SAR put this in a post yesterday talking about the A1II available on Amazon for $9.4K:
"Note: A source told me that Sony was able to increase production and the shortage should be resolved soon. So please don’t pay the $3,000 surcharge just yet!"
Tony Ross wrote:
You are totally wrong (feel better?).
The A1 II is not just the sensor from the A1 (which seems to be what you saying). There's a lot more to it than that, but yes, a lot of the features in the A1 II have been lifted from other models released in between the A1 and A1 II (including the A7 IV, A7RV, and the A9III). There are a few new features - the auto Subject Recognition is completely new, for example.
As for the comment about a firmware update - how do you add an extra AF chip as firmware? And that's ignoring the new rear screen and body shape.
I'm very happy with the A1 II - it gives me the extra pixels I want sometimes, but adds in all the features that appeared in the 4 years since the original A1 came out, giving me an A1 with same user interface as the A9III - it makes using one of each really easy.
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Also very noticeable upgrade in IBIS, 4 way screen, precapture (not that I use this) extra customisable button. The only thing I don't like about the mkii is not having markings on the compensation button which I find annoying
My only issue with the A1II is that my dealer still hasn't got me one
In all seriousness, my two issues with the A1II are the change to the EC dial (making it a non-marked, customizable dial ruins my custom bird on a stick recall setting function) and staying at 30FPS.
According to their website, Adorama will ship the A1 II on Feb 17. Not sure how many or actually how real that is. Just putting it out there for whomever is interested...
devin.choi wrote:
Congrats! I have my name on the list with them as well, but I was told there was roughly 2 dozen ahead of me. Guess this latest shipment didn't have enough to cover everyone ahead of me.
When did you order? If you're 24 slots behind the line I extrapolate they only receive 5-6 units per week? I ordered 1/25 and was told 4-6week wait
For whatever it may be worth, I had placed my name with a larger local store chain in December. They called today to say they have received another lot.
Latouf wrote:
For whatever it may be worth, I had placed my name with a larger local store chain in December. They called today to say they have received another lot.
I have purchased in December by luck.
That is good to know. Is this a Canadian store? That may bode well for me getting one next week.
Placed my order on Nov 25th with a small store in Oregon. Still nothing. They have been asking repeatedly of their Sony rep when they expect to see something. No idea. Even the Sony reps claim they have never seen anything like this before.
With all the demand and the fact that there are the occasional smaller stores who have stock (which disappears quickly) I suspect that some of these small stores grabbed as much stock as they could on day one as they knew it would sell. Other stores such as the one I have used over the years, is lower on the priority list. They did receive one on December 20. I was #2 in their queue. I have been #1 since Dec 20 and they have over 30 in their queue. They claim they have never seen this before from Sony. Such a lack of supply and so much confusion (or lack of transparency) about when we will see sufficient supply.
My first mistake was the I cancelled a B&H order I had placed on Nov 23. The reason is that this small store in Oregon will ship it so me such that I don't need to pay the 7% sales tax where I live. That would not have been true with B&H. But in hindsight I would have paid the $500 in sales tax so that I can be all set when the coming youth soccer season begins in our area.
The other mistake I made was to sell my a93 so that I had the cash on hand to offset the cost of the A1 II which I fully expected to get the end of December. Now I have neither. And there is no promise I will have anything by the end of March.
It is obvious that Sony is custom making each camera to order. They may be hand made, judging by their price. Only so many unsold A9III bodies lying around.
Mine arrived today ordered it on January 21 2025 seems as if they are dribbling in...wanted to use the custom order option and get mine in all white with a better resolution LCD screen and 75 MP sensor but could not find the custom order section on Sony's website.
danrhiggins wrote:
With all the demand and the fact that there are the occasional smaller stores who have stock (which disappears quickly) I suspect that some of these small stores grabbed as much stock as they could on day one as they knew it would sell. Other stores such as the one I have used over the years, is lower on the priority list. They did receive one on December 20. I was #2 in their queue. I have been #1 since Dec 20 and they have over 30 in their queue. They claim they have never seen this before from Sony. Such a lack of supply and so much confusion (or lack of transparency) about when we will see sufficient supply.
My first mistake was the I cancelled a B&H order I had placed on Nov 23. The reason is that this small store in Oregon will ship it so me such that I don't need to pay the 7% sales tax where I live. That would not have been true with B&H. But in hindsight I would have paid the $500 in sales tax so that I can be all set when the coming youth soccer season begins in our area. ...Show more →
I see lots of online criticism A1 II is a firmware upgrade, nothing new and overpriced. Yet pre-order unprecedentedly high which is baffling.
BTW, B&H Payboo credit card lets you avoid sales tax too. I often buy from BH since they ship so fast with free shipping to my location. Even faster than AMZN Prime.
Finally mine arrived yesterday. Dumb mistake on my part in giving up the one allocated to me in the first batch. Oh well, it is here now so time to get some comparison shooting between it and the A1 done before I sell off the A1.
arbitrage wrote:
Finally mine arrived yesterday. Dumb mistake on my part in giving up the one allocated to me in the first batch. Oh well, it is here now so time to get some comparison shooting between it and the A1 done before I sell off the A1.
Finally! I would be interested in your thoughts/ initial impressions of the camera. Especially AF,
Make a new thread here or on bcgf
arbitrage wrote:
Finally mine arrived yesterday. Dumb mistake on my part in giving up the one allocated to me in the first batch. Oh well, it is here now so time to get some comparison shooting between it and the A1 done before I sell off the A1.
Exactly the same mistake I made.... and I did it so shortly before a major trip. As you know, I ended up taking my trusted, "classic" A1 on that trip and phew, it performed well while there. The A1 II promises to perform better than the original in certain aspects although the IQ remains the same but at this point, I am not sure about selling my original A1 or keeping it as a backup and sell my A7r V instead. Time will tell, I guess.
2613pch wrote:
Mine arrived today ordered it on January 21 2025 seems as if they are dribbling in...wanted to use the custom order option and get mine in all white with a better resolution LCD screen and 75 MP sensor but could not find the custom order section on Sony's website.
AGeoJO wrote:
Exactly the same mistake I made.... and I did it so shortly before a major trip. As you know, I ended up taking my trusted, "classic" A1 on that trip and phew, it performed well while there. The A1 II promises to perform better than the original in certain aspects although the IQ remains the same but at this point, I am not sure about selling my original A1 or keeping it as a backup and sell my A7r V instead. Time will tell, I guess.
Yeah, I've considered keeping the A1 but I really don't need 2 bodies right now. I think if and when I do need two bodies (probably if I go on a photography trip) I will buy an A9III as my 2nd as I do have some use cases for the 60 and 120FPS.
andeye1 wrote:
Finally! I would be interested in your thoughts/ initial impressions of the camera. Especially AF,
Make a new thread here or on bcgf
I will certainly post findings after this weekend.
So far this morning I didn't test on much. It was able to identify the eye of a GHO lying down in her nest when one eye was visible and the other half blocked by the edge of the tree. Even when she closed her eyes. I quickly swapped over to the A1 and it couldn't recognize her at all.
AGeoJO wrote:
Exactly the same mistake I made.... and I did it so shortly before a major trip. As you know, I ended up taking my trusted, "classic" A1 on that trip and phew, it performed well while there. The A1 II promises to perform better than the original in certain aspects although the IQ remains the same but at this point, I am not sure about selling my original A1 or keeping it as a backup and sell my A7r V instead. Time will tell, I guess.
Have you done any night landscape comparing the old A1 and the A7r V? I created a post asking that question as I am struggling with the same choice of selling the A7R V or the old A1, and surprisingly no one replied sharing their actual experience. My only real use case for the A7R V is Milkyway over mountains where I have many use cases for a second A1.
billsnature wrote:
Have you done any night landscape comparing the old A1 and the A7r V? I created a post asking that question as I am struggling with the same choice of selling the A7R V or the old A1, and surprisingly no one replied sharing their actual experience. My only real use case for the A7R V is Milkyway over mountains where I have many use cases for a second A1.
Hi Bill, the last time I did some night landscape, including some Milkyway and/or star trails was 2 years ago in Namibia. I had two A1s back then since that trip, including some safaris in South Africa. The A7r V wasn't available back then. After that trip, I sold one of the A1s and bought my current A7r V. So, I didn't do any comparison of the two in other words. The A1did just fine for Milkyway/night landscape photography.
