Recording Features

Overview: The Alpha 1 (ILCE1/B) Interchangeable-lens digital camera is Sony's most technologically advanced, innovative camera to date, combining high-resolution and high-speed performance. The sturdy camera body is made of rigid magnesium alloy with dust- and moisture-resistant seals at all the body seams and the battery cover. Along with the Alpha 1 body, the package includes a rechargeable battery, battery charger, adjustable neck strap, and USB cable. The Alpha 1 has a full-frame 35mm image sensor, and is compatible with Sony E-mount lenses. With the LA-EA4 or LA-EA5 Mount Adapters, the camera can also use Sony A-mount lenses.

3" Tiltable LCD Screen: The Alpha 1 uses a 2.95" (3"-type) LCD screen with 1,440,000 dots. You can tilt the LCD up approximately 107° for low angle shots or tilt it down approximately 41° for high angle photography. The brightness of the LCD monitor can be adjusted in 5 steps from -2 to +2, plus a Sunny Weather mode.

0.64" OLED Viewfinder: The 0.64" high contrast OLED electronic color viewfinder has 9,437,184 dots, and provides approximately 100% field of view. You can adjust the brightness in 5 steps (-2 to +2). The built-in diopter lets you adjust the viewfinder image to your individual eyesight. You can set the camera to switch between the LCD screen and viewfinder automatically when you look into the EVF, or choose one or the other in the camera's menu.

Display Modes: In the monitor, you can choose from the following display types: Display All Info, Display No Info, Histogram, and Digital Level Gauge. When shooting with the viewfinder, you can choose from No Display Info, Histogram, and Level.

Live View: The Alpha 1's Live View lets you use the LCD screen and Electronic Viewfinder to frame your photos as you shoot. When the Live View display is set to "Setting Effect On", the LCD or viewfinder will provide an accurate preview of your photo, including the white balance, exposure compensation, creative style or picture effect. With the "Setting Effect Off", you can check the image composition without the effects of the exposure settings.

Image Sensor/Processor: The Alpha 1 features a full-frame stacked back-illuminated CMOS Exmor RS™ image sensor (35.9 x 24.0mm) with a 50.5 total megapixels and 50.1 effective megapixels. It has a 3:2 aspect ratio. Complimenting the image sensor is the advanced BIONZ XR processing engine, with 8x greater processing power than the BIONZ X processor. Together they deliver outstanding image quality, up to 30 fps continuous shooting, and 8K movies.

Still Image Recording Formats: The Alpha 1 can shoot 35mm full-size image sensor photos in Large, Medium, and Small sizes. It can also shoot APS-C size equivalent pictures in L, M, and S. Still images are recorded in JPEG and HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) formats in Standard, Fine, Extra Fine, and Light compression rates. You can choose to shoot in 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, or 1:1 aspect ratio, and in large, medium, and small image sizes. You can also record still images using the 14-bit RAW format (Large size only) in Compressed, Lossless Compressed, or Uncompressed. RAW images must be transferred to a computer for processing, editing, and printing using the downloadable Imaging Edge software. When shooting in the APS-C size, you cannot select the Large size image. In the Medium or Small size, the pixel number stays the same, even when switching the angle of view between full-frame and APS-C sizes. You can select the following image sizes:

8K Movies: For the first time in the Sony α series, the Alpha 1 offers 8K movie recording (7680 × 4320) at 30p in XAVC HS format with 8.6K oversampling for superior resolution and clarity. 8K movies have four times the resolution of 4K

Movie Recording Formats: The Alpha 1 can record 16:9 8K/30p movies in XAVC HS format at a maximum bit rate of 400Mbps and 4K/60p movies at 200Mbps. You can also record 4K and Full High Definition movies in XAVC S. XAVC HS movies have MPEG-H HEVC/H.265 video compression, while XAVC S movies use MPEG-4 AVC/H.264. Audio for both formats is recorded in 2-channel LPCM (48kHz 16-bit) or 2-channel AAC. Four channel (48kHz) audio is capable when using accessories that can support 4ch and 24-bits with the Multi-Interface Shoe. Movies can be recorded in either NTSC or PAL. You can select from the following bit rates/image quality (NTSC):

