Impressions from Sony a9

According provided by camera Sony a9 (Sony ILCE-9)lens Sony FE 2.8 / 70-200 G GM OSS (SEL70200GM)handle extension Sony GP-X1EM and vertical handle VGC3EM.SYU Many thanks to the official representative of Sony in Ukraine.

Sony a9

Sony a9

The camera was provided to me for only a few days, so I did not prepare a detailed review of the Sony a9. In this note I will only say your impressions about Sony a9 and Sony FE 2.8 / 70-200 G GM OSS (SEL70200GM).

1. Collaboration with Sony

Sony always keeps in touch with me, informs about new releases, invites you to present its new products, and provides photographic equipment for reviews. Sometimes you can even choose a particular camera for review. I should pay attention that my reviews of Sony cameras and lenses in their text have a rather large block of criticism or shortcomings, for example, such as in the Sony a7R review, where I described in detail the lack of sane auto focus. At the same time, no one is pushing me from Sony to write another jeans article about photography. Representatives of Nikon and Canon on contact go much worse.

Actually, I think that the great resonance that Sony a9 received in the countries of the former CIS is primarily associated with the company's open and competent policy. The entire network is crammed with denim posts about the super 'killer' of DSLRs.

Sony a9

Sony a9

2. Expectations

I did not want to take the Sony a9 for review, I refused several times for various reasons (vacation, loading with the main shoots). Then the Sony a9 became just not interesting to me. Unfortunately, it is already very difficult to surprise me with good photographic equipment, and I am not the last one like many photographers. The release of a new hammer tool that can hammer 20 nails per second instead 14 nails at the hammers Canon 1DX MarkII и Nikon D5 I was not surprised at all.

Sony a9

Sony a9

3. A new paradigm?

In part, I didn't want to mess with the Sony a9 for fear of a new focusing paradigm. To retrain is difficult. After all the laudatory reviews for the complete automaticity in the recognition and tracking of subjects, I got the impression that now I will need to look differently for the best methods of working with the automatic focusing system. In practice, although everything is good enough, it is still impossible to completely trust the automation in difficult shooting conditions. The photographer's intentions often have to be manually conveyed to the camera. I hope that in the near future a neural interface will be created for focusing where the photographer wants.

Where does everything go and what will happen next? In a couple of years, cameras will be able to shoot 60 frames per second with a 100 MP sensor and with a 16-bit RAW. The process of shooting will turn into a video shooting format 8 or 16K. Instead of photographers they will walk and take pictures Robots. The profession of a photographer will turn into the work of a content manager who can only select the desired image from 100500 frames shot by various drones. Marty, the future is near.

Sony a9

Sony a9

4. Focus

Focusing works well, without any complaints. I was completely satisfied with the quality of the focus. But I did not find anything magical or radically new in Sony a9.

To mislead the camera is quite easy, it can lose the subject, not have time to focus or focus on the wrong object. Also, as I noted in the review Sony a6300 - speed, accuracy and focusing tenacity very much depends on the lens and shooting conditions.

Sony a9

Sony a9

5. What is really new at Sony a9?

For me, as a practicing photographer, there is nothing fundamentally new in Sony a9. What I'm really happy about is the appearance of a joystick in the Sony a9. Joystick! Joystick in 2017! Unfortunately, on previous full-frame mirrorless cameras Sony a7, a7II, a7S, a7SII, a7R, A7RII. it was extremely inconvenient to work because of the hellish implementation of focusing on one point (on a regular spot, as it is correctly called in the menu of these cameras). To shift the focus point, you should dance with a tambourine and sing special chants with a click on a large number of functional and not very functional buttons. With the Sony a9, you can just as easily choose a focus point as it was implemented in the first Nikon Central Control Units in 1999.

All other super-functions in the vast majority of cases will not be used by the photographer, their merits are too exaggerated and they can remain super-functions only on paper. Of the 'new' features, I still remember the absence of blackout during the release of the electronic shutter.

Without hesitation, I can confidently say that having vast experience communicating with various cameras, I can fully realize the potential of cameras no newer Nikon D80 / Canon 40D... Of course, usually the newer and more advanced the camera is, the easier and more enjoyable it is to work with it, but only a few can reveal the huge potential of Sony a9.

Sony a9

Sony a9

6. TOP or not TOP

The Sony a9 should be a serious player in the world of photography, but personally I don't consider the Sony a9 to be a TOP camera. One of the main reasons is the usual form factor of the Sony a9 case and terrible handling. So far, I believe that the Sony a9 is on the same level as the Nikon D850 / Canon 5D Mark IV.

