I am about to re-enter this crazy expensive hobby again after a couple of years away. I had a Nauticam A1 set up but due to separation sold everything. I am about to upgrade to an A1ii for topside but I am not sure I need the A1ii for underwater and could save a little money by buying a second A1 body used for redundancy rather than having two A1ii bodies which here in Canada are pretty much $10000 each with taxes.

Thoughts from those who have shot both underwater

Thanks in advance,

Jamie

Hi @jmorphy ,

I too use the a1 and am super happy with it. From everything I have seen and heard, there is no real upside to the a1 vII over the a1 for underwater usage.

To be honest, it was a really tough decision between it and the a7rV. The main reasons I chose the a1 was 1) electronic shutter with flash possibility and 2) the 1/400 sync speed.

After seeing many of the a7rV in the wild and talking their owners, I would look seriously that direction to potentially save a few dollars with no reduction in quality. 1/250 sync speed it great for most scenes, and now HSS is a solid option for even faster shutter speeds. The electronic shutter option has not been a big plus in real life. The newer AI focus does have a bit of an upgrade with fish faces.

Best of luck in your decision!

Chip

I don't shoot either one but did read a few articles on the differences. This one is worth a read:
https://interceptor121.com/2025/03/26/1263-reasons-not-to-get-a-sony-a1-ii-for-underwater-photography/

13 minutes ago, brightnight said:

I don't shoot either one but did read a few articles on the differences. This one is worth a read:
https://interceptor121.com/2025/03/26/1263-reasons-not-to-get-a-sony-a1-ii-for-underwater-photography/

Thanks, I had read that article. I am leaning more towards the A1

On 12/3/2025 at 8:10 PM, ChipBPhoto said:

Hi @jmorphy ,

I too use the a1 and am super happy with it. From everything I have seen and heard, there is no real upside to the a1 vII over the a1 for underwater usage.

To be honest, it was a really tough decision between it and the a7rV. The main reasons I chose the a1 was 1) electronic shutter with flash possibility and 2) the 1/400 sync speed.

After seeing many of the a7rV in the wild and talking their owners, I would look seriously that direction to potentially save a few dollars with no reduction in quality. 1/250 sync speed it great for most scenes, and now HSS is a solid option for even faster shutter speeds. The electronic shutter option has not been a big plus in real life. The newer AI focus does have a bit of an upgrade with fish faces.

Best of luck in your decision!

Chip

Thanks Chip, the A7rV was also a little in the back of my mind and on sale here for a pretty good discount right now. It is a really tough decision.

2 hours ago, jmorphy said:

Thanks Chip, the A7rV was also a little in the back of my mind and on sale here for a pretty good discount right now. It is a really tough decision.

For uw usage, I don’t really see a downside to the a7rV or any huge upside to the a1 over it.

I do use the a1 for high speed action above the waves such as air shows, etc. It really shines there, although the new ai focus on the a7rV is also pretty amazing. Both are exceptional; no wrong choices here.