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The Complete Setup Guide to the Sony a1 II

With the Sony a1 II release, Sony upgraded one of the most powerful and popular mirrorless cameras to date. The a1 (Original A1 Setup Guide) was the first to offer a 50mp sensor and the ability to shoot at 30fps. To top things off, it had one of the best AF systems of any mirrorless camera at the time. With the a1 II, Sony has taken everything we loved about the original and added many highly requested features, such as a dedicated AI-based AF processor, RAW pre-capture, Eye AF tracking in video mode, and much more. In addition, it has a fully articulating rear LCD screen, a new, more ergonomic body, and the latest Sony camera menu system.

So, no matter if this is your first Sony camera or if you have been shooting with the Sony mirrorless system for as long as I have, there are plenty of new features, settings, and menus to learn. This is why I have created The Complete Setup Guide to the Sony A1 II. I will help you walk through each menu setting from the moment you first turn on your camera. If you’d like to learn how I choose to customize my a1 II, you can check out my separate blog post, Customizing Your Sony a1 II. There, you can see how I set up my a1 II and even download my settings file so that you can quickly get your camera set up exactly like mine. Either way, I hope you enjoy these guides, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below, and I will do my best to answer them!

*All new features to the Sony a1 II for those coming from the original a1 will be marked with “*New” to help you quickly identify them.

Starting Up Your Camera For the First Time

Now that you have opened the box that your Sony a1 II came in and charged the battery, it is time to turn it on for the first time.

Setting the Language

Just like with every other digital camera, the first thing you need to do is choose the language in which you want the a1 II to operate. You have six options including: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Traditional Chinese & Simplified Chinese.

the first thing you need to do is choose the language on the Sony A1 II

Setting the Accessibility Functions

The following window that pops up automatically is a question asking you if you wish to adjust the Accessibility functions of the camera. Selecting “Set” will take you to a second screen where you can adjust the Screen Reader settings to help you if you have issues with blindness/eyesight. In this case, you can turn on the “Screen Reader” option so that the text on the screen always reads aloud (in the initially selected language). If you select “Not Now”, it will skip all of this entirely.

Accessibility functions of the Sony a1 II camera by Colby Brown
Accessibility functions of the Sony a1 II camera by Colby Brown Photography
Accessibility functions of the Sony a1 II camera by Colby Brown Photography

Connecting to the Creators App

The following window will help you connect your Sony a1 II to the new (and vastly improved) Creators App. If you have used the “Imaging Edge” app in the past and you didn’t enjoy the experience, the Creators App is better in every way possible. It is easier to connect to your Sony cameras, more stable, and easier to use, and you can even easily update the firmware of your cameras and lenses via the app. I highly recommend you connect your smartphone to the app as it will help you easily set up a few settings via your phone. *All of the screenshots below of a phone were taken on an Android Pixel 9 Pro XL. Your experience might differ slightly if you are using an iPhone.

The first window will ask you if you want to perform the initial camera settings via your smartphone. Click on the “Set on Creators’ App” button to continue. From there, you will see a screen with a QR code that will link you to the Creators App on either an Android or Apple phone.

initial camera settings via your smartphone. Click on the "Set on Creators' App" button to continue by Colby Brown Photography
initial camera settings via your smartphone. Click on the "Set on Creators' App" button to continue by Colby Brown Photography

Once you have downloaded the app onto your phone, open it up for the first time, and you either have to register for a new account or login to your current account if you have one already. From there, you are asked to “Connect with your camera.” On this screen, hit “Next” at the bottom of the window to be taken to the next screen, where you need to select the “a1 II / ILCE-1M2”. On the next screen, you need to once again select “ILCE-1m2 – Pairing” to begin the pairing process with your camera.

The Sony a1 II Creators Smartphone App - register for a new account or login - by Colby Brown Photography
Connect your camera - The Sony a1 II Creators App - register for a new account or login - by Colby Brown Photography
The Sony a1 II Creators App - register for a new account or login - by Colby Brown Photography

Now you will need to allow the Sony a1 II to connect to your phone, in this case it was my Pixel 9 Pro XL. Hit the “OK” button to accept and continue pairing. From there, you will head back to the Creators App and choose if you want to connect to the camera at 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz connection. Without getting too technical, 2.4 GHz will be slower but will work at longer distances, whereas a 5 GHz connection will have a faster/stronger connection but will require your phone to be closer to the a1 II. Once you have chosen the option that works best for you, click on the “Go to the initial camera settings” button at the bottom of that screen.

Connect smartphone via The Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography
Connect smartphone via The Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography
ILCE-1M2 from the The Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography

Now you can quickly adjust the three “Initial camera settings” for your Sony a1 II via the Creators App.