At the same time as Sony a9, I had an old woman on the review Canon 300D (the very first camera with a bayonet mount Canon EF-S), in my hand this old and unusable device sat better than Sony a9.

I can confidently say that the Sony a9 loses a lot to the touch Canon 1DX MarkII и Nikon D5, This, most likely, applies to the stamina of these cameras. If I had a choice, then for serious and responsible work as a photographer in difficult conditions, I would rather use the time-tested combo-monsters of old generations (units from Canon / Nikon), rather than go with Sony a9.

To turn the Sony a9 into a camera with a TOP combo housing, all kinds of extenders-extensions like Sony GP-X1EM cost OVER 9000 money.

Sony a9

Sony a9

7. Overall Sony a9 experience

Sony a9 is a good camera. This is expected. I understand that this is very dry and boring - but with this I want to emphasize the excessive bloat of the Sony a9 functionality in the eyes of neophytes who want to change their Nikon D3100 / Canon 550D to something else. Professionals already understand what Sony a9 is and what it is eaten with.

The Sony a9 is often booted up as a DSLR killer. I completely agree that DSLRs will eventually be replaced by mirrorless solutions, but so far the Sony a9 is not a killer, but attempts to refine the Sony a7 mirrorless to a professional level. In general, the attempt was successful.

Sony a9

Sony a9

8. General lens experience

Sony FE 2.8 / 70-200 G GM OSS (SEL70200GM) - good TOP lens. Decent image quality. I liked it very much. The only thing was that the clips of the clamp from the tripod foot were fixed so tightly that I could not unscrew them. Small archive with source files here.

9. Update.

On 03.10.2019/9/9, a new camera was announced - Sony aXNUMX II with relatively minor changes. I can only note that such small changes in the new camera say only one thing - the first Sony aXNUMX was a little 'damp'.

All Sony FE Lenses and Cameras

Fixes:

  1. Sony FE 14 mm F / 1.8 GM [April 2021, AliExpress price]
  2. Sony FE 20 mm F / 1.8 G [February 2020, AliExpress price]
  3. Sony FE 24 mm F / 1.4 GM [September 2018, AliExpress price]
  4. Sony FE 24 mm F / 2.8 G [March 2021, AliExpress price]
  5. Sony FE 28 mm F / 2.0 [March 2015, AliExpress price]
  6. Sony FE 35 mm F / 1.4 GM [January 2021, AliExpress price]
  7. Sony FE 35 mm F / 1.4 ZA [August 2014]
  8. Sony FE 35 mm F / 1.8 [July 2019, AliExpress price]
  9. Sony FE 35 mm F / 2.8 ZA [October 2013, AliExpress price]
  10. Sony FE 40 mm F / 2.5 G [March 2021, AliExpress price]
  11. Sony FE 50 mm F / 1.2 GM [March 2021, AliExpress price]
  12. Sony FE 50 mm F / 1.4 ZA [July 2016]
  13. Sony FE 50 mm F / 1.4 GM [February 2023]
  14. Sony FE 50 mm F / 1.8 [March 2016, AliExpress price]
  15. Sony FE 50 mm F / 2.8 Macro [August 2016]
  16. Sony FE 50 mm F / 2.5 G [March 2021]
  17. Sony FE 55 mm F / 1.8 ZA [October 2013, AliExpress price]
  18. Sony FE 85 mm F / 1.4 GM [February 2016, AliExpress price]
  19. Sony FE 85 mm F / 1.8 [February 2017, AliExpress price]
  20. Sony FE 90 mm F / 2.8 Macro G OSS [March 2015, AliExpress price]
  21. Sony FE 100 mm F / 2.8 STF GM OSS [February 2017]
  22. Sony FE 135 mm F / 1.8 GM [February 2019, AliExpress price]
  23. Sony FE 300 mm F / 2.8 GM OSS [November 2023]
  24. Sony FE 400 mm F / 2.8 GM OSS [June 2018]
  25. Sony FE 600 mm F / 4 GM OSS [June 2019]

Zuma:

