The A9 is still a great camera today. It really doesn't matter is the mechanical shutter is a little to loud. How loud is a DSLR? or a SLR? Even in the old days a good photographer could do their job Electronical shutter. Yes its not perfect but there is not such a thing Video - Yes you dont have the fancy profiles.. BUT you got a fast readout that means less rolling shutter. You cant have that in the other cameras with slower readout. In the old days people shoot on film (and some of us still do) and at that time there was nu color profiles at all. So if a good cinematographer can do with less, you also can do it without colorprofiles and all that fancy sheit. Many out there only want the newest stuff but that doesn't always make the results better. You as the photographer can make the results better if you know the limits and work with that. I shoot with digital Hasselblad medium format, analog film in the medium format, digital Sony and analog Leica. All those cameras can do a great job but most important of all - They are tools. for 99,9% of the time, my Sony A9 could do the trick. Even with the "low" resolution of 24 megapixel. Because you actually dont need more because on the final print your eyes cant tell the difference between 24 and 50 or 100 megapixel on the Viewing distance to the print. So unless you cant master your camera and have to crop a lot to do your job, then you dont need the extra resolution. I shot A1 prints from my A9 shoot at 6400 ISO without problems. It looks great. Even my analog Leica with a 400 speed HP5 looks great on a A1 print. That's a oldschool technology but film still look grat in another way that clean bored digital files do. So yes the A9 does great in 2023. So unless you wanna waste all your money on a Sony A1 with a resolution you really dont need, then save your money and go with a used A9. Then use the rest of all that money and travel around the globe and use that camera. Its more fun ;-)
Good video! What do you think about the a9 vs the a7iv autofocus system? I'm looking to upgrade my A7iii, and I don't do any video. I do mostly portraits, plus some sports and birds. I've seen that the OG a9 is basically identical to the a9ii in terms of autofocus, so I'm guessing it's better than the A7IV too?
I can't say for sure. I think both are really good but i haven't touch an a7 IV. From what I've heard the a7 IV is supposed to have a similar system to the a1; however, I don't believe it does the same number of calculations per second as the a9 (the a9 ii is even higher than a9) so I don't think it would perform as well in challenging situations like tracking action coming towards the camera -- but I imagine it's still really good for nearly anybody
I’ve had the a9 for awhile now and haven’t yet came across a situation where I needed to switch from electronic mode to mechanical when shooting silent and also have never had issues with the buffer maxing out and then again I’m not a photojournalist or sports photographer as most people who probably own this camera aren’t. Oh and the mechanical shutter isn’t loud or clunky, it’s a regular sounding shutter and 5 fps is more than enough for the average photographer when in that mode because you will most likely be using a flash for that purpose and that’s more than enough for that.
Yeah I've noticed weirdness under older field lighting on baseball fields and in older gymnasiums. I can also get weird banding with certain LED lights I have in my house but honestly that isn't unique to the a9's electronic shutter. I believe the Sony a1 has the ability to fine tune it's shutterspeed more so than the set stops we have which allows you to completely eliminate this issue by syncing with whatever frequency the lights are. In most situations it's not a problem but something to watch out for. I don't think I've ever really filled the buffer when shooting in the real world but it can take a little while to clear burst from it -- but the camera is still able to shoot during this time so it's non issue for me. Love my a9 still!
Tried Gh5, brutal autofocus, Tried A7s2, Banding and rolling shutter issues +harsh judder. Settled on the A9 because the stacked sensor gives me huge freedom from those sticky and fundamental problems for video run and gun. I can get around not having vlog profiles but can’t get around rolling shutter and judder as a one person operator. Sony sucks for not providing log profiles for the A9 but oh well.
I literally have the gh5, a7sii, a6000 and a vg20... I want the nice video of the gh5 but with smoother touch to focus, I want the low light of the a7sii, speed of the a6000 and reliability of vg20... sounds like a9 might do all that!
@@derekduke5065 The A9 is a solid setup and won't let you stuck. Low light is awesome and focus is brilliant. I really love that G5 though and I'd never need another camera if it had good focus and low light. Actually just grabbed an r3 with a stacked sensor also and it had those profile options. Using a multi camera setup for interviews and soon to be live streaming. Having fun using a tentacle sync on all 3 cameras. Gh5 is very nice with some decent lighting and focus hunting isn't that noticeable when it's not the main camera. Super glad I didn't sell it. It's worth a lot more money than it sells for right now.
Thank you for the real-world assessment of the Sony A9. Now that almost a year has passed, I would love to see you do a "Sony A9 in 2022" follow-up video. Do you still feel that the A9 is still a reasonable choice now that Sony has released the A7iv and and other bodies?
It's 2023 now and the A9 is still the cheapest route to a stacked sensor. The question if the A9 is still relevant remains relevant :) My biggest worry is the impact of AA filter on the IQ of the photos.
I would agree. I’m seeing some go for unbelievable prices now too. just under $1200 was the lowest I’ve seen so far. At that price the image quality punches way above and the autofocus is going to be untouched by anything even close to it. Not to mention real world usable silent shooting. It’s still the best value on the used market for an action oriented camera.
I was a happy user of a7 iii and I was waiting for a7 iv to upgrade. One a7 iv was released, I have bought … a9. For my style of shouting it was great and I’m still using a9 in 2023. I’m happy with the result. It is not the newest but in terms of price/quality it is a monster.
This body wasn't on my radar until I saw one for $1500. Was going to get the new r7 but the lack of affordable lens (minus old ef) and lacking 3rd party support I snagged the a9 instead. Don't have my hands on it yet but I think the af system will be a huge upgrade coming from Olympus em1 Mii. I'll miss my Olympus 40-150 f2.8, such an amazing lens.
Woooooow - great deal -- I paid around $1800 for mine a while back and even at that price it's been great. You got a steal! It's going to be an amazing step up. Make sure to research all of the settings and do some experimenting to really learn the camera. I think it'll be a huge change so give it some time to familiarize
@@mipmipmipmipmip It's been a huge upgrade. The tracking is amazing and my keeper rate is probably 90-95% now. That's with using 3rd party lenses. The higher noise performance has been very helpful as well. The camera ergonomics are terrible and glass is heavier. I miss how well em-1 fits the hands but overall well worth the performance upgrades. I still think a used em-1 mark ii for the price used ($350-500ish) is hard to beat for someone looking to get into photography.
Hey man, this video was exactly what I needed! I shoot as a hobbyist with my A7C(family, kids, pets, street,attempting). Recently I came across a great deal just like you mentioned! I'm sitting here wondering which one to keep and which one to let go. TBH both are more than I need but this video definitely helped. Let me know what you think? Watching your A7C video rn...
Hmm that’s tough tbh l. I really love both fit different reasons. I personally love the rangefinder style viewfinder shooting experience, however the silent shooting and speed of the A9 is so nice. The other tipping point for the a7c is that the video is better. So if you value the speed and silent use of the A9 then keep that. If you enjoy the shooting experience, lighter body, and shoot video a lot of keep the a7c. They may not help but you’re talking to a guy that owns both lol . So clearly I couldn’t pick just 1 myself lol
@@Lonnie.G I ended up keeping the A9 over the A7C. Appreciate the feedback. I actually preferred the size, speed and accuracy of the A9 and don't do any video. The images just look amazing right out of camera.Thank you for the review, you have helped one person for sure!
@@rammurthy7686 After spending more time with both I think you made the right decision. Honestly the only thing beneficial about the a7c to me is the swivel screen for video. The side EVF is cool if that's a big factor for you but I dont find it as enjoyable as a Fuji or Leica. The a9 on the other hand has become my main stills body. The completely silent operation is game changing for the type of photos I take
I'm looking to upgrade from a set of a7ii's and I just recently saw a couple so bodies for 1500 and under. I might try going with an a7iii and an a9 for different things after seeing this
The a9 is still a killer. I saw an a9ii for $2k and a9 for $1400 the other day as well so it looks like they are all coming down lower and lower. It’s still the best deal money can buy performance wise
Highlighting that shutter is huge man - it’s not even that it’s loud it’s that it’s so mechanical it makes heads turn. Good shit again my man! Still one of the best composers of an image I’ve ever seen.
I’ll give that a shot! I usually shot redundant to both cards but lately I’ve felt that’s overkill since it’s not necessarily client work. So I’ll try that next time I do some sports
hey, thanks for this video. As an owner of two a9 which I use for my wedding business, I found very annoying the light banding issue showing with the mechanical shutter as well. Do you have some advice to avoid it?
