Sony A1 8K Mirrorless Camera

Had a horrible experience with this camera. I've only had it for two years. I was trying to use the wifi tether feature to capture one. The camera was not showing any wifi connection. After reading up on it through sony official site It suggested to have the latest firmware. So I decided to update the camera with proper instructions from Sony. After this the camera did not function. After about a minute the camera would say system error and wouldn't even turn off. Had to remove battery. I spoke with BH Photo as well as Sony. Only resulted in them saying to send the camera in for repair. Since the camera is out of warranty after a year this is something that will not be covered from sony when it is clearly a firmware / product issue on their end.To spend $6500 ... MoreHad a horrible experience with this camera. I've only had it for two years. I was trying to use the wifi tether feature to capture one. The camera was not showing any wifi connection. After reading up on it through sony official site It suggested to have the latest firmware. So I decided to update the camera with proper instructions from Sony. After this the camera did not function. After about a minute the camera would say system error and wouldn't even turn off. Had to remove battery. I spoke with BH Photo as well as Sony. Only resulted in them saying to send the camera in for repair. Since the camera is out of warranty after a year this is something that will not be covered from sony when it is clearly a firmware / product issue on their end.To spend $6500 on a camera, to last barely 2 years is a terrible investment. This should be a recall solution rather than putting the customer at fault when it is recommended by sony to update your camera and keep the latest firmware in the first place.This seems to be a big issue with the A1 and the S3. Considering switching brands entirely after this nightmare.

Does everything and more.

For years and years I've been wanting a camera that ticks all of the boxes (for stills) and I think the A1 is such a camera. Whilst things will inevitably move on I can't honestly see what else I would need from a camera. 50mp is more than enough, and overkill for most applications, nice to have for cropping wildlife photos though. 30fps again is overkill, but it's great to get 20fps with full uncompressed raw.Want a high res EVF with high refresh rate, yep the A1 has it. Want an autofocus system that works like magic and just nails everything, again the A1 has it. Bird eye AF is just insane.Sony colours have continued to improve over the years and the colours from the A1 are very true to life from my experience. I still prefer to use color fidelity profiles ... MoreFor years and years I've been wanting a camera that ticks all of the boxes (for stills) and I think the A1 is such a camera. Whilst things will inevitably move on I can't honestly see what else I would need from a camera. 50mp is more than enough, and overkill for most applications, nice to have for cropping wildlife photos though. 30fps again is overkill, but it's great to get 20fps with full uncompressed raw.Want a high res EVF with high refresh rate, yep the A1 has it. Want an autofocus system that works like magic and just nails everything, again the A1 has it. Bird eye AF is just insane.Sony colours have continued to improve over the years and the colours from the A1 are very true to life from my experience. I still prefer to use color fidelity profiles over the Sony ones in lightroom though.The only negatives is the low res LCD screen, I'm not sure why Sony didn't put something better in such an expensive camera, however this is a very minor point, and I do wish they'd make their cameras a few mm wider just t give that extra room between the grip and lens.

EXCELLENT! Immediate professional lol

The cost IS worth it. I'm a beginner - mid level videographer, who is maybe 2-3 years into filming and shooting. The A1 makes me better !!! I get so many clients and love for the content the A1 has helped me achieve .As far as the overheating, I film outdoors a lot, I'm in the Texas summer sun year 2023. I was able to video for 9 hours outside in the heat! Any cam would overheat under this condition and This camera is no different but it needed a short break and it was good to go again.STAY IN SHADE TO AVOID OVERHEATING.This camera will has not disappointed me ever.. I never have wrote a review for anything that I liked before. The feeling to write a review for this camera was a great feeling. This was a MAJOR investment for me and it was one of my best ... MoreThe cost IS worth it. I'm a beginner - mid level videographer, who is maybe 2-3 years into filming and shooting. The A1 makes me better !!! I get so many clients and love for the content the A1 has helped me achieve .As far as the overheating, I film outdoors a lot, I'm in the Texas summer sun year 2023. I was able to video for 9 hours outside in the heat! Any cam would overheat under this condition and This camera is no different but it needed a short break and it was good to go again.STAY IN SHADE TO AVOID OVERHEATING.This camera will has not disappointed me ever.. I never have wrote a review for anything that I liked before. The feeling to write a review for this camera was a great feeling. This was a MAJOR investment for me and it was one of my best decisions I ever made.Thank you for your time in reading my review

Excellent but price may not be justified for some.

