It looks like Sony hit a home run again!

[rpcrowe]

Sony just introduced the New A-1 camera! I just took a quick look at the specs of this new offering and they are absolutely mind boggling!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0om2qHS1o4

Will I get one - of course not! I neither need nor can afford those capabilities. At the B&H price of $6,498 USD it is more camera than I can afford or need

I will happily stay with my A6600 and A7iii combination! However, if I were shooting professionally - I would definitely be saving my pennies. If everything Sony says about the new A-1 is true (their specs are usually quite accurate), I don't know of any other camera that could compete with it!

This new camera seems to have more bells and whistles than any other camera on the market... I guess that it is again time for CANIKONFU to play catch-up again!

Sony is also giving the owners of older A-9 cameras a free makeover in the form of the new firmware update which just about makes the A-9 into a new camera. We owners of the A7iii are also getting a free firmware update but, not with the impact of the A-9 firmware capabilities.

In my entire time shooting Canon Digital - that company never upgraded a camera with firmware the way Sony does...

If Sony is true to form, many of the bells and whistles of the new A-1 will eventually gravitate to the less expensive Sony offerings!

[royent]

Do you really need or will you ever use all those bells and whistles?

[Manfred M]

Having more features that I will never use is not going to sell me on a new camera.

The one thing I would be most interested in is what the autofocus speed is vs a DSLR (for action shots) as well as battery life; two things are key drivers for me and have been the weakness in the mirrorless camera range.

[rpcrowe]

The mirrorless technology suffered from slower auto focus speed early on in their development but, the recent Sony offerings such as the A9ii and A6600 have improved the speed and accuracy.

The Canon 7S Mark ii which I used prior to switching to Sony mirrorless had a very fast and accurate AF system which was only surpassed in the Canon lineup by the later 1D models.

I have not noticed any slower AF with my Sony A6600 (I am choosing this camera as an example because it is a crop sensor like the 7Dii) and in many ways the auto focus of the A6600 is better than the 7Dii.

I have seen claims that the A6600 has the speediest autofocus however, I have also seen such claims regarding some Canon cameras...

[Manfred M]

The mirrorless technology suffered from slower auto focus speed early on in their development but, the recent Sony offerings such as the A9ii and A6600 have improved the speed and accuracy.

The Canon 7S Mark ii which I used prior to switching to Sony mirrorless had a very fast and accurate AF system which was only surpassed in the Canon lineup by the later 1D models.

I have not noticed any slower AF with my Sony A6600 (I am choosing this camera as an example because it is a crop sensor like the 7Dii) and in many ways the auto focus of the A6600 is better than the 7Dii.

I have seen claims that the A6600 has the speediest autofocus however, I have also seen such claims regarding some Canon cameras...

Richard, as much as I am considering a mirrorless camera as my next digital camera, this has been the show stopper for me so far. I have heard from a number of "action" photographers who have switched to mirrorless; this is one area where the old technology still comes out. If the top of the line model is not there, the technology will definitely have not trickled down to the prosumer lines.

Once I see a lot of pro sports photographers switching to this type of camera, I will be convinced that the technology is finally working well enough.

[Adrian]

I am watching this with interest. I would seriously consider switching to mirrorless and would even sell all of our Canon lenses and bodies if there was worthwhile benefit. However, every you tube review I have seen so far from proper photographers testing mirrorless offerings is that autofocus is much too easily confused when taking wildlife shots, especially animals or birds taking erratic paths or coming towards the lens.

I couldn't care less about gimmicks and features - what persuades me is super sharp focus, a high proportion of shots in focus, and good performance in difficult conditions such as low light or extreme contrast. I still think it is early days, especially in the full frame arena.

[Adrian]

That said....having watched a couple of videos, the Sony does look super impressive. There are a number of features there that I would value. I shall be interested to see some pro user reviews.

[Rufus]

That said....having watched a couple of videos, the Sony does look super impressive. There are a number of features there that I would value. I shall be interested to see some pro user reviews.