Date/Time Format – The camera will automatically pull in the correct date, time, and time zone from your phone and apply those settings to your a1 II. You can choose if you want to adjust the date format.

Device Name – By default, this will be set at “ILCE-1M2,” but if you have more than one a1 II, you will want to give it a unique name to be able to identify them from one another from within the Creators App.

Auto Power OFF Temp. – By default Sony has the heat warning and shutdown temperature set pretty conservatively. If you change this from “Standard” to “High,” you can shoot for longer periods in environments where your camera is producing or experiencing prolonged heating. I set all of my Sony cameras to “high” so that I could shoot longer-form videos of my wildlife subjects.

Initial Camera Settings for the Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography
Date/Time Format - For the Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography
Auto Power OFF Temp. - By default Sony has the heat warning and shutdown temperature set pretty conservatively. For the Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography
Auto Power OFF Temp. - By default Sony has the heat warning and shutdown temperature set pretty conservatively. For the Sony a1 II Creators App - by Colby Brown Photography

Once you have set these initial settings to your liking, you can click the “Use above settings” button, and your a1 II will be ready for use for the first time. That said, we have just begun to set up your Sony a1 II. We have many more settings to adjust, configure, and learn about!

General Settings Worth Changing

Now that you are done with your initial setup with the Creators App let’s talk about some general settings you should adjust before you do any serious shooting.

JPEG VS HEIF

One of the first settings you can change has to do with selecting JPEG or HEIF for your compressed image file format. While many photographers will skip this step because they shoot in RAW, I know other photographers that shoot in RAW + JPEG. HEIF is very similar to JPEG, but it takes up less space. Time will tell if HEIF gets adopted as readily as JPEG, but it is a solid option to consider.

These settings are found in the “Shooting” menu under “1: Image Quality” and “JPEG/HEIF Switch”. Here, you can choose JPEG, HEIF (4:2:0), or HEIF (4:2:2), with the last option offering a higher degree of color sampling and quality.

These settings are found in the "Shooting" menu under "1: Image Quality" and "JPEG/HEIF Switch" - For the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography
These settings are found in the "Shooting" menu under "1: Image Quality" and "JPEG/HEIF Switch" - For the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography
These settings are found in the "Shooting" menu under "1: Image Quality" and "JPEG/HEIF Switch" - for the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography

Adjusting Image Quality Settings (for JPEG & RAW)

Next you will want to adjust the Image Quality Settings to fine-tune your choice of RAW or JPEG quality levels. It is here that you can choose to shoot in JPEG, RAW or RAW + JPEG as well as adjust the kind of RAW file you wish to shoot with. The Sony a1 II offers 5 different RAW file types:

  • Uncompressed – Offers a clean, untouched RAW file, but it has the largest file size of all the options.
  • Lossless Compressed (L) – Utilizes Sony compression techniques without losing RAW image data while maintaining a 50mp image size.
  • Lossless Compressed (M) – Utilizes Sony compression techniques without losing RAW image data while maintaining a 21mp image size.
  • Lossless Compressed (S) – Utilizes Sony compression techniques without losing RAW image data while maintaining a 12mp image size.
  • Compressed – Utilizes Sony compressed RAW file format to offer a full 50mp RAW image with a drastically smaller file size. In some rare situations, this compressed format can result in banding in your RAW images, such as when shooting highly contrasted scenes, such as the Aurora in the night sky. But for most situations, you won’t be able to tell the difference when looking at or processing these images.

These settings can be found under the “Shooting” menu, under “1: Image Quality” and “Image Quality Settings”.

These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality" and "Image Quality Settings". For the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality" and "Image Quality Settings". For the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality" and "Image Quality Settings". For the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography

Turning Off Long Exposure Noise Reduction

One of the first settings I personally like to turn off is the “Long Exposure Noise Reduction”. I do this for a few reasons:

  • With this setting on, every long exposure image will be followed immediately by a similar photo taken with the shutter closed, doubling the time before you can shoot again. So a 10-second exposed image will take 20 seconds to complete fully. The camera finds noise within your image by comparing it against a completely dark image.
  • I prefer to have full control over how and where I choose to remove noise from my images rather than let the camera decide what is best.

If you are new to post-processing, you might want to leave this setting on, but I recommend you turn it off for almost everyone else.

These settings can be found under the “Shooting” menu, under “1: Image Quality” and “Long Exposure NR”.

These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality" and "Long Exposure NR" - for the Sony a1 II - by Colby Brown Photography

Turning Off High ISO Noise Reduction

Next up to turn off is the High ISO Noise Reduction setting for the same reasons mentioned above under the “Long Exposure Noise Reduction” setting. If you are new to post-processing with your photographer, you might want to keep this setting on until you feel confident processing your images with noise.