I had nothing but good experiences with my beloved Sony A7RIII, but since I love astrophotography and learned about the Sony A1's low light capabilities despite the ~50 mp sensor size, I could not resist buying it.First impressions:The build quality does not seem to be any better than the Sony A7RIII or A7IV cameras. However, this camera claims to be more weather proof.I like the shutter down function when changing lenses but wished Sony had implemented it like Nikon did with with the Z8 using a curtain down method. The shutter down function on the A1 protects the sensor from dust and particles but it has the potential to be damaged should the lens slip out of your hands while mounting the lens.The addition of the dials on the top left of the camera body ... MoreI had nothing but good experiences with my beloved Sony A7RIII, but since I love astrophotography and learned about the Sony A1's low light capabilities despite the ~50 mp sensor size, I could not resist buying it.First impressions:The build quality does not seem to be any better than the Sony A7RIII or A7IV cameras. However, this camera claims to be more weather proof.I like the shutter down function when changing lenses but wished Sony had implemented it like Nikon did with with the Z8 using a curtain down method. The shutter down function on the A1 protects the sensor from dust and particles but it has the potential to be damaged should the lens slip out of your hands while mounting the lens.The addition of the dials on the top left of the camera body seems almost like as if Sony realized that this side of the camera looks too empty for the price and added functions that used to be easily programmed in the Memory settings. Just move the right hand dial to M1, 2, or 3 and done. It does give the camera a more balanced appearance, but now there are three steps needed rather than just one.The shutter action is very quite and one can hardly feel any repercussions during shooting. This camera also has no longer any banding issues in Silence mode.The attached image I shot was with ISO 4000. In terms of noise, I can not find a noticeable, or worth mentioning difference to the Milky Way images I shot with the excellent Sony 7R3 or, in astrophotography context, the excellent Nikon Z6, but perhaps that is too early to tell.So for $6500 I got:- Shutter down function.- No banding in silence mode.- Higher shooting through put 30fps (which I never will use).- 200mp high resolution shots which is basically unless nothing is moving during the shot.- 1/400 sec Flash sync,- OK.- Beautiful bright, high resolution view finder.- Even more improved AF, especially for eye detection.Is the cost justified? Perhaps for those that welcome the 30fps rate and other features that are very useful for action photography, but even those photographers will think hard if it is really worth $6500.Don't get me wrong, I think the Sony A1 is one of the leading flag ships in the camera world, but it is also one of the most expensive ones.I really don't regret having bought this fine piece of engineering and will consider this my last camera purchase for a long time to come, my only grudge is the left side dials which have made a simple thing more complicated. This, and my impression that the camera doesn't feel more solidly made than other Sony A7xxx models.

Fantastic camera with some flaws

This is a fantastic camera. I already own the Canon R5 which is equally as good. However, I found that taking photographs of fast moving objects left more motion blur than I desired with the Canon R5. The Sony A1 on the other hand I've found I can shoot fast moving objects with little to no blur. The bonus as well is that you can crank up the shutter speed on the A1 more than the R5.However, in my opinion I feel the eye auto focus on the Canon R5 is better and quicker at picking up focus. The A1 hunts at times. I've also noticed that the camera can become unresponsive at times, but thankfully it was easily resolved by taking the battery out and reinserting.I'll be using both cameras going forwards for stills and videos.I was also really pleased that the camera ... MoreThis is a fantastic camera. I already own the Canon R5 which is equally as good. However, I found that taking photographs of fast moving objects left more motion blur than I desired with the Canon R5. The Sony A1 on the other hand I've found I can shoot fast moving objects with little to no blur. The bonus as well is that you can crank up the shutter speed on the A1 more than the R5.However, in my opinion I feel the eye auto focus on the Canon R5 is better and quicker at picking up focus. The A1 hunts at times. I've also noticed that the camera can become unresponsive at times, but thankfully it was easily resolved by taking the battery out and reinserting.I'll be using both cameras going forwards for stills and videos.I was also really pleased that the camera was shipped with the CF express type A card. If you decide to take the plunge on the A1, make sure you get a CF express type A card. Otherwise, you will be hindering the camera's performance.

Fantastic camera!

I bought this camera to improve my wildlife photography, especially tracking birds in flight with a FF image that had plenty of pixels (shot at a high rate) to allow for cropping. I have not been disappointed, with the bird eye focus (even in flight) simply amazing. The EVF and touch-screen back are also wonderful, as is the 'new' menu layout (compared to previous models). However, I am patiently waiting for SONY to update the firmware to bring us the Pro Capture feature that some other cameras now boast. With that addition, the SONY a1 would be extraordinary for wildlife/bird photography, but also for sports and any other fast-moving subject matter. Is this camera worth the (premium) price? It is certainly powerful, and I know that good R&D costs big bucks. I am ... MoreI bought this camera to improve my wildlife photography, especially tracking birds in flight with a FF image that had plenty of pixels (shot at a high rate) to allow for cropping. I have not been disappointed, with the bird eye focus (even in flight) simply amazing. The EVF and touch-screen back are also wonderful, as is the 'new' menu layout (compared to previous models). However, I am patiently waiting for SONY to update the firmware to bring us the Pro Capture feature that some other cameras now boast. With that addition, the SONY a1 would be extraordinary for wildlife/bird photography, but also for sports and any other fast-moving subject matter. Is this camera worth the (premium) price? It is certainly powerful, and I know that good R&D costs big bucks. I am hoping that subsequent firmware upgrades will make the price worthwhile over time ...

OVERHEATS IN 15 MINUTES

As reference, I'm am independent producer and videographer who is currently shooting the Sony A7RIII which I love. I've been waiting a long time for a reasonably priced 8k camera and I really had high hopes for the Sony A1. Sadly I had to return it as it has proven impractical due to rapid overheating when shooting video. For my tests I picked a delightful 77 degree day with low humidity. I found that the camera in 8k mode overheated within 15 minutes of off-and-on shooting, first in the sun, and again in the shade. I repeated the tests with the same results. Each time it overheated, I took the camera inside to an an air-conditioned room to let it cool off. I waited five minutes until the camera would turn on again and repeated my tests outside. I found I could ... MoreAs reference, I'm am independent producer and videographer who is currently shooting the Sony A7RIII which I love. I've been waiting a long time for a reasonably priced 8k camera and I really had high hopes for the Sony A1. Sadly I had to return it as it has proven impractical due to rapid overheating when shooting video. For my tests I picked a delightful 77 degree day with low humidity. I found that the camera in 8k mode overheated within 15 minutes of off-and-on shooting, first in the sun, and again in the shade. I repeated the tests with the same results. Each time it overheated, I took the camera inside to an an air-conditioned room to let it cool off. I waited five minutes until the camera would turn on again and repeated my tests outside. I found I could shoot for about another 5 minutes of off-an-on shooting until it overheated. This suggested to me that even if I were willing to tolerate the initial overheating, I would have to wait much longer than 5 minutes before I could shoot for as long as 15 minutes again. Needless to say, 5-min-on, 5-min-off shooting would be impractical for any kind of professional production work. By the way, I was shooting 8k at the 200 Mb rate, NOT the 400 Mb rate, which would have likely performed even more poorly. What's more, there are plenty of interior locations, like some factories, mills, processing plants, non-air conditioned homes and offices, even hot sets, where temperatures can reach into the high 70s and even higher, making this camera extremely limited.I did additional tests with the flip-out screen flipped out, which some sources report will help the camera run cooler. It extended my shoot time by 5 minutes, from 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Not enough of an improvement to make a difference as far as I'm concerned. What's more when the screen is flipped out, I was unable to view through the EVF which is the only thing I use when shooting in the sun (when I don't want to mess with mounting an external monitor). I realize there are other tricks like running the camera from a remote battery, but I've heard this provides minimal improvement. And the idea of placing the camera in a cooler sounds pretty desperate.By the way, I realize there is a setting that will increase the camera's heat tolerance, but I don't consider this a reasonable option as I understand the camera will then reach very high temperatures, making it too hot to touch. I would also be concerned that this could cause damage to the camera's circuits and sensor in the long term. Since I do a lot of shooting outdoors in warm weather, the A1 is just not a good choice for me.I am shocked by the YouTube reviews where the overheating issue is played down by reviewers who claim they can run 60-minutes straight in 8k. It appears many of these reviewers only tested the camera indoors and if they tested outdoors at all, it was in the spring before temperatures began to rise.One other caveat: I was disappointed to find that the APS C-35 crop and the Clear Image Zoom, two features that are great for shooting tele and macro footage, are not available in 8k mode.A tip: SD XC II cards, like those I use with my Sony A7RIII work fine for 8k at the 200 Mb rate. They will not work if you want to shoot at the 400 Mb rate.If it weren't for the overheating issue I would've given this camera 5 stars, and if shooting video in warm temperatures is not a concern for you, I would still highly recommend it. All the tests I conducted prior to discovering the overheating problem were very impressive. My 8k video was stunning and when I down-scaled to 4k it was much sharper than 4k native - more than I had expected. The same for when I downscaled to HD from 8k.Overheating aside, I must also say I find the $6,500 for this camera to be obscenely overpriced for what you get.

