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Sony A99 -> the real innovation

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Not sure if there is going to be any real innovation going on there.

Sony already partners up with Carl Zeiss for their high end optics - what can Hasselblad contribute to Sony other than their know-how in optics?

I think this will be a one way street with Sony providing bodies for Hasselblad to rebrand as high priced fashion accessories. Similar to the Leica/Panasonic deal - of course, Panasonic got some optical designs out of Leica for that, not sure what Sony is going to get out of it - other than cash....

Look for pimped out NEX bodies at double the price of the Sony matching model coming soon from Hasselblad to a store near you.
BMWX5 said:
More innovation - "Hasselblad and Sony announced that they will work together on future DSLR, mirrorless and compact cameras"
gl2k said:
I just watched a couple of A99 videos on youtube. Oh boy.

Compared to what the A99 delivers in terms on technical innovations the Nikon bodies look like 10 years behind. Well actually they are in some way.

I think the only real downside is the EVF. Even Sony fanboys say it's quite noisy in dark scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvFgUrHgsiI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjEwsnwbwbs

This camera really looks very tempting. Hadn't I invested so much in Nikon gear ... well then who knows ...

Curious to hear some opinions ...
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Like Canon or Nikon never abandoned old technologies. If they don't, then the two companies are still developing film SLRs ;-)


String said:
CFynn said:
There is probably a bright future for Sony's NEX cameras - but I think the DSLT could easily turn into an evolutionary dead end.
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No surprise from Sony there; as in Betamax, Elcassete, Memory Stick, MiniDisk, Walkman, Etc. Etc.

Sony loves dumping "new" technology onto the market and then abandoning it after a few years.

--
http://stringfellow.smugmug.com
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It is funny the A99 claims to have on-chip phase detection AF, but still uses a mirror which reduces light. So it seems like it uses on-chip AF for something and off-chip AF for something else.
Anyway, the EVF is probably not a way to go yet. :-(

Martin
 
It's interesting reading all these opinions. As i'm in the market for a DSLR (or DSLT...) i've been doing a helluva lot of research and with the release of the 6D and D600 have just about decided on an A99 (next year).

I've never used an EVF but this sold me: http://youtu.be/jPmatcZ99Qw

I mean focus peaking in the viewfinder is a major innovation (exclude downloading Magic Lantern), plus the ability to adjust exposure and zoom in to check focus prior to shooting and without reverting to Live View is superb, ditto adjusting white balance before shooting. Image playback via the EVF - no trying to shade the rear screen to see what you've just shot

Then there's the fps question. For me 6fps with the option of 10 in a crop is sufficient - i'll be shooting a lot of wildlife. The D800 is a poor 4 fps; i'd have thought for the price it would have squeezed 5.5 at a minimum.

Loss of 1/2 stop of light? Well, maybe - we'll have to see for a real world test with production firmware. 24megs on a full frame sensor should improve things over, say, the A77.

Weight wise it's lighter than most other FF bodies. Battery consumption is poor, but hey, batteries are cheap (certainly cheaper than battery grips).

Plus i'll be shooting a good deal of video, and with the ability to adjust sound and use earphones, well that's great.

I'm yet to buy and will wait for the price to drop, but for me the A99 is a hot contender for my £ and am surprised that Canikon owners are not able to appreciate that this new offering from Sony has to be a contender for people looking to start from fresh or with older kit looking to update.
 
Carl Welsby said:
It's interesting reading all these opinions. As i'm in the market for a DSLR (or DSLT...) i've been doing a helluva lot of research and with the release of the 6D and D600 have just about decided on an A99 (next year).

