Sony A1 Sony A1 Questions & Discussion

[Tim Mayo]

Please use this thread for all questions and discussion around the new Sony A1. If you are curious how the a1 compares to the a9II, then please take a look at my comparison article over on the blog:

Sony A1 vs A9 II – The Key Differences - Alpha Shooters

I take a look at the key differences between the new Sony A1 and Sony's previous flagship camera, the A9II.

www.alphashooters.com

The Alpha 1 will be available in Europe in mid Feb for £6,500. In the US it will be available around the beginning of March for $6,500.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Eeeeeek at the price

 

[Tim Mayo]

Eeeeeek at the price

I know. Even selling my a9 + a7R IV wouldn't pay for it!

 

[NightBreed]

Makes an A9 II look cheap! (Be great if it lowers the A9 series prices) Do you think they will now bring out an A7IV for the masses as I am sure this is where they would make the money and sales? As Canon announced two cameras at the same time R5/R6 The A1 is so much more expensive than the Canon R5 as well by some margin.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Makes an A9 II look cheap! (Be great if it lowers the A9 series prices) Do you think they will now bring out an A7IV for the masses as I am sure this is where they would make the money and sales? As Canon announced two cameras at the same time R5/R6 The A1 is so much more expensive than the Canon R5 as well by some margin.

I'm sure there will be lots of a9s and a7Rs going up for sale! The a7 IV will definitely be on its way and a lot more affordable! I'd expect the Canon R1 to be a similar price to the a1.

 

[gordonhatusupy]

The price is ridiculous but I'm still buying one haha

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Beast of a camera!

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I know. Even selling my a9 + a7R IV wouldn't pay for it!

Nope. I'm not really sure who it's aimed at to be honest, other than rich people. I don't think anyone realistically needs 30fps, unless they like sorting through loads of photos all the same, it's bad enough at 10 sometimes. The AF performance is obviously going to be a big thing, but given the A9 is no slouch, nor the RIV, it's a bold claim to say it's twice as fast. I would only buy one if I had endless funds.

 

[gordonhatusupy]

For me it's mainly 4k 120 and 50mp. Don't really need the 30fps kinda insane. I do like the upgraded EVF.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Nope. I'm not really sure who it's aimed at to be honest, other than rich people. I don't think anyone realistically needs 30fps, unless they like sorting through loads of photos all the same, it's bad enough at 10 sometimes. The AF performance is obviously going to be a big thing, but given the A9 is no slouch, nor the RIV, it's a bold claim to say it's twice as fast. I would only buy one if I had endless funds.

I normally turn my a9 down to 10 fps as well, 20 fps creates far too many similar images. I guess there are many pro sports shooters who might buy this in a normal year, but with covid hitting them hard they will need very deep pockets to justify the cost. I think more will sell to wildlife photographers who are currently shooting with an a9 + a7R and would prefer to have just the one body.

 

[Mixel]

It is a beast!!
I agree it matches the needs of some wildlife photographers to work with one body, but the prize is very high for most people.
I hope some models price will drop significantly.
Anyway good news, some features will be adopted in new lower models, prices of old models, competitors ... think we all win.

 

[pfpilch]

The a9 plus a7R IV purchased new are $1000 USD more than the alpha1. Im mainly a wildflife shooter and the new alpha1 appears to have everything I would ever want, all the features of the a9 and a7R IV combined. And yes the 30fps seems overkill but one can imagine the occasional use. I too mostly shoot my a9 at 10fps but every now and again more is useful.

 

[GregS]

I'm just happy Sony had the R&D and the courage to go forward with a flagship model at times like these. Today's pro-only feature is tomorrow's pro-sumer must-have!

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Who does Sony think they are, Leica? Why, I could almost buy a monochrome M10 body for that, and be able to shoot, er, black and white pictures.

Seriously, it looks like a class leader in the making.

 

[garuda]

I'm assuming Sony put all their eggs in the a1 basket, so the next iteration of the a9 (a9iii) is unlikely. Does anyone know if a9iii is dead?

If there's no more iterations of the future a9, I'll likely have to sell the Lambo to pay for the new alpha One.

 

[Clix Pix]

Read the description of the new Alpha 1...... I. WANT. One!!!! It ticks so many boxes for me and would be just terrific in a number of situations. I can see so easily how this is going to appeal to a number of photographers and cinematographers. Something for everyone! Yeah, the price tag is a bit steep, isn't it, especially when in the US we have to (in most states) add state tax and the UK and Europe there is the infamous VAT.

I won't be in the pre-order group or even the fortunate few who go to a store a few months from now and find one on the shelf, but I am already determined that this will indeed be my next camera..... I want to keep my beloved A7R IV, too, though.

 

[gordonhatusupy]

I'm assuming Sony put all their eggs in the a1 basket, so the next iteration of the a9 (a9iii) is unlikely. Does anyone know if a9iii is dead?

If there's no more iterations of the future a9, I'll likely have to sell the Lambo to pay for the new alpha One.

I don't think. The a9 is primarily a stills camera. I think we might see a higher res a9 at some point without all the other features.

