mirrorless camera

To borrow a phrase from 2019 internet slang, the Sony A1 camera is "extra". Flip through its specs list and you'll notice that Sony has pushed its flagship camera a little more than you might expect in almost every category. Compared to its competitors, it has faster burst rates, more megapixels, and it even excels in more specialized stats like flash sync speed. Of course the A1

costs $6,500

(as much as flagship DSLRs aimed at hardcore professionals), but it packs pretty much everything you could want in a camera. And while we'd still expect Canon and Nikon to introduce their own flagship mirrorless models, the

A1

is the top of the heap, at least for now. p>

Advantages

Disadvantages

– Stunning high resolution images

– Expensive

– Ultra-fast burst rates

– Ergonomics not suitable for all hands

– The state-of-the-art electronic shutter

– Higher fps mode reduces image quality

A snapshot of good and bad.

Sony A1 hardware and specs

The tracking had no trouble keeping up with this fast dog.

Stan Horaczek

Before the appearance of

A1

, Sony's professional shooters had to choose between the fast

24.2MP A9 II

to film the action and

the beefy

A7R IV

and its high resolution of 61 megapixels. Sony's new camera effectively combines the best parts of each camera into one powerful photographic Voltron. The A1 uses a 50-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor, which allows Sony to embed critical system parts (like memory) directly into the chip. This arrangement allows the sensor to read extremely fast, enabling very high frame rates (up to 30 fps in compressed raw mode) and up to 8K video capture.

Sony's flagship camera hits superlatives in other categories as well. Its electronic viewfinder boasts a resolution of 9.4 million dots with a refresh rate of 240Hz. In the real world, the viewfinder is every bit as smooth and detailed as those numbers suggest. It offers a matching pair of

CFExpress card slots

, so shooters can fire off big bursts or ultra-high resolution video and still have redundancy in case one of the cards dies. The weather resistance of the A1 is also top notch.

How fast is the Sony A1 camera?

It was part of a 20-shot burst that kept it in focus the entire time.

Stan Horaczek

Crank up Sony's flagship camera and it can capture 30 raw frames per second. At this speed, the camera uses a lossy compression format, so you'll lose a small amount of overall image quality, but you'll still get the full 50-megapixel resolution. If you're not willing to compromise on compression, you can still get raw 20fps capture as long as your memory cards can handle it. Those numbers match or exceed any other camera on the market today, including Sony's own A9 II and flagship DSLRs like the Canon 1D X III and Nikon D6.

Those are impressive numbers, but the Sony A1 also boasts impressive stats when it comes to its electronic shutter. Even though mirrorless cameras typically do almost everything electronically, a mechanical shutter allows them to circumvent some inherent limitations that plague electronic shutters. Because electronic shutters read an image from top to bottom, for example, they can encounter problems such as banding of artificial light (caused by electrical phase) or the inability to synchronize with a flash at speeds of shutter speeds fast enough to be useful in the real world.

A crossfit competition in a relatively dark gym did not disturb the AF system.

Stan Horaczek

The A1's electronic sensor reads at 1/260th of a second, which is fast enough to use indoors or even sync a flash down to 1/200th of a second. To put that into perspective, the A7R IV sensor reads to 1/10th of a second. Canon's 1D X III reads at 1/60th.

This speed allows photographers to keep the electronic shutter engaged in most situations, meaning the camera can shoot completely silent, among other benefits that come from letting the mechanical shutter stay on standby. .

Shooting experience with the Sony A1 camera

DSLRs at this level typically offer full-size professional bodies, which have built-in vertical grips and space for massive batteries that can last for thousands of shots. the

A1

, however, doesn't look much different from the company's other A-series mirrorless cameras.

Dials and buttons take up just about every bit of space on the A1's body. The top of the camera alone sports five dials and a pair of custom function buttons that shooters can program to their own needs. The rear of the camera has a layout that should already look familiar to Sony shooters.

Shooting at a 300mm telephoto zoom, it looks sharp thanks to the 5-way image stabilization system built into the camera body.< /p>

Stan Hoiraczek

The 1.44 million-dot, 3-inch tilting touchscreen feels a bit small compared to the 3.2-inch screens you'll find on pro-grade DSLRs, but the large, high-magnification viewfinder helps make up for that. .

