Steve Spencer
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
|
 p.1 #19 · My take on the Sony A1 II | |
matth4ever wrote:
I am system agnostic, and have used the R5 II, A1 and Z8 all extensively. I do mostly wildlife photography, including action (eg. flight, feeding, etc).
After I purchased the R5 II it became my goto camera, over both the A1 and Z8. Mainly because of i) raw pre-capture and ii) slightly better bird/animal AF than the A1, and perhaps a little more than slightly better than the Z8. That said, I still reach for the Z8 when I know that a TC lens would come in handy (which is very often !).
Now that the A1 II is announced, it looks to me it will be tough to choose between it and the R5 II. For my style of photography, here are the pros/cons I've noticed on paper so far:
Pros for the A1 II
- two card slots that are the same
- single button press to toggle precapture (why Canon excluded this is a mystery)
- I prefer its style of fully articulated display (vs the swivel design of the R5 II)
- reported to have a larger buffer, with only a rate slow-down when full (vs a short period of no shots with the R5 II)
Pros for the R5 II
- full 14-bit raw at 30 fps (whereas the A1 is reported to (and presumably also the A1 II) drop down to 13-bit at 30 fps)
- 8K/60 (vs 8K/30 in the A1 II)
- excellent dynamic image stabilization in video including 120 fps (whereas the new 'dynamic active' stabilization in the A1 II reportedly is not supported at 8K or 120 fps).
(Re. the R5 II dynamic stabilization - I'm really impressed with it. This was shot from a kayak with a large lens hand held out over the gunwal https://www.instagram.com/p/DB8_9YzpACk/ )
Overall, I am underwhelmed with the A1 II announcement. When the original A1 came out, it broke through boundaries. IMHO, the A1 II barely catches up to the competetion - at least on paper.
That said, when the camera is available, I will borrow one, and see if in practice there are other advantages in the field. For example, I am curious to see if the new AI subject detect will significantly leap frog the R5 II, or maybe just catch up.
...Show more →
I think you left out a couple of things that make the Sony A1 II a bit more versatile camera. For example, the A1 II has a faster flash sync both in electronic shutter mode (1/200 vs. 1/160) and in mechanical shutter mode (1/400 vs. 1/250). If shooting flash is important to you that may matter. The faster flash sync in electronic shutter mode also hints that the A1 II probably has a faster sensor scan speed (i.e. sensor readout) than the Canon R5 II as well. It probably isn't a huge deal, but it is there. I would expect the Canon R5 II has a similar sensor scan speed to the Sony A9 and A9 II, whereas the A1 and A1 II is a bit faster. The A1 also has of course a tiny bit more resolution and a tiny bit more dynamic range. None of these advantages are big, but when you put together a better flash sync, faster sensor scan speed, a tiny bit more resolution, and a tiny bit more dynamic range, the small advantages start to pile up.
With its great silent shutter and high flash sync the Sony A1 II makes a great portrait and events camera.
With it high resolution sensor and high dynamic range sensor it makes a great landscape and nature camera.
With it very fast sensor scan speed, and very high fps and excellent AF it makes a great sports and wildlife camera.
With its great EVF and flippy LCD, and it high resolution sensor, and great silent shutter, it makes a great camera for still life and macro.
The R5 II is almost as good in all these categories but I still think the A1 II nudges it out in pretty much all of them. That said, I see no reason a Canon shooter should switch to Sony just because of the A1 II. They are that close and the Canon is cheaper. If someone is a Sony shooter, however, I think the $2,000 or so they would save with the Canon camera would easily be eaten up for almost everyone in switching glass (I assume if someone is shooting a flagship camera they are going to have a number of nice lenses, and if they don't then maybe they should rethink if they need such a camera). I do think the Canon is a better value, but I also think that for almost every Sony shooter changing systems would leave them worse off financially and with a camera that is close but not quite as good.
|
