A-mount monster!! Sony A99 II announced with 8K sensor, full frame 4K and 5 Axis Image Stabilisation

[Advisti]

Sony released/upgraded 3 A mount lenses in 2015. A mount still have more FF lenses than E-mount. In any case, no one is forcing anyone to buy any camera. Why on earth someone would demand that Sony not release a camera in a mount they don't own any lenses? Many people do own such lenses and have been buying these cameras since 2006 (and even earlier with Minolta).  Buy A7RII if you are interested in E-mount version.

 

[docmoore]

6 hours ago, IronFilm said:

You can:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance
46.50mm vs 44.50mm (EF is 44.00mm)

Although, hmmmm..... maybe that half mm difference is why EF adapters exist but not Alpha Mount adapters:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Lenses-Filters/78997/i.html?_sop=15&_from=R40&_nkw=nikon+sony+mount+adapter

But quite reasonable given the number of products Nikon has and their general life cycle. 

Very optimistically speaking we might see one of D750 or D810 upgraded before the end of the year. But more likely both will happen next year. 

One and one half millimeters is not enough to support much weight ... so the Leitax conversion is the only route ... and it works well. 

http://leitax.com/Voigtlander-lens-for-Sony-cameras.html

docmoore

[IronFilm]

7 hours ago, Django said:

I'm just speculating but it could be this A99 II was presented as a way to showcase something new in a low production run. 

 

That would be a very smart idea!

But I'd have guessed an a7R mk3 or D820 would have a larger resolution than the  42.4MP sensor of the a99 mk2? Or maybe it will have that? And Sony will not bother chasing after the high resolution crown of the Canon 5DS.

Of course I very strongly doubt an a7 mk3 or D750 mk2 would have such a high resolution! 30MP? Yes, maybe (but I hope it doesn't). But  42.4MP? Nope, not right for their target market.

[The Chris]

2 hours ago, Advisti said:

Sony released/upgraded 3 A mount lenses in 2015. A mount still have more FF lenses than E-mount. In any case, no one is forcing anyone to buy any camera. Why on earth someone would demand that Sony not release a camera in a mount they don't own any lenses? Many people do own such lenses and have been buying these cameras since 2006 (and even earlier with Minolta).  Buy A7RII if you are interested in E-mount version.

 

Updated SSM motors on the 24-70 and 70-200 to make them more PADF friendly, and a slightly revised 70-300. Three minor updates since 2013. Nothing new though. Half the current lineup is Minolta leftovers, most aren't that great on a 24mp sensor, the flaws will be more pronounced with 42mp.

Again, the best lenses Sony has ever produced are all E-mount, if you're paying $2000+ for a 24-70/2.8 zoom, the GM is much better. Same for the 70-200 and the 85/1.4. And there's nothing like the Cine lenses anywhere else, I seriously doubt we'll see A-mount versions of those either.

[mat321]

Hi guys, what this dsrl have more than a7sii for vidéo ? 

[wolf33d]

It has 120p FHD which is amazing, less rolling shutter thanks to better processor, SLog 3.... better ergonomic, better battery, cheap lenses... 

way better than A7Rii then. 

great but look here http://www.newsshooter.com/2016/09/20/photokina-2016-the-camera-the-5d-mkiv-should-have-been-sonys-4k-a99-ii-has-everything-in-it-but-the-kitchen-sink-in-it/

apparently he AF for video is as good as Canon DPAF. But it works only in video automatic exposure mode. When in manual video mode you are forced to use manual AF... WTF?

appart from that it is amazing, way better than A7Rii and cheaper. 

[MountneerMan]

What does the dial on the front under the lens and to the left do?

also does any one have experience with this type and swivel screen? I am unsure If I like it more less or the same and the GH4/5 type screen.

