Sony a1 MK 2 Wish List

[Steve]

I'm starting to see more and more discussion about the next version of the Sony a1 (the MK 2 version) and I was wondering what kinds of upgrades you would like to see. My list is pretty short (below) since a1 is already mind-blowingly good, but there's always room for improvement. Here's my list (so far)

1. Focus shift shooing / stacking
2. Deeper buffer
3. Maybe change to CF Express type B cards - although I have so much in the type "a" cards I'm on the fence!
4. Better EVF experience - the a1 seems to drop frames sometimes and a smoother experience is better
5. Better LCD monitor
6. 30 FPS Lossless RAW (just because it's cool)
7. Even stickier AF, if that's even possible. (although this is minor - I find the AF in the a1 outstanding as-is)
8. Option for manual focus override on all lenses, not just the big guns.
9. Better weather sealing on the card door.
10. Vertical or articulating tilt screen
11. A shutter shield like Nikon has instead of the more fragile mechanical shutter that I don't use )
12. Faster start up time

I also think we'll see a customizable dial in place of the exposure comp dial, although I'd still use it for exp comp

I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple too. What's your list?

 

[Palmor]

1. +1 on everything you have on your list
2. I think a big one that isn't on your list but everyone has been asking for is a pre-capture type of functionality like in the Olympus/OM Systems cameras
3. Having used an Olympus for the first time recently I'll also add another OM feature, Live ND.
4. Automatic subject detection (so you don't have to go between birds and animals)

 

[KimM]

Please, please, please, focus stacking, focus peaking. And if not on this camera, another?? It is ,after all, a do it all camera.

 

[LTK]

It would have to offer a substantial upgrade over the A1 for me to even consider paying this amount out on another camera , certainly WAY more than what was offered with the mk2 of the A9
Surely they can add more to the existing A1 by FW yet ? I don't use the LCD a better higher current battery would be nice though

 

[TonyF]

Plus one for pre-capture being added to the list. Wouldnt say no to any on the list except ditching the type A card will cost now I'm invested.
I would like exposure compensation on the front dial when in manual + auto ISO mode. I wrote to Sony a short while back asking that they allow this . (Do it for both dials)
It works on the rear control wheel (when in manual +auto ISO) so shouldnt be too hard to make it work for the command dials.

 

[Ltgk20]

I'd particularly like these:
1. Focus shift shooing / stacking
2. Deeper buffer
4. Better EVF experience - the a1 seems to drop frames sometimes and a smoother experience is better
7. Even stickier AF, if that's even possible.
8. Option for manual focus override on all lenses, not just the big guns.
9. Better weather sealing on the card door.
10. Vertical or articulating tilt screen
12. Faster start up time

If also like to see an electronic focus limiter like the a99ii had.

 

[bleirer]

I wish it was a Canon and cost under $4k.

 

[Steve]

It would have to offer a substantial upgrade over the A1 for me to even consider paying this amount out on another camera , certainly WAY more than what was offered with the mk2 of the A9
Surely they can add more to the existing A1 by FW yet ? I don't use the LCD a better higher current battery would be nice though

We can think of this (much of it anyway) as a firmware update list for the a1 as well

 

[Steve]

I wish it was a Canon and cost under $4k.

I can't agree with the canon part, but under $4K sounds good to me!!

 

[DavidT]

I'm starting to see more and more discussion about the next version of the Sony a1 (the MK 2 version) and I was wondering what kinds of upgrades you would like to see. My list is pretty short (below) since a1 is already mind-blowingly good, but there's always room for improvement. Here's my list (so far)

1. Focus shift shooing / stacking
2. Deeper buffer
3. Maybe change to CF Express type B cards - although I have so much in the type "a" cards I'm on the fence!
4. Better EVF experience - the a1 seems to drop frames sometimes and a smoother experience is better
5. Better LCD monitor
6. 30 FPS Lossless RAW (just because it's cool)
7. Even stickier AF, if that's even possible. (although this is minor - I find the AF in the a1 outstanding as-is)
8. Option for manual focus override on all lenses, not just the big guns.
9. Better weather sealing on the card door.
10. Vertical or articulating tilt screen
11. A shutter shield like Nikon has instead of the more fragile mechanical shutter that I don't use )
12. Faster start up time

I also think we'll see a customizable dial in place of the exposure comp dial, although I'd still use it for exp comp

I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple too. What's your list?

