Sony photographer

Sony introduced A7 and A7R, which emphasized high quality, and then introduced a 35mm interchangeable lens system, then expanded the product line, and then introduced A7s for video recording. Recently, three product lines have also been updated, and the miniaturized fuselage design is easy to switch, which has attracted many photographers to buy. However, with the introduction of mainstream models, high-quality models and special models for video recording, a brand-new Sony A9 has been launched again to meet the needs of professional sports photography.

Because there are not many opportunities to shoot the theme during this experience, I only describe this fuselage according to the author's general work needs and holiday shooting; The selected lenses are Fe 24-70mm2.8gm, Fe 70-200mm4g and FE 12-24 F4 G.

In Sony's product positioning, A9 is not positioned above A7 series, but is a model specially designed for special needs. Although its appearance is similar to that of the previous A7II series, it has undergone major internal design changes, especially the introduction of a brand-new large-capacity battery for its previously criticized endurance. In addition, a touch screen and a dual memory card slot are adopted for the first time, a navigation control lever is added in the thumb area of the right hand, and an independent film-passing and focus mode dial is added at the top of the machine.

In addition, A9 is Sony's second interchangeable lens body equipped with a touch screen, and the touch can be turned on or off in the system. As far as the system I matched this time is concerned, because of the weight of the lens, it is unlikely to use the touch screen to select the focus, and because the A9 is small, it is easy for me to touch the screen by mistake during operation, so I prefer to turn off the touch screen when shooting.

But for the author, A9' s miniaturized body can't have too many advantages under the requirement of matching high-quality lenses. After all, even if the size of the fuselage can continue to shrink at present, the size and weight of high-quality lenses are still difficult to reduce due to the limited optical principles, which makes the miniaturized fuselage easier to be top-heavy. For example, the combination of Fe 24-70mm2.8gm and Fe 70-200mm4g will easily increase the burden of holding the fuselage with the right hand.

Fortunately, Sony provided the GP-X 1EM extended grip kit, although it was a bit redundant at first. However, after practical use, it is found that the size of the author's hand can be mastered completely with this kit, which will not be as insufficient as the original little finger, and can also slightly alleviate the discomfort of matching a large lens. However, it is still a bit troublesome to unscrew the battery. If the author thinks that Sony is actually this type.

The key of A9 is the 20MP Exmor photosensitive element introduced this time. This photosensitive element directly integrates the signal circuit, temporary memory and processor on the photosensitive element through the stacking mechanism, and is equipped with a brand-new 693-point autofocus point configuration, covering 93% of the field of view. It emphasizes that it can continuously shoot 20 shots per second in the pad shutter mode, and it also needs 60 autofocus and automatic tracking calculation, which is used in sports photography.

This is a very attractive factor for users of the traditional monocular camera, because the traditional monocular camera needs to move the focusing system through the mirror due to the limitation of the focusing system, so the performance of focusing continuous shooting will be limited by the speed of the mechanical shutter and the mirror. Secondly, the focusing system of the traditional monocular camera has a wider focusing configuration due to the design problem of incoming light, which also increases the flexibility in use.

In addition, in order to make the electronic observation window meet the requirements of sports photography observation, A9' s electronic observation window not only has the characteristics of low delay, but also can open the mode of 120fps, which makes the electronic observation window smoother through higher update rate. However, some users still prefer the natural characteristics of the optical observation window, which is not suitable for the characteristics of the electronic observation window. Secondly, in an environment where light and shadow change instantaneously (for example, strong light enters weak light instantly), sometimes the response of the electronic observation window will be delayed instantly.

Although A9 is a camera that emphasizes high-speed focusing and tracking performance, focusing is usually selected manually with an elastic single point. At this time, you will find that A9 of the new navigation control key is more convenient to operate than A7 series. After all, the focus of A9 can be set quite accurately, and it is more widely distributed than the general FF body. Choosing the focus with an independent navigation control key as the elastic single point will be more intuitive than the previous model, and pressing the navigation control key will return to the central point. Personally, I hope this design can also be used.

In actual shooting, the author thinks that the lens of FE70-200mm F4 can't give full play to A9 performance. After all, the design time of this lens is relatively short. When shooting with A9, the focusing speed is ok in normal light environment, but it will be difficult to focus in low light environment. According to friends who have used FE70-200mm F2.8 GM, the focus of GM series will be more reliable in low light.