Outstanding for Birds in Flight

I was convinced that my A7R4 was more than adequate, and no need to spend so much more money for the A1. But I finally succumbed to the temptation of the A1. The higher frame rate when shooting BIF (Birds in Flight) - 30 FPS compared to 10 FPS on the A7R4 filled the time gaps in capturing subtle but important and rapid changes in wing position. But even more remarkable were the rapid and dramatic changes in feather positions and configuration that I had only rarely been able to previously capture. The Bird setting for Eye-AutoFocus provided outstanding results when combined with the 200-600 mm telephoto. The Bird-EyeAF is best with lower angle light to enhance the visualization of the pupil. Keeper rate depends upon distance from bird, angle of lighting, air ... MoreI was convinced that my A7R4 was more than adequate, and no need to spend so much more money for the A1. But I finally succumbed to the temptation of the A1. The higher frame rate when shooting BIF (Birds in Flight) - 30 FPS compared to 10 FPS on the A7R4 filled the time gaps in capturing subtle but important and rapid changes in wing position. But even more remarkable were the rapid and dramatic changes in feather positions and configuration that I had only rarely been able to previously capture. The Bird setting for Eye-AutoFocus provided outstanding results when combined with the 200-600 mm telephoto. The Bird-EyeAF is best with lower angle light to enhance the visualization of the pupil. Keeper rate depends upon distance from bird, angle of lighting, air temperature and heat columns, shutter speeds, ambient lighting, etc. But frequently will yield 90% keepers of flying egrets and great blue herons at distance of 180 - 200 feet with 600 mm zoom and 30 FPS. Results with rented 100-400 mm GM are mind boggling. Blazing fast AF. Will Autofocus at apertures of F22. Noise levels of cropped pictures is better than the A7R4, despite the reduction of pixel density from 61 MP to 50 MP - largely thanks to lower noise level of newer sensor and dual CPUs.Weight of A1 combined with the 200-600 mm telephoto is biggest disadvantage. Total weight is ca. 7 pounds. Heavy weight of lens then requires big tripod and gimbal, adding another 7-9 pounds to the final total kit weight of 15 pounds. Wish SONY would follow lead of Canon and Nikon and Olympus in developing high end lighter weight telephoto lenses.Other notable benefits of the A1:No blackouts while shooting at 30 FPS is terrificImprovements to touch screen monitor allow more intuitive reviewing of images, with touch/sweep to change images, two-finger Zoom In/Out. Customizable buttons provides excellent personalization. e.g. instantaneous changeover from Full Frame to APS-C.Sensor protector shutter does its job. When changing lenses in the field, I had to clean sensor on the A6500 and A7R4 at least monthly. Since using the A1, and after 6 months of moderate usage, I have had to do a simple dusting with a pneumatic bulb only once. I have not had to use a sterile swab to clean the sensor itself.Yes, it is far too expensive, but once I paid for it, I quickly came to appreciate it's many advanced capabilities, and forgot about the price.. CF Express is very pricey, but I Now mostly shooting photos of birds in the local marshes, and never have the buffer lag that was characteristic of previous SONY cameras.Global shutter is wonderful.Silent shooting is truly inaudible.No light bands when shooting with LEDs.If I don't try to review my photos on the monitor, but mainly use battery for focus and shooting (and don't use the Bluetooth remote control) I can shoot more than 1,000 pictures on a single battery when shooting at 10 to 30 FPSNegative things?Weight creep with each new model. But still lighter than competing Nikon Z9No built in Panoramic capture/display.No built-in HDRNo built-in Multi-pixel ultra high resolution display.No PreCapture as on Olympus and Nikon Z9. (Overcomes delayed reaction time when trying to capture take-off of birds, by allowing user to save the few seconds of exposure immediately prior to pressing shutter.)Remote Control SONY Bluetooth P1BT drains battery of camera, and often freezes camera. But I suspect that this is a problem with the remote controller programming, as I had the same problem with the P1BT when used on my A7R4 as well.Needs a much better User Manual.Best camera I have ever owned in 75 years of photography.

So close

We have been shooting for 30 years and have been in the Canon, Nikon and Sony ecosystems. The Sony A1 is the first camera I've used that I thought was fun to shoot and not just a tool. It is fantastic in low light, autofocus is quick accurate and sticky. The files are great, needing minimal processing in raw. Everything really came together in terms of photography in this camera. BUT, the A1 is billed as a hybrid camera and not just a stills camera. How Sony got a pass on the overheating issues in the A1 is amazing. On a recent trip to Rwanda, we got 7 and 9 minutes respectively at 8k/24. Then less than 20 minutes when switching directly to 4k. We ended up recording the last 30 minutes of our time with gorillas using iPhones. While the A1s don't always overheat that ... MoreWe have been shooting for 30 years and have been in the Canon, Nikon and Sony ecosystems. The Sony A1 is the first camera I've used that I thought was fun to shoot and not just a tool. It is fantastic in low light, autofocus is quick accurate and sticky. The files are great, needing minimal processing in raw. Everything really came together in terms of photography in this camera. BUT, the A1 is billed as a hybrid camera and not just a stills camera. How Sony got a pass on the overheating issues in the A1 is amazing. On a recent trip to Rwanda, we got 7 and 9 minutes respectively at 8k/24. Then less than 20 minutes when switching directly to 4k. We ended up recording the last 30 minutes of our time with gorillas using iPhones. While the A1s don't always overheat that quickly they do invariably overheat, making them unusable as an A cam or even a B cam on anything long form. We do have the temperature set to high and occasionally catch the odor of burning plastic about the time the high temperature warning goes off in the viewfinder. Slog is still Slog in video, but PP OFF is so strong and accurate we regularly shoot with that. The A1 is at least a full stop better than the R5 in low light and probably two stops better in DR. At double the price it should be better. The last negative: AF tracking in video is not very good with wildlife and any type of interference (like sagebrush in the foreground) and the camera AF just will not stay with a moving subject such as a grizzly bear. It's the best single camera on the market, but, at this price point should have been better.

too many issues

I have three a1 bodies for sports. It's a good camera but not great. Focus is fine, no better or worse than Canon. The camera is much too small for my hands so I use the grip but the design with the grip is awkward and it puts a lot of stress on the middle knuckle of the middle finger which the Canon D1 and R3 don't have. The battery life is poor and I need three batteries for each camera to get through an NFL game (nine total). The dials are top lock in theory but not in practice if you're running down the sidelines so you always have to check them all once you get to your spot. Also, the longer you own the camera and use it, the more technical issues you'll find. It's includes warnings to use only Sony batteries even when you're using only Sony batteries (which ... MoreI have three a1 bodies for sports. It's a good camera but not great. Focus is fine, no better or worse than Canon. The camera is much too small for my hands so I use the grip but the design with the grip is awkward and it puts a lot of stress on the middle knuckle of the middle finger which the Canon D1 and R3 don't have. The battery life is poor and I need three batteries for each camera to get through an NFL game (nine total). The dials are top lock in theory but not in practice if you're running down the sidelines so you always have to check them all once you get to your spot. Also, the longer you own the camera and use it, the more technical issues you'll find. It's includes warnings to use only Sony batteries even when you're using only Sony batteries (which shuts off the camera), camera suddenly going off even with fresh batteries, write to card failures even with Sony batteries, unable to see individual images (it sometimes gets stuck and the only solution is to remove the batteries and restart), slow start up from turning it on (5-10 seconds compared to Canon's 1 second), etc. Also, the eye piece comes off easily so have to use a lot of gaffers tape to keep them on. Additionally, it's sensitive to heat so it can stop working in the middle of a game on a very hot day. It performs poorly in low light, terrible with noise, and can struggle with white balance. Also, I sometimes use auto ISO on game days with moving clouds but this always underexposes despite bumping it up 1/3rd exposure. The menu options are many but key customizations are missing. I do like the 50 mp images and the optical and sensor zooming but this isn't a great camera for sports though it might compare favorably with the R3 (not sure). It's definitely not worth $6500 (maybe $4-5k).