Customer Reviews

Sony Alpha A900 24.6MP Digital SLR Camera (Black)

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Let me start by saying that I teach a digital photography class at the local community college, and I've seen/used/taught about every major brand and many minor brands of digital cameras, and I think every manufacturer makes a camera that is right for different people with different requirements. That being the case, the alpha900 is amazing. The resolution is not only record breaking, but the clarity of each of those pixels is quite good (with the right lens). The image stabilization on a full-frame sensor is a first (and so far, only). 5 Frames per second? At 24.6 megapixels? It is a testament to Sony's knowledge of electronics. The view finder really does exemplify why "live view" is more of a marketing checklist item, and not really necessary; looking through the view finder is a joy.

But, the world of the a900 isn't all roses. If you have a collection of Sony/Minolta lenses, hopefully they're all full-frame. Yes, the a900 supports APS-C lenses, but there is no real advantage to them with this body over other Sony DSLRs. The a900 does "find focus" better than previous Sony DSLRs, but the location of the focus points aren't as well laid out as other Sony models. While I usually carry an external flash, so the lack of a pop-up flash isn't a problem for me, many users will find the lack of one to be, at least, an annoyance.

And last, but certainly not least, is post production once the images are off of the camera. If you primarily shoot in RAW (as I do), and do much post-production, be prepared to bring your computer to it's knees. These files are huge, and all that wonderful resolution comes at cost; that being the amount of pure computing horsepower required.

Given those few caveats, the alpha900 really is a big step forward in digital SLRs, in many ways. If you can justify the cost of this body, it really is worth having, and you'll be surprised at just how much detail a single image can have when its almost 25 megapixels.

Ultimately the Sony A900 was built for Minoltan's who wanted a full frame upgrade path to the discontinued KM 7D. In a sense, this camera is a confluence of that camera, the Sony A700, and the Minolta Maxxum 9 film camera- that never saw a digital Minolta equivalent come to life.

Sony's Alpha A900 represents performance value. It is a high end/professional DSLR with a rather conservative feature set when compared to its peers on the market. It does not offer live view or video, instead it offers arguably the best 100% coverage viewfinder in a DSLR to date, excellent 24.6mp resolution, the worlds only image stabilized full frame sensor, excellent Quick-Navi Gui interface, top notch build quality, and large easy to use external controls.

Handling is excellent and intuitive. The A900 is built to handle an extreme range of weather conditions with an excellently sealed body. The external buttons are designed to be larger on purpose, and spaced out so that it can be used with gloves on in cold weather situations (it definitely passed my test in the Sierras).

Build quality on the A900 is top notch, all external panels and framework are made from an advanced Magnesium Alloy, giving an overall excellent strength to weight ratio. The grip is large and comfortable with recesses for the fingertips on the right hand that aid in portrait shooting and overall ease of grip, reassuring less hand fatigue for all day shooting for all hand sizes.

The design itself is rather compact for a full frame camera (without the vertical grip) when compared to its peers, yet is large enough to let you know that this is one serious camera for advanced enthusiasts and professionals (even though Sony is careful not to classify it strictly for professional use). Add a vertical grip to it, and it is actually larger than Canon or Nikon's largest professional cameras by a hair. The vertical grip is probably one of the best designs ever made, nearly perfectly mimicking the back panel of the A900 itself and is very comfortable.

Autofocusing is by way of a diamond arranged 9 AF points, with the center point being optimized for a f/2.8 aperture. The surrounding 8 points have been increased in sensitivity compared to the A700, for more reassuring AF performance. The speed of the in body focus motor is snappy, and the overall speed of the autofocus varies depending on the lens itself (due to different internal gearing and programming, etc.

The A900 has 3 custom presets built into the main menu dial that are quickly accessible, but the bread and butter of your adjustments will be made the way of the Quick Navi system which employs the LCD and use of thumb and front wheels and/or the multi controller joystick. Adjustments can be made to most functions without having to go one level into the menu system, which saves time and headache in moments you need to make quick decisions.

