Gordon the amount of time and effort in this review is clearly evident, you are one of the few youtubers who can be trusted to yield accurate results

I actually like the smaller size! Because you can make a smaller camera larger but can't make a large camera smaller. Not to mention when traveling a big camera attracts a lot more attention.

Great work, Gordon! 👏👏

The high powered yet small form factor is the selling point for me. After shooting wildlife you can quickly rebuild your camera to be a holiday/street camera once the batterygrip and the 600m f/4.0 is replaced with the body only and the lens is fitted with one of the new small factor lenses. Even when using the camera on a rig or gimbal the smaller weight and form factor makes it easier. The bodies with build in batterypack are what there are and cannot be reduced in size or weight. Bringing a DSLR style body out shooting street photography seems like taking the Hummer H1 to the kiosk for the sunday newspaper instead of the snappy scooter. That my 2 cents.

This is undoubtedly the best review of this camera to date. Thanks, Gordon. Love your book btw!

I spent TWO months testing the Sony Alpha 1! Here's my review for stills. Check price at B&H: bhpho.to/2KRt26q // WEX UK: tidd.ly/3trQqsI Buy Gordon a coffee: www.paypal.me/cameralabs Gordon's In Camera book at Amazon: amzn.to/2n61PfI / Amazon uk: amzn.to/2mBqRVZ Like Cameralabs? Get the merch: redbubble.com/people/cameralabs/shop Sony Alpha 1 samples: www.cameralabs.com/sony-alpha-a1-review/ 01:22 - Controls 02:42 - Connectivity and cards 06:16 - Screen and menus 07:22 - Viewfinder quality 11:22 - Battery 11:54 - Design vs Pro DSLR 13:35 - Sensor and shutter types 17:40 - IBIS / stabilization 18:41 - Image quality, resolution, DR, noise 27:17 - Autofocus, Burst shooting, Birds 34:41 - Final Verdict #sony #a1 #alpha

The mobility of a smaller body and the option to add a battery grip to balance bigger lenses is much more practical in my use case.

Gordon, you've done it again! Exhaustive, competent, and very much appreciated. BTW.. I love your consistent use of that Sigma 40mm Art (crazy sharp). The A1 vs. R5 test was perfect... keep up the good work man!

i’m so glad you finally released this review i’d been waiting for. thank you!

The most thorough review I have seen of the A1 I have seen anywhere.

As always an excellent review Gordon.

Another great review Gordon. I really appreciate your extremely detailed reviews. You answer every possible question. I am stunned that anyone could give your reviews a “thumbs down”. Keep up the great work.

Best job at explaining all the viewfinder settings on all reviews I have watched for the A1, and I love the rather long format of this review. It covers it all and it is easy to follow along, because the huge amount of information is not just machine-gunned into ten minutes. Thank you, Gordon :-)

This is a review at its best. And thanks for disabling ads, it made watching much more effective. Thank you!

Magnificent and detailed review. You make THE BEST reviews. Period. 🥇🏆

Very nice review, you put in lots of effort and took the time to realistically get to know and test the camera and only released it after 2 months.

That AF is crazy good. Regarding the built-in grip. I actually prefer Sony's approach of giving you an option. If the occasion requires you to use a grip, then use it. But, let's say you don't need the grip anymore, e.g. you want to be more discreet, you have the option to remove it. Anyway, another great review. The time and effort you put in here are very appreciated. 👍👍

Great review, hit all the key points, no hyperbole, just straight forward real world testing. Well done.

This is an incredible review Gordon! The EVF portion alone was revelatory!

Thank you Gordon for the most comprehensive review. Couldn't resist buying you a coffee in recognition of your considerable effort. I currently have the Canon R5, having moved from Sony a few months ago. But have just discovered that I'm unable to use second/rear current sync in conjunction with bulb on that camera so am returning to Sony. Debating between the A7R iv and A1 and your review has helped no end.

I prefer the A1 body style. If I want to go smaller using small primes or zooms I can or when I do my wildlife shooting I add the grip for better handling using my long telephotos or long zooms.

Very detailed and nice review Gordon. Thanks.

Gordon, another great review of a really impressive camera.

Best reviews you cand find. Great job!

A superbly detailed and well thought out review. Many thanks for all your hard work.

Thank you for you're hard work! I appreciate your efforts as I'm currently deciding.

Never seen anyone turn off ads during video much less a review. Thanks it made the viewing much more enjoyable.

Always thoroughly enjoyed the experience and review standards that not many youtubers can ever hope to reach

Great review! The best independent review of A1 so far.

