Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-08-22)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 49

T

heAlpha9 wasa revelationwhenit arrivedonthescene

in 2017.FasterthananyagshipprofessionalDSLRfrom

CanonandNikon,it caughttheattentionof photographers

whowanteda smallerfull-framebodywitha performance

goodenoughto capturehigh-speedsports,actionandwildlife.It’sa

blisteringlyfastmirrorlesscamerathatshoots24MPlesat 20fps

usingitselectronicshutterandbacksthisupwithmind-blowing

continuousautofocus.Otherfeaturesinclude5-axisin-bodyimage

stabilisation,4Kvideo,dualcardslotsand480-shotbatterylife.

Sony

Alpha 9

Ataglance

£2,279

in goodcondition(viaMPB.com)

●24.2MPfull-frameCMOSsensor

●ISO50-204,800(expanded)

●20fpscontinuousshooting

●5-axisimagestabilisation

●673g(includingbattery)

What wesaid

●‘20fpssilentshootingand

5-axisimagestabilisationis

unmatchedby anyDSLR’

●‘TheSonyAlpha9 is an

astonishingcamera’

●‘It canfocusona subject

practicallyanywherein the

frameandusessubject

recognitionto trackmovement’

●‘Sonyhasrewrittentherule

bookregardingwhatwecan

expectfroma full-framesports

andactioncamera’

Whattopay

WhenwereviewedtheAlpha 9

in 2017it cost£4,499.In

2019 SonylaunchedtheAlpha

9 II, whichinuenceda dropin

price.It hasalsoledto a good

numberof usedexamples

appearingonthesecond-hand

marketasphotographerstrade

in andupgrade.Examplesof

usedAlpha9’sin goodoverall

conditionwithsomecosmetic

signsof usecanbepickedup

fromMPB.comfor£2,279.

How it farestoday

TheA9remainssoughtafterby

manysportsandwildlife

photographers.Thetopspeed

of 5fpsusingitsmechanical

shutteris ontheslowside,it

doesn’temploySony’svery

latestAFalgorithmsandits

transferspeedslagbehindthe

times,yetit’sstillanexcellent

cameraforcapturingeeting

momentsandextremelyfast

subjectsthatmoveerraticallyat

lightningspeed.

Newalternatives

TheA9II retainsmanycore

specsof theoriginal,including

thesame24.2MPsensor,

3.69-million-dotEVFand

1.44-milliondottouchscreen.

Thebodyis aliketo Sony’sA7R

IV, witha deeperhandgripand

renedcontrols.Bothcardslots

areUHS-IIcompatible,face

detectionandEVFresponseis

improved,voicememosare

addedandtheAFalgorithmis

tweakedforimprovedtracking.

Ithasbeenagamechangerfor

professionalsandtodayitrepresents

verygoodvalueontheusedmarket

USEDCAMERAS Testbench

TheSonyAlpha9 hasa hugebufferthat

allows 241 compressedrawframes,or 362

JPEGsto berecordedcontinuouslyat 20fps

Sony’sBionzX Processor

permitsfullspeedshootingwith

noviewfinderblackout

See over to find out what Sony Alpha 9 owners have to say

INASSOCIATIONWITHMPB| WWW.MPB.COM

+Impressivebufferperformance

+ Remarkable autofocus

+ Programmable My Menu setting

+ Battery can be charged while shooting

• Plastic port covers are thin


• Screen brightness (set to default)


• Only 5fps with mechanical shutter


• Locks you out of the menu while the
  buffer clears

For and against

SECONDHAND HALL OF FAME

GOLD