The strongest and most expensive in history: Sony Alpha 1

On January 26, 2021, Sony (China) Co., Ltd. officially released the new full-frame mirrorless TM Alpha 1 (model name: ILCE-1).The online press conference used “Unseen Before” as the slogan. Sony did not disappoint fans by launching a new generation of flagship camera Alpha 1, once again showcasing black technology.

Alpha 1 with E-mount is the industry’s first in many specifications. Combining high-pixel and high-speed continuous shooting, with a full-frame 50.1 million pixels, it can achieve a continuous shooting speed of 30fps, a dynamic range of 15 levels, and ISO 100-32000 (extended to 50–1024009), thanks to the new Exmor RS stacked sensor and Bionz XR impact processor (8 times faster than BIONZ X), can perform autofocus/exposure calculations at 120 times per second, and run at 30fps shooting.

The new image processor takes Sony’s original very strong focusing ability to a higher level. The human/beast eye focusing accuracy has been upgraded. It supports “Bird-Eye” for the first time, achieving 759 focus points and 92% coverage. The real-time focusing ability is according to the official. In other words, it is 30% faster than α9II. Sony puts more emphasis on the 0-black viewfinder experience. In addition to having a 9.44 million-dot OLED screen, it also has a 240Hz refresh rate, allowing users to pan with low shutter speeds without delay. Alpha 1 adds a vibration-free and silent electronic shutter. For the first time, the mechanical/electronic shutter achieves anti-flicker, which is helpful for indoor shooting to avoid the influence of LED lights. The flash shutter synchronization speed is more than 1/200 (mechanical) and 1/400 (electronic) levels.

In terms of dynamic photography, Alpha 1 undoubtedly supports 8K 30p/4K 120p video recording. It can record up to 30 minutes through an optimized heat dissipation mechanism. It has S-CineTone movie effects, creative appearance and other software functions, 5.5-level optical anti-shake, 10bit S-Log3 15 dynamic range, and other specifications. In order to cater to the needs of professional creators, Alpha 1 supports multiple high-speed network specifications in the connection port and WiFi at the same time, such as 2×2 MIMO, USB 10 Gbps data cable, 1000BASE-T, and can be paired with Xperia mobile phones to speed up the creation process. Alpha 1 is priced at US$6,500 and is expected to go on sale in the United States in March. Information about Taiwan’s listing will be announced later.