The Sony A9 Images! Action shots from a 1st time sports shooter (ME)!

The Sony A9 Images! Action shots from a 1st time sports shooter (ME)!

IT’S THURSDAY! This means I can share my images from the Sony A9 from the one day I shot it. But instead of just posting images, I also want Β to share a video with more thoughts, and the images are there as well. So see the video below, and then view the images here taken with the new Sony A9.

I am sure a slew of websites have already posted their images from the day Sony did a full on track and field event for us to test the blazing AF tracking speed of the new camera. Sony had some balls to do this, as many, like me, never shot sports before so putting us in this scenario with a new camera meant that they had uber confidence in this new camera. The A9 is one hell of a machine. There is nothing much it can not do (besides using Slog for video) and no situation it can not shoot in with ease. The Af speed is improved greatly from the A7 series, the feel is enhanced yet again, the battery life is much improved, and the EVF is beautiful.

MY VIDEO ON THE A9 IMAGE EXPERIENCE


The fact that I was able to get ANY shots in focus was amazing, as I have NO experience in this type of event. My 1st time and I walked away with a small handful of images that I like. If you need speed, look no further than the A9.My full review will be up after I get a review unit and at least 2 weeks with the camera. At that time I will post street images, low light music club shots, portraits, and everything besides speed to see how it handles the situations I normally shoot in. I look forward to it!Below are some of the fast action shots I managed to capture in my 1st ever fast action sports shooting experience of my life ; )

YOU MUST CLICK ON THEM TO SEE THEM CORRECTLY!

AND A FEW NON ACTION SHOTS

You can pre order the A9 below…

B&H Photo Sony A9 Page

Amazon Sony A9 Page

54 Comments

  1. What a wonderful upgrade for Sony from the A7II. The features look fantastic. The Image quality quality is fantastic. The only thing that is not fantastic is the price. would of liked to have seen it priced between $1,999-$2,499. It would make it more affordable and they would sell alot more of this fantastic camera. But I guess being priced at $4,499 it will have alot of room for price drops because of its Price.

  2. Steve,
    I hope you can elaborate on the buffer and write speeds of the A9 when you have the test unit. I still can’t believe that Sony is using UHC-II instead of XQD and only one slot is UHC-II. Having two card slots is great, but if one is slower than the other and you want to write to both cards, you are only going to get the speed of the second card.

    Also, can you check on the banding issues with regards to fluorescent lighting with the electronic shutter? And finally, I hope you talk about how fast it locks on its subject in low light.

    I’ve been shooting an Olympus E-M1 for the last 3 1/2 years, and while I love everything about mirrorless, I purchased a D500 last December for sports and wildlife. It reminded me of where the dSLR still reigns king. I still think mirrorless is a good 5 years away from surpassing dSLR for sports. I think the A9II might be the one to do it.

  3. Do you like BQ from A9 ? For me it sometimes looks like a Compact Kamera . Sony needs new native tele lenses like 300 , 400 mm 2.8 or 500 , 600 mm 4.0 for E Mount .

    I like BQ from Canon much better

    https://flic.kr/p/NsSyzZ

    • I do not watch others reviews before writing my own. And I will not be reviewing the A9 until I A: Have a review unit (no one has one yet, no one) and B: shoot it for 2 weeks as I normally do. I will test it in low light, good light, mechanical shutter, elect shutter, etc. But be aware NO ONE has a review unit yet and will not until the end of MAY.

    • Not if you want an 800mm (equiv) birding lens that is not burdensome for hiking.

      • No such thing. The FOV may be like an 800mm, but that is where the similarities end.

        • Ed, suggest you give the Em1mk2 with Leica-Panny 100-400mm a whirl before dismissing it. It’s a dream for this birder–from eagles to wrens.

  4. The real test for action comes in sports like soccer and football where the action changes direction or someone crosses in front of your subject and the camera still tracks the subject. In most of the photos above, good shots, the subjects are moving in a straight line which is much easier than following a professional soccer player weaving between and around defenders and changing direction in an instant. That is a real test for an action camera. I shoot pro soccer with the Canon 1DX and it is shocking how the camera follows the subject at times when my focus point was not even on the player with. I have shot nikons too and the D4 or D5 does the same thing it stays with the subject even when you don’t. It is uncanny. It will be interesting to see if the A9 can do that. It it can and sony comes up with appropriate lenses it could be a game changer.

  5. I think I check ou your site every few days and you put so much effort into your work and come across as a truly nice honest family man. This is the go to website for cameras that matter to 99% of the population. Like your comment, my camera (most recommended by you) from the EP1 to the A7rii have created perfect memories of my children from babies past and present to adults. So a warm thank you Steve from the Thomas family in a Caerphilly, South Wales. Anyway..back to the A9. How does it perform in low light to our beloved A7s? Kindest regards Jon.

