New Sony Alpha Camera | January 26th

It’s interesting as a glimpse of the future, in that it’s got novel specs that will eventually become mainstream.

But who is it aimed at, exactly? Costs more than an FX6 (not saying it shouldn’t, necessarily) or a Canon or Nikon pro SLR (ditto). Has the pixel count of a studio stills camera and a better flash synch speed (1/400 s) than anything else with a focal-plane shutter.

In some ways it combines the power of all of the above cameras, but how many people are willing to pay serious money to have all of those capabilities at the same time? No-one I know has work so varied and simultaneously well paid. And I bet there are compromises to squeezing all of those features into such a small camera.
 
It's aimed at sports shooters. Although I'm not sure they actually need 50MP.

Honestly, it's the ideal camera for wildlife. It's got bird eye AF, high resolution, and you can basically shoot video clips using full quality stills. Kapow!
 
Samuel Dilworth said:
... But who is it aimed at, exactly? .
Click to expand...

A) Whoever wants an 8K camera (all sorts of news, fashion, commercial, landscape, architecture, real estate)

B) Narrative (4K @ 120)

C) Sports/action/wildlife

D) People with lots of $$$, who may have bought Leica otherwise.
 
The camera has a 9.44M dot OLED viewfinder that can be refreshed at up to 240fps. The faster mode still offers 1600 x1200 pixel (5.76M dot) resolution. It has an impressive 0.9x magnification and an eye-point of 25mm, which should allow the finder to be seen even when wearing glasses.

Like the a7S III, it can shoot 4K at up to 120p in 10-bit 4:2:2 quality. Sony says it uses 5.8K pixels in its Super 35 (~APS-C) mode. Also like the a7S III it can output 16-bit Raw video output over HDMI. In addition to offering the S-Log 3 curve that promises 15 stops of DR in video, it also offers the S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3.Cine color modes that match Sony's professional video cameras' output. It also becomes the first Alpha camera to offer the S-Cinetone color response.

For photojournalists and sports shooters needing to deliver pictures immediately, it features dual-band Wi-Fi that allows FTP transfers and 3.5x the rate offered by the a9 II: which Sony presumably expects to be used with its new Xperia Pro smartphone/HDR monitor/5G transmitter. There's also an Ethernet port for wired connections.
Click to expand...
https://www.dpreview.com/news/20496...0mp-full-frame-camera-capable-of-30fps-and-8k

grip.jpeg
 
DLD said:
If ya gots 8K to stream ---

Click to expand...

It looks good on my 8K QLED. I could nitpick, but the main issue for now is not with the camera but if this was an HDR upload then YouTube has not finished its processing because this is not playing in HDR yet, which means this is a YouTube generated SDR copy from an original HDR upload. I suspect that's the case because when you upload HDR to YouTube, particularly in 8K, it can take a full day or usually even more before they deliver the more pristine 8K HDR original. The SDR copy is usually compromised in a few ways, most notably highlight clipping or crushing in the blacks, and I see a few hints of that here that I would not want to be too quick to attribute to the original. And the video carries today's date so it could be we won't see this properly until perhaps 48 hours from now.

Edit:

Can't nitpick it much though, looks pretty good! Even as a YouTube SDR copy of an HDR original!
 
Last edited:
Tom Roper said:
It looks good on my 8K QLED...
Click to expand...

I don't have an HDR monitor and it looks like many HDR scenes are rendered in SDR and then made avaailable in HDR for a download.

Here's a sports/action shooter clip. 30 FPS at 50 MP looks rather amazing. And colors are just fine also.


PS. This makes Canon 1D X MIII immediately obsolete and Canon is likely to issue some sort of a response soon.
 
DLD said:
Here's a sports/action shooter clip. 30 FPS at 50 MP looks rather amazing. And colors are just fine also.

Click to expand...

Sony does an awful job selling their cameras. I'm happy with the colors I can get from my Sony. But most of the colors in this video, like most of the Sony promos I see, look wretched and lifeless. Autofocus looks impressive though. I'm sure it's a great camera with the right settings and/or grade
 
Clermond said:
For hybrid shooter stills and video it's a big thing if it performs as advertised.
it has high end stills and more than good enough specs for corporate video and other jobs.
It's like a R5 with more features: full size HDMI, RAW over HDMI, Slog3, ethernet.
Click to expand...

