ILCE-9

This year I just got back into photography after a long hiatus and decided to do go big time with it. I already purchased a Sony A7R III camera that I love for doing high resolution photography, but I wanted a camera that would be good for birds in flight. When I saw Sony knocked off a $1000 the price of the Sony A9 the temptation was too much, so I pulled the trigger and bought the Sony A9 as well. I haven't used it all that much and I am just getting accustomed to menus in order to setup the camera the way I want it. Here are the the pros and cons of the camera that I have found so far. Pros 1. I love the silent electronic shutter especially when you get close to 20 fps. 2. Love the auto focusing of the camera and I like it better than the Sony A7R III. Though the A7R III is more for landscape and/or things that don't move very fast. 3. I like the size and weight of the camera body, but that can be negated by putting a big old honking lens on it. 4. I like the EVF and the knowing before you snap the picture that it's going to turn out right. Though this doesn't replace knowing the fundamentals of photography, so I suggest anyone starting off in photography to learn the basics of photography. I also know a lot of old timers in the DSLR camp belittle mirrorless cameras, but I'm a tech geek and I think full frame mirrorless cameras are here to stay. Cons. 1. Nothing perfect with any cameras and mirrorless cameras are no exception. The number one grip on any Sony camera included the Sony A9 is lack of full support of the touchscreen. It would be nice and easier in my opinion to navigate the menus on the A9 if you could use the touchscreen to navigate. I know you can use the touchscreen to focus, but I personally find using the joystick easier to navigate to location in the scene and pressing the back-focus button that I had setup. 2. While the size and weight is nice, I can see where the size factor would matter for people with large hands. Fortunately I have small hands and I do have the Sony VGC3EM Vertical Grip for α9 (You can also use it on the A7R III camera) that extends the camera body. Sony's vertical grip is expensive, but I personally would not trust a 3rd party's vertical to go on the camera body. In my opinion it isn't worth trying to save a few bucks by by a cheap grip that might ruin an expensive camera body, plus it's just one more thing Sony could argue with you at the time of a warranty repair, if you didn't use the Sony's vertical grip. 3. Banding and Overheating issue on the Sony A9. I really shouldn't have put this a con, for the limited time that I have had this camera I haven't notice it. I just wanted to mention it, so that I don't get a reply "Hey, you never said anything about banding and/or overheating!". As with any camera it's not the camera, but the person behind the camera that determines if the photograph will be any good or not.

I have had this Sony A9 camera for over 5 weeks and I love it for the following reasons: 1. It is fast, fast, fast. Fast focusing, 3 times faster than my A7Rii in writing to the Lexar 2000x memory card in slot 1. 2. It has two memory card slots, (Though only slot 1 is faster.) 3. The larger battery lasts twice as long as the one in my A7Rii. 4. I really love the 1st tab, 11/13 menu: "AF in focus Mag." set to "ON". This lets me press the C1 button 2-3 times (I have set the C1 to turn on the Focus Magnification) and then pressing the shutter button halfway does an autofocus on the magnified image --- this really helps when the overall image can't find the focus in lower light situations. 5. And the Focus Magnification works in Autofocus-Shutter mode (or Manual Focus mode) where my A7Rii and A7ii will not use focus magnification in any mode except Manual Focus. 6. After focusing in Focus Magnification I can release the shutter button, drag the view to a new center and re-autofocus with a 1/2-shutter-press while the Focus Magnification remains on in the LCD or EVF. Thank you Sony! On my A7Rii or A7ii, the Focus Magnification disappears at the first touch of the shutter button. Cons: If only it had 80, or even 50, megapixels --- but then it would be even less sensitive in lower light. **** WARNING 18 Nov 2017**** The Lens Release button is slightly larger than that on the a7Rm2, and it is about 1mm closer to the right hand grip. After having my 70-200mm GM lens disconnect from the camera unexpectedly --- three times in the last 3 weeks --- falling 1 meter onto a cement sidewalk the first time (but landing on the Really Right Stuff tripod foot and the lens hood, and still working perfectly) --- I found that when I grab the camera by the grip, unless I'm very, very careful, my 4th finger almost always hits that lens release button. Then after some juggling to put the camera strap around my neck, if the lens had become released it could disconnect from the camera. I am going to add another strap for the lens itself. But this may be a problem with all lenses on the a9, so always grab both the lens and camera when picking it up (at least with large lenses). Photos are: 9mm paper clip failing to clear the lens release by 1mm on an a9 camera, 9mm paper clip clearing the lens release by .5 mm on an a7Rii camera, and dings to the lens hood and RRS tripod foot from the lens falling 1 meter to the concrete sidewalk; and it still works. --- And yes, the tripod collar/foot has been rotated to the top for handheld shooting because: 1. The tripod foot makes a good handle for carrying the lens and camera (keep the foot screwed on tightly), and 2. The smooth backside of the rotating collar is much more comfortable on the palm of my left hand.

