Between Sony not being able to fix the R4/200-600 issue, and the plethora of oddities A1 users are experiencing, in addition to the glacial FW updates for most modern bodies, I’m given pause when I’m contemplating how to spend my money. There is a certain amount of goodwill they are slowly eroding. Defending Sony’s buggy flagship is a weird look at this point.
Holger wrote:
That is not completely right, the 70-200GM FW update did exactly that. Not for all of course. I expect other firmware updates for the A1 itself to be issued, too.
Many things are overblown, here, some are indeed annoying (EVF issue) but one can work around it.
RoamingScott wrote:
Between Sony not being able to fix the R4/200-600 issue, and the plethora of oddities A1 users are experiencing, in addition to the glacial FW updates for most modern bodies, I’m given pause when I’m contemplating how to spend my money. There is a certain amount of goodwill they are slowly eroding. Defending Sony’s buggy flagship is a weird look at this point.
I don't need to defend it, as it works as intended for us and fellow colleagues (and we know quite a few). It doesn't seem to work as nicely/flawlessly for other groups (e.g. wildlife). So it depends on your shooting style and what you are shooting.
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I thought a certain combination of parameters made the 200-600/R4 combo work? I can remember arbitrage reporting/writing a lot about this. But I don't know for sure as I am not interested in that combination.
Holger wrote:
That is not completely right, the 70-200GM FW update did exactly that. Not for all of course. I expect other firmware updates for the A1 itself to be issued, too.
Many things are overblown, here, some are indeed annoying (EVF issue) but one can work around it.
Yes, MANY expect to see A1 FW updates, but has anyone seen one yet after what 3-4 months since its release on 9 March.
So what is Not overblown are the many people having EVF issues combined with some having IBIS issues.
So I guess you are happy with spending what 7000 Euros all in for something that does not work correctly whereas other Sony cameras selling for half this value seem to operate better in the areas where the A1 is having issues.
Don't get me wrong since I own over 6 Sony E mount lenses and want the best Sony has to offer, but right now that "best" is not the A1.
stgrove wrote:
Yes, MANY expect to see A1 FW updates, but has anyone seen one yet after what 3-4 months since its release on 9 March.
So what is Not overblown are the many people having EVF issues combined with some having IBIS issues.
So I guess you are happy with spending what 7000 Euros all in for something that does not work correctly whereas other Sony cameras selling for half this value seem to operate better in the areas where the A1 is having issues.
Don't get me wrong since I own over 6 Sony E mount lenses and want the best Sony has to offer, but right now that "best" is not the A1. ...Show more →
I would argue that the best is the A1. I've had the a7r4 and currently have the a9 and a9II. On paid gigs, the A1 is the first camera I grab. The others are backups. The focus is much more reliable than the a7r4 and the resolution is much better for my needs than the a9's can produce. The video, which I dabble in, is also much better than those bodies, but perhaps more on par with the a7s3 or fx3, but neither of those can do what I need with stills. Yes, I hate the EVF blackout at times. It truly sucks for my use. But I've captured more peak action images with the A1 and the ability to crop them tight without a loss in printability has increased my sport sales. Previously unusable baseball outfielder shots now have plenty of resolution to print really well. So, while I lost a few images with the EVF blackout, I've captured plenty more of usable, printable shots that may not have been captured with the other bodies. But, yes, I hope Sony addresses this sooner than later.
I also think the Canon R5 is the best Canon mirrorless camera currently available. But we all know that body has plenty of issues as well. I don't know anything about the Nikon mirrorless cameras. But I'd argue that the A1 is not only the best Sony mirrorless, but it is also the best mirrorless currently available by any manufacturer.
And please let's not overlook the issues other bodies have had. The a7r4 has had some AF issues. Hell, my mirror box on my Canon 1dx literally fell apart shooting a top ranked D1 football game. This was immediately following a trip to CPS for some work. At least my A1 mirror has not fallen out yet. Was it the Canon 1dmkII that had the AF issues causing Canon to issue a 1dmkIIn? I had both of those too. My point is that I have had lots of cameras. The A1 is the best I have used to date. It's not perfect. But it is a great tool that has allowed me to increase my sales. And that, for me, is the bottom line.
