My Sony SLT-A99 Full-Frame DSLR Article Is Live

[Photo-John]

Finished my Sony A99 announcement article. If you can handle reading an article that uses the word, "only," way too many times, then I suggest you read it. There might be other full-frame cameras that perform better in some ways, but I am pretty convinced the A99 is the most advanced DSLR available right now.

Sony Alpha SLT-A99 Full-Frame Translucent Mirror DSLR | Camera News & Reviews

So what do you think? Anyone thinking about switching to Sony?

[Greg McCary]

Wow. John I had almost given up waiting on one. Nice write up.

[Photo-John]

Wow. John I had almost given up waiting on one. Nice write up.

Thanks. There have been so many announcements that I haven't been able to keep up. But I'm trying to make sure I give all the important ones some attention. And the A99 is a big deal.

What do you think of it? Do you think my article is on track? Did I miss anything? I sort of glossed over the sensor and image quality.

[Greg McCary]

John I liked the artical. I hope you do a hands on video. I guess this is the same sensor as the D600? The only issue with me is the EVF. I am not sue I am totally ready for that. I have a lot invested in Sony glass. Looks like this is the future.

[Photo-John]

John I liked the artical. I hope you do a hands on video. I guess this is the same sensor as the D600? The only issue with me is the EVF. I am not sue I am totally ready for that. I have a lot invested in Sony glass. Looks like this is the future.

What is it that you don't like about the EVF? I haven't had a chance to use the latest generation so I don't know if they're better. But I was very impressed with the A55 EVF. Unless I was shooting fasts bursts, it worked just fine for me. And the EVF in the A77 and NEX-7 looks so good that the first time I looked through it I forgot it was an EVF

[OldClicker]

The A99 looks very intriguing to me with some great features. I have a couple lenses with variable focus limiting, but only from one direction at a time. I’ve always thought that variable from both long and short would be very useful. It also has a third rotating knob on the front that is programmable.

The full functionality of the dual focus system seems to be limited to just a few lenses – at least for now. We’ll have to see what this means and if others are included soon.

I used my A77 at Road America race track this past weekend and found the EVF to be very functional even when panning in full sun (the usual two complaints). Using the 10 (or 12) fps, though, while panning was very difficult.

Terry

[Greg McCary]

What is it that you don't like about the EVF? I haven't had a chance to use the latest generation so I don't know if they're better. But I was very impressed with the A55 EVF. Unless I was shooting fasts bursts, it worked just fine for me. And the EVF in the A77 and NEX-7 looks so good that the first time I looked through it I forgot it was an EVF

The blank screen and flickering between shots. I do ok unless I am shooting portraits and shooting a lot of pictures. After an hour or so it can get annoying. But with that I will more than likely replace my a850 at some point.

[Photo-John]

I used my A77 at Road America race track this past weekend and found the EVF to be very functional even when panning in full sun (the usual two complaints). Using the 10 (or 12) fps, though, while panning was very difficult.

It's been a while since I've used one of the SLT cameras. Does the EVF black out the whole burst? It seems to me that's what I did when I was shooting bursts with the A55.

Please post some of those Road America photos on the Sports Photography Forum, if you haven't already!

[Franglais]

It's pretty sure that the sensor is not exactly the same as the one in the Nikon D600. The pixel count and sensor area aren't the same, plus the D600 doesn't have on-sensor focus-detect areas.

You didn't mention in your review that Sony have abandoned the old Minolta flash shoe and gone back to the "standard" shoe used by the other manufacturers. I watched a couple of video clips by online video magazines and they seem to think it's pretty important.

My opinion: it seems to be heavily orientated towards video. But with the SLT system that means that only 30% of the light coming in the viewfinder is used for focussing and only 70% is used to take the picture and that's not what I want. I was in a dimly-lit studio today with a moving model and it was a struggle to get the autofocus to work.

[OldClicker]

It's pretty sure that the sensor is not exactly the same as the one in the Nikon D600. The pixel count and sensor area aren't the same, plus the D600 doesn't have on-sensor focus-detect areas.

You didn't mention in your review that Sony have abandoned the old Minolta flash shoe and gone back to the "standard" shoe used by the other manufacturers. I watched a couple of video clips by online video magazines and they seem to think it's pretty important.

My opinion: it seems to be heavily orientated towards video. But with the SLT system that means that only 30% of the light coming in the viewfinder is used for focussing and only 70% is used to take the picture and that's not what I want. I was in a dimly-lit studio today with a moving model and it was a struggle to get the autofocus to work.