The Alpha A900 boasts an overall impressive feature list. It will shoot 5 frames per second at full 24.6mp resolution on Jpegs until the memory card is used up, ISO sensitivity ranges from 100-6400, has an excellent low light autofocusing illuminator, intelligent preview function for making changes to WB/exposure/DRO etc., lens micro AF adjustment (with memory up to 30 lenses), HDMI output, dual memory card slots, sensor based dust reduction, APS-C capture mode, 1/300th sec flash sync, built in viewfinder shutter (to black out light on long exposures), user changeable focus screens (with 3 total optional screens), 880 shot per charge battery life, 3" 920K dot LCD screen, a top deck illuminated LCD panel, comes with a wireless remote, and much more.

In use, the A900 is designed to be intuitive and is, it is simple enough so that it won't leave you perplexed but featured enough to handle most job situations. While the current trend is to add video and other such gizmos to DSLR designs, the A900 remains conservative. Film SLR users will feel right at home.

To me the A900 is more utilitarian in design, and less about a features war with competitors. Sometimes I wish it had more creative software features or live view, but I never miss video on it. Intelligent Preview is good enough to replace the live view feature for many applications although not all, such as zoom micro focus aid, but it gets most of the job done and helps to save storage space by not having to take several test frames.

In a way the Sony A900 is an old fashioned DSLR with just the right amount of modernization, which may throw some who expected the opposite from Sony for a loop. The A900 is reliable, right out of the box. It has not exhibited any focusing issues or firmware/hardware errors once. It is a well designed camera in this aspect, and reliability is first on my order checklist. It does all I need it to do for most circumstances.

Image Quality is simply fantastic. As long as your sensitivity needs aren't higher than ISO 3200 for nearly noise free images, the A900 will impress you with color gradation, excellent dynamic range, and mind boggling detail. Raw files are out of this world good and compare well to medium format rigs costing thousands and thousands of dollars more.

This camera is for the enthusiast with deep pockets, a budding professional, or a professional that wants a lot of camera for the buck. It is really hard to find any faults with this camera within its specification sheet, a real joy to use and own.

Strengths:
Build
Features for price
Viewfinder
Speed
Image Quality (ISO 3200 and under)
Resolution is extraordinary (close to medium format DSLR backs)
Noise reduction can be turned off
Lightest in class
Excellent LCD Panel
Well thought out controls
Built in Full Frame Image Stabilization (2-4 stops advantage)
A landscape shooters dream DSLR (weight, size, resolution)
Reassuring mechanical mirror/shutter cycle sound
Has character and some old fashioned heritage
AF Zeiss Lenses

Weaknesses:
No live view (if thats for you)
Jpeg Image Quality above ISO 3200
Tends to underexpose .3-.7 EV (at least consistently)
Proprietary flash shoe (although superior in design- locks on flash heads etc)
AF motor drive in camera can be a bit noisy
Mirror slap is also a bit loud
No pop up flash (debatable weakness)



- Carl (see more at alphamountworld)

Sony has finally claimed the high ground with its long awaited full frame sensor. And at 24 megapixels, this sensor probably achieves the nominal resolution of 35 mm color film. According to Digital Photography Review, this sensor achieves a resolution of 2,700 lines per 24mm of sensor height, which equals 2,700*25.4/24.0=2,858 lines per inch.

This camera is well built with plenty of buttons to control its functions. It is easy to use and produces stunning picture quality when used with high end Zeiss, Sony or Minolta lenses. When used in continuous shooting mode, the camera captures 5 RAW images per second for 3 seconds, for a total of 15 images, before its image buffer fills and the image capture rate becomes limited by the speed of the Compact Flash card.

However, the A900's high resolution sensor is somewhat susceptible to noise. Packing 24 megapixels into this full frame sensor means that each pixel collects less light per unit time than does each pixel of a 12 megapixel full frame sensor. In consequence, the 24 megapixel full frame sensor is less immune to noise than the 12 megapixel full frame sensors of the Canon 5D or Nikon D700 cameras. When no in-camera noise reduction is applied by the A900, noise becomes apparent at ISO 800 and objectionable at ISO 1600. However, it is possible to extend the usable ISO range to 1600 or 3200 through the use of at least these three RAW converters: (1) Image Data Converter SR version 3 that Sony has released for free download, (2) DxO Optics Pro Elite version 5.3.6, 5.3.7 or 6, or (3) Adobe Lightroom 3. To my eye, the Sony Image Data Converter SR version 3 achieves slightly better noise suppression than the other two options.

