Sony a9: At The Races, New Metabones Firmware, Banding, vs. Leica SL, and More

The Sony a9 is amazing at AF and it’s really hard to miss a shot once you adapt to it. Maarten Heilbron is the latest reviewer to get invited to a Sony preview event and he came away impressed.

The latest Metabones firmware for the Sony a9 appears to be more accurate to me but looks a little slower than the previous version. Hopefully, Metabones finetunes their adapter soon.

Jared came across some “banding” issues in 2% of his photos, but DPReview has quickly dispelled his assertion that it was banding. The a9 is so fast and clinical when you crank up the shutter speed that it catches light and motion in ways that classical cameras do not. Jared “banding” issue had to do with the led scoreboards in the background. You can kind of see this effect with a camera phone and cheap LED’s. I found this out about this issue years ago when shopping for LED lighting for my bathroom.

Leica review talks about how the Leica SL and Sony a9 compare in the above video. When the Leica SL came out the Sony a7 series of cameras were the only competitor and in some ways, the SL was the better, but it was always a much bigger, heavier, and more expensive camera. Now that the Sony a9 is available the Leica SL is a dated, but more mature system. It’s hard to predict if Leica will be able to keep up with the technology of the professional Sony a9 going forward since they have trouble getting access to the latest and greatest sensors. Maybe Leica will focus on image quality and resolution going forward instead of speed like they did with the release of the Leica SL. Sony has a huge advantage releasing high-performance cameras at this time since they produce the best sensors on the market and Samsung stopped trying to compete with them.

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Sony a9 Action Shooting Kit: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Sony a9 Accessories Kit: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Sony a9: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Sony FE 100-400mm: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

a9 Battery Grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

a9 Battery NP-FZ100: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM II: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM II: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Sigma MC-11: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter V: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama