Sony A1 announced

[Alberta Dave]

I'm with @JensM on this one, uninterested. Going by current Sony releases the mk2 version should be out in few weeks along with the "R" version.

 

[TNcasual]

I'm a Heinz 57 guy, myself.

 

[comment23]

Seen a few comments about flash in e-shutter mode. That’s been possible on the E-M1 since the Mark II IIRC. Or am am I missing something.

 

[BDR-529]

I wonder how many of these will be bought just for taking cat photos?

Well, since most professional photographers have lost their income during corona, the only remaining group who still can afford these flagship FF models are youtubers who stream cat videos.

Maybe ILC manufacturers should skip those silly Birds Eye AI-features and put all effort on Kitten Jumping on German Shepherd AI-stuff instead.

 

[Brownie]

Another tank. With Sony it's go old or go home. Honestly, their second and third generation SLT's were better ergonomically.

 

[Hypilein]

They also co-announced an Experia smartphone that pairs with the camera for another $2500. It has an HDMI in, so I guess they are pushing really hard on the video front. It’s a weird combo for a phone, IMO, but I guess they’ll see just how much integration they can muster. I do wonder how many Sony camera users are also Sony smartphone users.

Interesting take on the video monitor. No Idea if this is actually a good idea though. I'm not a video guy.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Interesting take on the video monitor. No Idea if this is actually a good idea though. I'm not a video guy.

Yeah, I question the value of it. Other than having the ability to livestream (which I suppose most phones could be made to do through software), it is your usual tall and skinny display, which means letterboxing on the video. I wonder how much bigger of a screen you’ll end up with over the one that‘s built right into the camera. I’m not a video guy by any means, but I’d figure you’d want a larger display in the aspect ratio you’re shooting, so you can better verify focus and lighting, but maybe I’m off on that assumption.

 

[11GTCS]

I knew this forum would be full of nothing but vitriol for the A1. Yeah, not exciting ergonomically, we all know the Sony folks don’t seem to actually be interested in that. The sensor and processing that goes into the A1 though, I’m very excited about that. Sure, most of this has existed for MFT for a while, but this isn’t MFT, we are seeing full autofocus and exposure in a full frame 50mp camera that can do 30fps with NO blackout, improved AF, and their bird AF is already insane, now they have bird eye AF for all your bird portraits also, the EVF is 9.44 million dot. I’ve owned several cameras with sensors that have lower resolution. The 1/400 flash sync in a focal plane shutter camera is also awesome.

Will I get this camera? Probably not. Do I think it significantly advances the ball in what a flagship full frame mirrorless can do? Absolutely. Don’t forget, all this in a body about the same size as most of the other A7’s (so smaller in most respects than the G9) with a full frame sensor while maintaining basically the same IBIS as the G9 (5.5 stops). To me that’s just impressive, and makes me excited for the future of photography. We all get so fragmented and defensive in this hobby (like many other things in life these days). Let’s just appreciate how cool that is! Imagine reading those specs to someone shooting a Nikon D1 in 1999. Ultimately, no matter if MFT dies, Nikon dies, whatever, I’m just happy such crazy awesome machines exist to help me take good pictures of the things I enjoy and care about.

 

[Jeffcs]

I think I’ll keep my A9 for now
What impresses me is flash in silent shutter I think at any speed awesome for shooting sunlight flash pictures at any f stop or shutter speed
I watched the announcement video

 

[Macroramphosis]

I knew this forum would be full of nothing but vitriol for the A1. Yeah, not exciting ergonomically, we all know the Sony folks don’t seem to actually be interested in that. The sensor and processing that goes into the A1 though, I’m very excited about that. Sure, most of this has existed for MFT for a while, but this isn’t MFT, we are seeing full autofocus and exposure in a full frame 50mp camera that can do 30fps with NO blackout, improved AF, and their bird AF is already insane, now they have bird eye AF for all your bird portraits also, the EVF is 9.44 million dot. I’ve owned several cameras with sensors that have lower resolution. The 1/400 flash sync in a focal plane shutter camera is also awesome.

Will I get this camera? Probably not. Do I think it significantly advances the ball in what a flagship full frame mirrorless can do? Absolutely. Don’t forget, all this in a body about the same size as most of the other A7’s (so smaller in most respects than the G9) with a full frame sensor while maintaining basically the same IBIS as the G9 (5.5 stops). To me that’s just impressive, and makes me excited for the future of photography. We all get so fragmented and defensive in this hobby (like many other things in life these days). Let’s just appreciate how cool that is! Imagine reading those specs to someone shooting a Nikon D1 in 1999. Ultimately, no matter if MFT dies, Nikon dies, whatever, I’m just happy such crazy awesome machines exist to help me take good pictures of the things I enjoy and care about.

You're right of course. But there's one problem. It costs more than my car, and if push comes to shove, my wife will shove me in the direction of a new car.