These settings can be found under the “Shooting” menu, under “1: Image Quality,” and on the second page (scroll down) under “High ISO NR.”

These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality," and on the second page (scroll down) under "High ISO NR." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality," and on the second page (scroll down) under "High ISO NR." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Changing the Color Space of your Sony a1 II

Now, if you are shooting purely in RAW, this setting doesn’t matter much, but I always make it a point to change it regardless. By default, the Sony a1 II is set on sRGB, the smallest but most universally accepted Color Space to work in. Alternatively, you can change it to Adobe 1998, which has a much larger color space from within the camera. This can be done when post-processing if you are shooting in RAW, but doing it in camera means one less thing to worry about.

These settings can be found under the “Shooting” menu, under “1: Image Quality,” and on the second page (scroll down) under “Color Space.”

These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality," and on the second page (scroll down) under "Color Space." - from the The Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "1: Image Quality," and on the second page (scroll down) under "Color Space." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Choosing How Images & Video Are Recorded On Your Memory Cards

Another critical setting worth changing is how images and photos are recorded onto your memory cards. Here, you can choose which memory card to write to, which allows you to write to both memory card slots simultaneously (creating a backup in real-time), or even select for your images to be written to one card and your videos to be recorded to the other. All in all, you have a lot of options.

One thing you want to make sure to change is the “Auto Switch Media Card” setting. Turning this on will allow the a1 II to instantly start recording to the 2nd card in the camera once the first is full, providing fewer opportunities to miss the shot because you had to change cards in the moment.

These settings can be found under the “Shooting” menu, under “2: Media,” and under “Rec. Media Settings.”

These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "2: Media," and under "Rec. Media Settings." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "2: Media," and under "Rec. Media Settings." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "2: Media," and under "Rec. Media Settings." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "2: Media," and under "Rec. Media Settings." - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Setting Copyright Information

You are in the right place if you want to have your copyright information embedded into your images. You can add the Photographer and Copyright holder to any images you create here. The whole process is pretty straightforward.

These settings can be found under the “Shooting” menu, under “3: File,” and under “Copyright Info”.

These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "3: File," and under "Copyright Info". - from the The Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
These settings can be found under the "Shooting" menu, under "3: File," and under "Copyright Info". - for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

How To Embed Your A1 II's Serial Number Onto Every Image & Video

One way to help protect your camera from theft (or, at the very least, help you track it down if it was stolen) is to embed your Sony a1 II’s serial number into every photo and video it creates.

To do this, you can change the settings found in the “Shooting” menu under “3: File” and under “Write Serial Number.”

You can change the settings found in the "Shooting" menu under "3: File" and under "Write Serial Number." For The Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
You can change the settings found in the "Shooting" menu under "3: File" and under "Write Serial Number." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Saving Camera Settings For Specific Situations

An often overlooked setting within the Sony a1 II is the ability to save all my camera settings to recall at any given point. This can be very handy when you are switching between shooting landscape and wildlife photography or when you are switching between shooting still images and videos. In these situations, you will often be using very different settings within the camera, not just a change of your ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture. With the Camera Memory Recall, you can customize the 1, 2, and 3 modes on your top camera dial or save up to 4 groups of settings (M1, M2, M3, or M4) to the memory card currently in the camera. I will often use this feature to save different settings in situations where I photograph wildlife that is both still (like a posing Jaguar) and birds in flight close to each other. In these situations, I will apply different shutter speeds and ISOs, select different AF areas, FPS, and use animal Eye AF settings for example. 

To do this, you can change the settings found in the “Shooting” menu under “4: Shooting Mode” and look for “Camera Set. Memory”.

The Sony a1 II is the ability to save all my camera settings to recall at any given point - For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography - To do this, you can change the settings found in the "Shooting" menu under "4: Shooting Mode" and look for "Camera Set. Memory".
The Sony a1 II is the ability to save all my camera settings to recall at any given point - For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography - To do this, you can change the settings found in the "Shooting" menu under "4: Shooting Mode" and look for "Camera Set. Memory".

How To Change The Self-Timer Settings

If you find yourself wanting to use the “Self-Timer” mode on the a1 II to give yourself time to get into the frame, this section is for you. You can choose between a 2, 5, or 10-second delay before taking your image. Additionally, you can ask the camera to take a series of images after a small delay. You have the following options:

  • 10-second delay with either a 3 or 5-image set
  • 5-second delay with either a 3 or 5-image set
  • 2-second delay with either a 3 or 5-image set

You can find this setting in the “Shooting” menu under “5: Drive Mode.” Look for “Self-timer Type.”

