Sony A9 II Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha A9 II is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was officially introduced in October 2019 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Sony A9 II a good camera? The A9 II has a Camera Elo of 2943. This rating puts the A9 II among the top 20 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the A9 II ranks among the top 30 percent.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Sony A9 II relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A9 II alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A9 II	129 mm	96 mm	76 mm	678 g	690	Y	Oct 2019	4,499	amazon.com
2.		Nikon Z6	134 mm	101 mm	67 mm	675 g	310	Y	Aug 2018	1,999	ebay.com
3.		Sony A7S III	127 mm	97 mm	81 mm	699 g	600	Y	Jul 2020	3,499	amazon.com
4.		Sony A7C	124 mm	71 mm	60 mm	509 g	740	Y	Sep 2020	1,799	amazon.com
5.		Sony A7R IV	129 mm	96 mm	78 mm	665 g	670	Y	Jul 2019	3,499	amazon.com
6.		Sony A7 III	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	610	Y	Feb 2018	1,999	amazon.com
7.		Sony A7R III	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	650	Y	Oct 2017	3,199	ebay.com
8.		Sony A9	127 mm	96 mm	63 mm	673 g	650	Y	Apr 2017	4,499	ebay.com
9.		Sony A7S II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	627 g	370	Y	Sep 2015	2,999	ebay.com
10.		Sony A7 II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	599 g	350	Y	Nov 2014	1,999	ebay.com
11.		Sony A99	147 mm	111 mm	78 mm	812 g	500	Y	Sep 2012	2,799	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A9 II was launched in the US market at a price of $4,499. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A9 II price at
amazon.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the sensor inside a digital camera is one of the key determinants of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be associated with larger, more expensive camera bodies and lenses.

The Sony A9 II features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A9 II among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

Consistent information on actual sensor performance is available from DXO Mark for most cameras. This service determines an overall sensor rating, as well as sub-scores for low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and color depth ("DXO Portrait"). The table below summarizes the physical sensor characteristics and sensor quality findings and compares them across a set of similar cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A9 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.0	3434	93
2.		Nikon Z6	Full Frame	24.3	6048	4024	4K/30p	25.3	14.3	3299	95
3.		Sony A7S III	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/120p	23.7	13.9	2520	86
4.		Sony A7C	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.7	3407	95
5.		Sony A7R IV	Full Frame	60.2	9504	6336	4K/30p	26.0	14.8	3344	99
6.		Sony A7 III	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.7	3730	96
7.		Sony A7R III	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	14.7	3523	100
8.		Sony A9	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.9	13.3	3517	92
9.		Sony A7S II	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/30p	23.6	13.3	2993	85
10.		Sony A7 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.9	13.6	2449	90
11.		Sony A99	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	25.0	14.0	1555	89

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but also of capturing video footage. The A9 II indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A9 II can use is 4K/30p.

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the A9 II has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 3686k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.78x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Sony A9 II and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A9 II	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
2.		Nikon Z6	3690	Y	3.2 / 2100	tilting	Y	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
3.		Sony A7S III	9440	n	3.0 / 1440	swivel	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
4.		Sony A7C	2360	n	3.0 / 922	swivel	Y	1/4000s	10.0/s	n	Y
5.		Sony A7R IV	5760	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
6.		Sony A7 III	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
7.		Sony A7R III	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
8.		Sony A9	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
9.		Sony A7S II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
10.		Sony A7 II	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
11.		Sony A99	2359	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	n	Y
Notes: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha A9 II is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One feature that differentiates the A9 II from many older cameras is in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The A9 II reduces the risk of handshake-induced blur with all attached lenses, while cameras without IBIS have to rely on optical image stabilization in OIS-equipped lenses to achieve the same effect.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha A9 II and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A9 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
2.		Nikon Z6	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	-	Y
3.		Sony A7S III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
4.		Sony A7C	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	Y	Y
5.		Sony A7R IV	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
6.		Sony A7 III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
7.		Sony A7R III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
8.		Sony A9	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
9.		Sony A7S II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
10.		Sony A7 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
11.		Sony A99	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	2.0	-	-	-

It is notable that the A9 II has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A9 II can be found in the free online Sony A9 II Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the A9 II. User reviews that are available, for instance, at amazon can sometimes shed light on these issues, but such feedback is all too often partial, inconsistent, and inaccurate. This is why expert reviews are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A9 II	..	..	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Oct 2019	4,499	amazon.com
2.		Nikon Z6	5/5	..	5/5	89/100	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2018	1,999	ebay.com
3.		Sony A7S III	..	+ +	5/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jul 2020	3,499	amazon.com
4.		Sony A7C	3.5/5	..	3.5/5	86/100	4/5	4/5	Sep 2020	1,799	amazon.com
5.		Sony A7R IV	5/5	+	4.5/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jul 2019	3,499	amazon.com
6.		Sony A7 III	..	+ +	4.5/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2018	1,999	amazon.com
7.		Sony A7R III	..	+ +	4/5	90/100	4.5/5	5/5	Oct 2017	3,199	ebay.com
8.		Sony A9	5/5	+ +	4.8/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Apr 2017	4,499	ebay.com
9.		Sony A7S II	5/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	5/5	Sep 2015	2,999	ebay.com
10.		Sony A7 II	5/5	+	4/5	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Nov 2014	1,999	ebay.com
11.		Sony A99	5/5	..	..	84/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	2,799	ebay.com
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The above review scores should be interpreted with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, please note that some of the review sites have changed their methodology and reporting over time.

Check A9 II price at
amazon.com

Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review with another camera, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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