Honestly I have not found a way around it. Thankfully it's rare. in the cases where the mechanical shutter produces banding, I find that most other camera will too and it's more about the old lights you're shooting in than anything. I'm not sure if it would fix the issue but I know the Sony A1 can fine tune the shutter speed more precisely in order to sync with the lighting frequency and hopefully avoid the problem. if I remember correctly the a9 II has a similar capability but maybe not as robust. Worth some investigating for sure.
i know this is super old -- sorry for the late reply. But for what it's worth I feel like that's a good idea to simply consolidate your lens mount and batteries. And that combo of a7 IV and a9ii is a great combo for photo and video in which both can do both good enough to be backup for the other yet each have their strengths in one over the other. Nice balance. What did you end up doing?
@@Lonnie.G No worries about theate reply. I ended up trading away my A73 and picked up an A7s3. So I still have three mounts. I'm thining of trading in the r3 later and my Zv1 for the rumored 85m 1.2 coming out later. I found that I really own need to two cameras. Kinda over kill with all these bodies...
Thanks for this video trying to decide between this a9 are a73 which is cheaper. 1600 to 1800 hahaha haven't Sean that but I'm looking at one for 2000 most are 2500
Yeah, you have to know where to look and be a bit patient to catch them that cheap. Also, be willing to deal with a little more wear on the body. I haven't shot it side by side with a7 3 but from what I remember when I had the a7 3 I think the a9 is definitely worth it over it for the more capable silent shutter and the unbelievable tracking AF.
It's the Sony VGC3EM Vertical Grip for α9, α7R III, α7 III You can find it on Amazon, at Best Buy, B and H, etc. It's expensive, but there are also 3rd party brands (Vello, Neewer, Jupio, etc) that make equivalent grips for much cheaper; however, I do not have any experience with those personally.
Once you go electronic shutter you don't go back, I still shoot the a9 as my main body as I shoot mainly Outdoor/sport/action, I have a7iii as my second body and everytime I bust it out it feels so clunky compared to the a9. Think I'd buy one if it was 10 years old tbh such a beast of a camera
Ahhaa yeah I could see that. I’ve never shot the a9ii so not something I would have noticed yet. I’ve also been using the cobalt imaging profile for it so the colors have been great so far. Much better than Straight out of camera
Your demonstration of 20 fps was I think the 10fps with mechanical shutter. I own my A9 for 4.5years aside many other cameras I bought and I sold. The A9 isn't perfect but at the end I kept it all the way through. I had a Fujilim x100v, Leica SL, olympus em1 mark II, panasonic G9, All of them have one ore two things which are better than the A9 but the overall picture quality, more or less reliable AF makes the A9 a silent winner. I'm waiting for the mark 3,hoping to get a better display and EVF resolution and a beefier body like the G9 would be great, Anyway just dreaming...
I’m aiming for a used A7R 4 to pair with my newly acquired 200-600mm lens, for wildlife photography. The 1.5x crop mode would give me 900mm reach at 26 megapixel. By the way, your boy Dee Rosa blocked me from commenting on his channel, all for having different political views. He “cancelled” me.
A7R 4 was also on my short list since I've seen it around $2200 used recently. Seems like a whole lot of camera for the money -- though I don't "need" the crazy resolution so ultimately passed for now. I imagine I will have an R body at some point as used prices continue to fall -- I'm cheap lol. I won't really comment too much on the other stuff besides that's definitely his prerogative to to do so.
bought a second A9 yesterday. perfect camera for me, even in 2022!
The A9 is still a great camera today.
It really doesn't matter is the mechanical shutter is a little to loud. How loud is a DSLR? or a SLR? Even in the old days a good photographer could do their job
Electronical shutter. Yes its not perfect but there is not such a thing
Video - Yes you dont have the fancy profiles.. BUT you got a fast readout that means less rolling shutter. You cant have that in the other cameras with slower readout. In the old days people shoot on film (and some of us still do) and at that time there was nu color profiles at all. So if a good cinematographer can do with less, you also can do it without colorprofiles and all that fancy sheit.
Many out there only want the newest stuff but that doesn't always make the results better. You as the photographer can make the results better if you know the limits and work with that.
