Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsTotally impressed with Sony FF Mirrorless Cameras!
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2018
This year I just got back into photography after a long hiatus and decided to do go big time with it. I already purchased a Sony A7R III camera that I love for doing high resolution photography, but I wanted a camera that would be good for birds in flight. When I saw Sony knocked off a $1000 the price of the Sony A9 the temptation was too much, so I pulled the trigger and bought the Sony A9 as well. I haven't used it all that much and I am just getting accustomed to menus in order to setup the camera the way I want it.
Here are the the pros and cons of the camera that I have found so far.
Pros
1. I love the silent electronic shutter especially when you get close to 20 fps.
2. Love the auto focusing of the camera and I like it better than the Sony A7R III. Though the A7R III is more for landscape and/or things that don't move very fast.
3. I like the size and weight of the camera body, but that can be negated by putting a big old honking lens on it.
4. I like the EVF and the knowing before you snap the picture that it's going to turn out right. Though this doesn't replace knowing the fundamentals of photography, so I suggest anyone starting off in photography to learn the basics of photography. I also know a lot of old timers in the DSLR camp belittle mirrorless cameras, but I'm a tech geek and I think full frame mirrorless cameras are here to stay.
Cons.
1. Nothing perfect with any cameras and mirrorless cameras are no exception. The number one grip on any Sony camera included the Sony A9 is lack of full support of the touchscreen. It would be nice and easier in my opinion to navigate the menus on the A9 if you could use the touchscreen to navigate. I know you can use the touchscreen to focus, but I personally find using the joystick easier to navigate to location in the scene and pressing the back-focus button that I had setup.
2. While the size and weight is nice, I can see where the size factor would matter for people with large hands. Fortunately I have small hands and I do have the Sony VGC3EM Vertical Grip for α9 (You can also use it on the A7R III camera) that extends the camera body. Sony's vertical grip is expensive, but I personally would not trust a 3rd party's vertical to go on the camera body. In my opinion it isn't worth trying to save a few bucks by by a cheap grip that might ruin an expensive camera body, plus it's just one more thing Sony could argue with you at the time of a warranty repair, if you didn't use the Sony's vertical grip.
3. Banding and Overheating issue on the Sony A9. I really shouldn't have put this a con, for the limited time that I have had this camera I haven't notice it. I just wanted to mention it, so that I don't get a reply "Hey, you never said anything about banding and/or overheating!".
As with any camera it's not the camera, but the person behind the camera that determines if the photograph will be any good or not.