Thank you Gordon, this is the best review of the Alpha 1 I’ve seen to date. It is very timely for me as I already tried it for a week and will try the Canon R5 soon. I am into the Sony system now but was Canon user for years. I think I might be coming back to Canon as this is a very expensive camera that offers features I don’t really need (30fps, 8k video) and comes at a considerably higher price than the R5. It seems to me that Sony has been trying to target high end pros with their recent cameras. I still don’t love the ergonomics and the very old lcd screen of The Sonys. Cheers!

Kudos to you sir: you produced a terrific expose on this camera and I truly enjoyed it in its entirety.

Great review! Thanks for the video. I strongly disagree that it should have a larger body size. I wouldn't buy the camera if it were a fat 1DX sized camera. Also, very minor point, but the A9ii gained the ability to have the shutter close when the camera is turned off in a firmware update.

Your reviews are truly inspired! I am not at all interested in this camera, but I watched the whole review because I feel like I learn things to look for while watching your reviews!

Stellar review, great work as always. Keen for the video centric review 👍🏻

One of if not the best A1 review out there! Thanks!

Thanks a lot for providing the exact numbers for the EVF resolution vs framerate trade-off. Very few reviewers care to go into testing for these details. When I set the refresh rate to High I always clearly see the resolution is lowered, but I never knew lowered by how much.

Really fantastic review, thank you

I actually like that the Alpha 1 comes in a compact body. I can always add the VG-C4EM vertical grip that gives me full pro body features and space for two batteries. Still I have no issue to mount the Alpha 1 on a gimbal or configure a very minimalistic rig for traveling.

Fantastic review

I salute you too to actually make that long of a review Gordon 😅👏

Excellent review. Well done. Very helpful. Appreciated

A very thorough review broken down so even people not familiar with Sony cameras can appreciate your evaluations.

I own an a1. Received on day 1 of public release. Well done as usual. One thing I’ve noted after also testing the R5 on birds with the RF 70-200 2.8 (a lovely lens), is once the detection box locks on it does stay on pretty well as you depict. And I also agree that the a1’s detection box sometimes won’t update as frequently and sometimes seems to be missing the eye. However, when I actually review the photos, it’s clear the a1 is actually super, super locked on to the eye nonetheless, even with the Sony 70-200 2.8 GM (as you also pointed out), which I consider pretty long in the tooth. It’s freaky how good it is, plus zero blackout and high refresh. It’s just the detection box isn’t updating as frequently as it should. I think this is a bug. And while it might be minor, it has pulled me out of the moment a couple times where I thought I missed the shot and actually didn’t. Hopefully an update smooths this out. Meanwhile, the R5 shows the box on the eye and even with native glass I noticed the hit rate was quite a bit lower when actually reviewing the photos at my desk, not to mention the blackout especially on that first shutter press (which also pulls me out of the moment, and likely cannot be changed with software). Don’t get me wrong, the R5 was overall great and well up to the task. But I’m terms of actual results at a desk (and not on the a1’s comparatively terrible LCD panel), overall speed (FPS, locking on, staying locked on in more complex situation, etc), the a1 was clearly superior (astounding, really). But $2400 more superior? As far as this one feature, I’m not too sure. As far as the whole package, especially if you have a use for it, then it becomes much more palatable. I don’t regret my a1 at all (currently also own a6600, a7S III, and a7R IV). I often feel like I’m wielding superpowers while using it. Thanks for the review.

Very detailed review. Love it. Thanks

great review Gordon!

No adverts. Stills only review. Liked and subscribed!!

Superb as always Gordon, really looking forward to the review of the video side of the A1.

Excellent review thank you!

Thank you Gordon for your hard work. The best reviewer out there.

That sealed it; you get my subscribe, Gordon

great review Gordon. The alpha-1 is a truly impressive camera with a few quirks.. low rez non-touch interface panel is a weird one at that price point is a strange decision. Esp given the best in class EVF. One thing i love about mirrorless is the ability to use the rear screen to compose my images. I already have to use the evf on my r3 to check images because it's better quality. I think it's the right decision to have an optional grip as it means you can add one if you need it but makes it appeal to a wider range of pro's like nat-geo types etc. tilt only screen isn't too much of a deal breaker as I can't imagine this is a vloggers camera (target market wise) - but they could have used the a6400/6600 tilt above screen so that people had some options with that - though fully articulating screen like the a99-ii would have been an option. A good review of all the features even if its out of reach for most of us mere mortals - does make it interesting whether the r4 is a better choice for hi-rez folk and is 'good enough'. the real USP ifor me s that electronic shutter and the ability to shoot at 30fps with no distortion and a step beyond even the a9ii with the tuneable shutter speeds too. the a9 series made a compromise on IQ for that e-shutter that is no longer the case with the a1. Of course the elephant in the room is what this means for the a7iv which was an affordable a9 in many ways. Interesting times in mirrorless right now. We now have Sony, Canon, Nikon and Panasonic making great full frame mirrorless cameras.