How To Change The Self-Timer Settings, You can choose between a 2, 5, or 10-second delay before taking your image. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography - You can find this setting in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode." Look for "Self-timer Type."
How To Change The Self-Timer Settings, You can choose between a 2, 5, or 10-second delay before taking your image. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography - You can find this setting in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode." Look for "Self-timer Type."

How To Add A Shutter Delay When Shooting a Bracket Of Any Kind

If you often shoot from a tripod and don’t own or like to use a wireless remote, adding a slight delay to any set of bracketed images you shoot can help you avoid any unnecessary vibrations that could cause your photos to be soft or out of focus. This setting will apply to all bracketed features on the a1 II (exposure, white balance, and focus).

This setting can be found in the “Shooting” menu under “5: Drive Mode”. Look for “Bracket Settings” before seeing “Self-timer during Bracket” and turning it on.

How To Add A Shutter Delay When Shooting a Bracket Of Any Kind? This setting can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Look for "Bracket Settings" before seeing "Self-timer during Bracket" and turning it on. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
How To Add A Shutter Delay When Shooting a Bracket Of Any Kind? This setting can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Look for "Bracket Settings" before seeing "Self-timer during Bracket" and turning it on. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
How To Add A Shutter Delay When Shooting a Bracket Of Any Kind? This setting can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Look for "Bracket Settings" before seeing "Self-timer during Bracket" and turning it on. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Everything To Do With Focus Bracketing (New to the a1 II)

Once a highly requested feature of the Sony a1 series, the a1 II now allows you to use Focus Bracketing to automatically capture a series of images with different focal points that you can combine (in post-processing) to get everything in focus. This is commonly requested by landscape and macro photographers, who often struggle to have the foreground, midground, and background of an image all in focus. With the a1 II, you have two menu items you need to look at under “Bracket Settings”:

  •  Under “Bracket Type” you need to select “Focus Bracket”. Hit right on the rear control wheel to easily adjust the distance between shots (1 = Very Narrow to 10 = Very Wide) and select the number of images inside the focus bracket (1 to 999).
  • Inside the “Bracketing Settings” menu, you will find “Focus Bracket Settings”. Her,e you have the following options:
    • Focus Bracket Order – Change the order of the images in the bracket. I recommend leaving this on default.
    • Exposure Smoothing – This can adjust the exposure between shots for your focus bracket. I recommend leaving this off.
    • Shooting Interval – Change the interval between shots of the focus bracket.
    • Focus Bracketing Saving Destination – Adjust the final destination of the focus bracket. You can either have all of the images sent to the regular photo folder on your memory card or ask it to create a new folder with every focus bracket.

These settings can be found in the “Shooting” menu under “5: Drive Mode”. Look for “Bracket Settings,” where you will find both the “Bracket Type” and the “Focus Bracket settings” menu items.

The Sony a1 II now allows you to use Focus Bracketing to automatically capture a series of images with different focal points that you can combine (in post-processing) to get everything in focus. These settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Look for "Bracket Settings," where you will find both the "Bracket Type" and the "Focus Bracket settings" menu items. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
The Sony a1 II now allows you to use Focus Bracketing to automatically capture a series of images with different focal points that you can combine (in post-processing) to get everything in focus. These settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Look for "Bracket Type," where you will find both the "Bracket Type" and the "Focus Bracket settings" menu items. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
The Sony a1 II now allows you to use Focus Bracketing to automatically capture a series of images with different focal points that you can combine (in post-processing) to get everything in focus. These settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Look for "Focus Bracket settings," where you will find both the "Bracket Type" and the "Focus Bracket settings" menu items. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Exposure Bracketing Done Right

As a landscape photographer, you might want to shoot exposure brackets to create HDR-like images. Each image in the bracket will have a different exposure, allowing you to fully capture a given scene’s highlights, shadows, and midtones. To shoot an exposure bracket:

  • Choose the “Continuous Bracket” under the Bracket Type. You can select the exposure difference between images (2 stops in this case) and how many images are in the bracket (3 Images). 
  • For your exposure bracket to take sequential images for you, make sure you turn on the “Self-timer during Bracket” option. I recommend at least a 2-second delay. Otherwise, you must press the shutter button for every image in the bracket.

All of these settings can be found in the “Shooting” menu under “5: Drive Mode”. Once there, select “Bracket Settings.”

Exposure Bracketing Done Right, All of these settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Once there, select "Bracket Settings." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
Exposure Bracketing Done Right, All of these settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Once there, select "Bracket Settings." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
Exposure Bracketing Done Right, All of these settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". Once there, select "Bracket Settings." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Understanding the Interval Shoot Func. Menu (Timelapse Mode)

If you are interested in shooting Timelapses with your Sony a1 II, you will want to poke around the “Interval Shoot Func. Menu” a bit. It is important to note that in this mode, the a1 II is taking all of the images for your timelapse, but is not actually putting the timelapse movie together for you. You will have to do that yourself on your computer. The benefit to this approach is that you will always have all of your RAW images from the timelapse, so if something amazing happens, you will have both incredible still images as well as a timelpase you could compile afterwards.

