Sony A1-2

[sh1209]

So there has been several rumors on YouTube and other places regarding the second generation of the A1. This is at least three times now that I have read or watched that Sony is going to use the same body and sensor. It’s rumored they’re not going to add the articulating screen, such as their other full frame cameras. If these rumors are correct, it looks like the updates to the second generation body will be very minimal at best. If it’s keeping the same sensor and basically the same body, then I see absolutely no compelling reason to upgrade. I will most definitely keep my first generation. I would say 80% of my photography is more portrait based, but I do also take some fast action images at times. Having said that, the current A1 fits that bill just fine. If these rumors are true, then I have to say I am definitely baffled by this decision and frankly don’t know what the hell they’re thinking. I honestly have no problems with the current sensor and frankly, I don’t know how they could improve much upon it, but not upgrading the body to the newer style in my opinion would be a mistake for them at this point. I never shoot on 20 frames per second even one time since owning the A1 so even if they increase the frames per second, that would not interest me in the least.

 

[ajrmd]

Yes, saw these and quite candidly was very surprised by these rumors. They really don't make a lot of sense and it would represent a departure for Sony. If they are presently unable to improve upon the technical aspects of the body, it would seeming be more logical for Sony to release a major FW revision and charge users for it while working on the next generation.

 

[sh1209]

Yes, saw these and quite candidly was very surprised by these rumors. They really don't make a lot of sense and it would represent a departure for Sony. If they are presently unable to improve upon the technical aspects of the body, it would seeming be more logical for Sony to release a major FW revision and charge users for it while working on the next generation.

Yeah, to be honest, I’d rather do a paid upgrade if they’re going to keep the old body without the articulating screen. If they do that, I can say 100% I am out as far as purchasing a second generation. My current Camera does anything I need to do. I really wish they would release a version three software to correct some of the small issues folks are having like myself. This is at least twice I have heard or seen this about the old style body. This would be a very perplexing revelation if it is correct. These firmware issues ever really did a number with my trust in them as a company to be honest.

 

[Wrogu]

50 MP is enough. Tbh they will most likely add features from a9III and A7rV and improve a bit camera speed/fps. Maybe CFE-4.0 lanes will appear? That would be the first camera to adapt to the new cards. Otherwise ... there is no need to push resolution. I guess they could but competition deos not push sony enough I guess.

 

[sh1209]

50 MP is enough. Tbh they will most likely add features from a9III and A7rV and improve a bit camera speed/fps. Maybe CFE-4.0 lanes will appear? That would be the first camera to adapt to the new cards. Otherwise ... there is no need to push resolution. I guess they could but competition deos not push sony enough I guess.

Yeah, the sensor is fine. I have absolutely no issues with that. The strangest thing to me is this rumor they’re going to use the same body without the articulating screen, which would be really dumb on their part. I’m actually quite content with the old style cards to be honest. I really can’t think of much they could add to this, that would even entice me at this point. I have the A7RV as well and definitely like that style body more so than the A1.

 

[DavidT]

I saw all of this as well and I wouldn’t believe it. The new a1 will have the body of the a9III which is a massive improvement over the a1. Shooting them together it is striking on how the a9III feels nicer in the hand and the shutter button etc are nicer and more responsive.
It will get the screen and I suspect it will get the new CFE-A format.
I do believe the sensor remains the same, it’s great no need to change it.
I do believe it gets 30fps in non compressed raw, maybe tops out at 40fps in compressed. I shoot the a9III at 60FPS almost exclusively but have slowed it down a couple times.
The a1 will get pre capture and because of this I suspect a slightly larger buffer.
It will get the newer menu and af goodies with maybe something new.
I suspect more evolution of video features, let’s hope for animal and bird eye af tracking.

You have to remember Sony sells the a1 and a9IIi to many media outlets. They want a cohesive system. There is zero reason for the a1 not to evolve just as the other bodies have. I know many NYT and AP photographers who moved away from the a1 and shoot only the a9III. For them network capability, file transfer speed, af speed and even the new screen all matter to how they use the cameras everyday. Sony is making evolutions based on feedback driven by these large customers.

Everyone thinks Sony is at war with Nikon but they really are at war with Canon. Sony wants to be every camera on the sideline and while they have made huge headway at doing just that there are still significantly more Canon shooters.

