Just Posted: Sony Alpha SLT-A99 24MP full-frame camera preview

Sony, mark my words...this camera will tank for obvious reasons you are so blind to see.

1. EVF on a FF are you kidding me?
2. $200 less than the Nikon D800 and $700 more than the Nikon D600
3. EVF EVF EVF EVF / SLT SLT SLT SLT = JUNK

How to fix this little mistake Sony

1. Junk the EVF and use the OVF from the a900
2.Drop the price to $2000
3. Make a DSLR and drop the SLT junk.

Will they listen?
NO

Let me notice, that is FOURTH (4th) Sony flash mount so far. We had mounts for:
1. advanced compacts and bridge cameras,
2. Minolta contacts,
3. NEX contacts,
4. And this new standard.

If you wonder what other reasons besides marketing make people buy Nikon or Canon - this is one of them. They buy a camera with accessories and they get a newer camera later still having a chance to enjoy flashes, optics etc.

Having Sony, Samsung or even Pentax it is just impossible (Samsung DSLR vs. mirrorless, new Pentax flashes do not work with manual bodies etc.) or not comfortable to do (try to juggle with Sony adapters between cameras).

Now Nikon went to system 1 with it's new flash terminal. Good move?

Canon keeps the compatiblity between everything (look at their movie cameras) at the same time.

Now - IMHO Canon gives the poorerst rate of good shots out of these brands, but people like it best and buy most. Guess why now?

The fact that Sony's own website is showing incorrect specifications is not encouraging and it plays into the narrative that Sony doesn’t take their own products seriously. To them, it’s just the new flavor of the month. With that aside I actually like the camera and what it’s designed to do. Since I already have a pricy lens that lives on my A900, it makes sense that I try and find reasons to stay in the hunt. Still, the price point is so close to the tried and true D800 I would really have to think hard before choosing my next rig.

So the burning question will remain. Will this new camera be capable of taking a 25 minute movie in full HD without shutting down from heat? or not. I don't see anyone even bringing that subject up while it has been a HUGE issue with ALL of the Sony cameras to date. The NeX are particularly poor in this regard. It seems you can trust a Mft camera to go the distance without heating up but so far not many of the DSLR type are capable in this regard. Any answers yet?

I see a little bit of that :Minolta mind: in these new Sony products. Rock on. :)

I may have missed it...but do we know the video recording time limit with the A99?

I'm delighted to see that Sony is offering a new full frame camera. I've had a long term relationship with Sony/Minolta. (My current Sony is an alpha 700..used..a good performer, though not up to my 5d). My 2nd 35mm SLR was a TTL Minolta (whose model number I've forgotten). My first was a Canon AE-1, also a TTL. I carried those things forever. I'm intrigued by the EVF and can't wait to hear how it performs. And the flip down LCD in a full frame is great. I bought a used 60d just for that feature. (I own Sony/Minolta and Canon lenses). Can't beat it for shooting over crowds. All three of my cameras fill a niche, and , if the reviews look good, and the price drops somewhat, I think I'll be replacing the 700.

that's it ?

I'm happy that as a customer we are getting more alternatives, more competition. It's a good thing for all of us.

Sony is great with adding new technology and fresh new ideas to SLR cameras. They are great at marketing these features. Unfortunately they don't quite work as well in real life. Each cool new features comes with limitations. The very small AF coverage for example really limits the hyped AF capabilities.

I love all the innovations that Sony is adding to their cameras, I would love to use them, but frankly as a pro system it's not there yet. Sony has *one* full frame camera. With Nikon I can pick from a number of cameras that each is designed to match a certain priority.

But most importantly the number of up to date full frame lenses just doesn't cut it. Sony has a long way to go to catch up with Canon or Nikon here. And frankly I doubt they ever will considering how consistent and fast the big two come out with new lenses.

congrats to Sony on a great, "lighter weight" entry into the FF market
I am excited to see what this can do with Zeiss lenses

Lenses??? FF Zeiss "AF" ones, of course!

Well, well, I may go back to Sony after all...

Hi,

I'm quite a big fan of the Sony Alpha system (and own an Alpha 55) but this body makes no sense to me.
Which professional would be jumping on a Sony Alpha FF body just reviewing the line of FF compatible glasses (either from Sony or Tamron or Sigma). There is only a very few as most of those lenses has been designed for APS-C bodies. Why should I limit myself?
Are there any plans / rumors for more lenses in the A-mount domain?
regards

Should be a great body. If the high iso IQ is better than that from a900 (and it should) then it fits my needs.
For those doing video and stills professionally, it is a no-brainer.
Other manufacturers are a few years behind.

Remember all those people who hated live view and video back in 2008? Look how far we've come.

Sony designs are getting better all the time, I'm actually impressed with the looks of this body, even though I haven't seen it in person. And unlike Canon and Nikon they are not afraid of thinking outside the box. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony were the first company to make a 36x24 (or even bigger?) mirror free camera.

As a Pentax user I'm envious of all the innovation coming out of Sony. This is on my short list as an upgrade.

Am I the only one that thinks the mode selector knob looks out of place? The whole camera is fluid and svelte and this big knurled knob bulges from the top.

I'm disappointed with the layout of the AF points of A99.

All the AF points are so much cluttered in the center part of the frame, that I doubt if A99 needed so many points.

I feel Sony simply reused the 19-point AF system of A77 without much modification, so it now only covers the APSC field of view well.

People raving about A99's continuous AF tracking capability should think again on what happens if their subject moves away from center to the left or the right parts of the frame that are left totally uncovered by any AF point.

