Sorry, it's one of those dumb questions, again. Which is the better body in your subjective opinion?
Background: I decided to retain my Z6 rather than upgrade, and my other main system is feeling desperately out-of-date, being based on the A7ii. The 9ii and iii are both available new at extremely handsome prices. However, the ii is now cheaper used than the newly released 7V. I have scoured the usual forums, and examined the specs in detail. Either will serve my needs perfectly well, so I just need the final push. Tipping my hand, the A9ii looks like a winner.
Do you do any video at all? Is the 4-way flip screen needed or not? Do you want pre-shooting or not? Focus bracketing? Do you rely on the back LCD?
Lots of questions. Personally I would much rather take the new a7V, it beats the a9II is most aspects apart from the stacked sensor (but then the a7V does 30 fps vs 20 fps on the a9ii).
Alan Parker wrote:
The A9II still has the old menus, which could be a dealbreaker for some. The A9III has the new menus.
Indeed, once you have the new menus you would never go back.
I don't have much personal experience with the a9II per se, but I did own other Sony cameras during that generation (2019/2020) and I find that the lastest gen + menu are operationally faster, which matters to my impatient self.
Lastly, buying a a9II today, first released in 2019, is still OK, but if you plan to own it for a long time, it will start feelling old sooner, vs going with an a7V. And the resale value of that camera in 2-3 years won't be great.
What do you shoot? Personally the A7V is a slam-dunk. It's got the latest AF and the white balance system. Plus I can afford it. Love the skin tones produced by this camera.
The only advantage I could see for an A9II is the faster sensor and therefore some risk of distorting fast moving objects or getting some leaning lines in the background while panning with a subject with the A7V.
Every other metric I can think of the A7V wins.
I would put up with the occasional wing distortion and leaning line to get the 30FPS, precapture, Bird Eye AF, custom Zone AF, better AF and more MPs. Plus all the other little improvements like new menus, faster card formatting etc.
aCuria wrote:
Buffer size on the A9ii is larger I think, specs say 241 compressed raw frames at 20fps?
A7V will do 95 compressed raw frames before slowing down to to 8.5fps.
Yes, that is one other issue with the A7V that I forgot to bring up. Although the A9II only shoots 20FPS and at 20FPS I think the A7V has a much deeper buffer than 95 shots which is at 30FPS.
The A7V is attractive but, being a new release, is still full retail ($2.9K), while used A9ii specimens are $1.9K from Robert's. I admit that is a consideration.
I don’t think the menu would faze me at all…the A9II is awesome, I even love the shutter click. You certainly won’t miss any shots using it over the A7V.
rico wrote:
The A7V is attractive but, being a new release, is still full retail ($2.9K), while used A9ii specimens are $1.9K from Robert's. I admit that is a consideration.
If you would like to save money for other purposes, you could even think about an A9. There are only slight differences between the A9 and the A9II. The one that might matter the most to you is that the A9II has a larger body, while the A9's body is more similar to the A7III, a bit smaller (which I personally prefer). The A9II does 10 FPS with mechanical shutter while the A9 does 5 fps with mechanical shutter--note that this difference only applies to the mechanical shutter and there is no difference with electronic shutter. The A9II has two card slots, the A9 only one. The other differences have mainly to do with transmitting files wirelessly and these were intended to appeal to working sports photographers on deadlines.
The AF systems are the same in both. You can pick up a good used A9 very for about $1300. Great camera, one of the best Sony has made.
rico wrote:
Sorry, it's one of those dumb questions, again. Which is the better body in your subjective opinion?
Background: I decided to retain my Z6 rather than upgrade, and my other main system is feeling desperately out-of-date, being based on the A7ii. The 9ii and iii are both available new at extremely handsome prices. However, the ii is now cheaper used than the newly released 7V. I have scoured the usual forums, and examined the specs in detail. Either will serve my needs perfectly well, so I just need the final push. Tipping my hand, the A9ii looks like a winner.
For general photography get the A7V... dynamic range is better and there is a wider range of subject detection.
If you shoot sports and need the faster readout speed + bigger buffer then get the A9ii.
Between the Z6 and A7ii sell one system imo. Two cameras means double the depreciation and double the lenses.
Use the brand that makes the lenses or has the features you need.
I kind of missed the Z6 note. Unless you have a slew of Sony glass already, perhaps upgrading the Z6 to the Z6 III would be a good options. Best value around. If not, I'd sell of the Nikon system and get the a7V + the lenses you need.
As pointed out above, unless you really need the fully stacked sensor and the extra deep buffer, I think the a7V is a better camera in 2026 in pretty much every other aspect. You will miss out on a lot of advancements if you go with the a9II at this point.
patotts wrote:
I kind of missed the Z6 note. Unless you have a slew of Sony glass already, perhaps upgrading the Z6 to the Z6 III would be a good options. Best value around. If not, I'd sell of the Nikon system and get the a7V + the lenses you need.
The OG Z6 is a sweetheart, and serving perfectly well. It's the A7ii that feels obsolete and badly due for a refresh: bought it 11 years ago, and the batteries also (still going). I don't understand what Nikon is doing with their camera models although the recent glass is phenonmenal. I always run multiple systems and mounts, so depreciation is something I manage. For Sony FE, the STF is my jewel and I want to shoot in its native habitat. I will pick up the 70-200/4 G II for zoom convenience, and to gain that 1:2 macro range.
I may be resigned to whatever menu system Sony gives me but, at least, can retain the camera build. Speaking as an owner of a 1Ds, D3X, D4, A7ii, Z6 and Leica M4, I do like the heavy metal. Nikon has gone 100% plastic for the Z6iii and Z8 which I do not appreciate—call me petty!
I thought about the A9 II when looking for a companion to my A7R III. I finally went with a used A1, but it is more expensive than A7V and A9 II...
Since the A9 II is much cheaper, that is a really good proposition, but it is not as good as the A7V for most things. Sure, the A9 sensor is faster, and its buffer is a bit deeper, but it's still running on SD cards.
