Sony A9 II
20 Silent FPS, 24MP stabilized full-frame, ISO 204,800, 4K Stereo
NEW: Sony A9 III
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Sony: A9 III A1 A9 II A9 A7R V A7R IV A7R III A7 IV A7 III A7R II A7S III A7c A7 II A6600 A6400 A6100 A6000 ZV-E10 RX10/4 RX100/7 RX100/6 Flash Lenses
Sony A9 II (24.0 oz./678g with battery and one card, $4,498 and Sony FE 12-24 f/2.8 GM. bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
July 2020 Better Pictures Sony Sony Lenses Canon Nikon Fuji LEICA Zeiss All Reviews
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Old Sony A9 Review
Sony A9 II. bigger.
Sony A9 II. bigger.
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More at High ISOs.
These are just snapshots and there are many more throughout the review; my real work is in my Gallery.
Seven Palms Oasis by Starlight, 9:07 PM, 24 July 2020. Sony A9 II, Sony FE 12‑24mm f/2.8 GM at 12mm wide-open at f/2.8 for 30 seconds at ISO 200 (LV -2.9), Tungsten white balance to keep sky blue, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.
I'm focused at about 5 meters and closer or farther-away things aren't in focus here at f/2.8. The fronds are all blurry because they're blowing around in the wind and the stars are moving in this half-minute time exposure, and yes, I got a sunstar even shot here at f/2.8 — bravo Sony!
Spanish Home Interior, 9:02 PM, 17 July 2020. Sony A9 II, Sony FE 12‑24mm f/2.8 GM at 12mm wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/3 second at ISO 100 (LV 4.6), Perfectly Clear. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.
Introduction top
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The Sony A9 II is an update to Sony's A9 of 2017. The Mark II has the same state-of-the-art sensor, same built-in sensor-shift stabilization, same 20 FPS frame rate, same frame buffer, same 1,200-zone light meter, same outstanding autofocus system, same great finder, same small flipping rear LCD, same NP-FZ100 battery and the same BC-QZ1 Charger.
It adds numerous little features meaningful to full-time pros like camera settings files that can be saved and recalled from a card and a very clumsy voice recorder that can, with some effort, attach spoken notes to each shot. Sony's "Imaging Edge" app claims to add voice-to-text translation and magic caption embedding, but it takes way too much effort while you're shooting to record these notes because you have to fiddle in menus; there is no direct Mic button as on the Canon EOS R5, Canon 1DX Mk III or Nikon D6 to do the same thing.
It offers full autofocus over the entire frame, not just in the center of the picture like full-frame DSLRs. Autofocus is essentially instantaneous with the right lenses, and even with good consumer lenses it can track fast-moving targets in the dark at night.
Battery life is fantastic for sports shooting. While CIPA rated for only 500 shots for one-shot-at-a-time amateur shooting, in actual sports shooting where I make long bursts at 10 FPS, I can shoot 1,800 frames and only use 33% of the battery's capacity — or about 5,400 shots on a full charge! At 20 FPS I'd probably get even more.
Even my old A9's tracking autofocus is still the best I've ever used — better than the Nikon D5 or Canon 1DX Mk II — because it locks-on to the subject and tracks it longer and farther than any other AF system. It's crazy how my A9 finds the face all by itself, locks-on, tracks and won't let go like a pit bull all over the frame, even at the sides and corners. If there are multiple faces and the closest one turns away, my A9 actually pulls focus to the next nearest face immediately, always keeping the most relevant face in perfect focus. It's completely unlike any other pro camera; the closest thing before has been the RX10 Mk III whose similar system also works amazingly well. The A9 never misses a shot: it finds, tracks and keeps in focus whatever it is you're trying to shoot, and does it all automatically, presuming you're using a Sony GM lens that's up to the task.
A lot of this is because the A9 II's AF system is always looking at the subject, while at fast frame rates DSLRs spend very little time each second looking at the subject because the mirror is flipped up making exposures half the time or more.
The Sony A9 II is all about Sony's still-newest-technology image sensor which lets the A9 II read the image from the entire sensor at about the same time. Because it's essentially read-out at once, gone are the "rolling shutter" effects of the past.
The A9 II is in a completely different world than the older Canon 1DX Mk II and Nikon D5. The A9 II runs significantly faster and with more resolution, but most importantly, does this in complete silence and the finder never blacks-out or gets smeary. You won't even know it's shooting other than the thin gray frameline that blips in the finder to let you know it's capturing frames.
You won't believe me until you get your own A9 II. The silent shutter mode isn't on by default; you have to set it at MENU > Camera 2 > page 4/9 > Shutter Type > ELEC. In silent mode you can be blazing away at twenty full 24 MP frames per second, even in raw with the A9 II's huge buffer, and no one may notice you're shooting. By comparison, every single frame in the "quiet" modes of the pro Canon 1DX Mk II and Nikon D5 are so loud that I can hear them echo off my neighbor's houses. The pro DSLRs are the very loudest cameras of all.
The A9 II isn't about light weight, even though it's about as light as Sony's other full-frame cameras; the A9 II is all about outshooting Canon or Nikon, and doing it silently. The A9 II is smaller and lighter than most, but not all, DSLRs, but when you add full-frame lenses to it, it loses most of the weight advantage. With a 50mm or 55mm f/1.8 lens, some full frame DSLRs like the Canon 6D actually weigh the same or less.
Many buttons are programmable, so you can program them to do just about anything.
It has three memory recalls on its top mode dial, so it's easy to set up one for photos of things (Vivid picture with +3 Saturation), one for people pictures (standard color with +1 Saturation), and the other for anything else, like sports or a custom white balance. If three memories aren't enough, there are four more hidden ones, M1, M2, M3 and M4, which are almost as easy to recall.
The AF and advance modes (frame rates) have their own knobs, so these don't save and recall.
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
New since A9
As-shot 1:1 square and 4:3 crops (old A9 only had 16:9 crops).
Camera setting files can be saved and recalled from memory cards.
Voice recorder to take notes as you shoot, one audio clip to each frame. This could be huge for news, sports and event shooters documenting what's happening or who's in the picture, but it's much clumsier than it should be. At events I'll hold the camera close to the subjects and have them each spell their names, for instance. Sony's "Imaging Edge" app additionally claims voice-to-text translation and magic caption embedding to the image files, or just use the sound files created in-camera for each shot.
Card slot 1 is on the top and slot 2 on the bottom, as it should be (the old A9 was backwards).
New mechanical shutter now runs a little quieter and at up to 10 FPS, versus the 5 FPS of the old Sony A9. It's now "tested" to a half-million cycles.(The electronic shutter still goes to the same 20 FPS as the old Sony A9.)
Gigabit 1000BASE-T Ethernet, which was hot stuff back when my Dual 450MHZ Power Mac debuted with it back in 2000.
Same AF hardware as the old Sony A9, with improved firmware. The same minor improvements should come to the old Sony A9 as well - in any case either one defines today's state-of-the-art. Ditto for Sony's claim of "better" high-ISO noise reduction; camera makers are always claiming "new and improved" for invisible changes in firmware.
New USB-C 3.2 connector, and the old micro-USB connector stays as well.
If you're good with apps, you can set it up with FTP to get your chosen (or all) shots to wherever they need to go by magic.
Hot shoe adds a digital audio interface for use with the ECM-B1M digital shotgun mic or XLR-K3M XLR adapter & mic kit.