I've never used an EVF but this sold me: http://youtu.be/jPmatcZ99Qw
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Well, they left out the "slide show effect" (when the electronic viewfinder cant keep up with the fps) for some reason...
Carl Welsby said:
I mean focus peaking in the viewfinder is a major innovation (exclude downloading Magic Lantern), plus the ability to adjust exposure and zoom in to check focus prior to shooting and without reverting to Live View is superb, ditto adjusting white balance before shooting. Image playback via the EVF - no trying to shade the rear screen to see what you've just shot

Then there's the fps question. For me 6fps with the option of 10 in a crop is sufficient - i'll be shooting a lot of wildlife. The D800 is a poor 4 fps; i'd have thought for the price it would have squeezed 5.5 at a minimum.

Loss of 1/2 stop of light? Well, maybe - we'll have to see for a real world test with production firmware. 24megs on a full frame sensor should improve things over, say, the A77.

Weight wise it's lighter than most other FF bodies. Battery consumption is poor, but hey, batteries are cheap (certainly cheaper than battery grips).

Plus i'll be shooting a good deal of video, and with the ability to adjust sound and use earphones, well that's great.

I'm yet to buy and will wait for the price to drop, but for me the A99 is a hot contender for my £ and am surprised that Canikon owners are not able to appreciate that this new offering from Sony has to be a contender for people looking to start from fresh or with older kit looking to update.
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--
http://dslr-video.com/blogmag/
 
Carl Welsby said:
Did they? I haven't seen a hands on review that mentions it as a problem on the A99, but I might have missed it. It remains to be seen whether it is a problem.

In any case most A77 users seem to say that they manage with it: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=42519491
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The slide show behaviour is a fact on all Sony SLT EVFs. Read some more about about it on the forums. My advice to you is to try before you buy. Make a pan at highest fps in the store. Also check out some high DR scenes and how the EVF copes with them.

--
http://dslr-video.com/blogmag/
 
My impressions of the A99 from video reviews was in camera image stabilisation was a big plus, it also seemed way superior with its video capabilities with the focus max/min range setting, image stabilisation, slow motion at 1080.

EVF has its advantages. Not sure how good it would be at night. I don't know.

I can see the appeal of the A99. The major downside is range of accessories which are growing but Nikon and Canon have had many years to build a range of lenses.

The plus side of Sony lenses are they are Zeiss.

Greg.
 
The focus peaking is pretty cool but my experience with the A77 was that at low apertures if I solely relied on it I would not get my expected result. I definitely was leaning too heavily on it and that was not a good idea. When you have a shallow depth of field you can use it as a guide line but sometimes you'll just see a few dots here and there and it's just not enough. In low light I would switch to manual focus and use my eyes which will always do a better job than a camera.

All in all it's a great feature.
 
Astrophotographer 10 said:
My impressions of the A99 from video reviews was in camera image stabilisation was a big plus, it also seemed way superior with its video capabilities with the focus max/min range setting, image stabilisation, slow motion at 1080.

EVF has its advantages. Not sure how good it would be at night. I don't know.
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But it also has some major disadvantages – cant keep up live view at fast fps and limited DR not only vs your eyes, but also vs the sensor.
Astrophotographer 10 said:
I can see the appeal of the A99. The major downside is range of accessories which are growing but Nikon and Canon have had many years to build a range of lenses.

The plus side of Sony lenses are they are Zeiss.

Greg.
Click to expand...
--
http://dslr-video.com/blogmag/
 
I have the sony A77 and a NEX 7 and while they are nice cameras in daylight they are intolerable at dusk and dark environments. Don't look any better than the original awful EVFs when light is low. Pretty much useless. I doubt the A99 will improve on that problem based on specs..
 
Just posted...high ISO samples

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66174868@N02/sets/72157631563791278/

Very promising...
gl2k said:
I just watched a couple of A99 videos on youtube. Oh boy.

Compared to what the A99 delivers in terms on technical innovations the Nikon bodies look like 10 years behind. Well actually they are in some way.

I think the only real downside is the EVF. Even Sony fanboys say it's quite noisy in dark scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvFgUrHgsiI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjEwsnwbwbs

This camera really looks very tempting. Hadn't I invested so much in Nikon gear ... well then who knows ...

Curious to hear some opinions ...
Click to expand...
 
