Sony A900 Full-Frame: Hands-On Preview
by Wesley Fink on September 12, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
A900 Praise
When a camera and company truly break new ground, as the A900 does, there is plenty to like. The A900 also exhibits quite a few market firsts:
The blue bars are the 9 AF sensors and the green bars are the 10 hidden AF assist points.
The outer lines are used to compose 16:9 HD format, and the etched corners are APS-C mode.
The outer lines are used to compose 16:9 HD format, and the etched corners are APS-C mode.
- The Most Amazing Viewfinder - If the reason for an SLR is the through-the-lens view, and it certainly is in the opinion of most, then the A900 wins in spades with the brightest, sharpest viewfinder seen in any SLR in a long time - perhaps ever. Sony and the Minolta engineering staff they bought have lavished attention on the prism and 100% view and it clearly shows. The only complaint is that eye-relief, while excellent, could be even better. It will be difficult for some eyeglass wearers to see the whole viewfinder and displays without moving their eye a bit. The view is so beautiful and clear you will definitely want to see it all.
- A 24.6MP CMOS Sensor - Some will complain that noise is not as low as the Nikon D3 at high ISOs, and the answer is so what? The A900 is the highest resolution full-frame you can buy and twice the resolution of the D3. If you think that doesn't matter ask a working professional who is trying to supply images to his ad agency. Image buyers are demanding larger and larger files from photographers and the Sony delivers.
- Body-Integrated Image Stabilization - Calling it SteadyShot Inside instead of Super SteadyShot is just a marketing decision. The technology is still "Super SteadyShot" and Sony had to beef up the drive motors by 50% just to keep up with the added motion of a full-frame. Industry observers marveled when Minolta made the APS-C sensor Image Stabilized, because it was so much harder than stabilizing the tiny P&S sensors. We should all stand in awe that Sony accomplished body IS in a full-frame sensor.
- Image Stabilization with Any Lens - With body IS any lens you can mount can be an IS lens. This is particularly welcomed in very large aperture lenses, which are often prohibitively expensive for optical IS since such huge elements have to be compensated. Sony has taken advantage of this with a growing collection of fast, but very expensive, Zeiss lenses.
- Rugged Magnesium Alloy Body with Complete Weather Sealing - Sony passed around the alloy shell of the A900 at the A900 introduction. It is amazing how light the structure actually is considering the incredible strength of the assembled shell. We also saw full seals and gaskets for all buttons and openings and the rubber gaskets for ports seal effectively but are still easy to remove and reseal.
- Very Decent High ISO Noise - Compared to its real competition, which is the Canon 1Ds Mark III, the Sony sensor is amazingly low noise. According to pro photographers we talked with who have been shooting the A900 for several weeks the A900 is cleaner at ISO 800 and 1600 than the Mark III and just as clean at ISO 400. If this proves to be true in test comparisons this should certainly be considered a Sony success. The Canon 5D replacement may write a new chapter in this comparison, but only if it destroys the 1Ds Mark III performance. The A900 is not a D3 or D700 as it only goes to ISO 6400 and shooting at 3200 and 6400 is a when needed option - not something you want to do routinely. However, the A900 is also twice the resolution of the D3 and D700.
- 126 MB per Second - the Dual BIONZ processors in the A900 move 126MB/sec at the 5 fps shooting speed - faster even than the Canon 1Ds III. That's pretty good performance for a camera that will sell for $3k instead of the $8K for the Canon.
- Flash that Makes L Brackets Obsolete - Fortunes have been made with L brackets for pro cameras that enable shooting flash vertical with the flash also rotated 90 degrees. When you see the new Sony HVL-F58AM flash, you'll wonder why Sony - or you, or anyone else - didn't think of it sooner. The flash head turns smoothly in a 90 degree arc as one of its movements - aligning the flash perfectly for portrait mode. Goodbye L bracket.
- Sony PhotoHD output to Bravia TV - The support for direct tethered output via HDMI to Sony's Photo HD on a Sony Bravia TV is no passing feature. The performance and results seen at the Toronto hands-on were stunning. Output from the A900 model shoot and the studio shoot with fishing lures and flies was direct to huge Sony HD Bravia displays.
- Complete Familiarity - Users of the Sony A700 will have no learning curve at all, which is always a good thing. The layout of the A700 and A900 and grips are exactly the same, making for instant familiarity.
- True RAW Files - The Sony A700 has been criticized by some sites for not providing true RAW images, as even the Sony RAW had some noise-reduction applied with questionable success. The A900 finally has the RAW option of "No Noise Reduction". Sony will also provide this option to A700 owners in the upcoming firmware version 4.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
53 Comments
View All Comments
chiew - Sunday, September 14, 2008 - link
If all you want is 24mp...Nikon's D700 is priced equivalently, doesn't have the 24mp...but it has more ISO range and a pro AF system. I don't see why you're crying.
