Skip to main content

Sony shows off 42MP A99 II with 12 FPS continuous shooting

Sony dropped a huge announcement earlier today at Photokina, unveiling the 42-megapixel, full frame A99 II. Targeting professional sports and wildlife photographers, the camera can shoot up to 12 frames per second — a huge improvement over the mirrorless A7R II, which has the same resolution but only shoots at five frames per second.

Like the original A99 before it, the A99 II takes Sony’s A-mount lenses and features a DSLR-style body that uses a non-reflexing, translucent mirror to split light between the sensor and a dedicated AF module. That AF module is brand new for the A99 II, incorporating 79 dedicated cross-type points clustered near the center of the frame. As if that weren’t enough, the sensor itself contains 399 additional AF points that help extend AF area coverage beyond that of the 79-point module.

“With the Alpha 99 II, we’re delivering an industry-leading level of performance to A-mount owners and enthusiasts,” Said Neal Manowitz, vice president of digital imaging at Sony in a statement. “Its powerful combination of speed and resolution is simply unmatched in today’s market.”

The new AF systems work together to bring improved subject-tracking for sports and wildlife shooters. Impressively, despite the inherent light loss of the translucent mirror design, autofocus is sensitive down to -4 EV, the same as Nikon’s lowlight powerhouse, the D5, which means photographers working in dimly lit conditions should have no problem focusing.

Further improving the camera’s low-light capabilities, the five-axis in-body image stabilization offers an impressive 4.5 stops of shake reduction.

Being a Sony, the A99 II also boasts a robust video mode, capable of shooting in 4K reolution from a Super35-sized (APS-C) crop of the sensor. It oversamples 1.8 times the number of pixels required for 4K, which should produce incredibly crisp results without moiré.

The A99 II will ship in November for a price of $3,200. More information can be found on Sony’s website.

Editors' Recommendations

Daven Mathies
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Daven is a contributing writer to the photography section. He has been with Digital Trends since 2016 and has been writing…
DJI’s 2022 drone contest offers record prize pool
A photo taken from a drone.

Leading drone maker DJI has teamed up with the SkyPixel online community for its eighth annual photo and video contest.

Whether you’re an experienced drone pilot or an absolute beginner still finding your way, the contest is the perfect opportunity to send your machine skyward in a test of your creative skills.

Read more
How $80 of photo processing software magically saved me thousands
photo editing topaz labs denoise ai phil camera

It's a good time to be a photographer, whether you're just starting out and really don't have any idea what you're doing, or if you're a seasoned pro looking to try something new.

The gear is better than ever, making even entry-level bodies better than what the previous generation started out with. Software options make cataloging and processing your photos faster and less destructive, so you can revisit things for years and give old pics new life.

Read more
Sony A7 III mirorless camera is $300 off for Black Friday
Sony Alpha a7 III Mirrorless front view.

There are a lot of great Best Buy Black Friday deals going on right now, and whether you're looking for TVs, laptops, or even headphones, there's a little something for everybody. Of course, many folks may not realize that Best Buy has some fantastic deals on high-end photography gear, such as this Sony Alpha a7 III mirrorless camera. While it usually goes for a whopping $2,200, Best Buy had brought it down to $1,900, and while that relatively doesn't seem like much, you could always spend the $300 savings on a new lens.

Why you should buy the Sony Alpha a7 III
The Sony Alpha a7 III is a camera with so much tech that it might as well be three different cameras. It has excellent dynamic range, low-light performance, and high-speed performance, and the full-frame sensors make the images look absolutely stunning. Interestingly, the a7 III manages to do an excellent job at both low and high ISOs, the latter of which can go as high as 51,200 non-boosted, which, granted, adds a lot of noise, but noise reduction helps with that. As for the video, well, sadly, it's not as impressive, at least in terms of advancements in image quality, and while it can do 8-bit 4K at 30 frames per second, it's no longer ahead of the pack in that regard, like the Panasonic Lumix GH5 is with its 400Mbps 10-bit codec and 60-fps 4K.

Read more