Slightly different grip shape, also works with the Sony VG-C4EM Vertical Grip.
Sony A9 II. bigger.
Same battery, but now rated 500 (690) shots versus 480 (650) shots with the finder (or rear LCD).
Same controls in the same places, with slightly different button, rear nubbin and dial designs.
Better moisture sealing, adding seals to the card and connector doors which are unsealed on the old A9.
$1,000 more expensive.
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Weather seals. bigger. |
Weather seals. bigger. |
Good
Saves and recalls camera settings to and from a card.
Magnificent electronic finder: always big, bright, sharp and wonderful in any light. Super-bright in daylight, and dims perfectly indoors and at night.
Two card slots.
As-shot 1:1 square, 4:3 and 16:9 crops.
Hybrid AF system uses phase-detection for speed and contrast detection for ultimate precision and accuracy.
Battery life seems almost unlimited (up to 5,000 shots or more) running bursts at 20 FPS with the silent shutter.
Solid, mostly metal construction.
Even the regular mechanical shutter only moves at the ends of exposures. There's never any need for a special vibration-free mode; it always works this way. Suck on that, LEICA!
Excellent high ISO performance.
Facial recognition works well, but only after you find it and turn it on.
Sensor-shift Image Stabilization; rated 5.5 stops improvement.
In-finder 2-axis level works great for keeping horizons and vertical lines as they should be.
In-camera, as-shot automatic lens vignetting, lateral chromatic aberration and distortion correction.
Distortion corrections are shown live in the finder or the rear LCD as you're shooting — no guessing needed.
Almost any lens of any brand or age can be adapted to work - but with no lens corrections.
Stereo microphone built-in.
3.5mm powered mic and headphone jacks.
Can extract stills from video, in-camera after it's shot. In other words, shoot 4K video and you can pull-out 8MP stills shot at 30 FPS.
Bluetooth & NFC.
Bad
The voice recorder, one of the biggest new pro features in this Mark II, is way too clumsy to be as useful while actually shooting an event as the simple recorders of the Canon EOS R5, Canon 1DX Mk III and Nikon D6.
If you record to two cards simultaneously for backup as I do, remove one card or if either gets full or has an error, the A9 II simply locks-up and stops shooting! It should just shoot to any card that has space, but instead it leaves you dead-in-the-water because it can't record to two cards. Sadly the backup mode makes you twice as susceptible to card errors or filling a card. This was a huge problem in the original A9 and it's sad that it's still not fixed.
Awful menu system condemns us to trudging through every menu option to find anything unless we can put it in the My Menu menu. For instance, there's no dedicated AF menu; it's hidden inside the Camera menus and format is hidden at MENU > Suitcase > page 5/7 > Format!
Offshored to Thailand, not made domestically in Japan.
Missing
No illuminated buttons.
Silent electronic shutter is a game-changer, but won't work with flash. Flash sync speed is still only 1/250.
No built-in flash.
No auto brightness control for the rear LCD (but great auto brightness control for the electronic finder).
It has face and eye detection, but you have to set it at MENU > Camera 1 > page 6/14 > Face/Eye AF Set. > Face/Eye Priority in AF > ON. It also can recognize animal faces, but you have to select that there and remember to set it back to Human when you're done. It's not smart enough to do both animal and human eye detection at the same time.
No timed manual exposures longer than 30 seconds. You have to use Bulb, a remote release and an external timer instead.
Not threaded to use a standard threaded cable release.
No GPS.
No shutter speed dial.
No ISO dial.
No more 0.5 second image auto review option, just 2, 5 or 10 seconds — but who cares since you are seeing everything live through the incredible real-time finder?
Touch screen lets you select movie focus areas, but doesn't work for setting the menus or entering text.
No multi-frame noise reduction (just set a slower ISO and make a longer exposure for the same effect).
No swept panoramas (an iPhone does this better anyway).
Lenses & Adapters top
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I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Lens Compatibility
Sony A9 II. bigger.
The A9 II uses the Sony E-Mount, whose shallow 18mm flange focal distance allows better lens designs than DSLRs do — the same advantage rangefinder cameras have, as well as allowing just about any lens to mount with an adapter.
The A9 II works best with lenses made by Sony, Zeiss and others native to Sony's mirrorless E-Mount.
If you mount a Sony or Zeiss APS-C lens, it automatically uses only the central APS-C section of the full-frame sensor. You'd never know, since all the displays just look right. It's that seamless, but sort of silly to waste most of this camera's sensor area with an APS-C lens.
Highest Performance Lenses
The Sony 12-24mm f/4 G, 16-35/2.8 GM, 24-70/2.8 GM and 70-200/2.8 GM are extraordinary on the A9 II. They focus just about instantly, and are super sharp at every setting.
If you want the high performance for which you're paying a premium with your A9 II, be sure to get the best lenses for it.
See my list of Best Sony Lenses.
Sony's Adapters
Sony's own adapters work pretty well, but know that none of Sony's A-mount lenses are as good as the latest E-mount lenses, especially when used on E-mount.
LA-EA2
Discontinued.
LA-EA3
For lenses with built-in AF motors.
The LA-EA3 is a great adapter and allows just about full performance with any Sony Alpha DSLR or Minolta MAXXUM 35mm SLR - but only if it's one of the very few lenses with an internal autofocus motor.
If the lens has its own AF motor, with this adapter you should get full communication and AF and everything - but top frame rate may be limited to 10 FPS.
LA-EA4
Recommended for all Sony Alpha and Minolta MAXXUM lenses.
Katie at the Luau, 14 July 2017. (Sony A9 with Sony Minolta 28-135mm on Sony LA-EA4 adapter at 110mm at f/4.5 at 1/100 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear.) bigger.
Lamp, 8:01 PM, 14 July 2017. Sony A9 with Sony LA-EA4 adapter, Sony Minolta 28-135mm at 135mm at f/4.5 at 1/80 second hand-held at Auto ISO 1,250. bigger or camera-original © file.
The LA-EA4 is everything the LA-EA3 is, and adds its own AF motor to drive every Sony Alpha and Minolta MAXXUM lens for full autofocus — for every lens back to 1986. It works with lenses both with or without internal AF motors.
Sony Alpha and Minolta MAXXUM lens work great with the LA-EA4 on the A9 II. They focus very fast, and even Auto ISO and Program Shift all follow your zoom's focal length.
While phase-detection points only are active around the center of the frame, Face Recognition sees and focusses on faces anywhere. Oddly the face box stays gray or white, not locking-on in green unless the face is near the center of the frame, but it works anyway.
Lenses stay wide open most of the time for framing and focus and only stop down for the exposure. I program my C1 button for aperture preview.
While Sony only claims operation to 10 FPS, my 1980s Minolta MAXXUM lenses run at about 17 FPS just fine, complete with tracking autofocus and exposure. Bravo!
Other Brand Adapters
While you can adapt any lens of any brand or age to the A9 II, they won't work as well as native Sony or Zeiss FE lenses, or Alpha or MAXXUM lenses with the LA-EA4 adapter.
Those lenses autofocus extremely well, but once you use an off-brand lens or adapter, lenses that perform magnificently on their own brand of camera may or may not autofocus that well. If you demand the best performance, just use the same brand of lens as your camera. Adapters should never be your go-to for the best performance. Don't expect the best results for sharpness or for autofocus from other-brand adapters if you're picky.