If you're coming from a pro DSLR, you'll notice the difference in battery life. While something like

Nikon D6

can shoot thousands of shots on a single charge, the A1 can achieve somewhere in the 400-500 range. This should come as no surprise as the A1 battery is considerably smaller and the mirrorless camera has to continuously power a lot more electronic features. For around $400 you can add a vertical Sony battery grip to the A1, which doubles the battery capacity and makes the body more comfortable to use with huge telephoto lenses thanks to better balance.

Compared to p>

Canon R5

(which is one of its closest true competitors at the moment), the A1's controls aren't quite as customizable, but that's mostly down to the Canon's neurotic levels of adjustability.

I have one complaint about the overall experience of the A1 when it comes to its ergonomics. When using a larger professional lens such as the

70-200mm GM

, the grip sits too close to the body of the lens and causes it to rub on the last knuckle of my middle finger while shooting. On short shoots, it's annoying, but on long ones, it hurts. If you have typical hands, this probably won't be a problem, but a few sports photographers I've spoken to have had the same complaint.

Image quality

Most cameras that can shoot anywhere near this fast stick are in the 24-megapixel range. That's enough for most applications, but the extra pixels are useful if you want to crop your images or apply noise removal software while editing.

Sony's 50-megapixel A1 raw files are impressive. I've been using the Canon R5 for about a year now and found the A1's images to be extremely similar in dynamic range and digital noise across the ISO range.

In the end, there's just not much to complain about here. I still slightly prefer the way Canon's sensors render colors (photo enthusiasts call it color science), but Sony's low-light performance holds up extremely well in post-processing.

Compared to professional sports-oriented DSLRs, the comparison isn't even close. The Sony A1 doubles the resolution while suppressing noise as well if not better in many cases.

auto-focus

Fast shooting is useless if AF isn't fast and accurate. Fortunately, the A1 had no problem keeping up in any situation I threw at it. He easily latched onto a friend's German Shorthaired Pointer as he sprinted across a field. the

A1

had no problem keeping up with Crossfitters doing box jumps. The camera even skimmed through random leaves all over the place trying to take portraits in the woods. It was excellent throughout.

There are a few minor complaints. For example, the AF system can track eyes on humans, dogs, and birds, but you'll have to manually select which one you want at all times. Still, overall this is the best focusing Sony camera I've used and one of the best AF systems around at full stop.

Other things that impressed me about the Sony A1

The more I think back on my review notes of this camera, the more features I find that I really appreciate. With the mechanical shutter, you can sync a flash up to 1/400th of a second without having to rely on battery-draining high-speed sync. It's faster than any camera I own except my Hasselblad leaf shutter film camera.

The Sony

A1

can achieve AF focus down to -4 EV, which is a darker point than many other mirrorless cameras. And while that number is hard to visualize on paper, it makes sense when you're pointing the camera at a dark environment like a nightclub or a literal cave and the focus locks on without hunting anywhere.

Sony has also improved its menu experience by streamlining the layout, which has been a bit of a pain point in the past. The A1 offers a large number of options and finding them is relatively quick and easy. There's always room for improvement here, but I have Sony to thank for the upgrades.

Who Should Buy Sony A1 Camera?

If you have $6500 and want a camera that will excel in any photographic situation you can throw at it, then this is it. You get beautiful high-resolution files, lightning-fast capture rates, robust video modes, and a rugged body that can withstand the rigors of professional work.

While Sony is the champion at the moment, Canon R5 isn't far behind when it comes to image quality and feature set. This comparison makes the Canon's $3,800 price tag seem like a bargain. If you're a hardcore sports shooter, the R5 isn't on the same level, however, so you'll have to wait for the next R3 to really compete with the

A1

If you're already a Sony shooter and don't need a single camera that can do it all, then you're probably better off looking around the Sony range for something that's right for you. your specific needs. The 61-megapixel A7R Mark IV is an amazing portrait camera and will set you back less than half of the $2,999 A1. You'll lose the ultra-high frame rate and fast electronic shutter, but those things don't really matter often in a portrait shoot or in the studio.

If you're a working pro with a solid hardware budget (or a Dogecoin millionaire), you won't regret taking the plunge on the A1.