The Sony Alpha 1 is undoubtedly impressive. It is the culmination of years of technological advances in several lines of cameras that converged on a single extremely powerful capture device. It is also a return to the idea that the best camera a company can make is not for the masses.
The time was that the most advanced camera that a company could develop was not for everyone. In the DSLR era, the Canon 1D and Nikon D1 lines (and other single-digit D series cameras) were cameras that showed what else could be done in technology to support the most demanding and demanding professionals. And for the most part, that meant sports, wildlife photographers, journalists and some studio photographers who preferred the larger, more square format. It also meant, at the same time, that they were not the cameras of many professional photographers.
In the case of Canon, that was what the 5D series was for. He filled that gap.
These top-of-the-line devices were so capable that their prices would be well beyond the average of people and even many professional snipers. It was not unheard of to expect to pay between $ 6,000 and $ 10,000 for one of these cameras. That was the norm. And that’s fine, because the performance of these cameras was not made for almost anyone. The average photographer needed no more than 10 frames per second and the weatherproof seal of these DSLRs, for example (and probably most still don’t).
However, as the market has become more compressed and the only camera segment that has remained somewhat constant is the state-of-the-art interchangeable lens body, manufacturers who make bodies without a mirror generally avoid blowing up the doors of expensive cameras in instead of trying to maintain or even increase sales volume.
Mirrorless cameras are the only cameras that can achieve a decently high volume and also a higher average price. Of course, this is what a company that seeks its financial results will want to achieve.
While Sony a9 and a9 II bring the idea of a professional-grade mirrorless mirror, Alpha 1 is the first mirrorless camera to really stand out: this is a professional camera and not even a camera for most professionals. It’s the niche it can be, and most of those who watched the live broadcast today aren’t going to buy it because they have absolutely no need for what it can do.
Two years ago, advertising photographer Blair Bunting wrote a controversial article asking why cameras were no longer expensive. It ended with this paragraph:
What wonders could we give ourselves if we were willing to pay for the technological creativity that would improve our creativity as we know it? We, who consider ourselves true professionals, must demand true professional cameras with all the resources. Using prosumer equipment can work for Instagram vloggers and influencers, where less resolution is needed (and can actually be beneficial). However, isn’t it time to see an emblematic platform that elevated art, inspired us and opened our eyes the way the legends of the past did?
Many in the comments, understandably, were offended by what he said here. However, Sony did exactly what Bunting asked. The company made that truly professional camera with all the bells and whistles that would really hurt the productivity of many vloggers and influencers and even many professionals because it is too much camera. It may hurt to hear that, but this is not a camera for most of us.
Sony Alpha 1 is a return to a true “pyramid” device structure. At the top is the most expensive and most powerful premium device that a company can make and which only a few thousand people around the world really need. Below are the a7R IV and a9 II: cameras that are amazing at what they can achieve and still surpass much that many successful photographers will need. Below that, the a7 III and the a7c, and so on, down the pyramid.
Alpha 1 was designed to show us the absolute best for consumers to have faith in a brand and to search for the product further down the pyramid that best suits them. It doesn’t really make sense to sell the top of the line camera to the masses like Canon and Nikon do today, so I hope they both come with mirrorless cameras that exceed what the EOS R5 and Z7 II do. If we don’t have a camera like the Alpha 1, we won’t see what else is possible. Canon or Nikon’s next big breakthrough comes only because each of these companies keeps pushing. We got Sony Alpha 1 because the EOS R5 exists, and so on.
So, for those who are complaining that the Sony Alpha 1 is too expensive, I’m sorry: it isn’t. The price is exactly where it should be, and if you think it is asking too much, then it is not for you.
And that’s fine.