Sony A9 II with Nikon AI NIKKOR 55mm f/1.2. bigger.
Adapters are great for fun; you can get adapters cheap for any kind of lens, but not only may autofocus be iffy, adapted wide-angle lenses usually aren't very sharp on the sides at large apertures because Sony's full-frame mirrorless sensors are optimized for lenses with a curved fields. Most other adapted lenses won't seem very sharp on the sides at large apertures due their flat fields not interfacing well with the curved fields needed by Sony's sensors on these cameras. If you get the center in focus, the sides will probably be off, and if you get the sides in focus, the center will be off. This is more of a problem with wider lenses and at large apertures; stop a lens down and the sides will come into better focus.
Sony A9 II with Nikon AI Fisheye-NIKKOR 16mm f/2.8s. bigger.
The A9 II runs at its full 20 FPS with any adapted manual-focus lens.
Metabones Mark V Adapter
The Metabones Canon EF to Sony E-Mount Mark V Adapter is the best I've used.
It works with every crazy Canon lens with which I tried it, and the results were usually much sharper than I expected.
See its review for lots of sample images and details. If you want an adapter for Canon, this is the one.
Katie at the orthodontist, 06 July 2017. Sony A9 with Canon 28-105mm USM II on Metabones Mark V adapter at 1/125 at Auto ISO 320. bigger or full-resolution © file.
Katie in the pool, 06 July 2017. Sony A9 with Canon 300mm f/2.8 L on Metabones Mark V adapter at f/2.8 at 1/1,250 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution © file.
Katie at Get Air, 18 July 2017. Sony A9 with Canon 100-400mm L IS II on Metabones Mark V adapter at 227mm at f/5 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 8,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Other Canon Adapters
You never know which particular AF lenses will work or not with other brands of adapters. There is always firmware and software to update, so you never know. While my A9 works with my Canon Canon 100-400mm L IS II and most of my lenses including my 1986 Canon 80-200/2.8 L, with the Fotodiox adapter my 50mm f/1.0 most things work, including electronic manual focus — but AF doesn't.
I bought a Fotga adapter direct from China for $37 if you know How to Win at eBay, and it worked for 30 seconds, and then never communicated with any of my lenses again. Just get the Metabones if you are serious about this.
Sony A9, Fotodiox adapter and Canon 50mm f/1.0. bigger.
LEICA Lenses
Lenses with goggles for the LEICA M3 (35mm and 135mm) won't mount regardless of what adapter you use: the A9's grip gets in the way.
Sony A9 II with 1951 LEICA SUMMITAR 5cm f/2. bigger.
2017 Sony A9 and 1937 LEICA SUMMAR 5cm f/2. bigger.
Ryan on his way to school, 07 June 2017. 2017 Sony A9 with 1990 LEICA SUMMICRON-M 35mm f/2 at f/2 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 1,250. bigger or full-resolution © file.
This is shot in my garage, half-lit from an open door to an overcast sky, half lit by warm white fluorescent, and the third half is lit by cool-white — and it all comes out looking perfect in this quick grab shot in Auto White Balance with an amazing glow.
Store, 07 June 2017. 2017 Sony A9 with 1990 LEICA SUMMICRON-M 35mm f/2 at f/8 handheld at 1/15 at Auto ISO 1,600. bigger or full-resolution © file.
Silent shooting: no one asks why I'm taking pictures of concrete. Sensor-stabilization makes it easy to hand hold at 1/15.
Lighting Store, 07 June 2017. 2017 Sony A9 with 1990 LEICA SUMMICRON-M 35mm f/2 at f/8 handheld at 1/15 at Auto ISO 640. bigger or full-resolution © file.
Silent shooting: no one asks why I'm taking pictures, period. Sensor-stabilization makes it easy to hand hold at 1/15.
While LEICA lenses are the world's finest, they are not designed for the curved fields or rear nodal point positions optimized for the Sony cameras, and like all other adapted lenses, perform more poorly than Sony's own lenses because the sides and corners often aren't in proper focus.
This A9 II has the same sensor as the old A9 on which I shot these, so the results are the same.
LEICA lenses of 35mm and wider aren't as sharp as they should be at the sides. They sharpen up as stopped down, but if you want great results, use LEICA lenses on a LEICA camera, or use Sony's lenses on the A9. It all has to do with the specific alignment of micro lenses and layer configuration towards the sides of the sensor.
Specifically, there is a lot of field curvature induced by the design of the Sony sensor, and to focus at infinity at the sides with a modern semi-retrofocus LEICA SUPER-ELMARIT-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH, you have to turn the focus ring to about 10'/3 meters! With the 1959 SUPER-ANGULON 21mm f/4 whose rear nodal point really is only about 21mm away from the image plane, you have to set the focus ring to about 3'/1 meter to get things at infinity in focus at the sides!!! Because of this, I've tried and confirmed that my cheap Voigtländer 21mm f/4 works about as well on my A9 as my genuine ASPH LEICA 21mm.
Not only does the combination of a LEICA (or other traditional Nikon or Canon) lens and Sony A9 sensor induce field curvature (there are a lot of optics and micro lenses on a sensor before you get to the light-sensitive part), it also induces astigmatism: the sagittal and meridional planes diverge.
There's no need to splurge for the latest APO ASPH LEICA lenses since the LEICA's (or anyone else's) lenses, with their flat fields are never going to be that sharp across a frame that's expecting a curved field lens. Therefore, it's best to select the lightest-weight (older) lenses rather than the hottest new ones. The performance of my LEICA SUMMICRON-M 35mm f/2 (7-element) is the same as with the newest LEICA SUMMICRON-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH (floating element), so I prefer to use the older, lighter lens.
Here are two samples shot with the LEICA SUPER-ELMARIT-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH at f/3.4 on the Sony A9. Click either to get the camera-original file and look at each at 100%:
Focussed at the center, focus ring set to 8 feet. bigger or camera-original © file.
Enlarge the camera-original © file and you'll see that while the center is super-sharp, the sides are crummy — and this is the world's sharpest 21mm lens!
Focussed for sharpness at the sides, focus ring set to 4 feet. bigger or camera-original © file.
Enlarge the camera-original © file and you'll see that the sides are sharper, but now the center is out of focus, even though objects at the sides are slightly farther away!
Shot with a real Sony 16-35/2.8 GM lens at 21mm and f/3.2, sharp corner-to-corner. bigger or camera-original © file.
Enlarge the camera-original © file and you'll see that everything is ultra-sharp. It's not that the LEICA lens isn't this sharp; it's just that its field curvature (or rear nodal point location) isn't optimized to the Sony cameras as Sony's lenses are. Also you'll see that there is much less corner darkening with this real Sony GM lens instead of the LEICA lenses, since the A9 has lens correction data for it.
Corner color shifts with adapted rangefinder ultrawide lenses isn't as bad as seen on other cameras:
Color shifts with modern LEICA SUPER-ELMAR-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH. bigger.
Color shifts with 1959 LEICA SUPER-ANGULON 21mm f/4. bigger.
With my LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 90mm f/2 ASPH, probably the world's sharpest photographic lens legally sold to consumers, it actually works reasonably well because the curvature effects are less pronounced, but it's still not as good as a SONY lens on my A9, or the APO-SUMMICRON on a LEICA. It all has to do with how well sensors interface with particular lenses.
