Sony A99: Kind of a great camera, even in 2016

I recently posted a review of how the A99 fared in a high intensity environment - hanging out the side of a helicopter with no doors and only a single point harness over New York City . I was mostly happy, albeit slightly frustrated when the body and lens lost communication a few times. Nevertheless still got some good shots.

But I wanted to post some shots of what I've been working on over the past 12 months: cityscapes and portraiture (from the ground). After having a full year of use with the A99 now, I have to admit I've grown quite fond of it. It's helped me to grow my photography in ways other cameras can't, and it's mostly kept up with my shooting styles and adventures.

It's 2016 and I shoot primarily with an A99. Almost every other Sony shooter I run into in the wild shoots with an E mount, usually an A6000 or the wildly popular A7rii. They are all drooling over the latest E mount lenses. And I'm a little jealous, but not completely. Here are my positive thoughts:

1. 24 megapixels isn't bad at all - I'm printing 24"x36" shots that look great out of the A99
2. I'm hybrid mirrorless, but with better AF than a regular mirrorless - just picked up an a mount 70-200 f2.8 II and really impressed. I'm feeling confident to shoot weddings. I'd feel less confident with the a7rii
3. EVF - the A99s got it even with new cameras being released this year without it
4. A GREAT tilt screen
5. GPS - important to me
6. Image stabilization in the body - lack of body based stabilization is now a liability with other manufacturers IMO
7. Great Sony dynamic range is literally making many of my shots possible. As a Canon shooter I just wouldn't have the same capabilities

Yeah, more mp would be nice and 4k/60fps is something I'd kill for on my camera. So I'll keep my fingers crossed for an a99ii and hopefully not have to dump all my A mount glass in a year.

I'm surprised I don't see more Sony A99s out there. But it's also kind of nice being a rarer breed these days.

[ATTACH alt="Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 II @ 35mm f5.6 6" ISO100"]1439755[/ATTACH]
Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 II @ 35mm f5.6 6" ISO100

[ATTACH alt="Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 II @ 24mm f4 1/125" ISO100"]1439756[/ATTACH]
Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 II @ 24mm f4 1/125" ISO100

[ATTACH alt="Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm f5.6 1/250" ISO100 & Sony HVL-F60M in a Westcott Rapid Box"]1439757[/ATTACH]
Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm f5.6 1/250" ISO100 & Sony HVL-F60M in a Westcott Rapid Box

[ATTACH alt="Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm f4 1/60" ISO100 & Sony HVL-F60M in a Westcott Rapid Box"]1439758[/ATTACH]
Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm f4 1/60" ISO100 & Sony HVL-F60M in a Westcott Rapid Box

[ATTACH alt="Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 @ 26mm f5.6 15" ISO50"]1439761[/ATTACH]
Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 @ 26mm f5.6 15" ISO50

[ATTACH alt="Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 @ 30mm f2.8 1/120" ISO100 & Zeiss 77mm polarizing filter"]1439762[/ATTACH]
Sony SLT-A99V with Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 @ 30mm f2.8 1/120" ISO100 & Zeiss 77mm polarizing filter

Great photos, Thanks for sharing. Years ago I used to work at 1 IBM Plaza which I could see in the background.

GaryG

Very nice ! You need to take the "Kind of" out of the subject line of your OP though ;-) (from a fellow member of the exclusive a99 club)

Marco Cinnirella said:

Very nice ! You need to take the "Kind of" out of the subject line of your OP though ;-) (from a fellow member of the exclusive a99 club)

Click to expand...

+1

Wonderful series from a wonderful camera! You did good, too! ;-)

I use the a99 for concert photography, mostly dimly lit dive bars but also well lit major venues and outdoor shows. The tilting screen and IBIS are, to me, essential. Allowing me to use all that great Minolta glass (with fantastic flare blobs from stage lights), stabilized, is also a big plus!

If my camera dies tomorrow, the only thing I would replace it with would be another a99

I'm going to be taking a helicopter tour over NYC at the end of September, but I don't think it is open door, or even if there is a slit in the door where I can stick a camera through. It will be my first helicopter ride, so my expectations are low.

Simply stunning photo's. Cant wait for the A99 II to debut.

Great images, and I agree that the A99 still stacks up in many forms of photography today.
Your pluses are the reason why i'm reluctant to sell it off, even though i have bodies which could do a similar job.