Here are your options:

  • Interval Shooting – In order to turn on Interval Shooting/Timelapse mode, this has to be set to “On”.
  • Shooting Start Time – How long before the timelapse takes its first photo.
  • Shooting Interval – The amount of time between shots of your timelapse
  • Number of Shots. – The total number of images of your timelapse.
  • AE Tracking Sensitivity – When shooting in P or Aperature Priority modes, allows the camera to adjust the exposure of the timelapse images as light changes in your scene.
  • Shutter Type in Interval – Chooose electronic or mechanical for your shutter type.
  • Shoot Interval Priority – When shooting in P or Aperature modes, the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed to prioritize the interval between images taken for this timelapse.

All of these settings can be found in the “Shooting” menu under “5: Drive Mode”. From there, scroll down to the second page and find “Interval Shoot Func.”

Understanding the Interval Shoot Func. Menu (Timelapse Mode), All of these settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". From there, scroll down to the second page and find "Interval Shoot Func." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
Understanding the Interval Shoot Func. Menu (Timelapse Mode), All of these settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". From there, scroll down to the second page and find "Interval Shoot Func." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
Understanding the Interval Shoot Func. Menu (Timelapse Mode), All of these settings can be found in the "Shooting" menu under "5: Drive Mode". From there, scroll down to the second page and find "Interval Shoot Func." For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Using the Pixel Shift Mode

Another often overlooked feature found on Sony’s mirrorless cameras is Pixel Shift. When turned on, Pixel Shift allows the camera to take sets of 4 or 16 images while the sensor shifts slightly for each shot. This allows the sensor in the a1 II to capture incredible detail in a given scene that goes beyond what you can get from a single photo. The catch is that you need to use a tripod and  Sony’s software on your computer to combine the sets of images. In my experience, this works best with shots of architecture that don’t include moving elements.

These settings are in the “Shooting” menu under “6: Composite RAW Sht.”. There you will find “Pixel Shift Multi Shoot.”.

Using the Pixel Shift Mode, These settings are in the "Shooting" menu under "6: Composite RAW Sht.". There you will find "Pixel Shift Multi Shoot". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
Using the Pixel Shift Mode, These settings are in the "Shooting" menu under "6: Composite RAW Sht.". There you will find "Pixel Shift Multi Shoot". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Using the Noise Reduction Mode (New to the Sony a1 II)

Not to be confused with Long Exposure Noise Reduction, the Sony a1 II will allow you to take multiple images of the same exact scene and stack them together to help eliminate any noise. This is a common method for astrophotographers to help remove noise from a photo of the night sky, although historically, they have used 3rd party software to combine the images. Either way, it is nice that Sony has this feature built into their latest cameras.

These settings are in the “Shooting” menu under “6: Composite RAW Sht.”. There you will find “NR Shooting Settings.”.

Download my a1 II Settings File over on my other blog post: "Customizing Your Sony a1 II"

Learn More...
Using the Noise Reduction Mode (New to the Sony a1 II), These settings are in the "Shooting" menu under "6: Composite RAW Sht.". There you will find "NR Shooting Settings.". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography
Using the Noise Reduction Mode (New to the Sony a1 II), These settings are in the "Shooting" menu under "6: Composite RAW Sht.". There you will find "NR Shooting Settings.". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Manually Selecting Mechanical or Electronic Shutter

While the Sony a1 II has an incredible set of stacked BSI ( Backside Illuminated) sensors that work excellently using the Electronic Shutter, you might find a need to use the Mechanical Shutter as well. This can be especially helpful when shooting around LED lights that might cause banding issues in your photos. Your three options are Auto, Mechanical Shutter, or Electronic Shutter.

You can find these settings in the “Shooting” menu under “7: Shutter/Silent”. There you will see “Shutter Type”.

Manually Selecting Mechanical or Electronic Shutter, You can find these settings in the "Shooting" menu under "7: Shutter/Silent". There you will see "Shutter Type". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography

Turning On Grid Lines

In my experience, a helpful tool worth turning on is the Grid Line for the rear LCD and the viewfinder. This tool can help you determine if your horizons are level while shooting. My favorite option within these settings is the “Rule of 3rds” as it can also help you with subject placement while you are figuring out your composition.