My LEICA TELE-ELMAR-M 135mm f/4 works great because its rear nodal point is far enough away from the sensor to give sharp images edge-to-edge wide open.
LEICA lenses also have the big disadvantage of not focussing any closer than 0.7 or 1 meters (2.5 or 3 feet). A huge advantage of mirrorless is that the system works great regardless of close-focus distance, so if you're going to use a lens on the A9, you ought to use one that focuses close enough. LEICA lenses were always limited by having to work with a viewfinder on the side of the camera which leads to big parallax problems at closer distances.
Summary
Stick with lenses sold by Sony, be they branded Sony or Zeiss, for the best results as you expect. Sony's GM lenses are especially excellent in every way on the A9 II.
Adapting lenses of other brands, even though these lenses may be state-of-the-art on those manufacturers' cameras, probably won't be that breathtaking on the A9 II— or any other camera of a brand different than the lens' manufacturer. Stick to Sony G and GM lenses on the A9 II and you won't go wrong.
Specifications top
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Sensor
Sony A9 II. bigger.
24 MP full-frame 23.8 × 35.6mm CMOS sensor.
1.5:1 aspect ratio.
Ultrasonic cleaner.
Mechanical 5-axis sensor-shift stabilizer claims 5.5 stops improvement.
ISO specifications top
Stills, regular mechanical shutterRegular: ISO 100 ~ 51,200.
Extended: ISO 50 ~ 204,800.
Stills, silent electronic shutter
Regular: ISO 100 ~ 25,600.
Extended: ISO 50 ~ 25,600.
Video
Regular: ISO 100 ~ 51,200.
Extended: ISO 100 ~ 102,400.
Auto ISO specifications top
Upper and lower limits selectable from ISO 100 to ISO 204,800 in full stops (limited to ISO 102,400 for video and ISO 25,600 with silent electronic shutter).
Slowest shutter speed settable in full stops from 1/16,000 to 30s in full stops, as well as an Auto setting that varies with the lens focal length. The Auto Slowest Shutter Speed setting my be varied ±2 stops slower or faster than the lens' focal length.
Image Sizes specifications top
Full Frame
6,000 × 4,000 pixels (Large, 24 MP), native.
3,936 × 2,624 (Medium, 10 MP).
3,008 × 2,000 (Small, 6 MP).
Cropped Sizes
The A9 II automatically crops the full-frame down to APS-C if you mount an APS-C lens, or you can set this manually (MENU > Camera 1 > page 1/13 > APS-C/Super 35mm > ON).
It also offers 4:3, Square and 16:9 crops from the above:
4:3
L: 5,328 × 4,000 (21 M).
M: 3,488 × 2,624 (9.2 M).
S: 2,656 × 2,000 (5.3 M).
16:9
L: 6,000 × 3,376 (20 M).
M: 3,936 × 2,216 (8.7M).
S: 3,008 × 1,688 (5.1M).
Square (1:1)
L: 4,000 × 4,000 (16M).
M: 2,624 × 2,624 (6.9 M).
S: 2,000 × 2,000 (4.0 M).
APS-C
3,936 × 2,624 (Large, 10 MP), native.
3,008 × 2,000 (Medium, 6 MP).
1,968 × 1,312 (Small, 2.6 MP).
(4:3) L: 3,488 × 2,624 (9.2 M), M: 2,656 × 2,000 (5.3 M), S: 1,744 × 1,312 (2.3 M).
(1:1 Square) L: 2,624 × 2,624 (6.9 M), M: 2,000 × 2,000 (4.0 M), S: 1,312 × 1,312 (1.7 M).
(16:9) L: 3,936 × 2,216 (8.7M), M: 3,008 × 1,688 (5.1M), S: 1,968 × 1,112 (2.2M).
Image Formats
JPG, raw or raw + JPG.
JPG: Extra Fine, Fine or Standard.
Raw: 14-bit compressed or uncompressed.
Video & Audio specifications top
Stereo mic built-in.
XAVC S
File Format
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 XAVC S ver.1.0 format compliant video with LPCM 48 ksps 16-bit stereo audio.
Rates & Sizes
3,840 × 2,160 (4K): 29.97p, 25p or 23.976p at 100 or 60 MBPS
1,920 × 1,080: 119.88p or 100p at 100 MBPS or 60 MBPS; 59.94p,50p, 29.97p, 25p or 23.976p at 50 MBPS.
AVCHD v 2.0
File Format
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video with Dolby Digital 2 channels, equipped with Dolby Digital Stereo Creator.
Rates & Sizes
1,920 × 1,080: 59.94p, 28 MBPS, PS; 59.94i, 24 MBPS, FX; 59.94i, 17 MBPS, FH; 23.976p, 24 MBPS, FX, 23.976p, 17 MBPS, FH; 50p, 28 MBPS, PS; 50i, 24 MBPS, FX; 50i, 17 MBPS, FH; 25p, 24 MBPS, FX; 25p, 17 MBPS, FH.
MP4
File Format
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video with stereo MPEG-4 AAC-LC.
Rates & Sizes
1,920 × 1,080: 59.94p or 50p at 28 MBPS; 29.97p or 25p at 16 MBPS
1280 × 720: 29.97p or 25p at 6 MBPS.
Under- and Over-crank (slow-mo and fast-motion)
Sony calls this S&Q, for "Slow and Quick" motion.
MOS (recorded without sound) only.
1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60 and 120 FPS in the pulled-down ("NTSC") modes.
1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 25, 50 and 100 FPS in the straight ("PAL") modes.
Autofocus specifications top
693 point on-sensor phase-detection.
Contrast-detection.
Hybrid AF uses phase-detection for speed and fine-tunes with contrast detection when it can.
AF range LV -3 to +20 with an f/2 lens.
LED AF illuminator, 10'/3m range.
Face recognition, but only if you activate it.
4.7x and 9.4x magnifiers.
Electronic Viewfinder specifications top
0.5" (13mm) OLED.
3,686,400 dots quad-VGA.
120 frames per second update rate with regular mechanical shutter, 60 FPS with silent electronic shutter.
Coverage is so immediate due to the new technology sensor that what you capture is delayed by only about one millisecond from what you saw in the finder.
100% coverage.
0.78x with 50mm lens.
Auto and manual brightness control.
5 steps of manual color temperature shift.
-4 to +3 diopters.
Eyepoint: 18.5mm from the eyepiece frame, 23mm from the eyepiece
Fluorine external coating to repel fingerprints, dust, water and dirt.
Light Meter specifications top
1,200 zone evaluative, entire screen Averaging, Center-Weighted, Spot, Spot standard or large or highlight-weighted.
Meter range LV -3 to +20 with an f/2 lens.
Flash Sync specifications top
1/250 sync speed, with Sony flashes.
Only works with mechanical shutter; no flash works with the silent electronic shutter.
Dedicated hot shoe and PC (Prontor- Compur) connector.
Shutters specifications top
Mechanical Focal-Plane
1/8,000 to 30s and Bulb.
"Tested to 500,000 cycles."
Silent Electronic
1/32,768 to 30s (no Bulb).
1/32,768 only works in M and S modes; 1/16,384 is the maximum in other modes, and there are no third-stop settings between 1/16,384 and 1/32,768.
Auto mode
Selects electronic shutter if needed for speeds above 1/8,000.