Dual Slot/ Dual Media Options: The Alpha 1 camera has two slots for recording media -- both slots support CFexpress Type A and SD memory cards (UHS-I and UHS-II compatible). You can also use microSD memory cards when used with the appropriate adapter. The recording options for the two slots include:

• Slot 1: Records still images or movies on the memory card in Slot 1.
• Slot 2: Records still images or movies on the memory card in Slot 2.
• Simultaneous Recording: Simultaneously records still images or movies on the memory cards in Slot 1 and Slot 2.
• Sort Recording: Records still images with different file formats and image sizes by sorting them to different slots.
• Auto Switch Media: When activated, the camera automatically starts recording on the other memory card when a memory card in use becomes full, or if you have forgotten to insert a memory card.

Supported Recording Formats: You can record still images with CFexpress Type A or SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards. The following restrictions on the movie recording formats apply for each media type:

Clear Image Zoom: Clear Image Zoom, powered by Sony's By Pixel Super Resolution Technology, increases the effective focal length of the lens by up to 2x Still images and HD movies, and 1.5x for 4K movies, by digitally magnifying the center of the image with no image degradation. Smart Digital Zoom is available for still images for full frame (1.5x to 2x), and APS-C (1.3x to 2x). Standard Digital Zoom can be used for full frame and APS-C images (4x to 8x) and for movies (4x).

Focus Modes: The Alpha 1's Fast Intelligent auto focus system combines the high-speed BIONZ X image processor and improved algorithms with optimized image sensor read-out speed to provide ultra-fast auto focusing. You can choose from the following Auto/Manual Focus Modes:

• AF-S (Single-shot Auto focus): The camera focuses and the focus is locked when you press the shutter button halfway down. Recommended for use with motionless subjects.
• AF-A (Automatic Auto focus): The camera locks the focus when it determines that the subject is motionless, or continues to focus when the subject is in motion. During continuous shooting, the camera automatically shoots with Continuous AF from the second shot.
• AF-C (Continuous Auto focus): The camera continues to focus while the shutter button is pressed and held halfway. Recommended for use when the subject is in motion.
• Direct Manual Focus (DMF): After focusing automatically, you can make fine focusing adjustments manually by turning the focus ring on the lens.
• Manual Focus: When it is difficult to get the proper focus in auto focus mode, you can adjust the focus manually. This mode allows you to set the distance of a subject by rotating the focusing ring to achieve a sharp focus.

AF (Auto focus) Area: The Alpha 1 features 567 focus points for phase-detection auto focusing in full frame mode with full frame lens. In APS-C mode it has 325 points with full frame lens and 247 points with APS-C lens. The camera has 425 contrast-detection focus points. You can select between 6 settings:

• Wide: The camera focuses automatically on a subject in all ranges of the image.
• Zone: You can select a zone on the monitor on which to focus.
• Center: The camera uses the AF area located in the center area exclusively.
• Flexible Spot: You can change the size of and move the focusing area in order to focus on a small subject or narrow area.
• Expand Flexible Spot: If focus isn't possible on the single selected point, it uses focus points around the flexible spot as a secondary focus area to facilitate focus.
• Lock-on AF: When the shutter button is pressed halfway, the camera tracks the subject within the select AF area. You can select the desired tracking start area by designating the area as a flexible spot or an expanding flexible spot.

Real-time Eye AF: The Real-time Eye AF function lets you achieve sharp focus of your subject by zeroing in on the eyes. Special algorithms have been developed for photographing humans, birds, and animals. If your subject is human, Real-time Eye AF focuses on human eyes and tracks the focus if the subject moves. Eye AF has approximately 30% greater precision than the α9 II. When photographing birds, the Eye AF for Birds can track and accurately focus on the bird's eyes, even if the bird suddenly takes flight, or the framing changes. Eye AF for Animals was primarily designed for photographing cats and dogs, and uses advanced subject recognition technology to reliable track and focus on the animal's eyes.

