Sony is expanding its range of mirrorless system cameras with full-frame sensors. The latest model combines high resolution and professional video functions.
One more thing on top: With the Sony Alpha 1 – A1 for short – the manufacturer is adding another full-frame mirrorless camera to its Alpha family. It sits at the top of the line and offers high resolution paired with professional video features. At around 7300 euros, their price is also higher than the previous models. It should go on sale in March.
Sony packs 50 megapixels on the back-exposed full-format chip. It also has an integrated 5-axis image stabilization. According to the manufacturer, the new Bionz-XR processor achieves eight times the speed of the Bionz-X processor. Despite the high resolution, the A1 should achieve a series image speed of 30 images per second with full autofocus and exposure tracking. The autofocus brings 759 points for phase detection and should also have a new mode for eye recognition for birds.
In addition, the mirrorless allows the recording of 8K videos (7680 × 4320) at 30 frames per second and 4: 2: 0 10 bit. According to Sony, it records 4K material (3840 × 2160) at up to 120 frames per second.
Recorded over 30 minutes
With the help of a new structure for heat dissipation, the manufacturer wants to prevent the camera from overheating too quickly. So it should be possible to record 8K (30p) and 4K videos (60p) over about 30 minutes. In order to continuously write down the enormous amounts of data, Sony relies on the new type A CFexpress memory card. Two slots are available for photographers, which can alternatively be equipped with SD cards. The A1 shares this commonality with the A7S III , which also has professional video features, but only works with a resolution of 12 megapixels.
The A1 viewfinder is also based on this sister, because its resolution is nine megapixels (2048 × 1540 pixels) and its magnification is 0.9. Sony also trims the A1 model for uninterruptedness: the live view image is updated 240 times per second.