Lord 666 - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
More than likely same MP in sensor, but same or better outstanding ISO performance as D3.I've never held a Sony DSLR yet, but question the build quality. Additionally, I find it interesting that when other camera companies market their cameras, they almost always exclusively show the pics taken with them, but no cameras inside those pictures as subjects. Sony on the other hand releases pictures "in the wild" of people using the camera almost as models. Check out http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12902">http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12902
Wesley Fink - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
Sony announced the A900 with both studio setups surrounded with 2x3 feet enlargements of images taken with the A900. The brochure for the A900 is around 8x12" and filled with double page photos(12x16 inches). Both studio setups were tethered to huge Bravia HD TVs. The photographers in both settings were shooting, displaying on screen and doing 6.5x zooms to show detail. A large number of A900 cameras were available for us to shoot both scenes.In the Sony A900 launch event the emphasis was clearly on images captured with the the A900. As for build quality you should examine an A900 to answer your questions about build quality. Feel and Build Quality certainly appear superb. I also own a D3 and D700 and the Sony A900 belongs in that league IMHO.
Lord 666 - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
So you have finally come over to the Nikon side with those investments in the D3 and D700? Don't you also have/had a D300?Wesley Fink - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
I sold my D300 and all my DX lenses when I went for the D3/D700, and I particularly like the size, capabilities. and value of the D700. I also own other cameras and have some lenses for every system we review since they are needed for testing.My main APS-C since the exit of the D300 is the Sony A700 which is the same sensor and LCD as the D300, but obviously not the same electronics/post processing as the Nikon. Sony has continued to improve their post-processing and finally have the option to turn off NR completely in RAW with firmware 4. JPEGs are also further improved in 4. THe A700 is very nice with the in-body IS that works with lenses like the Tamron 18-250mm (or Sony 18-250mm), which is a really terrific lens for when I need small and compact.
I am also testing a Sony A200 right now, which at less than $500 for camera with body IS and 18-70mm kit lens is looking like a heck of a buy.
davidaspart - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
"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."Oh come on!
Thats like saying someone who buys a Ferrari worries that it takes premium fuel.
The camera costs $3000!
Koing - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
Indeed. How much are OEM Canon cameras?If you drop $3000 on a camera and $500 on a flash $100 for a battery isn't a big deal...
The MS is a Sony thing...
Koing
Wesley Fink - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
The less than $500 A200 kit uses the same battery as the A900, which is great consistency. Frankly so did the A100, but you could buy generic A100 batteries if you chose for less than $8. When Sony introduced the A700 they added a groove to the center of the battery so A100 batteries would no longer fit and apparently patent4ed the revised design. In fact A100 chargers still work just fine with the new Sony A700/A900/A350/A300/A200 battery.Many would definitely stick with the manufacturer's battery, but my complaint is about choice. I can choose which battery with Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Olympus batteries as generic options are readily available. You can not choose another battery with any of the new Sony cameras. Sony is a huge battery maker and they have locked up choice. You are forced to buy the Sony overpriced battery as there are no other choices in the market.
As an aside Sony STILL will not allow the use of AA batteries in their grips. Many like the versatility of using rechargeable AAs to power their grips instead and other companies include the AA insert or offer it as an option. There is also the issue of flexibility. If you get caught with a dead proprietary battery in the field it is reassuring to know you can continue shooting with AAs that are readily available anywhere - but that is not an option with Sony DSLR cameras.
KorruptioN - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
I've mentioned this before - the battery incorporates InfoLithium technology which relays exact info in terms of a percentage remaining, instead of a graphic battery meter with five different levels. This feature is fantastic and is worth the money (to me).Serious question now, does Nikon's battery in the D300/D700/D3 relay that same percentage info even if you get a generic battery? I know that you have to dive deep into a menu to get that information.
Wesley Fink - Friday, September 12, 2008 - link
The D300/D700 use the same EN-EL3e battery as the D80, which does not provide a percentage. With optional accessories you can add the BL-4(a) high capcity battery to the MB-D10 battery grip and it does indeed report the percentage - at least when charging and on the D3. That battery though is 2500mAh and not the lower capacity 16500mAh of the Sony battery.Generics for the EN-EL3e used in the D700 and D300 generally perform the same and there are many with higher capacity and longer life. The EN-EL4(a) used in the D3 and D2x is tougher for finding generic replacements. Some I have seen do work but it is much more a question mark than the 3e and the generics generally don't report percent.
The Sony NP-FM500H charges just fine to 100% in the old chargers for the A100, but the groove prevents them fitting in any of this generation Sony cameras. The Info-Lithium is useful to me but it is not worth the 700% to 1200% premium to me that Sony charges for the FM500H compared the generics. I appreciate that it is worth it to you, but I would prefer to be able to use some of the 2000mAh batteries I used with the A100.