Face Detection: The camera can detect human faces, and adjusts the focus, exposure, performs image processing and adjusts flash settings for best results. Faces can be registered, and priority given to those faces over others in the frame. Up to 8 faces can be detected and/or registered.

AF Illuminator: When you press the shutter button halfway down a red illuminator is emitted until the focus is locked. Under dark lighting conditions or when you shoot a low contrast subject, the AF illuminator allows the camera to focus more easily on the subject. The AF illuminator has a range of 0.98' to 9.84' (with FE 28-70mm lens).

In-body Image Stabilization: The Alpha 1 is equipped with a sensor-shift-type in-body image stabilization system to reduce the effect of camera shake. This system is carefully fine-tuned to match the 50.1-megapixel performance of the camera, allowing you to photograph faraway objects without the blur of camera shake. It features 5-axis compensation with an effect equivalent to 5.5 stops faster shutter speed. It also features an Active Mode for handheld movie shooting that can compensate for pitch, yaw, and roll camera shake.

Drive Modes: The camera offers the following shooting modes: Single shooting, Continuous Shooting (Hi+, Hi, Mid, Low selectable), Self-timer, Self-timer Continuous, and Bracketing (continuous, single, white balance, and DRO).

Continuous Shooting: The 50.1-megapixel image sensor's high-speed readout and a large buffer memory makes it possible to shoot continuously at up to 30 frames per second with the electronic shutter, while maintaining full autofocus and auto exposure tracking. The live-view EVF display refreshes at up to 240 times per second while shooting bursts to overcome typical time lag and blackouts associated with EVF shooting. The camera records still images continuously while the shutter release button is held down. You can select from the following speeds:

Self-Timer: You can set the camera to several self-timer settings: 10 seconds, 5 seconds, 2 seconds, Continuous (3 or 5 images after 10, 5, or 2 sec delay), Bracketing (3 or 5 images, each with different exposure, after 10, 5, or 2 sec delay).

Bracket Shooting: Bracket shooting allows you to shoot 3 images, each with different degrees of exposure, white balance, flash intensity, and dynamic range. You can select the increment steps for each frame of the bracket.

Interval Shooting Function: You can automatically shoot a series of still images with a selected shooting interval and number of shots. During setup, you can select the following: Shooting start time (1 second to 99m 59s), shooting interval (1 sec to 60 sec), number of shots (1 to 9999), AE tracking sensitivity (High, Med, Low), Shutter type in interval (Mechanical, Electronic), and Shoot Interval Priority (On, Off). You can continuously play back images shot during Interval Shooting at various speeds. In this camera, you cannot create a movie from still images produced by interval shooting.

Exposure Modes: The top-mounted Mode Dial lets you select from the following exposure modes:

• iAuto (Intelligent Auto): This mode allows easy shooting with settings adjusted automatically using scene recognition for Portrait, Infant, Night Portrait, Night Scene, Backlight Portrait, Backlight, Landscape, Macro, Spotlight, Low Light, and Night Scene (with tripod).
• Program Auto (P): For shooting with the exposure adjusted automatically (both the shutter speed and the aperture value), while allowing you to adjust other settings manually.
• Aperture Priority (A): This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the aperture value manually, letting the camera set the appropriate shutter speed. This mode gives you greater control over the depth of field.
• Shutter Speed Priority (S): This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the shutter speed manually, letting the camera set the appropriate aperture. You can choose a shutter speed of 1/8000 to 30 seconds for still images (1/32000 to 30 sec with electronic shutter), or 1/8000 to 1/4 second for movies. With a high shutter speed, the moving subject appears as if it is frozen on the image. With a slow shutter speed, the moving subject appears as if it were flowing. Bulb photography is also available in this mode.
• Manual Exposure (M): This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the exposure (shutter speed and aperture) manually.
• Memory Recall (1, 2, 3): You can register often-used camera settings (including Shooting Mode, Aperture, Shutter speed) in one of three memory positions on the Mode Dial for easy recall.
• Movies: You can record movies in 8K, 4K or Full HD in 16:9 aspect ratio. When selected on the Mode Dial, you can select the desired movie settings, including Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Exposure.
• S&Q Motion: Allows you to shoot slow-motion and quick-motion movies. When selected on the Mode Dial, you can select the desired movie settings, including Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Exposure.

