So, I'm still using the Sony A9 I purchased ex-demo about 6 years ago. It works fine, I don't have any huge issues with it, but I am aware it's getting on a bit (I've had to have the SD slots repaired earlier this year and the body is getting beaten up a bit on the edges, I don't nanny my cameras!)
First off - I am not a sports / BiF shooter (the main A9 audience). These days, I tend to be more travel / landscape / portraits / the odd wedding/event.
Reasons I like the idea of the A7V:
- tilty screen. Shooting low-down portrait aspect images of my cosplaying friend on the A9 is... painful.
- a nice boost in resolution, for better cropping options
- newer (nicer) colours (?)
- more DR - shooting a cave in China recently has proved a tricky edit, and while bracketing to HDR works in some cases it can often lead to weird artifacts in the final result.
- AI AF, hopefully stickier on the intended subject in busy environments?
Reasons I have the odd doubt:
- slower readout may cause more problems with LED light banding for weddings/events. I already experience this a little with my existing A9
- unsure if the electronic shutter shooting is blackout free? That's a nice to have.
- the image comparison tool on DPReview showed that the A7V images looked a little worse noise-wise compared to the A9 at higher-but-normal ISO such as 1600 - but not sure how valid that is.
Anyway, appreciate anyone's thoughts! There's a Sony sale on at the moment which triggered this so the A7V is £400 off.
I had the a9 so long ago I cannot remember much about it... but I do own an a7V at the moment.
I would do the "upgrade" in a heartbeat due to the flexible LCD, better color science as well as AWB, the AI augmented AF incl 'stickiness', IBIS improvements, massively better video specs, dual USB-C ports (incl charging) and newer menu. And yes, better DR.
If you mainly shooting sports, a fully stacked sensor would be better, for all other scenarios, I'd get the a7V.
And yes, the a7V have blackout free shooting, but only when using e-shutter.
The original A9 has a faster sensor readout at 6.7ms, compared to the A7V's 15.1ms. If you're already experiencing banding issues at 6.7ms, the A7V certainly isn't going to be an improvement in that regard. You are going to see MORE banding. I have a banding simulator here: https://starlight-code.com/posts/banding-simulator/ you can play around with camera choices and lighting flicker frequency.
The A9III could well be the ultimate portrait, wedding, and event camera. Its global shutter completely eliminates banding, its low light autofocus capability and autofocus hit rate for human subjects is extraordinary, the best Sony makes, and its exceptionally high flash sync speeds are a massive advantage for portrait photography, especially when paired with Sony speedlights.
It’s hard to beat the A9III for portraits unless you’re working with large studio strobes, where the A7R VI might be the better choice.
I don't often shoot under LED lighting though all the lights in my home are currently LED. However, from time to time, I shoot inside (mostly for testing things) and strangely, I have never got any banding effects in those shots! It is my understanding that electronic shutter increases the chance of banding and fast shutters speed are the main reasons, correct? So why not using mechanical shutter and slower shutter speeds? I understand using slower shutter speed my not be possible when photographing actions/sports in indoor environments but other than that, I would use slower a shutter speed (~ 1/40-1/30sec). The IBIS in the new Sony cameras are very effective in eliminating camera body shake so that doesn't worry me.
Other scenarios where banding shows up in the image? Just curious.
Personally, I think newer Sony cameras are significant upgrades over older models in many aspects that is A7r v and cameras released after it are preferable to the cameras before it. There are a lot of tweaking and refining have happened over time: improved menu system, touch interface, camera's responsiveness, fully articulating screen, etc..
The a7 V is much faster than previous a7 series cameras. But it still isn't quite as fast as the a9. 10ms readout is generally the threshold where you start to see rolling shutter distortion in moving straight lines like baseball bats and hockey sticks. The a7 V may be fast enough depending on what you shoot.
AF subject tracking on the a7 V is much more advanced and might balance out some of the speed differences. a9 subject tracking is really good on people. The a7 V is better for birds and wildlife.
Pre-capture on the a7 V might be useful depending on what you shoot. I rarely use it.
Purely for sports, the a9 still has advantages. The a7 V makes more sense as an all-around camera.
I've been lucky enough to have had an A9. I also have an A7Riii and had an A7iii and before that an A7ii.
I sold the A7ii, A7iii and A9 to fund an A7V when it came out.
After experiencing all those cameras, I came to the conclusion the A7V offered the best of all the others.
I'm glad I did as it is a joy to use and the color science is vastly improved IMO, over all of them. I kept the A7Riii because it offers the crop ability I was lacking in the 24 mega pixel cameras.
The A7V is kind of like a Honda. It may not be a standout at any one thing, but it's pretty darn good at a lot of things other cameras fall short on.