I shoot with digital Hasselblad medium format, analog film in the medium format, digital Sony and analog Leica. All those cameras can do a great job but most important of all - They are tools. for 99,9% of the time, my Sony A9 could do the trick. Even with the "low" resolution of 24 megapixel. Because you actually dont need more because on the final print your eyes cant tell the difference between 24 and 50 or 100 megapixel on the Viewing distance to the print. So unless you cant master your camera and have to crop a lot to do your job, then you dont need the extra resolution. I shot A1 prints from my A9 shoot at 6400 ISO without problems. It looks great. Even my analog Leica with a 400 speed HP5 looks great on a A1 print. That's a oldschool technology but film still look grat in another way that clean bored digital files do.
So yes the A9 does great in 2023. So unless you wanna waste all your money on a Sony A1 with a resolution you really dont need, then save your money and go with a used A9.
Then use the rest of all that money and travel around the globe and use that camera. Its more fun ;-)
Just be honest and keep doing this...user experience its better than biassed testers on one particular system
I’ll be taking a break, at least for a while, but thank you!
Good video! What do you think about the a9 vs the a7iv autofocus system? I'm looking to upgrade my A7iii, and I don't do any video. I do mostly portraits, plus some sports and birds. I've seen that the OG a9 is basically identical to the a9ii in terms of autofocus, so I'm guessing it's better than the A7IV too?
I can't say for sure. I think both are really good but i haven't touch an a7 IV. From what I've heard the a7 IV is supposed to have a similar system to the a1; however, I don't believe it does the same number of calculations per second as the a9 (the a9 ii is even higher than a9) so I don't think it would perform as well in challenging situations like tracking action coming towards the camera -- but I imagine it's still really good for nearly anybody
Nice video.
The cons are funny.
Thanks!
I’ve had the a9 for awhile now and haven’t yet came across a situation where I needed to switch from electronic mode to mechanical when shooting silent and also have never had issues with the buffer maxing out and then again I’m not a photojournalist or sports photographer as most people who probably own this camera aren’t. Oh and the mechanical shutter isn’t loud or clunky, it’s a regular sounding shutter and 5 fps is more than enough for the average photographer when in that mode because you will most likely be using a flash for that purpose and that’s more than enough for that.
Yeah I've noticed weirdness under older field lighting on baseball fields and in older gymnasiums. I can also get weird banding with certain LED lights I have in my house but honestly that isn't unique to the a9's electronic shutter. I believe the Sony a1 has the ability to fine tune it's shutterspeed more so than the set stops we have which allows you to completely eliminate this issue by syncing with whatever frequency the lights are. In most situations it's not a problem but something to watch out for. I don't think I've ever really filled the buffer when shooting in the real world but it can take a little while to clear burst from it -- but the camera is still able to shoot during this time so it's non issue for me. Love my a9 still!
Thank you for this informative video! Is the mechanical shutter even louder than A7c or is it about the same?
Way louder than the a7c
Tried Gh5, brutal autofocus, Tried A7s2, Banding and rolling shutter issues +harsh judder. Settled on the A9 because the stacked sensor gives me huge freedom from those sticky and fundamental problems for video run and gun. I can get around not having vlog profiles but can’t get around rolling shutter and judder as a one person operator. Sony sucks for not providing log profiles for the A9 but oh well.
Agreed the log profiles would have been nice to get in a firmware update. But with the right settings the video still looks pretty good to my eye
I literally have the gh5, a7sii, a6000 and a vg20... I want the nice video of the gh5 but with smoother touch to focus, I want the low light of the a7sii, speed of the a6000 and reliability of vg20... sounds like a9 might do all that!
@@derekduke5065 The A9 is a solid setup and won't let you stuck. Low light is awesome and focus is brilliant. I really love that G5 though and I'd never need another camera if it had good focus and low light. Actually just grabbed an r3 with a stacked sensor also and it had those profile options. Using a multi camera setup for interviews and soon to be live streaming. Having fun using a tentacle sync on all 3 cameras. Gh5 is very nice with some decent lighting and focus hunting isn't that noticeable when it's not the main camera. Super glad I didn't sell it. It's worth a lot more money than it sells for right now.
Thank you for the real-world assessment of the Sony A9. Now that almost a year has passed, I would love to see you do a "Sony A9 in 2022" follow-up video. Do you still feel that the A9 is still a reasonable choice now that Sony has released the A7iv and and other bodies?