The rest of us wildlife folks are a second thought and we benefit from the speed and evolutions they make to keep getting more sideline shooters.

The win will be if they keep the price at $6,500. I suspect they will and the current a1 drops to $5k.

 

[Wrogu]

Yeah, the sensor is fine. I have absolutely no issues with that. The strangest thing to me is this rumor they’re going to use the same body without the articulating screen, which would be really dumb on their part. I’m actually quite content with the old style cards to be honest. I really can’t think of much they could add to this, that would even entice me at this point. I have the A7RV as well and definitely like that style body more so than the A1.

I guess the rumor is wrong in that part. Maybe they will keep the same body style. But for sure there will be the articulating screen. Keepeing the old grip is also kind of pointless. As the newer one is better at energy management plus AFAIK it drains two batteries at once = more power = more juice I am sure that their electronic engineers are working with new motherboard insead of old one.

 

[Wrogu]

I saw all of this as well and I wouldn’t believe it. The new a1 will have the body of the a9III which is a massive improvement over the a1. Shooting them together it is striking on how the a9III feels nicer in the hand and the shutter button etc are nicer and more responsive.
It will get the screen and I suspect it will get the new CFE-A format.
I do believe the sensor remains the same, it’s great no need to change it.
I do believe it gets 30fps in non compressed raw, maybe tops out at 40fps in compressed. I shoot the a9III at 60FPS almost exclusively but have slowed it down a couple times.
The a1 will get pre capture and because of this I suspect a slightly larger buffer.
It will get the newer menu and af goodies with maybe something new.
I suspect more evolution of video features, let’s hope for animal and bird eye af tracking.

You have to remember Sony sells the a1 and a9IIi to many media outlets. They want a cohesive system. There is zero reason for the a1 not to evolve just as the other bodies have. I know many NYT and AP photographers who moved away from the a1 and shoot only the a9III. For them network capability, file transfer speed, af speed and even the new screen all matter to how they use the cameras everyday. Sony is making evolutions based on feedback driven by these large customers.

Everyone thinks Sony is at war with Nikon but they really are at war with Canon. Sony wants to be every camera on the sideline and while they have made huge headway at doing just that there are still significantly more Canon shooters.

The rest of us wildlife folks are a second thought and we benefit from the speed and evolutions they make to keep getting more sideline shooters.

The win will be if they keep the price at $6,500. I suspect they will and the current a1 drops to $5k.

I think you are spot on. Everyone agrees it will be an evolution. By adding features from other bodies AND pushing the A1 a little tiny bit. It is already a remarkable camera. It just misses those tiny pieces. And it has been insanely good for already ... 3,5 years or so ?

@DavidT Oh I forgot. I used A9III and indeed the shutter button is ergonomicaly a lot better. Canon unfortunately had it right for a while already and Sony didn't.

 

[DavidT]

I think you are spot on. Everyone agrees it will be an evolution. By adding features from other bodies AND pushing the A1 a little tiny bit. It is already a remarkable camera. It just misses those tiny pieces. And it has been insanely good for already ... 3,5 years or so ?

You in Jan it will be a 4 year old camera and still does things others can’t.

 

[sh1209]

I saw all of this as well and I wouldn’t believe it. The new a1 will have the body of the a9III which is a massive improvement over the a1. Shooting them together it is striking on how the a9III feels nicer in the hand and the shutter button etc are nicer and more responsive.
It will get the screen and I suspect it will get the new CFE-A format.
I do believe the sensor remains the same, it’s great no need to change it.
I do believe it gets 30fps in non compressed raw, maybe tops out at 40fps in compressed. I shoot the a9III at 60FPS almost exclusively but have slowed it down a couple times.
The a1 will get pre capture and because of this I suspect a slightly larger buffer.
It will get the newer menu and af goodies with maybe something new.
I suspect more evolution of video features, let’s hope for animal and bird eye af tracking.

You have to remember Sony sells the a1 and a9IIi to many media outlets. They want a cohesive system. There is zero reason for the a1 not to evolve just as the other bodies have. I know many NYT and AP photographers who moved away from the a1 and shoot only the a9III. For them network capability, file transfer speed, af speed and even the new screen all matter to how they use the cameras everyday. Sony is making evolutions based on feedback driven by these large customers.

