Camera
Analysis: New Sony a1 sensor offers class-leading dynamic range, along with high-speed and high-resolution

Photo by Dan Bracaglia |
The Sony Alpha 1 introduces the next generation of full-frame stacked CMOS from Sony Semiconductor. It’s the second chip of its type following the one in the a9, and with it comes improved readout speeds on the order of 5ms or faster, enabling flash sync speeds of 1/200s with electronic shutter as well as decreased rolling shutter and risk of banding under artificial light, and focus and exposure calculations at 120 times per second. This silent electronic shutter underpins the camera’s 20 and 30 frames-per-second (fps) burst modes.
With our in-depth review ongoing, we wanted to take a look at whether these sensor capabilities came at the cost of other imaging attributes of the a1’s sensor; particularly, its dynamic range capabilities.
Class-leading dynamic range
With the launch of the a9, we found a slightly unexpected decrease in dynamic range. We say ‘unexpected’ because we’ve grown accustomed to cameras using Sony Semiconductor’s sensors offering high dynamic range (i.e. low noise) and had gotten used to exploiting this in our photography.
It appeared the a9 traded off dynamic range – by dropping readout bit-depth we surmised – to achieve high read speeds (nearly 1/160s according to Jim Kasson). While the a9 II improved matters significantly, noise levels in deep shadows were never as low as those of Sony Semiconductor’s benchmark sensors. Our dynamic range tests showed that neither the a9 nor the a9 II achieved the noise-free shadows (i.e. high dynamic range) of Sony’s own a7 III, while Canon’s 1D X III only competed with noise reduction that significantly decreases detail.1
It seemed that you could only have high dynamic range and modest readout / shooting speeds, or high-speed sensors with accompanying noise penalties. Put more simply, you apparently couldn’t have your cake and eat it too. With the a1, you can.
The sensor in the a1 proves that fast scan rates and high dynamic range need not be mutually exclusive. Compared to the chip in the a9 II, it offers a nearly 1 EV improvement in base ISO dynamic range2 while still offering at least a 20% increase in readout speed based on spec alone, and a 1.44x increase in linear resolution.
![]() |
The a1 measures 13.71 EV base ISO dynamic range in all electronic shutter modes (including 20 and 30 fps continuous modes), compared to 12.96 EV for the a9 II in all its electronic shutter modes. This 0.75 EV improvement places the a1 firmly ahead of all professional sports-oriented cameras in low ISO dynamic range. High ISO dynamic range remains competitive, though lags slightly at very high ISOs due likely to a smaller pixel pitch and 1/3 EV lower dual gain step (ISO 500 vs. 640) compared to the a9 II.3
Note that all dynamic range comparisons are normalized to a common output or viewing size, for fair comparisons, removing disadvantages due simply to the presence of more pixels in higher resolution sensors. |
The 0.75 EV improvement in e-shutter base ISO dynamic range (0.7 EV in mechanical shutter) over the previous generation of stacked CMOS places the a1 firmly ahead of not only Sony’s own prior attempts at pro-oriented cameras in this regard, but all other professional sports-oriented cameras as well:
Base ISO dynamic range of pro-oriented sports cameras
Mechanical | Electronic | |
---|---|---|
Sony a1 | 13.9 EV | 13.7 EV |
Sony a9 II | 13.2 EV | 13.0 EV |
Sony a9 | 12.6 EV | 12.6 EV |
Canon 1D X III | 13.6 EV* | 11.6 EV |
Nikon D5 | 11.4 EV |
* Canon 1D X III achieves this high dynamic range figure after noise reduction.
The a1 has 2.5 EV higher base ISO dynamic range than Nikon’s closest offering, while Canon’s 1D X III shows similar noise levels in base ISO Raws, but with considerably less detail due to the noise reduction that enables its low noise levels. Amongst its pro-oriented peers, the a1 sports class-leading dynamic range.
Not just good for a sports camera
The Sony Alpha 1’s dynamic range isn’t just good for a sports camera, though. It’s nearly a match for the very best full-frame cameras we’ve tested, despite the fast sensor scan rates that enable so many of its headline-grabbing capabilities. Have a look below at the a1’s dynamic range performance against the Sony a7R Mark IV (green), one of our current benchmarks for full-frame performance.
