Sony A9 Takes On Canon And Nikon For Killer Full-Frame DSLR Domination

Sony may not be the first name that comes to most minds when considering a new camera purchase, but it's increasingly becoming silly to not weigh it as an option. Both the company's point-and-shoots and DSLRs offer excellent features for their respective pricing, both on the "lower-end" and also the high-end.

Sony a9 2017

At the high-end, the company's brand-new $4,499 USD a9 (or "α9") is a force to be reckoned with. At 24.2 megapixels (6000 x 4000), it's clear that Sony is not too worried about competing in the megapixel race - and that's a great thing. What's more important is that the camera includes a full-frame CMOS sensor nestled inside of a mirrorless design, and it has more bells and whistles than you can actuate a shutter at.

If you find the number of AF points lacking on your current camera, you're going to be in heaven with the a9, as it features an impressive 693 of them. To put that into another perspective, that's 93% coverage of the entire image area!

Sony a9 AF Points
Sony's new a9 sports an impressive 693 AF points

Making those AF points more useful is the fact that the camera can calculate the automatic exposure 60 times per second, and shoot at 20 FPS - ideal for fast-moving photography (sports, wildlife, et cetera). A stabilizer is built right into the a9's body, as well, with Sony claiming that its effectiveness is equivalent to a 5.0-stop slower shutter speed.

While its main focus is on photography, the a9 is more than qualified to record quality video. At 4K, you'll be limited to 30 FPS (at up to 100Mbps), but at 1080p, the FPS can be boosted to 120 FPS (also at up to 100Mbps).

Other key specs of the new a9 include a silent design, a 1/32,000 shutter speed, black-out-free shooting, a viewfinder that displays its content at up to 120 FPS, ISO sensitivity up to 204,800, and promises of twice the battery-life with the new NP-FZ100 battery.

If you want in on this Sony a9 action, you can hit up the link below and choose to be notified of its availability.