Everyone thinks Sony is at war with Nikon but they really are at war with Canon. Sony wants to be every camera on the sideline and while they have made huge headway at doing just that there are still significantly more Canon shooters.

The rest of us wildlife folks are a second thought and we benefit from the speed and evolutions they make to keep getting more sideline shooters.

The win will be if they keep the price at $6,500. I suspect they will and the current a1 drops to $5k.

Yeah honestly I don’t know one way or the other nor do any of us at this point. These are just things that are being said by the likes of YouTubers and alpha rumors. I suppose we’ll never know until it’s released. I would surely hope they have enough sense not to use the old body lol. At this point I would just like to see them get their act together with updating the current cameras without screwing something up lol.

 

[DavidT]

Yeah honestly I don’t know one way or the other nor do any of us at this point. These are just things that are being said by the likes of YouTubers and alpha rumors. I suppose we’ll never know until it’s released. I would surely hope they have enough sense not to use the old body lol. At this point I would just like to see them get their act together with updating the current cameras without screwing something up lol.

Don’t hold your breath on that one!

 

[sh1209]

Don’t hold your breath on that one!

I am not sure if they ever did get a fix for the 3.0 A7RV firmware that was pulled. I’m going to wait a bit once it is re released to make sure others aren’t reporting any issues.

 

[arbitrage]

Are all the videos about the rumour based on the same rumour that SAR posted from a "new source" with no track record? Or do some of these videos have there own sources that are saying the same thing?

If based on the SAR rumour there was nothing in that rumour saying the camera wouldn't get the newer LCD screen. It said it would keep an A1 body to continue using the older battery grip style. But the A7RV uses the older grip and still has the new LCD screen.

I'll be surprised if the A1II doesn't get the A9III body design. Even more surprised if it doesn't even get the new LCD and stays with an identical body to the A1.

Hopefully SAR will post more reliable information soon as he has teased in his post from earlier today. Although no way to know if that will be about the A1II or something else like A7V.

 

[sh1209]

Are all the videos about the rumour based on the same rumour that SAR posted from a "new source" with no track record? Or do some of these videos have there own sources that are saying the same thing?

If based on the SAR rumour there was nothing in that rumour saying the camera wouldn't get the newer LCD screen. It said it would keep an A1 body to continue using the older battery grip style. But the A7RV uses the older grip and still has the new LCD screen.

I'll be surprised if the A1II doesn't get the A9III body design. Even more surprised if it doesn't even get the new LCD and stays with an identical body to the A1.

Hopefully SAR will post more reliable information soon as he has teased in his post from earlier today. Although no way to know if that will be about the A1II or something else like A7V.

Yeah I hope you are right and can’t imagine not updating the body at least a bit. I really like the ergonomics of the A7RV as well as the screen. I would like to see them go to type B cards for speed as well as cost savings. Hopefully soon we’ll get some accurate info but some of the rumors are indeed baffling.

 

[Wrogu]

Are all the videos about the rumour based on the same rumour that SAR posted from a "new source" with no track record? Or do some of these videos have there own sources that are saying the same thing?

If based on the SAR rumour there was nothing in that rumour saying the camera wouldn't get the newer LCD screen. It said it would keep an A1 body to continue using the older battery grip style. But the A7RV uses the older grip and still has the new LCD screen.

I'll be surprised if the A1II doesn't get the A9III body design. Even more surprised if it doesn't even get the new LCD and stays with an identical body to the A1.

Hopefully SAR will post more reliable information soon as he has teased in his post from earlier today. Although no way to know if that will be about the A1II or something else like A7V.

There is also a chance someone used a prototype put into the old style body. And in a gossiop style a rumor came out.

 

[David43]

They will add precapture, focus stacking, animal eye af in video. All things that the current A1 could do but they would rather make us buy a new camera. OK, please release it soon. I will buy one.

 

[sh1209]

They will add precapture, focus stacking, animal eye af in video. All things that the current A1 could do but they would rather make us buy a new camera. OK, please release it soon. I will buy one.

The lack of these functions except for pre capture is what caused me to sell my second A1 and buy the A7RV. In my situation it's going to take something far more meaningful than pre capture to buy another one at this time. I am very content with the bodies I own now.

 

[sh1209]

I bet a person can find some great deals on used A1 bodies once this camera is released. It will be tempting just to buy another A1 in mint condition at a steal lol