![]() |
The base ISO dynamic range of the Sony a1 falls only 0.1 EV behind that of the class-leading Sony a7R IV in mechanical shutter mode, making it nearly class-leading in dynamic range compared to full-frame cameras. There is only at most a 0.2 EV dynamic range cost to e-shutter mode, which disappears at higher ISOs as amplification overcomes any extra read noise that accompanies the electronic shutter mode. High ISO dynamic range, which tends to vary with pixel size, the dual gain step, and upstream read noise, exceeds the a7R IV and compares favorably against other high-res full-frame cameras, albeit slightly less so against its lower-resolution pro- and sports-oriented peers. |
The a1’s dynamic range stacks up well alongside its class-leading high-resolution full-frame peers: the Sony a7R IV (and for that matter, Nikon’s excellent Z7 II), being only a nearly inconsequential 0.1 EV behind either.4 But what’s particularly impressive is just how little of a dynamic range cost – just 0.2 EV – there is to the e-shutter mode that underpins the camera’s 20 and 30 fps burst modes. Until now we’ve typically seen a noise cost associated with fast readout speeds; the a1’s sensor retains nearly the same dynamic range in both of its shutter modes despite a readout rate that’s within 1ms of a traditional mechanical shutter.
This means that the a1 can offer dynamic range competitive with the best landscape cameras even when using the fast readout modes that allow sports camera performance. A table below summarizes the base ISO dynamic range numbers for the cameras, alongside the a7 Mark III referred to earlier:
D-Range (pixel level) | D-Range (24 MP) | |
---|---|---|
Sony a1 Mechanical | 13.4 EV | 13.9 EV |
Sony a1 Electronic | 13.2 EV | 13.7 EV |
Sony a7R IV Mechanical | 13.4 EV | 14 EV |
Sony a7 III Mechanical | 13.8 EV | 13.8 EV |
Furthermore, although 30 fps bursts require you switch to lossy compressed Raw, we measured no additional dynamic range cost (there may still be potentially distracting local compression artifacts around high contrast edges of deep shadows in low ISO files).
It seems that with the launch of the sensor in the a1, Sony shows us there needn’t be a dramatic tradeoff between speed and image quality, in terms of either dynamic range or resolution.
All-round performance
So far we’ve primarily looked at low ISO settings, since these are the ones that you’d use if you were concerned about dynamic range. However, as light levels drop, the a1 remains competitive, especially when you consider its high resolution. Noise levels in midtones are only slightly behind class leaders Nikon D5 and Canon 1D X III. We take the position that signal:noise ratio of midtones is more relevant at high ISO than dynamic range, but it’s worth noting that the a1 fares well in both regards, exceeding the dynamic range of the a9 II at intermediate ISOs, but eventually falling slightly behind the a9 II and other lower resolution chips at the highest ISOs. Pay close attention to the noise levels of pushed shadows of the high ISO crops in the links above.
These additional visual results compared to the a7R IV, a9 II and a7 III confirm a clear pattern: there’s a small high ISO dynamic range cost to be paid for high resolution sensors due to the increased cumulative read noise from the extra pixels which, with the greater amplification at the highest ISOs, becomes more noticeable as visible noise in deep shadows. It also seems that fast readout still does come at the cost of at least some, albeit now small, noise cost.5 That considered, the a1 does compare favorably in high ISO dynamic range next to its high-resolution peers.
A visual comparison
While a single number isn’t meant to sum up image quality by any means, when comparing across the same sensor format, base ISO dynamic range numbers give you a reasonable idea of how noise-free shadows of Raw files are (and for the sensor geeks amongst us, how little downstream read noise the sensor and camera electronics add to the signal). The cleaner those darker tones are, the more readily you can brighten them for incorporation (or tone-mapping) into your final output. And, indeed, our measured numbers align very well with the visual results our tests, below.
Take a look at the dynamic range capabilities of these cameras – and our previously mentioned high-resolution benchmarks – by examining shadow noise in our ISO invariance widget below. Our ISO invariance test looks at how much electronic noise a camera’s sensor and electronics add to an image, which provides a rough idea of the noise penalty you can expect if you were to reduce the ISO setting to protect highlights at the time of exposure – while still using the shutter speed and aperture of a high ISO exposure – compared to using the high ISO setting in-camera to obtain a ‘proper’ exposure (learn about ISO-invariance here).