Subscribed! Thank you for your great work!

Thank's again for your great work and content, Gordon! 👍 I love my A1 but all the points you mentioned I agree 100%. I need more than 1 body and therefore I am still using my A9II and A7RIV as well but the A1 is the camera that is able to do it all...My main wishes are the options for focus stacking, the fully articulated screen and the pre capture function you mentioned. Happy Easter and many greetings from Germany! 👍 🙋‍♂️

Another great unbiased and factual review.

I found the Sony stick on grip make the handling of the RX100 so much better, Very helpful video, well done.

... best a1 review so far, thx a lot! 🙏🏻

To quote Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”

I just got my A1 and thank you Sony incredible!!!

No, I don’t want a larger body size. The grip option is the best approach for accommodating both. Plus, I like that the body layout is the same as the other cameras, which makes it very easy for users to upgrade without having to learn a new button configuration. When it is good, there is no need to change it.

Great review. As a little background I primarily do wildlife photography. Personally I am glad that they kept the camera without the built in grip as there are very few times in which I need the extra battery life and I am happy to carry around another battery in a pocket to keep the reduced weight with the camera. I know it doesn't seem like much but the 700 grams (1.5lbs) difference between the A1 and 1DXm3 really starts to add up quickly. The one body design feature I wish they would have removed is the frame rate dial as it blocks the ability to control that through the memory recall settings. I would love to be able to switch focus settings, shutter speed, and frame rate with one dial rather than two. Something that I have discovered over the time using an A7R4 with wildlife is it is amazing how many birds and running animals that have flaps/strides that are easily divisible by 5 or 10 meaning you end up with very similar shots throughout a burst. This can lead to some really frustrating times as you discover the focus as nailed the animal looks great in against the background but the wings are blocking the eye in all 20 images you got or the stride is in that mostly stretched but not full awkward stage, so you have a bunch a "meh" and not "wow".

Fantastic detailed review. I look forward to some of the features trickling down to the more affordable models. By the way, now that the A-mount has essentially been discontinued I hope Sony will finally introduce the a77/a99 articulating screen to the E/FE mount cameras. It's far more versatile than their standard articulating screens.

simply brilliant work on this review. im happy to be a sub...

After owning the A1 for 2 weeks now its a amazing beast lots of small details to find out, but even then you found so many already in this review ! was a great help in making my call to order one before they become (maybe?) production restrained.

great review!

Just bought the alpha1, thanks for a great review Gordon. Helped me make up my mind over going Nikon with the Z9. Great form factor, amazing how they have packed so much into that body. Love the Z9 but it's like carrying a brick around compared to the a1. Thanks again.

Thanks for the review

Great review Gordon, 👍🏻 Did you face the EVF blackout issue while shooting in direct sunlight ??

Great video! Thank you!

That is so helpful thank you love this review best for me

In a world of click bait its refreshing to get a brilliant and comprehensive and actual user review. great work.

Thank Gordon! Nice work

Best reviewer out there - Thanks!

Great review as always ;) .

Hello Gordon. As always, a great and factual review at the highest level. I hope that when the Nikon Z9 shows up, you will make reviews

Great review! Hopefully others also buy you a coffee, your work is very appreciated. I do think small size is a huge benefit for even the high end mirrorless cameras like the Sony A1 and Canon R5, they are so good especially when you can take them everywhere and not be out of place.

I bought the Olympus EM1X three months ago and is now selling roughly half the price when it was originally released and it is absolutely a beast. I took it out for a few shoot of wildlife shooting during moderate rain and it had no issue whatsoever while my mates were so careful with that full frame Sony A9 and A9 ii. The Olympus body feels much more solidly built than the Sonys and yes the performance of it isn’t as great and the autofocus is as good admittedly but we compare images when compare with the 300mm F4 lenses. We can’t tell there is much of a difference when it comes down to image quality of the birding images. Maybe a fraction better with the Sony but the difference is subtle. People don’t realize with more zoom image and able to get closer than the full frame counterparts, you can make up the difference in wildlife photography. It is just that everyone now is pushing for full frame mirrorless

Thank you Gordon

Impeccable presentation.

