Sony A1 opinions

[tomO2013]

Hi,

**obligatory disclaimer** cameras, like a good pair of comfortable running shoes , are highly subjective to the individual user**

Having gotten the disclaimer out of the way I’d like to get your guys opinions on a possible A1 purchase…

I’ve flirted back and forth across different camera systems - mix of gadget acquisition syndrome and a genuine real interest/enjoyment in trying different brands, technologies etc…
That itch has settled more or less. I‘ve owned professional grade Canon, Nikon, Olympus Fuji and Sony in the past.

In early 2021 I decided to sell my most recent Sony A7siii kit as a number of video projects, weddings had been cancelled for me owing to the pandemic and I simply wasn’t getting out shooting as much as I could. I couldn’t justify having that kit at the time when I had zero interest even in a personal capacity to go shooting street etc…
I don’t blame the gear, but more the place that I was in myself at the time - I had huge back pain and walking was very difficult for me. Fast forward to 2022, things are looking up for me - I’ve had surgery on my spine and am now back walking again and have a renewed and revitalized interest in getting out there shooting, exploring with camera again.
Fast forward to today - I’m interested in buying into a ‘system’ again. Historically I’ve heard all the bitching that there is about sony ….. ‘souless cameras, crappy menus’, terrible colours, yada yada yada’. I have to say I did agree with the jpeg output from earlier A7ii and A7siii cameras that I had (even an a9 wasn’t so hot but it put it down to more terrible AWB… something that could be fixed in post when shooting RAW. My last a7siii had wonderful colors (for my taste) and I liked the new menus.

I was wondering if anybody with an a1 could comment on your usage of the a1 , your enjoyment, the things that you really like from a ‘live-ability’ perspective, and the things that you subjectively do NOT like too!

Why I’m looking at A1 over A7r or A7iv ? I really like big high resolution EVF and I really like the additional dial to control drive mode without having to necessitate diving into menus. This is something that I don’t like about the A7iv or a7siii line… I miss the drive dial.
I tried the XH2s and it was something I deeply missed from the regular XT4.
From a size wise , I like the A1 over say an R3 or Z9.

I’d really like to hear your guys’ opinions…. any regrets, would you buy an a1 again if you have one? what do you hope that they will change / improve for a1 ii? Are you satisfied with the color science of the A1 for SOOC Jpegs (where you may need to give a client a quick preview).

Thanks,

Tom

 

[Eric]

Hi,

**obligatory disclaimer** cameras, like a good pair of comfortable running shoes , are highly subjective to the individual user**

Having gotten the disclaimer out of the way I’d like to get your guys opinions on a possible A1 purchase…

I’ve flirted back and forth across different camera systems - mix of gadget acquisition syndrome and a genuine real interest/enjoyment in trying different brands, technologies etc…
That itch has settled more or less. I‘ve owned professional grade Canon, Nikon, Olympus Fuji and Sony in the past.

In early 2021 I decided to sell my most recent Sony A7siii kit as a number of video projects, weddings had been cancelled for me owing to the pandemic and I simply wasn’t getting out shooting as much as I could. I couldn’t justify having that kit at the time when I had zero interest even in a personal capacity to go shooting street etc…
I don’t blame the gear, but more the place that I was in myself at the time - I had huge back pain and walking was very difficult for me. Fast forward to 2022, things are looking up for me - I’ve had surgery on my spine and am now back walking again and have a renewed and revitalized interest in getting out there shooting, exploring with camera again.
Fast forward to today - I’m interested in buying into a ‘system’ again. Historically I’ve heard all the bitching that there is about sony ….. ‘souless cameras, crappy menus’, terrible colours, yada yada yada’. I have to say I did agree with the jpeg output from earlier A7ii and A7siii cameras that I had (even an a9 wasn’t so hot but it put it down to more terrible AWB… something that could be fixed in post when shooting RAW. My last a7siii had wonderful colors (for my taste) and I liked the new menus.

I was wondering if anybody with an a1 could comment on your usage of the a1 , your enjoyment, the things that you really like from a ‘live-ability’ perspective, and the things that you subjectively do NOT like too!

Why I’m looking at A1 over A7r or A7iv ? I really like big high resolution EVF and I really like the additional dial to control drive mode without having to necessitate diving into menus. This is something that I don’t like about the A7iv or a7siii line… I miss the drive dial.
I tried the XH2s and it was something I deeply missed from the regular XT4.
From a size wise , I like the A1 over say an R3 or Z9.

I’d really like to hear your guys’ opinions…. any regrets, would you buy an a1 again if you have one? what do you hope that they will change / improve for a1 ii? Are you satisfied with the color science of the A1 for SOOC Jpegs (where you may need to give a client a quick preview).

