Sony's new A99 - How best to test it?

[jfrabat]

OK, before I start , let me begin by saying that I am both a photography fan, and a Sony employee. I also own a Sony SLT-A77 with a couple of lenses (the best two being a 16-80mm Zeiss, which is NOT full frame, and a 70-300mm G lens, which IS compatible with the full frame cameras).

We are about ready to launch the new SLT-A99 here in Costa Rica next week, and I received one SLT-A99 (with a Zeiss lens) for the launch yesterday, and, of course, being a photo buff, I took it home to play with for a while. All I can say is that I am impressed with the camera. In general, the camera itself (the outside part) is very similar to the A77, but with a few slight differences.

The first thing that caught my attention is how smooth the controller feels compared to the A77. Some other things you may quickly notice is that the hot-shoe design has changed, and that now you have mic input and headphone outputs. There is also a focus limiting button, which I found VERY useful! This is a new function that lets you set a range within which the camera will auto-focus (anything nearer or farther than the range selected is ignored).

Not only would something like this be useful for photography (you have no idea how many pictures of my daughter dancing on stage I have where she is not in focus, but her friends are!), but in case of video, it is even MORE attractive, as you can continue focusing on your subject without loosing focus like you would on a regular video camera.

Anyway, I was wondering what the best way to test this camera and it's capabilities is. I have not taken any pictures (yeah, sure, I snapped a few snap shots, but no REAL pictures), but I am planning to set my tripod up and take pictures of the same subject with both my A77 and this new A99 to compare resolution and detail. My intention is to post the shots from both cameras (as they come out of the camera; no adjusting for either one) here. f

So what are the best subjects to shoot? What would you like me to include (these need to be items I may have laying around the house!)? Let me know, and I will shoot them with both cameras! If I have it available, I will try my best to get the shots you ask for...

Felipe

 

[Derrel]

HOW ABOUT a shot or two of a person? Maybe a shot of a bowl of fruit: orange, lemon,lime, apple, banana, pepper, I dunno...some FRUIT in a bowl, so we can see its color response.

 

[mjhoward]

A new hot shoe? That's awesome for people with the older flashes and triggers. Why didn't they make a new lens mount to induce further unnecessary lens purchases as well?

 

[cosmonaut]

I would suggest lots of color. Falls leave ect. Something with a lot of contrast to see how well it controls the highlights and still have detail in the shadows. A sunset or sunrise would work. Do some high speed shooting see how well it can track a moving target. Check out high iso shots, night shots to check noise levels. Post some shots for us.

 

[skieur]

Back lighting, shaded faces, and street shots to test the face detection sharpness mode.

skieur

 

[DiskoJoe]

Your in Costa Rica? Take some pictures of women on the beach :thumbup:

 

[jfrabat]

Just got out of a dinner with the Panama embassador, so I could ony get a few shots. All shots are with a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 24-70mm 2.8 lens (same lens used on both cameras). Photos are unedited, and I tried to get the settings as close as possible on both cameras.

HOW ABOUT a shot or two of a person? Maybe a shot of a bowl of fruit: orange, lemon,lime, apple, banana, pepper, I dunno...some FRUIT in a bowl, so we can see its color response.

Well, I was out of fruits, so I set up a "Vegetable" bowl.... Unfortunately, being tired, I did not focus right the new camera, so I will not even post those until I reshoot them and have both cameras focused right... right now, i am going to bed!

A new hot shoe? That's awesome for people with the older flashes and triggers. Why didn't they make a new lens mount to induce further unnecessary lens purchases as well?

Yeah, I have to agree here, as I have 2 flashes. But the new mount is kind of the new standard across various brands, from what I read in Outdoor Photography, so there seems to be much more support, and it's suppossed to be a much better hot show (can work with loads more than just flashes). So I guess long term it is a good idea... We'll have to wait and see, I guess!

I would suggest lots of color. Falls leave ect. Something with a lot of contrast to see how well it controls the highlights and still have detail in the shadows. A sunset or sunrise would work. Do some high speed shooting see how well it can track a moving target. Check out high iso shots, night shots to check noise levels. Post some shots for us.

Not much of fall going on in Costa Rica; but I found some of my kids' toys, and used that for color! I just wish I could have done this in daylight, though... Specs are: A77 is f/11 at 2 sec ISO100, A99 is f/11 at 3.2 sec ISO 100. I do notice some improvements, especially the the shades of yellows... (both cameras were in A mode, so the time is set by the camera)

A77:



A99:

Back lighting, shaded faces, and street shots to test the face detection sharpness mode.

skieur

Took a picture of myself in odd lighting... A77 is set up with f/8, 1/6 sec ISO 800, while the A99 is set up with /8, 1/3 sec ISO 800

A77:



A99:



I did mess up the focus on this one also, as I find that the face is better focussed with the A99, but the shirt has sharper focus with the A77... Another re-take candidate, I guess...

Your in Costa Rica? Take some pictures of women on the beach :thumbup:

I live in the capital, San Jose, which is a valley (one hour away from the nearest beach)... SORRY!

I also decided to test the ISO performance, so I took a shot of one of the paintings I have laying around (literally, as it's on the floor leaning into the wall! LOL!). First I tried both at ISO 16,000, which is as high as the A77 will go, then I bumped the A99 to 25,000. A77 is at f/9.5, 2 sec, while the A99 is at f/9 and 6 sec (A mode, so the time is set by the camera) for the ISO 16,000 and f/9 and 4 sec for the ISO 25,000. Here are all 3 pics:

A77:



A99 (ISO 16K):



A99 (ISO 25K):



What a difference in noise reduction with the new sensor!!!!

 

[Kolia]

Could you take a few shoots in APS-C mode, using your 16-80mm Zeiss and compare the same shoots with the A77 ?

 

[Derrel]

Yes, the high-ISO a77 shot is pretty poor compared against the a99's performance. I would call the a77 shot unacceptable, while the two shown from the a99 are pretty decent by comparison.

 

[jfrabat]

Could you take a few shoots in APS-C mode, using your 16-80mm Zeiss and compare the same shoots with the A77 ?

I can try... My schedule is pretty busy today and tomorrow, but I'll try to get some shots in. I´m also thinking of taking the A99 and the A77 to a karting race on Sunday, so we'll see how that goes.

Yes, the high-ISO a77 shot is pretty poor compared against the a99's performance. I would call the a77 shot unacceptable, while the two shown from the a99 are pretty decent by comparison.

The shot was pretty hard to begin with; I took these at midnight on my living room with all the lights OFF, so I have to say the A77's result was pretty much what I expected. But I was surpries by the A99, as both shots turned out to be usable (not great, but certainly passable, especially considering the lighting conditions). What I am not 100% sure is why both cameras set conditions differently; I used A mode, and if you notice at the times, the A99 would keep the shutter open for longer periods even when using the same lens, ISO, metering mode, exposure compensation and aperture... That could have something to do with the results, I guess, SO, I am thinking of going to M mode and setting shutter and aperture to the same to comparre apples to apples...

 

[skieur]

The A77 will go to 25,000 as well, but that choice is in a different location accessed from the drive button, if I remember correctly.

skieur

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

The new hotshoe allows for the adding of accessories like a stereo mic through the hotshoe as opposed to a seperate input. Its more than just a traditional hotshoe for flash.