Another A99 review (and an info about cheap A99 UK deal).
SAR reader Dave (Thanks!) made this image to show you how Apples compare to Apples 
Check the A99 review at Dpreview. Also ePhotozine posted a new A99 review and it got a “Highly Recommended” mark.
A warning for EU readers: As you knwo ther eis that crazy 2200 Euro price on the A99 at ukbnsuk on eBay (Click here). Our reader “Arismakr” (Thanks!) got some info about the store: “The camera is an “NTSC only” model and that means PAL is not an option for European buyers. As you may understand there will be a problem with video playback in Europe. They also told me that the box is not sealed whatever that means”
Soudns like they improt the camera from cheaper Asian stores!
A99 store links: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Joe
6 months ago |How about a christmas gift for everyone in the form of a big fat rumor?
admin
6 months ago |Of course! One is coming in 2-3 hours. As soon as I have a major break from work I will write it and you will like it
It’s about SLT…
emopunk
6 months ago |A78 incoming?
idf
6 months ago |D800 just dropped to $2796
Frank
6 months ago |Yes indeed, it’s an obvious grey import, open box and no warranty. Buyer beware.
The Lotus Eater
6 months ago |Yep, this UKBNSUK company seem pretty dishonest to me. They make absolutely no mention thay they are selling imported goods, and they try to pull the wool over people’s eyes with all that “Shipped from the UK” crap.
If it sounds too good to be true, it normally is.
idf
6 months ago |It’s a deal from BH and amazon, these sites might not trick you, do they?
blabla
6 months ago |$200 difference is probably not enough to to gain potential NiCan buyers. A second $1500 FF body would help a lot.
@admin: do not come for Xmas with an A58 with OLED EVF, I just bought A57
Hendrick
6 months ago |Nevermind in Europe. Nikon D800 is £1999 at Amazon and Warehouse Express. A99 is £2299. This makes it a considerable expense compared to Nikon. Canon is £2339, but we all know that the sensor on the 5D3 is not as good. Video, however, As soon as Panasonic releases the GH3, Sony will really have to match that if they want more videographers flocking to their side. Especially for video, since the depth of field advantage of FF is now marginal thanks to Olympus 1.8 lenses and Voigtlander’s 0.95 lenses.
Great cam, but it seems to have a better future I the US price wise. I don’t understand Sony’s pricing strategy for Europe. RX1 in US is $2800, and in EUR2,600/£2,600? I mean, Nikon has a price in the UK for D800 so close to the US is not worth importing and here at SAR, people look into HK imports to compensate for the rather expensive pricing in the EU.
obican
6 months ago |Have you tried the OLED viewfinders? I have the Nex 7 and had the 5N OVF. When I tried A57 at a store, I was still quite impressed at its EVF’s quality. I don’t think there’s much of a difference
blabla
6 months ago |yes, I tried them all, and still prefer an OVF, o.k. the OLED is better than the LCD not only because of higher resolution but because the LCD is cycling the RGB colors, you notice this immediately if panning rapidly in an high contrast environment. But most disturbing is the fact that in 10fps mode you will never see the actual position of your frame but the image as it was a fraction of seconds before. This will not easily allow to predict sports and action scenes and you need luck to do the the right following of the scene.
OneTrackMind
6 months ago |It might mean nothing because of how entrenched canikon users are in their systems, but WHAT IF in the early part of 2013, with price reductions/rebates, more stellar reviews from websites and photographers, the A99 starts smokin and blows past Sony’s sales expectations?
Do you think that would make them re-think their new ‘roadmap’ slightly?
I tend to think no. But the buzz and cash flow would be good to hopefully help their marketing towards whatever their new products will be.
Viva la A99 – she’s a beautiful beast
(and maybe the last of her kind)
Jacques
6 months ago |Oops, how much they paid for that???
Hellven
6 months ago |by your logic, they just paid more 2% than Canon an Nikon did
Blue_bird
6 months ago |Did you mean PAL and NTSC, these are really standard def definitions applying to the composite signal .You may mean 50Hz and 60Hz these describe the field or frame rate depending on whether the signal is interlaced or progressive most modern sets with an hdmi connector can handle many different frame rates with out problem.
