Pre Order the new Sony A9 NOW! Links here..
PRE ORDER BELOW:
Pre Order the Sony A9 at B&H Photo HERE
Pre Order the Sony A9 and Half Grip at B&H Photo HERE
YES! It’s time, the new Sony A9 is ready for pre order and will start shipping on MAY 25th!! (Links below to my preferred Sony Dealers). If you have interest in this camera I HIGHLY SUGGEST you pre order ASAP. Why do I always pre order? For a few reasons, but when a camera is super hot like this Sony model is, orders go in FAST, and then a wait list starts. When you preorder early, you are guaranteed to be one of the 1st to get the camera. If you wait until the day of release, it will be out of stock and you will go onto a wait list at most dealers.
I always pre order a camera or lens I know I want, so I do not have to wait forever to get it. The cool part is, if I change my mind before the ship date, my card does not get charged and I can cancel without risk.
I had the chance to shoot the A9 all day yesterday in fast action sporting events. Sony set up a full on track and field event and we were able to test the flat out amazing AF speed and AF tracking, and I could not believe the abilities of the camera. I am no action shooter, but I was able to track fast moving action without any problem or skill level. The camera locked on, and stayed on the subjects and when shooting at 20 FPS with no blackout, what you see is what you get.
The Sony A9 is a new breed of camera and unlike any I have ever used or reviewed. I am not allowed to post images from it until next week (no one is), but those images will be from the track & field event. What I am waiting for is a review unit so I can really dig into the camera and shoot it in my style as it is much more than a sports camera, that is just the tip of the iceberg. For me, this will indeed be added to my arsenal next to my well loved A7RII. As for the A9, this will end up being one of my “Mega” reviews by the time I am done. So a full review, and video review will be coming soon.
If you missed my 1st hands on thoughts on the A9 fresh after testing it out, here. ya go!
Any photos I post next week (I can share more thoughts and some photos next Thursday) will still be part of my hands on first look. Then 2-3 weeks later I will have a full review unit to evaluate as deeply as I care to. Exciting times lay ahead for digital imaging and the A9 is a camera for pros, amateurs, enthusiasts and those who just want amazing tech..a camera that can handle about anything thrown at it. Wait until everyone experiences the no blackout EVF and LCD…as I said, nothing else exists like this today.
I will say this, and what I say mirrors what many other reviewers and journalists are saying. This Sony A9 is a GAME CHANGER. There is nothing like it and Sony came through with the speed, the technology and answered all of our needs and wants. As they said a coupe of years ago, Sony is in this for the long haul and dedicated to advancing digital imaging as far as they can take it. With the A9, they are proving that they are indeed delivering on that promise. Now that they passing up Nikon, they have their eye on the big C. Should be an interesting year..and my gut tells me this is only the beginning ; )
BTW, I shot almost 2000 images at the event yesterday and my battery was at 42% when done. So yea, the battery life is MUCH better here. Also, after using it more I can proclaim the EVF beats the Leica SL EVF here. It’s smooth as silk, ZERO lag, ZERO blackout (when using the Electronic Shutter) and the color and contrast is like an HD TV. It’s large and no way anyone would or could prefer an OVF to this. This is the future. I may sound excited but I have reason to be. There is nothing like the A9.
*Over the A7II we gain the better battery system, the new EVF (best in the world at this time), new controls up top for setting focus and FPS modes, 20FPS shooting with no blackout of the EVF or LCD, Amazing AF tracking that locks and sticks to your subjects, even when they are fast moving, MUCH faster start up time over the A7, much more responsive feel, The new Q&S selection on the top dial to shoot 120FPS slo mo or 4FPS fast motion quickly and easily, slight ergo changes that improve upon the A7 series, a latched closing SD card door that now houses TWO SD slots, and we still keep gorgeous 4K video (no SLOG as the is ones built for the photographers, not documentary makers), an all new sensor with the latest tech, 5 Axis IS, and some little new additions I will go over in my review. The big ones for me are the EVF, no blackout, FPS (though I would rarely use it) and AF speed and tracking/accuracy. Hey, Sony even made the A9 logo in Gold lettering ; ) THIS IS their flagship.
PRE ORDER BELOW:
Pre Order the Sony A9 at B&H Photo HERE
Pre Order the Sony A9 and Half Grip at B&H Photo HERE
The one negative I found was the fact that Sony seems to be aiming this at sports shooters and did not implement full weather sealing. (Even though I see the A9 as more like a massively upgraded A7II) It can be used for Portraits, Street, Studio, Everyday Life, Landscape, and sports. It is the one camera that exists that has no real weakness when it comes to performance. None. But Sony did not incorporate full weather sealing. While weather “resistant” some do not like that it is not a full on seal. I am sure Sony has reasons of this, though not sure what they are. I can say that I have been shooting my A7rII since it was launched and have had it in rain, a downpour or two, snow, sleet and in 115 degree temps and very cold temps. I have run it through a color run, which is torture for any camera. My A7RII has never had a hiccup or problem. Still works as good as new. So maybe the weather resistance is good enough, and Sony knows this or maybe their are other reasons.
Sony had pro OLYMPIC shooters test the A9, and they all sang the praises of it and now want to shoot with the A9. For me, that is pretty high praise for sports shooters. As for Lenses, the new 100-400 G master is gorgeous but I had VERY little time with it. From what I had seen, it was fast, and delivered the G Master IQ traits of nice contrast, color and detail. That’s about all I can say about that lens for now as I will have to wait until I have more time with it. I do know the lens does not ship until Late July 2017.