  1. Sony FE 12-24 mm F / 2.8 GM [July 2020, AliExpress price]
  2. Sony FE 12-24 mm F / 4 G [May 2017, AliExpress price]
  3. Sony FE 16-35 mm F / 2.8 GM [May 2017, AliExpress price]
  4. Sony FE 16-35 mm F / 2.8 GM II [August 2023]
  5. Sony FE 16-35 mm T / 3.1 PZ G C [November 2020]
  6. Sony FE 16-35 mm F / 4 ZA OSS [September 2014, AliExpress price]
  7. Sony FE 16-35 mm F / 4 PZ G [March 2022, AliExpress price]
  8. Sony FE 20-70 mm F / 4 G  [January 2023]
  9. Sony FE 24-50 mm F / 2.8 G [February 2024]
  10. Sony FE 24-70 mm F / 2.8 GM [February 2016, AliExpress price]
  11. Sony FE 24-70 mm F / 2.8 GM II [April 2022, AliExpress price]
  12. Sony FE 24-70 mm F / 4 ZA OSS [October 2013, AliExpress price]
  13. Sony FE 24-105 mm F / 4 G OSS [October 2017, AliExpress price]
  14. Sony FE 24-240 mm F / 3.5-6.3 OSS [March 2015, AliExpress price]
  15. Sony FE 28-60 mm F / 4-5.6 [September 2020, AliExpress price]
  16. Sony FE 28-70 mm F / 3.5-5.6 OSS [October 2013, AliExpress price]
  17. Sony FE 28-135 mm F / 4 G PZ OSS [September 2014]
  18. Sony FE 70-200 mm F / 2.8 GM OSS [October 2017]
  19. Sony FE 70-200 mm F / 2.8 GM OSS II [October 2021]
  20. Sony FE 70-200 mm F / 4 G OSS [October 2013, AliExpress price]
  21. Sony FE 70-200 mm F / 4 Macro OSS II [July 2023]
  22. Sony-FE 70-300 mm F / 4.5-5.6 G OSS [March 2016]
  23. Sony FE 100-400 mm F / 4.5-5.6 GM OSS [April 2017, AliExpress price]
  24. Sony FE 200-600 mm F / 5.6-6.3 G OSS [June 2019, AliExpress price]

Autofocus full-frame lenses for Sony E / FE mount are also available from other manufacturers:

All Full Frame Sony E-mount Cameras

Materials on the topic

  1. Full frame mirrorless systems... Discussion, choice, recommendations.
  2. Cropped mirrorless systems... Discussion, choice, recommendations.
  3. Cropped mirrorless systems that have stopped or are no longer developing
  4. Digital SLR systems that have stopped or are no longer developing
  5. JVI or EVI (an important article that answers the question 'DSLR or mirrorless')
  6. About mirrorless batteries
  7. Simple and clear medium format
  8. High-speed solutions from Chinese brands
  9. All fastest autofocus zoom lenses
  10. All fastest AF prime lenses
  11. Mirrored full frame on mirrorless medium format
  12. Autofocus Speed ​​Boosters
  13. One lens to rule the world
  14. The impact of smartphones on the photography market
  15. What's next (smartphone supremacy)?
  16. All announcements and novelties of lenses and cameras

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.


Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

 

Add a comment: Arkady Shapoval

 

 

Comments: 122, on the topic: Impressions from Sony a9

  • Artem

    While mirrorless cameras have childhood diseases in the form of an uncomfortable grip, inconvenient control and a weak battery, talking about them as professional cameras is ridiculous. Sony as usual pokes into a segment that is inaccessible to her and thinks, but like that? and so? a bunch of useless and unnecessary features. and the question price? that the pros will run and carry heaps of money in incomprehensibly what?
    Sony has always been an amateur system. And I still do not understand that the main thing is simplicity and image. availability. A9 - nothing new.

    Sony has already played a lot with marketing.

  • Eugene

    Very biased review of the Nikonist. Not a word about the electronic shutter, lack of vibration and noiselessness. But there’s nothing new in the camera)

    • B. R. P.

      Another accusation of Arkady in Nikonism. Read more about the A7 and A7P. Better biased review of a nikonist than a biased review of a sonoevologist)

  • Dmitriy

    Yesterday I photographed the house. At night at -35. A normal scheme when you need to earn money (not with a photograph, of course). There was no tripod, I put the camera on the spare wheel on the back door of the Patriot. I thought that it would be if I had not a D7100, but a dormouse. First of all, there is no control, the rotating screen is a good thing, but my eyes see 10 times better, so I focus on the light source, then I recompose the frame while looking at the OVI. Yes, you can raise the ISO, decrease the aperture, focus - put the settings back. Taking into account that the camera does not have an additional LCD screen and is very light, it would definitely move, all down the drain. Then a weak battery would have sat down. You can't breathe on the screen or EVI, there is frost on the screen and I won't see anything.
    Looking at the pictures on the monitor, I could not find any differences from my Nikon. Perhaps on a home 107-inch TV I would still see. In night shooting, there’s no sense in high ISO (I’m not shooting a starry sky) and there are no frames per second at all.
    Probably for warm countries, tourists, Sony's mirrorless mirror is ideal (except for the price), but this toy is hardly suitable for harsh conditions.
    Thanks to the author for the article, extremely objective.

