Sony’s revolutionary Alpha 1 camera breaks new ground in professional still and video shooting

Sony has announced a new revolutionary full-frame camera, the Alpha 1. The most technologically advanced and innovative model from Sony to date. It’s capable of taking photos and recording video at a resolution and speed unprecedented in the world of digital cameras until now. The all-new 50.1 megapixel Exmor RS multilayer full-frame sensor, up to 120 AF/AE calculations tracking per second, 8K 10-bit 4:2:0 video at 30 fps – all this will provide photographers and videographers with a whole new way to be creative. The Alpha 1 is further evidence of Sony’s commitment to continue paving the way forward for the industry as a whole.

“Ever since we released our first mirrorless E mount camera in 2010, we’ve continued to make more and more technological breakthroughs in the field. Alpha 1 – a new milestone in the development of Sony photoinnovations, created to push the boundaries of what is possible in the industry of digital photography and video, to meet the new demands of the industry – said Andrei Kurganov, head of marketing of photo and video equipment Sony Electronics in America and CIS countries. – The new Alpha 1 delivers an unprecedented combination of image quality, speed, compactness and versatility, allowing professional photographers and videographers to explore new creative possibilities. You can do more with this camera than ever before”.

Unprecedented combination of resolution and speed

Up to 30 frames per second for continuous shooting

The Alpha 1’s unparalleled speed means you can capture the moments you wouldn’t otherwise be able to with another camera. This model gives photographers the ability to work with the fastest moving subjects. The fast readout speed of the 50.1-megapixel sensor and the large amount of buffer memory allow for 30 frames per second. Up to 155 full-frame RAW images or 165 JPEG images with the electronic shutter. Full subject and exposure tracking is maintained.

With the incredible computing power of up to 120 AF/AE tracking speeds per second, the Alpha 1 can accurately “track” even the fastest-moving subject. Auto Exposure works perfectly even during fast light changes, with a response time of just 0.033 seconds.

Enhanced electronic viewfinder with a record refresh rate of 240 frames per second.

The Alpha 1 can take photos at an incredible speed, and the viewfinder doesn’t lag behind, with a record refresh rate of 240fps. It delivers unbelievably smooth images. The viewfinder doesn’t go dark when the exposure happens, so the photographer pressing the shutter button can stay focused on framing or tracking the subject – even in continuous mode. Resolution of 9.44 million. the fastest-moving subjects in the world, and the fastest-moving subjects in the world approx.0.64 inches, Quad-XGA OLED technology and state-of-the-art optics deliver the sharpest viewfinder clarity in its class. The Alpha 1 viewfinder also has 0.90x magnification, 41° diagonal field of view and a 25mm eye relief point which delivers a distortion-free view throughout the entire field of view.

Enhanced autofocus

Sony pushes the limits of AF technology even further with the Alpha 1, which tracks even complex and fast-moving subjects with ease and precision. Sensor array features 759 phase-exposure autofocus sensors, covering approximately 92 percent of the sensor’s area. This enables consistent, accurate focusing even in situations where other autofocus systems would fail.

Thanks to the new BIONZ XR image processor, the intelligent real-time eye autofocus function performs 30% better than the previous iteration. It enables reliable eye-tracking even when your eyes aren’t pointed at the camera. In addition to real-time eye tracking of people and animals, the Alpha 1 – a first for the Alpha family – also lets you do this when photographing birds. New algorithms don’t miss the subject, even if a sitting bird suddenly takes off, or when you make a sudden change in the frame.

Alpha 1 also features reliable real-time object tracking using artificial intelligence. Recognition algorithm uses color, brightness and distance to locate your subject quickly.

Silent and vibration-free electronic shutter

The rolling shutter effect was reduced by a factor of 1.5 compared to the Alpha 9 II due to the high speed at which the new sensor was read. Also world’s first flicker-free continuous shooting using electronic shutter. This shutter, unlike the mechanical one, works quietly and doesn’t make the body vibrate. Now it’s also possible to shoot burst mode in difficult lighting conditions, such as under fluorescent lights or other artificial light sources that make you prone to flicker. For the first time in the Alpha family, it can also synchronize the electronic shutter with the flash. The flash can be used in so many different situations, all of which can now take advantage of the electronic shutter.

Synchronizes with the flash at a shutter speed of 1/400 sec thanks to a dual-drive shutter

The Alpha 1 offers the world’s fastest mechanical shutter to flash sync, at just 1/400 of a second, making it easier to work with highly dynamic scenes. The shutter is made of carbon fiber and the shutter is released with a dual motor spring-operated and electromagnetic , giving the system just the right amount of strength and lightness.

Innovations for high-definition photography

Despite its extremely high resolution, the Alpha 1’s sensor offers high sensitivity and low noise, as well as 15+ stops of dynamic range for movies and 15 for stills. The latest image processing system produces smooth, natural transitions between light and dark areas of the frame at any ISO 100 to 32,000 in photo mode, the range can be extended from ISO 50 to 102,400 .

The camera also introduces an updated pixel shift shooting mode, allowing up to 16 full-frame images to be stitched together. The Alpha 1 moves the sensor with superb precision in half-pixel or pixel increments to produce 16 separate images with a combined resolution of 796.2 megapixel. These can then be stitched together to create a single 17-bit resolution image using the Sony Imaging Edge™ PC software.280 x 11.520 pixels. Flash sync speeds of up to 1/200 of a second are possible. Ideal for architecture, artwork and any other static subject, the resulting images are stunning in every detail and color fidelity.

