Alpha 1 Archives

When we say professionals, we do not mean doctors, or businessmen, or Engineers. We mean content creators, filmmakers and such. Those are the kind of people that Sony targets with this device, alongside the brand-new Sony α1 full-frame mirrorless camera. Before we go any further though, we have to break a few hearts with its price.

The Xperia PRO for 2021 is supposed to be available to customers in the North American market from the 26^th of January 2021 onward. It will be available for US$ 2,499 (MYR 10,107*). Yes, that is more than MYR 10,000 in Malaysia, that is even before we consider the device coming to town with its own local pricing. That puts it way above the iPhone 12 Pro Max even at the Apple device’s most expensive configuration available on their website. There is a good reason for the pricing for this Android device though.

The Sony Alpha One Stop Shop

Just looking at the official renders, you can already tell that this is not some regular, chintzy flagship device with all kinds of blings in the world. This is a purpose-built piece of kit that not only functions as a smartphone. It is a personal assistant for content creators that is on a Sony Alpha platform. It is built to enhance your content workflow and even more powerful. It makes you a superhero.

That last statement may be a little bit of an exaggeration. Thing is, with an Alpha camera and the Xperia PRO, you sort of can be a content superhero. This is a one stop shop for an Alpha camera system before you post edit everything on a PC system or Mac, whichever you work on.

The Monitor

First of all, it has everything you need to get your Alpha workflow compiled in one place. It packs a Type D Micro HDMI input port specifically for Alpha camera systems. That means it acts as a secondary 6.5-inch 4K OLED monitor feed that you can pair with your Alpha camera like the Sony α1.

The Broadcaster, The Cloud Server

Thanks to that HDMI connection that allows 4K capture even on the Xperia PRO too, the combination of an HDMI input from an Alpha camera (they say it works for other cameras too) and the Xperia PRO’s 5G capabilities makes this thing a live broadcaster too. Who says you need to spend an arm and a leg for a dedicated broadcasting gear? Well, you still kind of do, the combination of an Xperia PRO and the Sony α1 is still more than MYR 30,000 in value. But this is really high-quality YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and even Twitch streaming in your pockets.

Of course, you need strong and stable network connection for the Xperia PRO to broadcast to whatever channels you prefer. That is also why the Xperia PRO is designed the way it is. It is so that the device packs a 360-degree optimised mmWave and Sub-6 5G antenna. Combined with low dielectric constant materials for its chassis (not aluminium), 5G connections should remain strong and stable at any given time for optimised broadcasts.

The Xperia PRO could be your one stop shop for photo processing too for Alpha camera systems. You only need to connect your Alpha camera to the Xperia PRO device via USB and transfer all your photos to an FTP server. That means you can save some money on buying extra SD cards and worry more about shooting the best photos you can get.

The Sony Xperia PRO Smartphone

Now, to the smartphone bits. We start with what empowers the Sony Xperia PRO. We start with its heart, the processor, the SoC.

It packs a powerful and modern Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G enabled System on a Chip (SoC). This 5G enabled device is capable of multi gigabit speeds. As mentioned, that could be critical for broadcasting needs. But a powerful and punch SoC is important too to get ensure that everything you need on the device connected to the Alpha camera is seamless and smooth. Of course, for all intents and purposes, Sony packs 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage (expandable up to 1TB via MicroSDXC) to go alongside the powerful SoC to avoid any bottlenecks.

Out the back is the same camera system you find on the Sony Xperia 1 II flagship smartphone. Why fix something that is not broken, right? The Sony Xperia PRO packs a 4K video recording capable triple camera system with a regular wide-angle 12-Megapixel shooter, a 12-Megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. Out the front is an 8-Megapixel selfie camera, which might not get that much mileage considering the purpose of the device.

Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony

Still the display will get plenty of mileage if you have a Sony Alpha camera. It is a 4K HDR 6.5-inch OLED unit that displays colours at DCI-P3 100%. You want accurate colours; this shows even more accurate colours compared to the new Samsung Galaxy S21. Then again, if you need to rely on this device to work on your contents, you want those colours.

The whole unit is rated for IP65/IP68 dust and water resistance and protected with Corning’s very durable Gorilla Glass 6 out the front for protection. That also means that you can take your gear into any weather and still get it to function. Add those on top of the long lasting 4,000 mAh battery and you have a super reliable workhorse to get you through a shoot day.

Pricing and Availability

As previously mentioned, the Sony Xperia Pro will be available in North American markets 26^th January 2021 onward. It retails for US$2,499 (MYR 10,107*) in available markets. There are no mentions of the device coming to Malaysia just yet, nor its official local pricing. Do not expect it to be cheap though, and if you are a content creator, you might want to start saving. For more information on the Sony Xperia PRO for 2021, you can visit Sony’s website.

