Sony’s new A99 II full-frame camera shoots up to twelve 42MP frames per second

Sony has just announced the A99 II, an A-mount SLT camera with a full-frame 42MP sensor, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Alpha series. It comes with 5-axis image stabilization (IS) and captures 4K video. US price is US$3,200, and expected to launch in the US in November.

We’ll forgive you if you don’t remember the first A99 — that’s because it was released in 2012. In the four years since, Sony has focused heavily on its mirrorless E-mount cameras with full-frame and APS-C sensors.

The A99, and now the A99 II, aren’t mirrorless cameras. Instead they’re Single-Lens Translucent (SLT) cameras; simply put, there’s a mirror, but it’s translucent, which allows the mirror to split incoming light to both the image sensor and the autofocus (AF) sensor. 

Sony’s SLT technology enables what they’re calling ‘Hybrid Phase Detection AF’ on the A99 II. The 79 AF points on the AF sensor works in concert with the 399 AF points on the image sensor to provide precision focusing and depth detection. The A99 II can shoot a remarkable 12 frames per second (fps) with AF/AE tracking and 8fps with ‘minimal’ EVF blackout — remember that these are 42MP frames.

In comparison, Canon’s flagship 1D X Mark II nails you 14fps with AF/AE tracking at 20.2MP, and Nikon’s D5 does 12fps with AF/AE tracking at 20.8MP.

The A99 II comes with a large XGA OLED viewfinder, with a 3” LCD tilt display. It can capture 4K video at 100Mbps, and comes with dual SD card slots.

The rumors were strong that the A99 was the best, and the last, A-mount camera Sony would ever release. If you’ve been holding on to your A-mount lenses all this time, the A99 II puts those old rumors to rest.

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