In order to focus in good light, A9 really gives people a refreshing feeling. Compared with previous models, A9' s focusing system not only has a wide range, but also has a good performance in the speed and accuracy of continuous focus tracking. However, if the target is unpredictable, it is still difficult to focus quickly according to the law of the instantaneous moving out of the target, but it is uncertain whether it is caused by the logic of the focusing system or the driving speed of the lens.

What is 20fps? According to the needs of the author, um ... it should be a very troublesome feeling, right, but it has something to do with the author's general shooting theme. After all, I seldom need to shoot high-speed dynamic subjects. On weekdays, even if I cut to the speed of M or L, I can't take a failed photo, but a large number of photos made at 20fps will bring trouble to the later photos. But if you are a professional photographer who pursues instant images (such as the instant expression of the Legislative Yuan smashing water polo ...), 20fps will be a sharp weapon.

In addition, due to the high-speed continuous shooting, the camera still needs some time to process a large number of photos, so after continuous shooting releases the shutter, the computing resources of the camera will be diverted to the photo processing for a while, and at this time, the camera will temporarily fail to work, so if you want to shoot one by one, you'd better be prepared not to shoot again instantly; However, compared with the first version of firmware A7R released by Pokemon, the body dead time of A9 is much shorter.

In addition, if you switch to electronic shutter mode, it will be very convenient for focus tracking or indoor shooting, because although the mirrorless system does not have the vibration of mirror bouncing, the mechanical shutter curtain will still produce a certain degree of vibration during operation, which will have a certain impact on the need for stable shooting; Secondly, in some extremely quiet occasions, such as performance venues, shooting with a pure electronic shutter after turning off the prompt tone can also avoid the shutter operation affecting the performers and audience.

In addition, A9 is also a very good shooting tool for professional photographers who need high-speed shutter to shoot dynamic subjects. Due to the writing characteristics of the photosensitive elements of traditional digital monocular cameras, distortion often occurs under high-speed shutter. On the other hand, A9, because the photosensitive element integrates high-speed front-end processing circuit and buffer memory, the writing speed of the photosensitive element exceeds that of the traditional photosensitive element, and there is almost no image distortion.

However, if there is a need to use the flash, A9 will encounter a more troublesome situation: A9' s electronic shutter can't be linked with the flash, so it can only trigger the shutter under the mechanical shutter. However, it also means that functions such as mute and ultra-high-speed continuous shooting cannot coexist with flash, especially when some themes need to use flash to produce freeze-frame effect, only mechanical shutter can be used.

Of the three lenses borrowed this time, the brand-new FE 12-24mm F4 G left a deep impression on me. This super wide-angle lens not only exaggerates the viewing angle, but also has reasonable deformation control. Even when shooting at the 12 end, the deformation line almost converges to the center point in a straight line, and there is no serious arc distortion. It can provide reasonable size and good image quality for players who like to shoot big scenes, plus weight.

It can be felt that after the launch of A7 series, Sony gradually adjusted its strategy for the needs of using ethnic groups. From the original policy of pursuing miniaturization of the whole system and focusing on daily static shooting, we have to provide a lens group with large aperture and high resolution to meet the needs of high quality and professional photography, so as to attract professional users to quit; A9 can also be said to be a crazy experiment aimed at subverting the stereotype that the mirrorless system is not good for sports photography, but did it succeed?

I think A9 is still a highly experimental product. Sony fuselage designers still want to keep the original intention of A7 series fuselage miniaturization, they just want to squeeze more powerful functions into micro-institutions. However, I think Sony can actually be more conservative. After all, the professional-grade fuselage has long been equipped with a large lens, and it is much more important to pursue the balance of operation. Of course, it can also be seen that the Sony design team has preset that professional photographers will buy together with the vertical handle.

Although the focusing performance is amazing, and the flexibility of the focusing range is unmatched by traditional monocular cameras, the reliability of the focusing ability for irregular motion is still a little poor, and it is still unknown whether there is a chance to upgrade through firmware in the future. After all, in recent years, many new cameras will improve their focusing performance again after upgrading their firmware, but we have to say that A9 is a good start for sports mirrorless cameras.

If you are not a photographer of sports photography or Feiyu, choosing A9 is a bit like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Of course, in terms of focusing system, A9 is still improved compared with A7 II series models, but it is almost twice as expensive as A7 II, and A7R II 1.5 times. It would be a pity if you don't use it to shoot dynamic subjects, but it has to be said that A9' s large battery and richer operation interface are superior to A7' s in intuitive operation.