Sony Alpha 1 review: everything is beautiful at an expensive price
I was totally out of my element when I was kneeling in the middle of 42nd Street in New York, trying to photograph Terry Barentsen, professional cyclist, YouTuber and Twitch streamer. I...
06/02/2022
I was totally out of my element when I was kneeling in the middle of 42nd Street in New York, trying to photograph Terry Barentsen, professional cyclist, YouTuber and Twitch streamer. I've never shot a cyclist before, certainly not as fast as Terry. But Sony's new flagship camera, the $6,499 Alpha 1 (A1), has made that task as simple as photographing the flowers growing outside my front porch.
The Alpha 1 is comprised of a 50.1-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor, an OLED viewfinder capable of a 240fps refresh rate, and mechanical shutter flash sync up to 1/400th of a second, all in a body that doesn't look or feel much different from any other Sony full-frame mirrorless camera. It can record 8K video at up to 30 frames per second, perform 120 autofocus calculations per second, and shoot 50-megapixel images up to 30 times per second, with autofocus and auto exposure. There's very little the Alpha1 can't do.
Our review of
Sony Alpha 1
Yard Score
8< /p>
out of 10
Good things
High resolution and high dynamic range sensor
Excellent autofocus system
Burst mode can take 30 frames per second
Sharp and fast EVF
Excellent orders
8K video without overheating
Bad thing p>
Menu system is still bad
Battery life is worse than other Alpha models
It's expensive
Buy for $6,499.99
from BestBuy
Buy for $6,499.99
from Amazon
Buy for $6,498.00
by B&H Photo
< p>On paper, the Sony Alpha 1 is fast. But in practice it seems even faster. The standout capability for me is the 30fps burst mode. In order to achieve these high capture speeds, your camera must have a shutter speed greater than 1/250, use the electronic shutter mode, and only shoot in compressed RAW or JPEG format.This burst mode also works best when paired with Sony's latest lenses which can move the focusing element within the lens very quickly. To test this, I had Terry drive very fast through the busy streets of midtown Manhattan. I photographed Terry with the Sony G Master 100-400mm lens, which incorporates the latest and greatest XD linear focus motors.
Grid View
The Alpha1's high-speed autofocus system had no problem finding Terry over 200 feet and keeping him focused despite my shaky hands, moving traffic, and Terry's quick pace. It almost felt like cheating when my only job was to press the shutter and keep my subject in frame.
There were very few blurry shots, even when Terry was walking straight towards the camera, and I was able to take over a hundred shots before the buffering got in the way. And because the OLED EVF can refresh up to 240 times per second, my view was never interrupted or lag. A white box appears on the screen whenever an image is captured instead of sound or screen obscuration from a shutter.
The A1's 50.1 megapixel images are crisp, full of contrast and true to life. There's so much resolution to work with that I wish I'd taken a wider, cropped photo after the fact - there's really very little loss in quality. The dynamic range I still had with compressed RAW files is even better. Sony claims the A1 has 15 stops of dynamic range, and when I attempted to bring back a shadowy silhouette, I was able to do so with ease.
Low-light photos manage to retain deep blacks while not making the image too grainy. These deep blacks offer much less dynamic range in post, but I was able to shoot at ISO 10,000 before noticing too much grain in the shadows.
Grid View
Video on the Alpha 1 reaches the very impressive 8K 30fps at 10-bit 4:2:0 H.265. And while Canon's R5 beats the Alpha 1 at this spec, the Sony does a better job of shooting, simply because it doesn't overheat as easily. While the camera got hot to the touch, especially over the past few very hot days in New York, it never stopped recording due to overheating when the heat tolerance setting was set to raised.
Gerald Undone
< p> did many tests on long duration 8K videos, and in short, this camera does not have the overheating problems of the Canon R5. Instead, it has fast recovery times, no save limits, and with a dummy battery connected to a power source, it can run for many hours at a stretch.The Sony Alpha 1 comes with a plethora of ports: Ethernet, HDMI A, USB Type-C, Micro USB, and 3.5mm headphone and microphone ports.
The Alpha 1's button layout will be similar to Sony's other high-end models.
Video can be recorded in the very flat and malleable S-log setting as well as Sony's S-Cinetone profile for a cinematic look right out of the camera. This profile is limited compared to log shooting, but overall it's great for people new to video who are intimidated by scopes, LUTs, and want training wheels for shooting. color calibration. And it's even better for the lazy among us who don't feel like coloring pictures.