Thanks,

Tom

While I can't comment on the a1 I'll just say that I'm pretty much in love with the aR7III but look forward to seeing some reviews here. They main reason I'm replying though is to say congratulations on feeling better and jumping back into the game, it's a great hobby for exercise as well.

 

[Clix Pix]

I have the A1 and in a word, I LOVE it! I already had the A7R IV, which I had bought in late 2019 and I love that camera, too. One thing I especially appreciated about the A7R IV is the generous megapixels, which offers more opportunities for cropping when needed. I shoot a lot of macro, for which the A7R IV is wonderful, but I had found that it wasn't quite as wonderful when shooting wildlife, BIF, etc. I had begun thinking about purchasing an A9 or A9 II when the A1 was announced. AHA! I read the specs and realized that this, rather than an A9 or A9 II, was the camera that would work out best for me because it offered the ability for really fast burst modes in wildlife shooting plus also the advantage of good croppability when needed, regardless of what the subject might be. I waited as the camera finally hit the streets, then was in such high demand that it was quite a while before my local shop finally got one in. This gave me plenty of time to decide about whether or not to keep the A7R IV as well, and I did do that.

Now I tend to reach for the A7R IV for macros and tabletop photography around the house, while taking the A1 outdoors with the 100-400mm mounted for walks around the neighborhood, or sometimes putting the 200-600mm on the tripod for shooting from my deck. Each camera has her own time to shine and her specific purpose. That said, if I could afford to do so I'd actually be quite happy with two A1 camera bodies, but that's not happening.....at least not yet.

One particular joy of the A1 is that it uses the newer menu system, which is significantly improved over the previous one. It took a little time to adjust to the differences, but I absolutely prefer the new system. I definitely like the way the camera body is set up with the buttons and dials and Sony certainly offers a lot of flexibility in the ability to customize things to one's own preferences and way of shooting.

I also like the small size of the body, which is pretty much like the A7R IV, and have not felt the need to add on the optional vertical grip since I have small hands. For many other photographers it is something desirable and which they really want and need. I like that Sony gives the user the choice (unlike Nikon, whose Z9 looks bulky to me). I do have Wimberly quick-release Arca-Swiss plates on each camera for easy mounting on my tripods.

I don't do video so really can't say much about how the A1 handles that, but for still photography I find it excellent. Colors seem better than in the A7R IV and the camera body is very responsive, regardless of which lens is on it. Focus is quick and the tracking still just amazes me, along with the excellent eye focus. I've even managed to occasionally nail a decent BIF shot or two, which wasn't something I was able to achieve in the past.

The A1 works beautifully with the Sony GM lenses (of course) and also with the G lenses and the less expensive unmarked ones as well, but obviously the better quality the lens, the better the image quality is going to be. I also have a few manual-only Voigtlander lenses (mostly for macro work) and they, too, are quite happy on the A1. I tend to purchase native lenses as much as possible, made by the camera body manufacturer, so have not tried e-mount Sigma or Tamron lenses on either the A7R IV or the A1.

What's not to like about the A1? Well....that price tag!!! Is the camera worth it? I offer a resounding YES!

 

[Cmaier]

I have an A1, which is ridiculous overkill for me. What I love most about it is the speed - I’m never waiting for buffers to clear, and with blackout free shooting I always get shots in each burst that are good. I’m not sure there’s anything not to love about the camera other than things that will be true of any SLR-sized camera. Some people will find it too big and heavy, but it is much lighter and smaller than most traditional SLRs. Others will say it is too small ergonomically, but it isn’t that small. The menu system, I suppose, is the weakest point - it’s better than the original A7/A7R/A7S-style menus, but it’s still a little convoluted. I shoot mostly with Sony/Zeiss glass, but also some adapted Leica lenses, and it does great.

 

[mollyc]

I shoot Nikon so can't comment on Sony, but I'm happy to hear that you are feeling so much better physically and that you are in a position to start shooting again.

 

[Eric]

I have an A1, which is ridiculous overkill for me. What I love most about it is the speed - I’m never waiting for buffers to clear, and with blackout free shooting I always get shots in each burst that are good. I’m not sure there’s anything not to love about the camera other than things that will be true of any SLR-sized camera. Some people will find it too big and heavy, but it is much lighter and smaller than most traditional SLRs. Others will say it is too small ergonomically, but it isn’t that small. The menu system, I suppose, is the weakest point - it’s better than the original A7/A7R/A7S-style menus, but it’s still a little convoluted. I shoot mostly with Sony/Zeiss glass, but also some adapted Leica lenses, and it does great.