Self Timer
2, 5 or 10s delay.
Also can shoot 3 or 5 frames each time, and can make those bracketed.
Frame Rates specifications top
Electronic Shutter |
Mechanical Shutter |
|
| Continuous High | 20 FPS |
10 FPS |
| Continuous Mid | 10 FPS |
5 FPS |
| Continuous Low | 5 FPS |
2.5 FPS |
Frame Buffer specifications top
362 frames JPEG Large.
241 frames compressed raw.
222 frames JPG + raw.
128 frames uncompressed raw.
118 frames JPG + uncompressed raw.
Storage specifications top
Two slots, both SD, SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I and UHS-II compliant:
Sony A9 II. bigger.
LCD specifications top
2.95" TFT LCD.
1,440,000 dots.
Flips, but can't flip 180º for self-portraits. Only flips up 107º or down 41.º
Does not swing left or right.
Manual brightness control only. There is a "Sunny" mode, too.
Touch screen to move focus area, but not for menus or playback.
Connectors specifications top
Sony A9 II connectors. bigger.
Left Column
1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (WLAN for FTP connections).
PC (Prontor-Compur) flash sync.
Right COLUMN
3.5mm microphone jack with plug-in power.
3.5mm headphone jack.
Micro-D HDMI. The HDMI output supports 3,840 × 2,160 (25p), 1,920 × 1,080 (50p, 50i, 24p, 60p, 60i and 3,840 × 2,160 at 30p and 24p. YCbCr 4:2:2 8-bit and RGB 8-bit.
USB-C 3.2.
Multi/Micro USB 2.0.
Sony A9 II. bigger.
On Top and Bottom:
Hot shoe on top, which is also a Sony "Multi Interface" Shoe.
Vertical Grip Connector on bottom (inside the battery chamber).
WiFi specifications top
IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Infrastructure mode
2.4 GHz.
WEP, WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK.
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) or Manual setup.
NFC specifications top
NFC Forum Type 3 Tag compliant
Bluetooth specifications top
v4.1.
2.4 GHz.
Model No. WW361847.
Power & Battery specifications top
Rated 500 still shots or 110 minutes of video shooting with the viewfinder.
Rated 690 still shots or two hours of video shooting with the rear LCD.
Consumes about 4.1W (5.3W for video) using the finder and 3W (5.0W for movies) using the LCD.
Sony NP-FZ100 rechargeable lithium ion battery included:
Sony NP-FZ100 battery. enlarge.
Sony NP-FZ100 battery. enlarge.
It's 7.2V, 2,280 mAh, 16.4 Wh.
Charging
Although I prefer a folding plug charger, this universal corded charger works anywhere with the right cord.
A nice feature is the three-segment battery status indicator. It shows about 2/3 charged here:
Sony BC-QZ1 Battery Charger with NP-FZ100 battery. bigger.
Sony BC-QZ1 Battery Charger. bigger.
It charges via USB in-camera, or also charges in the included BC-QZ1 Corded Battery Charger.
The BC-QZ1 is rated 100~240V, 50/60 Hz, 0.38A in, and 8.4VDC @ 1.6A out.
You can charge two batteries at once; one in the camera via USB and the other in this charger.
USB Power Adapter
It also comes with an AC-UUD12 power adapter to plug in the wall and make USB power.
It's rated 100~240V, 50/60Hz, 0.2A in, and 5VDC, 1.5A out.
Size specifications top
3⅞ × 5 × 2½ inches HWD, excluding protrusions.
95.6 × 126.9 × 63.0 mm HWD, excluding protrusions.
Weight specifications top
24.0 oz. (678g) with battery and card.
Quality specifications top
Sony A9 II. bigger.
Made in Thailand.
Announced specifications top
Thursday, 03 October 2019, 10 AM NYC time.
Orderable Since specifications top
Thursday, 03 October 2019, 6 PM NYC time.
Promised for specifications top
05 November 2019.
Included specifications top
A9 II camera & body cap.
FDA-EP18 eye cup, attached.
Black plastic hot shoe cover, attached.
Shoulder strap.
NP-FZ100 rechargeable lithium ion battery (unique to A9 II).
BC-QZ1 Battery Charger and unpolarized AC power cord.
AC-UUD12 USB AC Power Adapter.
USB-C cable.
Cable strain-relief for use if you're shooting tethered.
Two printed manuals, one in English and one in French.
Model Numbers specifications top
Sony's official "ILCE-9M2" model number is printed on the certification sticker on the bottom. It's also how the model is listed in the EXIF information.
Sony also refers to this as the ILCE9M2/B in printed documents.
Its more casual "α9" designation is on the front of the camera.
To see if you have a Mark II or the old A9, look at the certification sticker on the bottom and look for ILCE-9M2, or look at the top deck just behind the advance mode dial.
Operating Environment specifications top
0 ~ 40º C (32 ~ 104ºF).
Price, U.S.A. specifications top
July 2020
$4,498 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
About $4,000 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
October 2019 ~ June 2020
$4,498 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Accessories top
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Included
Optional
VG-C4EM Vertical Grip.
The VG-C4EM vertical grip takes-over the existing battery bay and holds two batteries for double the shooting life, rated to 1,000 single shots with the finder.
Magnesium alloy exterior.
Dust and moisture resistant.
You can charge the batteries in the grip via the camera's USB connector.
NPA-MQZ1K Multi Battery Adaptor
This is a crazy adapter that holds up to four batteries!
Not only does it hold them all so you can just keep on shooting, it also can charge up to four batteries in 8 hours.
It may seem expensive, but it comes included with two NP-FZ100 batteries to get you started. Along with the one that comes with your A9 II, you're already up to three.
PCK-LG1 Glass Screen Protector
ECM-XYST1M Stereo Mic
An inexpensive stereo mic which attaches to the A9 II's hot shoe for much better audio than the built-in mics.
ECM-B1M digital shotgun mic
This is a tiny little shotgun mic that uses multiple analog omnidirectional microphone elements and then uses digital signal processing (DSP) to synthesize the directional pattern of a much larger traditional shotgun microphone.
Sadly with all its directional DSP it has no stereo option.
XLR-K3M XLR adapter & mic kit.
Each of these includes a professional stereo XLR preamplifier that slides into the A9 II's hot shoe and allows using professional microphones or mixing consoles. It's pretty nifty, with auto and manual gain controls, selectable lo-cut filters, line and mic level inputs and +48V phantom power.
It also includes an ECM-XM1 shotgun microphone.
Getting a Legal USA Version top
(for USA only)
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
So long as you get yours from an authorized source like Adorama, Amazon, B&H or Crutchfield, you'll get a legitimate USA version with a warranty from Sony USA.
USA versions are marked "UC2" above the UPC bar codes on the outside of the box.
USA versions also include a piece of paper which specifically mentions the USA and has Sony's USA phone number in your unsealed box.
If you do something stupid like buy from a source that is not an approved source, you may get a gray market version, which has no warranty in the USA and will lack this code on the box or the warranty sheet.
Just to keep things interesting, you'll notice that the A9 II has a much larger and longer warranty sheet, no longer just a card, because this warranty now has many more exclusions and limitations than ever before. It specifically adds, about halfway down, that even if you have all this paperwork, if you didn't get your A9 II from an approved (by Sony) dealer, then the warranty doesn't apply.