Creative Look: The Creative Look function lets you select a desired finish of an image, fine-tuning contrast, highlights, shados, fade, saturation, sharpness, sharpness range, and clarity. The Creative Look presets include: ST (standard finish), PT (soft skin tone for portraits), NT (lowered saturation and sharpness), VV (heightened saturation and contrast), VV2 (bright vivid colors), FL (sharp contrast in calm coloring), IN (matte textures), SH (bright, transparent, soft mood), BW (black & white), SE (sepia), Custom Look (1-6).

Exposure Compensation: Exposure compensation is used to alter the camera's standard exposure setting. You can make the image look lighter (increased exposure) or darker (decreased exposure) The exposure compensation amount can be set up to +/-3.0 EV in 1/3-step increments by turning the dial on the top of the camera or +/-5.0 EV in 1/3-step or 1/2-step increments in the menu.

Metering Mode: A 1200-zone evaluative sensing system provides multi-pattern measuring for superior exposure control accuracy in a wide range of lighting conditions. You can select the method for measuring the brightness of a subject from the following methods:

• Multi Segment: This method uses the whole screen divided into 1200 zones to measure light.
• Center Weighted: While emphasizing the central area of the screen, this method measure the average brightness of the entire screen.
• Spot: This method measure light only in the spot metering circle in the center of the frame. The size of the metering circle can be selected from standard or large.
• Entire Screen Average: Measures the average brightness of the entire screen.
• Highlight: Measures the brightness while emphasizing the highlighted area on the screen.

White Balance: You can adjust the color tones according to the lighting conditions. You can choose from the following WB options, and adjust the +/- 3 to fine tune the colors: Auto WB, Auto: Ambience, Auto: White, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent (Warm White), Fluorescent (Cool White), Fluorescent (Day White), Fluorescent (Daylight), Flash, Color Temperature, Color Filter, Underwater, and Custom (1, 2, 3).

Color Temperature/Color Filter: You can adjust the white balance further by selecting Color Temperature or Color Filter in the Custom White Balance option. With Color Temperature, the higher the number, the more reddish the image, and the lower the number, the more bluish the image. Color Filter achieves the effect of Color Compensation filters for photography. Based on the set color temperature as the standard, the color can be compensated to Green (G) or Magenta (M).

ISO Settings: ISO is a unit of measurement of sensitivity to light. The larger the number, the higher the sensitivity. The camera's ISO can be set manually or automatically, depending upon the exposure mode. For still images, the sensitivity can be set to ISO 100 to 32,000, expandable to ISO 50-102,400.

Multi-Interface Shoe: The Alpha 1 does not have a built-in flash, but is equipped with the Multi-Interface Shoe, allowing you to use an external flash, such as the HVL-F20M, HVL-F28RM, HVL-F45RM, or HVL-F60RM. The ECM-GZ1M (Gun Zoom) and ECM-B1M (Shotgun) microphones are also compatible.

Flash Features: When an optional external flash is attached, the camera offers several Flash Modes: Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync, Rear Sync, High-speed Sync, and Wireless. You can adjust the amount of flash light in a range of -3.0 EV to +3.0 EV with the Flash Compensation feature.