That’s not a bad idea - and I do have thoughts on that! Thank you!
I mean the a9 has a stacked sensor whereas the a7 iv does not. Furthermore, the 20 fps vs the a7 iv’s 6-10 fps…
It's 2023 now and the A9 is still the cheapest route to a stacked sensor. The question if the A9 is still relevant remains relevant :) My biggest worry is the impact of AA filter on the IQ of the photos.
I would agree. I’m seeing some go for unbelievable prices now too. just under $1200 was the lowest I’ve seen so far. At that price the image quality punches way above and the autofocus is going to be untouched by anything even close to it. Not to mention real world usable silent shooting. It’s still the best value on the used market for an action oriented camera.
I was a happy user of a7 iii and I was waiting for a7 iv to upgrade. One a7 iv was released, I have bought … a9.
For my style of shouting it was great and I’m still using a9 in 2023. I’m happy with the result. It is not the newest but in terms of price/quality it is a monster.
This body wasn't on my radar until I saw one for $1500. Was going to get the new r7 but the lack of affordable lens (minus old ef) and lacking 3rd party support I snagged the a9 instead. Don't have my hands on it yet but I think the af system will be a huge upgrade coming from Olympus em1 Mii. I'll miss my Olympus 40-150 f2.8, such an amazing lens.
Woooooow - great deal -- I paid around $1800 for mine a while back and even at that price it's been great. You got a steal! It's going to be an amazing step up. Make sure to research all of the settings and do some experimenting to really learn the camera. I think it'll be a huge change so give it some time to familiarize
Any update on your experience from olympus to the A9?
@@mipmipmipmipmip It's been a huge upgrade. The tracking is amazing and my keeper rate is probably 90-95% now. That's with using 3rd party lenses. The higher noise performance has been very helpful as well. The camera ergonomics are terrible and glass is heavier. I miss how well em-1 fits the hands but overall well worth the performance upgrades. I still think a used em-1 mark ii for the price used ($350-500ish) is hard to beat for someone looking to get into photography.
Hey man, this video was exactly what I needed! I shoot as a hobbyist with my A7C(family, kids, pets, street,attempting). Recently I came across a great deal just like you mentioned! I'm sitting here wondering which one to keep and which one to let go. TBH both are more than I need but this video definitely helped. Let me know what you think? Watching your A7C video rn...
Hmm that’s tough tbh l. I really love both fit different reasons. I personally love the rangefinder style viewfinder shooting experience, however the silent shooting and speed of the A9 is so nice. The other tipping point for the a7c is that the video is better. So if you value the speed and silent use of the A9 then keep that. If you enjoy the shooting experience, lighter body, and shoot video a lot of keep the a7c. They may not help but you’re talking to a guy that owns both lol . So clearly I couldn’t pick just 1 myself lol
@@Lonnie.G I ended up keeping the A9 over the A7C. Appreciate the feedback. I actually preferred the size, speed and accuracy of the A9 and don't do any video. The images just look amazing right out of camera.Thank you for the review, you have helped one person for sure!
@@rammurthy7686 After spending more time with both I think you made the right decision. Honestly the only thing beneficial about the a7c to me is the swivel screen for video. The side EVF is cool if that's a big factor for you but I dont find it as enjoyable as a Fuji or Leica. The a9 on the other hand has become my main stills body. The completely silent operation is game changing for the type of photos I take
I'm looking to upgrade from a set of a7ii's and I just recently saw a couple so bodies for 1500 and under. I might try going with an a7iii and an a9 for different things after seeing this
The a9 is still a killer. I saw an a9ii for $2k and a9 for $1400 the other day as well so it looks like they are all coming down lower and lower. It’s still the best deal money can buy performance wise
@@Lonnie.G I ordered a lightly used a9 off ebay for 1500. should be here within a couple days. I'm super excited
Highlighting that shutter is huge man - it’s not even that it’s loud it’s that it’s so mechanical it makes heads turn.
Good shit again my man! Still one of the best composers of an image I’ve ever seen.
Bruh it sounds like a straight up robot. Thicc af. Appreciate it big dawg
Appreciate you my man 🤝
if you shoot 20 fps with only raw in slot 1 UHS-II, buffer can be clear a lot faster!
