First shots with A9 in NYC

[edouble]

I have owned numerous Nikon DSLR over 8 years. The last Nikon was a D810. It became an extension of my eyes and hands, it was very easy to use and adjust to capture the perfect photo.

I specialize in motor sports photography and I need a camera with a fast shooting speed, accurate AF and good ISO capability. It was obvious to me that the Sony A9 was the camera for me. I also bought a Sony FE 24-105mm and Sony FE 200-600mm lens. The Sony FE 24-105mm purpose for me is to serve as a general photography lens, the Sony FE200-600mm I will use primarily for motor sports and wildlife. I would like to get a fast wide angle zoom and a fast 70-200mm in the future.

Right from the start I realized that the A9 is a much more complicated camera to use compared to the D810. I am eager to make the A9 an extension of my eyes and hands just like the D810 was.

I visited NYC yesterday with my family, it was a rainy, cloudy day. The purpose of our day trip was not for me to take photographs therefore I did not spend much time on composition and learning how to use the camera.

For these shots I was at f8, ISO6400, all handheld with the FE24-105. Global adjustments made in Lightroom.

Here are some of my first shots with the A9. Please critique if you'd like.

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5.

 

[Derrel]

Good shots. It is clear that you are capable with a camera. I have heard great things about the A9 from sports shooters.

 

[Derrel]

My cousin has their (Sony's) new 100-400...a SOLID performer....

 

[edouble]

My cousin has their (Sony's) new 100-400...a SOLID performer....

Right on. I went with the 200-600 for the extra reach, I'm not a fan of extenders unless paired with a 2.8. Also, I don't want to crop with the A9, so the 200-600 was the winner, if my budget was pro level that would be a different decision!

 

[Jeff15]

The camera seems to be working just fine......

 

[Flying Panda]

Wow! Nice first shots. I know a pro bird photographer down in Florida and he is absolutely stunning with the A9 - it is truely an extremely good camera. One thing I noticed with your shots, they are all high ISO images BUT I saw absolutely no noise whatsoever. Nice job!

 

[edouble]

Wow! Nice first shots. I know a pro bird photographer down in Florida and he is absolutely stunning with the A9 - it is truely an extremely good camera. One thing I noticed with your shots, they are all high ISO images BUT I saw absolutely no noise whatsoever. Nice job!

I did clean the ISO noise up a little in Lightroom. At ISO6400 the noise was primarily in the darkest areas of the photos. The noise reduction does cause the sharpness to decrease a tad as well.

Here is my daughter's iPhone 11 photo, for the same scene shot at the same time as mine. The resolution and sharpness isn't as good, but this shows to me how much better my shots could have been if they were exposed better with a tripod and/or a wider aperture..

 

[K9Kirk]

Very nice set! if I had to pic it would be #2. I like all the different points of interest within the pic but it wasn't too busy, just right. The last pic made me think of "Ghost Busters" with that mist coming from under that plate. (who ya gonna call?)