Sony has also made some improvements to the rolling shutter issue of its older mirrorless cameras. Cars no longer appear as if they were made of jello, although at high speeds I still saw this unwanted effect on trains. Sony also added a variable shutter option to fine-tune your shutter speed to avoid flickering lights (or in my case flickering phone screens).
Finally, fans of flash photography will be very pleased with the mechanical shutter. possibility of synchronizing with flashes up to 1/400th of a second. I'm not a big flash user, but that's a big deal since 1/250th of a second has been the industry standard for a while, and it's two-thirds stops faster than that.
Other reviewers have reported
EVF power failure issues
with the A1 since launch, and that's something I've observed in my testing as well. When trying to use the electronic viewfinder in direct sunlight, the camera sometimes fails to switch from monitor to viewfinder and all screens go black instead. In my 14 days of use, the A1's EVF failed to activate once in direct sunlight. I then had to turn the camera off and back on to get a view back. For a camera marketed towards speed and with such a high price, such a slowdown is unacceptable.
The Alpha 1 is surprisingly light at 1.6 pounds without battery.
Physically, the Alpha 1 is nothing new, and if you've had experience with one of Sony's Alpha cameras, the A1 will look very familiar. It's compact, lightweight, feels great in my hands, and gives me enough physical buttons and dials to reduce the need to jump into the menu, which, while better than before, is still a labyrinthine, time-consuming monster. time getting used to it.
The A1 also uses the same Sony NP-FZ100 batteries as other newer Alpha cameras. However, it certainly draws more power than most other models, and a battery only lasts about half a day of heavy photography use with the A1, compared to the full day or more I might obtain with a less efficient model. With a larger sensor, more robust EVF and ridiculously fast burst mode, battery usage is checked. I highly recommend using the A1 with a
extended battery grip
or to have extra batteries on hand.
Sony's batteries can drain quickly depending on how you use the camera, but the addition of an optional $348 vertical battery grip will help.
As this is Sony's top-end model aimed at professionals, there's a plethora of ports on the left side of the camera, including a full-size Ethernet and HDMI port. All are covered in solid-touch plastic doors that close with a reassuring click. On the right are two SD card slots which both support SD or CF Express Type A cards. Sony seems to be planning to make a CF Express Type AA Thing, but using Type B would have given users shooters more options in terms of price and brands, not to mention Type B cards which are twice as fast.
I was also disappointed with the articulating screen which doesn't tilt 180 degrees. A fully articulating screen is ideal for vlogging and is also great for tight angles or self portrait setup. Instead, I used Sony's "Imaging Edge Mobile" app to film myself. Although basic in design, it works well enough for remote shooting and image transfer. Would be nice if I didn't have to re-associate the app with the camera each time I quit it.
The Alpha1 is like all of Sony's other cameras combined.
At $6,500, the Alpha 1 is a pro tool with a pro price. It's certainly not cheap, especially compared to the equally professional Canon R5, which sits comfortably under $4,000.
But the A1 is worth its price with its massive sensor, high-quality video, all the dials and buttons one could need, an outstanding AF system and fast burst modes. It can work in many disciplines with all these features - from professional studio video work, to strobe work and even action photography. It's like Sony took all the best features from the A9 Mark II, A7S Mark III, A7R Mark IV, added the ability to shoot 8K video, then put it all in one camera.
For Sony system professionals looking for the ultimate single body tool, this is it. The rest of us might choose to buy a few more lenses and opt for a cheaper camera in the range, depending on our needs.
Nevertheless, I would like to have the Alpha 1 in my hands. the next time an opportunity to shoot a professional cyclist arises.
Photograph by Becca Farsace/The Verge
Accept to continue: Sony Alpha 1
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it - contracts that no one actually reads. It is impossible for us to read and analyze each of these agreements. But we've started counting exactly how many times you have to hit 'accept' to use devices when we review them, because those are deals most people don't read and certainly can't negotiate.
The Sony Alpha 1 does not require an agreement to use it. You can just charge the battery, turn on the camera and go take pictures or shoot a video.
But if you want to use Sony's Imaging Edge app to remotely control the camera or transfer images to your phone, there are a few things you need to agree to:
Sony's Privacy Policy
The Sony License Agreement
You must also select a descriptor that tells Sony about your relationship with photography, as well as selected descriptors for your areas of photographic interest.
The following permissions must be enabled in the app for it to work fully:
Bluetooth access
p>Access to the photo library
Access to location
Total: No required agreements to use the camera and seven agreements and permissions to use the mobile app.