Sony a99 officially announced!

[david_smith110]

<p>So who in Sony land is excited about this?</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-alpha-slt-a99">http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-alpha-slt-a99</a></p>

<p>If it was in my budget I would be sorely tempted to get one of these soon, especially with the new Zeiss 50/1.4 that is on the way. I cant wait to see some in depth testing done and see what this little puppy is capable of.</p>

<p>For those who were waiting for it, does it meet your expectations? Stoked? Disappointed? Lets hear it. </p>

[james_f6]

<p>More expensive than I was hoping for, and in Australia you can be sure they will knock another $500 to $800 on top of the $2700 or so price tag in the U.S. I can see stores here wanting to sell it from $3200 to $3500 mark. (I suppose there is always grey market), but for that price I would never risk grey market purchases in case something went wrong.<br /> I don't think the price will drop any time soon. I would like it, but I don't think it will ever be a justifiable expense that I could buy.<br /> Maybe in a moment of weakness..........<br /> I am happy with the A65 for now. Yes it meets my expectations, except for the price :(<br /> I noticed this on sonyalpharumors<br /> "Amazon US ranking: NEX-6 most (pre)ordered digital camera! And the RX1 beats the A99!"<br>

I did like <a href="http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/nice-sony-a99-test-at-camerastoretv-the-sony-future-after-todays-announcement-by-d-k/">http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/nice-sony-a99-test-at-camerastoretv-the-sony-future-after-todays-announcement-by-d-k/</a></p>

[gregory_king1]

<p>Not really excited. I spent $2000 less and got an A77. This has one stop better performance and gets to use my lenses "properly". That's about it. (Oh, and the tethering the A77 should have had in the first place).</p>

<p>But in trade, I lose my built-in flash, wireless flash control, native flash mount, and almost half my FPS.</p>

<p>So, the A99 cannot replace the A77. It's a pro-optimized rig that loses advanced amateur usability and allure.</p>

<p>And if I have to keep my A77, then why not get the A850 or A900 for less than half the price (and get the A77 for "free" and get the best of both worlds?</p>

<p>The movie feature and all the other fast-shooting features on the A99 are lost on me if it's a dedicated studio/"work" camera.</p>

<p>I'll wait for the A88 and hope they pull their head out and put a flash on it. Until then, I can get better-than-A99 studio performance with my MFDB rig (which also cost less!).</p>

[james_f6]

<p>I agree, the A88 which will be there Advanced user full frame, I think might be at my price range and level. The A99 seems to be a Pro model camera and as you said does not cater in it's "advanced amateur usability" I think that is a good call.<br>

Although that said if I had the money I would buy it in a second.</p>

[Member69643]

<p>Simply too expensive. I can't see going full-frame for nearly $3000 when my stable of $100 film cameras still yield pleasing results. </p>

<p>On the other hand, I'll be getting an Olympus OM-D soon for less than half the Sony price. Specifically to use a Canon FD 400mm lens with (as an 800mm equivalent).</p>

[timb196]

<p>Just some comments here. I cam across this earlier to day<br>

<a href="http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-preview-sony-a99-nex-6-nex-5r/">http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-preview-sony-a99-nex-6-nex-5r/</a><br>

First off, I haven't handled an a99 or even seen one of the damn things but I have at least scanned though the comments and observations that are out there.<br>

My criteria as to whether or not I would buy this thing is largely dependent on the following when compared to the a900:<br>

(1) Improved AF over the a900<br>

(2) Improved JPG engine<br>

(3) Frame rate in the 8-10 FPS range<br>

(4) IQ increase mostly in the high ISO, dynamic range increase without losing the Sony colors</p>

<p>Nice to have<br>

(a) GPS<br>

(b) Video<br>

So after further review, here is my preliminary assessment<br>

<strong>AF</strong>:- Appears to be much improved over the a900; specifically with regard to a 3d approach which I think will be substantial. Not sure about the overall FP pattern yet ,basically if they covered the rule of 3rd's with cross points which I think they have, then I'll be ok.<br>

<strong>JPG engine</strong>:- too early to tell. I mostly shoot RAW with the a900 but the Nex 5n I typically shoot JPG. However it does look like the noise characteristics builds on the a900 pattern which means it is relatively well behaved. The a900 prints very well at 3200 so I exoect this camera to be better. There is a bunch of stuff out there but it is really difficult to judge at the moment.<br>

<strong>FPS</strong>: well 6 FPS gives me 1 FPS over the A900 but not quite what I was looking for. I would also have liked the buffer to be somewhat larger handling maybe 18-20 RAW although I very, very, rarely go above 6-8<br>

<strong>IQ:</strong> Color seems to be ok but DR remains to be quantified. I suspect it will be pretty good. I suspect that 1 stop increase over the a77 is reasonable and some handlers have at least made the comment that they feel the IQ is equivalent to a 5DIII. I would have liked to have seen expansion of HDR to 5 to 7 frames at least 1 stop apart but I have not experimented much with HDR to start with anyway.<br>

