Sony Teases New Alpha Product on January 26th 2021

Sony is teasing a new Alpha product announcement on January 26 on their Sony Camera Channel.

Very little information is shared by Sony regarding the announcement.

There’s just a single catchphrase: ‘The one never seen’ that is overlaid on the video placeholder along with the video description: “Be ready for the announcement of the new Alpha.”

The event can be watched using the above video embed or directly on Sony’s Channel.

It’s planned to start at 10AM EST on January 26 (15:00 GMT and 24:00 JST). You can click ‘set reminder’ on the video to receive a notification from YouTube ahead of the event.

According to SAR this is possibly an a9III with the following specs:

• It will be named as an A9x series camera and not A7x (not sure if it’s “A9s” or “A9III”)
• It has a new ~50 megapixel sensor
• 8k30p video confirmed with no overheating. It’s still an “infant” 8k mode…meaning it’s not 8k60 which would be crazy and there will be limitations in the quality you can record internally.
• Other specs similar to A7sIII (EVF, autofocus, and so forth)
• At least $1,500 more expensive than the EOS-R5 (but price hasn’t be finalized yet) Expect something like $4,999.

Although I recall similar specs being rumored for the a9II that did not come to fruition, so don’t get too excited!

We will most likely see Nokishita leak some specs and images just before the official announcement.

The catchphrase: ‘The one never seen’ certainly raises some eyebrows!

If it has never been seen before then could this be the first consumer camera to feature a global shutter?

It seems a little too soon for an a9III since the a9II was only released in October 2020, unless Sony is concerned about competition from the popular Canon R5 or the rumored R1.

The a9 is also primarily a sports camera, and I don’t hear many sports shooters crying out for more megapixels.

Or could it be a new a7 IV to compete with the Canon R6? It would still need to feature something amazing for them to brand it as: ‘The one never seen’, and it’s unlikely that a global shutter would be introduced first in the a7 series.

So what do you think Sony are going to announce on January 26? and what would you like them to see them announce?