*Approximate conversion based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.044 on Xe Currency Converter as of 27^th January 2021

When the world marvel over Canon’s new EOS R5, partly because of its 8K video recording capabilities, everyone expected Sony to do the same with their high-end video hero, the Sony Alpha (α) 7S III. They stuck to their ways and went with a better 4K video recording capability though. They introduced a few changes and improvements to make the production favourite even better. The third generation of the low-light champion has better dynamic range, and even better colour science. In that sense, if you are looking for a great camera that can do great looking videos without breaking your production budget, the α7S III should be right on top of your list.

Of course, while any big rumours of 8K video capabilities have been snuffed out by Sony launching the α7S III, Sony was not done yet. Not to be outdone by their countrymen, they launched their α1 last night (11.00 p.m. Malaysia time +0800 GMT). The headline figures are impressive.

50.1-Megapixel, 8K @30p, 4K @120p

The headline figures read 50.1-Megapixel full-frame sensor. It is still mirrorless, so it is fitted into a body as big as the current α7 body. It is the same size as the Sony α9 II as well.

That 50.1-Megapixel full-frame stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor is backed by a brand new improved BIONZ XR image processor with eight folds of processing power over the previous image processor you find on the α9 II. That image processor allows up to 120 autofocus calculations every second at 30fps blackout free continuous shoot. That is twice as fast as the α9 II. 30fps is also as fast as a regular film that you watch in the cinema, by the way.

That powerful sensor also enables the Sony α1 to shoot videos at 8K resolution at 30fps with 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS video format for as long as 30-minutes. That 8K footage is oversampled internally at 8.6K for even more detail on your 8K footage; it is Sony after all. You might not use 8K that often, but you will appreciate its 10-bit 4:2:2 4K videos at 120fps capabilities; slow motion has never looked better. Of course, you get access to Sony’s very famous S-Log profiles up to S-Log3. At the same time Sony is adding S-Cinetone colour matrix profile to the camera for even more creative flexibility for filmmakers.

8K Sample Video | Alpha 1 | Sony | α — Source: Sony

It is not like it will underperform under low-light conditions too. The α1 features 15 stops on dynamic range for stills and even more for videos. You can see better too, through the lenses with the new Electronic ViewFinder that projects 9.44 million dots at 240fps.

Eye AF (Autofocus) has been improved too, now it works nicely with 4K videos and is even faster alongside its general AF capabilities. You can even track birds with the new Eye AF algorithm. The new AF system also covers about 92% of the frame at 759 phase detection points so you have more room to place your subjects.

Even Faster, More Stable, All Around Better

The α1 is also now the world’s fastest camera with 1/400 seconds flash sync speed with its mechanical shutter. Because it is Sony, they over engineered the mechanical shutter, obviously. It is a carbon fibre unit with two drive units to make it super-fast. At the same time though, more shutter speed also means that you get more creative room in the studio.

The α1 also features a new sort of stabilisation mechanism for both a better image quality and even more stable videos. Keep in mind that Sony’s lenses do not have built-in stability mechanism and stabilisation is solely done within the camera body. While that may not look as impressive as Canon’s EOS R5 or R6 in their plain form, put Sony’s footage into Sony’s Catalyst Browse and Prepare applications and watch the magic unfold.

The α1 is not just better in all that areas though. In some very magical way, the α1 has minimised its rolling shutter problem with a new electronic shutter function. We see this implemented in the α7S III as well, but apparently the one on the α1 is even better. We will not know until we see its implementation right next to α7S III.

Connectivity Options

Sony also launched the Sony Xperia PRO alongside the α1 camera. Get this though, the Sony Xperia PRO with 5G connectivity and 4K display can be used as α1’s 4K HDMI output monitor so that you do not have to rely on the tiny display on the Sony α. With the Sony Xperia PRO you are also adding some 5G capabilities to the Sony α1.

Of course, like the Sony α7S III the new Sony α1 is powered by their proprietary Z-series battery with support for a vertical grip. The two media slots can support up to UHS-II SDXC/SDHC cards or Sony’s new SFexpress Type A cards for even faster read/write speeds. We do recommend these if you want to shoot 8K videos or 4K videos at 120fps though. Get this too, the Sony α1 packs a SuperSpeed 10Gbps USB port and an ethernet port for professional convenience and workflows. That is on top of its built-in WiFi antenna. All of that in a body no bigger than a compact APS-C DSLR, imagine that.

Price and Availabilty

While you are now salivating all over the floor with the thought of getting your hands on one, hold your horses. The Sony α1 will be available in North American region in March 2021 onward at approximately US$ 6,500 (MYR 26,286*) for the body only. There are no official figures or launch dates for Malaysia just yet. For more information on the Sony α1, head over to their website.

**UPDATE: Sony Electronics Malaysia has confirmed that the Sony Alpha 1 (α1) will be available in Malaysia April 2021 onward. No confirmed pricing just yet.

*Approximate conversion based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.044 on Xe Currency Converter as of 27^th January 2021

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The New Sony Xperia PRO is the 5G solution for Professionals