Sony introduces its “most technologically advanced and innovative camera ever”, the Sony Alpha 1 mirrorless camera with a 50.1MP full-frame lens that can repeatedly capture 30 images in one second and 8K videos at 30 fps. However, you will have to spend plenty; way more than flagship mirrorless cameras from the likes of Canon and Nikon. The new Sony Alpha 1 is priced at $6,500.
Sony said that the camera buffer can capture “up to 155 full-frame compressed RAW images or 165 full-frame JPEG images at up to 30 frames per second with the electronic shutter while maintaining full AF and AE tracking performance” despite a considerably bigger sensor size.
Alpha 1 brings in the autofocus and the auto-exposure that can go as high as 120 calculations in a second whilst an OLED electronic viewfinder with high resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, the first in the world. It’s ISO certified ranging from 100 to 32,000, which is expandable within the range from 50 to 102,400 (still). It also has a five-axis, in-body image stabilization system.
The camera features tremendous autofocus capability introducing a powerful eye autofocus system that can precisely focus eyes of humans, pets, and even birds to which Sony acclaims “optimized algorithms ensure that tracking is maintained even if a sitting bird suddenly takes flight, or the framing suddenly changes.”
Alpha 1’s mechanical shutter ensures that the flash sync speeds to a maximum of 1/400 second while the electronic shutter can reach as high as 1/200 second. Though the rolling shutter has gone down courtesy of greater speed sensor readout. Hence you can capture repeated shots at 30fps and the camera works just fine.
Sony made sure that the shutter speed aligns with flicker frequency thereby eliminating flickers under LEDs.
Alpha 1 is capable of capturing 8K videos at 30fps and 4K videos at 120fps in 10-bit. Go for 4K videos at 60fps and it attains full-sensor readout, hence doesn’t rely on pixel binning. Also, use an external recorder on top and you can capture 16-bit RAW videos.
The Sony Alpha 1 is scheduled to hit the market in March 2021 at a price starting at $6,500, which is around NPR 7,58,000 in Nepal.
You will have to spend thousands of dollars more than at the likes of R5 from Canon. However, Sony has created a niche for itself when we discuss full-frame mirrorless cameras — they are one of the bests money can buy. This does imply a bright future for Alpha 1.
