It has been a good week for Sony. Just days after learning that they had risen from the world’s #3 to #2 camera maker, the Japanese electronics giant made the long-awaited blockbuster announcement of their new flagship camera, the groundbreaking Sony a9. Featuring the world’s first full-frame stacked CMOS sensor that delivers 24.2mp resolution, blackout-free continuous shooting at up to 20fps and 693 focal point phase detection AF points, the camera offers unprecedented performance for a pro-level camera.
Sony, which bought perennial #3 camera maker Minolta in 2006, has continued Minolta’s tradition of innovation; powered by impressive sales and critical acclaim for its mirrorless cameras such as the APS-sensor-based a6000 and the innovative full-frame a7 series, Sony is now the number 2 camera maker in the world, bested only by Canon.
A direct competitor to the Canon 5D Mark IV and Nikon D5, the Sony a9 takes advantage of its mirrorless design to offer performance boosts that are more difficult to engineer in a camera that has a moving mirror, making it the most advanced camera of its kind.
Key Features:
- 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS sensor (world’s first)
- Blackout-free burst rate up to 20fps
- Burst rate up to 241 RAW and 362 JPEG continuous images
- Silent Vibration-Free shooting
- Top shutter speed 1/32,000 sec
- ISO 100-51,200, expandable to 204,800
- 693-point focal plane phase detect AF w/60 AF/AE calculations/sec
- Ethernet Port
- Dual SD Card Slots
- 5-axis in-body stabilization
Stacked Sensor
The camera features the world’s first 35mm stacked CMOS sensor, featuring a design that enables data speed processing that Sony claims is 20x faster than previous Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras. Dubbed the Exmor RS CMOS sensor, it is paired with a new Bionz X processing engine to further enhance the camera’s souped-up performance.
As a result of the new image acquisition and processing architecture, the camera is said to provide a record-breaking 60 autofocus and autoexposure calculations per second, blackout-free continuous shooting (which could be a game-changer for sports photographers), and 20fps burst rate. The camera offers a silent shooting mode which, combined with the 693 phase detection AF points covering 93% of the frame, giving the camera the ability to capture fast-moving off-center action.
The plethora of phase detection AF points also allows sports photographers to focus on and capture complex, erratic motion with greater accuracy. Sony says the AF system is about 25 percent faster than the a7R II. When the frame is released while shooting stills, the EVF continues to function with no blackout, so viewers can see the image at the time of exposure.
Since it’s a Sony, you can expect lots of customizable buttons, and the a9 doesn’t disappoint. Focus can be controlled via a multi-selector joystick and flexible and expanded spot focus area modes. The camera also has touch focusing on the rear LCD monitor. Users can select separate drive and focus mode dials, and a new AF ON button that can be pressed to activate AF directly. AF Area Registration lets the camera “memorize” frequently-used focus areas that can be recalled via custom button assignments.
There is also the ability to assign specific settings (exposure, shutter speed, drive mode, etc) to a custom button to be instantly recalled when needed. The camera can even memorize and automatically recall the last focus point used in a vertical or horizontal orientation, instantly switching back to it when that specific orientation is used again. Finally, the “My Menu” feature allows up to 30 menu items to be registered for instant recall.
The image viewers see is one of the highest resolution images available. The new VGA LED electronic viewfinder boasts an industry-leading 3,686k dot resolution, with 0.78x magnification. It has 60fps and 120fps frame rates, changeable depending on the shooting situation. The EVF also has Zeiss T* coating to reduce reflections, and a fluorine outer lens coating to repel dirt. Sony says the LED offers twice the luminance the a7R II.
The new α9 also features a vibration free, fully electronic, completely silent anti-distortion shutter with no mechanical mirror or shutter noise, making it an extremely powerful photographic tool for any shooting situation that demands quiet operation. A newly designed Z battery is claimed to offer more than twice the life of W batteries.
Sony says the a9’s image stabilization system provides 5 stops of compensation thanks to its 5-axis system. You can view the effect of the stabilization with a half-press of the shutter release. Further enhancing the camera’s low-light abilities is its ISO range of 100-51,200, expandable to 50-204,800. The camera supports uncompressed 14-bit RAW image files.
4K Video, Too
The α9 offers 4K (3840x2160p) video recording across the full width of the full-frame image sensor. When shooting in this format, the camera uses full pixel readout without pixel binning to collect 6K of information, oversampling it to produce high quality 4K footage with exceptional detail and depth. Recording is also available in the popular Super 35mm size.
Additionally, the camera can record Full HD at 120 fps at up to 100 Mbps, which allows footage to be reviewed and eventually edited into 4x or 5x slow motion video files in Full HD resolution with AF tracking.
New Tele Zoom Lens
Along with the very sports-friendly a9, Sony introduced a super Tele Zoom lens, the Sony E 100-400mm F4.5–5.6 GM OSS lens. A full-frame zoom that’s specially designed for sports and wildlife capture, the lens is part of Sony’s high-end G line of lenses.
Key Features:
- 9-blade circular aperture for pleasing bokeh
- Optical Steady Shot image stabilization
- Aspherical, Extra-Low Dispersion and Nano AR coatings to improve image quality
- Dust, Moisture resistant
- Multi-function focus hold button
- Zoom torque adjustment ring
- Close focus to 3.22 feet
Additional Accessories
Sony NPA-MQZIK Multi-Battery Adaptor Kit, for four Z-Series Batteries.
Sony NP-FZ 100 Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery
Sony BC-QZ1 Battery Charger for Z Series Batteries
GP-X1EM Grip Extension for A9 Camera
Pre-Order Now
The Sony a9 () can be pre-ordered starting April 21 from Adorama and will begin shipping on May 25th. The Sony E 100-400mm F4.5–5.6 GM OSS lens () will ship starting July 31.
