Industry News: Sony announces their new flagship camera, the alpha a1

[melgross]

Very impressive. Their first real attempt at a full priced pro level camera. Now we’ll have to see if Canon is going to go the ”low” rez route with theirs, when it comes out, presumably this year, or go full out as Sony has. I assume Canon has learned from the R5 how to fix the overheat problems in hi rez video. Everything else, they can match, if they want to.

 

[melgross]

The R5 still has:
-better ergonomics
-much sharper articulating screen
-better lens mount
-better IBIS
-internal 8K RAW or 10-bit 4:2:2 instead or 4:2:0

For 2600$ less, it looks to be in a very solid position in the camera market, so I wouldn't except a price drop after this.

Those cameras aren’t going to directly compete. When Canon comes out with the “R1”, later this year, as we’ve been LED to believe, then they will have a camera to compete with. But the question is whether they have plans for it that essentially match this Sony, or their intentions are in a different direction. We keep hearing that it might be a low 20MP sensor. Will that be a problem now, if so? I hope we’ll find out sooner than later as to what Canon has.

 

[12Broncos]

Sony makes an announcement 26 days into the new year. It'll be eight/nine months before Canon/Nikon even hint of a mirrorless flagship, quite frankly I might not wait. I never thought I'd say, "I'm getting a Sony Camera." I'll wait for some reviews then go from there. Nikon and Canon have their work cut out for them .

 

[dwarven]

Awesome specs. Although if I were a pro I'd rather have a 1DX grip and weather sealing/durability.

 

[blackcoffee17]

So... its basically a 5DS for 3 times the price, with less noise, more DR and a few more frames per sec

With 15 times the video resolution and 5 times the frame rate.

 

[dolina]

Looks like the R1 will be out in 2021

 

[blackcoffee17]

Don't know about it being a "Winner" but is will retire their A9, which one can count on one hand in most sporting venues

I think the A9 is a different category. High end sport camera with half the resolution and half the price.

 

[Deleted member 381342]

Some other disappointing news here: Sony went with CFExpress A which further buggers up sharing cards when Nikon and Canon have went for the more sensible and faster type B cards. It is almost as if Sony just wish to be different, and never in a good way.

 

[padam]

Those cameras aren’t going to directly compete. When Canon comes out with the “R1”, later this year, as we’ve been LED to believe, then they will have a camera to compete with. But the question is whether they have plans for it that essentially match this Sony, or their intentions are in a different direction. We keep hearing that it might be a low 20MP sensor. Will that be a problem now, if so? I hope we’ll find out sooner than later as to what Canon has.

They actually do compete somewhat, in the sense that they are both represented as all-in-one cameras.
There is no other model in the Sony line-up like this one, it is either all-in on photo or video, but not both at the same time at this high level.

So Canon providing a camera like this at a significantly lower price point will make it very attractive for many people who aren't very concerned about overheating.

The Canon R1 will be higher positioned and different again, I would guess probably a bit less megapixels but definitely over 30 and with a global shutter for 8000$.

While I think the A1 price is quite outrageous, it makes the 1DX III very old for the same amount of money, that's why they "chose" this exact price.

 

[Fbimages]

Those cameras aren’t going to directly compete. When Canon comes out with the “R1”, later this year, as we’ve been LED to believe, then they will have a camera to compete with. But the question is whether they have plans for it that essentially match this Sony, or their intentions are in a different direction. We keep hearing that it might be a low 20MP sensor. Will that be a problem now, if so? I hope we’ll find out sooner than later as to what Canon has.

I think you are right and that they will stick with the 20MP. I gave the 1DX iii a shot and it is an incredible camera. I just received the R5 today and will see how it compares AF wise. I thought I could do with 20mpx but it's just not enough for large prints considering I do crop a lot for wildlife. I am sure for sports and events it won't be as much of an issue, and that's probably the end market for these cameras anyway.

 

[twoheadedboy]

Some other disappointing news here: Sony went with CFExpress A which further buggers up sharing cards when Nikon and Canon have went for the more sensible and faster type B cards. It is almost as if Sony just wish to be different, and never in a good way.

Sony literally always does this, for the last 40 years: https://www.fastcompany.com/1290466/sonys-long-list-format-failure-betamax-memorystick-micro

 

[Maps]

Agree. We’ll see what happens, but my first thought is that it seems like the market is lining up in such a way that the Sonys sort of sit in between the Canons both price and spec wise, rather than directly competing. We'll... see what happens...

R1-$8000?

A1-$6500

R5-$3900

A7IV -$3000? (controversial)

R6-$2500

A7c-$1800

Rp-$1000

They actually do compete somewhat, in the sense that they are both represented as all-in-one cameras.
There is no other model in the Sony line-up like this one, it is either all-in on photo or video, but not both at the same time at this high level.