I do agree it seems to be dishonest to imply they are uk company when they obviously aren’t . I would worry more about the warranty than the old fashioned PAL/NTSC compatability
noise23
6 months ago |Just received my “grey import” A99 for $2649 from Hong Kong ebay seller. It has both PAL and NTSC modes! Very happy with it
Beachrider
6 months ago |Leaving N600 off the chart is a little vapid. Clearly, the review regards ‘value’ as one of the rating parameters. A cheaper device that delivers largely-the-same functions COULD get a higher rating than more-comprehensive, more-expensive devices.
It is not like I am going to switch to Nikon. It is more like Sony shouldn’t ignore an obvious value-based judgement from a fairly reputable website.
OneTrackMind
6 months ago |@beachrider – I have to disagree. That chart is actually accurate to the DPreview category classifications. On their site they have the D600 labelled as a ‘Mid-Range Full Frame’, and the D800/800E and 5d(mk2/3) and A99 listed as ‘Semi-Professional Full Frame’.
Additionally if you compare the D600 to the A99 (as they allow you to do ONLY if you click to ‘turn on all categories’) you can see the overlaid scores of the two items. As you can see in things relating to the sensor, they are almost identical, with the D600 having a slight edge in JPEG and a fraction better in ISO. If you add up the differences of the grey and yellow areas (visually since there are no numerics) you can see that the D600 is actually the same if not less than the A99 – yet the D600 is 3% higher on it’s score. The only thing I can reason is that not all the categories are weighted the same, which is completely possible.
The one that leads me to believe that they are not being reviewed the same is ‘build quality’ in which they score the SAME. I ask you – do you think the build quality of the D600 is on par with the A99? I think the A99 should be higher rated, but since it’s not, it makes me think that they are being graded relative to their category not to each other – therefore the 87% wouldn’t be comparable to the 84% score.
I believe that if Sony had released an SLT-A88 24MP Full Frame that was about $2000, it would also fall into the ‘Mid-Range Full Frame’ and therefore be directly comparable to similar products such as the D600. But since Sony does not have that product, it doesn’t mean you can just grab their next closest product and compare them together because they share the same sensor.
Even DPreview says the following – “Like its predecessor, the SLT-A99 enters a full frame DSLR playing field still dominated by the ‘big two’, so the camera’s success will depend not just on its advances over the A900, but how well it competes against the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Nikon D800.”
So for me, those are the products it’s being judged against when I see 84%.
Maybe somebody at DPreview can shed some light on their scoring methods.
lorenzino
6 months ago |I think you are right. They stated many times that the results and scoring is comparable only for products in the same category.
Sure, in real life, someone like me who does not own any FF camera will compare the offerings from different categories, and in doing so will always take absolute price into account.
I still can’t understand how come in Europe the A99 is more expensive than the D800…
Varn
6 months ago |Simply put, Sony A99 84% Score is ONLY relevant to Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Nikon D800. You should not compare the score with ANY other cameras – including the lower category FF.
Blackriver
6 months ago |The 5D MK III was $3,500 last time I looked not $3,000 even like the images says.
Dave Melges
6 months ago |For the record, I’m the one that made the graphic. I based it on DP’s apparent division/categories.
As best I can tell, the only reason the D600 scores higher than the a99, is it’s being compared to cameras in a lower bracket. If it had to stand up the build quality and feature set of the 5DMIII and a99, I think it’s safe to say it’s IMPOSSIBLE DPR would have given it anything higher than a 78 or 79.
Also, the prices are taken directly from AMAZON.COM, so we’re comparing apples to apples.
Personally, I think the a99 belongs in it’s own category, TRUE LIVE VIEW, FF Professional Cameras. In THAT category, it’s not just the highest rated, it’s the only model in existence.
Since I weight TRUE LIVE VIEW as the most important feature on any artistic photographer’s camera, the fact that the a99 can compete on a scorecard from a reviewer that does NOT rate that feature as important, and still be better priced than it’s direct competition, makes the Sony an infinitely better deal.