Sony a9 vs Nikon DSLR desert assignment test
Sony a9 vs Nikon DSLR desert assignment test
I took the Sony a9 (w/24-70 f2.8 GM & 70-200 f2.8 GM) to the Gobi Desert whilst on assignment with Red Bulletin last month. Ordinarily I'm a Nikon user (for no reason other than it was the first camera I was given to study with) but the weight saving, fps and overall system made it worth the swap. I've used it before, was familiar with the set-up but hadn't really given it a thorough thrashing.
I'll keep this review short, fairly basic, to the point and based upon straight out the box field testing in rather arduos conditions. I don't bang on about kit or place as much value on it as most people because quite frankly, if you know what you're doing you can make the most out of a very old camera if need be. 95% of us don't need/use half of the tech in modern camera bodies, so stop blaming the equipment people.
Which fared better, Sony or Nikon?
Autofocus: I can’t say the Sony G 80-200 or 24-70 were noticeably quicker. In fact the Sony seemed to hunt a bit more than the Nikon 80-200 I'm so familiar with.
Exposure: You’d have to be a complete nonce to get this wrong on a camera these days, so no diff. Colour reproduction was great, as per expected.
Fps: Sony hands down, obviously.
Focus system: the Sony joystick/thumbstick is a nice idea, and perhaps I’ve just not spent long enough twiddling it but it’s too fiddly to quickly/precisely move across the 3876 focus points and find the runner before he disappears behind a dune. Maybe there are too many focus points..
Menu system: the Sony menu system is a major drag. The dial layout isn't as intuitive or user friendly on the digits quite frankly either. Nikon.
Ease of use: So damn easy to pick up and shoot quickly with (unless you've got the 80-200 on obvs), to run with, to carry discreetly. Sony.
Image quality: at high ISO or in the light of a runner’s head torch, Sony. I have to be honest and say the straight out the camera RAW through a Zeiss lens wasn’t as sweet as I’d hoped. A little too digital for me but this can be tweaked.
Memory: again, I might not have got this one licked yet, but why wouldn’t a camera automatically continue shooting onto the 2nd card when the 1st becomes full? I missed a couple of important shots having to go into the menu and select card two. No buffer problems using 95Mbps Sandisk Ultra Platinum Gold 1st Class cards.
Battery: anything that shoots this fast is going to chew battery. The plus side is it charges (through the mains charger) really fast (compared to Nikon).
It’s fairly evident I need to spend much longer getting to know the a9, taking walks, sharing quality time etc. For me and how/what I shoot, ultimately the weight saving and fps make it worthwhile. But the D850 and Nikon pro-user inspired system is still up there. The Sony feels somewhat like an F1 car that has a monster, game changing engine but hasn't quite been refined yet.