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Sony A1: the alpha among the Alphas

26.1.2021

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

50 megapixels, 30 frames per second, 8K video – those are just some of the Sony Alpha’s awesome specs. And it’s priced accordingly.

Sony, as seems to be customary (link in German) nowadays, has made an announcement. This time around, the rumour mill was pretty clueless in the run-up to the event. It could have been anything, in principle – a new Alpha 7, a new Alpha 9. Even rumours of a camera with a curved sensor made the rounds.

What Sony has now presented is still spectacular enough, even with a traditional, flat image sensor. Namely, a new flagship for the expensive price of 7,800 francs, which can do pretty much anything you could imagine a 2021 camera doing. Except that the screen can’t be moved in all directions.

Speed and resolution

A 50-megapixel resolution – that’s a lot. 30 images per second – that’s even more a lot. And both in the same camera is a dream come true. It’s true that the Sony Alpha 1 only achieves this frame rate thanks to the electronic shutter. But the disadvantages of the electronic shutter have been minimised to the point that it should be usable for virtually any situation. According to Sony, the rolling shutter effect has been reduced by 1.5 compared to the Alpha 9 II. This flickering effect that can occur when shooting with an electronic shutter in artificial lighting is also supposed to be minimised in continuous shooting mode. Finally, the A1's electronic shutter also allows flash sync at up to 1/200 of a second. Oh, and by the way, the mechanical shutter can be used to push the shutter speed to a potentially record-breaking 1/400 of a second.

When it comes to autofocus, you really don’t have to worry about it on this Sony. The camera calculates focus and exposure 120 times per second. The viewfinder operates at 240 frames per second and displays the image in continuous shooting without blackout. Eye autofocus now also works for birds.

Video

Thanks to the high resolution of the sensor and the fast processing speed, the Sony Alpha 1 can also handle 8K video at a maximum of 30 fps. The maximum clip length is 30 minutes; the same is true at 4K and 60 fps. Sony claims to have solved the overheating problem with a special heat-dissipating design.

4K can also be filmed at 120p. And as another treat, there's 10-bit recording with 4:2:2 sampling. If you really want to take it to the extreme, you can record 16-bit RAW onto an external HDMI recorder.

Etc., etc.

And so on. There are some other updates that are exciting in and of themselves but, in the context of this camera, seem more like an added bonus. For example, a new RAW format and HEIF support. Then there’s a fast data port thanks to USB-C, as well as 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi which, according to Sony, gives you 3.5 times the transfer speed of the A9 II. And, of course, there’s also Ethernet. The two card slots work both for SD cards (including UHS-II) and for CFExpress Type A cards.

Well, that's all for now. We’ll certainly take a closer look at the camera and add it to the shop. It’s supposed to be available as early as March 2021.

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David Lee

Senior Editor

David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.ch

My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.

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