Opinion of the Sony alpha 1 from a lifelong Nikon shooter

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I’ve heard Sony has improved the menus and I’ve always wondered how bad they could have been. I dislike the menu systems of most cameras and hate going into them to look for settings. I don’t find Nikon’s menus to be intuitive either. I‘m sure as more features are added to mirrorless cameras, the menus will only get bigger and it will be important to get them right.
I have only used the a1 and I don't find the menus confusing. They are however rather detailed because they give you so many options for customization. Frankly once you set the camera up for how you use it you won't visit the menus often. I moved what I think I would want to adjust most often into one of 3 custom menus and even then I hardly use them.
 
With Sony, always suspect there's an upgrade to the model you're buying right around the corner. That's a good and bad thing. I say get the one that fits your needs and get out shooting. I feel for Canon and Nikon. They aren't used to this rapid release strategy that Sony has adopted from their other industries. Going to make them sweat a bit, I bet. We'll see how they handle it.
 
I have only used the a1 and I don't find the menus confusing. They are however rather detailed because they give you so many options for customization. Frankly once you set the camera up for how you use it you won't visit the menus often. I moved what I think I would want to adjust most often into one of 3 custom menus and even then I hardly use them.

The previous Sony menus needed a lot of help compared to Nikon/Canon. It was OK with most photographers because you could customize the camera to the point you rarely needed to go back into the menus for anything but yeah... the newer menus are a significant improvement and not at all like the previous gens.
 
With Sony, always suspect there's an upgrade to the model you're buying right around the corner. That's a good and bad thing. I say get the one that fits your needs and get out shooting. I feel for Canon and Nikon. They aren't used to this rapid release strategy that Sony has adopted from their other industries. Going to make them sweat a bit, I bet. We'll see how they handle it.
I agree with you.

I will say this however....Sony didn't do a big leap with the a9-a9II. They mostly fixed issues with the original a9, ergo, weather sealing, shutter and networking ability. That is why many folks who don't use networking, don't use the mechanical shutter have been very happy buying the a9 and saving some money. The a1 which is an all new camera was a big jump over their other bodies. I suspect however the a1II won't be a big jump, it will be their version of an S model from Nikon. That isn't a bad thing but I don't expect Sony to drop a body anytime soon that obsoletes the a1.

I haven't bought a second body yet and dragging my feet a little to see if an a9III comes out. Depending on the body it could be a good companion to the a1 at likely a lower price point. If nothing by December I will just buy another a1 and have at it.
 
What Sony has done that seems quite different from other vendors is to keep the previous versions of a camera on the price list and available for years after they've been superseded. The A7rii is still available new, for example, as is the a9. I can't quite figure out if I think this is a good strategy or not. Olympus seems to do the same with previous marks, Canon and Nikon not so much (though Nikon may be doing this with the Zs). If you don't need the bells and whistles of the new version this may be a benefit for the customer to get into a new platform for less $$$.
 
I’ve heard Sony has improved the menus and I’ve always wondered how bad they could have been. I dislike the menu systems of most cameras and hate going into them to look for settings. I don’t find Nikon’s menus to be intuitive either. I‘m sure as more features are added to mirrorless cameras, the menus will only get bigger and it will be important to get them right.
I had the "old"menus in the a9ii (still do I suppose) and they're fine IMO. I can find what I need, I think in many cases it's the slightly different nomenclature that throws people off.
 
Maybe it’s designed with dummies like me in mind but I find the A1 menu to be very easy to navigate and packed full of customization
 
It’s nice to visit menu right on the EVF are Nikon and Canon this way also?
 
I had forgotten about this thread until someone liked it today. It’s interesting to read it again after all this time and I still feel the same about the a1 and now that I use Steve’s settings from his book it’s even better!
 
Can't believe I've had this camera 2 years , where's the time gone ? I've tried a few other offerings and still never felt the need to change .
Steves book is definitely a very useful read
I agree. It's crazy how quickly time has gone by and I still have no temptation to buy or try anything else. The camera still continues to serve we well along with all the big glass I invested in.
 
Can't believe I've had this camera 2 years , where's the time gone ? I've tried a few other offerings and still never felt the need to change .
Steves book is definitely a very useful read
It is also funny to sit back and reflect how much better I am today than I was two years ago.
 
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Thank you for taking the time out and providing a great write up. I've also been decades with Nikon all the way up to the Z9. I probably would have been happy to stick with Nikon had BIFs not been 80% of what I do. In short, knowing that I'm getting shots that I wouldnt have got before does keep me happy with picking the A1 up every day.
 
I agree. It's crazy how quickly time has gone by and I still have no temptation to buy or try anything else. The camera still continues to serve we well along with all the big glass I invested in.
Thank you for taking the time out and providing a great write up. I've also been decades with Nikon all the way up to the Z9. I probably would have been happy to stick with Nikon had BIFs not been 80% of what I do. In short, knowing that I'm getting shots that I wouldnt have got before does keep me happy with picking the A1 up every day.
Nice no longer grabbing the lettering behind the Peregrine when they launch from the top tower ?
 
Yes, I am also loving the A1 after two years of use. I must say that I have an embarrassing amount of keepers, especially when on 30fps, almost too many. That said, it is nice to have the options this camera provides and I appreciate the size, weight, and customizable feature sets it provides. It was superb in Africa in all types of light, environments, dust, heat, ect. Where it shines in BIF is incredible, almost cheating.
 
When autofocus was first introduced with DSLR cameras it was a game changer, especially for bird photography. It became more capable and refined over the years but the new subject and eye detection capabilities takes wildlife photography to a new level. A 2022 mirrorless pro $6500 camera should significantly outperform a $3300 DSLR D850 released in 2017.

For me it comes down to the available cameras and the available lenses as both are needed. For macro the speedlight options can also be a deciding factor. Add in video and other factors come into consideration for the photographer. In terms of the best combination wildlife, macro, and video capabilities my vote goes to the Canon R5 C camera. Selling for $4,400 it is a relative bargain when compared to the Sony A1 or Nikon Z9.
 
When autofocus was first introduced with DSLR cameras it was a game changer, especially for bird photography. It became more capable and refined over the years but the new subject and eye detection capabilities takes wildlife photography to a new level. A 2022 mirrorless pro $6500 camera should significantly outperform a $3300 DSLR D850 released in 2017.

For me it comes down to the available cameras and the available lenses as both are needed. For macro the speedlight options can also be a deciding factor. Add in video and other factors come into consideration for the photographer. In terms of the best combination wildlife, macro, and video capabilities my vote goes to the Canon R5 C camera. Selling for $4,400 it is a relative bargain when compared to the Sony A1 or Nikon Z9.
Wasn't the R5 one of the first higher MP cameras that could cover everything ? Its very impressive when you think how long its been out and still competitive performance wise today
 
Wasn't the R5 one of the first higher MP cameras that could cover everything ? Its very impressive when you think how long its been out and still competitive performance wise today
Imho R5 is still one of the best two wildlife cameras which do nto have stacked sensor. The other one is sony a7rV. One could argue which is better. I would highly value usable electronic shutter of r5.
 
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