a99 Review, One Exceptional Camera Locked

"But it does seem like the gap of opinions particularly on the video side is quite wide."

No, it is not. Most people who mainly shoot video have concluded the A99 video is really bad. Period. There is no defense of it. Not really even in this forum.

The review linked by the op is again by people who are not comparing the video to that of any other camera or camcorder or running objective tests. The "jaw dropping" refers to slo-mo, not to overall quality even in this review. The overall statement is "The A99's video quality is quite good in many situations." Hardly a stellar endorsement, or analytical. And the example video provided is uninspiring, and soft.

The Sony VG900 full frame camera video is equally bad. See this *comparison* test:

http://www.eoshd.com/content/9214/the-eoshd-blackmagic-cinema-camera-shootout

Also see:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-avchd-nex-vg10-nex-vg20/512535-a99-video-major-disappointment.html

Whether one hates camcorder video or not (which is silly) and prefers to exclusively shoot with DSLRs for video, the A99 is just about the worst choice. It is surprising, since Sony produces great video cameras (including in theit P&S line) and great still cameras.