Sony Alpha SLT A99 Camera Review

I am a bit of a Sony camera fan (ok – way more than a bit), and because of that, I am a bit of an abnormality in the photography community.  I have a Sony a100, a300, a77, and as of November 2012, the Sony a99.  I have a handful of Sony point and shoot cameras that live in drawers, and even two big old clunker “antique” Sony digital cameras (one with a whopping 2 megapixels!).  I like Sony, I have depended on Sony for years, and I have been nothing but happy with my Sony cameras and with Sony’s service.


I spent a crazy amount of time researching the Sony a99. Before the announcement last fall, I had read (literally – this is not an exageration) EVERY rumor post about it. On the day of the release, I kept refreshing the same search – “sony a99” – on Google until I started to see some news, and for weeks after that (weeks people!) I checked EVERY SINGLE DAY for new reviews – and I read them all. Granted, I enjoy research and I am trained in it, but I am someone who really likes to get a good idea about a product before I plunk down my hard earned $2799 plus tax. So I waited, and researched, and forced family and friends to listen to me yabber on and on about the pros and cons (imagined or real). I checked my bank account often (like some magic amount of money was just going to drop in there) and I checked Sony’s website daily until the a99 was finally released for sale. And then I waited some more. I tell you this because it is important to recognize that I am not the type that buys every new gadget; I like what I purchase to be the best of the best – and I want to feel that the item I buy is worth the cost.

But then on Black Friday my credit card company had a bonus points offer (which they never upheld – not going into that now though!) so I spent the day adding and then removing the A99 from my shopping cart (am I sounding neurotic yet?). Then, in an exhausted, tofurkey-induced daze (vegetarian “turkey” has tryptophan too, right?), I bought it. I ordered the a99. And then I closed my laptop and questioned my sanity. (Oh – and then I spent a terrified week wondering what I had done). But then it arrived. The a99. I opened the box, popped in a memory card and pre-charged battery (I was ready!), and added my 20mm lens, and I took my first photo of my mother’s dog (the first photo is important! I drove all the way to her house before taking that first shot). Then I took another, oh, 300 pictures of the dog in various stages of Chihuahua-ness (standing, sitting, sleeping, gazing, gnawing, etc.). I went outside and photographed the sky, And then I just sat down and went through every folder and function on the camera. I read the manual (I’ve always enjoyed manuals though. It probably comes fom growing up with the deprivation of no cable television). I took more photos of the dog, who had grown tired of me and my annoying “Precious! Precious! Look here! Here! Here !” during those earlier 300 shots (I have some great shots of the dogs back in HDR, black and white, and “miniature.”) And then I took my camera home (and repeated the whole procedure on my camera-phobic dogs). I was very familiar with the camera by the end of the year, and now, six months later, every function and setting has become second nature. Not a day goes by that I don’t photograph something outstanding or noteworthy (ok, normally it’s just a cat or dog showing me their belly), but I also have had the chance to take my camera to a lot of fun photoshoots, events, and a few other states. 

I have had so much fun with this camera, and I love that I am able to take the photos I want. I don’t feel limited or restricted whatsoever by this camera, and that’s an incredible feeling. And the best part? Once the A99 arrived, I have not once regretted or second-guessed my purchase (seriously – that is saying something!). It was a tough decision (after my car, this is the priciest thing I’ve ever bought), but I am so happy with this camera. There is nothing I would change. Oh, except this camera would come in a pack of two, so I could keep one lens on each and have to change lenses less frequently. But other than wanting MORE A99s, I am so completely happy with this camera. If you’re even considering it, do it. It is a crazy cool camera (to put it as lightly as possible!).
But beware: this camera will make you hungry for new lenses. I’ve already added two new awesome primes to my lineup of Sony lenses (now totalling seven) and another Sony flash (I stuck with the HVL 43 because I know and like it, but part of me regrets not taking the chance on the new HVL 60).
But beware: this camera will make you hungry for new lenses. I’ve already added two new awesome primes to my lineup of Sony lenses (now totalling seven) and another Sony flash (I stuck with the HVL 43 because I know and like it, but part of me regrets not taking the chance on the new HVL 60).

I feel that the Sony a99 sets my work apart from others; I am not one of many shooting with a Canon or Nikon; rather I am using the latest technology from the company manufacturing the sensors for Nikon (ha!); I have in-body image stabilization and outstanding live view (I forgot how INSANELY awesome this was until I spent some time shooting with my older A300 this past week! Still love you though, A300!); and I have low-light capabilities that I could never have dreamed of before. The Sony a99 has been rocking my world for the past six months, and I am so excited to see what this awesome camera can do in the coming six.

The Review – Technical Stuff

Still on the fence?  Let me tell you some more!

The Sony a99 hopscotched away from previous models in that the ISO hot shoe has been replaced with the much more common Multi Interface Shoe.  While getting away from proprietary technology is a smart move for opening up the Sony market to new customers, I am sad to see the ISO hot shoe vanishing.  The ISO hot shoe is more secure and extremely easy to use, but unfortunately, it never caught on.  Luckily, the a99 comes with a hot shoe converter (a second can be purchased for around $25) and I have been comfortably using my Sony HVL-43 flash with it for the past few months.  A few times, the converter twisted slightly lose and my flash lost contact with the hot shoe, but that has happened around five or six times in the approximately 11,000 pictures I have taken in the last two months.