So, what do you think the best Sony camera is at this time?
Quote:
“ So, what do you think the best Sony camera is at this time? ”
Once Sony addresses its issues I would vote for A1 for my shooting interests.
But only after Sony successfully fixes its obvious bugs.
However other folks don’t share your or my interests, so opinions differ.
I wonder if Sony can drag a fix out to after the upcoming Olympics.
That couldn’t possibly be in Sony’s interest, could it?
K-H,
PS: Maybe it could if the EVF/Eye sensor issue requires a hardware change.
stgrove wrote:
Yes, MANY expect to see A1 FW updates, but has anyone seen one yet after what 3-4 months since its release on 9 March.
So what is Not overblown are the many people having EVF issues combined with some having IBIS issues.
So I guess you are happy with spending what 7000 Euros all in for something that does not work correctly whereas other Sony cameras selling for half this value seem to operate better in the areas where the A1 is having issues.
Don't get me wrong since I own over 6 Sony E mount lenses and want the best Sony has to offer, but right now that "best" is not the A1. ...Show more →
"So I guess you are happy with spending what 7000 Euros all in for something that does not work correctly whereas other Sony cameras selling for half this value seem to operate better in the areas where the A1 is having issues."
That is just overblown and not true. We earn money with this camera and it works perfectly fine. There are many more use cases for cameras than BIF, where mostly enthusiasts are to be found using an A1, shooting in a specific way, in my opinion. The EVF sensor issue is surely annoying for those being affected, I can feel for then, but you can work around and live with it. Not perfect, but it is is possible (use a tape, light dim, wear a baseball cap to shield it...).
Sure, there should be a FW update and only because there hasn't one so far doesn't mean Sony doesn't care or won't provide one.
We have A9, A9ii, A7riv and A1. We used those for many many weddings, events, portrait sessions under all kinds of lighting, etc.
The A1 is the best of the bunch in my opinion, by a fair margin, for what _we_ do. This might not be for _your_ use case, but just don't generalise from a specific use case to all others. Don't speak from your point of view for all others.
Well… my A1 has experienced freezes in the past couple days. Only brought two lenses along. 2017-28 Tamron and 35 GM. Single shot casual use in aperture priority and manual modes. Happened with both lenses.
Weird. OEM battery and ProGrade v90 cards. Can’t recall it happening before.
Removing the battery worked. Slightly troubling. Will switch back to Sony Tough G cards and see if it matters but no burst shooting or video at all. Once it just wouldn’t fully turn on - black viewfinder with a few of the indicators showing but no image in the EVF or on screen (and before anyone asks - lens cap off )
liggy wrote:
Well… my A1 has experienced freezes in the past couple days. Only brought two lenses along. 2017-28 Tamron and 35 GM. Single shot casual use in aperture priority and manual modes. Happened with both lenses.
Weird. OEM battery and ProGrade v90 cards. Can’t recall it happening before.
Removing the battery worked. Slightly troubling. Will switch back to Sony Tough G cards and see if it matters but no burst shooting or video at all. Once it just wouldn’t fully turn on - black viewfinder with a few of the indicators showing but no image in the EVF or on screen (and before anyone asks - lens cap off )...Show more →
What was it like when it froze? Anything happening? Did the write to disk animation continuously run?
Jesse Evans wrote:
What was it like when it froze? Anything happening? Did the write to disk animation continuously run?
Basically it didn’t start up completely. Black screen/EVF but a few of the parameters like iso/WB/SS showing. Unresponsive to shutter/touch/control wheel or command dials.
Removing the battery reset it. No problems shooting or storing images. Weird. Both the A1 and my A9II have been rock solid up to this point. Firmware is up to date.
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