Lensmaster wrote:
Thanks for comments, I think the a9mkII is just a little behind the a1 although the acquisition speed is quite a bit quicker and this in the end will give you more shots.
I think I would have got shots with the mkII but there would not have been enough MPs and for birding this really does help when you just can't get closer and is one of the main reasons I bought the a1 .
Birds in the UK are very shy so to me the question was will the a1 let me get shots the a9mkII won't get the answer is Yes .
Rob.
Exactly why I bought the A1 also. I always had to super crop my swallow in flight shots with my A9II. I had better quality results from my higher MP D850 and D500. But the A9II had a better AF for them. Some of my nicest shots were with the A7RIV but that thing really sucked for swallows in flight. The A1 is my ideal camera for such shooting. Now I just need some swallows and some sun to put it to the test.
arbitrage wrote:
Exactly why I bought the A1 also. I always had to super crop my swallow in flight shots with my A9II. I had better quality results from my higher MP D850 and D500. But the A9II had a better AF for them. Some of my nicest shots were with the A7RIV but that thing really sucked for swallows in flight. The A1 is my ideal camera for such shooting. Now I just need some swallows and some sun to put it to the test.
Is your original plan to sell the R5 and the a9II still valid given your shooting experience with the A1 so far?
Did you have time to compare it with R5 side by side?
baltmin wrote:
Is your original plan to sell the R5 and the a9II still valid given your shooting experience with the A1 so far?
Did you have time to compare it with R5 side by side?
I sold my entire R5 kit. I never directly compared them on the swallows I'd hoped to have available. I had a local buyer who wanted the entire R5 kit so I didn't want to pass up that opportunity to get the kit sold locally. I'd seen enough from the A1 at that time that I knew I had no use for the R5 anymore. (I still had use for the RF 100-500 so I bought a 100-400GM to make up for that to do semi-macro type stuff). I shot the A1 on subjects I've been shooting the R5 on for the past 5 months including lots of ducks IF, dunlin IF, oystercatchers IF, pigeons IF and lots of wading and floating birds.
I still have my A9II for now. My plan is still to sell it. I do want to try a few more comparisons between it and the A1 on swallows as they seem to now be arriving.
Glad to hear your confidence. I want to dump my RIV but I don't feel good only having one body, and certainly won't be buying a second a1. I do foresee the a1 getting 90%+ of the usage, but I do a few things (cub scout camp, museums and stuff with the kids if that is ever a thing again, kayaking when it get warm) where I'd rather not bring the a1 just because of the environment, risk....etc. This used to be A7III territory for me. For now that will be the RIV's duty, although I have a feeling especially for the kayaking part I'm going sorely miss the a1 AF performance. Its insured, so as I get more comfortable in the boat will probably start taking that with me. I think i'd keep my eye open in a year's time for a used a1 as a 2nd body unless the a7IV ends up being a really good compliment.
arbitrage wrote:
I sold my entire R5 kit. I never directly compared them on the swallows I'd hoped to have available. I had a local buyer who wanted the entire R5 kit so I didn't want to pass up that opportunity to get the kit sold locally. I'd seen enough from the A1 at that time that I knew I had no use for the R5 anymore. (I still had use for the RF 100-500 so I bought a 100-400GM to make up for that to do semi-macro type stuff). I shot the A1 on subjects I've been shooting the R5 on for the past 5 months including lots of ducks IF, dunlin IF, oystercatchers IF, pigeons IF and lots of wading and floating birds.
I still have my A9II for now. My plan is still to sell it. I do want to try a few more comparisons between it and the A1 on swallows as they seem to now be arriving.
arbitrage wrote:
Having shot the A9 since May 2018 and now the A9II since Feb 2020, I can say they are equal in AF. Sony did say that the A9II had a slightly upgraded processor that improved AF speed and precision. I could just never tell any practical difference in the field.
Now I have started to notice some differences with the A1 vs the A9/A9II. Mostly in the consistency of focus for a small, fast BIF over a long burst. I will keep forming a more in depth opinion as I get more time behind the camera. I really just need to get back to swallow shooting and I should have a really good idea. I think the swallows are here now but the weather doesn't look great for the next three days....Show more →
Thank you Geoff. Will wait for your analysis and findings. If there's an AF advantage that'll be a great reason for me to go for it. I almost made up my mind anyway
Found a few hundreds (if not thousands) of Northern Pintails near Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Good spot to play with the A1. In my experience to date, the A1 has a bit of a problem finding initial focus sometimes, especially in busy scenes. But once it locks on, it is tenacious.