Wi-Fi / Bluetooth

Wireless Overview: The Sony α7R IV lets you connect wirelessly with your mobile phone, tablet, or computer via Bluetooth (ver. 5.0) or Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz/5GHz) through the Imaging Edge Mobile or Desktop apps. The Wi-Fi 5 GHz band offers 2x2 MIMO support.

Wired LAN: With the built-in 1000BASE-T wired LAN connector (RJ-45), you can enjoy high-speed data transfers and remote shooting.

Imaging Edge Mobile App: To interface with the Sony α7R IV, your smartphone/tablet must have the Imaging Edge Mobile application. With the app, you can transfer still images and 4K videos from your camera, shoot remotely using your phone, add location information from your smartphone to your image files, and change and save camera settings using your phone. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and requires iOS 13.7 or later. It is also compatible with Android smartphones and tablets with the Android 7.0 and up operating environment.

NFC/QR Codes: You can easily connect the camera with NFC (Near-Field Communications) to your smartphone or tablets with built-in Wi-Fi and Sony's Imaging Edge Mobile app. By touching an NFC-enabled Android smartphone or tablet to the "N" mark on the right side of the camera, the smartphone will be connected automatically. The two devices must touch for approximately 1-2 seconds to make the connection. For non-NFC devices, such as certain iOS devices, you can connect using QR codes. When connected, you can control your camera, transfer files, and share images without having a computer.

Wi-Fi Functions: The following wireless functions can be performed with the Alpha 1:

• Smart Remote: You can use a smartphone as a remote controller for the camera. Still images shot via remote control are automatically sent to the smartphone's memory. You can also change some of the camera's settings, including EV, Self-Timer, and Review Check.
• Send to Smartphone: You can transfer still images to a smartphone for viewing. Images can be transferred in its original image size, or resized to 2M or VGA. RAW images are converted to JPEG format before being transferred.
• Send to Computer: You can transfer images stored on the camera's memory card to a computer connected to a wireless access point or wireless broadband router in order to easily make backup copies.
• View on TV: Images can be viewed on a network-enabled TV.

Streaming Webcam: Using Sony's Imaging Edge Webcam software, you can use the camera to live stream high quality video on many of the popular video conferencing software platforms, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. You can control the look of your content by choosing the lens focal length to control the depth-of-field. Your video stream will stand out with better quality images, even in difficult lighting. To stream from your camera, you will need to connect it to your computer via the included USB cable. The camera's microphone will not capture sound, so a separate microphone is required, plugged into the computer. Optional accessories include a tripod or other mount, and a constant light source. Imaging Edge Webcam software is compatible with is compatible with Windows 10 (64-bit only) and macOS Big Sur (Version 11), macOS Catalina (Version 10.15), macOS Mojave (Version 10.14), and macOS High Sierra (Version 10.13).

Play And Print Functions

Playback Screen: You can view your photos back as a single image on the LCD monitor, as an Index or as a Slide Show. During Index View mode, you can view 9 (3 x 3) or 25 (5 x 5) images at once.

Enlarged Display: You can enlarge an image during playback to view details of your photos. The maximum magnification depends upon the size of the original image: Large: 21.6x, Medium: 14x, Small: 10.8x.

Auto Review: After an image is recorded, you can have the camera automatically display it on the LCD monitor for two, five or 10 seconds. You can also turn off auto review.

Image Rotation: Vertical shots can be rotated automatically so that they are displayed upright during playback. This can be done manually or automatically.

Slide Show: You can automatically play back still images continuously in a slide show. You can set the interval to 1, 3, 5, 10, or 30 seconds.

View Mode: Recorded images are divided into folders, allowing you to view only those images in that folder. You can select from the following folders: Folder View (Still), Date View, and Movie View.

D-Range Optimizer: The camera allows you to correct the brightness and contrast of an image automatically, using the D-Range Optimizer (DRO) function. The DRO optimizes the gradations of a recorded image in each area of the image; you select the optimal level from Lv1 (weak) and Lv5 (strong).

Protect Images: You can protect all images on your memory card or select only certain images to be protected from accidental erasure.

