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Sony Announces the a99 II: A 42.4MP Full Frame A-Mount Camera

Posted on: 09-19-2016 Posted in: Photography

Just when you thought rumors on the internet from fanboys didn’t carry that much influence or weight, Sony decided to tend to the A-mount users with the new Sony A99II. The successor to the almost four-year-old A99 model.

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This camera has been in the Wishlist for many Sony A-mount SLT users when it was once rumored a successor would be in the works. Happily, their wishes came to fruition in this model that is a well-deemed evolution of the previous model.

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Product Highlights:

Hybrid AF system with 399 On sensor Phase Detection and 79 AF points
12 fps with AF/AE tracking
4K internal recording with S-Log, 2 & 3 (100 Mbps and XAVC S format Full Sensor Readout)
Able to record Full HD from 1-120 fps (Slow and Quick Mode)
Clean HDMI Output
5-Axis SteadyShot Stabilization of 4.5 stops
2.36 million dot OLED Tru-Finder EVF with 0.78x Magnification with Zeiss T* coating
ISO performance of 100-25,600 and expandable to ISO 50 and 102,400
Focus down to -4 EV
Output RAW of 14-Bit files
Dual SD Card slots (One having MemoryStick also)
Bluetooth (4.0 or later) and NFC
Pricing: Announced at $3199

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The fact that they announced the A99ii shows that Sony is quite adamant in letting the fans and consumers know that their A-Mount is not dead. And a breath of air to those who want to choose between bigger or smaller bodies while sticking to one particular maker and customer service.

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It’s quite a beast of a camera in terms of updated specs for those who wanted a more robust body along with the bells and whistles.

Here is some sample 4K footage shot using the a99 II:

Read the fine print first, in case you planned on pulling the trigger on this camera prematurely. Looks great on the surface, but the only gripes I have with this camera are the UHS-I standard SD card, which would mean that longer writing times before shooting depending on the buffer. They should have stuck with the already existing UHS-II standard. The AF system is also dependent on which apertures you shoot in and lenses used apparently.

My main concern is the price $3199. I was hoping around $2,999 rather than priced like the existing A7RII that surpassed the current A-Mount selection with their FE-lens line. Other than these things, I think this camera will create good discussions for photographers and videographers alike.

– Jesus Gomez-Cortes