Sony today announced its most advanced mirrorless camera: the $ 6,500 Alpha 1 features a new 50.1 megapixel full-frame sensor, is capable of taking continuous photos at 30 frames per second and can record 8K of video at 30fps. It will be released in March.
The powerful camera is priced significantly higher than Canon and Nikon’s next-generation mirrorless cameras, but Sony promises that customers who buy will be rewarded with “the most innovative and technologically advanced camera” ever made.
It sounds like a dream for sports and action photographers: even with its large sensor, Sony says the buffer allows you to record “up to 155 compressed full-frame RAW images or 165 full-frame JPEG images at up to 30 frames per second with electronic shutter, maintaining full AF and AE tracking performance. ”
This auto focus and auto exposure system can do up to 120 calculations per second. And you’ll be looking through a high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder with a refresh rate of 240 Hz – something that Sony claims to be a worldwide innovation. Alpha 1 offers five-axis body image stabilization and a standard ISO range of 100–32,000 (expandable to 50–102,400 for photos).
Sony’s autofocus system is still perhaps the best in the game, and the company says Alpha 1 speeds up Eye AF even more when it focuses on humans and pets. And with this camera, Eye AF will also work on birds. If you can justify a $ 6,500 camera for your forays into nature, Sony says that “optimized algorithms ensure that tracking is maintained even if a sitting bird suddenly takes flight or the frame changes suddenly.”
Flash sync speeds have been increased to 1/400 sec. (with mechanical shutter), and the silent electronic shutter supports synchronization speeds of up to 1/200 sec. The rotating shutter has been reduced due to the high-speed sensor reading, and Sony says you can release this continuous 30fps shot without any blackout. Oscillation under LED lighting conditions is also attenuated, as the Alpha 1 can combine shutter speed with oscillation frequency.
As for the video, Alpha 1 can record 8K30 and 4K120 – both in 10 bits – and recording 4K at up to 60fps allows the reading of the complete sensor without any binning of pixels. Adding an external recorder to the mix allows you to capture 16-bit RAW video.
The Alpha 1 represents Sony’s best, and the price clearly reflects that. You are looking at a price several thousand dollars above the Canon R5. But considering the reputation that Sony has earned with its full-frame mirrorless cameras from the past and the present, there will be many professional photographers looking forward to having that $ 6,500 beast in their hands in March.