SONY ALPHA 1 BODY

A flagship in the truest sense, the Sony Alpha 1 is the one camera designed to do it all.

Built without compromise, this full-frame mirrorless offers high-resolution for stills shooting, impressive 8K video recording, speed and sensitivity, and connectivity for the most demanding professional workflows.

At its core, the Alpha 1, or a1, is distinguished by a newly designed 50.1MP full-frame Exmor RS BSI CMOS sensor and the BIONZ XR processing engine.

Pairing the efficient stacked sensor design with optimized processing means the a1 is capable of 30 fps continuous shooting at full-resolution, 8K 30p and 4K 120p 10-bit video recording, and still offers versatile sensitivity up to ISO 102400 for low-light shooting.

No recording limit allows for extended takes and, matching with professional cine cameras, the a1 includes S-Cinetone support for smooth skin-tone rendering along with well-controlled highlights and soft colors.

Physically, the a1 has a familiar shape, but internally it reaps the best tech of the Alpha series with some notable upgrades, including a 9.44m-dot OLED EVF that touts a 240 fps refresh rate for fluid motion rendering and greatly reduced blackout when shooting continuously.

 

50.1MP Exmor RS BSI CMOS Stacked Sensor
Newly developed 50.1MP Exmor RS full-frame sensor features a stacked back-illuminated design with integrated memory that maintains high image clarity, expandable sensitivity up to ISO 102400, and a 15-stop dynamic range while also enabling fast 30 fps shooting and and phase-detection AF.

The sensor also enables recording lossless compressed raw files for flexible editing during post-production while maintaining a relatively lightweight file size.

Additionally, the 50.1MP resolution not only benefits stills shooters as it also offers full-frame 8.6K oversampling for 8K video recording.

Up to 30 fps Shooting and Updated Shutter
Efficient sensor design and processing enables high-speed shooting up to 30 fps at full 50.1MP resolution, with full AF and AE capabilities, when working with an electronic shutter.

When working with the mechanical shutter, speeds are still kept high at 10 fps. Also, a large buffer memory permits recording up to 155 compressed raw frames, or 165 JPEGs, in one single burst at 30 fps.

 

8K 30p and 4K 120p Video Recording in 10-Bit
Making use of the high-resolution sensor and fast processing capabilities, UHD 8K 30p XAVC HS 10-bit 4:2:0 video recording is possible using the full width of the sensor, offering 8.6K oversampling for impressive sharpness and realism.

Recording up to UHD 4K is possible with frame rates up to 120p; when recording up to 60p the a1 offers full pixel readout and at 120p it uses a 10% crop. Oversampled 4K recording is also possible, via a 5.8K capture area, with a Super 35 crop.

Internal 10-bit 4:2:2 sampling is also possible in all recording modes and, if recording externally via the full-size HDMI A port, 16-bit raw output is also possible from a 4.3K capture for even greater tonal reproduction and post-production flexibility.

No recording time limit allows for unlimited clip lengths and the camera's physical design features an improved heat-dissipating structure to promote longer possible recording times; longer than 30 minutes for 8K 30p or 4K 60p videos, or recordings done at 10-bit 4:2:0.

S-Cinetone can be used to deliver distinct colors and healthy-looking skin tone rendering that matches the FX9 and FX6 cameras and is based on technology from the professional Cinema Line cameras, such as the VENICE.

This color profile offers natural mid-tones, soft colors, and especially well-controlled highlights.

HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) support is also available, along with the BT.2020 color space, for recording within a wide color gamut and, in addition to S-Log2, S-Log3 is also available for producing a 15+-stop dynamic range with increased grading control in the shadow to mid-tone regions of the image.

Fast Hybrid AF System
Covering 92% of the image area, a Fast Hybrid AF system incorporates 759 phase-detection points along with 425 contrast-detection areas for quick and precise focusing in a variety of lighting conditions with sensitivity down to -6 EV.

This focusing system is available for use in all recording modes, to benefit both video and stills applications.

Fast sensor readout and improved processing also enables up to 120 AF and AE calculations to be performed per second for faster, more responsive tracking and accurate results.

Lock onto subjects quickly using Real-time Tracking for AI-based tracking on moving subjects or touch tracking for manual selection of the subject.
Real-time Eye AF, suitable for both humans and animals, also ensures critical sharpness when shooting portraits.

Helping to fine-tune how the focusing system performs, seven-step AF transition speed and five-step AF subject shift sensitivity controls let you refine how quickly focus shifts from point to point and how smoothly focusing shifts occur.

5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization
Enhanced 5.5-stop effective 5-axis SteadyShot INSIDE image stabilization system compensates for five different types of camera shake encountered during handheld shooting of stills and video and allows users to confidently use any lens, even adapted lenses, for critical shooting without encountering blur from camera shake.

All shooting styles will get usage out of the roll compensation. All 5 axes of stabilization will function at all times, even when used with third-party lenses and adapters or lenses with built-in optical stabilization.

Additionally, specifically for video, there is also an Active IS mode that adds even more precise stabilization methods for even smoother footage straight out of camera.

Pixel Shift Multi Shooting
This unique compositing mode allows you to achieve even greater resolution than the 50.1MP sensor affords. Working in conjunction with the sensor-shift image stabilization, this mode shifts the sensor while making 16 consecutive exposures in order to acquire approximately 199MP of information for greater color accuracy and detail than possible with a single exposure.

These files can then be merged together during post-production by using the Sony Imaging software suite.

Body Design

A 3.0" 1.44m-dot tilting screen benefits working from high and low angles. This LCD is a touchscreen, too, for intuitive shooting control and menu navigation.

Dual memory card slots both accept either CFexpress Type A or SD-type memory cards. The dual slot design allows for flexible file saving and handling and can be configured to partition file types or can be used for overflow recording.

Additionally, both of the card slots are rated to support UHS-II memory cards for faster transfer speeds.

Updated menu structure is more intuitive and complements having different workflows and settings selections for movie recording and stills shooting.

The menu system also works in conjunction with the touchscreen design of the rear LCD.

Magnesium alloy chassis assures rigidity, durability, and stability while remaining lightweight. The lens mount has also been improved to better support heavy lenses, and the grip rigidity has been improved for more comfortable hand-holding.

Extensive weather-sealing, including enhanced sealing around the battery cover, terminal cover, and chassis joints, has been employed to resist dust and moisture for reliable operation in harsh weather conditions.
Both 3.5mm headphone and external microphone ports facilitate greater control over audio recording.

Multi Interface Shoe supports working with the optional ECM-B1M Shotgun Microphone or XLR-K3M XLR Adapter Kit, which provide improved, clear audio recording sound by sending a digital audio signal to the camera, opposed to an analog signal.

Connectivity
Built-in Wi-Fi enables the a1 to instantly share imagery to mobile devices for direct sharing online, and support for both 2.4 and 5.0 GHz bands also enables wireless tethered shooting support.

Also, the 5.0 GHz band supports 2x2 MIMO for fast communication speeds and dual antennas ensure a reliable connection.

NFC (Near Field Communication) allows for one-touch connection between the camera and compatible mobile devices; no complex set-up is required.

Once connected, the linked mobile device can also display a live view image on its screen and remotely control the camera's shutter.

Bluetooth connectivity allows for location data acquisition.

Ethernet port offers up to 1000BASE-T speeds for quick wired LAN sharing and remote operation.

When working over a wired LAN, the Remote Camera Tool 2.1 app now has been enhanced for a reduced release time lag and live view delays as well as support for remote SD card formatting, FTP server switching, and changes to the still image storage destination.