It could be the same sensor since, I believe, the main sensor PDAF is on a separate layer. There was a lot of denial with the D800, but it's a Sony.

Except for the die hard Minoltians, we are happy to have a stardard flash mount. Won't need to worry about that adapter when I go to a studio shoot. I believe Sony's reason, though, was to get compatibility with their pro video accessories.

I don't get your light-focussing problem. What percent of the light do you think goes through the primary mirror for focussing an a traditional DSLR?

Terry

[Greg McCary]

It could be the same sensor since, I believe, the main sensor PDAF is on a separate layer. There was a lot of denial with the D800, but it's a Sony.

Except for the die hard Minoltians, we are happy to have a stardard flash mount. Won't need to worry about that adapter when I go to a studio shoot. I believe Sony's reason, though, was to get compatibility with their pro video accessories.

I don't get your light-focussing problem. What percent of the light do you think goes through the primary mirror for focussing an a traditional DSLR?

Terry

I guess I will need the adapter I am heavy into the Sony flashes and don't want to buy new ones. I hope the a99 has the DR of the D800.

[Franglais]

It could be the same sensor since, I believe, the main sensor PDAF is on a separate layer...

I don't get your light-focussing problem. What percent of the light do you think goes through the primary mirror for focussing an a traditional DSLR?

The D600 sensor has the same dimensions as the D3X sensor (which was made by Sony). The A99 sensor dimensions are slightly smaller. But it might just be that they don't use all of the available surface.

Now my understanding of focussing on a traditional DSLR is that 100% of the light arrives on the mirror and is used for viewing or focussing (OK tell me that's not the case and just part gets diverted to a focussing unit somewhere else). When the mirror flips up 100% of the light is used for exposure.

[OldClicker]

The D600 sensor has the same dimensions as the D3X sensor (which was made by Sony). The A99 sensor dimensions are slightly smaller. But it might just be that they don't use all of the available surface.

Now my understanding of focussing on a traditional DSLR is that 100% of the light arrives on the mirror and is used for viewing or focussing (OK tell me that's not the case and just part gets diverted to a focussing unit somewhere else). When the mirror flips up 100% of the light is used for exposure.

In a traditional DSLR there are small semi-transparent areas (slits or crosses, I believe - hence the line or cross focusing points) on the main mirror and a small mirror behind it that transmits some of the light to the PDAF sensor on the bottom of the camera. Here is a diagram.

Sensorcleaning.com Main Page

Terry

[Franglais]

In a traditional DSLR there are small semi-transparent areas (slits or crosses, I believe - hence the line or cross focusing points) on the main mirror and a small mirror behind it that transmits some of the light to the PDAF sensor on the bottom of the camera. Here is a diagram.

Sensorcleaning.com Main Page

Terry

OK I see about the slits. But as I said - 100% of the light coming through the lens that happens to go through the slit is going to be available to the autofocus sensor. Whereas with the SLT system only about 30% of the light coming through the lens is going to the 19 autofocus sensors. The other 70% is going to the imaging sensor - where it can be used by the on-sensor autofocus sensors.

I checked out the specifications for the latest cameras and the low light limit for their autofocus systems:

Sony A99, Nikon D600, Nikon D7000 = -1EV
Nikon D800, Canon 1DX = -2EV
Canon 6D = -3EV (wow!)

So it doesn't look like this is a problem. I think that previous-generation (Nikon D3..) all stopped at -1EV as well.

[OldClicker]

Chipworks has confirmed that the D600 is a Sony sensor. Since this is presumably the same sensor as the A99, the main sensor PDAF points must be in front of the actual sensor or else Nikon simply doesn’t use them. - Terry

[adanac]

Chipworks has confirmed that the D600 is a Sony sensor. Since this is presumably the same sensor as the A99, the main sensor PDAF points must be in front of the actual sensor or else Nikon simply doesn’t use them. - Terry

In another context Mark Weir, a senior Sony manager, allowed that while the sensor in the RX1 and A99 are of the same base technology, one has PDAF and one doesn't - they produce different versions for different internal and external clients.

[OldClicker]

In another context Mark Weir, a senior Sony manager, allowed that while the sensor in the RX1 and A99 are of the same base technology, one has PDAF and one doesn't - they produce different versions for different internal and external clients.

Correct, but does that mean that it is two completely different sensores or one sensor with 'layers' attached to give the PDAF? - Terry