Professional quality video

8K video recording

For the first Alpha family, the Alpha 1 records 8K 8.6K oversampling 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS movies at 30 fps. This, coupled with the excellent autofocus and color gradation technologies, allows videographers to fully realize their creative ideas and achieve incredibly detailed images. Recorded 8K video can also be used for 4K output, with additional source resolution expanding your editing options.

Supports various video formats for professional shooting

Alpha 1 can record 4K at up to 120 fps., allowing you to record video with up to five times the time lag. Besides recording in 10-bit 4:2:2 aspect ratio, it can be combined with efficient Long GOP encoding or a higher quality All-Intra All-I variant.

Alpha 1 features S-Cinetone color reproduction technology, which helped the FX9 and FX6 achieve high marks for skin tones and hues. This technology produces natural halftones, soft tones and brilliant saturated colors to meet the growing demand for artistic color reproduction. The S-Log3 gamma curve recording mode allows for 15+ steps of dynamic range, and the S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3 color profiles.Cine makes it easy to match footage recorded with the Alpha 1 with footage from VENICE, FX9 and other professional film cameras.

Heat-dissipating design

New, custom-designed design keeps sensor and processor in the normal operating temperature range, i.e.ch. the camera doesn’t overheat despite its compact size. So it can record at up to 8K at 30 frames per second fps . For approximately 30 minutes.

Convenient handheld shooting

High-precision image stabilizer and gyro coupled with the latest image stabilization algorithms to achieve up to 5.5 stops of exposure for the most detailed photos from a 50.1 megapixel sensor. The Alpha 1 also features a special Active Mode for brilliant handheld video stabilization. Precise image stabilization in Sony Catalyst Browse or Catalyst Prepare can be used in post-processing on a computer, based on metadata recorded by the camera gyro.

Other Alpha 1 features include: RAW output with 16-bit color depth to an external recorder[xxv] via HDMI for maximum flexibility in post-processing a digital audio interface built into the camera’s multi-interface connector, allowing you to use compatible external Sony microphones to record the clearest sound possible 5.8K to 4K oversampling with a pixel-by-pixel readout in Super 35 mode and more.

More convenient workflow with advanced connectivity, including 5G devices

The Alpha 1 has been designed with the needs of sports and reportage photographers and videographers in mind, who want to get footage to their customers as quickly as possible. The camera offers advanced connectivity for high-speed, reliable data transfer. The built-in dual antenna local area wireless module lets you communicate securely on either 2.4GHz or 5GHz, with the latter supporting 2×2 MIMO IEEE 802 802.11a/b/g/n/ac which provides wireless FTP data transfer 3.5 times faster than the Alpha 9 II.

This is an important advantage for news and sports photographers and videographers for whom speed is critical. USB Type-C® connector delivered with the camera lets you transfer data at high speed to a 5G mmWave enabled device like a Sony Xperia PRO smartphone, as well as to a computer while you’re shooting. This technology handles large Alpha 1 file sizes with no problem. This model also includes 1000BASE-T LAN interface for high-speed and reliable data transfer, including remote control of the camera. FTPS secure protocol is also supported, allowing transmitted files to be encrypted with SSL or TLS.

In addition to lossless and compressed RAW formats, the Alpha 1 also supports lossless RAW, which means no degradation in quality. In addition, the camera allows you to shoot in “lightweight” JPEG. The file size is smaller than “standard” JPEG, which reporters and sports photographers will appreciate when they need to send photos to newsrooms quickly. Alpha 1 not only supports RAW and JPEG, but also the 10-bit HEIF High Efficiency Image File format. It offers realistic rendering of the sky and human faces, t.e. for scenes where natural, smooth color transitions are important. Photos shot with the Alpha 1 can be cropped on the camera itself to the desired aspect ratio and size as well as rotated.

Alpha 1 is compatible with a variety of applications, plug-ins and tools. With Imaging Edge Mobile and Imaging Edge Desktop apps you can easily transfer RAW and lossless compression files, and remotely control touch-tracking and touch AF. Transfer & Tagging plug-in version 1.3 or later automatically converts voice memos attached to images into text, and allows you to transfer files from your mobile device to an FTP server.

Catalyst Browse/Catalyst Prepare desktop apps let you view and manage video clips taken with your Sony camera. Finally, the Remote Camera Tool lets you remotely change camera settings and take pictures remotely from a computer connected via a wired LAN cable. It features several improvements for the Alpha 1: faster file transfer, touch controls, support for dual memory card slots and HEIF format, and more.

Reliability and usability

Professionals don’t just want the best features and performance. They want reliable tools that won’t let you down at the crucial moment in the toughest of environments. Alpha 1 comes with two slots for SDXC/SDHC UHS-I and UHS-II memory cards. It also supports the new CFexpress Type A format, which offers more memory and faster read and write speeds. The camera body is made of durable magnesium alloy.

Z-series battery has high capacity and lets you take more photos on a single charge. To shoot for even longer, you can buy the VG-C4EM battery grip sold separately . Improved dust sensor cleaning technology, shutter closure on shutter, and dust and water resistance to handle the toughest conditions. The camera is equipped with a reliable HDMI Type-A connector and supports USB PD Power Delivery technology which allows you to charge the camera using an external power source and shoot longer without using up the internal battery.

The camera menu structure has been redesigned. Now it is much more convenient to move around. Touch operation with autofocus and track-and-trace functions makes operation on the 3-inch 1.44-million-dot LCD monitor quicker. Shooting settings change according to the mode selected, making it easier than ever to use different apertures, shutter speeds and other settings for stills and movies.

Price and affordability

Price and availability in usa will be announced later.