KUALA LUMPUR: Sony Electronics has announced the arrival of the groundbreaking new full-frame mirrorless Alpha 1 camera, a camera which combines high-resolution and high-speed performance with its brand new 50.1-megapixel full-frame stacked Exmor RS image sensor, up to 120 AF/AE calculations per second, 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0 video and much more.
“We are always listening to our customers, challenging the industry to bring new innovation to the market that goes far beyond their expectations,” said Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Digital Imaging Division general manager Ryo Ochi.
“Alpha 1 breaks through all existing boundaries, setting a new bar for what creators can accomplish with a single camera. What excites us the most – more than the extensive product feature – is Alpha 1’s ability to capture that which has never been captured before. This camera unlocks a new world of creative possibilities, making the previously impossible now possible.”
The newly developed image sensor is built with integral memory and paired with an upgraded BIONZ XR imaging processing engine, making it capable of shooting 50.1-megapixel images continuously at an astounding 30fps with up to 120 AF/AE calculations per second.
The Alpha 1’s shooting capabilities are further enhanced by a 9.44 million dot OLED Quad-XGA electronic viewfinder, with a refresh rate of up to 240 fps.
Additionally, for the first time in an Alpha series camera, 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0 video is available. The Alpha 1 is also capable of 4K 120p/60p 10-bit 4:2:2 recording and includes S-Cinetone colour. The Alpha 1 is also packed with features that support field professionals with faster workflow, including 3.5 times faster wireless FTP transfer speed and more.
At a calculation speed of up to 120 AF/AE per second, the Alpha 1 can maintain focus with high accuracy even for fast moving subjects.
It can automatically adjust exposure, even with sudden changes in brightness, with an AE response latency as low as 0.033 seconds.
Complimenting the camera’s ability to capture images at an unprecedented speed, the Alpha 1 viewfinder features the world’s first 240 fps refresh rate, for a super-smooth display.
Sony’s advanced Real-time Eye AF improves detection performance by 30 per cent over the previous system, thanks to the powerful image processing engine, BIONZ XR.
The Alpha 1 also features AI-based Real-time Tracking that automatically maintains accurate focus. A subject recognition algorithm uses colour, pattern (brightness), and subject distance (depth) data to process spatial information in real time.
The Alpha 1 also offers high sensitivity with low noise, plus 15+ stops of dynamic range for video and 15 stops for stills, for smooth, natural gradations from shadows to highlights thanks to its cutting-edge processing system, throughout a wide ISO sensitivity range of 100-32,000 (expandable to 50-102,400, when shooting stills).
Additionally, the new camera features an evolved Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode that composites up to 16 full-resolution images. In this mode, the camera precisely shifts the sensor in one pixel or half-pixel increments to capture 16 separate pixel-shifted images containing a total of 796.2 million pixels of data, which are then composited into a 199 million pixel (17,280 x 11,520 pixels) image using Sony’s Imaging Edge desktop application. With a flash sync of up to 1/200 seconds. For the first time in an Alpha camera, the Alpha 1 offers 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS recording with 8.6K oversampling for extraordinary resolution. Combined with Sony’s acclaimed autofocus technology, gradation and color reproduction performance, the Alpha 1 will help the user realise their creative vision with the finest detail. It’s 8K footage can also be used for flexible 4K editing during post-production.
The Alpha 1 Full-frame Interchangeable Lens Camera will be available in Malaysia from April 2021.