These settings are in the “Shooting” menu under “10: Shooting Display”. There you will see options for:

  • Grid Line Display – To turn on this feature 
  • Grid Line Type – You can choose between Rule of 3rds,  Golden Ratio, Square Grid or Diagonal + Square Grid.
Turning On Grid Lines, These settings are in the "Shooting" menu under "10: Shooting Display". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Turning On Grid Lines, These settings are in the "Shooting" menu under "10: Shooting Display". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Adjusting the Bulb Timer Settings

While you can jump into the Sony a1 II’s BULB mode by scrolling past a 30-second exposure in Manual mode, you cannot control how long the shutter stays open outside of pressing the shutter button again or using a remote. That is unless you turn on the dedicated BULB Mode setting. There, you can choose exactly how long you want the exposure (between 2 and 900 seconds).

These settings are in the “Exposure/Color” menu under “1: Exposure”. There you will find “BULB Timer Settings”.

Adjusting the Bulb Timer Settings, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "1: Exposure". There you will find "BULB Timer Settings". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Adjusting the Bulb Timer Settings, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "1: Exposure". There you will find "BULB Timer Settings". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Changing the ISO Auto Minimum Shutter Speed Settings

Some wildlife photographers prefer to shoot in Aperture Priority Mode with AUTO ISO to focus on composition rather than Shutter Speed and ISO. In this situation, you will want to set a minimum shutter speed so the camera doesn’t drop below a set speed. If the shutter speed drops too low, it can cause your photos to look blurry and out of focus because of the photographer’s and subject’s natural movement. To prevent this from happening, the camera will automatically increase the ISO of your image to counter and maintain the minimum shutter speed that was set.

These settings are in the “Exposure/Color” menu under “1: Exposure”. There, you will find “ISO AUTO Min. SS”. Once inside the setting, you can pick from a preset group (Slower, Slow, Standard, Fast, or Faster) or manually select a Shutter Speed from 16000 to 30 seconds.

Changing the ISO Auto Minimum Shutter Speed Settings, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "1: Exposure". There, you will find "ISO AUTO Min. SS". Once inside the setting, you can pick from a preset group (Slower, Slow, Standard, Fast, or Faster) or manually select a Shutter Speed from 16000 to 30 seconds. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Changing the ISO Auto Minimum Shutter Speed Settings, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "1: Exposure". There, you will find "ISO AUTO Min. SS". Once inside the setting, you can pick from a preset group (Slower, Slow, Standard, Fast, or Faster) or manually select a Shutter Speed from 16000 to 30 seconds. For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Turning Off the D-Range Optimizer

One of the last settings that I want to turn off with the Sony a1 II is the D-Range Optimizer, otherwise known as own as DRO. This setting will artificially pull up an image’s shadow exposure/details. The problem with this is that it only affects JPEG images, but since your RAW files create a JPEG thumbnail preview, it can give you an unrealistic expectation of the exposure of a photo you have taken. Why? Because it is that JPEG thumbnail that you look at on the back of your camera when you check out your images, even if you are shooting in the RAW file format.

These settings are in the “Exposure/Color” menu under “6: Color/Tone”. There, you will find “D-Range Optimizer”.

Turning Off the D-Range Optimizer, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "6: Color/Tone". There, you will find "D-Range Optimizer". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Turning Off the D-Range Optimizer, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "6: Color/Tone". There, you will find "D-Range Optimizer". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Turning Off the D-Range Optimizer, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "6: Color/Tone". There, you will find "D-Range Optimizer". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Selecting a Custom Zebra Display Level for Protecting Highlights

If you have spent any time shooting video, you are probably familiar with the Zebra or Dancing Ants setting on most digital cameras. Because it is harder to recover blown-out highlights with video, Zebra can be a helpful tool. However, with the Sony a1 II (and the original a1), it was discovered that it could be helpful with photos too. If you set a custom zebra level to a “Lower Limit of 107+”, you have a good idea of knowing if you have clipped the highlights in your image. You know you are good to go if you don’t see the “Dancing Ants” or Zebra lights flashing on any part of your frame. For example, this is incredibly helpful when shooting birds in flight with white feathers.

These settings are in the “Exposure/Color” menu under “7: Zebra Display”. There, you will find both “Zebra Display” and “Zebra Level”.

Selecting a Custom Zebra Display Level for Protecting Highlights, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "7: Zebra Display". There, you will find both "Zebra Display" and "Zebra Level". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Selecting a Custom Zebra Display Level for Protecting Highlights, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "7: Zebra Display". There, you will find both "Zebra Display" and "Zebra Level". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Selecting a Custom Zebra Display Level for Protecting Highlights, These settings are in the "Exposure/Color" menu under "7: Zebra Display". There, you will find both "Zebra Display" and "Zebra Level". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Adjusting the Focus Peaking Settings For Manual Focus

Focus Peaking is an excellent feature on Sony’s mirrorless cameras, including the a1 II. With it turned on, when you are in the manual focusing mode, color pixels will appear where the camera believes you are close to being in focus. It is not meant to represent a tac sharp image but more of a guideline to let you know that you are close to finding focus.

