Sony AI II

Powerful new autofocus boosts an otherwise predictable sequel

- Gareth Bevan

The AI II is the latest flagship camera from Sony, succeeding the original AI released three years previously - and the first Alpha camera released in over a year. While a hugely impressive camera if you take a look at its spec sheet continuing the AI brand of being a camera that is just really good at absolutely everything. I also find it, on the whole, an all too predictable update.

The AI II maintains many killer features from its predecessor, including the excellent 50.1MP sensor and adds a few new ones, but it lacks a little pizzazz with showstopping new features. The majority of its most significant updates, while undeniably amazing technologies have already been seen in other Sony models - most notably last year's A9 III.

Except for one biggie that is. There is one standout feature that I am incredibly excited by, and is set to be a gamechanger for Sony autofocus going forward- and that is the world's first full-frame auto-subject detection.

While this tech debuted on the APS-C Fujifilm X-S20, for the first time this enables simultaneous identification of multiple subjects on a full-frame camera without manual selection.

The AI II is still inexplicably expensive, launching at £6,300 ($6,500) - the same price as the first generation in the US, although slightly lower in price than the AI was in the UK. If you are interested in the AI II, it's likely you're already locked in with a lot of pricey Sony G Master lenses, so the cost is something you'll have to adjust to.

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