Art and Photography

Sony Alpha A900

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  • Sep 10th, 2008 9:41 pm
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Deal Fanatic
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Oct 26, 2003
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Nepean

Sony Alpha A900

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/SonyDSLRA900/

[QUOTE]
Key changes:

* Dual Bionz processors (A700 only has one)
* Three custom modes on mode dial in place of A700's scene modes
* All magnesium alloy construction
* New 9 point AF with 10 assist points for Wide AF mode
* 100% viewfinder coverage (A700 is 95%)
* Improved noise reduction options (including 'off')
* Improved D-Range Optimizer auto function
* No grip sensor or built-in flash
* Top LCD info panel
* Intelligent Preview Mode
* Increased pixel pitch due to improvements in sensor design

[/QUOTE]
17 replies
Deal Guru
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Sep 3, 2003
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Got to it before I did, but at least break down the summary instead of just reposting it. Just let me do it next time :twisted:

The in-body stabilization of a full-frame sensor is simply awesome, something nobody else seems to be capable of at the moment. The 100% viewfinder should be a throwback to the film days where viewfinders used to be a joy to use. No live-view but that's not a big deal to me.

I absolutely love how the body just screams Minolta. You're getting a hell of a lot of camera for $3000.
Deal with it.
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Oct 26, 2003
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KorruptioN wrote: Got to it before I did, but at least break down the summary instead of just reposting it. Just let me do it next time :twisted:

The in-body stabilization of a full-frame sensor is simply awesome, something nobody else seems to be capable of at the moment. The 100% viewfinder should be a throwback to the film days where viewfinders used to be a joy to use. No live-view but that's not a big deal to me.

I absolutely love how the body just screams Minolta. You're getting a hell of a lot of camera for $3000.
You snooze you lose :cheesygri

I wonder who will come up on top this time, Nikon D700, Sony A900, Canon 5D MKII (rumoured)

Hopefully this will bring FF into mainstream so I can afford one
Deal Addict
Oct 1, 2003
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I've been thinking if I want to stick with Sony - I don't plan to upgrade my a100 for a while but I'm not sure if I should invest in any new lenses. From what I've read about the a900, I'm not sure if it's what I need. I'm more tempted by Nikon's latest offering because of their ability to perform in well low light. I am interested how this will perform in the market and see if it earns Sony some respect amongst the Canon and Nikon crowd.
Dec 31, 1969
Hmmm, I have $3000 coming from a contract I have been working on all year...I may just have to get one of these...

That said, the firmware update for the a700 that was released yesterday (unofficially) sure has changed things with the a700 so I might just hold on to it for a couple of more years.

Decisions, decisions...
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Aug 24, 2005
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Competition is yay for us.
Deal Guru
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Sony has also just released a CZ 16-35/2.8 to compliment the A900. This lens, paired up with the CZ 24-70/2.8 and the 70-200/2.8G pretty much complete a lens kit from 16mm all the way up to 200mm with F2.8 brightness and stabilization :D
Deal with it.
Deal Fanatic
Apr 15, 2004
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Nepean
CZ <3...The Sony A900 is quite the camera with in-body stabilization on a FF sensor and 22mp. That's deliciously good. Lucky Sony users! Did any of you read the press interview about how the sony rep said that this camera wasn't made for professionals? I wonder if they said that just to gain interest from affluent prospective buyers.

Hows the WB on those Sony's in low light?
heatware available upon request
Deal Guru
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24mp, not 22mp! :D

The a900 isn't a "pro" body... that's D3/1DIII territory. It's a flagship body that competes directly with Nikon's D700 (though slightly different).

Sony auto WB in incandescent lighting isn't as bad as the yellow Canon AWB indoors :lol:
Deal with it.
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Mar 7, 2008
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$3000??? is that Canadian or USD??

does it have 14 bit raw?

pretty impressive so far!
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THINKPADT61 wrote: does it have 14 bit raw?
Why is this so important to you? 14-bit RAW or not, doesn't make much of a difference.

It'll probably be around $3000 USD...
Deal with it.
Deal Fanatic
Apr 15, 2004
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Nepean
KorruptioN wrote: 24mp, not 22mp! :D

The a900 isn't a "pro" body... that's D3/1DIII territory. It's a flagship body that competes directly with Nikon's D700 (though slightly different).

Sony auto WB in incandescent lighting isn't as bad as the yellow Canon AWB indoors :lol:
I totally agree about canons AWB performance, canon's xxxD, xxD, and 5D all have pretty poor AWB in incandescent lighting.
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Deal Expert
Mar 25, 2005
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Pretty sweet camera. If I didnt like Nikon so much, I probably would be getting one of these next. :lol: None of the less, competition is always a good thing, D800 anyone?
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Feb 19, 2004
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BC
wow, 24MP. I know storage is cheap nowadays but boy that is going to eat a chuck out of your storage.
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Dec 31, 1969
Now that I have had time to review my images taken today with the new firmware (v4) for my a700 I don't think I need to upgrade anytime soon... :cheesygri
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KorruptioN wrote: Why is this so important to you? 14-bit RAW or not, doesn't make much of a difference.

It'll probably be around $3000 USD...
The more fine detail, the better... I am one of those rather trade in 8fps or VR/IS for fine details.... My dream camera is to get a MF with DB... but they are out of my reach~
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THINKPADT61 wrote: The more fine detail, the better... I am one of those rather trade in 8fps or VR/IS for fine details.... My dream camera is to get a MF with DB... but they are out of my reach~
14-bit RAWs just make for larger filesizes most of the time. A bigger number must be better right?

24mp versus 10mp is quite a big jump if you're looking for detail...

edit: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readf ... d=29274444 (56K warning)
Deal with it.
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Oct 26, 2007
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I was invited to attend its unveiling a Headshots yesterday afternoon. Representatives from Sony Canada were there, they had a small presentation of the A900's features. They also showed off a couple of new lenses, the CZ 16-35 f/2.8 and the 70-400 f/4-5.6 G. They had 3 or 4 A900's for us to try out, all with vertical grips, the entire lens line-up, even the two new ones, and a couple of F58 flashes. The new lenses were pre-production models and we were asked not to take pictures with them using our own memory cards. According to a Sony rep, the G lenses will be silver from now on! <ugh!> The model that they always use during the Henry's Photography Show was there as well and they had set up "a studio" using a couple of flashes, an F58 and, I think, an F42.

I like what the full frame gives you...a larger field of view. I also appreciate the Intelligent Preview feature of the A900. With it, you press the DOF button and the camera buffers a photo. It then displays the photo on the LCD screen at which time you can adjust the white balance, f-stop, saturation, sharpness, saturation and exposure value settings. Once you are satisfied with the settings, press the shutter button and it takes the photo (the buffered photo is erased and the second photo is the one written to the card).

I am also glad to see that they have also incorporated AF micro adjustments for 30 lenses. I was hoping the vertical grip from the A700 would fit on the A900, but unfortunately, its dimensions are slightly smaller than the A900.

This afternoon I noticed that you can pre-order the body for $3299.99, the vertical grip for $349.99 (same price as the A700 grip) and the A900 + the CZ 24-70 kit for $5099.99.

According to Sony the A900 will be available late October or early November, no word on the grip's availability, but I am hoping that it will be available at the same time as the body. The two new lenses will be available in February 2009 for $2000 and $1650.

I forgot to mention, they also sneaked in their hotshoe adapter, FACS1AM, or something like that. It's battery powered to aid with surge/voltage suppression.

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