These settings are in the “Focus” menu under “5: Peaking Display”. Inside that menu you will find the following:

  • Peaking Display – Turn this setting On
  • Peaking Level – You can select low, medium, or high. I recommend medium.
  • Peaking Color – Select Red, Yellow, Blue, or White. I recommend you use Red or Blue, as they are easier to see in most situations where you might use MF.
Adjusting the Focus Peaking Settings For Manual Focus, These settings are in the "Focus" menu under "5: Peaking Display". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Adjusting the Focus Peaking Settings For Manual Focus, These settings are in the "Focus" menu under "5: Peaking Display". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Grouping Images from a Burst Together

One of the challenges of using a camera that can shoot with high FPS is that you will have a lot of images to go through at the end of the day. But if you want to get a head start on this process, I love turning on the “Display as Group” setting, which allows all of the images from a burst to be grouped together in Playback mode. Because there is usually only a handful of images you will want to keep from a given burst, you can “Protect” the images you want to keep (By pressing the C3 button on the back of the a1 II by default) and then delete the group from your camera. This will keep the images you flagged as “Protected” and remove everything else from that burst.

This setting is in the “Playback” menu under “7: Playback Option,” where you will find “Display as Group”.

Grouping Images from a Burst Together, This setting is in the "Playback" menu under "7: Playback Option," where you will find "Display as Group". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Grouping Images from a Burst Together, This setting is in the "Playback" menu under "7: Playback Option," where you will find "Display as Group". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Displaying The AF Point On Images Already Captured

If you want to see where the a1 II decided to focus on an image you have taken with the camera, you can turn on “Focus Frame Display.” This will artificially place a small green box on top of your image where the camera’s focal point was when the photo was taken. Just so you know, this will only be viewable inside the camera in the Playback mode.

This setting is in the “Playback” menu under “7: Playback Option,” where you will find “Focus Frame Display”.

Displaying The AF Point On Images Already Captured, This setting is in the "Playback" menu under "7: Playback Option," where you will find "Focus Frame Display". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Displaying The AF Point On Images Already Captured, This setting is in the "Playback" menu under "7: Playback Option," where you will find "Focus Frame Display". For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Using the Camera as a Webcam (New to the Sony A1 II)

A lesser-known feature of the latest Sony mirrorless cameras is that they can easily be used as a webcam. Talk about upping the quality of those work Zoom calls! 😉 With the Sony a1 II, you have two options for streaming with the camera: USB or Network.

USB Streaming
Connecting your a1 II to your computer to act as a webcam is extremely easy. 

Step 1 – Plug in a USB-C cable (I highly recommend a USB-C 3.2 cord for the best quality) into the side of your a1 II and then plug the other end into your computer
Step 2 – A window will pop up on the a1 II asking if you want to: Live Stream (USB Streaming), Image Transfer (MSC), Image Transfer (MTP), or setup Remote Shooting.
Step 3 – Select Live Stream (USB Streaming) and then select the a1 II as an option for your webcam on your computer.

You can also adjust the quality and frame rate of the video output by viewing it on USB. Head to the “Network” menu and look for “3: Streaming”. Find “USB Streaming,” and there you will find your two options: “Output Res/Frame Rate” and “Movie Rec During Streaming”.

Using the Camera as a Webcam (New to the Sony A1 II), Select USB Connect Mode, For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Using the Camera as a Webcam (New to the Sony A1 II), Streaming, For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Using the Camera as a Webcam (New to the Sony A1 II), Frame Rate, For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Using the Camera as a Webcam (New to the Sony A1 II), Bluetooth Pairing, For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Network Streaming
New to the a1 II is the ability to stream using the network/internet, although you must have your camera set up with Sony’s Creator App on your Android or Apple device.

Step 1 – With your a1 II already set up with the Creator’s App on your phone, open the app and move to the “Camera” tab.
Step 2 – Press the “Network streaming” button. Click “Next” on the next window.
Step 3 – Click the “Proceed to the destination settings” button where you need to input the streaming protocol from Youtube, RTMP/RTMPS, or SRT. Hit “Next” when you are done.
Step 4 – Click on the “Camera Wifi settings” app and connect the a1 II to your wifi or use the dedicated ethernet port.
Step 5 – You can adjust the “Output image quality” settings by selecting your Resolution, Frame Rate, and Bit Rate.
Step 6 – Once everything has been dialed in, press the “Turn Stream On” button at the bottom of the Network streaming page in the App itself.