And besides, I still have a PL15mm to buy before anything else. Sigh

 

[11GTCS]

You're right of course. But there's one problem. It costs more than my car, and if push comes to shove, my wife will shove me in the direction of a new car.

And besides, I still have a PL15mm to buy before anything else. Sigh

True, though lots of us drool on exotic high performance cars and motorcycles and beautiful yachts and handmade custom mechanical watches etc. I *could* afford this body if I wanted to. But I don’t think I want to. I’m still very excited and happy for the hobby to see this development!

 

[Henk van Slooten]

In 2009 I bought a Nikon D3x for € 7299, =. That was the most expensive FF camera on the market at the time. So 12 years later about the same price for exceptionally more possibilities is not a crazy amount.
But now the Sony A1 .....
I see a camera made by Konica: boxy, bad anatomy.
I see a camera designed by Minolta: a lot of gadgets, poor infrastructure in the menu, not thoughtful button placement.
All this worked out together and put together by Sony.
Conclusion, I'll stick to my successor to the D3x, namely the Lumix S1r. Fantastic hand-fit, menu structure excellent, the weight is no drawback to me, as the camera-lens combination stays perfectly in balance and does exactly what I want and have in mind, with more than excellent lenses......And a lot cheaper

 

[RichardC]

I knew this forum would be full of nothing but vitriol for the A1.

Not really. You need to go elsewhere for abundance in the vitriol department.

A 50MP ff camera with the ergonomics of a mocked-up Canon FTb will always be a controversial sell on a forum dedicated to MFT.

 

[turbodieselvw]

i just ordered the A1 to go with the A9 that I should be receiving by next week. Now I'm looking for a pack mule that doesn't cost and eat too much to lug all my new gear around........ Damn! I forgot that I need to get lenses too.....

 

[Brownie]

True, though lots of us drool on exotic high performance cars and motorcycles and beautiful yachts and handmade custom mechanical watches etc. I *could* afford this body if I wanted to. But I don’t think I want to. I’m still very excited and happy for the hobby to see this development!

My second system is Sony. I'm still pissed they're abandoning the A Mount.

Truth is when I got back into photography after having been gone for so long I had no idea Sony had bought Minolta, although the fact that I didn't know that seems absurd, now. Having been a Minolta user in the 80's and 90's, I would've been likely to dive headlong into Sony and not look back. What would I like? Certainly not a new 50MP monster. I'd like a good used A900 or A99. Not sure I even want an A99II considering that people still want $2500 for a used body that's become obsolete. I could go buy a whole new G9 system fot less

On the other hand, maybe Sony is smarter than the rest. This camera caters to real photographers for the most part.

 

[pdk42]

Don’t forget, all this in a body about the same size as most of the other A7’s (so smaller in most respects than the G9) with a full frame sensor while maintaining basically the same IBIS as the G9 (5.5 stops). To me that’s just impressive, and makes me excited for the future of photography.

I'd be surprised if the IBIS gets near to the Oly (or Panasonic) system in the real world. Many FF systems claim IBIS at 4 or 5 stops but then when people use them they find they lag m43 IBIS by a large margin. I certainly found that when I ran a Nikon Z7 for a few months last summer. It was good, but couldn't get near the extent and reliability of the EM1.2 or EM1.3. And of course, it's the overall system size/weight that matters, not the body alone.

 

[pdk42]

Looks a nice camera, but it's not something I'm interested in - whatever the price. I say that as someone who's twice now dipped a toe into FF mirrorless (A7rii and more recently the Z7) and I can re-iterate that any comparable FF system will be bigger, heavier, and more $$$/€€€/$$$/YY etc more than m43; but the results for the type of photography I do will be, for all intents and purposes, identical. Of course, FF will suit others better - but I do still feel that too many people are lured into FF without good reason. The power of marketing I guess!

 

[pake]

Crappy IBIS. Won't buy it.

 

[ibd]

Sony took a long, hard look at the camera market crisis of the last few years, and concluded: "The only way out is up!"

 

[11GTCS]

Looks a nice camera, but it's not something I'm interested in - whatever the price. I say that as someone who's twice now dipped a toe into FF mirrorless (A7rii and more recently the Z7) and I can re-iterate that any comparable FF system will be bigger, heavier, and more $$$/€€€/$$$/YY etc more than m43; but the results for the type of photography I do will be, for all intents and purposes, identical. Of course, FF will suit others better - but I do still feel that too many people are lured into FF without good reason. The power of marketing I guess!

No single format is a cure for all types of photography I’ve currently got APS-C and MFY systems for different types of photography (I prefer aps-c for deliberate portrait work over MFT, because the same people saying MFT is small and can make good Bokeh are using the oly 45 1.2 prime, and I can just toss a Fuji 50/2 for cheaper and smaller and get basically the same result). If I did a lot of Astro, pro portraiture, needed actually good CAF, etc I’d absolutely go full frame and Sony. They’re all tools, and they all do different things better or worse And full frame, while always heavier/pricier for the same absolute capability, isn’t necessarily always the that much heavier or pricier to get the same results.