So Canon providing a camera like this at a significantly lower price point will make it very attractive for many people who aren't very concerned about overheating.

The Canon R1 will be higher positioned and different again, I would guess probably a bit less megapixels but definitely over 30 and with a global shutter for 8000$.

While I think the A1 price is quite outrageous, it makes the 1DX III very old for the same amount of money, that's why they "chose" this exact price.

 

[padam]

Sony literally always does this, for the last 40 years: https://www.fastcompany.com/1290466/sonys-long-list-format-failure-betamax-memorystick-micro

You can make an SD CFExpress A combo slot (so you can use 2 SD cards if you don't need the speed or highest bitrates for video).
But for CFExpress B you do not have that option. So you either use one of each card type like the R5 or make it dual CFExpress B only which is expensive and also requires more space.

So this time, doing the cards slots like this is definitely a logical choice for Sony and more cameras may follow up using type A in a few years' time.

 

[reef58]

Honestly not impressed. I expected to be. But this is more or less a somewhat upgraded A9. A9 with higher resolution and faster sensor (to allow 1/200s flash sync) and 8k that's not on the level of the R5. And the price... I mean, it's a great camera, it's just not that impressive given what the A9 and R5 already achieved. Seems like a pretty easy target for the R1 to hit?

Also, I don't understand why they did not make this the A9mkIII and instead decided to mess their naming conventions up. Why do it now, after so many years of 5-, 7- and 9-series in both A and E mount? especially since it's designed and priced as an A9mkII successor. It's like they just looked at Canon and said "let's be more like Canon. On the surface."

I have to ask what would impress you? I am not a Sony guy, but I can't imagine a camera with more features that resembles a hand holdable body.

 

[bbasiaga]

I can see the reviews "So disappointed with this camera, doesn't shoot 8k or 16k at 120fps".

Nah, that's only limiting on a Canon camera. If its a Sony, its perfect the way it is.

 

[Max TT]

Don't mind me, I am just here to read the asinine comments. LOL

 

[padam]

I have to ask what would impress you? I am not a Sony guy, but I can't imagine a camera with more features that resembles a hand holdable body.

Because they are equipping the same bodies with new sensors and processors and ask much more for it. And the A9 and A9II had to be held back for video, to not "interfere" with this "all-in-one" concept and rebranding. That was their vision from the start. This is no different to what Canon is doing regarding the Cinema line with overheating, etc. but for some reason Sony gets away with it much better.

Yes, the technology is absolutely cutting edge, but that is exactly what you are paying a lot of money for and not more. They still reserve a lot of improvement in other areas, some issues are still there.

And of course when you are paying this much for the camera body itself, psychologically the lenses don't seem to be as outrageously priced anymore - even though they are in some cases, the body and lens pricing support each other better this way.

It is the same "quick inflation" we saw with smartphones as well. At some point we will see an A1II with 8k60fps enabled as the sensor is capable of it and the MSRP may be less at 6000$.


I had thought the A7SIII 3500$ price was quite high considering it is all-in on video and not photo, but now it can be marketed as amazing value for video - because it sort of is considering all new cameras are this expensive since people are willing to pay for them.

 

[Tahoejr]

Definitely makes me feel good about my R5 and its price point.

SAR definitely had many of the specs nailed but certainly not the cost of the Sony R1. The consensus was putting this at $4999.

 

[Sorosuub]

Will the battery life on a single charge last more than 15 minutes?

Manny Ortiz/Fro live blog confirms the mechanical shutter speed only 10fps. lmao.

 

[jayphotoworks]

You can make an SD CFExpress A combo slot (so you can use 2 SD cards if you don't need the speed or highest bitrates for video).
But for CFExpress B you do not have that option. So you either use one of each card type like the R5 or make it dual CFExpress B only which is expensive and also requires more space.

So this time, doing the cards slots like this is definitely a logical choice for Sony and more cameras may follow up using type A in a few years' time.

I've never been a fan of two different slots. I think CFEb is a bit more future proofed than CFEa, but I can't deny the convenience. I normally shoot SD cards on my A7S3 and I usually dual record, so I didn't have to invest in a ton of new media, although I pretty much upgraded most of my UHS-I cards to UHS-II cards already. I'm getting 350MBps copies from my UHS-II cards to either my PC or Nexto NPS-10 which is fast enough for most use cases.

As resolution increases and in camera RAW becomes more commonplace, CFEa might be limited in what it can offer in terms of performance, but outside of RAW (which I personally would not shoot on a hybrid anyhow), I don't think CFEa is a bad compromise.