The A900 places large demands on the computer where images are stored and post processed. The best image quality is obtained from RAW mode which consumes 36 megabytes per image file and stores 12 bits per pixel. And opening one of these 36 megabyte RAW image files using Adobe Photoshop can be time consuming. I have upgraded my 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 Mac mini to a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini in order to decrease the time required to open a RAW image file to a reasonable delay.

The high resolution of the 24 megapixel sensor is achievable only with high end lenses such as the Zeiss 24mm f/2, 85mm f1.4, 135mm f1.8, 24-70mm f2.8 and 16-35mm f2.8 lenses, as well as the Sony G and Minolta G lenses. My own measurements with the Imatest lens test software reveal that many of the lower quality, non-G Minolta lenses (and presumably also the equivalent Sony lenses) are not sharp enough to exploit the high resolution sensor. Exceptions to this statement include the Minolta 28mm f2, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 100mm f2.8 macro, 100mm f2.8 soft focus and 70-210mm f4 lenses, which are not G lenses but approach G in quality. Nevertheless, be prepared to purchase an expensive set of lenses if you want to get the most out of the A900. And be certain to perform autofocus microadjustment on all of your lenses using the LensAlign focus calibration system if you want to get the most out of each lens.

For these reasons, the A900 is a camera best suited to those who demand, and are willing to pay for the highest possible resolution from a digital SLR. For those who would prefer to invest less money in the camera while obtaining the same resolution, the Sony Alpha DSLRA850 24.6MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) is another professional camera with the same full frame sensor as the A900 but which can capture only 3 frames per second instead of 5, and which has a 98% viewfinder instead of a 100% viewfinder.

One final recommendation: the Sony Alpha PCK-LH4AM LCD Protective Cover (Transparent) is an inexpensive way to protect the expensive LCD screen of the A900. I have used my A900 for less than one year, and despite the fact that I treat my A900 with great care, I am amazed at the large number of dings and scratches that have appeared on the LCD protective cover. Were it not for the presence of the cover, those dings and scratches would be etched into the LCD screen itself.

The Sony A900 is a camera built for photographers. Wonderfully agile, great ergonomics and stunning image quality. It does require the high-end lenses to get the most out of that resolution though, so factor that into your budget. Both the 24-70 and 70-300 operate beautifully on the A900.

The thing I like about the A900 over the Nikon D700 or Canon 5D Mk2 is how fast I can work with it. The camera just "gets out of the way". No endless pages of menus like the Nikon D700, and the quick access screen/joystick combination makes adjustments on the fly quick and easy.

I was also pleasantly surprised with the high ISO image quality. After reading some of the reviews I was hesitant, but I got very nice images up to ISO 1600.

The preious mentions about the file sizes are correct - you'll also need a fast computer to process them and 16GB memory cards.

But in the end, this is by far my favorite "affordable" Full Frame digital camera.

Competition is a very good thing and Sony just joined the professional full-frame DSLR competition with the a900 by hitting the ball out of the park.

I love this camera. It's got big, bright viewfinder thanks to a pentaprism that reminds me of the Nikon F that I owned many years ago. It's built solid as a brick - just like cameras were in the good old days

Sure, it's got twenty-four-and-a-half-million-pixels, but that's only part of the story. The files are excellent with lots of shadow detail and tack sharp thanks to the growing line of Zeiss lenses.

First, let me say I was more than ready to jump ship when Sony acquired Minolta and then had the nerve to advertise the a100 as the next generation of the Minolta 7D. Having owned three 7Ds the a100 was just a slap in the face. But, jumping ship is expensive and time consuming so I decided I'd wait until I couldn't use my 7D bodies anymore before starting the painful process of moving to Nikon or Canon. Besides, what I REALLY wanted was a 35mm format and everyone's 35mm bodies were horridly expensive. Waiting sounded like a good plan.

So, after a few years of watching Sony release amateur grade (barely above point-and-shoot) bodies made for midgets when they finally announced releasing the a850 and a900 I wasn't very enthused. Yes, they were 35mm but it doesn't do me any good if the body is so small I can't hold onto it. Eventually I decided to bite the bullet and see what they'd come up with.

WOW! I'd like to say Sony should have come out with this instead of the a100 several years ago and bag on them for taking so long but honestly it was worth the wait! Yes, it may be missing a feature or two that the Nikons and Canons have but the a900 is a fraction of the cost. What Sony has really done to both impress and surprise me is release a camera that is JUST A CAMERA. I'm sorry but all the wiz-bang crud (video, gps, in-camera post processing, etc) Nikon and Cannon (and others) are trying to pack into their bodies is ridiculous. The a900 is clean, easy to use and clean and simple, uncluttered and easy to use AND it's a full sized SLR body. A man with gloves could actually hold onto this camera and even operate it. Hear that Sony? The majority of SLR users are NOT ultra-petite women and children!

If you're a high end amateur or low-mid professional photographer moving from SLR film to DSLR and want to continue in a 35mm format you will not be disappointed. The menu is easy to use and clean. The quick menu lets you access all the commonly used functions quickly and easily with just a few button clicks. Actual buttons duplicate most functions (WB, Drive, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc) for even faster access. Continuous shooting speed is as advertised. Auto focus is fast (depending on the lens in use, of course) and accurate and about a light year ahead of the 7D. The view finder is AWESOME! It's crystal clear, large and BRIGHT. There is absolutely NO way to describe it. You have to see it yourself. Battery life is at least as good as the 7D. Still, I have two batteries for my a900 body and that's what I'd recommend having.

Things to be aware of but are not necessarily negatives: there is no built in flash. This is considered a professional body and professional grade bodies typically don't come with built in flash. It does have the Minolta hot-shoe, however, and whatever you plug in has to be compatible. RAW files are 36MB. EACH. That means you can fit about 110 on a 4GB card and they have to be FAST cards if you want to maintain the continuous shooting speed Sony claims. So, multiple cards or fewer bigger cards. I opt for the 4GB cards because if one dies I'm not loosing 200+ pictures. The RAW (or ARW as Sony names them) files require the packaged picture converter software or something like Photoshop 4+ with Camera Raw. CS3- users will have to upgrade (as I found out). Sony's software is functional but it's very clunky; CS5 Standard puts it to shame. You will need LOTS of storage on your laptop/pc. RAW->TIFF will generate HUGE files. The body is big and it is weighty. With a prime lens like the 50mm it's perfectly balanced and very easy to hold and use. Coupled with something like the Minolta 28-70mm f2.8 G or the equivalent CZ lens you have a monster. Thanks to the body size and ergonomics its perfectly manageable it's a HEAVY, BULKY package. Personally, I have no issues with this as it's the same as using my old 35mm film bodies but if you're a very petite woman or you're teaching your kids they're probably going to have problems.

One negative with the a900 -- and it ABSOLUTELY IS NOT a fault of the camera or Sony -- has turned into a nasty got-cha for me and is documented elsewhere on the 'net. If you have a lens (or more) of 'questionable quality' such as my old kit lens from one of my 7Ds they're probably going to be unusable on the a850 and a900. A 22 Megapixel 35mm body will show up and magnify any glass quality issues. A LOT! My most important piece of advice with either the a850 or a900 is to be prepared to replace your glass if necessary with GOOD glass. A poor lens on this body is just a waste of an incredible piece of technology. BTW, it is possible to use (most) APS-C lenses but again this is just a total waste of a body. Go get an a700 if you want to use your APS-C lenses.

My favorite feature (besides the view finder): AF Micro Adjust. This gives you the ability (if necessary) to 'tweak' the AF of specific lenses (up to 30 on the a900) on a per lens basis to compensate for front or back focus. This might not sound like such a hot feature but it sometimes comes in handy if you have old lenses. For example, my Minolta 50mm F2.8 Macro was always reasonably sharp but I could tell it was off just a tad if I looked closely. After making an in-camera adjustment of -3 now you can cut yourself on the pictures.

The only negative 'feature' on the a850-900 is the addition of stupid point-and-shoot features to a professional grade DSLR: Creative Style. Really?? Does anyone that buys a $2800+ body want their camera screwing with the picture? I thought that was what post-processing was for. This is a pet peeve of mine because any pictures I shoot with my Minolta lenses on any other setting than Neutral end up looking like cartoons. Minolta lenses are known for their contrast and color reproduction - IMHO, they don't need help from the camera. So, in order to compensate I'd have to make micro-adjustments to the styles and I've given up with that. I've 'fixed' Neutral and just leave it at that. IMHO, this was a waste of Sony programming resources. I think I'm going to nominate this for the 'stupid feature of the year award'.

