity and Workflow for Professional Sports Photographers and Photojournalists

Sony today announced A9 II (model ILCE-9M2). The latest model from Sony’s acclaimed line-up of α™(Alpha™) full-frame interchangeable lens cameras has been created specifically to support working professionals in the fields of sports photography and photojournalism.

The new A9 II builds on the impressive legacy of the original A9, maintaining ground breaking speed performance including blackout-free continuous shooting[i] at up to 20 frames per second[ii] with Auto Focus and Auto Exposure tracking, 60 times per second AF/AE calculations[iii] while incorporating even more functionality driven directly from the voice of professionals.

“The voice of our customers is absolutely critical to Sony – we are always listening,” said Yann Salmon Legagneur, Director of Product Marketing, Digital Imaging, Sony Europe. “The A9 II is the direct result of countless feedback sessions with agency, sports and news photographers since the launch of the original A9. We’ve added connectivity and network capabilities that drastically improve the professional workflow, while also making subtle adjustments to design, interface and processing power that complete the user experience. Complemented by our extremely versatile E-mount system – with 55 native lenses introduced at this point, including the super-telephoto 600mm and 400mm G Master™ series lenses – this new camera is a tool unlike any other for professionals either in the field or on the field.”

Raising the Bar for Built-in Connectivity in the Professional’s Workflow

The A9 II includes an in-built 1000BASE-T Ethernet terminal, enabling gigabit communication for high-speed, stable data transfer operations. Additionally, File Transfer over SSL or TLS encryption (FTPS) is supported for increased data security and PC remote (tether) shooting performance is improved, with decreased release time lag and reduced live view screen delay when using the ‘Remote Camera Tool’ desktop application[iv]. The speed of the camera’s built-in wireless LAN functionality has also been increased, adding a stable and fast 5 GHz (IEEE 802.11ac)[v] band, in addition to the 2.4 GHz provided in the A9. IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards are all supported.

Designed to improve the speed of news agencies’ workflow, the A9 II features a new Voice Memo function that allows spoken information to be attached to images in the form of voice memos that can be replayed when the images are reviewed. The voice data can also be included with images sent to an editor, giving them important information needed for effective editing. Alternatively, a field photographer can also use the ‘Transfer & Tagging add-on’ “Imaging Edge™” application[vi] to transfer voice tags with the images to their mobile device and have the voice memos automatically[vii] converted to text and added to the JPEG images in the form of IPTC metadata[viii]. All of this can be done automatically or manually, selectable by the photographer.

By combining wireless voice / image transfer and automatic voice to text conversion with the ability to auto transfer images with attached voice memos via FTP, it is possible to shoot and transfer the results to an FTP server without ever having to operate a smartphone. FTP settings within the app can also be sent to a camera via Bluetooth®, allowing for a faster workflow.

The Platinum Standard for Speed and Auto Focus Performance

The new A9 II shares the same acclaimed 35mm full-frame stacked 24.2 MP[ix] Exmor RS™ CMOS image sensor with integral memory as the original A9, giving it the same unmatched speed performance and outstanding image quality. The new model can shoot continuously and completely silently[x] at 20 fps for up to 361 JPEG images[xi] or 239 compressed RAW images[xii], with no viewfinder blackout, allowing the photographer to follow the subject and action with no interruption to the EVF during picture taking. For times when mechanical shutter is preferred or required, the new A9 II has been improved to shoot at up to 10 fps, about 2x the speed of the A9.

The camera is able to function whilst continuously calculating Auto Focus and Auto Exposure at up to 60 times per second, with newly optimised AF algorithms that provide notably enhanced AF precision and performance, ensuring that even the most erratic subject motion, often experienced in sports, is captured with high precision. Also useful for sporting events, the camera now offers an anti-flicker[xiii] shooting mode that automatically detects and adjusts for the presence of fluorescent or artificial lighting to maximise image quality.

The advanced focusing system in the new A9 II is comprised of 693 focal-plane phase-detection AF points covering approximately 93% of the image area, as well as 425 contrast AF points. This Fast Hybrid Auto Focus system achieves extremely fast and accurate performance, ensuring all fast-moving subjects are accurately captured. Additional notable focusing capabilities include Real-time Eye AF with right eye / left eye selection, Real-time Eye AF for animals[xiv] – augmented with a new algorithm, Real-Time Eye AF for movie[xv], Real-time Tracking,[xvi] selectable focus frame colour, Touch Pad focus point control while using the viewfinder and more. AF can continuously track even in continuous shooting is greater than F16[xvii], providing further accuracy for shots that require slower shutter speeds.