Other than the hot shoe change, I have been completely thrilled with the a99.  I have heard people (including Justin, who obviously had a vested interest in convincing me to not buy a new camera, but has since changed his tune) say that the a99 is just a step above the a77.  The a77 is an excellent camera – I love it – but the a99 is a massive upgrade.  For one thing, the full frame technology is outstanding.  The detail I am able to achieve is just mind blowing.  Pictures are crisp, clear, and beautiful.  The new autofocusing system with 102 focusing points is also pretty amazing.  In my opinion, perfect focus is the most important part of a picture, and the a99’s 102 autofocus points work to achieve even stronger focus.  At release time, only five lenses were currently supported, but Sony has already released a firmware update adding eleven addition lenses, and there are plans to add more this year.  Two of my lenses are supported, and let me tell you, that depth map assist autofocusing is PHENOMENAL.  I admit – even at 27, my vision is not great. (I lose my glasses when I take them off.  For real.)  But when the depth map assist 102 point autofocusing system, I am completely confident in my shots.  The focus is just THERE.  And really focus is one of the most important things in our photos.  As photographers, we look instantly for the sharpest spot in a picture – and if that isn’t there, we aren’t satisfied.  And even with my other non-supported lenses, I have been very happy with the focusing abilities.  I easily switch to sports action to capture focused pictures of that flock of birds taking flight from the neighbor’s yard or the dogs chasing each other in the snow, and then I switch quickly back to portrait mode to catch those same birds sitting on the bird feeder or the dogs taking a panting breather.

What has impressed me the most, though, has been the amazing electronic viewfinder and the excellent white balance.  I have read many people griping about the electronic viewfinder, but from what I have seen, none of these are people who have tried it.  Seriously, it is incredible.  I did not realize how much I was missing out on using a traditional viewfinder.  I can literally see exactly what my images will look like before depressing the shutter.  Even when I read about this feature prior to buying the a99, I could not actually visualize what that would mean to my shooting.  Being able to see how an image will look gives me complete control to capture the perfect shot without a series of trial and error.  The white balance speaks for itself – it is just superb – but that small feature saves me precious time from adjusting my white balance before each set, or in post-production for fast-moving situations.

I also read a few reviews complaining about the short battery life (when of course made me nervous as an event photographer).  I am a bit neurotic about keeping backup batteries with me, but even during a recent wedding where my camera was on for most of eight hours, I switched batteries once and still had plenty of juice when the wedding ended.  The battery life has not been a problem at all, and I feel it is certainly adequate.  What has been a problem is memory card space – this camera takes massive images at 24.3 megapixels.  Those files (especially when shooting RAW) make me really appreciate the a99’s dual memory card slots.  Seriously – “card full” doesn’t mean PANIC!  I just navigate to the appropriate menu and switch cards in camera – then when I have a free moment I swap out the full card for a new one.  Again – this is something I came to appreciate again recently when using my A300 (again – much love still A300!)

Finally, I have been thrilled with the low light performance of the a99.  THRILLED!  I hate tripods.  They are terrifying contraptions that hold your beloved camera between perfection and complete, smashing death.  People kick tripods – a lot.  Dogs especially love to weave through them at high speeds (set up a few – it is quite a fun obstacle course!).  Wind blows strong (ok, I have a Manfrotto – that thing isn’t blowing over in the wind unless we have a hurricane).  But tripods just seem like an accident waiting to happen.  Plus, I move around a LOT when I shoot, and unless I am waiting for a nervous deer to venture in front of my camera (for three hours… in 20 degree weather… that was a FUN day) or I’m using a super slow shutter speed, I am off of the tripod.  With the a99, I can be.  The low-light capabilities of this camera are great.  I was especially impressed with this picture, above, which was taken around 6:15 on a cold, dark January night in Maryland.  I was holding my camera above my head to get just a bit higher and cut the rooftops from the neighborhood below out of my picture, and my arms were moving ever so slightly.  Even with a bit of camera shake and barely any light left in the sky, I got this picture, above, that drew out every last bit of light from the sky (honestly, it was almost completely dark.  I had originally gone out to get a nice shot of the streetlights and decided to take one quick one of the darkening sky).  And the built-in image stabilization that I have come to expect, know, and love from Sony is just the icing on the cake, and that is just one more way that Sony has distinguished itself from the competition.

I read about and waited for the Sony a99 for many months, but even when it was released, I still waffled back and forth (as noted earlier).  Much of my concern was due to the reviews saying that it was overpriced, that the autofocusing points were inadequate, or that the electronic viewfinder was a gimmick.  I looked at other systems (like the lower-priced but no where near comparable Nikon and Canon models) and read every single review I could find online (seriously – I looked every single morning for new reviews).  Finally, I decided to give the a99 a try myself and I have not had a single regret from the moment I captured my first shot (of my mother’s lovely dog, Precious).  The a99 is an excellent camera, and it is truly incomparable.

My biggest regret was leaving my new a99 at home when I traveled to the Eastern Caribbean in January.  Out of a fear of damaging or losing it, I took just my a100 and a collection of lenses.  There were so many times during that trip where I wished I had no a99 because the a100 could not even come close to capturing the detail and image quality I had so quickly come to expect from the a99. The a99 is in a league of it’s own, and I have had a blast using it these past two months.

I would love to hear your views on the a99! Do you own it or have you tried it?

*Great news!  Sony has already added a firmware update that supports the massive multipoint autofocus system for 11 additional lenses.

Below is an assortment of shots I have taken with the a99 and a variety of lenses.  Nearly every image on my blog from December 2012-now has been shot with the a99, with the exception of the images from my cruise in January and some of the shots my second photographer took during the May 2013 wedding.