Photo by ?? Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash
Sony a9 Camera
The Sony a9 is a full-frame mirrorless camera aimed at action photographers. It is built around a 24 MP sensor and it shoots 20 frames per second with full autofocus and without viewfinder blackout. In other words, this camera was perfectly designed to capture the moment.
There are not many cameras on the market as capable of capturing moving targets as the Sony a9. Because of this, it is ideal for sports, wildlife, event, and wedding photography but it is also good for any other purpose. Read about Sony A7 iii review on our website PhotographyTalk.com
The biggest downside of this camera is that it is very expensive. At the moment, you would need to spend around $3,498.00 for a new a9 (body only). However, if you are a professional photographer who knows how to use the camera’s features in the right way, you can earn this money back easily.
In this Sony a9 review, we offer a quick rundown of the camera's primary specs and features.
Table of Contents:
- Sony a9 Specs
- Sony a9 Body & Design
- Sony a9 Build & Handling
- Sony a9 Video Performance
- Sony a9 Lenses
- Sony a9 Price
Sony a9 Specs
At the core of the Sony a9, there is a 24MP full-frame sensor and Bionz X image processor. This is the world’s first full-frame stacked CMOS sensor and its purpose is to speed up the camera by using one layer for collecting the image data and another layer for its processing.
Overall, the Sony a9 offers outstanding image quality and it is a good low-light performer because of its native sensitivity range of ISO 100-51200 (expandable to ISO 50-204800). Also, the camera features 5-axis image stabilization which will make images sharp and detailed even when shooting hand-held.
As we already said, the best thing about this camera is that it offers an impressive burst shooting speed of up to 20 fps with AFC and without viewfinder blackout. In addition, the camera offers a shutter speed of 1/32000 and its electronic shutter can be set to silent mode.
Silent shooting can be very convenient in certain situations. For example, if you are photographing a wedding ceremony or wild animals, the sound of the shutter can be disturbing.The camera also has a mechanical shutter, but you will probably rarely use it.
Learn more about the Sony a9 in the video below by Wes Perry.
As it would be expected for a sports camera, the Sony a9 also has an impressive autofocus system.
It has 693 phase-detection AF points that cover 93% of the frame and 25 contrast-detect points. The company also introduced firmware updates for this camera which includes Real-time Eye-AF, Real-time Tracking mode, and improved face and eye detection algorithms.
All in all, the autofocus system works great and keeps the focus right where it is needed even if you are photographing fast-moving subjects such as the fastest 100m runners.
Sony a9 Body & Design
The Sony a9 is a very compact and light-weight camera, and it is weather-sealed against dust and moisture. It measures 5 x 4 x 2.5 inches and weighs only 24 ounces (with the battery). The design of the camera is very similar to any other camera from the a7 series. However, it adds some additional dials and buttons (such as AF joystick) that enhance the usability of the camera.
The Sony a9 uses a 0.5-inch electronic OLED viewfinder (3.7 million dots) with a framerate of 120 fps which means there is almost no viewfinder lag. In addition, it has a 3-inch tilting LCD screen (1.44M dot) that features touchscreen technology. The battery life is around 650 shots per charge if you use an LCD screen, while it can take around 480 shots with the electronic viewfinder.
The camera has dual card slots, while one of them supports UHS-II format. This is very useful if you truly want to use its 20 fps burst rate. Additionally, the a9 has a built-in Ethernet jack, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth. It also has a flash sync port, headphone, and microphone jacks.
Sony a9 Build & Handling
It is easy to personalize the a9 since it has four custom keys. Two of them are on top of the camera, while the other two are on the back. The menu can be a bit confusing. While it gives you a lot of options, sometimes it can be hard to find what you are looking for. This is why we suggest you customize it according to your needs.
Although it is very small, the ergonomics of the a9 is still pretty good. If you got used to using DSLR cameras, you might find the grip too small, especially when using big and heavy lenses. Because of this, we suggest you invest in an additional battery grip that will make the handling of the camera easier, while it will also substantially increase its running time.
Sony a9 Video Performance
The Sony a9 shoots 4K video at 30p with a full sensor readout. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t have S-Log and HLG profiles, but the quality of the video is still impressive.
Other things that are worth mentioning is that autofocus works smoothly in the video mode, while 5-axis stabilization reduces motion and makes videos look more professional.
A good thing is that Sony a9 has a tilting screen which will make easier shooting scenes from uncomfortable angles. Also, it has both headphone and microphone jacks.
Sony a9 Lenses
The Sony a9 uses E-Mount lenses. Mirrorless cameras are relatively new on the market, so there isn’t as wide offer of lenses for this type of camera, as there is for DSLR models. However, here are some of the lenses we suggest you check out:
- Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM – Wide-angle lens (shown above)
- Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM – Portrait lens
- Sony FE 24 – 70 mm f/2.8 GM – All-around lens
- Sony FE 16 – 35 mm f/2.8 GM – Landscape lens
Sony a9 Price
As we already mentioned, the Sony a9 doesn’t have very consumer-friendly price. However, it is definitely one of the best cameras in its class, since it does magic in capturing any kind of action.
Since the camera is now two years old, you can also buy a used Sony a9 and save some money for lenses and other photography equipment. On MPB, you can find it for the price as low as $2,989.00 (body only).