Excellent work Gordon! Finally a review that honestly reviews the a1, instead of of repeating the marketing, you make a point of calling out that Sony says “a 9.4m dot evf with 240hz!” But in typical Sony fashion, they can’t both be used at the same time. I wish all reviewers would jut be honest about the camera instead of just fawning over anything Sony (cough Gerald)..

Thanks for the effort this took to make.

Amazing Work ✌️

What's wrong with a vertical grip when needed? Personally I don't want a big square body like the Olympus, and the E-M1X wasn't very popular to begin with. Great review nonetheless.

Excellent review, I've always said it's impossible to review a camera in 10 minutes and after a few days of use. I'll have mine on Wednesday, got screwed on the first shipment and Sony is taking over a month to get a second shipment out! Supply chain these days for electronics is just dire lol

I used the Canon 1DX and Nikon D5 with those built-in grips and I miss nothing about carrying around those heavy bricks. As an award-winning photojournalist for over 44 years in the business, I much prefer having the choice of using a battery grip or not that my Sony cameras give me. FYI, I own A1, A7RIV and A7SIII. Thanks Gordon you are one of my favorites for sure. Cheers

Great review.. Thanks... I appreciate that you are working some of the very fine Sigma lenses into your reviews... while they maintain image quality, their lower purchase cost allows photographers to enhance the lens portfolio and still get a high quality, more sophisticated camera body.

Great work, ta.

Best a1 video to date BY FAR!

THE best a1 review, period.

very detailed review

Great work here Gordon. IMO I'd rather have the choice of adding a battery grip or going with a smaller setup than just be stuck with a larger setup with no choice to downsize.

Great review Gordon. Thank you for putting in the effort and hard work to make these reviews. Are you able to comment on how noise levels at higher ISOs compare to A7R4 or Sony A9ii?

I'd rather a small camera with options to increase the size than a large one with no option to reduce it's size. Excellent review.

nice review✴️

Very detailed review - many thanks! I am looking forward to the Nikon Z9 because I expect the same (or very similar) sensor in that beast but giving us the usually more pro build and feeling of Nikon. And I guess that with the new processing capabilities of the Z9 also the AF-C (eye-AF and tracking) should become very close if not better. My choice would then be clearly Nikon.

Discerning viewer of very great taste. You say! Great review. Thank you. Im going to buy it for it's versitility.

Look forward to A9III with A7S3 video specs and A9ii photo spec.

Gordon, well done mate. One thing to point out on the Canon and Nikon pro bodies is the need to add an $600-$700 accessory wifi connector. Nikon was charging a stupid amount of money for their plug in high speed wifi connector (of which I bought one for the D4 and another when the D5 came out) and they were a huge pain to set up connections. Canon is similar in their requirement for an add on wifi connector. Sony having that built in is miles ahead. While their imaging edge software/app is poor (I’m being kind) it is light years ahead of what Canon and Nikon offer on their pro cameras. So I’m looking at a cost of $5,800 (if you deduct the cost of the wifi dongle for the Sony vs a D6 at $6,500 + $630 or 1D Mk III at $6500 + $649 for the transmitter).

An excellent review of a noteworthy camera. I particularly enjoyed your thoughtful summation at the end. I am about as far from a professional photographer as one can get, but I'd love to have this camera with a modest set of small primes as a travel system that would be capable of killer video and stills. So I definitely like the small incarnation of the Alpha One that Sony opted to release. Would that I could justify the $6500 purchase of a travel camera...

Hello Gorden, thank you very much for your great video. Here are a few hints and questions: - is the sensor very sensitive to dust? You can see which on your pictures (e.g. from 20:37 min). I thought it should be better with the protective clasp? - can the focus magnifier also be used with AF-C? On the A7RIV or A9 it does not work in AF-C mode, which I find very bad - can you adjust the focus on the lens manually in AF-C? With the other cameras mentioned above, this is only possible with MF or DMF, which I also find quite disappointing. - As you mentioned I find it disappointing that a camera as expensive as the A1 does not offer focus bracketing. I hope Sony will bring a firmware update soon (also for the existing cameras) - for everyone who takes vertical pictures - close to the ground - the display is poorly designed Many Thanks!

I, too, would be interested in seeing an integrated-grip body from Sony. As far as I can tell, currently only the Olympus E-M1x and the Fujifilm GFX 100 have it in the mirrorless world. Of those two, the E-M1x is the only one that's really in the same vein(use cases, target audience, etc.) as the large Canon/Nikon bodies.