[Shield3]

I was one of the very first who bought the original a99; still my most regretted camera choice ever and I've owned many.  Video quiality was "VHS-like" and the lens was stuck in video mode in AF @ F/3.5 or whatever the next fastest stop the lens would offer.  I got ran out of town on DPreview for mentioning this; I was happy Chris came in later on and provided actual samples that backed up my claims.  Anyway I'll guarantee you stick an F/1.4 lens on this it'll only AF @ F/3.5 in video mode.  For fun I put tape on the excellent Zeiss F/2 / 24 holding it wide open and the AF still worked just fine.   I would avoid this like the plague - still same crappy menus and colors, and the worst mount EVER.

[The Chris]

20 minutes ago, Shield3 said:

I was one of the very first who bought the original a99; still my most regretted camera choice ever and I've owned many.  Video quiality was "VHS-like" and the lens was stuck in video mode in AF @ F/3.5 or whatever the next fastest stop the lens would offer.  I got ran out of town on DPreview for mentioning this; I was happy Chris came in later on and provided actual samples that backed up my claims.  Anyway I'll guarantee you stick an F/1.4 lens on this it'll only AF @ F/3.5 in video mode.  For fun I put tape on the excellent Zeiss F/2 / 24 holding it wide open and the AF still worked just fine.   I would avoid this like the plague - still same crappy menus and colors, and the worst mount EVER.

Cheers, man. Got burned at the stake for simply posting samples, I actually exchanged my camera because I thought I had a dud, it was so bad.

And this one doesn't AF in video unless you're in P mode, because most video pros shoot in P. 

And because the IBIS doesn't seem to involve a floating sensor, I'm curious if there's a crop with steady shot in video, like the a9.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. 

[Django]

1 hour ago, MountneerMan said:

What does the dial on the front under the lens and to the left do?

clickless aperture control wheel.. probably one of the coolest features that'll hopefully trickle onto the A9 etc..

[Basil]

I'm very interested in this camera, for both photo and video, but really disappointed on the video AF.  Cinema 5D posted an interview with a Sony exec -- they have purposefully handicapped this camera, by not giving the A99II AF for video mode, unless it is in program mode (the earlier a-mounts have the same limitation). No AF with any manual exposure control. In the interview, the Sony exec says they may listen to customer feedback -- who knows, and change this via firmware update presumably. Who knows.

It's really a disappointment, because I use AF in some of my video clips -- it is very convenient.  I always manually set and lock-down the exposure, and you cannot do that for video in Program mode.  I would love to be able, for example, to use my a-mount telephoto lens and shoot some 4K video of wildlife, or sports, and manual focus in that sort of situation is kind of questionable.

I understand -- Sony not wanting this camera to cannibalize sales of the A7RII and the other e-mounts, but those cameras have other advantages over the a-mount lineup:  newer lenses, and the ability to adapt all kinds of glass.  I think Sony is making a mistake because this camera competes more with the Canon 5D IV, and even the IDX II.  It hold ups well for stills, but Canon at least offers video AF, while using manual exposure settings.

That stopped me from pre-ordering this camera today, which is a shame because I wanted to upgrade from my A77II, and otherwise this camera looks very attractive.

Here is the interview (it's informative):

https://***URL not allowed***/unraveling-sony-a99-ii-4k-as-good-a7-line/

[wolf33d]

Yes as I said it's way more usable than A7Rii with nice features. Video AF is amazing.

but amazingly it only works in P mode. They better remove this shit and we get a better A7Rii in every way. I don't care about Emount, amount is way cheaper and many nice choices specially from tamaron and sigma. 

If they change the af to all mode I might get it. Or wait for A9 but then 4000$ for the same thing with emount and expensive lenses. 

[The Chris]

If video AF only works in P mode, its not amazing, its unusable - or more to the point, its horseshit.

I'm skeptical on a number of features, need to wait for real testers to get past the Sony hype. There's a video of the 12fps burst that clogs after a couple seconds just shooting jpeg's, which means the buffer/write speed really sucks. I loved watching the guy squirm in the Cinema5d video, he clearly didn't want to talk about the shitty video AF. Live view AF is supposed to be an advantage of the SLT, after all these years I find it amazing that Sony and its vast engineering resources hasn't been able to figure out how to make it fully functional. Some say its the BionzX can't keep up, its been around for a few years too, if that's the bottleneck it needs to be replaced ASAP.

