One of the best features of mirrorless cameras is their ability to shoot totally silently thanks to the lack of a mechanical mirror. That feature turned out to be a great boon to a photojournalist at the recent Democratic debate, allowing him to shoot in a position where others couldn't.
The Sony a9 is known for its electronic shutter with fast readout and no viewfinder blackout, which allows photographers to shoot in complete silence. For New York Times photographer Doug Mills, that became a great advantage at the recent Democratic debate. It turns out that the sound of the DSLRs used by other photojournalists was picked up by the broadcast microphones, leading NBC to tell them to only shoot during audience applause. When Mills was brought to the side of the stage for his turn, he was told he couldn't shoot, but he quickly explained that his camera didn't make any noise, leading the NBC tech to remark that such cameras should be standard for all photojournalists. If you've ever listened to any live political event, you've probably heard the constant clatter of DSLRs, so surely, an eventual migration to mirrorless cameras would be beneficial in that sense. Nonetheless, press companies are deeply invested in Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses, so such a change won't happen overnight.
I was just surprised how prominent the dark bars were from just fluorescent lighting FROM THE NIKON DISPLAY. You would think Nikon or whoever put that booth up would at least install a light in the display that would not make the camera look bad.
While sensor readout has some effect, the real issue is the shutter speed being too high and freezing the scan of the lights. Same as shooting a TV. Happens with a regular shutter too. That is for displays.
For artificial light, fluorescent tubes and SOME LEDs will show banding with SS. The banding is more apparent when the shutter speed is above 1/60. Below the phenomenon should not be apparent.
Ive been using mirrorless silent cameras for over 50 years, their called Leicas. Its about time your all catching up.
*They’re - They Are
*You’re - Your Are
*It’s - It Is
I caught you up on some English
I’ve been using pinhole cameras for 60 years so there.
My Toyo view is quieter.
You all crack me up. Mirrorless is great and has it place in the camera world, but it's not the end all and be all. Mirrorless has some great advantages and disadvantages. Yes even the Sony's (que the hate from the in-sony-cure).
(Real) Silent shooting is eventually going to be the standard and required for press journalism and golf. But rolling/banding electronic shutter (with a low fps mechanical), evf lag and shutter lag means that for fast sports and wildlife, makes it a no go for many.
Let me explain because not everyone really understand these issues. Electronic shutters scan speed across the sensor are way slower than mechanical shutters travel speed across the shutter. This causes the rolling jello effect that occurs with fast moving objects and high shutter speeds. The a9 has come close to the mechanical but not quite. The banding caused by flickering LED lights and those stupid banners right next to courts/pitches are a bigger problem. With the increase use of both that is a problem that is going to have to be addressed.
EVF and shutter lag are another that all mirrorless and the a9 needs to address. The evf has a measurable lag from real life that optical don't. That only increases with more load that is put on the processor. All, I repeat _ALL_, mirrorless cameras at high frame rates do not show the sensor read, they show the last 1, 2, 3 or more pictures back that was taken. The longer the burst the farther back it is actually displaying.
At 20ms the a9 has one of the lowest shutter lags of any camera,... in single frame and prefocused (which is were all cameras are fastest and marketed as). The Canon 1dxii is 50ms. On continuous AF the 1dxii is 70ms. The A9,... 200-300ms. That is 1/5 to 1/3 of a second! The Canon and Nikon has already shot 3 frames.
What this all means is for long lenses and fast sports/wildlife that means you end up losing your subject out of frame cause you can't keep up with them.
On sensor phase detect AF is not great for long lenses because of the angle of incidence from super telephotos and I am shocked on how well Sony has done with their 400 and 600mm. That is probably were the linear stepping focus motors come into to compensate. Way to go Sony.
Phase detect focus points works with paired sensors, crossed type have 2 paired sensors and dual-cross has 4 paired sensors. Higher level dslr AF sensors uses small lenses in front of the AF sensor board to be able to separate the pairs to increase the angle of incidence. This increase the speed and accuracy for long lenses. The lack of this even the Dual Pixel AF of the Eos R means that it SUCKS with super telephotos.
Almost every high level working sports photographer that does an objective review, put focusing systems at D5, then 1DXii and then the a9 (even after firmware update). Keep in mind that Canon has market share and they put Nikon first. A system is more than just one piece of equipment.
That doesn't mean you can't shoot sports with the a9, but it means that most working sports photographers (with a side hussel of other editorial) will stick with their d5's and 1dx's and get the pro mirrorless of their system whenever they come out so they can use silent when it calls for it and dslr when it is the better choice.
NO camera is perfect and is the best for every given situation. So stop acting like it people.
I have to use strobes with a9 and really miss my Nikons when I have to use strobe. The a9 momentarily freezes the last image on the viewfinder during a burst. Is there a way to not have that show up? The a9 also automatically cancels live display of the ambient exposure to a balanced auto-iso type view. Very annoying.
The auto live view mode is actually useful in flash mode as most flash use is in dark venues where the bright EVF really helps. Also, so many amateurs use these cameras if they had to manually switch they would freak out. Your Nikon NEVER shows the exposure in its OVF.
This explains a little more about this issue as well as a hack which is required because Sony decided to override the custom setting the user sets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR4u-sNXTtc
I think the a9 is not used by "so many amateurs" who would "freak out"
Please stop apologizing for Sony when it comes to taking away user choice and that old nikon DSLR technology did not show the exposure in its OVF.
