Sony A99 II Review

Resolution or speed? Now you can have both!

Digital Camera World Verdict

The A99 II’s specs are stunning. Never before have photographers been able to shoot at these frame rates and this resolution. The 79/399-point hybrid AF system is impressive too. The EOS-1D X II and Nikon D5 still have the edge for sports photographers, though, and if you don’t need the 12fps frame rate AF, the mirrorless A7R II is more tempting.

Pros

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    42.4-megapixel resolution

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    12fps continuous shooting

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    Advanced hybrid autofocus

Cons

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    Sony's new mirrorless A9 is much faster

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    Few new Alpha SLR lenses appearing

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    Poor battery life compared to DSLRs

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

Just when we all thought the Alpha 7 series was the future for professional full-frame Sony stills and video photography, the company drops a bombshell with the Alpha 99 II. This is a throwback to Sony’s early experiments in SLR alternatives. It’s like a mirrorless camera… but with a mirror. 

In fact, it’s a fixed, translucent mirror, which passes light through to the sensor at the back of the camera, but also feeds a dedicated SLR-style phase-detection autofocus sensor in the base of the pentaprism housing.

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