Keep up the good work!

DR05 said:

I recently posted a review of how the A99 fared in a high intensity environment - hanging out the side of a helicopter with no doors and only a single point harness over New York City . I was mostly happy, albeit slightly frustrated when the body and lens lost communication a few times. Nevertheless still got some good shots.

But I wanted to post some shots of what I've been working on over the past 12 months: cityscapes and portraiture (from the ground). After having a full year of use with the A99 now, I have to admit I've grown quite fond of it. It's helped me to grow my photography in ways other cameras can't, and it's mostly kept up with my shooting styles and adventures.

It's 2016 and I shoot primarily with an A99. Almost every other Sony shooter I run into in the wild shoots with an E mount, usually an A6000 or the wildly popular A7rii. They are all drooling over the latest E mount lenses. And I'm a little jealous, but not completely. Here are my positive thoughts:

1. 24 megapixels isn't bad at all - I'm printing 24"x36" shots that look great out of the A99
2. I'm hybrid mirrorless, but with better AF than a regular mirrorless - just picked up an a mount 70-200 f2.8 II and really impressed. I'm feeling confident to shoot weddings. I'd feel less confident with the a7rii
3. EVF - the A99s got it even with new cameras being released this year without it
4. A GREAT tilt screen
5. GPS - important to me
6. Image stabilization in the body - lack of body based stabilization is now a liability with other manufacturers IMO
7. Great Sony dynamic range is literally making many of my shots possible. As a Canon shooter I just wouldn't have the same capabilities

Yeah, more mp would be nice and 4k/60fps is something I'd kill for on my camera. So I'll keep my fingers crossed for an a99ii and hopefully not have to dump all my A mount glass in a year.

I'm surprised I don't see more Sony A99s out there. But it's also kind of nice being a rarer breed these days.

Click to expand...

Mine is getting a bit rough round the edges, needed a new shutter mechanism and now has stiff control wheels but I have to agree with your points 100%.

There are quite a few alternative cameras but not all offer the complete package. 24mp is fine, tilt/swivel screen is superb, GPS essential, SSS is good for wide to med tele focal lengths (not so good with longer lenses) and DR is excellent. EVF good and bad, I like the clear view or an OVF but in poor lighting I can still see the scene and review is good as I need reading glasses to see the screen.

Good overall package but I'm very disappointed with Sony's apparent lack of A mount focus and hence the third party equipment options. I tend to use a Minolta 28-105, Sony 70-200G and Sony 70-400G.

As I wanted better long reach options, I have added some Nikon kit as I just can't get what I want in A mount.

Since you seem satisfied with the still quality and are interested in 4K video you might consider the Sony RX10ii or 10iii both of which have better video IQ than any FF camera made.

So beautiful! You make me think I should get a used a99 some day.

And how refreshing to read a "Yes, my camera DOES take good pictures," thread, even though we're aware it's your skills that make your shots so good. :-D

contadorfan said:

So beautiful! You make me think I should get a used a99 some day.

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let's remember that it's the photographer that takes the photos not the camera. The OP would do just as well with any good camera and if you buy an A99 your photos will look no different than what they do now.

Cheers,
Ralf

Beautiful shots! I've been shooting with my A99 for 3.5 years now. Love it. I see a lot of E-mounts out there - and they're nice; but with the right lenses the A99 performs like a champ.

contadorfan said:

So beautiful! You make me think I should get a used a99 some day.

And how refreshing to read a "Yes, my camera DOES take good pictures," thread, even though we're aware it's your skills that make your shots so good. :-D

Click to expand...

It's a partnership, either one can let the side down and more often than not it's the user, certainly in my case! Yes the A99 is good but with a little thought it could be even better. Perhaps shortly we will see if Sony has the same vision as the potential A99II users.

Mike

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the kind words, appreciate all the praise for the photos. It's been a fun 12 months with the A99. And agreed, I need to scratch out that "kind of" from the title!

The A99 is my go to body. I also own the A7ll but imo the A99 is a better overall camera.

loved my a99, when i sold mine i switched to A7 with la ea4 and never changed lenses, little bit thinner camera even with la ea4, lighter, but image quality similar

e mount glass is absurdly priced and A mount glass is solid. can have a whole systems for the price of a f4 zoom for e mount. lol

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