DxOmark tested the sensor and cam to that conclusion:

The Sony a9’s sensor ranks as one of the best we’ve tested at base ISO, with consistently good scores for dynamic range and color depth, and exceptional results for noise. At those crucial mid to high ISO sensitivities for action photographers, image quality is also excellent and on par with flagship Nikon and Canon sports DSLRs.

For the very best image quality, the A7R II offers better results for color, as well as almost twice the sensor resolution, but it isn’t a sports camera and can’t compete for performance against the a9, so they’re intended for different markets.

With a big body-only price tag of $4,500, the Sony a9 is squarely in the pro category, going head-to-head with the top-end Canon and Nikon DSLRs. With many pros already heavily invested in lenses and accessories for those systems, it’s going to be a tricky (not to mention expensive) to switch, but the Sony a9 has both the performance capabilities and image quality that make it a seriously tempting proposition.

Like I told you before you have to compare apples with apples. The A9 is made to satisfy the Image Quality needed by Sports Photographers and not Landscae shooters. If you compare the A9 against the more expensive competition the A9 does beat them:

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.

And the fastest SD cards are now in Stock:
Sony SF-G 128GB: BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. In EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, AmazonFR, AmazonIT, AmazonES.
Sony SF-G 64GB: BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. In EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, AmazonFR, AmazonIT, AmazonES.
Sony SF-G 32GB: BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

Samyang 35mm FE lens on preorder at BHphoto, Adorama

Daniel Gangur tested the lens and concludes:

This lens really suits my personal needs for small light weight option with excellent image quality, if you are after the same it really is a good option. I think I will be choosing this over the Sony/Zeiss on future adventures, I just can’t fault the image quality.
I think at the price of $499 AUD it will be a very popular lens and is very competitively priced given it’s excellent image quality and great focus performance.

Samyang 35mm f2.8 AF for Sony E mount unboxing by Hanna Saba:

NEW Samyang 35mm f2 8 AF for Sony E mount Review by Hanna Saba:

Samyang 35mm FE lens on preorder at BHphoto, Adorama (found no preorder links in Europe yet).

Dpreview just posted the full Sony A9 review. The camera earned a Gold Award:

While we’ve seen that there are still trade-offs versus high-end DSLRs, the Sony a9 is a fantastic and highly capable camera, and the fact that it’s comparable to those DSLRs speaks volumes. The Nikon D5 and Canon EOS-1D X II are both the result of decades of research and experience, and the fact that Sony has arrived with the a9 less than four years after creating its first full-frame mirrorless camera is nothing to be sneezed at.
If you’re drawn to the ideas of silent operation and a compact package (with the right lenses) and yet you have a need for the type of speed the a9 offers, you won’t be disappointed.

Good job Sony! Now bring on the new A7III, A7rIII and A7sIII :)

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.

And the fastest SD cards are now in Stock:
Sony SF-G 128GB: BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. In EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, AmazonFR, AmazonIT, AmazonES.
Sony SF-G 64GB: BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. In EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, AmazonFR, AmazonIT, AmazonES.
Sony SF-G 32GB: BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

SAR reader Benjamin sent me this:

It seems the “star eater” bug is not fixed. Preliminary findings indicate, that the Sony algorithm now processes both green channels at once instead of seperately. This slightly reduces the overall filtering effect, but also seems to cause a green color cast on the smallest stars.
The details are discussed in these two threads:
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4168505
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4167521

Also John Leathwick confirmed on an article written for PetaPixel:

When Sony made their firmware announcement last week with promises of improved image quality for long exposures, many of us thought that this problem might at last have been addressed. However, slowly the evidence began to build that this was not the case – in my own testing of night-sky photos taken with the new firmware, the number of stars detected by the freely available image stacking software DeepSkyStacker is 70% lower in 5 second exposures than in 2.5 second exposures; visual comparison of these images shows the removal or dimming of many of the smaller stars once exposures are four seconds or longer.

Disappointing. Now let’s hope Sony will take quick action on this matter!

You can preorder the new Samyang lens at BHphoto, Adorama.

The new Samyang (Rokinon in USA) 35mm f/2.8 FE AF lens is 3mm shorter than the twice as expensive Zeiss lens. Above you can  see the image somparison via CameraSize. Here is one more size comparison by Gippsland:

Just my two cent: Instead of doing a Zeiss clone for half the price I would have done a f/4.0 pancake lens half the size of the f/2.8 Samyang and for $199. This would have been a real headliner don’t you think?

You can preorder the lens at BHphoto, Adorama.

Sony A7rii Firmware Update (TheDigitalDigest)

Here are just a couple of new feedbacks on the new major firmware update. Feel free to add your findings on the comment system:

Matthew “Hey Andrea, just put together a quick and dirty video testing the differences (if there are any) between firmware 1.02 and 1.03 for the a6500 using a manual-focus telephoto. Not sure if the update helped performance of the IBIS or not. It may have just improved performance when IBIS is used in conjunction with a lens’ OSS. See video description for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD1bwU9uUYQ.”

TickTock: “I’ve just posted a YouTube video showing my results from a quick test out in ~80 degree Fahrenheit weather (shaded located for the camera position): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TACuw64kNhI.I hope this can be of some help on what users can expect as well as another user report.”

Firmware links:
A9: Sony Japan, Sony Support, Sony Australia.
A7rII: Sony Japan, Sony Support, Sony Australia.
A7sII: Sony Japan, Sony Support, Sony Australia.
A7II: Sony Japan, Sony Support, Sony Australia.
A6500: Sony Japan, Sony Support, Sony Australia.
A6300: Sony Japan, Sony Support, Sony Australia.