Sony a9: The Most Technically Advanced Camera Sony Has Ever Created

The just announced Sony a9 full-frame mirrorless camera, is already being hailed as “The most technologically advanced, innovative digital camera that Sony has ever created, offering a level of imaging performance that is simply unmatched by any camera ever created – mirrorless, SLR or otherwise.”

Key Features of the new Sony a9 include:

• World’s First full-frame stacked CMOS sensor, 24.2 MP resolution
• Blackout-Free Continuous Shooting at up to 20 fps for up to 241 RAW/ 362 JPEG images
• Silent, Vibration-free shooting at speeds up to 1/32,000 sec
• 693 point focal plane phase detection AF points with 60 AF/AE tracking calculations per second
• Extensive professional features including Ethernet port for file transfer, Dual SD card slots and extended battery life
• 5-Axis in-body image stabilization with a 5.0 step shutter speed advantage

World’s First full-frame stacked CMOS sensor

The combination of the new stacked 24.2 MP Exmor RS image sensor, new BIONZ X processor and front end LSI allows photographers to capture images at up to 20 fps with continuous AF/AE tracking for up to 362 JPEG or 241 RAW images.

Paired with this, the a9’s innovative AF system can track “complex, erratic motion with higher accuracy than previous cameras” and will calculate AF/AE at up to 60 times per second, regardless of shutter release and frame capture.

Seamless Live View

Unlike other electronic viewfinders, when the shutter is released on the a9, the electronic viewfinder continues to function with absolutely no blackout (the brief moment when the shutter releases and you lose sight through the viewfinder).

This means you can seamlessly track your subject at all times, and best of all? It’s available in all still image modes including the high-speed 20 fps continuous shooting.

Autofocus

The a9 features 693 focal plane phase detection AF points which cover approximately 93% of the frame. It also has a Fast Hybrid AF system which pairs the speed and tracking performance of phase detection AF with the precision of contrast AF which Sony says provides an approximately 25% faster performance when compared with α7R II.

Sony a9 Full frame Mirrorless Camera at Vistek

Learn more about the new Sony a9 Full frame Mirrorless Camera at Vistek

Other new Features

• Multi-selector joystick on the back of the camera, allowing users to easily shift focus within the frame by pressing the multi-selector in any direction up, down, left or right when shooting in Zone, Flexible Spot or Expanded Flexible Spot focus area modes
• Touch focusing on the rear LCD screen
• Addition of separate drive mode and focus mode dials
• New “AF ON” button that can be pressed to activate autofocus directly when shooting still images or movies
• “AF Area Registration” – allows frequently used focus areas to be memorised and recalled via custom button assignments
• Ability to assign specific settings (exposure, shutter speed, drive mode, etc) to a custom button to be instantly recalled when needed
• The ability to memorize and automatically recall the last focus point used in either a vertical or horizontal orientation and be able to instantly switch back to it when that specific orientation is used again
• Enhanced customisation “My Menu” feature allowing up to 30 menu items to be registered in a custom menu for instant recall

The a9 will ship with an all-new Sony battery which Sony says offers 2.2x the capacity of their previous full-frame models.

Another difference from previous models, is the addition of a second memory card slot for UHS-II media.

Data can be recorded to both cards, or data can be recorded separately as RAW / JPEG or still images and finally movies.

4K Video Capture

The Sony a9 is capable of capturing 4K (3840x2160p) video across the full width of the full-frame image sensor by utilizing full pixel readout without pixel binning to collect 6K of information which is then oversampled to produce high quality 4K footage.

Other Video Modes

• Super 35mm size.
• Full HD at 120 fps at up to 100 Mbps, allowing footage to be reviewed and edited into 4x or 5x slow motion video files in Full HD resolution with AF tracking