Step 1 - With your a1 II already set up with the Creator's App on your phone, open the app and move to the "Camera" tab.
Step 2 - Press the "Network streaming" button. Click "Next" on the next window.
Step 3 - Click the "Proceed to the destination settings" button where you need to input the streaming protocol from Youtube, RTMP/RTMPS, or SRT. Hit "Next" when you are done.
Step 4 - Click on the "Camera Wifi settings" app and connect the a1 II to your wifi or use the dedicated ethernet port.
Step 5 - You can adjust the "Output image quality" settings by selecting your Resolution, Frame Rate, and Bit Rate.
Step 6 - Once everything has been dialed in, press the "Turn Stream On" button at the bottom of the Network streaming page in the App itself.

Using a Wireless Bluetooth Remote

To use a Bluetooth remote with the Sony a1 II, you must first turn on the “Bluetooth Rmt Ctrl” setting in the camera. Once you have done that, it will ask you to pair a new remote with the camera or select a list of remotes you have already paired with the a1 II.

This setting is in the “Network” menu under “6: Bluetooth,” where you will find “Bluetooth Rmt Ctrl”.

Using a Wireless Bluetooth Remote, This setting is in the "Network" menu under "6: Bluetooth," where you will find "Bluetooth Rmt Ctrl", For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Using a Wireless Bluetooth Remote, This setting is in the "Network" menu under "6: Bluetooth," where you will find "Bluetooth Rmt Ctrl", For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Using a Wireless Bluetooth Remote, This setting is in the "Network" menu under "6: Bluetooth," where you will find "Bluetooth Rmt Ctrl", For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Using the Camera as a Webcam (New to the Sony A1 II), Bluetooth Pairing, For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Turning on "Airplane Mode" To Save Battery Life

One of the few drawbacks to mirrorless cameras is that they are purely digital cameras and, therefore, can sometimes chew through batteries. To help preserve some of your battery life, you can turn on Airplane mode so that no wifi or Bluetooth features are used when you don’t want them to.

To turn on Airplane mode, go to the “Network” menu under “9: Network Option,” and you will find “Airplane Mode”.

Turning on "Airplane Mode" To Save Battery Life, To turn on Airplane mode, go to the "Network" menu under "9: Network Option," and you will find "Airplane Mode"., For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Turning on "Airplane Mode" To Save Battery Life, To turn on Airplane mode, go to the "Network" menu under "9: Network Option," and you will find "Airplane Mode"., For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Turning on "Airplane Mode" To Save Battery Life, To turn on Airplane mode, go to the "Network" menu under "9: Network Option," and you will find "Airplane Mode"., For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.

Adjusting the Quality & Frame Rate of the Viewfinder Display

The Sony a1 II’s viewfinder is impressive, with a 9.44 million dot display that can work up to 240 fps. However, you have a few settings you can play with to get the most out of the viewfinder, depending on what you photograph.

Display Quality – You can adjust the display resolution of the viewfinder from “Standard” to “High.” High will output a higher resolution display but at the cost of a bit of battery life.

Finder Frame Rate – You can also adjust the frame rate of the viewfinder from “Standard” to “High” to “Higher.” The higher the frame rate, the easier it is for you to use the viewfinder to track fast-moving subjects that don’t appear blurred. Because the display is digital, a higher frame rate means you see more frames per second as the subject moves across your screen. This is similar to how shooting a movie works. Just know that increasing the viewfinder’s frame rate forces the “Display Quality” setting to “Standard.” You can not currently set a High “Display Quality” and a High or Higher “Finder Frame Rate.”

Adjusting the Quality & Frame Rate of the Viewfinder Display, For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Display Quality - You can adjust the display resolution of the viewfinder from "Standard" to "High." High will output a higher resolution display but at the cost of a little battery life.
Finder Frame Rate - You can also adjust the frame rate of the viewfinder from "Standard" to "High" to "Higher."

Turn On Remaining Shoot Display

A helpful tool with the Sony a1 II, especially now that it has Pre-Capture is the ability to see how many images you have left in your image buffer. With “Remain Shoot Display,” a bar will appear on the left side of your frame that indicates your image buffer. It is white with a complete image buffer, but as you begin to take the photos, you will see the bar drain from the top. Once the bar is empty, you have hit your buffer limit, and your FPS will slow dramatically to allow the buffer to try to catch up.

You have three options within this feature:
Always Display – Always display the remaining amount of images in your buffer.
Shoot-Only Display – Only display the image buffer when you are shooting.
Not Displayed – Don’t display the image buffer bar.

This is in the “Setup” menu under “8: Display Options”. There you will see “Remain Shoot Display.”

Display Option Menu - For the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.
Remain Shoot Display - Option to display a bar representing the display buffer on the left side of the screen for the Sony a1 II by Colby Brown Photography.