Fuji X100V. In Johnson City.
If you haven't been over on YouTube today you might have missed the newest blast of information from Sony this morning. They've just introduced a brand new camera called an Alpha One. The body looks similar (maybe a little beefier? I can't tell from the screen images...) to the recently introduced, A7SIII but the specs are actually pretty amazing. The camera uses a new, stacked BSI 50 megapixel sensor and can shoot full res raw, 50 megapixel images at 30 frames per second. To gild the lilly, it's able to do this with NO viewfinder blackout.
Here's the product announcement video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0lLCqmHSSg&feature=youtu.be
The camera is also capable of shooting 8K video at 10 bit, 4:2:2 for up to 30 full minutes without overheating and shutting down. For video shooters Sony has finally included a full sized HDMI port along with a USB 3.2 port and an Ethernet port.
The Alpha One has two CF Express card slots which will also allow one to use SD cards instead.
The camera is, without a doubt, a technical tour de force. From a 9 megapixel EVF to a 1/400th flash sync (1/400 with mechanical shutter but a full 1/200th per second flash sync with the fully electronic shutter) nearly every spec is better than anything else on the market.
Sony even went into full competition with Leica...on price. While a brand new SL2 from Leica retails for $5999, Sony upped the ante by pricing the new Alpha One at an eye-watering $6500.
The new Sony will offer two amazing performance advantages. One is the state of the art AF for fast moving subjects and the other is pure speed and responsiveness (data throughput) when shooting continuously with Raw files.
So, who is this camera for? I'd say it's aimed squarely at sports shooters and it's almost certainly scheduled to come out, at least in limited supplies, in time for the Tokyo Olympic games scheduled for late Summer this year. I think it will also be a popular camera with movie making professionals who will enjoy using this camera on a gimbal for high impact, fast moving shots with perfect focus lock on.
Is it a camera for the fine art photographer who shoots found objects at a leisurely pace? Probably not.
But it's a fun bit of catharsis for a market that's been battered over the last year(s).
Will I buy one? Who knows. I seem to be working my way through most of the interesting camera models but the time frame is vague. The future is hard to see. I may just buy an 8 x 10 view camera and start doing platinum prints instead. But probably not.
Anyway, Sony produced a very nice intro video for their new system camera system so head over to YouTube and take a look. Or grab an older Olympus EP-2 and go have a nice, colorful walk instead.
Here's the Sony Alpha YouTube Channel link: https://www.youtube.com/c/SonyAlphaUniverse/videos
Lots and lots at which to look...
13 comments:
I wonder if that music (used in the video) is in the background every time you pick up the camera to spur you on to bigger and better efforts?
Don't know about the camera but the video is very good.
What's left to wish for except maybe a lower price?
Jeff in Colorado
More expensive than ... More features than ... Smaller than ... Lighter than a Leica SL2
Did everyone notice the Sony phone mounted on top of the camera as a ... what? Monitor? Controller? And the connectors -- more than in a 1957 telephone exchange.
The answer to every "Can it do ... ?" question is certainly, "Yes."
Interesting.
The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III is $6,499, body only.
The Nikon D6 is $6,499, body only.
The Panasonic DC-S1H Lumix is $3,999, bod only (such a bargain!).
On paper, spec wise, the α1 appears to be head and shoulders over the Canon and the Nikon. But those are just the paper specifications. How it handles in the real world, and compared to the two powerhouse cameras from Canon and Nikon, now that's the interesting question. Time to pull out the popcorn and settle in for the entertainment to commence...
@typingtalker, that Sony phone is (probably) Sony's newly announced Sony Xperia Pro. It will set you back $2,500. Why so expensive? Because Sony added a bidirectional micro HDMI port at the bottom along with USB-C. If you want to use it with the new Sony camera, you'll need an adapter cable.
For more about the Sony phone: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/01/sony-adds-hdmi-to-last-years-android-phone-charges-2500/
I'll take the walk, can I bring my X-E3 instead?
I'm good with my Sigma SD1M 46mp and a couple of Art lenses. Or my DP2M, and DP3m. Funny thing, I own two 6mp CCD sensor cameras that flash sync at any shutter speed with any flash. I read the price is $6500 USD, are they kidding? Why would I need that camera? Can you see the difference in a 24x30 print? My cameras have zero AA filters does the new Sony?? Ok, what will this camera do besides drain my bank account? I do not shoot video. Is this photography?
Stay Safe but have fun. I got my vaccine 2 days ago.
Roger
@Bill, the Canon EOS-R5 ($3,899) might be a better features/performance comparison to the new Sony than the EOS-1D X Mark III.
In any case, if you've got the money it's good to have choices.
If they cancel the Olympics again, there are going to be lots of po'ed photographers around.
Maybe not. My take is that 95% of all photographers working the Olympic games are employees of major agencies or publishers or contractors of the same and are issued cameras and lenses for specialty stuff. I'm betting Sony is making an amazing number of deals to big media corporations (including broadcast) to use their products at the games. The photographers might get pissed off but mostly about having to return their loaners. I could be wrong but that's my take.
The fun part of all this is that we have two major (maybe the last two major) "full frame" camera companies duking it out for sales with quite different products at quite different prices. And they're doing it in a market that has been moving from strictly "still photo" cameras to photo/video workhorses. It's less about lenses and resolution and more about the electronics that make the magic possible.
If it was only about buyers choosing the features they want/need that would be interesting. But this is about both features and price. And on top of that, both companies are serious manufacturers of video products which often brings up questions of cannibalization.
Will Sony or Cannon be the winner? Maybe neither, maybe both. The big winners here will be the consumers and retailers.
I’d have chosen the nice, colorful walk. However, the newest, greatest, most high-impact feature here is sciatica. Would a $6500 camera help? If so, I’d find a way to buy it. Ouch!
I'd take the photo walk with the lowly but competent Olympus OMDII and the Panasonic-Leica 8-18mm.
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