The pics are cropped, pretty tightly for some. Just couldn't get close enough, even with a 600mm + 1.4x.
OMG. Mine came today. I am thoroughly impressed. From the viewfinder to the image quality. I've only taken a few images (44 to be exact, which is a pittance by my standards) and I am blown away. Fought passing storms, so only had a few minutes of sun.
This is image #2, which looks almost exactly like #1 and 3-5. ;-)
A1 + 200-600 before I even engaged the AEF. Nailed focus. Beautiful colors.
timgangloff wrote:
OMG. Mine came today. I am thoroughly impressed. From the viewfinder to the image quality. I've only taken a few images (44 to be exact, which is a pittance by my standards) and I am blown away. Fought passing storms, so only had a few minutes of sun.
This is image #2, which looks almost exactly like #1 and 3-5. ;-)
A1 + 200-600 before I even engaged the AEF. Nailed focus. Beautiful colors.
Missed a Plam Cockatoo that I had planned to photograph, pointed the camera with the 200-600mm + 1.4x Teleconverter on other targets. Afc small flexible tracking worked perfectly against the strong backlight.
k-h.a.w wrote:
How long are the wait times now when ordering an A1?
I don't think anyone has gotten a clear answer from any dealers as to when the next shipment is expected. But there are still a lot of preorders unfilled. Pro Support members got the majority of the first batch and I believe there are still Pro Support members waiting at some stores. But that isn't universal as my large retailer in Canada had more cameras in the first batch than they had Pro Support orders so have already started filling regular pre-orders with the first batch.
I think just like any hot release it will take some leg work on your part to call around to smaller retailers that may have shorter lists without any Pro Support members on them. If you place a B&H order right now you might as well start decorating your Xmas tree as you probably won't see it till then
arbitrage wrote:
I don't think anyone has gotten a clear answer from any dealers as to when the next shipment is expected. But there are still a lot of preorders unfilled. Pro Support members got the majority of the first batch and I believe there are still Pro Support members waiting at some stores. But that isn't universal as my large retailer in Canada had more cameras in the first batch than they had Pro Support orders so have already started filling regular pre-orders with the first batch.
I think just like any hot release it will take some leg work on your part to call around to smaller retailers that may have shorter lists without any Pro Support members on them. If you place a B&H order right now you might as well start decorating your Xmas tree as you probably won't see it till then...Show more →
Many thanks. I am afraid you may be right about Xmas.
But you didn’t say what year!
k-h.a.w wrote:
Many thanks. I am afraid you may be right about Xmas.
But you didn’t say what year!
The B&H site says expected availability is April 6. Is that bogus information? Perhaps they mean 2022.
I’m absolutely kicking myself for not pre-ordering as I did for all other previous camera releases after the A7R. I had erroneously assumed that, at a $6,500 price point, the demand would not be that high and I waited to see what the dynamic range & noise characteristics would be like for the A1.
I have read comments about Pro Support members getting first preference. Since I am a member, will that help?
InFocus2014 wrote:
The B&H site says expected availability is April 6. Is that bogus information? Perhaps they mean 2022.
I’m absolutely kicking myself for not pre-ordering as I did for all other previous camera releases after the A7R. I had erroneously assumed that, at a $6,500 price point, the demand would not be that high and I waited to see what the dynamic range & noise characteristics would be like for the A1.
I have read comments about Pro Support members getting first preference. Since I am a member, will that help?
Thanks,
Jeff
Yes if you are SPS, contact SPS and see if they will still be prioritizing new orders late in the game. During the pre-order stage SPS sent out an email linked to an online form to fill out and give them you order # at whichever store you ordered from. They then assigned cameras to those orders. I'm not certain if the stores were forced to play along but I think most did in order to keep a good relationship with Sony.
I guess the question is if they will still bump SPS orders over non-SPS orders that are still waiting after pre-ordering day 1?
InFocus2014 wrote:
The B&H site says expected availability is April 6. Is that bogus information? Perhaps they mean 2022.
I’m absolutely kicking myself for not pre-ordering as I did for all other previous camera releases after the A7R. I had erroneously assumed that, at a $6,500 price point, the demand would not be that high and I waited to see what the dynamic range & noise characteristics would be like for the A1.
I have read comments about Pro Support members getting first preference. Since I am a member, will that help?
Thanks,
Jeff
You are too late to get SPS preference. The links they sent for that expired about a month ago.
