Sony has been in front of its full-frame mirrorless camera rivals for so long now, it was actually shocking when Canon challenged it with two strong models, the EOS R5 and R6. On top of that, it beat Sony to deliver the first camera with 8K video. Now, Sony is counter-punching with its new flagship, the 8K, 50-megapixel A1.
At $6,500, the A1 is clearly aimed at professional users who make a living with their cameras. However, as Sony’s top mirrorless camera, it’s a showcase for the latest sensors, autofocus, EVFs and more that may appear in future models.
Sony A1
Pros
High-quality 50 megapixel images
Extremely fast shooting speeds
8K 30p and 4K 10-bit 120fps video
5-axis stabilization
Compact size
Category-leading autofocus
Cons
Very high price
Lack of a flip-out display
In addition to packing 8K video, the A1 has specs we’ve never seen on a mirrorless camera like 30fps shooting speeds for 50-megapixel RAW images and a 240Hz 9.44 million dot electronic viewfinder. It should be a powerhouse for both video and photography, but how does the A1 match up against its only real rival, the R5? Let’s find out.
Body and handling
Sony builds camera components as well as cameras, and it reserved a couple of new parts for its flagship. The 50.1-megapixel back-side illuminated stacked CMOS sensor is all-new and it delivers not only high resolution photos but extremely fast readout speeds.
This is also the first camera with Sony’s 240Hz, 9.44 million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder. This EVF is so sharp, bright and responsive that it should give pause to anyone who still thinks optical viewfinders are better.
Gallery: Sony A1 review gallery
The A1 has an incredibly small body, considering the amount of technology that’s packed in. It’s the same size as the A7S III and weighs just 40 grams more at 737 grams (with a battery). While it looks a lot like the A7S III, there are a few differences. It adds a handy dual-mode dial for shooting and focus modes, while moving the video record button from the top to the back.
Given that it’s processing a lot more data than the 12-megapixel A7S III in the same size body, it’s reasonable to wonder if overheating is an issue like with the Canon R5. The quick answer is no, but more on that shortly.
Sony says the A1 is more rugged and weather-resistant than ever, and I can attest to that as I dropped it a short distance on concrete and it didn’t leave a scratch — sorry, Sony. It’s also really nice to hold and use, though it can be slightly cramped to grip for folks with large hands or if you’re wearing gloves, particularly with a large lens.
Controls include shutter and aperture dials, a joystick, control wheel, mode dial, exposure compensation dial and three programmable buttons. I wish all the top dials were push-to-lock like the exposure compensation dial, rather than the awkward push-and-hold to unlock system on the other dials.
Otherwise, the controls feel amazing. With the A1, Sony has made small but noticeable improvements to the dials and buttons, and they now have nearly perfect feel, travel and resistance.
Sony ditched its old menu system and the new one is far more intuitive. As with the A7S III, folders cascade into categories so most of the settings are easy to find. You can also use the touchscreen with the menus and not just set focus like before. Unlike the Canon R5, however, you can’t touch a displayed setting to change it.
The main downside of the A1 is that unlike the R5, its screen only tilts and doesn’t flip around. That seems an odd decision, as the A7S III has a fully articulating display and the A1 is a more powerful video camera. That makes it a hard sell for vloggers and one-person crews, in case the high price tag hadn’t already discouraged them.
Like the A7S III, the A1 has Sony’s unique dual-slot system that accepts both SD cards and faster CFexpress Type A cards. The latter offers read and write speeds of 800MB/s and 700 MB/s, compared to 300 MB/s speeds on SD UHS II cards. However, with no other camera makers supporting CFexpress type A yet, the cards are still hard to find and very expensive — currently around $400 for the 160GB model.
Sony crammed a lot of useful ports onto the A1, too. You get 3.5mm mic and headphone jacks plus a full-size HDMI port that’s far more robust than the micro-HDMI port on the R5. It also comes with a high-speed USB-C 3.2 port that can supply power, plus a flash sync and even a gigabit ethernet port. The latter is helpful for pro photographers who might need to upload images while they’re shooting at a studio or sports venue, for example.
Battery-wise, the A1 is rated for a decent 530 shots without the EVF. I was able to shoot photos all day on a charge, and it lasted about 75 minutes shooting 8K 30p video, longer than I expected. I got around two hours of recording time in 4K.
When it comes to shooting performance, the A1 destroys every mirrorless camera ever made, other than the EOS R5. It shoots 50-megapixel photos at a mind-blowing 30 fps in electronic shutter mode with continuous AF and auto-exposure, or 10 fps with the mechanical shutter.
Sony says you can shoot 155 compressed RAW files before the buffer fills. Shooting in electronic shutter mode at 30 fps, that means you’ve got about five seconds of shooting time, or 15 seconds in mechanical shutter mode.
With a CFexpress card, transfers were fast enough that I was able to shoot continuously without ever really stopping in mechanical shutter mode. With the same card at the higher electronic shutter speeds, I needed to pause between bursts but not for a significantly long period — maybe 5 or 10 seconds — before I could fire off another long burst. That will be a boon for sports or wildlife photographers, allowing them to take extra frames to grab the perfect moment, without sweating about the buffer filling up.
On the downside, it only hits that 30 fps mark if you use compressed RAW files, and it also depends on the shutter speed and type of lens. In comparison, the R5 is faster in mechanical shutter mode at 12.5 fps, and can “only” shoot 20 fps with the electronic shutter. However, it has no RAW limitations in either mode.