The Sony Alpha a9 Is Now Available For Preorder

The Sony Alpha a9 Is Now Available For Preorder

This Sony a9, which appears to be one of the most impressive cameras ever built, is now available for preorder at BH. If you want one of these when it's released on May 25th, you may want to preorder today. 

The Sony a9 certainly isn't cheap at $4500 but when you compare it to the competition, it's actually quite affordable. The Nikon D5 is $6500 and the Canon 1D X Mark II is $6000. Cameras at this price point usually do not sellout as quickly as consumer and "prosumer" level cameras but I'm not sure I've ever seen more excitement for a camera before and therefore I'm expecting it to sell out. 

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Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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19 Comments

Can't wait to watch some reviews. I mean, I am not going to buy the camera but I am just curious :)

One important thing left to see about this camera is to see how robust it really is. Remember, Sony is pitting this up against the Canon 1Dx and Nikon D5. Although Sony may do good in this department, one glance at the a9 and one at the 1Dx or D5 and you might think "yeah, maybe not". I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Indeed. The 1D and Dx-series bodies are really made for abuse. I hope someone can take the A9 out for a stress test in real-life situations for press/nature photographers.

I'm sure someone will be willing to trash their $4500 camera for the team! :-)

Let's hope it survives the challenge then. :P

All of my recent Sony bodies have gone over a million exposures. This camera can operate pretty much always without using it's mechanical shutter, the first thing to go on most high end cameras.

It's not impossible an A9 could do 5 million frames.

People shouldn't be wondering about how the a9 will hold up...they should be wondering how Canikon will catch up, and how many years it will take.

We're not talking about mechanical build quality but rather being dropped, rained on, endlessly jostled...
It may well take it just fine but we'll have to see that.

Did you just get thrown at with a snowball?

Talk to any master carpenter and see if they'd ditch their proven set of tools they've used for decades in exchange for smaller, lighter versions. Aside from gearheads and enthusiasts (dpreview), you'll see little pro-level adoption of this camera in sports photography. I have a mirrorless camera and a few lenses. They're my go-to gear for family vacations and general travel where I value compactness and light weight over anything else. But I'd never bring it to a paid shoot. That's just me though.

Lol, gotta love the people that truly don't understand what they're talking about....

If you think "smaller and lighter" is the selling point for a camera that can show you EXACTLY the effect of every decision you make, in real time, with no blackout, 683 focus points that extend to the edges of the scene, eye tracking and stabilization with a BSI sensor....

you're kinda dumb.

And if you ask any GOOD carpenter, whether they have a piece of paper that says "master" or not, if they'd like a tool several generations better than the one they have....they'll jump at it....because they're NOT................dumb.

Feel free to take a minute to understand the tech you're talking about first, next time, you won't sound quite so............dumb.

The only photography students I have that aren't already switching to mirrorless, or seriously considering it, are sports and wildlife shooters. That's why in the last 3 days I've gotten 90+ new message threads about the.....................A9. People are in such a hurry to switch I'm in the bizarre position of telling them to SLOW DOWN.

Armies of people will switch...and yes, that's going to bruise your ego, that is all entangled into the brand name of camera you shoot, but they won't care....they just want to use a better tool.

You're a devout fan, no doubt. I just hope your "students" are enriched with a broader vocabulary than "lol" and "dumb".

For someone using "the best tools," his photography isn't really anything special. I wouldn't worry about his authority.

Your attitude is kinda....stupid. You keep writing "dumb". I don't think it means what you think it means. ;-)
You like Sony. That's fine. The fact they haven't released a pro sports/wildlife lens to go along with this camera indicates they're not as sure as you are about armies switching.
We'll see.
That'll do donkey, that'll do.

Aren't the words Master and Canon are an oxymoron?

I don't shoot Canon and even I think that's a silly comment.

I'd have pre-ordered it if it had sLog. But I can't justify the expense without it.

Is this a joke? You can buy any used Sony with slog for ~2000$ +\- that are better for video. Why would you even care about slog in an 8bit system anyways? People like Phillip bloom have commented that 8bit and log is not useful.

I don't know if I'd compare this pocket-sized gadget to a Nikon D5. I seriously doubt you'll see any professional sports photographers on the sidelines ditching their current systems for this. I think mirrorless has great potential in travel and general PJ photography, just not in areas where ergonomics, build, wide selection of glass, pro support, and reliability are at the top of the list.

I wouldn't have a mirrorless camera but it may hold up. We'll see.