Buying gray market or what looks like a USA model from an unauthorized dealer is always taking a chance compared to getting a legal USA version from an authorized dealer. If you can save $1,000, then by all means go for it, but if you only get $100 off, I wouldn't risk it.
Performance top
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
Overall Autofocus Manual Focus
Ergonomics Finder High ISOs Lens Corrections
Stabilization Silent Mode Mechanics
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall
The Sony A9 was a landmark camera, and this A9 II goes even a little further.
Set it as you want it, and it will self-focus and shoot anything in any light with ease — so long as you use good lenses. Much of the fast focus magic is lost if you waste time with old lenses not optimized for Sony mirrorless cameras or adapters.
Autofocus performance top
Autofocus is fast and furious; that's half the point of this camera.
It works great!
Manual Focus performance top
Manual focus usually shows a bar along the bottom of the finder with the distance.
In some case (like in the dark with ultrawide lenses) I get even better results by guessing the distance and setting it on the scale.
Ergonomics performance top
Sony's menu system is the worst in the industry. This means that every time you go looking for anything that you'll probably have to search through every menu until you find it the hard way.
The battery door has no spring on the lock, so you have to remember to slide the lock closed manually when you change the battery or the door flaps open.
The cards face away from you when you load them.
The exposure compensation dial has a push-push lock. Press once and it's unlocked, press again and it's locked. This is completely different then the push-to-turn lock on the advance mode dial. Good luck.
Finder performance top
Sony's finders are the best, mostly because they're the only maker that has automatic brightness control that works well. Nikon, Canon and Fuji either have no auto EFF brightness control, or if they do, it doesn't work well and gets in the way.
The A9 II's finder always looks great; it's always the correct brightness and looks great.
If you're using Automatic Lens Distortion Correction, it works live as you're shooting. Not every maker's cameras are this smart, but Sony is, so you can see exactly what you're getting before you shoot.
High ISO Performance performance top
Complete Images details dark detail performance top
As seen at normal image sizes below, the A9 II pretty much makes the same images from ISO 100 to ISO 25,600. ISO 51,200 has just a tiny bit of blotchiness, and ISO 102,400 (H1) adds more. ISO 204,800 (H2) adds more blotchiness, and the shadows are lightening a bit from the chroma noise — but all usable if you need to hand-hold under moonlight.
ISO 50 (L) is a "pull" ISO, and thus has more highlight contrast. This usually increases perceived highlight detail, and can lead to clipped highlights if you have too much subject contrast, as in the case of the window reflection in the glass of the clock face.
This is magnificent performance, and even though I prefer the overall image look and handling of the Canon EOS RP, the A9 II is much better than the Canon EOS RP at the crazier ISOs.
Click any for the camera-original © LARGE NORMAL JPG files:
Click any for the camera-original © JPG files (about 7.5 MB each).
600 × 450 Pixel Crops (10× magnification) High ISOs details dark detail performance top
What we see at the crazy-high magnifications below is that fine details go away as the ISO increases. This happens with all cameras and is an artifact of the noise reduction working harder as the ISO increases.
In the A9 II the most detail is at ISO 100, and becomes softer at every higher ISO. This is normal and how noise reduction works in every camera.
ISO 50 is a "pull" ISO, and thus has more highlight contrast. This usually increases perceived highlight detail, and can lead to clipped highlights if you have too much subject contrast, as in the case of the window reflection in the glass of the clock face.
By ISO 12,800 most of the detailed scrollwork between the clock numbers is gone.
By ISO 51,200 the minute marks are mostly gone.
By ISO 102,400 (H1) all the detail is gone from the clock face, leaving only the numbers.
These are 600 × 450 pixel crops that vary in size to fit your browser window.
If these are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 20 × 30" (50 × 75 cm) at this same high magnification.
If these are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters) at this same extreme magnification.
If these are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 80 × 120" (2 × 3 meters) at this same insanely high magnification.
Click any for the camera-original © JPG files:
Click any for the camera-original © JPG files (about 7.5 MB each).
Dark-Area 600 × 450 Pixel Crops (10× magnification) High ISOs details dark detail performance top
Here are crops showing the dark grillwork.
Note how the most detail in the fine screen is at ISO 50 (L).
The bricks behind the grill go away by ISO 25,600.
By ISO 102,400 (H1) the big iron bars re almost gone!
Again, this is normal for all digital cameras.
These are 600 × 450 pixel crops that vary in size to fit your browser window.
If these are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 20 × 30" (50 × 75 cm) at this same high magnification.
If these are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters) at this same extreme magnification.
If these are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 80 × 120" (2 × 3 meters) at this same insanely high magnification.
Click any for the camera-original © JPG files:
Click any for the camera-original © JPG files (about 7.5 MB each).
Lens Corrections performance top
My Sony A9 II corrects for any or all of Falloff ("Shading"), Lateral Color ("Chromatic Aberratio…") and Distortion.
By default, Falloff ("Shading"), Lateral Color ("Chromatic Aberratio…") corrections are ON and Distortion correction is OFF.
I can turn any of these ON or OFF individually, although some lenses may force distortion correction ON.
Image Stabilization performance top
Image Stabilization is great.
The A9 II has internal sensor-shift stabilization.
I have no problem shooting my old manual-focus lenses at slow speeds, as shown at Sample Images, even with my old A9.
Electronic Shutter: Silent Mode performance top
Most cameras with a silent mode operate only partially in these special modes.
In the A9 II, the silent mode is its usual mode once you've set it (MENU > Camera 2 > page 4/9 > Shutter Type); it's the only mode that gives us 20 FPS.
You can do everything in the silent mode, except use flash, shoot at slower than 1/8 in any of the Continuous shutter modes or shoot above ISO 25,600, and the finder updates at "only" 60 FPS and not 120 FPS.
This isn't a problem, and if it is, just swap back to the regular shutter (MENU > Camera 2 > page 4/9 > Shutter Type) and you're good.
I always use the electronic shutter.
While the silent mode is completely silent, the mechanical focal-plane shutter is about as loud as other mirrorless cameras and only operates the end of exposures, just like Sony's other mirrorless cameras.
Mechanical Quality performance top
The top and bottom covers are alloy.
Sony claims weather seals for the knobs and buttons.
The battery and card doors are plastic.
The buttons and rear center dial are plastic.
The connector covers are rubbery little hinged plastic doors that work very well, but will probably fall off some years in the future.
The top knobs and front-rear control dials are metal.
Voice Memos (Voice Notes) performance top
The recorder is of limited use while shooting news and live events because you have to screw around in menus; you can't just hit a MIC button to record as you can on the Canon EOS R5, Nikon D6 and Canon 1DX Mk III-class cameras.
Screwing around in menus may seem like fun to people who don't have to get out and shoot every day for a living, but this feature doesn't count if you have to go through all those steps. If you have to stop and jack around in menus, you're no longer in the moment and missing other important pictures while you're at an event.
Here's a sample .WAV file. They are 48 ksps stereo at 16 bits and use automatic level control.
Rear LCD performance top
The LCD is great, except for use in direct sunlight. It has no auto-brightness control.No worries, use the superb EVF in daylight.
The LCD flips up and down, but not very far, and it doesn't swing left or right.
Honestly I never use the rear LCD. I prefer to use the EVF for everything.
Playback performance top
It autorotates as you turn the camera, just like an iPhone, if you set MENU > PLAY > page 4/4 > Display Rotation > Auto.