After a +6 EV push, the a1 shows similar noise levels in shadows to the a7R IV, as our graphs and numbers predict. Electronic shutter, the mode required for the camera’s highest burst rates, shows only the tiniest increase in noise in the darkest black tones (to the right of the newspaper crop above). There’s significantly less noise and more detail compared to the a9 II, and especially in comparison to Sony’s first attempt at full-frame stacked CMOS, the a9.
Compared to ‘pro’ offerings from Canon and Nikon, the a1 shows significantly more detail and less noise, with the 1D X III competing on noise levels due only to noise reduction that reduces detail. Switch the Canon to its e-shutter mode and the difference in dynamic range is rather stark (we use the R6 as a proxy here as the sensor measurements are identical)
Though measured base ISO dynamic range falls within 0.1 EV of Nikon’s Z7 II, engineering dynamic range does not account for the increased total light the Z7 II can tolerate at its lower base ISO of 64 (compared to 100 for the a1 and a7R IV), which does give the Nikon a leg up in shadow noise, provided the extra exposure is possible.
Conclusion
The sensor in the Sony a1 displays a marked improvement over the first-generation full-frame stacked CMOS seen in the a9 and a9 II, with increases in resolution, readout speed and dynamic range. Up until now it had seemed as though fast sensor readout and high dynamic range were mutually exclusive. The a1 has the fastest sensor scan rate of any camera we’ve measured, to our knowledge only roughly 1ms or ~25% slower than a traditional mechanical shutter
And yet despite the speedy readout and shooting rates, the a1’s base ISO dynamic range is class-leading compared its sport-oriented peers, and lies within our measurement error of its class-leading high-resolution full-frame peers. Meanwhile, high ISO dynamic range remains competitive, surpassing that of many of its high-resolution peers and falling only slightly behind lower resolution cameras that have less cumulative read noise due to fewer pixels.
That means you won’t have to worry about trading off any image quality for the capabilities the a1 bring that hinge upon its fast readout. High contrast scenes such as the one above, and more challenging ones, can be handled with ease if you expose to retain highlights and tone-map underexposed tones to be visible in post-processing. And the dual gain design of the sensor ensures low noise levels as light levels drop. The Alpha 1 should offer a great deal of flexibility regardless of your shooting scenario.
Addendum: What about lossy and lossless compression?
We’ve written much about Sony’s lossy compression, mostly about how it should be modified to not include local compression artifacts, in addition to being offered alongside lossless compression as it is for most other brands. The destructive lossy compression was the only form of compression for Raw files offered up until now (remember when it was the only Raw option?), but that’s changed with the a1.
With the a1, you now have three options for Raws: uncompressed, lossless and lossy compressed.
Uncompressed and lossless compressed files retain the largest dynamic range, while lossy Raw files pay a slight 0.11 EV dynamic range cost. 0.11 EV is within our margin of error, so you’re more likely to notice the local compression artifacts around high contrast edges of deep shadows than you are to notice this slight drop in measured dynamic range. Furthermore, if you’re switching to lossy compressed Raw to achieve the camera’s 30 fps burst rate, there’s already a 0.2 EV drop in dynamic range due to the use of a fully electronic shutter, which makes this 0.11 EV cost typically irrelevant.
Leave a Reply
Camera
RGB: Our April editor's challenge is open for submissions

Our April editor’s photo challenge is now open for submissions. The theme this month is red, green and blue, and we’re looking for photos that utilize all three colors.
Some examples: an apple orchard under a blue sky, a color-coordinated bookshelf, a parrot – anything with a tri-chromatic color palette utilizing the three colors that form the basis of all our digital images. Our favorites will be featured on the DPReview homepage at the end of the month.
This challenge is open to photos taken at any time. The last day for entry will be Saturday, April 12th (GMT).
IMPORTANT: Images MUST include a title and a caption of at least 25 words to be eligible. Viewers want to know the story behind your photo. We will consider both photos and captions when selecting our winners, so make sure to tell us that story!
Visit the challenge page to read the full rules and to submit your photos for consideration. Please remember to include a caption or your submission will be deemed ineligible, and we’ll ask you to resubmit it.
