Sony a-1 ii -- First Impressions. Should You Buy One?

Sony a-1 ii — First Impressions and more …

My Sony a-1 ii arrived on Friday afternoon and I began setting it up on Friday evening. The good news for me is that the Menu is virtually identical to that of the a9 iii. I finished the job early on Saturday morning and worked with it morning and evening in the field. Saturday morning was terrible for bird photography with sun and a northwest wind. But we worked hard wound up with a very few good chance despite the brutal conditions.

The body itself is in an a9 iii chassis, slightly larger with far better ergonomics and the position of the shutter button improved. Using gloves with the original a-1 is difficult at best so this marks a great improvement. For folks already using my a-1 setup, the learning curve for an a1-ii (with my settings) will be flat. You will not have to learn any new buttons and dials.

Inspired in part by Bob Eastman, I tried a new AF method, Tracking: Spot XS (which I assume stands for eXtra Small); I was quite impressed with it and the rest of the AF system that did an excellent job of tracking the eye of various bird species. With only two a-1 ii sessions under my belt, it is far too soon to compare the AF system with the AF systems of the a-1 and the a9 iii. Another AF improvement that I noticed immediately is that when you move the position of the Zone brackets away from the center, Bird Face-eye tracking is vastly improved. At this point, I believe that overall the a-1 ii features the best AF Bird Face-eye tracking, but again, that is only my first impression. Stay tuned.

Aside from the improve ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography.

So, the bird question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is of course, the 51MP raw files (as compared to 24MP with the a9 iii).

With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 II sells new for 6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).

If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSETii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an INFO sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.

What’s Up?

Today is Sunday 22 December. Bob Eastman and I will be heading down to the lake at 6:45am despite the fact that the forecast is identical to yesterday’s: sunny with a NW wind. Whatever you choose to do, we hope that like us, you opt to be happy and have fun.

ps: Bob will be going down a bit early to put out the 200-pound road-killed Wild Boar that is currently residing in the back of his truck!

Please remember to use the B&H links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Supporting My Efforts Here

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.

In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.

This image was created on 21 December 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and the top-of-the-line Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Shutter Priority +1.0 stop. AUTO ISO set ISO 3200: 1/500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open). When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 7:06:38am about 10 minutes before sunrise. Tracking: Spot XS with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #1: Snowy Egret foraging

The First Series

The images of this Snowy Egret foraging in the soft pre-dawn light surprised me. I tried Tracking: Spot XS for the first time and it grabbed and tracked the eye perfectly through the entire sequence. The reflection of the pink sky to the west was not as evident in the RAW file but the color was in the RAW file waiting to be juiced up during the post processing. I did need to Update Adobe Camera Raw to v17.1 in order to convert the RAW files. That was easy-peasy.

This image was also created on 21 December 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Again, seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens (at 493mm) and the top-of-the-line Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2500: 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:48:54am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6 stop short of perfect. Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #2: Black Vulture landing away in wind against sun conditions

Wind-Against-Sun Ramifications

With the sun behind you and the wind in your face, most birds will be landing directly away from you. At times, as here for me, the back landing shots may have some merit.

This image was also created on 21 December 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Again, seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held <Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens (at 600mm) and the top-of-the-line Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2500: 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:52:20am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #3: 1-year old Bald Eagle in gliding flight

Wrong Way Bird

When dozens of vultures that had been perched in the trees on both sides of the canal took flight, I said to Bob, “An eagle must have just flown by.” From the back seat, he pointed to east and said, “Here it comes!” The young eagle flew right at us pretty much right down sun angle. Yes, we took lots of images.

Image #3A: Tight crop of the 1-year old Bald Eagle in gliding flight image

a-1 ii Crop-ability

As with the predecessor a-1, sharp a-1 ii raw files stand up fabulously well to large crops.

This image was also created on 21 December 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Again, seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens (at 600mm) and the top-of-the-line Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000: 1/1600 second at f/9 (stopped down one stop) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:31:58am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Spot XS AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #4: Sandhill Crane tight stretching far wing

Tracking: Spot XS Again

Again, Tracking: Spot XS performed superbly here, nailing and tracking the crane’s eye as it preened and then stretched. I stopped down one full stop here for some extra depth of filed as we were very close to the subject, perhaps within 10 feet.

Sony 200-600

Notice that my Sony 600mm f/4 remained on the passenger seat protected by pillows and the 400mm f/2.8 was in the back of my SUV, also supported by pillows. On sunny days, it is hard to beat the versatility of the Sony 200-600 (despite the fact that/6.3 aperture at the long end). Five of today’s six featured images were made with the incredible Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens. If you are considering moving to Sony, a used a-1 with my settings and a 200-600 will have you making great images from Day 1.

This image was also created on 21 December 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Again, seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens (at 600mm) and the top-of-the-line Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000: 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:34:22am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #5: Cattle Egret non-breeding adult in flight

Flight AF Performance with the a-1 ii was as expected — quite excellent but not quite perfect. Tracking: (center) Zone nailed the eye of this Cattle Egret. More than 50% of the original pixels were cropped away during the image optimization. Working with the a-1 ii RAW files was a pleasure as I found the color natural and easy to work with.

This image was also created on 21 December 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and the top-of-the-line Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Shutter Priority +1.0 stop. AUTO ISO set ISO 2000: 1/2500 sec. at f/9 (wide open). When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be perfect (ho hum). AWB at 5:31:29pm (just minutes after sunset) on a party cloudy evening. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6 stop short of perfect. Wide AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #6: Boat-tailed Grackles flying into roost at sunset

200-600 plus the 1.4X TC!

We had a gorgeous sunset with very few birds. A few days ago I discovered a nighttime grackle roost. I decided to experiment by adding the 1.4X TC and working at f/9. AF performance and image sharpness were both superb. Who knows? I might wind up with two a-1 ii bodies and zero a-1 bodies. Or not … Time will tell.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.