I agree with everything and would like to add computational and pre-capture. Just like the OM-1 and others have. To have 30-50 fps in a buffer waiting for you to press the button. In RAW is the only way to go as well.

 

[DavidT]

I am also on the fence about CFE-B. I have 6 160g cards now along with two readers. It is handy to be able to use two card formats if you need to but to have the lower cost and speed of B cards would be nice but would have benefited me more last year than now.

 

[FB101]

Excellent list. Sony would have to deliver on pretty much all of those for me to even think about a mkii because the current body far exceeds my capabilities.

That said, I would also add a non-feature: “we don’t need higher MP count”. I get scared every time I hear talks about 100MP cameras that Sony will want to squeeze that into their flagship. But I’d love an a9iii with 30mp, the A1 feature set and 1 stop better low light capability than the A1.

 

[Doug Herr]

Pre-capture and an option of automatic (bird/mammal) subject detection would be awesome. Other than these two features the a1 after 1.5 years continues to meet or exceed my every need.

 

[Tom Reynolds]

No pre-capture is a non-starter.

 

[Icarus]

Focus stacking, pro-capture type feature, aI subject recognition, definitely faster startup time. The about to be released A7RV is rumored to have an all new focus system with aI subject recognition. Be interesting to see what that entails and if it's a forerunner to what the A1 will have.

 

[Venkatesh VT]

Eye AF for videos & stabilisation for videos at par with Z9 would be welcome
It would also be nice to have a tilt screen like Z9
Also few PF lenses would make the Sony brand unbeatable for wild life
Presently this is the biggest sore point with Sony

 

[Tom Reynolds]

What I find so amusing is that the OM Systems OM-1 can do everything everybody wants at least as far as stills are concerned. Unfortunately, the OM-1 capabilities are locked in a m4/3 camera. However, everything everyone asked for should be doable by Canon, Sony and Nikon because the technology is already here.

Tom

 

[Doug Herr]

What I find so amusing is that the OM Systems OM-1 can do everything everybody wants at least as far as stills are concerned. Unfortunately, the OM-1 capabilities are locked in a m4/3 camera. However, everything everyone asked for should be doable by Canon, Sony and Nikon because the technology is already here.

Tom

Unfortunately the m4/3 is a non-starter for many people.

 

[Tom Reynolds]

Unfortunately the m4/3 is a non-starter for many people.

True. The m4/3 creates a large effective F-stop due to the 2.0 Crop factor. That is a problem, especially for the subject isolation vi a short DOF crowd. But the m43 family has had most of these capabilities for a while. The OM-1 has simply paired them with excellent AF and Subject ID.

My question is why Sony/Canon/Nikon haven't recognized the value of these features and incorporated them in their flagship cameras already? It seems that these features were being held for another model.

I can tell you that Pre-capture is a game changer for birds, no question. Even the Canon R7 and the Fuji x-2hs has pre-capture.

Tom

 

[John Navitsky]

with regard to cfe-a vs cfe-b, i think they need to increase the sustained throughput, which implies cfe-b since it’s throughput capability is twice that of cfe-a. that said, i’m skeptical they’ll go cfe-b. one possibility might be the integration of some nvme memory in the camera, allowing the cfe-a only to be a way to move the content out of the camera. ie, basically a massive, _persistent_ buffer. in reality i think most high end cameras will go this way eventually, so in my mind it’s a question of who tries it first

 

[TonyF]

It would have to offer a substantial upgrade over the A1 for me to even consider paying this amount out on another camera , certainly WAY more than what was offered with the mk2 of the A9
Surely they can add more to the existing A1 by FW yet ? I don't use the LCD a better higher current battery would be nice though

Good point. My wishes mostly belong to a firmware update list.