Oddly as in earlier Sonys, even though it's smart enough to rotate the image as you rotate the camera during playback lie an iPhone, if you zoom the image, it won't autorotate. Vertical shots display with different rotation when you magnify them; what is it with these people?
There's no way to read the file number.
There is no 1/2 second auto review option (MENU > Camera 2 > page 8/11 > Auto Review) as there is in some other Sonys; only 2, 5 and 10 seconds.
While there is no diagonal scroll in a zoomed image using the rear four-way control dial just like other Sonys, this A9 II has a new thumb-nubbin which works in all 8 directions.
Data performance top
JPG image file sizes vary with image complexity, as they should.
JPGs are flagged as 350 DPI.
Fantastic is that we have the menu option for it to create a new folder each day (MENU > Suitcase > page 6/7 > File/Folder Settings > Folder Name > Date Form). I wish my DSLRs did that! For instance, everything I shoot on 03 June 2022 is in a folder DCIM / 10020603.
Power & Battery performance top
Battery life is fantastic for a mirrorless camera, as good or better than a DSLR in actual sports shooting. In sports shooting where I make long bursts at 10 FPS, I can shoot 1,800 frames on my old A9 and only use 33% of the battery's capacity — or about 5,400 shots on a full charge. At 20 FPS or with longer bursts, I might get even more.
If I shoot more stills, meaning fewer shots at a time before I look at the playback, I only run the battery down to about 82% after about 300 shots, which means about 1,500 shots on a charge for that kind of shooting.
The A9 II is CIPA rated at only 500 shots, while Nikon's cheapest D3400 ($497 including lens) is CIPA rated at 1,200 shots (half shot with flash). The competitive professional Canon 1DX Mk II is rated 1,210 shots (CIPA), and the professional Nikon D5 is rated at 3,780 shots (CIPA), or almost eight times as many shots.
Here's where this gets interesting: CIPA ratings are for consumer cameras, and the CIPA test procedure is working under the presumption that you're making one shot at a time, and using the flash half the time. No one buys an A9 II, D5 or 1DX II to make one shot at a time; we buy these for high speed bursts, where the A9 II has a huge advantage.
The A9 II has a battery percentage indicator, but no long-term battery health indication.
Sony BC-QZ1 Battery Charger with NP-FZ100 battery. bigger.
Compared top
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
All Sony Cameras Compared
Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared.
Versus Nikon and Canon Pro DSLRs
I've been chronicling the difference in features and performance with the Nikon D6 and Canon 1DX Mk III since the start of the review.
This Sony is smaller and faster, and silent. Its images look better at ISO 204,800.
Sony has advanced photography a long way in the few years it's been making full-frame cameras, while Nikon has fallen flat on its face. Nikon's first S36 motor-drive for the mirrorless 35mm Nikon SP ran at 2 or 3 FPS in the 1950s, the F36 motor for the Nikon F ran at 4 FPS in 1959, and within a few years made it to 10 FPS with a locked mirror (no viewing). In 2020 the Nikon D6 can run 14 FPS with viewing and AF tracking, not much improvement after 60 years — and then Sony comes out at 20 FPS with unrestricted no-blackout viewing, and it does it completely silently.
The Nikon D6 and Canon 1DX Mk III are bigger, heavier, more expensive — and tougher. They are mostly metal and have all their doors sealed, and their card doors are metal, too, while the doors of the A9 II are plastic. The Nikon D6 and Canon 1DX Mk III are also much more comfortable in-hand, with more mature ergonomic design. They cost 50% more but run much slower and are much noisier - but they feel so much better to shoot, like real cameras rather than like a VCR with a lens on the front.
A9 II User's Guide top
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
See also Sony's A9 II User's Guide.
Charging
The battery charges internally via USB or externally in the included corded charger.
Either charge method lights an amber LED near the USB plug while charging, and it simply goes out when done.
It's hard to see the camera's tiny charge LED hidden near the USB socket inside a cover.
USB also can power the camera indefinitely.
Format Card
This is hidden at MENU > Suitcase > page 5/7 > Format.
File Name Prefixes
Set this at MENU > Suitcase > page 6/7 > File/Folder Settings > Set File Name.
I set mine to A92.
Automatic New Daily Folders
This creates a new folder on your card each day.
I set it at MENU > Suitcase > page 6/7 > File/Folder Settings > Folder Name > Date Form.
Beeps
To turn off the beeps that are on by default, go to MENU > Camera 2 > page11/11 > Audio signals.
Setting What the Controls Do
Set these at MENU > Camera 2 > page 9/11 > Custom Key (Shoot) or Custom Key (PB).
Setting the Fn menu
The Fn menu are the options you see at the bottom of your screen when you press the (Fn) button.
Set this at MENU > Camera 2 > page 9/11 > Function Menu Set.
I like to put Auto ISO Minimum Shutter Speed and Image Size, there, for instance.
Hint: Sonys default to putting Drive Mode at the upper left position in that menu. The A9 II sets this on the dial on the top left, but leaves that position of the Fn menu set to control Drive Mode — which is grayed-out because you only can set it with the dial! Therefore you have a free space to reprogram without losing any of the default choices.
There is no right or wrong, just what works for you.
Auto ISO
To set the minimum shutter speed if you don't assign this control to the Fn menu, set it at MENU > Camera 1 > page 9/14 > ISO Setting > ISO AUTO Min. SS.
If you choose Auto for the slowest shutter speed, it sets it based on focal length. Slow or Fast shift it by one stop, and Slower or Faster shift it by 2 stops from the focal length.
I set 1/125 for people shots or 1/500 for action.
For things that hold still, I set AUTO, or SLOW or SLOWER if it's an optically stabilized lens.
Again, there is no right or wrong; just what works for you.
Face Detection
This is one of the A9 II's most important features, but it's OFF by default.
Set it at MENU > Camera 1 > page 6/14 > Face/Eye AF Set. > Face/Eye Priority in AF > ON.
If you want it to recognize animal faces, select it here, but remember to set it back to Human when you're done. It's not smart enough to do both.
I never turn it off.
Getting Awesome Autofocus Performance
This is easy: once you've enabled Face Detection, I shoot in AF-C (continuous) and leave the Focus Area setting in its default of WIDE. Now my A9 II magically finds the subject, focuses on it, and tracks it all over the finder. It's that simple.
The AF modes aren't in the menus; they're on a dial on the top left. You have to press-in its lever to unlock it.
You need lenses that have fast autofocus. Sony's G and GM lenses are the best, designed to excel with the A9 II. See Sony's list of the "good" lenses to use on the A9 II.
Older lenses, or anything on an adapter, probably won't give you the performance you deserve or expect, but with the 24-70/2.8 GM and 70-200/2.8 GM I use, it's spectacular.
Manual Focus Override
Set the DMF focus mode on the top left dial to allow immediate manual focus override with autofocus. It's so smart that it probably will magically zoom into faces as you turn the focus ring!
The gotcha here is that DMF works in AF-S (single) mode, not AF-C (continuous) mode, so don't use it for sports.
Use a lens with a mechanical focus override ring, like the 70-200/2.8 GM, and you can just grab its focus ring in the AF-C (or any other) mode for instant override. Most lenses, like the 12-24mm f/2.8 GM and 24-70/2.8 GM, won't give manual override unless you're in the DMF mode.
Focus Magnifier
I like to have the manual focus magnifier come up when I tap a button when using an adapted manual focus lens. With an adapted old lens, there's nothing to tell the A9 II when to magnify unless you program something.
Set which button does this at MENU > Camera 2 > page 9/11 > Custom Key(Shoot.) > (choose a key, say Custom Button 2, the C2 button near the shutter) > Focus Magnifier.
Shutter Mode (Silent Shutter or Regular)
This is a very important feature of the A9 II, and it's off by default.
The regular shutter is the mechanical focal plane. By default, this is the shutter the A9 II uses, it makes sound, and only goes to 10 FPS.
To select the silent electronic 20 FPS shutter, go to MENU > Camera 2 > page 5/11 > Shutter Type > Electronic Shutter.
If you leave this at AUTO it will usually use the mechanical shutter and only go to the silent electronic shutter if it needs to.
I leave mine in Electronic all the time; you only need Mechanical if you want to use flash, go above ISO 25,600 or shoot at slower than 1/8 in any Continuous shutter mode.
Did it Shoot?
If it's silent and you don't set Image Review, how do you know if it went off?
Easy: that's the gray rectangle just inside the finder frame you see blip on-screen for a moment. It blips on screen each time it shoots.
Self Timer
Select the Self Timer icon on the Advance Mode dial.
You can set the particulars of the Self Timer at MENU > Camera 1 > page 3/13 > Self-timer Type.
You can assign this to an Fn Menu, but turning the Self Timer on or off is done at the Mode Dial.
Getting 20 FPS
You need to be in the Electronic shutter (MENU > Camera 2 > page 5/11 > Shutter Type > Electronic Shutter); it only goes to 10 FPS with the default mechanical shutter.
It only goes to 12 FPS with uncompressed raw, but goes 20 FPS with all the other settings, including compressed raw + JPG.
It happily shoots, even in Compressed raw + JPG, to the slowest old card you can find. It may take a while to write to it, however.
Image Review
To have what you just shot appear on-screen right after you shot it, turn this on at MENU > Camera 2 > page 8/11 > Auto Review and select for how long you'd like each to appear after you've shot it.
I don't use this; it slows me down, and the live finder always shows me what I'm getting as I shoot it — the EVF never blanks-out at the instant you shoot as an SLR or DSLR does.
1, 2, 3, M1, M2, M3 and M4 Memory Modes
Once you've set the camera as you like it, go to MENU > Camera 1 > page 3/14 > Cam 1/Cam 2 Memory and save the current settings to the memory address of your liking. 1, 2 and 3 are recalled by selecting them on the top dial, while M1, M2, M3 and M4 are only recallable via the menu system (MENU > Camera 1 > page 3/14 > Cam1/Cam2 Recall), or possibly some other preset button.
Almost everything, like AF illuminators, shutter type, resolution, image settings and white balance are saved and recalled.
Unlike other Sonys, it can't save or recall AF Mode or Advance Modes because they are now on dedicated dials on the top left — but oddly still appear as selections when you press the Fn button.
The A9 II locks-up for a few critical seconds when you move the memory setting dial. A faster way to swap between modes is to turn off the A9 II, move the mode dial, and turn it back on. This sounds complex, but it actually works faster since it doesn't lock up when turned on in a new mode.
The top dial has only 1, 2 and 3 positions, but to select M1, M2, M3 or M4, all you do is move the top dial to any of 1, 2 or 3, and you'll see a screen with what you've selected for recall highlighted at the top. Simply click left or right to select any of the "hidden" M1, M2, M3 or M4 options, and Bingo!, you've recalled them.
If you change any settings while using one of these modes, the A9 II will wake back up the same way after being turned off. If you want to return to the originally saved settings as opposed to what you've just modified, set it to another preset and then return to other, which will now come back up as saved.
Embed Your Copyright Information in Every Image
I set this at MENU > Suitcase > page 5/7 > Copyright info.
Recording to 2 cards at Once as Backup
I set this at MENU > Suitcase > page 5/7 > Rec. Media Settings > Recording Mode > Simult (mountain icon).
I do this, but if I pull out one card, it won't record at all!
Be sure to have a spare card if one fills, or know where to reset this setting if you run out of a second card because you'll be dead as soon as either of the cards isn't ready. Sorry.
Voice Memos (Voice Notes)
There is no dedicated voice note or Mic button as on professional cameras like the Canon EOS R5, Nikon D6 or Canon 1DX Mk III, on which you simply hold their Mic button and record a note for whatever you just shot.
Instead with the A9 Mk II you have to screw around in menus:
MENU > PLAYBACK > page 2/4 > Voice Memo > (press center controller button) > select to which image you'd like to add a voice note > hold the center controller button while you record.
Voice memos can be any length up to 60 seconds. These voice memo files have the same name as the image to which you recorded them, and end in .WAV.
To play them in the camera, press:
MENU > PLAYBACK > page 2/4 > Voice Memo > (press center controller button) > select to which image you'd like to add a voice note > tap the center controller button and it plays.
To change the voice memo, you first have to delete the original one. To do that, you have to play the image (press the PLAY button) and then tap the TRASH button, then select "Delete only the voice memo" and press the center button. Now you can restart at the menus above to record a new memo.
This may seem like fun to people who've never shot a pro camera like Nikon or Canon on assignment, but to those of us who have; this feature doesn't really count if you have to go through all these steps. The point of this feature is quick notes of names and places while you're live and shooting news and events as they unfold. If you have to jack around in menus, you're no longer in the moment and you're missing other important pictures.
Here's a sample .WAV file. They are 48 ksps stereo at 16 bits and use automatic level control.
Save and Load Settings to and from a Card
Do this at:
MENU > Camera 1 > page 7/7 > Save/Load Settings.
Under- and Over-Crank (slow-mo and fast-motion video)
Sony calls this S&Q, for "Slow and Quick" motion.
It's set on the Mode Dial, and adjusted in the menu system at S&Q Settings.
Clock Setting
Set this at MENU > Suitcase > page 4/7 > Date/Time Setup.
Recommendations top
Sample Images Intro Lenses & Adapters
Specifications Accessories USA Version
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Before the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 the Sony A9 II was an obvious pick — possibly the pick — for sports, news and action. Nothing was as fast, or an AF system to match, and was also silent.
Now that the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 are as fast on paper, we'll have to wait and see if they really cut it with autofocus, because if they do, Canon's superior RF and EF lens lineup and especially Canon's worlds superior menus, ergonomics, color rendition and customer service might eclipse Sony. We'll see.
The old A9 is pretty much the same thing unless you really need a voice recorder or ability to save setup files to a card, and it saves you $1,000 for otherwise the same camera. See also Is It Worth It.
If you can make do with only 10 FPS, the A7 III is the same thing, and the A7R IV are mostly the same thing with a lot more pixels.
Be sure to have the right lenses if you want the best high-speed autofocus performance. People love these Sonys because you can adapt any old crappy lens to them, but I see no intelligence in adapting a $10 Pentax 50mm SMC lens to this camera, much less using other lenses on adapters, if I want the high-speed performance for which I bought my A9 II.
I use hot SD cards, but even old slow cards work fine in my A9 II; it just may take a while to clear the buffer if you're shooting large files or at 20 FPS.
I'd get my A9 Mk II at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used camera. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
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Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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