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THE SONY WAY IS UP Sony A1 II

To paraphrase Tom Jones, it’s not unusual to put on a few extra pounds over the festive period, but Sony’s latest and greatest mirrorless camera has arrived pre-Christmas with a little bit extra to grab onto already.

While the 50.1MP full-frame stacked CMOS sensor and Bionz XR processor are the same as the previous model, meaning it can rattle off full-resolution RAW images at a rapid 30fps and shoot video at up to 8K, this pro snapper is slightly wider with a chunkier grip.

And there is some tempting new tech on the inside too. A new pre-capture mode, which buffers up to a second’s worth of shots when you half-press the shutter button, will help you avoid missing the magic moment and pretty much convince people you can predict the future, while the 759-point autofocus system is now assisted by AI for automatically detecting and identifying insects, vehicles, people and (most importantly) pets. Other improvements include 8.5 stops of in-body image stabilisation, up from 5.5 on the first-gen A1. It all adds up to a mighty all-rounder that could just be the ultimate full-frame snapper.