Inside the Sony A1 is a newly developed image Exmor RS sensor that sandwiches three layers with the light-sensitive photodiodes on top of a memory layer and a processing layer at the base. It’s paired with two upgraded Bionz XR imaging processing engines to enable 50.1Mp images to be shot continuously at 30fps with up to 120 AF/AE calculations per second.
Continuous Shooting at up to 30fps
Thanks to its high-speed readout from its 50.1Mp image sensor and large buffer memory, the Sony A1 can shoot up to 155 full-frame compressed raw images or 165 full-frame Jpeg images at up to 30 frames per second when the electronic shutter is in action, with full AF and AE tracking performance. It’s worth noting here that if you need to shoot at 30fps, you have to record lossy compressed raw or Jpeg or Heif files, you can’t shoot uncompressed raw image at that rate. If you need to shoot uncompressed raw files you can ‘only shoot at 20fps.
With up to 12 focusing and metering calculations made each second, the Sony Alpha 1 is designed to focus on fast-moving subjects. It can also automatically adjust exposure when there are rapid changes in brightness and the AE response latency said to be as short as 0.033 seconds.
Sony A1 autofocus system
There are 759 phase detection AF points on the Sony A1’s image sensor, covering around 92% of the image area. Also, thanks to the dual Bionz XR processing engines, the Sony A1’s advanced Real-time Eye AF improves eye detection performance by 30% over the previous system.
In addition to improved Real-time Eye AF for humans and animals in stills mode, the Alpha 1 uses high-level subject recognition technology for Real-time Eye AF for birds. That’s a first in a Sony Alpha camera. Algorithms also maintain the AF tracking if a sitting bird takes off or the framing changes.
While you lose the real-time Eye AF for animals and birds in video mode, it still works with human eyes when shooting 4K or 8K footage.
The Sony Alpha 1 also has AI-based Real-time Tracking and a subject recognition algorithm that looks at colour, pattern (brightness), and subject distance (depth) data to process spatial information in real-time at high speed.
9.44-million-dot OLED viewfinder
The Sony A 1 has the same 9.44-million-dot 0.64-inch type OLED Quad-XGA electronic viewfinder as the Sony A7S III. Further good news is that it has a refresh rate of up to 240 fps whereas the A7S III viewfinder has a maximum rate of 120fps, and the magnification can be set at up to 0.9x. That’s an impressive set of numbers that should ensure plenty of detail is visible, while the highest refresh rate should mean the display is smooth even with very fast-moving subjects. What’s more, the viewfinder doesn’t blackout when a shot is taken, giving seamless framing and tracking when shooting continuously.
However, it’s not possible to use the fastest refresh rate, highest resolution and highest magnification at the same time. Instead, you have to choose between high performance (resolution) and high refresh rate depending upon what you’re photographing or videoing.
To get the highest resolution, the refresh rate has to drop to 60fps. So if you’re shooting landscapes, you might want to opt for the Highest Performance setting but if you’re shooting sport or a fast-moving subject, you may want to drop the resolution and magnification to get the 240fps refresh rate.
Electronic shutter
Because of the high speed of the readout from the Sony A1’s new sensor, rolling shutter effect has been reduced by up to 1.5x when shooting stills, in comparison with the Alpha 9 II.
Using the electronic shutter, it’s also possible to shoot continuously and silently with anti-flicker engaged. That’s good news when shooting indoors under fluorescent or other flicker-prone artificial lighting.
Also, in another first for a Sony Alpha camera, the electronic shutter can sync with flash at up to 1/200 sec.
Dual driven mechanical shutter
When the mechanical shutter is in use, the Sony Alpha 1 has the world’s fastest flash sync speed of 1/400 sec.
In addition to a carbon fibre shutter curtain, the Alpha 1 features the newly developed dual driven shutter system utilising a spring and electromagnetic drive actuator, offering high durability and lightness at the same time.
Dynamic range and noise control
Sony claims that the A1 can capture over 15EV of dynamic range for video and 15 stops for stills. That should ensure natural-looking gradations from shadow to highlight.
There’s also a sensitivity range of ISO 100-32,000 (expandable to 50-102,400, when shooting stills).
Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode
For when you need larger images, the Sony A1 has evolved Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode that composites up to 16 full-resolution images.
When this is activated, the camera shifts the sensor in one pixel or half-pixel increments between shots as it captures 16 separate images. This generates 796.2 million pixels of data, which are then composited into a 199 million pixel (17,280 x 11,520 pixels) image using Sony’s Imaging Edge desktop application.
Still file formats
In addition to compressed and uncompressed raw format, the Sony A1 has lossless compression with no quality degradation available via its Lossless Compressed raw format. There is also a new ‘Light’ JPEG/HEIF image quality setting that results in smaller files than the ‘Standard’ setting, which could be useful for news and sports photographers who need to file images quickly.
