Sony Photography News and Rumors

Max Yuryev has compiled some of the best and most balanced review videos around. He’s definitely not a fanboy of any one camera or camera system and he found the results of his comparison shocking.

• Sony a9 better for framing the shot
• Weight advantage over the D5
• Lexar cards are faster than the Sonys
• Silent shutter doesn’t distract subjects
• Didn’t see any banding
• Sony a9 focuses better in low light
• Menu system is better
• It lives up to its hype and even more
• You can shoot and zoom out at the same time without issue
• The a9 out focused the D5 in their testing

My short time with the Sony a9 very much mirrors Max’s. The camera is ridiculously responsive and very impressive in a lot of ways and if I never owned or shot an X-T2 I would probably be shocked at the progress. When it comes to AF this camera is definitely a step above every camera on the market, but will that be enough?

Join our Sony a9 Owners Group, also follow the Sony a9 Page to get more tailored news on Facebook and follow SonyAddict on Facebook and Twitter.

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
GP-EX1 Grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
MQZ1 Battery Charger: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U3MJtxMv30

I am not sure why Manny Ortiz, put out this video shooting for around 20 minutes with an overheat indicator after only a few minutes, without considering that it might have come on because something is wrong with his camera. My test was significantly longer and under hotter conditions. I even live streamed about 30 minutes of my testing, which lasted for almost 3 hours and not once did my overheat indicator turn on. Further I didnt adjust the warning on the camera, which you can do. Manny Ortiz should swap out his camera ASAP.

The other Day I mention I would be shooting a dance recital with the Sony a9 and Fujifilm X-T2. Well there were quite a few differences that became aparent almost imediately. The Sony a9 was actually able to eye auto focus at 300mm on the dancers in motion, which I found shocking. Both cameras tracked about the same, but the Sony tracking indicators danced around more. I havent had a chance to edit the photos, but at first glance the Sony a9 has a lot of chroma noise, which I found disapointing. The almost limitless buffer of the Sony a9 made it the camera I picked up most frequently, but the Fujifilm X-T2 shutter release was better for short bursts. I can’t make a statement about the hit rate at the moment, I way overshot, but I did so intentionally because I am still brutalizing the a9.

Join our Sony a9 Owners Group, also follow the Sony a9 Page to get more tailored news on Facebook and follow SonyAddict on Facebook and Twitter.

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
GP-EX1 Grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
MQZ1 Battery Charger: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

The original source of the Sony a9 controversy that1cameraguy was contacted by Sony and they believe the issue is isolated. This is good to know and should reassure people considering a purchase. Further, the last word took some measurements and found no issue with the Sony a9, but his test was very controlled. I live streamed a portion of my testing the other day after hitting the one hour mark because some people need to see things fail with their own eyes and if it was going to fail it would have been around that time, but it never happened.

I think most cameras would break if pushed as hard as I pushed the a9 the other day. I could easy see most cameras overheating or even a shutter failure after tens of thousands of captured back to back for almost 3 hours straight, but the a9 is not like most cameras. Using an electronic shutter for photography is like using live view for 3 hours straight (with some volt/amp changes), which no one would find strange (unlike running a new shutter at full speed for hours). The Sony a9 should last longer than any other camera you own if you shoot electronic shutter most of the time and I can easily see photographers shooting millions of frames on them without failure. This is why Sony can now offer enhanced pro care for this level of camera. It will be far easier for them than Canon/Nikon.

Join our Sony a9 Owners Group, also follow the Sony a9 Page to get more tailored news on Facebook and follow SonyAddict on Facebook and Twitter.

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
GP-EX1 Grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
MQZ1 Battery Charger: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Earlier today I shot the Sony a9 consistently for 2 hrs 39 minutes and 19 seconds before killing a fresh battery that started at 100%. I live streamed about 30 minutes of the test past the one hour mark to show that the camera was still fully functional and to demonstrate how the 20 fps burst rate works on the Sony a9. It was 93 degrees Fahrenheit when I started the test and around 84 degrees when the testing ended. My testing leads me to believe that the cameras that we are seeing overheating are the result of a manufacture defect, which we can’t judge the size of yet. The cameras that failed were used in cooler weather and under less demanding conditions. Hopefully Sony will comment on the failures, because a camera that functions fully today could experience failure tomorrow if there is an issue with the thermal paste/grease being used since it drys out as the camera ages and losses efficiency. I also created a mini video of the Sony a9’s burst performance that you can see below.

Join our Sony a9 Owners Group, also follow the Sony a9 Page to get more tailored news on Facebook and follow SonyAddict on Facebook and Twitter.

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
GP-EX1 Grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
MQZ1 Battery Charger: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama