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.

Shooting the Sony A9 Blindfolded and in the Dark by Patrick Murphy-Racey

Diglloyd made a banding test of the camera. The problem is the Red Channel which does show some banding:

I state here (as before) that for most color images, the pattern noise that I show is unlikely to be an issue for “ordinary” usage, since the green and blue channels blend with red in a color image (thus masking noise), plus subject color, type of lighting, and exposure also contribute substantially. The Sony A9 makes a very fine camera for what it is designed for (very high frame rate).

As stated by Jim Kasson in previous noise tests the problem is that the noise behaviour isn’t random enough. This is something Sony could work out by processing images in a slightly different way.

Sony A9: Australian Review (Gizmodo).
How to take AMAZING portraits in the harsh midday sun | Featuring the Sony A9! (Video by Manny Ortiz).
Une première expérience avec ma Sony A9 (Adobe Spark).
Sony A9 & Sigma 135mm F1.8 Art Test – MC-11 Adapter (Video by Dan Watson).
Sony a9 — multiple ACD operations? (Jim Kasson)
Behind The Scenes Shooting In The Studio With The New Sony a9 (Video by Miguel Quiles).
Sony A9 – Erste Erfahrungen (Mysticalpics).
Banding on the Sony A9 with LED Lighting- a Test in the “Cocaine Room” of the Waldo Hotel (Video by Jason Lanier).
David Fliss spotted the A9 in the White House.
Low light tests on the Sony Alpha 9 (Video by Visual Impact).

Ryan Brenizer is ditching Nikon D5 for Sony A9 and here is the one hour long video where he explains why he is doing so:

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.
Note: US readers preordering the A9 at BHphoto or Adorama using our links (and our affiliated links only!) have a chance to win a Sony A9.

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.

Alin Popescu tested both new wide angle lenses and posted many image samples and comparisons on his website:

16-35mm test:

The lens is straightforward to use, with excellent handling and smooth zoom and focus ring movement. They’ve said the drive by wire was improved and I must agree.
The lens is an amazing performer starting wide open. And very resistant to flare and resolves all scenes with minimum Chromatic Aberration.

12-24mm test:

Serious resistance to flare and minimum aberrations with superb contrast. I have found it even better compared to the G Master when it come to Chromatic Aberration handling.
Sharpness wise, this lens is a performer. It’s very sharp corner to corner, ignoring the normal distortions for a 12mm.

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.

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No comment :)

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Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.