    • Alexander Rabtsevich

      I don’t know how the OLED viewfinder will work at - 35. But. The Sony A9 has a built-in stabilizer that works with any lens, even manual ones. Compensation up to 5 stops. Plus the electronic shutter mode - nothing moves in the camera at the moment of taking the frame. An electronic viewfinder, starting from A99, shows a picture in the dark better than an optical one (at least, than in D3). And in the A9 it is even better than the A99. The batteries in the A9 and A7P3 last up to 1000 frames in real shooting conditions.

      • anonym

        "Up to 1000 frames in real shooting conditions"
        And what do you mean by real conditions?

      • Dmitriy

        About 1000 frames you, my friend, turned it down. At a temperature of -35, such a frail battery like a Sony, and even with a bunch of electronics, a stabilizer will be enough for you somewhere for 100-200 frames (if you put it in your pocket for warming up). This is a real experience, especially when the cold is “wet” and not dry like in Yakutsk, for example.
        Stabilizer when shooting at night is evil. If the frame is exposed for several seconds, and at ISO 100 I don't remember that Sony canceled the laws of physics, you will have a solid blur. At least I turn off the stabilizer on the lens without fail.
        Just now, he was delighted with all sorts of whistles on his cell phone and scolded Nikon and Boot that they could not properly configure their software. But! When you really need to get a normal frame, nobody came up with anything better than a solid support, or you need to turn up the ISO, which is fraught, say, for shooting for examination purposes and you need an absolutely clear frame so that you can make a confident crop out of it.
        European conditions have little resemblance to a sharply continental climate. Why do we not have any bad animals? Dies during the winter. Therefore, comparing 1000 frames in the winter in Thailand and 1000 frames in the bright sun of the Baikal region are two different things.

        • Photomaster

          Yes, did you even really use a Sony camera? I live in the north and use the still old a7 Mark 2, the camera behaves beautifully in the cold. In an extreme case, I put a bank in my inner pocket and put the wire on the camera, but the camera can work from external power sources.

  • Vladimir

    Where are the noise tests? Where are the examples of video shooting, stabilizer, autofocus in the video? What kind of reviews do you write? These are not reviews. This is a statement of personal opinion.

    • Oleg

      At DxOMark

    • Michael

      Here the photo blog is actually, not the video. And the word review was not there either.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      And this is personally an opinion, an impression.

  • Arkady Shapoval

    The joystick is still set as an achievement (yes, Karl, in 2018). Here from the release a7p3.

    • Valentine

      And on the new Panasonic G9 they made a second LCD screen. Better late than never.

  • Anatoly

    I have a Sony NEX-6. Over time, the bolts that secure the shoe loosened up and fell inside. I was able to disassemble and tighten only two of the 4. Then, sometimes the contacts on the mount are buggy, you have to re-adjust the lens. Then, the trunk once drove onto the 16-50 staff and never came back. I gave it for repairs, now there are problems with autofocus on it. And the last straw - when you switch to auto mode, panorama mode is immediately activated. The reset didn't help. After these troubles, I have a negative attitude towards Sonya. Then the lock lever of the Sony HVL-F60M flash broke, it now falls out of the shoe, and it often overheats. With a flash came the stand, it broke on the second unfolding, it turns out to be also folding. These are the adventures. But the old Sony DSC-R1 still works flawlessly, well, only thoughtful.

  • anonym

    "Decent picture quality." The author has not heard of cases and declensions. If you are illiterate, then you need to type in a good word processor with auto-check for syntax and spelling. An illiterate text is unpleasant to read, subconsciously causes mistrust and rejection.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Fixed

  • Oleg

    Sony drives. Here I will tell you what. The boot and Nikon are already catching up ... and in both there is Sony's matrix ... what else can we talk about. Take this camera, and shoot normally, and do not write any nonsense.
    Many sell boots and nikon and switch to Sony. I saw, I heard.
    So that's it.
    All good shots, despite the system, the main thing is the photographer, and the camera and lens of course😊😉😋

  • Michael

    Used to Sony a9 Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark 2. Focusing on a moving object faster than on this unit. I bought for more detail and the ability to work with a larger ISO.
    All of this is there, but now GET into the object against the background of foliage, branches ... It is almost impossible. The bird does not suspect that it is being filmed with this camera, and does not sit still for a long time.

  • ol

    and test shots where ???

    • B. R. P.

      Quote from the article: “The camera was provided for me only for a few days, so I did not prepare a detailed review of the Sony a9. In this article I will only express my impressions ... "

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