Sony A900 Full-Frame: Hands-On Preview
by Wesley Fink on September 12, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
A900 Complaints
Let's get the disappointments out of the way first, since there is much more to like about the new A900 than to dislike. Sony has really been active this past year, just as they promised, but sometimes it is really hard to figure out what the DSLR design team is thinking. We get brilliant concepts from Sony marred by a "no thought here" feature, or lack thereof, that makes us truly wonder. The A900 is not without its share of a few of these:
- No Pop-Up Flash or Wireless Controller - It looked like the D700 had finally killed the idea that a pop-up flash didn't belong on a pro level camera. The argument that the wireless control capabilities alone justified a pop-up is pretty compelling. Sony even supports four banks of ratio controlled wireless flashes in their flash arsenal, but you won't find a pop-up flash for wireless control or a built-in controller in the A900. Apparently the Sony employees that used to work for Minolta remember the Maxxum 9 fiasco over the pop-up flash. When asked about it the Sony reps commented that the 5D was the competition and there's no built-in flash on the 5D. What is funny is the 5D replacement, like the D700, is very likely to feature a pop-up flash, which would make the Sony A900 alone again.
- Same Pricey Battery- The same proprietary NP-FM500H battery used in the A700, A350, A300, and A200 is also used in the A900. Great consistency, but you can still only buy it from Sony and you will still pay $55 to $95 for a spare. Sony insists on pimping their battery manufacturing even if their stubborn insistence on a proprietary battery drives some users away in a market where they need to win new users.
- Another Battery Grip - Unlike Nikon's clever move which allowed the Nikon MB-D10 grip to work on either the APS-C D300 or the full-frame D700, the new Sony A900 gets another new grip that fits the same batteries used in the A700. The A900 base is about half an inch wider than the A700 so the VG-C70AM grip can't work. You would think design teams working together could have found a way around this since there is nothing new about the VG-C90AM. Keeping the volumes small with separate grips will all but guarantee Sony will continue as the most expensive grip options in its class.
- No zoom in "Intelligent Preview" - Continuing the only glaring failing in the Sony A350/A300 Live View, the A900 Intelligent Preview does not allow zooming in the preview. Most studio users and tripod shooters like live view zooming for critical pre-focus, and that just isn't possible with no zoom. When asked, a Sony rep commented that critical focus control was not something they found studio shooters using Live View for. In my opinion, the intelligence is missing from the A900 Preview if you can't zoom.
- Multiple HVL-F58AM Flash Units Required - The new HVL-F58AM is truly a fantastic concept in a flash unit as we'll talk about in our Positives pages. However, four flash banks with ratio control requires a 58 flash unit as a wireless flash controller on the camera, and other 58 units for the flash banks. This can get pricey with the 58 selling for around $500.
- A Memory Stick Slot? - Do you know anyone who shoots the Sony Memory Stick in an A700 instead of the industry standard CF? It's easy to see why you might include a memory stick option in the A200/300/350 for Sony point-and-shoot users moving up, but a memory stick slot in the A900 is a true mystery. It looks like Sony Corporate has declared anything imaging will use only a Sony battery and will include a Memory Stick option. No other explanation makes sense.
- No speed improvement in APS-C mode - While Sony DT lenses automatically switch to APS-C mode and you can select crop mode even with a full-size lens, there is no improvement in burst speed while in crop mode.
- No Video Mode - Sony reps were on the verge of laughter when asked about a Video Mode for the A900. Frankly, with Sony's capabilities we really thought Sony might be first in bringing video to the DSLR instead of Nikon (D90) and Canon (rumored feature on the 5D replacement). Some industry analysts predict every news photographer will be shooting DSLR video within two years, giving editors the ability to select the stills they want for newspapers and magazines. Sony needs to truly lead in the DSLR market to capture the market share they covet.
- No Weather-Sealed Lenses - The A900 appears very well sealed against the elements, as you would expect in a camera aimed at pro users. However, none of the current or announced Sony lenses are weather-sealed. Weather resistance is only as good as your weakest link, and Nikon and Sony need to pay more attention to weather-sealing their lenses.