I guess that leads to the question, how many hybrid shooters are there out there that truly want to shoot high end video and stills on the same $6,500.00 camera at the same time?

In my experience, video and stills are two radically different animals and no matter how neophytes and manufacturers want to crush those two functions into one Utopian
camera for everyone, in the real world, it's mostly hobbyists and neophytes who do a lot of that. Not saying a few pros don't do that but on every hybrid I've ever owned, rented and shot with,
it's always a huge compromise. Until they come out with a mirrorless hybrid with 12G SDI out, mini XLRs with phantom and built in NDs, mirrorless will always be a huge compromise for shooting
video. I do it, many of us do it but mostly as a B or C camera for occasional use on gimbal or slider. When I can only take one camera on a video shoot, it's rarely going to be a mirrorless.

I try to be very objective when really judging cameras and how they work in pro situations and to me, mirrorless is just one big compromise as a single, all-purpose imaging solution. Especially for $6,500.00!
Sony A series cameras are great, I really like them but they don't fit the hands well, feel a lot like a soulless computer with a lens, lack ergonomic functionality, lack many of the everyday video tools and features that
videographers and cinematographers actually need to accomplish most of their work. But I've worked with Sony enough to know they've done their research and this camera will likely sell.

Who knows if it will be a hit though, time will tell. Sony is pretty smart, I think I am just marveling more at the mindset of buyers these days, that there are enough of them to support the huge
investment to develop a tool like this and would rather own this than an FX6 or even an FX9 in some cases. For me, the unwritten cool code about mirrorless WAS that they were cheap and shot pretty nice spec
video for very little money. The latest crop of mirrorless like this one seem to be changing that paradigm big time, $6,500.00 isn't cheap. Interesting times for sure.
 
Last edited:
Good points as always, puredrifting!

BTW I love how Sony has a 21:9 widescreen cellphone but this $6500 camera has no anamorphic shooting modes or desqueeze.

No LUT support, either.

I was on the original wave with the a7r2 which was wonderful at the time for both stills and video. Even lent it to macgregor who used it on dangerous car mount stuff. It intercut with alexa on those specific shots.

I just decided to buy a second-hand Panasonic S5 for $1600 which is more true to the original philosophy of mirrorless. Also true to the philosophy of mirrorless: adding like $2000 worth of accessories (shimmable PL mount, EVF, cage, etc) haha.

But based on this announcement I've decided the next mirrorless camera likely to interest me will be the Panasonic S2H (Sony's sensors are moving forward nicely and I expect an updated Sony sensor to make its way to Panasonic at some point) - so hopefully those items will carry through. And I'm keeping my E-mount stuff too, we'll see what Sony announces in the future!

Maybe Fuji will surprise us all by having like 3:2 raw full sensor output with anamorphic support on the X-H2. I really liked my X-T3...

Bruce Allen
www.bruceallen.tv
 
I would say that I am pretty close to the target market. Buying an A1 and an A7sIII would eliminate and update three cameras I already own. An FX6 does not really fit into my workflow. I shoot still only jobs at times. I need two cameras to always have a backup and also if two angles are needed. I prefer small kits. The stigma of small cameras are not as good as larger ones is gone imho. In my eyes, the A1 can be a better value than the FX6 depending upon the use scenario. The FX6 does not have IBIS or great stills.

All of this and on top, Sony just punched Canon in the gut. Sure the Canon 1-series will be great but it appears to me that this timetable was probably a little faster than Canon would have liked. From a stills point of view this is the most spec heavy camera ever released. All in a non perma-battery grip huge body. If they can special offer a grip in for free it will be an easy sell to many.
 
Yeah but puredrifting, the nikon d6 and canon 1Dx sports shooters are also $6500. The price point is well-established. It just ain't for me. Like you, I'd rather have an FX6 or FX9 for that money.
 
puredrifting said:
I guess that leads to the question, how many hybrid shooters are there out there that truly want to shoot high end video and stills on the same $6,500.00 camera at the same time?

In my experience, video and stills are two radically different animals
Click to expand...