 

[Sdawes]

Looks an amazing camera and Canon are going to have to go some with their rumoured R1 to beat it . I t is everything I would want in a camera but would have to sell my A9ii and A7Riv and still have to put some cash in and then I would only have one body . This is fine for the most time but under normal non covid conditions I take wildlife trips abroad and would not be happy taking one body in case something went wrong . Not going to rush into anything but have some serious thinking to do.

 

[NightBreed]

It will be interesting to see how it handles low light as we do get a lot of low light situations in the UK. I'm looking to buy a Sony camera for wildlife as the main use and travel (when we are allowed to but even then I'm photographing the birds whilst everyone is looking at the buildings!). It would be good if Sony realised something similar without all the video capabilities but it's also good to see Sony pushing the boundaries of camera technology. I'd like to get into macro wildlife photography as well so the A1 would save having two bodies? Either way lots to think about.

How long will it be before the reviews start to appear?

 

[Infinon]

It's the camera I've been hoping for, lots of megs for scenic work and when using crop mode for birds, you have enough pixels as well. It replaces my A7R4 for sure, and I'll probably unload my A9 too. If the A74 comes out this year as well, it might make a great backup to the A1. The only thing I wasn't looking for is the price tag. I realize all the top cameras sit in that rarified air, but still, it's pushing the envelope when you can get nearly the same performance/advantages in the Canon R5 at a much lower price.

 

[SteveK]

If it just didn't have all those stupid video specs Now I'm hoping the A9 isn't a dead line. Makes you wonder if they will drop A9 and bump the 7IV up into A9 territory and release a replacement for entry level FF, A5 or A6? I can't see them making an A9III that will do stills as well as A1, it will have to be someplace in between A9II and A1. I'd love to see 30-40 MP, 20-25 FPS, better EVF, faster AF, and faster processing. Keep the video specs in the 4K arena. Keep price under $5K US. They may have just put themselves in a position that killed the A9. Anything better than A9II, but less than A1 will hurt A1 sales (pro sports does not need 50MP or 8K, they shoot JPG for fast uploads and instant publishing, hardly anything is cropped so 24MP is fine with all that huge glass). I can see all the transfer updates, even the 50MP "maybe" but not the 8K being useful to anyone right now outside of video geeks.

 

[SteveK]

Looks an amazing camera and Canon are going to have to go some with their rumoured R1 to beat it . I t is everything I would want in a camera but would have to sell my A9ii and A7Riv and still have to put some cash in and then I would only have one body . This is fine for the most time but under normal non covid conditions I take wildlife trips abroad and would not be happy taking one body in case something went wrong . Not going to rush into anything but have some serious thinking to do.

Feeling the same. I have 3 bodies, and they go out every time. I would have to sell all 3 to buy one A1 and be without a back up. Right now I have an A9, 7RIV, and 7RIII. They each have a place in my photography and each can fill in if needed. I'd say the 7RIV would have to be the backup for an A1 in my kit (RIV would still be main landscape body), so I'm about $2K US short of an A1 today if I keep it, but the prices will drop like a rock shortly for A9s and 7RIII is falling already, so I may be closer to $3K short of an A1.

 

[Deleted Member 0001]

Just bought the A9ii and this almost caused a divorce, Mrs Red Dex would have my guts if I mentioned buying a £6K+ camera. In any case I'm more than happy with my gear apart from two more lenses.

 

[Jeff A]

Not to worry. I'm sure that Timothy Mayo is hard at work getting the members here Evaluation units for us all.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I'm actually quite surprised at how many people have sold their existing gear already, before any reviews are out. What if it's rubbish?

 

[NightBreed]

I suppose the problem is if you leave it to sell your gear later when the market is 'flooded' with used A9/A9II/A7RiV you won't get as much for your kit. It's a catch 22 situation and Is the A1 really going to be rubbish? The damage that would do to Sony would be immense but saying that I'm waiting for reviews but then I don't have any gear to sell so I am in a fortunate position.

 

[Jeff A]

I'm actually quite surprised at how many people have sold their existing gear already, before any reviews are out. What if it's rubbish?

I am not too proud to pick up rubbish!

 

[Sdawes]

Its low light / high ISO performance is the other unknown that I am waiting to see , shooting wildlife here in the UK I often find the light challenging when I need fast shuuter speeds for birds in flight and other wildlife action shots , even exposing to the right I find the A7Riv very noisy above ISO 3200 so waiting with interest to see how the new 50MP sensor handels high ISO

 

[Tim Mayo]

Not to worry. I'm sure that Timothy Mayo is hard at work getting the members here Evaluation units for us all.

Lol. Sure, a free A1 for 12 months for all pro members here

 

[Spitfire1962]

Just bought the A9ii and this almost caused a divorce, Mrs Red Dex would have my guts if I mentioned buying a £6K+ camera. In any case I'm more than happy with my gear apart from two more lenses.

My wife never asks the price. Plus the A9Ii is the same body as the A1, so she probably wouldn’t notice if I did change camera. Just the pesky bank sending her texts about the overdraft might give it away