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chiew - Saturday, September 13, 2008 - link
what conditions did the a700 survive in that the 1Ds didn't?hanugro - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
Hm ,I do remember last year that I heard about shooting video and choosing 1 fram as digital still from SOny CEO himself. I don't know whether it is his idea or he heard from someone else. But Sony has stated that it won't put feature that is not ready. I am sure it has cross Sony's mind. Also they are one that among the first develop sensor that can take 120fps but at lower resolution. You have to understand that this 24MP create about 15MB per frame. If your video is 24fps then does the CF available now is big enough? Also don't tell me that SOny should allow lower HDTV 1920x1080 pixel video and hope that you can extract one frame of it and sell it to newspaper. They will laugh at it, newspaper / magazine needs at least 6-12MP pictures before they consider to publish it. Also if you want video then buy videocam instead. I imagine using liveview (or using the sensor for video) will shorten the live of the sensor itself. Whay would I want to do that?aeternitas - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
I think people willing to pay 3k for a camera;#1 Dont care about 100$ battery. (wtf?)
#2 Could get something better for a bit more if they want new.
#3 Something better for less if they buy used.
#4 Nikon and Cannon will come out with something better for less in a matter of a few months.
"Full frame" is great, but all it does is get rid of crop factoron 35mm cameras. What happeneds when CCDs get bigger? They will need to, becuse no matter what technology the camera has in it, SnR is going to be better at lower MP resolutions on the same size CCD. 24MP sounds fantastic, but noice reduction does not always equate to added detail. The only real way to get more detail, is to actualy replace noise with information and the real only wat to do that is to make the CCD bigger or make the pixelsites bigger.
gipper51 - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
Nice preview of a very interesting camera. I did notice several times you mentioned the Sony as being twice the resolution as the D3/5D which is not accurate. It has twice the pixels but you need 4x the pixels to truly double a sensors resolving power.This camera should shake up the industry on the high end. I can't see Canikon shooters ditching their current investments and going with Sony because of this cam, but at the very least the era of high resolution FF cameras costing as much as a new compact car is over. Bravo Sony.
chiew - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
Just a note: Canon's 1Ds mkIII has a larger viewfinder than the A900 in specs...Canon 1Ds mkIII: .76x 100% FF vf
Sony A900: .74x 100% FF vf
Yea the Canon costs more than 2x as much. However, if history has its say, Canon will trickle down the viewfinder like it did from the Canon 1Ds mkII to the 5D (0.70x in the 1Ds mkII and 0.71x in the 5D). Whatever Canon has up its sleeve, its likely a full frame, and hopefully Canon users will get a nice large viewfinder in whatever the followup to the 5D is.
KorruptioN - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
As for the bump in fps rate with cropped lenses like Nikon does, apparently this is due to a lens design decision by Minolta. The aperture arm must travel a much more significant distance compared to the aperture arms in Nikon's lenses. This physical requirement alone is likely what is limiting all of Sony's DSLRs to 5fps maximum.Wesley Fink - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
I shot several images with DT lenses and the A900 crop factor worked perfectly. You can also manually force DT, even on a full-frame lens. With that capability, and an 11 megapixel image size in crop mode, a faster shooting speed would have been an incredible feature. The Nikon 5 megapixel crop-mode image is OK for newspaper but too small for some things. An 11 megapixel crop is a lot more interesting.strikeback03 - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
The point of an L bracket is to get the flash above the lens regardless of camera orientation. This new flash still has the flash offset to the side, so you still need a bracket if you want to move your flash over top of your lens.Wesley Fink - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
There are some cases where an in-line flash is more desirable, but for most situations where photographers use a flash the Sony 90 degree turn will accomplish just what the photographer is looking for when he attaches an L bracket.haplo602 - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
I bought a Nikon F75 as my first SLR after some long search and decision making. Then a few days after it's arrival I learned about the Minolta Dynx 7 and regreted my decision. A few months later I had the opportunity to actualy shoot with a Minolta 7D and I was even more unhappy.Now with this new Sony, I am close to tears. The Nikons I have are solid cameras, I do not complain there, however any Nikon camera close to this Alpha sensor will cost a fortune which I cannot afford. The A900 seems like a quality and "cheap" camera.
(I have to add I never owned a DSLR :-))