In my opinion - which has changed since purchase - the only real drawback to the a850 and a900 is the price. Steep for even high end amateurs but after spending a few weeks with my new a900 body I've changed my opinion. The cost is well worth it if you have a lot of a-mount gear and good glass. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to do it again. In fact, I wish I would have bought one a year ago.

What makes this a great body is in most ways subjective but I believe it boils down to image quality and ease of use. The image quality is incredible and in many ways is like the difference you see between 35mm and medium format if you were comparing an APS-C DSLR (like the a700) to the a900. My personal opinion echoed by many others is that the a850-900 is one of the easiest to use and most comfortable bodies produced in quite some time. So, between these two I give the a900 an A+++.:)

Best bang for the buck. I have other legacy cameras from Nikon, but for simplicity and execution the Sony works well for me. Forget about noise., that discussion is a big yawn. Unless it's sports that pays your bills, this Sony hangs with the rest of them. I use Raw Photo Processor to work on my files, and CS5 to finish with.

The Sony alpha 900 is a solidly built and very easy to use camera for the enthusiastic hobbyist to pro.
Over the past 20 something years I have owned many models from Minolta, Nikon, and Canon. The old mechanical film cameras were great. The Nikon FE2 for example - or Nikon F3. Then the digital age came and with it poor picture quality and slow and loud auto-focus lenses. It really took a while for the big manufacturers to develop digital cameras that came close to delivering picture performance of the "good old" film cameras.
But - oh my - recently we also discovered that you can put all the technology gimmicks out there into one chassis and make your camera an "all-in-one" toy: video capability, GPS location device, sending print jobs directly from your camera to your printer, and multiple processing tools all in the camera. I am sure next will be the feature to upload directly to facebook and skype with your camera.
Okay, call me old school, but for me that is really stupid! Hopefully, for some folks out there, photography is to take time and connect your mind with what you want to capture in a photo. An "all-in-one" toy is not my cup of tea. All these "features" can create a bunch of noise and potentially distract you from your true intention and connection with the object.
You want to video tape your daughter's birthday party? No need to buy a high-end DSLR. Get a low cost point-and-shoot camera. That'll do just fine.
The Sony alpha 900 is a pro-quality purist camera. What a magnificent viewfinder! The camera is capable of delivering breathtaking RAW quality. It shoots fast (I do a lot of sports photography as well). Handling is phenomenal. It is easy to find the important things to adjust the picture taking process, i.e. your way to connect with the object and the message you seek to convey. Easy steps - not having to drill down deep into multiple selection steps in the settings of the menus. It is all there: simple and easy.
There are great lenses available for the Sony cameras. I own about half a dozen and really enjoy the color and picture quality. The Zeiss lenses, the G-lenses, and the excellent "old" Minolta lenses (including great macro-lenses) - great colors, sharpness and bokeh. And the SSM auto-focus lenses are very fast and quiet.
Sony has developed a product that is rare and addresses the purist. I like this a lot.

I've been shooting the A900 with most of the Minolta 'G' lenses and especially like its capabilities with the F 2.8 300 mm G for birding and wildlife. I have one gripe. The "manual" for the camera is less substantial than those for the A100 or the A700. With the time Sony took to get this fine beast to market you would think they would have a full featured companion manual and have provided code for Adobe, Microsoft et al to render its RAW output. Here I am with Vista 64 and 8 Gig of ram and Vista and Lightroom both balk at the RAW output. I love the product but want a professional level back to be more integrated with the other tools sophisticated users employ. Cannon would not be caught this way with a new high end product. Kudos to the Minolta engineers for continuing to refine the surperb ergonomics but help us fully utilize what's been achieved in hardware in the field!

The A900 is great, simply because of the 24.6 MP's...Make sure you have a full frame lense for this camera. Also went from an A350 to the A900, and some of the features that I liked on the 350....the 900 doesn't have (live view), and the extending view.