BMWX5 said:
Just posted...high ISO samples

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66174868@N02/sets/72157631563791278/

Very promising...
Click to expand...
The A99 is a total loser for Sony. An overpriced A77 with a 24 MP 135 format sensor. The D600 will outperform it at higher ISO, costs hundreds less, and along with the D800 gives Nikon users practically no good reason to switch to Sony. Indeed, far more Sony users will be switching to Nikon (many like myself, back to Nikon). The A99 is far from promising for Sony, and probably the death knell for the A-mount.
 
Hahha don't be bitter. You can always switch back....LOL
Tony Beach said:
BMWX5 said:
Just posted...high ISO samples

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66174868@N02/sets/72157631563791278/

Very promising...
Click to expand...
The A99 is a total loser for Sony. An overpriced A77 with a 24 MP 135 format sensor. The D600 will outperform it at higher ISO, costs hundreds less, and along with the D800 gives Nikon users practically no good reason to switch to Sony. Indeed, far more Sony users will be switching to Nikon (many like myself, back to Nikon). The A99 is far from promising for Sony, and probably the death knell for the A-mount.
Click to expand...
 
Looks like a pretty nice camera. if I shot sony, i would probably buy one. i do think the Nikon lineup is more compelling, especially the new D600 and D800. But I think the A99 will keep most of the Sony faithful pretty happy, although I don't think it will give them much of a bump in market share.
 
BMWX5 said:
Tony Beach said:
BMWX5 said:
Just posted...high ISO samples

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66174868@N02/sets/72157631563791278/

Very promising...
Click to expand...
The A99 is a total loser for Sony. An overpriced A77 with a 24 MP 135 format sensor. The D600 will outperform it at higher ISO, costs hundreds less, and along with the D800 gives Nikon users practically no good reason to switch to Sony. Indeed, far more Sony users will be switching to Nikon (many like myself, back to Nikon). The A99 is far from promising for Sony, and probably the death knell for the A-mount.
Click to expand...
Hahha don't be bitter. You can always switch back....LOL
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I've moved on as far as Sony is concerned, and haven't been really "bitter" about it, just disappointed after all the promise the A900 offered. The A99 simply confirms what I saw coming over a year ago. Mark my words, A-mount cameras will dry up in the next couple of years and Sony will be exclusively E-mount.

You on the other hand are a deluded fanboy. You think Sony is going to rule the world and come here to spread that nonsense. In light of the fact that the A99 has in fact generated an enormous yawn not only among Canon and Nikon users, but even among Sony users, I see no reason whatsoever for you to be gloating now.
 
sandy b said:
Looks like a pretty nice camera. if I shot sony, i would probably buy one.
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It's not rough at all. I'm not alone in heading for the door, with no interest whatsoever in the A99, and I would estimate about 20% of Sony/Minolta users feel the same way I do.
sandy b said:
i do think the Nikon lineup is more compelling, especially the new D600 and D800.
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Like I said, more Sony users will be switching to Nikon than the other way around, and it won't even be close.
sandy b said:
But I think the A99 will keep most of the Sony faithful pretty happy, although I don't think it will give them much of a bump in market share.
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Sony will do fine, but it's the NEX line that keeps them in the photography business. The A-mount is failing and the lack of interest in the A99 is going to speed that up and not slow it down.
 
The bottom line for Sony is the price, EVF and lack of some lenses.

Light loss is 1/3 EV. It becomes a pain in low low light when you are dealing with a few EV's but most of the time it is not a factor. some lenses even wider have more internal loss than 1/3.

Sony has a narrow range of lenses but for most it has enough unless looking for specifics. But lenses are nice optically and have some primes that are unbeatable.

EVF is either love it or hate it. It is noisy in dark but at least you can see it. That is not the case with OVF.

If Sony price drop the a99 it will sell a tone. It is an excellent product and offers some capabilities that no other does.

Me.. if it was undet $2k I would have considered it but at near $3000 it would be happier with D800.
 
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