Refined Build and Operability

Upgraded BIONZ X™ image processing engine gains maximum benefit from the sensor’s fast readout speed. Processor works with front-end LSI to enhance speed in AF/AE detection, image processing, face detection and accuracy, and more

Upgraded dust and moisture resistant[xviii] design to meet the needs of professionals in even the most challenging outdoor conditions. Stronger sealing provided at all body seams as well as the battery compartment cover and media slot

Latest image-processing algorithm reduces noise in the medium-to-high sensitivity range while improving subjective resolution and image quality

5-axis optical in-body image stabilisation system that provides a shutter speed advantage of 5.5 steps[xix]

Improved grip configuration for even greater comfort and sure hold. Compatible with Sony VG-C4EM Vertical Grip

Improved button design and feel. Increased diameter and feedback of the ‘AF-ON’ button; a refined multi-selector joystick design; an exposure compensation dial lock button and a redesigned shape and new position for the rear dial

Redesigned shutter mechanism to suppress even the slightest movement that can cause image blur. Tested for durability in excess of 500,000 shutter cycles[xx]

USB Type-C™ connector that supports fast USB 3.2 Gen 1 data transfer

Dual media slots that are both compatible with UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards, allowing higher overall capacity and faster read/write speeds

Digital audio interface has been added to the camera’s Multi Interface Shoe™ (MI Shoe) enabling the new ECM-B1M Shotgun Microphone or XLR-K3M XLR Adaptor Kit to be connected directly to the MI Shoe for cleaner, clearer audio recordings

Sony A9 II - Pricing and Availability

The A9 II will ship in Europe in October 2019, priced at approximately £4800 / $4500 / €5400.

For full product details on the A9 II, please visit: https://www.sony.co.uk/electro...

A variety of exclusive stories, videos and exciting new content shot with the newest cameras and other Sony α products can be found at https://www.sony.co.uk/alphauniverse. Sony’s European photography hub is available in 22 languages and details product news, competitions and an up-to-date list of Sony events in each country.

[i] Electronic shutter mode. Display updating will be slower at slow shutter speeds

[ii] “Hi” continuous shooting mode. At of 1/125 sec. or higher. In AF-C mode the maximum continuous frame rate will depend on the shooting mode and lens used. A software update may be required for some lenses. Visit Sony’s support web page for lens compatibility information

[iii] At shutter speeds of 1/125 sec. or higher. The number of AF calculations will depend on the lens used

[iv] Version 2.0 or later required. For more information on the new application updates, please visit the ‘Remote Camera Tool’ website at

https://support.d-imaging.sony...

[v] Models sold in some countries/regions support IEEE 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz) wireless LAN only. 5 GHz communication may be restricted in some countries and regions

[vi] Version 1.1 or later required. Ver.1.1 will be released in October 2019. For more information on the new application updates, please visit the ‘Transfer & Tagging add-on’ website at https://sony.net/ttad/

[vii] Only available in regions where Google services are available. Voice Memo exceeding 50 seconds cannot be converted to text

[viii] “IPTC Metadata” is standards of metadata included in digital images formulated by IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council)

[ix] Approximate effective megapixels

[x] Silent shooting is possible when Shutter Type is set to "Electronic" and Audio signals is set to "Off"

[xi] “Hi” continuous shooting mode, UHS-II memory card. According to Sony tests

[xii] “Hi” continuous shooting mode, compressed RAW, UHS-II memory card. According to Sony tests

[xiii] Only 100 Hz and 120 Hz flicker is detected. Continuous shooting speed may decrease. Flicker-free shooting is not available during electronic shutter, BULB exposure, or movie recording

[xiv] Stills only

[xv] This function does not track animal eyes

[xvi] “Tracking” in the menu

[xvii] When the camera [Aperture Drive in AF] is set to [Focus Priority], the aperture value can be set greater than F16. The continuous speed slows down.The compatible lenses are [SEL200600G][SEL35F18F][SEL400F28GM][SEL600F40GM]

[xviii] Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof

[xix] CIPA standards. Pitch/yaw shake only. Planar T* FE 50mm F1.4 ZA lens. Long exposure NR off

[xx] Sony internal tests with electronic front curtain shutter

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