This is the Most amazing camera I have ever used!!!! Fast, friendly, fun; it even takes your dog for a walk, washes, dries, folds your clothes and puts them away. Goodbye EOS 1dx Mark II, Hello Sony!!!!! The only issue I have with the camera is the Battery life when shooting RAW and saving JPEG's at the same time. I was only able to get 1152 shots on one battery (wink). Seriously, can you imagine me with multiple batteries, I would never even have time to write this review. So in my opinion BUY it! Yes it is a lot of money and the glass is expensive but this is the very Best camera I have ever used! Goodjob SONY. A very satisfied customer :)

Upgrading this from 1 star to four star(due to overheating warning). After many firmware upgrades Sony has fixed the overheat warning issue and has improved the focusing speed, added the amazing eye autofocus, improved the menu system and much more. This camera now has very few if any flaws unless you really want to knit pick. It is a great camera, especially for sports. The focusing capabilities are amazing and the frame rate of 20 FPS make it amazing for sports. If you are doing portraits I would definitely go for the A7R3 as the A9 doesn’t have the resolution or dynamic range the A7R3 has. And I do miss that for portraits.

I like to shoot wedding/landscape/infant/night/etc.. I think i am good with this for sure. YouTube reviews are out there for each little details.. this reivew one just for someone like me... "turning pro photographer" category! (Pros. can ignore and move further ) So far so good for me being casual photographer. I have been testing this with range of conditions and for Native and Sigma/Rokinon lenses (prime/zoom).. its the performer! I have been using Sony since NEX7 with their native lenses and CZ lenses! This is by far a great release. Always expect to have dual slot, better focusing for video shots and faster enough to capture all baby movements or sports to get the perfect shot! 20fps indeed exist !!!! Way way faster on auto focus for native lens while shooting 4K and SlowMo! Buffer is a kind of small issue but not for me.. sports photographers might want to consider that. Also its actually performing well with its battery life with newly design. I had 450 shots with RAW+JPEG and got 27% utilized (indoors). I am not heavy concerned with buffer so I don't see any other issues. The menu and navigation has been improved quite well and responsive, loved the new buttons and dials. It has almost all features I have been looking for (THE 20fps, super fast Electronic shutter speed, improved focusing, ISO range enough not to explode noise all over, dual slot, bigger & better design, Ethernet/wifi/Bluetooth, looks durable too).. so look for what you actually may be hunting around for, but this one is overall camera with almost every spec available... I kept hearing about overheating problems, but it seems Sony recently released firmware update so no comments on that until I actually test it. (But guys, they are listening, don't you think! :) ) Thanks & good luck

I like everything in this camera. I cannot say anything less with this camera except ..... It did overheat and shutdown on me during a wedding. I dont want to let it go but its unrealiable when exposed to direct sunlight , I did shoot around 30 min under the sun on and off with video and shut down on me. It is very sad since i really like this Camera. 8-6-2017 After the firmware update. It didnt overheat on me and have done 4 more weddings without any problem. Also i've noticed the liveview tends to overexpose at full brightness screen compared to the digital viewfinder. Other than that its almost perfect!

I used nikon D700 which is still an excellent camera. However, when i met with this Sony A9. I fell in love with all features. Pro: fast focus. Clear and superd viewfinder. Excellent image quality. I wish, there is suitable 35mm 1.4 lens for this camera. Cons: So far, i can tell return button is on the other side. So you have to keep 2 hands runneing around when navigate menu. Return button should be closer to the OK and select button. Price should be about $3500s. There is no $2000 premium needed over A7rii. If you are on budget and not making money out of photography, get the Sony A7Rii

Being a pro sports photographer I've always shot with Nikon Pro cameras. Many of the events I shoot I have to run 10 to 20 miles just to get to the remote locations. My Nikon D5 has been a beast but it's definitely heavy and takes its toll on my back after using the Sony A9 and pushing the camera hard it has been absolutely Flawless and it actually focuses​ better in extremely low light conditions than my Nikon D5. I just put my Nikon up for sale and will be going with the Sony A9 and the Sony A99 II until they come out with a high-resolution Sports camera. I have already drenched the camera twice and I have had no issues with water getting inside the camera. I've had no overheating issues even shooting in 75deg temps with the camera on for over 9hrs 2200 photos. The other thing that I'm loving about the camera is I can frame the shot much better with all the focusing points from edge to edge.