Photopxl will be reveiwing the A1 in due course...not that I have any interest in it...https://photopxl.com/sony-alpha-1-ca...r-photography/

[rpcrowe]

This might be an interesting review - comparing various Mirrorless Cameras with the Nikon D500 for BIF photography...

https://mirrorlesscomparison.com/bes...graphy/#others

The Animal Eye-AF of the new Sony A-1 seems to include Bird Eye-Eye AF... However, the A9ii and the A7iii will do Bird Eye-AF only on larger birds with bigger eyes...

I have not done BIF photography with my Sony mirrorless cameras but, here a few "Dog in Flight" images done with the A6400 and the Sony 70-200mm f/4 OSS lens...

[Cantab]

I enjoyed the dg in flight photos.
In the last one, it looks like the dog is about to swallow the ball!

[rpcrowe]

Here is a you tube video that shows the Sony A9 and the Nikon D500 shooting birds in flight. Both the cameras provided excellent imagery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypVcC_h7-U

The poster of this video is complaining that Sony doesn't have a 500mm prime lens. Sony didn't have one then but, it does now.

Here's a YouTube video showing the AF capabilities of several different Sony cameras with two lenses including shooting with a tele extender...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEwgW9cVO6k

[Adrian]

Mark Smith, posted in the link above from Richard, clearly knows what he is doing with bird photography. Very good video. A9 bodies used are readily available well under £2k now and the D500 for under £1000. Given his results, not sure that anything else is needed if you have the glass. It's a big leap to £6,500 for an A1.

[rpcrowe]

I totally agree that the A1 is not NEEDED.... In fact, I would not consider the A1 except if I were shooting for magazine publication and was making a good salary in that field... If I were in such circumstances, I would want to have the absolute primo tool for the job and as a business expense, six grand or so is not way out there in left-field as it would be if a hobbyist were considering that model camera.

The A9 is a camera with excellent autofocus capability and with the new firmware that Sony has released for that camera, the capabilities of the A9 should increase dramatically. While the later models of the A9 are super cameras, the original A9 with the new firmware upgrades by Sony is a terrific value for money...

BTW: I shot with Canon film SLR cameras since 1967 (chose Canon because the local Japanese camera store in Yokosuka, Japan was sold out of Nikon) and I shot Canon DSLR gear since the 10D. In all my time with Canon, that company never upgraded their cameras the way Sony regularly does with the free firmware issues...

[DanK]

An interesting comparison of the A1 with the Canon R5: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/f...-res-8k-camera. A split decision in the opinion of the reviewer, even though the A1 costs fully 2/3 again as much as the R5 . A lot of the criteria are things that are of zero interest to me, e.g., high-end video capabilities, and I'm not going to consider spending $6500 on a camera body anyway. I couldn't bring myself to buy even the R5. What I need more is a replacement for the 30 cm behind the viewfinder.

[Tronhard]

Definitely congratulations to Sony for producing a great new camera. I am always happy to applaud improvements by any maker - I have never been one to bag brands, at the top level they are all good and the biggest difficulties still lie with the users rather than the technology.

As a long-term Canon user I have a huge investment in the gear, and like anyone in that position it would be challenging for me to sell my stuff to switch brands, so I got the R6 with the EF adapter and it has worked well so far with the lenses I have chosen - tracking birds in flight has been much easier, as I posted in my post Game Changer: Game Changer - the EOS R6

For myself, getting a 50+MP sensor is not high on my agenda, considering that I produce images for digital display, rather than large details prints, and generally I don't need to make massive crops. Given that, and the fact that the R6 is about 2/3 the cost of the R5 and has about 1 stop better low light performance, I am happy that I went with the R6 and got some RF glass. I would expect much the same will be true for Sony and any other of the excellent brands out there. But every photographer has different drivers, which is why I am often reluctant to say to someone that they should buy this or that camera. I prefer to ask a lot of questions that, in answering, I hope prospective purchasers will find their own solution.

The new cameras coming out from Canon and Sony are the harbingers of a new generation of mirrorless technology that promises great things. In the meantime I am just getting to know this stuff but I am sure both Canon and Sony owners can be assured that their brands are not in immediate danger of becoming obsolete.

I think it's great that Sony if providing existing users with significant firmware updates to "re-invent" their cameras. I hope that Canon will continue to make firmware updates too (as it has been doing for the R-series) so we can all get the best out of our investments.