I’ll give that a shot! I usually shot redundant to both cards but lately I’ve felt that’s overkill since it’s not necessarily client work. So I’ll try that next time I do some sports
hey, thanks for this video. As an owner of two a9 which I use for my wedding business, I found very annoying the light banding issue showing with the mechanical shutter as well. Do you have some advice to avoid it?
Honestly I have not found a way around it. Thankfully it's rare. in the cases where the mechanical shutter produces banding, I find that most other camera will too and it's more about the old lights you're shooting in than anything. I'm not sure if it would fix the issue but I know the Sony A1 can fine tune the shutter speed more precisely in order to sync with the lighting frequency and hopefully avoid the problem. if I remember correctly the a9 II has a similar capability but maybe not as robust. Worth some investigating for sure.
I was thinking of trading in my A73 and r3 for the A9ii. I already have an A74. What do you think?
i know this is super old -- sorry for the late reply. But for what it's worth I feel like that's a good idea to simply consolidate your lens mount and batteries. And that combo of a7 IV and a9ii is a great combo for photo and video in which both can do both good enough to be backup for the other yet each have their strengths in one over the other. Nice balance. What did you end up doing?
@@Lonnie.G No worries about theate reply. I ended up trading away my A73 and picked up an A7s3. So I still have three mounts. I'm thining of trading in the r3 later and my Zv1 for the rumored 85m 1.2 coming out later. I found that I really own need to two cameras. Kinda over kill with all these bodies...
Thanks for this video trying to decide between this a9 are a73 which is cheaper. 1600 to 1800 hahaha haven't Sean that but I'm looking at one for 2000 most are 2500
Yeah, you have to know where to look and be a bit patient to catch them that cheap. Also, be willing to deal with a little more wear on the body. I haven't shot it side by side with a7 3 but from what I remember when I had the a7 3 I think the a9 is definitely worth it over it for the more capable silent shutter and the unbelievable tracking AF.
Where can I find a hand grip like that?
It's the Sony VGC3EM Vertical Grip for α9, α7R III, α7 III
You can find it on Amazon, at Best Buy, B and H, etc. It's expensive, but there are also 3rd party brands (Vello, Neewer, Jupio, etc) that make equivalent grips for much cheaper; however, I do not have any experience with those personally.
Once you go electronic shutter you don't go back, I still shoot the a9 as my main body as I shoot mainly Outdoor/sport/action, I have a7iii as my second body and everytime I bust it out it feels so clunky compared to the a9. Think I'd buy one if it was 10 years old tbh such a beast of a camera
I 100% agree with you now after shooting it for some time now. I reach for the a9 over the a7c daily because of the silent shutter.
What monitor is that in the BG?
I think it's the Monoprice Dark Matter 35 inch ultrawide. It's a little older -- 100 hz model
You didn’t mention the color science. The A9ii has a way better color science !!! And the shutter sound is better on the A9ii
Ahhaa yeah I could see that. I’ve never shot the a9ii so not something I would have noticed yet. I’ve also been using the cobalt imaging profile for it so the colors have been great so far. Much better than Straight out of camera
Your demonstration of 20 fps was I think the 10fps with mechanical shutter.
I own my A9 for 4.5years aside many other cameras I bought and I sold.
The A9 isn't perfect but at the end I kept it all the way through.
I had a Fujilim x100v, Leica SL, olympus em1 mark II, panasonic G9,
All of them have one ore two things which are better than the A9 but the overall picture quality, more or less reliable AF makes the A9 a silent winner. I'm waiting for the mark 3,hoping to get a better display and EVF resolution and a beefier body like the G9 would be great,
Anyway just dreaming...
I’m aiming for a used A7R 4 to pair with my newly acquired 200-600mm lens, for wildlife photography. The 1.5x crop mode would give me 900mm reach at 26 megapixel.
By the way, your boy Dee Rosa blocked me from commenting on his channel, all for having different political views. He “cancelled” me.
A7R 4 was also on my short list since I've seen it around $2200 used recently. Seems like a whole lot of camera for the money -- though I don't "need" the crazy resolution so ultimately passed for now. I imagine I will have an R body at some point as used prices continue to fall -- I'm cheap lol.
I won't really comment too much on the other stuff besides that's definitely his prerogative to to do so.