Refine search for Digital Cameras

Sony Alpha A900 digital SLR Review

Author	Cliff Smith
Published	19th Jun 2009
Manufacturer	Sony
Price	£1,304.35 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£1,500.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price

Build Quality
Features
Image Quality
Value
Overall

16 comments Email

TrustedReviews Newsletters

The layout of the A900's body is, not too surprisingly, very similar to the Alpha A700; in fact the rear panels are all but identical, with the same array of controls around the big three-inch 921k LCD monitor. The A900 also shares the A700's highly versatile control interface, and for a professional camera it is surprisingly easy to use. Main shooting functions such as white balance, ISO setting, drive mode and exposure compensation can be accessed via and well-separated dedicated buttons on the top panel (designed to be usable while wearing gloves), or via the joystick-controlled graphic menu, along with Dynamic Range Optimiser options, Creative Styles, metering and AF options and of course image size and quality. Changes from the A700 include the addition of a small and not terribly useful LCD data display on the top panel, while on the main mode dial the A700's selection of programmed scene modes have been replaced with three user-defined custom settings. Personally I find the Sony control system to be far simpler and quicker than the rather fiddly controls of the EOS 5D MkII.

Like all professional cameras the A900 offers a huge amount of creative control. It has shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/8000th of a second (as do the EOS 5D MkII and D700), ISO settings from 100 the 6400 in 1/3EV increments, and a versatile selection of Creative Style picture options. There are 13 pre-sets of which six can be selected for quick access. All of the pre-sets can be customised with adjustments for contrast, saturation, sharpness, brightness and "zone", which sets parameters to avoid under or over-exposure when shooting light or dark subjects. As well as this there are separate options for long exposure and high-ISO noise reduction, with the latter having three strength settings, which will be welcomed by the more demanding professionals.

Also in common with other professional DSLRs the A900 has several options for JPEG and Raw mode shooting, including a compressed Raw format, as well as Raw + JPEG and three JPEG mode image size options. This is just as well, because the A900's huge maximum image size (6048 x 4032 pixels) can produce enormous file sizes. Shooting in uncompressed Raw + JPEG mode, as many photographers will prefer to do, can use up around 45MB per shot, so a freshly-formatted 2GB CompactFlash card is only enough for 57 shots. Fortunately the A900 has two card slots, one for Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo format, and it is possible to select to which card a particular image will be stored, but you're still going to need a lot of storage capacity if you're planning an extended shooting trip.

Latest 4 of 16 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

Cliff Smith said on 24th June 2009

Lee Marshall - I use a Sony professionally, and you're right that some people do raise an eyebrow. However I just point out to them that Sony has made many of the world's... more

peter said on 1st July 2009

It would be interesting to know how the camera perfoms as a full format DSLR. That is the gap I wish to cross from my old A1 via many digitals then a sony a100. I know David Bailey... more

Zenimr said on 6th July 2009

@peter
err.. the review is on how the A900 performs as a 'full format' DSLR because that is what it is. Whether it is worth it or not, for you, depends on how disa... more

a700user said on 25th September 2009

It's amazing how much byass there still seems to be towards Sony as a SLR Brand often by people who have never tried them. I am a Sony a700 user and was out with it recently when a... more

See all 16 comments on this article.

Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.