The Sony a1 shows that electronic shutters are the future.
Sony stunned the photography industry when they announced their new flagship camera, the Sony a1. Sony is back to innovating again when it comes to silicon, and this is incredibly exciting. On paper, this camera with its new stacked sensor should impress even the most hard-headed photographers out there. Still, we all know that specs on a piece of paper don’t always equate to great real-world performance. lectronic shutters are the future. We’ve had our hands on the new Sony a1 for a week, and we’ve put it to the test in some tough conditions. Will the wow factor from the spec sheet carry over into the wild when we test it? Find out in our full review of the Sony a1.
Editor’s Note: This review was last updated in August 2022.
Table of Contents
Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Too Long, Didn’t Read
Gear Used
Tech Specs
Sony a1 – Innovations
Sony a1 – Ergonomics
Top Panel
Camera Back
Camera Left
Camera Right
Sony a1 – Build Quality
Sony a1 – Ease of Use
The Electronic Shutter Is Nuts
IBIS Performance
Sony a1 – Autofocus
Human and Human Eye AF
Animal Autofocus
Bird Autofocus
Sony a1 – Metering
Sony a1 – Image Quality
RAW File Versatility
JPEGS
High ISO
Pixel Shift Multi Shot
Sony a1 – Extra Image Samples
Sony a1 – Conclusions
Likes
Dislikes
Pros and Cons
Pros
Sony’s a1 shows that stacked sensors are the future
Detail rich images with great dynamic range
Excellent ergonomics (the best Sony camera to date)
The a1 features the new touchscreen menu system
Fantastic overall autofocus performance
30 frames per second with the electronic shutter with virtually no rolling shutter or banding issues
1/400th mechanical shutter speed with compatible TTL flashes and triggers
Sony’s 9.44 million dot EVF is a work of art
Excellent build quality
Good battery life
8K video
Excellent performance with CFexpress A cards
Cons
It has the same old 1.44 million dot LCD
The LCD is not fully articulating
Bird AF is a work in progress
Multi Shot mode is inconsistent
Autofocus suffers a little in very low light situations
It’s $6,499
Too Long, Didn’t Read
The Sony a1 is a camera designed for professionals who need the best in stills and video. 50MP images at 30 frames per second with autofocus make this camera a must-have for pro sports, pro wildlife, and photojournalists. It’s pricey at $6,499. However, if you need a solid camera that can produce high-resolution images by the bucket load and 8K video, the Sony a1is a no-compromise camera that delivers.
Gear Used
We used the Sony a1 with the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 GM and the Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM OSS. Also used was a Sony CFexpress A memory card.
Tech Specs
All of the technical specifications have been taken directly from the official Sony website:
50.1-MP 35 mm full-frame stacked CMOS sensor with integral memory
Advanced BIONZ XR engine boosts speed by up to 8x
30fps continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking
Movie-making with 8K 30p and 4K 120p
Wide AF coverage with 759-point phase-detection and 425-point contrast-detection AF points
Battery life (stills) – Approx. 430 shots (Viewfinder) / approx. 530 shots (LCD monitor) (CIPA standard)
Image Quality Modes – RAW (Compressed / Lossless Compressed / Uncompressed), JPEG (Extra fine / Fine / Standard / Light), HEIF (4:2:0 / 4:2:2) (Extra fine / Fine / Standard / Light)
Viewfinder – 9.44 million dots
LCD 1.44 million dots
Human face and eye AF, animal body and eye AF, and a new Birding AF mode
Flash Sync. Speed – (Mechanical Shutter), (Flash Sync. Priority) is (ON) or (AUTO):1/400 s (35 mm full-frame), 1/500 s (APS-C), (Flash Sync. Priority) is (OFF):1/320 s (35 mm full-frame), 1/400 s (APS-C), (Electrical shutter), 1/200 s (35 mm full-frame), 1/250 s (APS-C)
Image Sensor-Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation
Continuous Drive Speeds – AUTO/Electronic Shutter: Continuous shooting: Hi+: 30fps, Hi: 20fps, Mid: 15fps, Lo: 5fps,10111213 Mechanical Shutter: Continuous shooting: Hi+: 10fps, Hi: 8fps, Mid: 6fps, Lo:...