Printing Options: The camera offers the following printing options.

• DPOF Compatible: Using the camera, you can specify the images and the number of images to print before you print images at a photo-shop or with your printer.
• Memory Card: You can print images with a Memory Stick or SD card compliant printer.
• Computer: You can copy images to a computer using the available downloadable software and print the images.

Battery Information

InfoLithium Battery: The Alpha 1 is powered by the supplied, high-capacity NP-FZ100 InfoLithium battery (7.2V, 2280mAh, 16.4Wh). The battery communicates data to the camera, so that the percentage of battery power remaining can be displayed. The battery life specs are as follows:

Charging: The NP-FZ100 InfoLithium battery requires approximately 150 minutes (2.5 hours) to reach a full charge using the supplied BC-QZ1 battery charger.

Power Save: You can set different time intervals for the camera to switch to Power Save mode. You can set the interval to 10 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, or 30 minutes. Once the camera goes into Power Save mode, you can return to the shooting mode by pressing the shutter button halfway.

Optional Vertical Grip: The Alpha 1 has a connector for an optional Vertical Grip VG-C4EM, which provides operational controls nearly the same as those of the camera body when you rotate the camera 90° for a vertical (portrait) orientation. The VG-C4EM also doubles the battery capacity of the camera by holding one or two NP-FZ100 batteries. When one battery expires, the camera automatically switches to the other for continuous operation.

Connections

HDMI: The camera has a full-size HDMI (Type A) connector that allows 4K movie and 4K still image playback. It is also compatible with BRAVIA Sync, which allows you to control the camera with the TV remote, when connected to a BRAVIA Sync TV. HDMI resolution options include: Auto, 4320p/2160p, 2160p, 1080p, or 1080i. No HDMI cable is included.

Digital Terminals (USB): The camera features two USB terminals--USB Type-C and Multi/Micro USB. You can use either terminal for supplying power, charging the battery, or USB communications. The USB-C terminal is compatible with SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps (USB 3.2). The Multi/Micro USB is compatible with Hi-Speed USB (2.0).

LAN Terminal: The camera has an RJ-45 LAN terminal for wired 1000BASE-T Ethernet for fast, stable data transfers at gigabit speeds. FTPS (File Transfer Protocol Secure) is supported allowing SSL or TLS encryption for greater security.

Microphone: A 3.5mm stereo minijack is provided for connecting a microphone.

Headphone: The 3.5mm stereo headphone jack lets you listen to audio through headphones during movie recording or playback.

Flash Sync: The camera features a standard sync terminal for convenient synchronization with studio flash units and other external lighting equipment.

Software

Downloadable Software: The Alpha 1 does not include software in the box. Instead, Sony offers software for Windows- and Mac-compatible computers for importing still images and movies recorded with the camera to your computer. You can download the software to your computer using the appropriate URL provided in the supplied Operating Instructions.

Imaging Edge (Remote / Viewer / Edit): Imaging Edge desktop software lets you remotely operate the camera from your computer, either tethered with a USB cable or wirelessly via Wi-Fi. The software lets you make precise adjustments to the focus and composition, using the grid, guide, and overlay functions, and view images live on the large computer screen. You can also perform confirmation, selection, image-quality adjustment, and RAW development on your computer. The software is compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, as well as macOS 10.14-10.15 and macOS 11 operating systems.

Imaging Edge Webcam: This desktop application can turn your Sony Alpha 1 into a high-quality webcam for live streaming and video conferencing. Using the camera as a webcam has the following benefits:

• Image Quality: The camera captures faces with natural colors in low light or with back lighting situations.
• Large Sensor: The camera's large image sensor can help make the subject stand out while blurring the background.
• Auto Focusing: When Real-time Eye AF and AF Tracking are enabled the subject stays in sharp focus at all times.
• Easy Setup: Once you connect the camera to your PC via USB, you simply select the camera to be used in live streaming or video conferencing.