Visit the challenge page to read the rules and submit your photo
Camera
Moonlit magic: SongRaw’s 50mm F1.2 lens makes its grand entrance

Image: SongRaw |
A new lens company hailing from China has popped onto the scene, promising even more autofocus lens options for mirrorless cameras. Named SongRaw, the company’s slogan states, “Crafted with Dedication, Honoring Your Passion and Love,” adding that it “is dedicated to polishing every detail of the craft.” To kick things off, it has announced a fast 50mm lens that it claims is the first Chinese 50mm F1.2 full-frame autofocus mirrorless lens.
SongRaw’s debut lens is a full-frame offering that provides that classic 50mm focal length with a wide aperture for a shallow depth of field and better low-light performance. The lens features 13 aperture blades, which SongRaw says promises “beautiful bokeh.” It offers autofocus powered by a stepping motor, which SongRaw says is compatible with eye-tracking. It can focus as close as 0.52m (20.5″) and is compatible with 72mm filters.
The optical design comprises 15 elements in 10 groups. The information on special elements is a bit mixed, with one piece mentioning two aspherical elements and another including two extra-low dispersion elements. It wouldn’t be out of the question to see both in the same lens, though. SongRaw didn’t provide any details as to the size or weight of the lens.
![]() |
Image: SongRaw |
The lens is marked with “Moonlit,” and the company’s barebones website includes that branding. Photos of the lens show an aperture ring, along with a switch labeled “click,” suggesting the aperture ring can be clicked or de-clicked. There’s also an AF/MF switch and what could be a function button.
SongRaw says the 50mm prime lens will be compatible with FE-mount, Z-mount and L-mount, but that it is prioritizing the Sony model. Nikon and L-mount users may need to wait a bit longer. SongRaw is showing the lens off at NAB, so anyone headed to the show could check it out in person. The lens will be priced at around $1000 and should be available by the middle or end of April.
Camera
Accessory roundup: a lightstand with a trick, and some big upgrades

Images: Zoom, Cutasunda, BlackMagic, 3 Legged Thing |
Happy weekend, everyone. We’re deep into camera news season, but the accessory makers haven’t been slacking at all. Today, we’ll be taking a look at a big update to a solid audio recorder, a new take on the light stand and a host of other accessories – but first, the deals.
Canon deals
![]() |
Photo: Dale Baskin |
Canon’s mid-range full-frame camera, the EOS R6 II, is currently on sale for $200 off. When we tested it, we were very impressed with how well-rounded it is, combining excellent autofocus, great ergonomics and solid performance.
![]() |
Photo: Richard Butler |
Speaking of cameras we were impressed with, the EOS R5 II is also on sale for $300 off its MSRP. It takes everything that’s good about the EOS R6II and turns it up to 11, with a higher-resolution sensor, faster burst rates and more.
Not just a light stand
![]() |
Image: 3 Legged Thing |
3 Legged Thing is getting into the light stand market. On the surface, its new product, the Luna, looks like a standard piece of grip equipment, but if you look closer, you’ll notice it’s made of carbon fiber. The company says this makes it light, stable and compact when folded up. It has a maximum height of 2m (79″).
That’s not its only trick, though: you can also detach the center column from the legs and use it as a boom pole for recording audio or getting your camera closer to a hard-to-reach subject. While the head features a 3/8″-16 thread, common for lighting and microphones, it’s actually retractable: push down the outer sheath, and it’ll reveal a 1/4″-20 thread, which can be used to mount a wide variety of accessories.
Even more grip
![]() |
The Impact 3-stage Baby Folder Roller is just one of the products in the new KeyGrip series. Image: Impact |
If you prefer more traditional light stands, Impact has you covered. The company has announced a new KeyGrip lineup, which it says is supposed to provide rugged, flexible designs at a relatively affordable price. The lineup includes everything from small, sturdy stands meant to hold camera sliders to three-stage stands on rollers that can extend up to 3.35m (11′) tall.
Video Performance Guaranteed
![]() |
Image: Nextorage |
If you’re a videographer who shoots on Sony cameras and have to be absolutely sure your storage media is fast enough for any resolution, codec or framerate, you have a new option. Nextorage has announced its NX-A2Pro series of CFexpress Type A cards, which it says are the first of their kind to comply with the Video Performance Guarantee (VPG) 800 standard. That means the cards can write at least 800MBps of data continuously.
Of course, the cards’ peak write speeds are much higher, at 1900 MBps. Both speeds, however, are well above what you’ll need today. The manual for Sony’s flagship a1 II says that even the camera’s highest-bitrate modes only require a VPG200 or higher card. Nextorage says the NX-A2Pro is designed for “the high-end camera market in the future.”