 

[Doug Herr]

True. The m4/3 creates a large effective F-stop due to the 2.0 Crop factor. That is a problem, especially for the subject isolation vi a short DOF crowd. But the m43 family has had most of these capabilities for a while. The OM-1 has simply paired them with excellent AF and Subject ID.

My question is why Sony/Canon/Nikon haven't recognized the value of these features and incorporated them in their flagship cameras already? It seems that these features were being held for another model.

I can tell you that Pre-capture is a game changer for birds, no question. Even the Canon R7 and the Fuji x-2hs has pre-capture.

Tom

It's likely not a matter of recognizing the value of these features, more likely technical challenges of moving & processing a lot more data than the OM-1 does.

 

[Gottshotz]

I'm starting to see more and more discussion about the next version of the Sony a1 (the MK 2 version) and I was wondering what kinds of upgrades you would like to see. My list is pretty short (below) since a1 is already mind-blowingly good, but there's always room for improvement. Here's my list (so far)

1. Focus shift shooing / stacking
2. Deeper buffer
3. Maybe change to CF Express type B cards - although I have so much in the type "a" cards I'm on the fence!
4. Better EVF experience - the a1 seems to drop frames sometimes and a smoother experience is better
5. Better LCD monitor
6. 30 FPS Lossless RAW (just because it's cool)
7. Even stickier AF, if that's even possible. (although this is minor - I find the AF in the a1 outstanding as-is)
8. Option for manual focus override on all lenses, not just the big guns.
9. Better weather sealing on the card door.
10. Vertical or articulating tilt screen
11. A shutter shield like Nikon has instead of the more fragile mechanical shutter that I don't use )
12. Faster start up time

I also think we'll see a customizable dial in place of the exposure comp dial, although I'd still use it for exp comp

I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple too. What's your list?

Very happy if all of these features could be incorporated into a Mk 2, especially the focus stacking for my insect work.
Probably items 4 ,5 and 12 would benefit from a heavier duty battery as well !
Although not really pertinent here, I would love to see Pf lenses on the roadmap to keep up with Nikon and Canon --- they do have a patent for Pf glass, but will they act on it ?

 

[DavidT]

with regard to cfe-a vs cfe-b, i think they need to increase the sustained throughput, which implies cfe-b since it’s throughput capability is twice that of cfe-a. that said, i’m skeptical they’ll go cfe-b. one possibility might be the integration of some nvme memory in the camera, allowing the cfe-a only to be a way to move the content out of the camera. ie, basically a massive, _persistent_ buffer. in reality i think most high end cameras will go this way eventually, so in my mind it’s a question of who tries it first

Hasselblad just did internal memory in its new camera. I believe it’s a 1TB SSD.

 

[Ed Erkes]

i may be alone in thinking the AF needs improvement, but I do wish for several improved AF features:
1) Customizable AF focus areas, as in the Z9. I 'd like the ability to limit the area to a small horizontal strip. Even more I would like a smaller focus point than the A1s current Spot Small. I have focus problems on both my A1s with dark subjects (particularly those that are smaller in the frame), suchs a bear or elk in the grass. It will look like the focus point is totally or nearly totally covering the head of the animal, but the focus locks on or suddenly jumps to bright green grass near the head. This problem occurs more frequently if eye detection is left on. For distant subjects, I often turn eye detection off.
2) I want Sony to incorporate color information in their focus algorithms. This is related to the issue noted above. If color info is used, I don't see how the focus point would jump from a bear to green grass.
3)I would like eye detection for video.
4) Stickier AF tracking. I shoot a lot of wood ducks and I find that the A1 likes the female wood duck's eye a lot more than the males. Even with AF tracking set to 1, I often found the eye af woud switch from the male to the female. However, I haven't checked this since the latest firmware update, so mayve it is already improved.

I would also like pre- capture and focus stacking.