Sony Alpha 1 vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A290

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 1 and the Sony Alpha DSLR-A290, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Sony Alpha 1 was introduced in January 2021 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 was introduced in June 2010. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 1 over Sony Alpha DSLR-A290.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 over Sony Alpha 1.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Sony Alpha 1 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 1,440k dot resolution and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has a 2.7" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Sony Alpha 1 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 1 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 1 has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dot resolution and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Sony Alpha 1 has 100% coverage with 0.90x magnification and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has 95% coverage with 0.83x (0.55x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Sony Alpha 1 features a 50.1 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 features a 14.2 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.8 mm and a total area of 249.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Sony Alpha 1 has Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Sony Alpha 1 is equipped with Dual BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 8640 x 5760 resolution. Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3056 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4592 x 2576, 3408 x 2272, 3408 x 1920, 2288 x 1520, 2288 x 1280 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 1 has Sony E lens mount and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has Sony A lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 1 its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (5.5 stops of compensation in Sony Alpha 1). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Sony Alpha 1

Sony Alpha 1 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Sony Alpha 1

Sony Alpha 1 has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 1 has a Full Size HDMI and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 1 comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 530 shots and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 comes with NP-FH50 battery pack with battery life of 290 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 1 has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots. Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has a single SD/SDHC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 1 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 1, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. Sony Alpha 1 can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 1 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 759 focusing points and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has 9 focusing points. Sony Alpha 1 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 1 ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 1 and ±2 EV range on Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 1 and and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha DSLR-A290.

Flash

Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 10.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Sony Alpha 1 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/400 sec on Sony Alpha 1 and 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A290.

Sony Alpha 1 body has dimensions of 129 x 97 x 81 mm (5.08 x 3.82 x 3.19") and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 body has dimensions of 128 x 97 x 86 mm (5.04 x 3.82 x 3.39"). Sony Alpha 1 weighs 737 g (1.62 lb / 26.00 oz) and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 weighs 549 g (1.21 lb / 19.37 oz).

Sony Alpha 1

Sony Alpha DSLR-A290

129 mm

97 mm

128 mm

97 mm

97 mm

97 mm

81 mm

86 mm