Also, Sony took one BIONZ processor off the board that reduced much of A99's potential speed for being an SLT. 6FPS sounds dated compared to A77.

Also, no improvement with EVF means all the complains people made with A77 EVF (lagging and clipping of highlights/shadows, for example) may still remain with A99.

So, with such limitations, I wonder why Sony kept people waiting so long to bring out this camera. It's more like an FF sensor packed in a A77 body.

Finally. I need to start saving my pennies now.

So this is a "semi mirrorless design". The light from my motives have to pass through a "semi translucent angled mirror" before the light hits the sensor. With the possibility that the light waves will be bent before they hit the sensor.
No thank you!
Invent some better real mirrorless design for the focus module.

I never comment on anything here, but I have to now. We bought an A57 for my other half - with a view to me holding out for this A99 so we could share the system.

The EVF is great, but as we own horses the panning was pants. Sure, 12 frames a second is immense, but not so much fun when you have 500 empty pictures as the picture you see is the one previous and you can't see a current view while panning. The horse you're trying to follow has just turned left and you're still heading right for 2-3 seconds before an empty picture arrives at your eye.

Wonderful technology the SLT and I love the handling, but as an out and out photographic tool for ALL uses, this causes it to fall short somewhat. Terrific if you're not panning unpredictable subjects.

Quite fancy the RX1 though to replace my X100!

Does it seems like there's no Bulb mode on this $2500+ body, or am I mistaken?

What about EVF while panning at highest frame rate?
EVF same of A65/A77 and 0,71x (against 0,74x A850/950)
this is the A77 full frame version at 3 times the price.
I'll wait the real substitute to my A850

RX1 is a no brainer as it enters an empty playing field.

A99 is entering fierce battlefield. It would be good for Sony to do their pricing a bit more competitively.

Nikon removes the AA in 800E to just squeeze a few more photons in.....
Sony sends 30% of them to the roof.....

We have to wait and see this video advantage when camera is released.

So, with that dual auto-focus system(s), I'm just wondering if u can tilt the translucent mirror up, or completely remove it and still get auto-focus to work, now that would be awesome !!

It looks very interesting to me, I use both the a55 and the a850 all my lenses are Minolta legacy, I obviously understand both EVF and optical, I would have to get my hands on one first to give it a try, the new Sony FF compact looks like a fine camera to me, I have a Leica M9 with just the Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens, I am a prime lens man, this little beauty looks like a winner to me and is going to be tempting my pocket, if so my M9 might finish up gathering dust.

A99 will cost more than Nikon D800 in Europe, that's absurd! Looks like Sony and also Canon (5D MarkIII) are pricing themselves out of the market.

Expect to see this new (Sony) sensor in the Nikon D600 FF camera - 36 MP is mad for any normal use - the D700 was always able to produce superb images with 12MP - so upping the sensor to 'just' 24MP should not been seen as a 'bad thing' and it might allow for even better low light and video modes than the D800. Should also be cheaper to produce - roll on the D600 (or whatever they call it).

Sad to see they used an SLT design, the brilliant OVF was one of the main incentives to buy the a900.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sony.jp%2FCorporateCruise%2FPress%2F201209%2F12-0912B%2F

DPR Get your specs info corrected. Here are the correct ones.

Here's a brief commercial showing some of the accessories available for the A99: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D90fvwoB3Ak

Without seeing anything on IQ, this looks like a very capable piece of kit.

A lot of errors on almost all Sony announced products. dpReview, Please check your release notes.

Btw, it wasn't supposed the SLT tech would reduce costs compared to traditional dSLR? Where is the benefit? I waited for A77 to see price, nothing, similar to other SLR. And now with A99, similar and under spec compared to others. The only real benefit of SLT I see is PDAF on video. Good camera but cannot see any real advantage over rivals.

I really don't think pros are going to be jumping ship from Nikon and Canon for an EVF camera. Only 6 fps? Isn't one of the reasons for using SLT to up frame rate by not using a moving mirror? I guess the processor isn't really up to the job. Sony is just throwing out high dollar junk today.

Can someone please enlighten me, i'm puzzled and confused as to why anyone would purchase this camera. I'm not trying to be a troll, I really don't understand. Low FPS, no major advantages over 5D3 or D800 and similar pricing (keep in mind 5D3 can be had for just over $3k routinely). Specifically, far fewer AF points than both C&N, fewer lens options, relatively average FPS, along with fewer accessories/thid-party support.

Unless you're heavily vested in compatible glass, why would ANYONE purchase this over the D800 or 5D3. I just don't get it? Sony is the underdog in this arena, yet they've priced themselves inline with the competition. Some enthusiasts who have $3k to drop on a camera may buy it, but I can't see pros moving to Sony without either a clear price or feature advantage?

I can undersand the motivation behind the RX1 (FF in a VERY compact package), but I just can't fathom who the target market for the A99 would be.

Just out of curiosity- why would you not put an optical view finder in a FF camera? Are there pros(or anyone) who said "I don't want an OVF"?
Won't having full time evf drain the battery fast?
I just don't get it... I know why people like evf, but who doesn't like a big FF OVF?

@ steven_k

It will depends on high ISO noise - looks like a great cam for CaNikon to afraid of!!

DPR, I like your preview videos - keep 'em coming!

I just ordered one from Sony store, amazon, and B&H
I hope they ship in October for fall colors in Telluride.
I also hope that at base ISO, IQ will surpass the A850/A900
Will see
Now,I wonder if any Nikon D800 users will jump,ship?