SONY A1
I have often been asked by friends looking to buy a camera, “What’s the best camera to get?”. My answer has always been “A camera is a tool, it depends on the job you want to do”. I sometimes relate cameras to cars, if you have a heavy load you want a truck, you want to go fast get a sports car, or if you have a tight budget look at a used car. It is no different with a camera, what do you want to photograph? Sports, landscapes, portraits? How will you use the images? Are you making large prints, posting to the web, publishing them? Finally what is your budget? No camera has ever done it all, and perfection really does not exist in life. Then this week Sony just announced the A1 which comes as close to the perfect camera as I have seen and appears capable of doing it all.
I have not seen one in person yet, and have not seen many image examples from it, but after seeing the release videos and hearing the specifications the A1 sounds utterly amazing, and if it is all they claim it to be I will be getting in line to get one. Sony appears ro be justified for reserving the A1 name for this model.
I will put some links in this post about the camera so I won’t go in to much detail about all the features. For my photographic needs I am interested in some of the following features:
- 30 fps
- 50 MP
- Superior autofocus
- The ability to use high end SD cards for storage
- a flash sync at 1/400th
It’s not a camera for everyone. It is a professional camera body so it doesn’t fit in your pocket and it has a $6500 price tag. I foresee this camera crushing the Nikon D6. Other than if you have Nikon lenses you love I don’t see why you would buy a D6 now? A D6 has 20.8 MP, only 14 fps, only uses XQD type media storage and weighs 44.8 oz which I am sure is heavier than an A1, both are currently the same price (expect a price drop in the D6 as the A1’s hit the marketplace). The D6 may have a superior battery life, because Sony has lagged behind there some, but with the extra battery pack you can put on the A1 that should hardly be an issue.
As I said above, I have not seen image examples yet, but knowing how good Sony sensors are I expect the A1 images to be amazing. This camera will be a game changer and it will force Canon and Nikon to counter it. I have also heard the Sony A1 is now the official camera of AP. One rumored delivery date is March 4th 2021 and I assume lots of reservations are being placed.
LINKS:
SONY RX 100 VIII
One of my go to cameras is a Sony RX 100 VI which fits in my pocket and I get great results with it. I did not upgrade to the Sony RX 100 VII because there were not enough improvements on the camera but I will most likely upgrade to the Sony RX 100 VIII which is rumored to be released soon. The improved autofocus, an f/2.8 aperture for all focal lengths are my primary reasons plus I like the hot shoe addition as well as it being a little wider lens. Below are the rumored specifications:
Rumored Sony RX100 VIII Specs
Sensor remain the same as 20MP sensor
New 10x zoom lens (two versions of the lens is in rumors a 20-200mm f2.8 and a 16-50mm f1.4) *
4k@60p for 5min
The camera will have the newest AF modes
USB-C connection
Hot shoe
Announcement expected in CES 2021
*The current Sony RX 100 VII has a ZEISS® Vario-Sonnar T* 24–200 mm2 F2.8–4.5 high-resolution zoom lens