If you’re not looking for future-proof storage, the company also announced its NX-A2AE line, which has a VPG400 rating. Both cards will be available starting in “late April.”
A new school way to shoot old-school
![]() |
Image: Cutasunda |
While shooting film gives you a completely analog experience, if you’re doing so in 2025, you’ll probably want to digitize your photos at some point. The Myriad film holder by Cutasunda, which got a shout-out from PetaPixel this week, promises to help make that process a little easier. It has a diffusion panel to help ensure your film is evenly backlit, and its top panel makes sure your film is flat, even if months in a canister have given it a tendency to curl up. Its adjustable film guides support film sizes from 110 to 6×9, so it’ll work with pretty much whatever you’re shooting.
It’s not a complete package – you’ll still need a quality backlight to put behind it, a camera with a macro lens and a tripod – but it plays an important part in bringing your film from the analog world into the digital one.
A legend improved
![]() |
Photo: Zoom |
Zoom’s Handy Recorders – especially the H4 and H5 lines – have been popular among videographers for years, as they provide a versatile way to capture audio wherever you are. Now, the H5 has gotten an upgrade: the new H5studio includes an even better stereo microphone capsule, as well as the ability to record in 32-bit float audio, which essentially means you don’t have to worry about your audio clipping.
Like the standard H5, the H5studio has a “capsule” system that lets you attach various microphones and inputs to it. It comes standard with a stereo XY capsule that features “the largest mics ever” included in the Handy Recorder lineup, which can capture around 130dB of dynamic range. The recorder’s body also features two combination XLR / TRS inputs, line and headphone out jacks, and USB-C. If you swap the capsule, though, you can add two more XLR inputs or even a dual-channel wireless receiver or shotgun microphone. The H5studio can record up to six tracks, which you can monitor via its LCD screen.
A slew of software updates
![]() |
Finally, an end to copying and pasting color boards or having to use compound clips. |
This week, Apple released an update for its Final Cut Pro editing software. The free 11.1 update includes a few minor improvements and integrates one of the company’s new AI features, but the biggest addition is Adjustment Clips. If you’ve ever edited in Premiere Pro or Davinci Resolve, you’ll likely be familiar with the concept: it’s a layer you can put over multiple other clips to apply the same effect or transition to them. This can be especially useful with color grading; if you have clips that all need the same grade applied, you can simply apply it to an adjustment clip layered over them rather than having to apply them to each clip individually.
As big as that is, it pales in comparison to what BlackMagic has been working on. The company announced a new version of its Resolve editing software that adds an AI tool for creating animated subtitles, a dedicated keyframe editor and an even easier-to-access audio mixer.
![]() |
Photo: BlackMagic |
Its blockbuster announcement, though, is the Blackmagic Camera 9.5 Update, which is currently in beta but provides a massive upgrade to the autofocus system for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K. When it launched, the camera just had single autofocus – the camera could focus once but wouldn’t update if your subject moved. The new update, though, adds continuous autofocus, which will work to keep whatever’s under its selected focus point sharp. It also supports tracking autofocus, where it will attempt to keep its focus point on a selected subject, even if it moves or the framing changes, as well as face tracking autofocus. These changes should make the camera substantially more useful for smaller productions or even single-shooter setups with no dedicated focus puller. The company says it’ll be bringing the feature to its other large-sensor cameras as well.
-
TOP SCEINCE8 months ago
Searching old stem cells that stay young forever
-
Solar Energy3 years ago
DLR testing the use of molten salt in a solar power plant in Portugal
-
Camera1 year ago
DJI Air 3 vs. Mini 4 Pro: which compact drone is best?
-
world news6 months ago
Sirens trigger across central Israel following rocket barrage targeting Tel Aviv Iron Dome battery
-
world news6 months ago
Hezbollah’s gold mine catches fire: Nasrallah’s bunker under hospital held half billion dollars
-
Indian Defense4 years ago
Israeli Radar Company Signs MoU To Cooperate With India’s Alpha Design Technologies
-
Camera1 year ago
Sony a9 III: what you need to know
-
world news1 year ago
Gulf, France aid Gaza, Russia evacuates citizens
Pingback: Google shares a deep dive into its new HDR+ with Bracketing technology found in its latest Pixel devices