To wrap this up you may have noticed I called this A9 “The most advanced camera in the world”. This is a true statement. There is nothing made by Fuji, Canon, Nikon, Leica or anyone else that has the abilities of this Sony A9. I feel Canon and Nikon may be scrambling now to figure out how to combat this move from Sony, and I am sure they will..eventually. But for now, no one else has these kind of specs for a full frame camera.
Will the A9 be able to use existing Metabones adapter for Canon lenses? Will be amazing if it does.
Yes indeed
Superb camera no doubt – they will however need to enhance the telephoto lens options to make this a viable choice for sports and wildlife photographers.
Some new super telephoto lenses from Zeus soon ?
Sony just announced a 100mm-400mm G line lens…
Unless Sony can introduce fast super telephoto prime lenses
Such as 300mm f/2.8 & 400mm f/2.8 & 600mm f/4
They will not Capture Sports photographer and wildlife photographer
Market.
Hi Steve,
Does the new sensor have the same color signature/rendering as the a7 line?
I could never get comfortable with the colors… I can identify an image from the a7b line immediately due to something intangible about the luminance of the red channel, or the contrast between color channels, or something. No matter what I do in post, I have not been able to replicate the same “space” or “open-ness” I see in a Leica or Olympus image, and to me, it is due to the color signature.
So I am really hoping the new sensor renders more vibrantly and “open” across all color channels.
Thanks again!
In my limited use, yes it does.
Haha steve should have royalty fee or consultancy fee.
Hi Steve I’ve heard a lot about how great the focus system is but nothing about its reliability in low light. Can you just give a little quick feedback about acquiring focus on people indoors?
I did a few tests as I snuck away from the track and field event to roam the halls and snapped some shots in lower light. AF was fast, stable and accurate. Better than the A7RII.
DSLR completely redundant? A9 price is a whopping $5670 = 5299 € in Germany.
I wonder how much a non-existent Sony 400, F 2.8 or a 200, F 2.0 for you sports guys will be. Let me guess $15000 and $10000 repectively?
Get a life or keep shooting with your 50mm and adapter toys with manual focus.
The upside to the a series is that manual focus glass has become extremely viable for the first time in decades. I’m looking forward to trying out some exotic canon fd or old nikkor glass. Things like a 600mm suddenly become incredibly affordable compared to modern canikon tele primes.
Zack you can still use those lenses on Canons or Nikons that cost anything from a few $$ (film cameras) to under 1K for a used FF DSLR (Nikon D610)
You don’t have to buy a $5K camera to do that.
You can also use them on a Sony A7 if you like! Under $1K.
Well you can’t quite use the canon fd glass on a Canon or Nikon dslr. And modern DSLR viewfinder’s are garbage for critical manual focus. I’m well aware of the fact that a 4.5k$ camera is not necessary for manual lenses. I use my a7 with a wide variety of lenses from multiple legacy systems. Any sub 1000$ mirrorless body is quite capable of accurate focus with legacy glass. However the a9 is an incredible body with a seemingly lag free evf and that is an exciting technical advancement for those of us who want to use legacy glass for weddings, events, and journalism.
Also if you reread my initial post I specifically mentioned the entire a series, and not just the a9.
Steve,
What do you think the odds are they add picture profiles, particularly sLog, to the camera by fireware update. I’d buy this in a heartbeat to use a back up for video and a primary for photos, but can’t justify it without sLog.
Thanks.
I would predict NO. I think a new model will come out an A9S. Of course I have NO IDEA, just a guess but makes sense. They were saying that THIS camera is geared toward photographers. SLOG is used by filmmakers, so I bet they have something else planned for that. But who knows. I could be wrong, but Sony is not huge on big firmware. updates like Olympus, so I doubt we will see Slog in this camera.
I hope. I hope. I want this camera badly. But I gotta have sLog to justify the purchase. Thanks for the response.
Ditto. I’m in the same boat.
Bold statement. We’ll see how well it sells. For that price, only serious photographers will be buying it.
Now that the wait list for the Leica M10 is over a year in some places, I’m wondering how many of those peeps will cancel and buy the Sony.
While they are not seen as competitors, many people who are on these lists are just there to have the latest and greatest. They don’t actually really ‘care’ about what that is..
😉
Interesting point. I think that a person who wants the M10 will not be tempted by the A9. DSLRs will eventually be completely redundant, but RFs are not replaceable. The M9 is still in high demand, after all.
Speaking as an M240 owner…..
I disagree that RF’s are not replaceable. The whole ‘RF Experience’ thing is completely overblown IMO. As EVF’s get better (higher resolution, no blackout etc) the reason for a rangefinder is diminished even further. Rangefinders are nice to use but they are limited in their abilities (wide angle coverage) and they go out of calibration leaving you with guessing the focus point until you send them for a 6 month Leica visit for calibration.
Lol…Yes indeed. It seems they are reading your comments Steve…and taking note of almost everything.
I’m starting to think Sony eng. might be sitting around taking notes from your comments section Steve!
Almost a year ago, you commenting about the 70-200/2.8G lens
Nice call!
Hey look at that!
That’s it, Steve, you’ve been exposed. You’re the actual designer of Sony cameras.
Lol. Then why am I broke? hahaha.
The SL viewfinder is still noticeably larger (0.66″ vs 0.5″) with a slightly higher resolution. Steve mentioned the A9 being better than the SL, though. Is that in overall terms? I’d probably take the reduced EVF latency over the larger resolution and size of the SL.
But I still remember sticking the SL to my eye and being mesmerized by that truly massive EVF. It was tough as hell to walk away from.
Yes you are correct. The A9 EVF is smaller but has a much better representation of the scene. Better color, zero lag,etc. A joy to use.