A99 Announcement details and short preview

Thanks WestCoastCannuck for copying and pasting the questions into this thread.

One of them is now answered thanks to Phaelix, focus limiting is independent from the lens used.

Now it would be great Phaelix if you could explain to us how the new AF system works with non supported lenses, i.e. third party lenses?

Also, I asume third party lenses and older Minolta lenses are not on the list of lenses that will be supported?

Do the focus assist points on sensor work or not with those lenses?

Many thanks for clarification! Looks like a superb camera, I just want to determine its functionality.

Stef.

Hi PHaelix. This question is about the EVF. Is the "slide show" effect gone when shooting at the rated 6 FPS?

WestCoastCannuck wrote: Hi PHaelix. This question is about the EVF. Is the "slide show" effect gone when shooting at the rated 6 FPS?

I'm afraid not.

Phaelix, thanks so much for answering all of these questions!

I assume you will not be able to answer the following question, I know it is a very long shot...

Were there ever to come a higher pixel camera model at some point perhaps next year should one have to expect the same AF system or might there be a chance that that AF system would differ?

For people who are heavily invested in third party lenses or have older lenses this new AF system is not of any real benefit...more AF points, in a traditional way would be though.

I guess future strategies are top secret and I fully respect if you can not comment on the above.

Stef.

Basically the same AF as the A77 (perhaps with a slight tweak/improvement) using the same 19 sensor/11 cross sensor array that covers a smaller portion of the frame than in the A77, and continuation of the slide show effect in continuous shooting are two huge negatives in my book. Those were two things for which I was looking for upgrades, appropriate for a pro level camera, and we didn't get them. Extremely disappointing. But not entirely unexpected. Again, the extreme "focus" on video capabilities and features (all missing from the A900) has occurred while no improvement of important still photography capabilities takes place.

Sony is not alone in this problem - enhancing video capabilities while likely giving short shrift to enhanced still photography capabilities - but is was behind in the area of some of these basic still photography capabilities and thus falls even further behind (e.g., AF performance).

The new AF-D capability and on-sensor PD AF are the latest example of Sony marketing claims that, in traditional Sony fashion, are highly limited or not even available in real world use. AF-D works only with a handful of lenses (at least for now). The on-sensor PD focus works only in AF-D mode, with the aforementioned limitations. That means for the vast majority of shooting, including all shooting in AF-S, AF-A, and AF-C (with all lenses), we are left with the same A77 AF sensor array, that was not competitive for its class when released, that does not have enough cross sensors, and in the A99 covers a significantly smaller portion of the frame.

This is going to make me think long and hard whether it's time to move. I really was hoping for better. Perhaps it's the right camera for Sony at this point, but it may be the final shove out the door for me, particularly with something like the D600 (with 39 AF sensors, though only 9 are cross sensors). I'll wait until I have a chance to play around with an A99 in NY at the end of October (PhotoPlus Expo), but I expect I'll likely also be spending a lot of time at the Nikon booth.

Bummer.

Vbpholaw...I agree 100%...I am extremely disappointed. I have pretty much all CZ top end lenses but also a lot of third party lenses, including the Sigma 100-300mm f4 and some older Minolta glass that I really like.

The possibility that I might not be able to take advantage of better af systems in future horrifies me. ( should Sony stick to this dual AF system and should this require fine tunning for individual lenses.) I have been shooting with KonikaMinolta and later Sony for most of my life, but for the the first time I really wonder whether it would be worthwhile to change systems?

I am just not convinced anymore that Sony will cater for the semi-professional market. I can see them expanding on their Nex user base, but SLTs??? I wish I would know a bit morer about their future plans...

The decisive moment for me will be the upcoming high mp camera. Hopefully this caters more for my needs, or I will have to jump ship. And I really did not want 36mp, but a better AF system...

Stef.

Phaelix wrote: For lenses that support it, I think the new system will provide a lot of the improvement people are looking for. Certainly, describing it as non-competitive seems a little premature to me. I'll inquire about OSPDAF support for third party and Minolta lenses.

Thanks Phaelix!