Along with a range of raw and Jpeg formats, the Alpha 1 offers the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) format for smooth 10-bit gradations that capture more realistic skies and portrait subjects.
Images shot on the Alpha 1 can be trimmed in-camera to the desired aspect ratio or size.
Sony A1 Video
The Sony A1 is the first Sony Alpha series camera to feature 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS video recording. It’s also capable of shooting 4K 120p / 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 video and offers S-Cinetone colour.
It uses 8.6K oversampling for enhanced resolution and, naturally, the 8K footage can be used for 4K editing during post-production – provided your computer can handle it. In Super 35mm mode, the A1 can produce 4K video from oversampled 5.8K video with full pixel readout and no pixel binning.
While the 8K video recording is internal, the A1 can also output 16-bit raw video to an external recorder via HDMI for maximum post-production flexibility.
In addition, there’s a digital audio interface in the Multi Interface (MI) Shoe for clearer audio recordings from a compatible Sony external microphone. Naturally, there’s also a 3.5mm mic input and a 3.5mm headphone output.
Video formats
While the 8K capability might grab the headlines, the Alpha 1’s 4K recording at up to 120 frames per second may be of more interest to many as it enables up to 5X slow-motion video.
In addition to supporting 10-bit 4:2:2 recording, this can be used with efficient Long GOP inter-frame compression or high-quality Intra (All-I) intra-frame compression.
The Alpha 1 features S-Cinetone, the same colour matrix that produces the highly regarded FX9 and FX6 colour and skin tones. It delivers natural mid-tones, plus soft colours and attractive highlights. In addition, the S-Log3 gamma curve makes it possible to achieve 15+ stops of dynamic range, while the S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3.Cine colour gamut settings make it easy to match Alpha 1 footage with video shot on VENICE cinema camera, FX9 and other professional cinema cameras.
Heat-dissipating structure
Sony has given the A1 a unique heat-dissipating structure to maintain the temperature of the sensor and image processing engine within their normal operating range. This is designed to prevent overheating while still enabling the Alpha 1’s compact form. Consequently, the Sony A1 can record 8K/30p video continuously for approximately 30 minutes.
Sony A1 IBIS
Gyro sensors and optimised image stabilisation algorithms work with the in-body image stabilisation unit to enable a shutter speed compensation of up to 5.5EV.
The Alpha 1’s IBIS also has an Active Mode for handheld movie shooting.
In addition, when using Sony’s desktop applications Catalyst Browse or Catalyst Prepare for post-production, there’s an image stabilisation function that utilises metadata generated by the camera’s built-in gyro.
Connectivity
The Alpha 1 has been designed and configured to support photo and video journalists and sports shooters who need to deliver stills or movies as quickly as possible with advanced connectivity options. It offers several features for fast, reliable file transfers including the industry’s fastest built-in wireless LAN that allows communication on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands with dual antennas to ensure reliable communications.
5 GHz includes 2×2 MIMO support (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac) offering 3.5 times faster wireless FTP transfer speed than the Alpha 9 II – a notable advantage for news and sports shooters who need to deliver with reliable speed.
There’s also a USB Type-C connector to support high-speed PC Remote (tethered) data transfer for large image files. The Alpha 1 also has a built-in 1000BASE-T LAN connector for high-speed, stable data transfers, including remote shooting. FTPS (File Transfer over SSL/TLS) is supported, allowing SSL or TLS encryption for increased data security.
Also, the A1 has a full-size HDMI Type-A connector, and USB PD (Power Delivery) support, allowing higher power to be supplied from an external source so that users can record for extended periods with minimal internal battery usage.
Apps and extras
The Sony Alpha 1 is compatible with a variety of apps, add-ons and tools. For example, with Imaging Edge Mobile and Imaging Edge Desktop, professional photographers can transfer raw files and files that use lossless compression and remotely control Touch Tracking and Touch Focus for convenient AF operation.
The Transfer & Tagging add-on (Ver. 1.3 or later) can automatically convert voice memos attached to image files to text captions or transfer the files to an FTP server from a mobile device.
Sony’s desktop applications Catalyst Browse/Catalyst Prepare allow creators to browse and manage video clips shot by Sony’s camera. In addition, the Remote Camera Tool can remotely change camera settings and shoot from a computer connected via LAN cable and feature a number of refinements for the Alpha 1: faster transfer, touch response, dual slot and HEIF support.
Storage
For reliability, flexibility and speed, the Sony A1 has two media slots that are both compatible with UHS-I and UHS-II SDXC/SDHC cards, as well as the new CFexpress Type A cards that deliver faster read/write speeds.
The Link LonkMay 19, 2021 at 05:33PM
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