  6. The image of the black long jumper looks well overcooked and pretty noisy too. Like the clarity slider has been bumped way up.
    But this camera I’m sure will be amazing but for one thing it needs those long lenses for sports shooters. Until Sony has those super teles, who in their right mind will jump ship? If they had released this with a statement lens (not that variable long zoom 100-400, that I’m sure will be good too) Something like a 200mm f2 or a typical sports shooters staple.
    I await a high resolution version….
    great shots though Steve…..

  7. Steve,

    You did great considering it’s your first stab at it. I think the point you’ve successfully conveyed is that the A9 is indeed fast and sharp!!!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Wed

    • That’s great, keep it to yourself. What’s the point of a comment like this? Try this instead: “Hey everyone, there are some great pics on DPR as well to look at”. You see, you let people know of some great shots from this event without being negative and insulting someone. I am sure it made you feel good though.

    • Seriously? DPreviews can do good technical reviews but their photo samples are consistently terrible.

  8. Steve, thanks for all your great work!
    I’m very interested in the A9 touchscreen and did not find any detailled information in any review. Did you try it? Is it lagging like on the A6500 or responsible like on an Olympus MFT camera? Can you tap to expose or only set the focus point?
    Thanks and all the best,
    Benjamin

  9. Or you could just use a cheap Canikon dSLR for action pics and get nearly the same results.

  10. Hmmm… I see the same strange muted/over saturated/dark colors as the a7 series. I wish I could explain what it is about the color signature that bothers me. I’m sad, because I would love to be able to sell the SL and buy this wonder machine, but I just can’t get comfortable with those colors. πŸ™

    If someone has worked out a profile in LR (or DxO or any other processor) that replicates Leica colors from Sony files, I would love to know about it!!

    And great shots btw!

  11. ‘ Sony had some balls to do this, as many, like me, never shot sports before ‘
    So, it begs the question…why wouldn’t Sony have picked photographers who DO shoot sports??? Would their opinions not be a little more valid if we are to compare an A9 to say a D5 or an 1DX???

    • They did. There were 5 olympic shooters there who have bene shooting with it for a while, and they all LOVED it. So they did do that, and there are many marketing images made by those guys for the camera.

  12. Was looking at some A9 sample on the other websites where they show EXIF data. The images are noisy and soft at only ISO 6400 when view at 100%. It’s a huge step back from the A7R II.
    I am wondering what’s the setting on your photos?

  13. Hi Steve, are there any RAW shots available? I have a feeling the jpg conversion is working very hard. I noticed some strong sharpening on samples from other sites and wonder if you had any thoughts.

  14. Omg… and u need to review something that you know will be flawless??…looking forward your review and your pics…

  15. Steve….for us non-sport shooters, would you recommend upgrading to the A9 if you already own the A7RII ?? Sounds like the auto-focus is much better, but is it worth spending 4.5 grand ?? I guess a better question is…Will you get one??

    By the way, your sport shots are excellent….maybe you SHOULD become a Sports shooter!!

    • Hey Scotty..

      Well, I was thinking about this today. I love my RII. It has been a workhorse for me. Never an issue. The A9 will give you lower resolution but faster AF, better EVF, better battery system, improved grip, and some new features but when it comes down go the IMAGE, the A7rII will probably output a slightly better image for Dynamic Range and resolution.

      I guess the A9 is for those who really want that speed, battery and EVF improvement over everything else. $4500 is steep, but they priced it under the Nikon and Canon pro models, made it with better specs (mostly) but slacked on the weather seal.

      Tough call but if you are happy with the RII, then I would not upgrade. If you want those improvements, could be worth it to you.

  16. I was expecting some comment about the buffering time. Is it true that it can take up to 2 minutes to complete buffering and during that time it is not possible to, say, shoot video?

  17. Wow. Amazing looking images! Love how sharp they are! But I have a different question. In the amount of time that you handled it, what didn’t you like about it? I have it on pre-order (via your link of course πŸ˜‰ ) but I am interested is where it needs improvement.

    • You didn t put a finger on that camera and you already think what can be improved???…thats weird thinking…positively you would think its state of the art technology…question: are your skills up this camera?.

      • Hold on, pig. Mr. Zafrani was merely asking if there was anything he didn’t like about the A9. It’s a perfectly fair question.

  18. Wonderful photos!

    Have you had a chance to shoot any manual glass on it, yet? I’m super curious to see how it performs: same as the A7s? Better?

    Thanks!

    Sean

    • I do not have a review unit, no one on earth does. Not for 2 more weeks or so. While there we had to use the 24-70 and 70-200 for the event. No time to mess around with Leica M glass for that day. But when I get one, I will.

      • Hi Steve, do you know if the A9 will be able to use canon’s L series lens? Thank you!

        • Sure with an adapter. Just as the A7 series did, the A9 will be the same. You can use almost any lens with a Sony A7 or A9 via adapters. Leica, Nikon, Canon, Vontage RF lenses, Screw Mount and others.

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