I appreciate the hands on review above. I rather think Sony has tweaked the EVF somewhat in spite of all the noise about it beinga A77 equal. I do not mind the switch to the ISO hot shoe as I think they overall flexibility in what can be done with RF triggers for a studio environment is considerably expanded. I'm rather amused by the kefaffle over the lack of pop-flash as I have a Maxxum 9 and when that came out with a pop up flash there was much weeping about how this was not a pro-level camera. It also looks like Sony has tweaked the menu structure and displays from the a77 and brought back the Quick Nav concept from the a900. Also the multi-controller button on the front seems to be a useful idea.<br>

<strong>PRICE</strong>: Well everyone has an opinon on this but since I paid approximately $2900 for my a900 I feel it is reasonable. I know a lot of people wanted $2k or less and are using the Nikon D600 as a point of comparison but it was about what I expected. Nor is the D600 going to make me switch, it is simply lacking what I feel I need. Plus the cost to buy equivalence from a system point of view would easily suck up the ~$800 delta difference. the whole EVF versus OVF discussion is of little interest to me. I have been shooting with OVFs form everything from a Rf to a 4 x 5 plus live veiw and EVfs. I adapt to the tool at hand<br>

So am I going to buy, probably but I haven't not placed an pre-order as of yet. I'm not quite sure what people expectations for this cameras were but it seems to me that if one scans through dpreview then it is something like a Canon Eos 1DX with totally clean IQ to 25,600, 12 FPS, not to interfere video, at the price point of a Nex 5r and an OVF. I am obviously being facetious here. Did I expect a mammouth leap in performance, no! not really, other than the FPS, I think it is in the ball park. I think this will be a very, very, versatile camera which will allow a photog plenty of capability to explore new horizons. The fact that this camera seems to have a robust video capability may very well be a plus as that is a medium that I am just begining to explore. I have also found it to be useful in several paying jobs. For those with kids/grandkids, favorite pets etc, I think they will find it useful.<br>

I have a couple of trips planned for next year. If they were imminent, I would have orderd the damn thing but I also want the Zeiss 24-70 so that is my priority at the moment. I want to be able to get down to 24mm-200mm range with 2.8 lenses. I have the 80-200 lens/2.8 and 70-400 so that is going to be my exotic travel trip setup. I digress, however.</p>

<p>Cheers to everyone<br>

Tim</p>

<p> </p>

[theaudiodoc]

<p>Looks like a terrific camera! But the price is disappointing! Can't afford it! I shoot mostly landscape and railroad still photos. Don't have much use for video, personally. This is the type of camera that many have been clamoring for -- hope it fits the bill. There are features incorporated in this camera that I would find very useful for my photography. GPS, Live view, all the manual focusing aids, the focus depth adjustment, in VF displays like leveling, grids, histogram (assume blinkies are there) etc. As a non-pro enthusiast of limited photographic budget, I'm probably doomed to a life with APS-C -- or film for FF -- at least as long as I can still buy it! :-) Or, somebody builds a decent digital back for my Minolta film cameras -- but I suppose that might cost as much as the A99! :-)</p>

[timb196]

<p>Robert:<br>

A fellow Foamer....great!<br>

If I do buy an A99, it will be out getting Train shots. Love the idea of GPS and the better AF'ing especially if it goes out to the rule of thirds. Then movies...especially if 844 is toodling around</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

[theaudiodoc]

<p>Tim,<br>

She'll be in Ogden on the 22nd -- I'll be there! Yes, I suppose good video capability would be nice for capturing live steam! I've heard that the A99 can capture FF full resolution stills while shooting video. Is that true I wonder? I do like the idea of stills with sound I wonder if that is a possibility? Very interesting! <br /><br /><br>

Have you seen some of the great shots some of our fellow dyxumer's have posted on the railroading theme thread? http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/show-us-your-railway-pictures-2_topic67262_page14.html<br>

Regards,<br>

Robert Kelly Dazet (AudioDoc)</p>

[paul_de_ley]

<p>Well if AF really is substantially improved then I might eventually have to for out for one. Not this year though, at the earliest when there are plenty of user reports, sometime next year and probably I wouldn't start counting my pennies until after (if) any detailed specs of the rumored prosumer FF model-to-follow materialize.</p>

[timb196]

<p>Robert:<br>

No I'll have to look that thread up<br>

In 1999, I chased 844 and 3965 from Cheyenne to Sacremento. It was a wonderful trip<br>

I think the a99 might be a great foamer camera. I really like the idea of mixing stills with video. It will go down real well with my group who, frankly, have some real luddites. One still shots with an AE1 and damn near died when Kodachrome went down the tubes. My a900 is wonderful camera but I like to focus at the edges and it simply has difficulty doing that. Sometimes the nose of the locomotive will be just slighlty out of focus because the camera has stayed with the center spot. This can be a little irritating especially on 3/4 wedge shots.. Parallel or head on is not a problem</p>

<p>Cheers and say hi to 844 for me, She is the wallpaper on my computer</p>