Sony A1 II Review: 6 Months Portrait Photography Experience
- Marvin Kuhn
- Experience report , Camera
- September 12, 2025
Table of Contents
This is Part 2 of the series where I share my experiences with the Sony A1 II across different genres.
The Sony A1 II has been out for half a year now and has been in my daily use for just as long. The big outcry didn’t happen, but the constant smile while working did. No magic show, but refinement in the right places. Exactly my thing. Here I tell you why it captivates me in portraits and what I would still wish for.
The A1 II in Portrait Photography
When I first used the A1 II, I didn’t have high expectations. That made the surprise all the greater. I come from the A7R III and deliberately skipped the first A1 generation. Something always felt missing to me. But now it’s my daily companion – whether in the studio or out on the street.
Sure, you could say: “Just take the A1 Mark I, it’s cheaper.” Or: “The A7R V has more resolution.” All true. But anyone who photographs a lot quickly notices how much the small things matter. The better ergonomics. The faster autofocus. The new display. For me, that counts more than a few megapixels.
Especially in portraits, where nuances matter – a look, a movement, a gust of wind in the hair – reliability is everything. The A1 II’s autofocus hits the mark. Even in difficult lighting conditions or when hair falls into the face. During the shoot with Paris, I had scenes in backlight, fast movements, hair in play – and still the camera focused cleanly. Even with third-party lenses. Sure, with third-party lenses you’re limited to 15 frames per second, but for classic portraits that’s plenty. When things get more action-packed, I switch to Sony lenses.
What I really appreciate: the new grip. I almost always shoot with a wrist strap, no neck strap. That makes a difference in how the camera sits in your hand. The new freely assignable button is also practical – I have the Boost Mode mapped there. It just feels right. But the biggest plus for me is the new Tilt-Flip-Screen. I wouldn’t have thought how often I use it. Ground level, overhead, from the side – suddenly everything becomes much easier. And when flipped around, the screen is also immediately protected.
Technically, they’ve also made sensible improvements. USB 3.2 and a 2.5 Gbps LAN port make tethered shooting significantly faster. At high ISO values, the noise behavior seems slightly improved – this helps in dark environments. The A1 II isn’t a camera that loudly screams “revolution” – it rather whispers: “I’m ready when you are.” It hasn’t reinvented itself, but sharpened exactly in the places that make the difference in daily use. For me, it’s the camera I don’t just work with, but enjoy working with. And that says everything.
Portrait Shoot with Paris in Zurich
Early morning, cool air, half awake on the train to Zurich. I meet Paris – we’ve worked together before, so there’s a brief coordination and some small talk. Originally the shoot was supposed to take place in winter, then was postponed several times until it suddenly became a summer morning. In Zurich, Silvan joins us and we walk up to Lindenhof. My backpack feels like a small move: A1 II with battery grip, 85mm for classic portraits, Tamron 35–150mm for everything in between, RS3 Pro for movements, Rode Wireless Pro for sound, Godox AD300Pro with softbox, small tripod, reflector. Every time I ask myself why I don’t take a rolling suitcase and still end up with the backpack again.
Up there lies soft, directional early light over the facades. The sun stands exactly behind the treetops – perfect for early backlight. Still low enough for long shadows, already high enough for clear edges. Small reflections dance on the house wall between shutters and give structure. I start with wide to moderate (about 24–40mm) from a low perspective: elongates legs, gives more environment, fits. Aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6 so the background doesn’t become soup. Then I switch to longer focal lengths (around 100mm and more) for calmer backgrounds and more focus on posture, without completely hiding the scenery. The three images show exactly this sequence: first structure, then backlight play, then dense background.
The first alley after Lindenhof becomes our movement spot. The sun now stands higher and delivers broad, natural fill light. The AD300Pro comes slightly elevated from the side as key light. I turn the softbox slightly away so no hotspots appear on forehead or cheeks. Ratio between flash and ambient: about 1.5 to 2 stops. This keeps life in the image. Focal lengths around 50mm feel pleasantly natural. With f/2.8 I separate enough without losing the architecture. For stronger compression I briefly switch to 100mm and more. I stick to 1/400s sync speed, save myself HSS and ND filters. The result: crisp movement frames during turns and hair flips – more time for photographing, less menu acrobatics.
Further towards Paradeplatz we notice reflecting water and an alley with an archway towards the Limmat – a perfect frame for the image effect. Silvan positions the flash over the Limmat, slightly higher than eye level and slightly to the side – this gives beautiful contours on the cheeks. I jump between 35 and 90mm: quick context or tighter portrait without lens changes.