I think stills and vid can be shot side be side. The cost of an ad shoot is the four models and the 60s vw campervan and the permissions to drive it onto the beach. Once you get all that mumbo together one would be insane not to do video and stills.

But my vid cams get all cluttered with mics and long life batteries and monitors. Its way simple to just have a second body (naked) in a bag for stills. So even if you are shooting all SonyXx you still want two. And at that point it is just better if the video one is a video camera like the FX6.

Fiddling with my nikon Z6 the stills vid switch is pretty awesome though. For small things I could do all with one body, just to save the back of carrying a second one.
 
morgan_moore said:
I think stills and vid can be shot side be side. The cost of an ad shoot is the four models and the 60s vw campervan and the permissions to drive it onto the beach. Once you get all that mumbo together one would be insane not to do video and stills.
Click to expand...

Sure, if you're lighting with the sun. But if you're lighting with strobes, forget about video. If you're lighting with continuous units, it might not be enough power for the shutter speed and aperture (and ISO) you want on the stills camera.

But yeah definitely a possibility to do the 2 side by side. Which would also undermine the idea of an all-in-1.

The usefulness of the video features on this camera really seems like an extra for a stills shooter. Like - why dont I shoot some video as well just for fun/just in case. Or even - I'll shoot a short burst of RAW stills that be used as video or stills. Or maybe the same concept but with an 8K video clip when you dont need RAW stills.

That was the original concept of adding video to the 5Dmk2, after all - it was an extra for photojournalists who didn't have specialized knowledge of video. It wasn't mean to draw in videographers
 
puredrifting said:
I guess that leads to the question, how many hybrid shooters are there out there that truly want to shoot high end video and stills on the same $6,500.00 camera at the same time?
Click to expand...

A lot.
I am coming from stills, still do it, still love it but the market for reasonably paid stills only jobs is shrinking for almost two decades. Shooting video and stills has a lot of advantages for me and for my clients. The tasks are manifold. I shoot testimonials and the client needs some portraits too. I get the job because I can do both and the visuals have the same look. (just one example)

I was pretty happy that I could reduce my gear when the R5 came out.
It's a perfect camera for stills and and as a b-cam for video too.
Instead of 2 stills, 2 mirrorless and one S35 camera I have now 2 R5 and a C300iii.
I wish the R5 had some of the features of the Alpha 1: full size HDMI, Clog3, network,
10bit non log custom profiles, XLR audio adapter and an easier to handle codec.
I am sure there are a lot of hybrid shooters like me.
You probably don't see them if you look from the filmmaker side.
 
Last edited:
Run&Gun said:
Even though I and many others, as well, don't consider it on the same level, the A9 series is kind of Sony's version of/attempt at the Canon 1D series, which is aimed at serious photojournalism and sports. And that intended market is is used to paying upwards of $5K-$6K+ for a single stills camera body.
Click to expand...

This.

A Set Photographer is going to drop $6k on a camera, easily. And many have been dropping their Canons for the mirrorless Sonys, for both the low-light AF ability of the Sonys and going mirrorless allows them to work without a camera-blimp.
 
I just read through a "what you need to know" over at DPReview. Impressive outside of the pixel binned FF 4k. S35 4k is oversampled but the full sensor 4k is not going to be as great. It does offer 8k that can be recorded to a V60 card which might be small enough to use in place of 4k. We will have to see how it all shakes out. This release makes me think the A7IV and the A7rV are probably going to have similar video restraints as previous generations of Sony bodies where the S35 mode is the best looking mode. Maybe 10bit is here to stay.

I was hoping this event would trigger a firmware update response form Canon on the R5/R6. These two companies seem like Lowes and Home Depot. They have learned it is better to always be close together.
 
Pros still have their FS7's, FS5's FX9's, F5's, even FS700's still. I still have my F55 but I don't see any reason to upgrade if not for image quality, and it's pretty clear that image quality advancements come faster to mirrorless than to pro series. Connectivity is a thing but why rebuy jack packs, xlr's, overpriced media etc.? The answer for most, is they have all that now and are just looking for the image quality enhancements, full frame, IBIS, DPAF, 8K, stuff they can have today on mirrorless for less money but always make for late arrivals on the pro series if ever. Weather sealing only for neophytes? Would you sling an FS7 on your hip?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top