Not sure about its size compared to the AR7 but I ended up getting a battery grip and it bulked it up nicely, it's like a tank now. I usually have to google certain settings if I don't use them too often as it's quicker than trying to find it, I do add the items I use most to favorites though so I can quickly access when needed.

 

[Cmaier]

Not sure about its size compared to the AR7 but I ended up getting a battery grip and it bulked it up nicely, it's like a tank now. I usually have to google certain settings if I don't use them too often as it's quicker than trying to find it, I do add the items I use most to favorites though so I can quickly access when needed.

A1 is a bit bigger than the old A7R and A7RII. Especially in the handgrip area, which helps.

 

[tomO2013]

Do any of you guys shoot video with it? A big interest in the a1 for me is that I have three big dogs (one is a puppy still and bouncing off of the walls at the moment ).
Face defect/eye defect would be wonderful for capturing stills but also going to see animal detect in video too… interested to hear your guys thoughts in that area too!

 

[Clix Pix]

No, I don't shoot video so can't be helpful there. Actually, I am not sure whether or not eye detect works in video, too....

 

[Cmaier]

Do any of you guys shoot video with it? A big interest in the a1 for me is that I have three big dogs (one is a puppy still and bouncing off of the walls at the moment ).
Face defect/eye defect would be wonderful for capturing stills but also going to see animal detect in video too… interested to hear your guys thoughts in that area too!

I don’t shoot video with it.

 

[tomO2013]

So I just joined the A1 club! I decided to try Z9, R3 and A1 (a big driver is photographing my dogs and having recovered from spine surgery earlier in the year, the size/weight advantages of the A1 were quite apparent).

Some observations so far….
Positives.
- Lens lineup - the wealth of third party glass was a big factor in my decision as I’d ultimately like to pick up a 100-400mm lens for wildlife in the rockies. However looking at the native lens collection and newer iteration lenses (24-70 GM ii, 70-200 GM ii etc…) these were all significantly lighter than the Canonikon equivalents while being of the same optic performance.
- Body size , again contributing to the overall weight…. I can scale up the A1 to a bigger body with a battery grip attachment, but cannot scale down the R3 or Z9.
- Color : I actually surprised myself, I really like the jpeg output from this camera. I really was not expecting that given past experience with A7ii/a7rii etc… after I upgraded to firmware 1.3 I noticed much better AWB detection over the default firmware 1.1
- Autofocus : this is great - worked unbelievably well with my dogs, kids running around. There is a lot of optional configuration here so much for me to learn.
- Jpeg recipe options : If shooting client work, I often like to be able to quickly share / preview work (ultimately I work off of RAW, but this is used for quick preview/turnaround). The options here are quite extensive even down to the sharpening used, there is a lot of configurability. I like this.
- Battery life : Pretty good.
- Dual Card slots that both support UHS ii OR CF Express Type A. This is a huge win. I have lots of fast UHSii V90 cards , being able to continue to use the is very desirable. Especially since I’ll rarely be using 8k recording and happy to shoot at slower framerates (relative to the 30FPS max).
- Active steady shot is really effective. Very happy with it when I need to use it in a pinch.

Negatives.
- Price! It was a hugely expensive purchase.
- CF Express Type A cards. These are pricey meatballs and also less popular to the Type B. I do like the smaller size that they afford, however that lack of perceived competition in manufacture of Type A, makes card cost a significant consideration.
- Color : I’ve observed differences in Jpeg standard profile between bodies. I shoot sometimes with a buddy who uses an A7iii, A7siii and A1. The A7siii and A1 are very similar with slightly more neutral on the A1 where the A7siii can be a hint towards magenta. This looks to be substantiated by Gerald Undone. This can make using multiple Sony camera bodies a little annoying if jpeg previews are part of your workflow. In the overall scheme it’s a niggle. Not a deal breaker.
- Active Steadyshot post processing SLOW (the gimbal meta data that you can stabilize in post). My god is this slow on a M1 Macbook pro 16” Max with 64GB memory , 10 cores and 32 core graphics. Cpu never really hits above 40% and 12% GPU. Catalyst clearly is not optimized in any way shape or form for M1. There doesn’t look to be any good third party support either. Stabilizing a 1 minute 4k clip took almost 3.5 minutes. a 1 minute 8k shot took 5 minutes.
- Animal detect eye AF in video. This is present on A7iv but not the A7siii or A1. Sony please fix this in a firmware update.
- Lens breathing compensation … again, present in the A7iv but not the flagship A1? Sony please update in a firmware update.
- Apple support for compressed smaller raw file formats. I was disappointed in Apple Raw support for the compressed S, M formats.
- Need to pay for a paid subscription to Sony catalyst to stabilize 8k footage with active steadyshot. Had not seen much talk about this online and this was something that annoyed me greatly.