In the Botanical Garden we continue after a short break with reduced setup. Minimal flash light only lifts eyes and mid-tones slightly, the rest stays natural. Initially I stay between 35 and 70mm for quick variations. For the greenhouse domes I switch to 100mm and more so they don’t get lost in the background. Hair keeps blowing into the face, Eye-AF stays locked on. The Tilt-Flip-Screen saves me dirty knees and wobbly overhead contortions.
In the greenhouse I use leaves in the foreground as an organic vignette. 35–50mm get enough structure without distorting lines. Focus clearly on the subject, Eye-AF runs reliably. I balance green ambient light with slightly increased magenta in white balance. In the tropical section the front lens fogs up quickly – we take this as free soft-focus with glow. I leave contrast alone on location and later moderately increase clarity in post-processing before moisture becomes too risky.
If you noticed: The 85mm remained completely unused this time. I was almost exclusively with the Tamron 35–150mm, Silvan mainly used his 28–70mm. I still like primes – but on such location days, flexibility wins over romance.
Swiss Creator Lab Events
At a later point I participated in 2 Creator Lab events. The first took place at Kraftwerk in Zurich. There I mainly tested my A1 II in combination with the 28–70mm F2.0 and the 50–150mm F2.0 to get a good feel for AF performance with native high-end lenses. I usually use Tamron lenses for portraits because they offer very good value for money. But the Sony lenses are naturally in another league. The AF really sits perfectly here and the image quality is at a very high level. The build quality of the lenses is also top-notch and they feel good in hand. For my type of photography, however, they’re just too expensive.
What was particularly cool about this event was that we were only a small group and had so much time to try different poses. The only challenge was the light, or rather the lack of it. Since it was cloudy and no bright artificial light was available, you had to work with relatively high ISO values. Here too, the good impression of the A1 II’s AF was confirmed again. Even at ISO 6400 and 1/200s I had no problems hitting focus. The only issue I had was motion blur, because on one hand the models were moving and on the other hand I was totally soaked in sweat after 30 minutes. But that’s another topic, you can read more about it here.
At the second Swiss Creator Lab event in Zurich, significantly more people were present. In total, over 140 people were registered. For this, the team from Swiss Creator Lab, Sony and Foto Zumstein rented the photo hall in Schlieren and set up many different sets. There were also workshops with Sven Germann and Muriel Rieben present, who conducted workshops. I mainly stayed with Muriel because she had set up a really moody water set that I really liked. Due to the atmosphere, I could test the AF of the A1 II again. I also used my own lenses again, namely the Tamron 35–150mm F2–2.8 and the new Tamron 16-30mm F2.8. The AF was again very reliable here, but certainly not at the level of the native Sony lenses. However, I had more flexibility with focal length. I could also unintentionally test the weather resistance of the A1 II here, as I accidentally held the camera in water, so please don’t try this at home.
But I could also photograph a bit at the other sets, which was very fun with the reliable AF of the A1 II. At these open sets, the viewfinder was also very important, because I could assess when the models made eye contact. Normally this isn’t such a problem, but since as soon as you had a setup that was cool, 20 other photographers stood around you, I could thus catch the perfect moment. Only the battery life was a bit tight here, since I photographed the whole afternoon, I went through 2 batteries.
Conclusion
The A1 II doesn’t feel like “new technology” but like a grown extension of my workflow. Its value doesn’t show in isolated specs, but in keeping rhythm, vision and micro-decisions stable: The AF takes care of the basics, colors remain neutral enough for quick workflow without appearing sterile, the screen makes perspectives spontaneous, ergonomics and reaction speed prevent fatigue. This allows more attention to flow into expression, light edge and timing – less into corrections or menu changes.
Who is it suitable for? For everyone who frequently photographs people/portraits in changing light and above all seeks a consistently smooth flow. Those who have maximum resolution or budget as their main criterion will continue to do well with A7R V or used A1 (Gen 1).
My Setup
Sony Alpha 1 II
Features
- 50.1 MP Vollformat-Sensor
- 30 fps kontinuierlich
- 8K 30p Video
- 759 Phasen-AF-Punkte
- 7-Achsen Bildstabilisierung
Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM
Tamron 16-30mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 Sony E
Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD Sony FE
Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM 4 Jahre Swiss Garantie
Sony VG-C5 Vertical Grip
Features
- Vertikalgriff für Sony Alpha-Kameras
- Verbesserte Ergonomie bei Hochformat-Aufnahmen
- Zusätzliche Bedienelemente
- Kompatibel mit Sony A1II