Kind of supports my position that amateurs and this pathetically uninformed "pro" are baffled by the feature. His "solution"? A custom button. What a huge injustice for his poor little brain having to RTFM! Imagine! They actually have a solution available to those "sophisticated" enough to actually set up a custom button.
So yeah, it keeps the noobs from freaking out.
And your Nikon NEVER shows the exposure ever in its OVF.
Interestingly, Canon R does not do this so I guess it doesn't suck in the way Sony does.
Not sure what you mean Indy. Do you know another way to get live display to display the ambient exposure in the evf/lcd monitor from when you put on a sony flash?
The configuring of a custom button is NOT a workaround it IS the way one can easily change a setting. The default configuration is set to display the setting effect when attaching a flash because they know the average person buying almost any camera is an amateur with minimal skills and will become frustrated with having to go through their manual. An enthusiast will do the work and set up the custom button to switch back and forth.
Default settings on all cameras are made to work for amateurs. The controls available allow a person to change what they need to the extent they need it.
So yes, Robert Hall is ignorant and shows his three hours of experience as a "pro". This is what you get for watching fools in YT.
Hi Indy, first off the a9 is not a camera aimed at the amateur market. The a9 should not be overriding the user set custom function when you put on the flash and your explanation of Sony’s idiotic override is equally ridiculous. Hopefully Sony will rectify this issue as they finally did with overflow option from card 1 to 2. Or do you think that they held that option back so long because amateurs would freak out that their images were missing from card 1.
Mirrorless is a new tool. As such it has its strengths and weaknesses. For me the real strength was ALWAYS silent shooting and exposure simulation with an EVF. The AF accuracy for me was a huge bonus. (I don't shoot super tele).
Weight is nice but lens adaptability and video features are things that have no value for me.
I have shot some PGA events and the silence of the ML is perfect.The fact that one can now shoot on the backswing is great. Rolling shutter is not an issue for the bulk of the golf shots as so many are at the top of the backswing or follow through. Swimming and tennis can work well also.
As for the lag, it is true that you cannot be certain as to what you got but then shooting at 10fps with a DSLR will require chimping to see what the last blast got.
We all get it Jan, you hate Sony and you get your friends to count Sony cameras at events.
This is probably the tenth comment you’ve made using this same argument, change it up a bit and keep us on our toes will ya?
Changing systems is expensive whether you are an individual or company. Probably why canon and Nikon have been slacking on mirrorless: they know the cost of switching is often prohibitive and therefore they are kind of holding hostages to the ancient dslr technology. It will be interesting to see how many people choose to stick to dslr in five years when the canon and Nikon produce a pro mirrorless camera. I hate having to boot up my a9 if something happens suddenly.
Shot the LPGA last weekend and guess what the tour photographer had. A Z6 and a D5. When Canon comes out with their mirrorless 1d next year for the olympics, they all have one of those and a 1D whacha bet. And it will do it without locking up like others do.
In a racing environment, what percentage would require silent shooting: .001% or .003%?
Was your friend there to shoot or to reaffirm his brand's diminishing dominance?
Did he happen to notice any Fujis, Panasonics, and Leicas there: No or Nope?
Who is this "professional motorsport photographer" who goes to a race and spends his time counting sony bodies instead of doing his job. WelI I have a friend who is a "professional parade photographer" and he counted only 2 canons yesterday but he was too busy shooting so that doen’t count of course.
Lol, after seeing the post below from Eric, me thinks these "friends" of yours don't exist.
I'm sorry...but, you're trolling because you're lonely. I can't help you. Canon can't help you. Sony can't help you.
LOL....50 years of two major brands for journalists (yes, back in the film days Olympus, etc were major players as well) and now we are counting camera systems at events to measure the success of something newer. "I only saw one Tesla at the Motor Trend parking lot...If the auto writers don't drive them, why should I take Tesla serious"....hilarious!!
See, I told you he uses the same, “I know someone professional” line to cover up his bias.
--"Sony camera's are toys for boys."
Hmmmmmm....is this not you? Yes or Yep?
I have the D850; it is a wonderful camera, but I was recently given a Sony a9 with a 24-70 f 2.8 lens and a 70-200 f 2.8 lens (generous patron) and love many of the features with this camera. The silent shutter was so helpful for a wedding. Twenty frames a second was useful for shooting osprey diving for fish. I kept the D850, but am thankful for the a9, great camera.
It's not just press events. Event work particularly benefits from silent shutter. I can shoot a corporate board meeting in a small conference room, standing just a foot or two from the participants, without disrupting the proceedings a whit. I can stand right behind someone at a table and shoot right over their shoulder toward the folks on the other side of the table. After a minute, they forget I'm there. Been doing this for years with Micro Four Thirds. With even a "quiet" mechanical shutter, these shots simply would not be possible.
An optical view finder is not better than a digital one. That idea just doesn’t fly anymore. An EVF has no black out in burst shooting, you can see your exposure and depth of field before taking the shot, You can view a lot more data about your camera and its settings in the EVF, etc. Your silent shutter is NOT the same as mirrorless.
I recently shot an event with a D810 and a D610, both with battery grips. NEVER AGAIN! From now on it is 2 XT3sOne with a wide zoom and the other a medium zoom,. It is a night and day difference unless you absolutely need full frame.
Um, you know there are 35mm-format mirrorless cameras with silent shutter, right?