Another leap at the top

The α1 II gives users everything they need to achieve a higher capture success rate and more, including 50MP high resolution, AI-based subject recognition AF, high-speed continuous shooting, and an advanced workflow from capture to delivery that provides professionals with unrivalled efficiency and freedom.

• 50MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Sensor
• AI Tracking & Human Pose Estimation
• 8K 30p and 4K 120p Video in 10-Bit
• Up to 30 fps Shooting with AF/AE
• Pre-Capture & Speed Boost Button
• 8.5-Stop IBIS + Dynamic Stabilization
• 9.44m-Dot EVF with 240 fps Refresh Rate
• 3.2" 2.1m-Dot 4-Axis Touchscreen LCD
• 5 GHz MIMO Wi-Fi, 2.5GBASE-T Ethernet
• Dual CFexpress Type A/SD Card Slots

A fusion of leading technologies delivers overwhelming performance

The massive volume of data from the approximately 50.1 effective megapixel full frame Exmor RS™ image sensor is processed in real time by Sony’s BIONZ XR™ image processing engine. An advanced AI processing unit applies high-level subject recognition to reliably recognise a wide range of subjects. These state-of-the-art technologies come together to make it easy to capture even the most challenging subjects in extraordinary resolution, with blackout-free viewing and full AF/AE tracking performance at up to 30 fps.¹

Advanced AI processing unit for high-level subject recognition

The α1 II features a dedicated AI processing unit that helps to recognise people more accurately bsed on human pose estimation, and also supports recognition of a wide range of subjects other than people, such as animals, vehicles and insects,² with high accuracy. This results in a dramatic improvement in Real-time Recognition AF and Real-time Tracking capability, and higher overall AF performance.

Human eye recognition improved by up to approximately 30%³

See Netflix in a whole new light. Our Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, designed by Sony and Netflix, brings studio-quality mastering home with brightness automatically adjusted to your ambient room conditions.⁵

A wide variety of subjects accurately recognised^2,4

A wider variety of subjects² is now recognised for stills and movies, with a new [Auto] mode letting the camera select.⁵ Recognition of animals overall is improved by approximately 30%³, with eyes of some small animals added, and the eyes, heads and faces of animals like dogs and cats recognised. Recognition of birds is improved by 50%³.

High-speed continuous shooting at full 50.1 MP⁸ resolution

High-speed continuous shooting at up to 30 fps¹ with full AF/AE tracking is possible at 50.1 MP⁸ resolution, with up to 120 AF/AE calculations per second9. Blackout-free shooting with no loss of viewfinder image allows seamless framing and capture of the subject as if viewed with the naked eye.

More control over timing to capture decisive moments

Pre-capture retroactively captures moments that occurred before the shutter was released^10,11, without compromising resolution, even when shooting continuously at up to 30 fps¹ with selectable recording time options. Continuous Shooting Speed Boost can temporarily change the burst speed. Both features reduce the chance of missing that vital instant.

Extraordinary detail with approximately 50.1 effective megapixels

Sony's extensive high-performance G Master line work with the 50.1 megapixel8 Exmor RS image sensor and BIONZ XR image processing engine to create deep, lifelike, high-resolution rendering. The sensor’s high pixel count means that resolution is still a very impressive 21 megapixels when shooting in APS-C mode or cropping to APS-C size after shooting.

Selectable RAW image size and quality

Compressed RAW images can be continuously shot at up to 30 fps. For easier handling, as well as L, Lossless Compressed RAW, JPEG and HEIF images are also available in M and S sizes with the same numbers of pixels whether shot in full-frame or APS-C mode, enabling seamless mode switching while maintaining resolution.

High sensitivity, low noise, and wide dynamic range

Feedback from professionals has been taken into account to create noise reduction that is highly effective without sacrificing image detail, so users can shoot clear images of indoor sports at mid to high sensitivity without hesitation. Dynamic range at lower sensitivities is a wide 15 stops¹² for smooth, realistic gradations.

Consistently accurate exposure and color

Exposure and colour reproduction are notably improved compared to the α1, with exposure optimised for detected faces in stills and movies, and exposure stability improved by approximately 20%¹³ even when the face is backlit, over-illuminated in sunlight, or not facing the camera. White balance is accurate even for subjects in shade.

Optical 5-axis image stabilization achieves 8.5-step performance at the center¹⁴

A high-precision image stabilization unit, advanced gyro sensors, and optimised algorithms detect and correct camera shake, for a groundbreaking¹⁵ 8.5-step effect at the centre and 7.0-step at the periphery¹⁴, and capture of fine details even when shooting handheld. Synchronisation with compatible lenses¹⁶ provides further blur control even at telephoto focal lengths.

Composite RAW modes for lower noise and higher resolution

Two composite RAW shooting modes are available. The NR Shooting Settings mode¹⁷ captures between 4 and 32 RAW images that can be composited to create a full-resolution image with very low noise even at mid to high sensitivities. Pixel Shift Multi Shooting¹⁸ captures 4 or 16 pixel-shifted images that are composited to achieve overwhelmingly high resolution¹⁹ in a single image. In both cases the compositing operations are performed using Sony’s Imaging Edge Desktop™ PC application.

Real-time Recognition AF for movies

Real-time Recognition AF utilizes advanced AI-based human pose estimation technology that recognizes and tracks not just eyes, but body and head position for human subjects with high precision. The range of subjects recognized with AI assistance, for both movies and stills, has been expanded relative to the α1, and now includes birds in movies for example². Other subjects are acquired and tracked in real time by processing color, pattern, and spatial data.

High-resolution 8K²⁰/4K recording for impressive realism

4K (3840 x 2160) movies can be cropped and edited from 8K source footage with overwhelming resolution from 8.6K oversampling. 8K 4:2:2 10-bit XAVC HS recording with optional Full HD proxy is available, as are 4K recording in XAVC HS, S, or S-I formats in full-frame, or Super 35mm oversampled from 5.8K with full pixel readout and no pixel binning. XAVC S-I allows recording at up to 600 Mbps for outstanding image quality.

High frame rate recording at up to 120p²¹

4K can be recorded at up to 120p right in the camera. 4K footage can be played back in up to 5x slow motion²². The Slow & Quick Motion (S&Q) mode²³ makes it convenient to play recorded footage back at slow or high speed in the camera. Full HD footage recorded at 240 fps offers even greater range: up to 10x slow motion (24p) to create impressive sports movies, for example. The frame rate setup menu allows intuitive selection of frame rates.^24,25

Better S-Log matching with Cinema Line cameras

The S-Log3 gamma curve emphasises gradation characteristics from shadows to mid-grey. Minimum ISO when shooting S-Log3 is 800, while the expanded ISO range is 200 - 640. Compared to the α1, detail reproduction has been improved and matching with S-Log3 output from Sony’s cinema cameras is easier. User LUTs can also be imported into the camera for preview.