This camera feels just as half-assed as the original a99, just a bunch of pieces from other cameras cobbled together. UHS-II isn't anything new since its been spec'd on other cameras for a couple years now. If this camera is supposed to be the A-mount flagship for the next four years, it should have it. The d500's write speeds will completely crush this with some pretty amazing write speeds. You would think Sony would introduce faster hardware with the flagship, but that's just not the case. Its not even out yet and its already slow/outdated.

People love to bash Canon here, but dual pixel works really well, and it works all the time. Canon also understands the benefit of a touchscreen to pull focus, something else Sony can't seem to figure out.

Outside of A-mount users that want a new sensor, this camera is shaping up to be as much of a dud as the original a99.

[Shield3]

Got my 5d IV in today.  Video AF's amazingly at any apeture, the live view tracking is unreal (so is face tracking).  While the crop in 4k sucks, the 1080p is quite lovely.  You can't beat smooth AF for casual use.  Only tried it with the 24/1.4 II but my kids ran around the room and it tracked them all over the frame and held it (for video).  Same for a burst of stills.  Despite old huge MJPEG, the circa 2011 SD/CF slots and the 4k crop, it's turning out much better than I thought.  The touch screen interface speeds up everything.  Never thought I'd have "touch shutter" on a full frame Canon body.  My kids took their own pictures of each other this way tonight. 

(Still not selling my C100 II though)

[SR]

GH5 has 10bit video. So I guess it's only a matter of time before Sony joins with its next iteration. 

[The Chris]

3 hours ago, SR said:

GH5 has 10bit video. So I guess it's only a matter of time before Sony joins with its next iteration. 

Sony is the best at fattening the spec sheet, but little details like 10-bit don't grab headlines because it doesn't resonate with the average consumer.

I think we may see it in the A7sIII because its more of a video-centric body than the others, but given how long it took them to let go of 24mbps AVCHD, I'm not holding my breath. Seems like they're going to protect the FS5/7 instead of seeing the light - these cameras perfectly compliment the cine line - except for video IQ.

[SR]

On 9/23/2016 at 2:06 AM, The Chris said:

Sony is the best at fattening the spec sheet, but little details like 10-bit don't grab headlines because it doesn't resonate with the average consumer.

I think we may see it in the A7sIII because its more of a video-centric body than the others, but given how long it took them to let go of 24mbps AVCHD, I'm not holding my breath. Seems like they're going to protect the FS5/7 instead of seeing the light - these cameras perfectly compliment the cine line - except for video IQ.

That's a shame, if that is true. Also, would the average consumer really go for cameras like A7SII or even A7RII? I have my fingers crossed for the A7RIII. I'd be due for a high megapixel camera update. =)

[froboy88]

I can't see any technical reason why af is limited in manual mode and fixed to 3.5 in others.  Seems like an executive decision to limit the product or possibly something left over in firmware from previous cameras.

In this thread: https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/4057070?page=2#forum-post-58407157
over at DP Review a user outlines how he tested af wide open at f1.7 by fooling the camera.  fixing the aperture wide open and covering the contact with tape.  No big surprise it focused just fine.

Some users want to start a petition for Sony to try and fix the video af problem.  I would sign it.  If it was fixed the a99ii would just about be my perfect camera.

@Andrew Reid do you know how to pass something like a petition on to sony?

[BasiliskFilm]

It is unusual for Sony to deliberately hobble hardware. More often the complaint is that there are too many features, some of which are not fully tested or ready for a production model.

 

[froboy88]

8 hours ago, BasiliskFilm said:

It is unusual for Sony to deliberately hobble hardware. More often the complaint is that there are too many features, some of which are not fully tested or ready for a production model.

 

If that is true and the lack of af in video is an software limit and not a hardware one we would have expected them to add it in whatever state it was in.  buggy or not.

I hope its not a hardware limit.  would be a weird one, but for the longest time you couldn't change aperture in video on a nikon so....