In terms of pure image quality, this means that your older camera is surely holding up in the case of the Nikon. But when you consider Pentax, you’re also getting the same results. Where Sony is most likely to take the cake though is with the new autofocusing system. When we joined other journalists and bloggers out on a press trip to Austin, Texas we found the Sony a99 II to be incredibly fast to focus. We also gave it a bit of a torture test at Photokina earlier this year and even with an f1.4 lens, it was able to accurately track a moving subject.
Photographers that have been wanting to get into Sony’s camera system but that shoot really fast moving subjects may want to go for the Sony a99 II. But when it comes to pure image quality, it’s questionable whether or not the Sony a99 II is really what you need depending on the type of subject matter you’re shooting.
All of this though brings up an even bigger question: did Sony really need to create this camera? It’s very clear that DSLRs are on their way out and lots of bloggers and journalists complained about how large and weighty the cameras and kits were. Mirrorless cameras like the company’s Sony a7r II are becoming more and more standard overall at least amongst high end enthusiasts and semi-professionals. Lots of people don’t need the craziest, fastest autofocusing out there. They just need to be able to get the subject most of the time in fair lighting. As it is, the Sony a7r II and the Sony a7s II have very good autofocus capabilities. With that said though, we’re sure that the Sony a99 II is going to be quite a workhorse for many photographers out there.