While the list of negatives looks to balance out the postitives and give an overall neutral presentation , really this couldn’t be further from the truth. The A1 is the closet camera I’ve ever come to a jack of all, master of all, one camera to do it all solution. It’s absolutely brilliant and really enjoying it so far

 

[Cmaier]

So I just joined the A1 club! I decided to try Z9, R3 and A1 (a big driver is photographing my dogs and having recovered from spine surgery earlier in the year, the size/weight advantages of the A1 were quite apparent).

Some observations so far….
Positives.
- Lens lineup - the wealth of third party glass was a big factor in my decision as I’d ultimately like to pick up a 100-400mm lens for wildlife in the rockies. However looking at the native lens collection and newer iteration lenses (24-70 GM ii, 70-200 GM ii etc…) these were all significantly lighter than the Canonikon equivalents while being of the same optic performance.
- Body size , again contributing to the overall weight…. I can scale up the A1 to a bigger body with a battery grip attachment, but cannot scale down the R3 or Z9.
- Color : I actually surprised myself, I really like the jpeg output from this camera. I really was not expecting that given past experience with A7ii/a7rii etc… after I upgraded to firmware 1.3 I noticed much better AWB detection over the default firmware 1.1
- Autofocus : this is great - worked unbelievably well with my dogs, kids running around. There is a lot of optional configuration here so much for me to learn.
- Jpeg recipe options : If shooting client work, I often like to be able to quickly share / preview work (ultimately I work off of RAW, but this is used for quick preview/turnaround). The options here are quite extensive even down to the sharpening used, there is a lot of configurability. I like this.
- Battery life : Pretty good.
- Dual Card slots that both support UHS ii OR CF Express Type A. This is a huge win. I have lots of fast UHSii V90 cards , being able to continue to use the is very desirable. Especially since I’ll rarely be using 8k recording and happy to shoot at slower framerates (relative to the 30FPS max).
- Active steady shot is really effective. Very happy with it when I need to use it in a pinch.

Negatives.
- Price! It was a hugely expensive purchase.
- CF Express Type A cards. These are pricey meatballs and also less popular to the Type B. I do like the smaller size that they afford, however that lack of perceived competition in manufacture of Type A, makes card cost a significant consideration.
- Color : I’ve observed differences in Jpeg standard profile between bodies. I shoot sometimes with a buddy who uses an A7iii, A7siii and A1. The A7siii and A1 are very similar with slightly more neutral on the A1 where the A7siii can be a hint towards magenta. This looks to be substantiated by Gerald Undone. This can make using multiple Sony camera bodies a little annoying if jpeg previews are part of your workflow. In the overall scheme it’s a niggle. Not a deal breaker.
- Active Steadyshot post processing SLOW (the gimbal meta data that you can stabilize in post). My god is this slow on a M1 Macbook pro 16” Max with 64GB memory , 10 cores and 32 core graphics. Cpu never really hits above 40% and 12% GPU. Catalyst clearly is not optimized in any way shape or form for M1. There doesn’t look to be any good third party support either. Stabilizing a 1 minute 4k clip took almost 3.5 minutes. a 1 minute 8k shot took 5 minutes.
- Animal detect eye AF in video. This is present on A7iv but not the A7siii or A1. Sony please fix this in a firmware update.
- Lens breathing compensation … again, present in the A7iv but not the flagship A1? Sony please update in a firmware update.
- Apple support for compressed smaller raw file formats. I was disappointed in Apple Raw support for the compressed S, M formats.
- Need to pay for a paid subscription to Sony catalyst to stabilize 8k footage with active steadyshot. Had not seen much talk about this online and this was something that annoyed me greatly.

While the list of negatives looks to balance out the postitives and give an overall neutral presentation , really this couldn’t be further from the truth. The A1 is the closet camera I’ve ever come to a jack of all, master of all, one camera to do it all solution. It’s absolutely brilliant and really enjoying it so far

The good news is that now there are about 4 sources for Type A cards, and I expect the prices will come down over the next year or so. I will say they are a revelation after previously relying on V90 cards. I never run into buffer overflow anymore, which is even more remarkable given how many shots this thing takes per second.

 

[Clix Pix]

I decided right from the beginning to go with Sony Tough Type A cards and although I gulped at the price tags on these little things I reasoned that, hey, I was plunking down a bunch of money for this camera, might as well give her the best in memory cards, too, so both memory card slots have Type As in them. I've been very pleased with the performance of the Type A cards and so the A1 has never had an SD card in her -- I continue, of course, to use SD cards in my A7R IV and the RX10 and RX100 cameras.