[rpcrowe]

Here is a down to earth video about the autofocus capabilities of the Sony 100-400mm zoom lens mounted on the Sony A7iii...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3YdKfSYoyg

The A7iii is not sold as a high speed action or sports camera - in fact it was/is Sony's entry level full frame mirrorless camera.

Sony of course, has the various models of the A9 which are touted to have better and faster AF than the A7iii (I have never used the either version of the A9) and Sony now has some very creditable prime lenses.

I am also looking forward to using the Sony 100-400mm or 200-600mm lenses. My local camera store has a neat deal in which I could reserve one of those lenses for rental pick up on a Friday of a 3-day weekend and return it on Tuesday morning for the price of one day's rental ($45 USD). I am a tried and true customer of that store and thus, I don't even need to leave a deposit when I rent something.

When I was a Canon guy (not all that long ago), I shot action using the 7D Mark-2 with the 400mm f/5.6L lens at first and then later with the 100-400mm f/4-5.6L IS ii lens and that was quite a nice combination.

However, I realized that I was not getting as much use from the 100-400mm lens because of its weight and size. I opted not to purchase either the Sony 100-400mm or 200-600mm lenses because I realized that the weight would cause me the same problem and I would probably get no more use from either lens than I did from the Canon 100-400mm. The Sony big primes are even heavier and bulkier than the zooms. Additionally, they are quantum more expensive.

I have two native eMount telephoto zoom lenses, the Sony 70-200mm f/4 G OSS and the 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS... I use the 70-350mm on my A6600. That combination is weighs only 1028 Grans or 2.38 pounds. Unfortunately, amid the COVID shutdown, I have not had the opportunity to shoot any high speed subjects with that camera/lens combination...

BTW: My 7Dii/100-400L combination weighed in at 2,526 grams or 5.5 pounds - quite a difference from the A6600 combination...

[Manfred M]

Given the price point of the new Sony camera, I would suggest that FujiFilm has gone one step further with a game-changer of their own, the recently announced GFX100s. A 102MP medium format camera that is just a bit larger than the Sony A1, but for the type of photography I do, vastly superior performance.

If you suggest Sony hit another home run, then FujiFilm hit it out of the park. If I had an unlimited budget and were to to to a new line of cameras, this is definitely the camera that would get serious consideration.


https://photopxl.com/fuji-announces-...70-300mm-lens/

[rpcrowe]

Manfred - WOW! both those Fuji cameras look great!

Photographers are certainly fortunate in the gear that is available today. Even the least expensive cameras have capabilities which were undreamed of when I began photography. And the capabilities of the top-line cameras are mind boggling to say the least!

Every innovation that makes cameras more fun to use that one camera company introduces, is copied by other manufacturers. A good example of this is EYE AF which was developed, I believe by Sony (and seemed to be a child of the Canon face detection technology) but, is now in just about every top-line and many entry level cameras out there. We now have EYE AF which will recognize and lock onto the eyes of birds

This is amazing to a guy like me! I skipped an entire generation of Canon cameras (the auto focus film SLR cameras) because I was sure that I could do a better job focusing manually. Note: I was wrong about that!

The one innovation which I would like in my camera is the capability of recording an audio snippet which could be linked to various still frames in order to identify the images in those frames. This would be great when I shoot large numbers of rescue dogs and/or several models in a portrait shoot. It would also be handy for travel photography.

When working with models, I often use the video capability in low definition to have the model state her name and contact data...

[lunaticitizen]

I like the fact that we can use electronic shutter with flash now, even if it's only up to 1/200 s.

With my current camera I have to switch between e-shutter -which is my default shutter- to mechanical shutter when I want to use flash.

Alas, I don't need 30 fps nor do I shoot video so this camera will be a waste of money for me. At least that's what I've been trying to tell myself...

[davidudin]

What I find amusing is that the price of the Sony is making the Canon R5 and R6 look better, given their capabilities at a much lower price.

All of these are way out of my price range, anyway. I have to stop wasting time on these reviews, although, as a (retired) engineer--computer hardware and software--I still find interesting both the development in capabilities as well as the tradeoffs to come up with a product at a price.

Also, given the cost of lenses that can keep up with the sensors in these cameras, one wonders if the cameras are just loss-leaders.