Here Are Something About Sony Alpha a9 That I Want You To Know...

Hi Huneybees,

The Alpha a9 is the latest Full Frame mirrorless camera that Sony hopes to penetrate into the serious photography market, targeting the Prosumer quarter as well as the Professional photographers and videographers.

Equipped with a high speed 20fps (frames per second) continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking on a 24.2 megapixels 35mm full frame CMOS stacked sensor that has a sensitivity of up to 204800 ISO, Alpha a9 certainly does look very cable of giving more established DSLR brands of Nikon and Canon a run for their monies!

Being a regular sports and event photographer, I found weight and size an important consideration on top of the camera features, as I often have to react to the situation on the field and move around quickly to capture that moment. I must admit I was very pleased with what I saw when I received the Alpha a9 (for testing) as it was so much lighter and smaller - weighted at less than 700g, thanks to its small Magnesium alloy body and only measured 5 inches (width) by 4 inches (height) - than the standard DSLR that I was used to handling.

While I did not have any Sony E-mount pro lens (Aperture 2.8 or better) to make any technical comparison with what I have from my regular DSLR collection, I was still impressed with the overall colour (white balance) accuracy and sharpest of images captured in JPEG with the given general-purpose zoom lens of Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS.

Image captured by Sony Alpha a9 with FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS @ 28mm f/3.5, ISO100, 1/230 sec

Image captured by Sony Alpha a9 with FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS @ 41mm f/5.6, ISO2500, 1/100 sec

Image captured by Sony Alpha a9 with FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS @ 2.5x Crop; 28mm f/5, ISO3200, 1/125 sec

The highly accurate eye AF tracking, similar to that of Alpha a7 Mk3 that I have tested before, coupled with the quietness yet amazing 20fps bursting shots, made Alpha a9 an awesome camera for me trying to capture images at sound sensitive area such as a concert or theatre play.

Also I realised I have the tendency to capture almost every image via the LCD display on the Alpha a9 rather than through the electronic viewfinder, which was btw as realistic as a true viewfinder on a DSLR.

Rather, it was all about work flow efficiency that mirrorless camera brings, like the m4/3 system that your truly Queen Bee always carry around, which allowed me to quickly select the right focusing point from any of the 693-point wide area AF on the LCD touch screen without having to meddle with joystick/thumbstick while looking through the viewfinder.

It was also great for photographers like me who has myopia / short sightedness because we no longer need to wipe off the stain on our spectacle lens no more (after using it to see through the viewfinder)!

While I really like the overall package of the Alpha a9 presented by Sony, there were times it did frustrate me while I'm shooting with this full frame mirrorless camera. Maybe because of its small size, guys like me with big palms found the camera less ergonomics.

The EV selector dial, was the number one bane for me as it always got in the way when I moved my finger from LCD touch screen to the shutter button. This often caused the EV setting to change and affected the exposure of my image, and unless I realised early and re-adjusted back the right settings, I would have missed capturing that moment in the right exposure!

Auto white balance was another huge let down for Alpha a9. Not sure why the colour produced from the JPEG image was often way off when shooting indoor. Many a times, I have to manually set the white balance before shooting indoor and that could be time consuming.

Every camera model has its strengths and weaknesses and Alpha a9 is no exception. Undoubtedly, Sony's investment in R&D has yielded dividend in the form of Alpha a9, which itself can mount serious challenge to the juggernauts of today's sport photography - Nikon D5 and Canon EOS-D1X Mark II.

Here is my question to Huneybees, who are looking around for such high-end camera: "How is any of these cameras going to improve your photography?"

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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My First Impression With Sony α7 III (Alpha 7 Mark 3) Full Frame Mirrorless Camera!

Hi Huneybees,

Sony has just officially launched its latest entry level full-frame mirrorless camera in α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) and I would like to share my take on this new camera, having the opportunity to try it out during the media session held earlier.

The Look

Not only does the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) shares the same form factor and almost identical in design to Sony's current flagship full frame mirrorless camera - α7R III (aka Alpha 7 R3 or simply a7 RIII) - it also inherit two features, which I feel are very useful for serious photographers.

The addition of multi-selector (aka the joystick or thumbstick) and AF-ON is great for photographer

I'm happy for Sony for finally getting it right when it introduced multi-selector and AF-ON on
α7R III (aka Alpha 7 R3 or simply a7 RIII) and now the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III).  Both features in my opinion should have been standard long ago as the multi-selector (aka the joystick or thumbstick) really allows the user to shift the focus point of the subject with ease before shooting while the AF-ON button allows the user to focus on a subject until he / she changes it. These features combine make the work flow of an event or wedding photographer so much efficient!

The performance

Testing Sony's α7 III's low light capability with FE24-70 f2.8 OSS lens

Equipped with a brand new full-frame 24.2MP Back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS Image Sensor and an enhanced BIONZ X image processing engine, the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) is not just fast in data readout and processing, it also is more light sensitive with a wide ISO range of 100-51,200, expandable to 204,800 for still photos!

Impressive Result of a cropped but unedited photo taken by α7 III at ISO 10,000, 1/250 f2.8

What this really means for user is the ability to shoot images at low light, hand held, supported by the 5-axis optical in-body image stabilization, with impressive result!!

Testing α7 III's fast hybrid AF system with its improved motion prediction algorithms inherited from α9 at continuous burst rate at 1/1250 f2.8

The class leading 693 phase-detection AF points and 425 contrast AF points were at work on the model (the subject) while she was turning

An impressive cropped but unedited photo of the model in focus, while she was turning around, taken from α7 III at continuous burst mode

What set the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) over its more expensive cousin is definitely the fast hybrid Auto Focus. With 693 phase-detection AF points, 425 contrast AF points and the optimized motion prediction algorithms, both inherited from Sony's high-end Alpha 9 (α9) model, together with my favourite  Eye AF in the AF Continuous mode, makes the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) every photographer's dream tool as it ensures reliable and accurate focus in just about any scene.

Packed with a big buffer that allows up to 177 shots in standard JPEG format and up to 89 shots in compressed RAW images or 40 shots in uncompressed form, plus the ability to shoot continuous up to 10fps (even in silent shutter mode) for up to 710 shots per battery charge using LCD or 610 shots using XGA OLED "Tru-Finder" EVF is simply awesome for any event or event sport photograpy!

What is even better is the fact that while the data is still writing to the memory card from the camera, after all the continuous shots, the user can still access (and often photographers do) to the menu and parameter to change setting!!

My Verdict

As a DSLR user, I am really impressed with what the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) is capable of.
Through my crystal ball, I believe Sony is going to sell many of  the new α7 III (aka Alpha 7 Mark 3 or simply a7 III) as, in my opinion, this full frame mirrorless camera is anything but entry level and is even better than its more expensive cousin α7R III.  While the majority of the buyer would likely to be existing Sony upgraders (due to α7 III's great technology leap over earlier models),  it would also attract those M4/3 users who are looking to improve photography through technology plus also people from the DSLR world (like myself) who don't mind shifting from traditional viewfinder to EVF or even LCD.

Great job Sony!

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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