A99 Sample Video; Making-Sony Korea from sonystyleblog on Vimeo.
Sony Korea already made superb A77 videos last year and they now did it again with the new A99. That is the way to give us some “A99-emotions“! Great work guys! The first video can be seen here on top. The second video is here. UPDATE: As noticed by other readers it seems to be some sort of problems with the video compression or (that would be worse) with bandin (see minute 1:57 from the video below).
A99 Sample Video; Nature-Sony Korea (No Lighting) from sonystyleblog on Vimeo.
I hope this video will help to push the Sony A99 preorders because right now the rankings are looking bad for the A99. Try to check out the Amazon DSLR ranking (Click here and scroll down forever). One more thing, don’t forget that there is a 2% back in reward at Amazon (Click here to read). You basically get $56 back on the purchase of the A99 (and 2% on any other camera or lens you buy).
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Sony preorder list:
A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.
RX1 Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 Amazon, BHphoto, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 Adorama, Amazon, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 Amazon, BHphoto, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH.
61 Responses
nice one~!
Nice work!
If most people are like me, we order high-priced bodies like the A99 from stores specializing in photography gear. I don’t think Amazon ratings is accurate in this case.
My thoughts exactly. I would only buy a camera like this off Amazon if it was significantly cheaper than elsewhere which it isn’t at this stage.
Me too, and I’m sure the kind of people interested in this camera won’t be clicking through from this site to Amazon to buy it either.
But actually, I do wonder who this camera is targeted at. For me, I still use a dslr for photos and have a separate video camera, and both are used simultaneously, so having one camera to do it all isn’t necessary. When I need to travel light, the dslr does video well enough for the clients satisfaction.
So I think this semi-pro-slt-hybrid will have quite a narrow appeal, and has been priced at low volume sales. Aspiring semi-pro just getting started (without a bunch of lenses) perhaps ?
There is no logic in this, sorry. The same can be same about Canon and Nikon. What makes you think that pro users of Nikon and Canon prefer to buy from Amazon and not specialist photo stores while Pros using Sony do the opposite? As much as there will be many pros buying from other stores selling Sony a99 the same is true with canikon. So in truth, you can believe what you want to believe but it does not change the facts. Go even to DPREVIEW and there is hardly any disussiom of a99 in canikon forums and even less also in sony dedicated forum which is a surprise
Admin,
By now you and everyone else should understand that there is no logic as to what category Amazon puts a camera in as I have pointed out in the past. If you look in the DSLR camera bundles section, you will find the a99 at #39 as I type this. The camera is not bundled with anything else, but there it is anyway.
I think most of the buyers are just waiting for actual availability. This camera will sell like hot cakes. I mean, do you see what you could do with such a device and some talent? That means money if you use it for work.
this is news not important to me, I’m interested in a camera to take pictures
this news didnt say for everyone..photo u can jus take a look on other review, below are the sonyalpharumors posted before which i think is very good and detail about a99 and photo..
http://www.mobile01.com/newsdetail.php?id=12497
http://www.frankdoorhof.com/site/2012/10/sony-alpha99-preview/
Then try to ignore it. It shouldn’t be that difficult.
I take mostly stills for my fashion/commercial work, but I can’t stand still photographers who are snobs/elitists to video. What exactly are you trying to accomplish by your comment?
The A99 takes great stills. Awesome! It does great video. Kudos! What’s wrong with being superb in both fields?
Geez
Nothing wrong with being excellent. The problem rather is being almost-excellent in both whereas the competition is excellent in stills because they didn’t choose to compromise.
Thank you Mike, I don’t undestand because if a person give his opinion many others love kill him. Personally I prefer a camera without great video and cheaper, but this only my opinionvideo
Please explain how the A99 – or any other camera – would take better photos or be cheaper if it didn’t shoot video? Its just a firmware process. Video doesn’t cause any sort of image degradation on the stills side. Factoring in inflation and the dollar vs yen (as the A99 is made in Japan) the A99 costs no more than the A900 – after 4 years, numerous updates and significant innovations. If anything the increased processing power needed in the Bionz to generate video would be a benefit to stills.
Worst. Argument. Ever.
For Rick and others
regarding the cost is pretty obvious that add features video allows you to keep the higher the price, however, my thoughts on the lowest price was a kind of paradox.
My thought is that being interested in the photos, I would rather find other improvements compared to a better video, for example, I would have loved a better EVF, a better buffer, an area of focus wider the possibility of raising the mirror, I used the A77 for a year and I was hoping some things were better. However, I repeat that this is my thought, I see that I shocked the sensibilities of many of you, I learned my lesson, I will be careful not to write what I think, I may well keep it to myself, I apologize to everyone, I will not write more.
But these ARE pictures…. just 24 of them per second. Same framing… Same exposure… Same composition…. Save DOF….. same creativity.
I fail to understand when people say “I only take pictures.”
Your in luck, this camera takes pictures too.
Very nice!
Looks good, although I couldn’t say whether this is better than what an A77 can do.
As to the success of the A99: it was boldly priced on introduction – Sony is not in a situation where it can offer the same (or less) than an Canon or Nikon product and charge more for it. It doesn’t have that kind of quality reputation – deservedly so, I think. The Sony DSLRs and SLTs of the last 2 or 3 years were a step back in solidity and reliability.
Hmm, sorry, don’t see anything special about these videos. Lot’s of banding going on (Maybe because of vimeo compression)? Color and nice, but so is 5D and GH2 more so… If we are talking about photo image quality, that’s one thing, but if Sony is trying to sell me video image quality, why would I pay $3000 for a camera with very compressed codec without a lens, when I can buy a RAW Black Magic Camera, that will give me a cinema quality? Panasonic GH3 has a much better codec and is already looking better than this. GH2 has a proven superb video image with a hack… Digital Bolex is almost out and is expected to have superb image quality via RAW as well.
Sorry, this doesn’t cut it for me.
Couple things Ray. If someone is interested in the A99 for video or any DSLR they probably want both a still cam and video camera in a nice ergonomical bundle. The blackMagic is not ergonomic and not a good still camera at all, it is also very hard to go as wide with BlackMagic since the sensor is much smaller. So although the BM is a great Cine Camera it does have some shortcomings that the Sony beats it in. Also the BM cam does not shoot 60p it stops at 30p. I do think the GH3 is more of a competitor to this as it is similar in functionality and ergo yet the GH3 is much cheaper. I think people choosing the Sony over the GH3 will probably be people looking at the Zeiss Lenses with AF and full-frame for stills yet still want the decent video kit. The Sony a99 is quite a bit more money than the GH3 but pros would easily spend more to have the full-frame options. And also video pros that might already have a Sony F700 or FS100 might go the Sony route and then have lenses that work perfectly on both kits.
dittos ray, much agree…the videos are very MEH to me. especially the wedding vid…the A57 has better looking video, as does the nex 5R,5N,F3,6 and 7. if sony thinks they’re going to take a run at the D800 and 5D mark 3 with this camera they are so living in a dream. can you say DELUSIONAL…there’s no way. in addition this camera is wildly overpriced, even at $2000 I would buy the D600 or the canon 6D over this camera…it’s time for sony to throw in the towel on BIONZ, they don’t know how to make an image processor. BIONZ is a miserably sucky one. sony sensors perform better in every other brand’s cameras, PENTAX, NIKON, OLYMPUS…even APPLE. why can’t sony go to olympus and BUY IN an image processor? doesn’t somebody owe them one? they make parts for everyone else. I’ve bought sony equipment before but if sony doesn’t solve it’s VIDEO IQ problems and soon I’m goin’ FULL NIKON for good.
Why don’t you follow through on your “threat”…. PLEASE…. Leave and go “Full Nikon” now and stop bothering everyone here.
You are such a moron. If you bothered to download the video from Vimeo you would find that it’s only about 10Mbps (and that’s likely not what’s shown when watching on Vimeo’s web site. Of course there’s going to be compression artifacts at the low bitrate.
Stop trolling and trying to piss everyone off. Go back to Nikon and live with your optical viewfinder and 1955-era 30 frames per second and stop bothering the rest of us.
This camera is going to be awesome. When a 5dm3 shooter enjoys using the camera despite wanting to make a joke about it just because it is Sony tells the whole story.
I agree with you because video alone this camera will not be appealing. It is the combination of both, however. That being said, the codec is a big failure and to get the best out of the video for a99 you must buy a separate recorder and use the hdmi out. The price for this cam will then be considerably more.
For video, indeed, the GH3 is the better camera. That being said, if you want the DOF of FF, you may be better served with a Nikon D800 albeit loosing the good continuous AF during video recording.
I think the videos do a type of service for the people interested in a99, but not the service that can convince many other photographers/videographers. I think that photojournalists, for example, would prefer Nikon given the lens gamut of primes they have (24 1.4, 35 1.4, 28 1.8, 50 1.4, etc etc) On this case alone, a99 does not offer much beyond the competition equivalent (it does more, however, than 5D3 so I cannot mention that in comparison)
Good luck to Sony on this field. I am just happy they came up with the FF NEX videocam so we can see how M mount lenses work on it and have (or not) hopes for the FF NEX stills cam. I will be buying RX1, however, because 35 is my lens.
Better served with Nikon? At only 30fps? Oh, yes if you want 60 fps you can if you dumb it down to HD-Lite (720p).
I thought these videos looked wonderful, and that’s at the severely reduced 10Mbps they were compressed to. I thought they did a great job showing what this camera can do in a place where no extra lighting is allowed or practical.
I would not be caught dead using a small sensor like a GHx for something as delicate as a wedding. It would be like having the wedding photographer use a point-and-shoot. No shallow DOF and very flat.
Please.
The GH2 may show great detail but the DR cannot come close to the A99 – or any other FF camera. The terrible banding in the shadows and highlights and the obnoxious amount of shadow noise above ISO 800 show the limitations of the GH2. 3200 is clean on the A99, its complete mush on the GH2.
Depends on your needs. I shoot a lot of natural light stuff so I regularly shoot up to 3200, the GH2 just couldn’t cut it compared to the 5d2 or the Nex5n. The A99 will be better than both of those and the GH2.
I agree with Roy, nice video compostion, color but nothing special on IQ just good, probably because compression???
Ray, the Black Magic is not in the same class. The sensor is tiny, and the low light performance isn’t great.
The a99 offers the lush shallow DOF that only comes from a sensor this size, and if the AVCHD codec bothers you that much, the a99 offers clean HDMI out to record to an external recorder in the codec of your choosing.
I am not saying the a99 is the best video camera out there, because it clearly isn’t. All I’m saying is, if learn your equipment’s strengths and weaknesses for stills and/or video, you can get great results with just about any camera. The a99 is a solid all around performer, judging by the early tests I have seen.
Also, whoever recorded these videos could have avoided some of the banding issues, and the overly processed look by just decreasing the contrast, saturation and sharpness.
When I use my a77 for video I set the creative style to standard and bump all three settings to -3. This gives a much more filmic look and allows for a bit more DR, making the video much more forgiving in PP.
I’ve used the a77 side by side with a 5D MKII and a 7D, and there is no appreciable quality difference.
There are huge advantages, though when it comes to composing shots from low or high angles due to the highly adjustable screen, and the WYSIWYG EVF is a nice feature for video.
Focus peaking is a tremendous advantage.
Being able to mount my camera on the outside of a vehicle to film another vehicle and allow the AF to track the car behind, to the side, or in front was a big advantage while filming a commercial a few months ago.
60fps at 1080p is another great feature not offered on the Black magic or Canon cameras. It’s a great feature for slow motion shots.
The a77 is a great tool, and the a99 appears to be even better.
If there is no difference between a99, 5D2/3 and D800 in video, then why would people choose Sony? I agree it will be for people who have already FF lenses, but I think Sony is trying to lure video professionals too because they have designed a range of accessories for a99 and its video. For this alone, the crippling factor here is the codec giving nothing special and if the image is nothing special, then why go alone for a99 for video?
Again I say, good luck to Sony.
Why do you feel the codec is “crippling?” I-frame is just a buzz created by Panasonic and others to justiy a crazy high bitrate. Long GOP bitrates are just fine and look great.
Also, I think there will be lot of people who will like the a99 (or VG900) for video *becuase* of the limitations of other cameras:
1. AF in Video (if that’s your thing)
2. Being able to actually look through a viewfinder when shooting video rather than looking like Clark W. Grizwold on vacation holding the camera out at arm’s lengthand staring at the LCD you can’t even see in the sunlight anyway.
3. 1080p60/p50, which can easily be converted to any other format and gives a great slo-mo when slowed to 24p
4. The OLED EVF. The old, 1936 technology of OVFs doesn’t let you see how the image will actually look BEFORE you shoot it. You can see white balance, DOF, everything.
I-frame requires a higher bitrate because its a different codec, a 28 mbps I-frame shot will look like crap compared to AVCHD. Bitrate is not the be-all, end-all the GH2 fanboi’s make it out to be – just look at the incredible video the EM5 produces at a lowly 17 mbps. My FS100 still crushes the GH2/3 and its “only” 24mbps in 24/30p and just 28 when shooting 60p. There just isn’t a lot of latitude in 8-bit video. It really makes little difference if the final output is for the web, a compressed DVD or even blu-ray. Where it really starts to show its limitations is when you shoot for broadcast or projection. I plan on using the A99 for broadcast and I’ll be using a Ninja or a Sound Devices Pix 220i for paid gigs for 10-bit 4:2:2 until the next generation when hopefully 10-bit will be the video standard.
Sony has alots of professional video machine for those “video professionals”, they don’t need to lure those “video professionals” with a camera with video function. Sony’s professional video stuff is way better and way professional than you can imagine, DUDE!
dude you are into some serious brain damage if you think there’s any comparison between the a99 and the black magic camera. you have to get a grip on reality. the BMC is 2.5K, 12 bit, 4.2.2 and has RAW video. omigod…omigod! you’re comparing the two?! don’t stop there–why not compare the 99 to RED EPIC too while you’re at it. ARRI ALEXA, why not. FANBOYS, man…unbelievable.
I don’t think there’s any comparison at all…I would take all the features of the a99 recording to the Atomos Ninja in 4:2:2 over the smaller sensored, and lesser featured BMC.
The big advantage of the BMC is DR over the 5D MKIII according to this video..
http://gizmodo.com/5945408/watch-the-black-magic-cinema-camera-crush-the-canon-5d-mark-iiis-video-quality
But, the Nikon d600 (same sensor in a99) features at least as much DR, as well as better noise performance in low light vs the BMC.
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/834%7C0/(brand)/Nikon/(appareil2)/795%7C0/(brand2)/Canon/(appareil3)/734%7C0/(brand3)/Sony
Again, for $2700, plus the $700 or so to buy the Ninja, I’ll use my Sony glass and record in 4:2:2 and still be able to take advantage of the a99’s superior features, shallower DOF and much wider angle shots than are available on the BMC.
$3400 for the a99 and Ninja vs $3000 for the BMC without any glass. You’re right, the comparison is crazy.
Sony does not deserve good sales cause they are XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
1 i watch many videos out there of a99 and they are pixelate.
2 camera is 2 expensive.
3 dont wait for a99 for firmware update witch they promise cause will end just like a77.
4 i notice that audio of this videos is crap.my a77 has better audio for some reason.
wait little-bit and get the a99 when the price drop and sony update the firmware otherwise will stay on your shelf on the kitchen.If you are not experienced with sony please dont trust them.they dont care what you expect they just ask you to pay for cameras every month when you get you salary.Give they what they deserve.Hope they close not on fabric all off they.I spend years supporting this company is time to change.Get gh1,2,3 hack it and enjoy or canon 600d so cheap and magic lantern unlock what you need.Good video?get the Black magic cinema camera 2.5k for less that sony crap.And there is really good IQ.
Hope This help someone and dont get to the spider house like me.
Hendrick – You said, “If there is no difference between a99, 5D2/3 and D800 in video, then why would people choose Sony?”
The answer to that is for all the reasons I listed above. The a77/a99 cameras simply offer some features the Canons don’t. There are also some reasons that some people may prefer to stick with their Canon.
For me, the Sony DSLT features outweigh the disadvantages, which are few, and minor.
Please stay in the spider house.
1) A phenomenon known as compression for the web
2) If you can’t afford it that’s your problem
3) Since when have they “promised” firmware updates?
4) Did someone in a Sony van run over your cat or something? I suggest you seek professional help to deal with the trauma.
The second video have banding starting 1:58 for a few seconds. Is this caused by the light?
The banding is very likely caused by compression artifacts of VIMEO. If you download the video from Vimeo (say that 10 times, fast – I dare you) and select the FULL VID 1920×1080, it’s only 10Mbps. So at the very least they crammed 24-28Mbps into 10Mbps…. on top of that, who knows what the editing system was, what format it was edited into, etc.
It’s not the compression, it’s the shutter speed setting in combination with the artificial lighting available. It happened to me once too.
The rankings are looking bad for the A99??? Not surprising is it when the only firmware ‘upgrade’ for the A65/A77 in over 6 months is a button disabler.
Sony knows full well what the problems are with the A65/A77 cameras, the poor Jpeg engine, ISO and sensor noise and no tethering being the ones most people are concerned about and what do they do about these problems…NOTHING.
Why would anyone buy a Sony (again) with such poor support and backup, knowing that if there are any problems with the A99…don’t worry, you won’t get a firmware update to solve it…..just ditch it and buy the next hot model…on the drawing board now.
This nonsense of telling Sony all the time what is wanted in the next new camera should stop, all that’s doing is telling them to produce a new camera instead of sorting out the existing ones. They should be told what we want in the camera we own now and Sony should concentrate more on sorting these problems and getting the cameras they have already sold to work to the best of their ability before releasing new ones.
Get a core product and make it work well, Sony, then people will flock to buy your new models when they are eventually released with the confidence that you will support them whatever happens.
Keithyman – When you say “They should be told what we want in the camera we own now and Sony should concentrate more on sorting these problems and getting the cameras they have already sold to work to the best of their ability before releasing new ones.”, I will argue that all manufacturers are guilty of this. Many Canon shooters are not thrilled that the 5D MKIII is not that big of an improvement over the MKII.
It’s just the nature of the industry.
Why are the videos so blurry?
If devs sacrificed photo capabilities in favor of video in A99, at least I’d expect superb video quality… Hope this is caused by poor video compression on Vimeo or something.
yep. compression.
Becuase it has had the crap compressed out of it when posting to Vimeo. If you’re watching on the Vimeo site, you are likely only looking at about 5Mbps. Anything will look like crap at that low bitrate.
whatever. sony sucks.
Then why you’re lurking here, little troll?
Did I read that right…….it’s 878 in ranking on Amazon?
I purchase through B&H but still………..
I see all of the new and old Canon and Nikon will within the top 100
Sony needs to learn that it can’t compete in the game if its not willing to do what it takes, and it takes more than a great camera body or two, it takes lenses, third-party support and customer support.
It also takes a competitive price.
VW tried to sell the Phaeton in the luxury segment. It may have even been a better car than Mercedes, BMW, or Audi. Yet they failed. Why would someone buy that car if it is not significantly cheaper than the well-established competition in that segment?
There is no logic as to where Amazon places things. If you look at DSLR bundles you will find the a99 at #39 despite the fact that it is not bundled with anything
It’s a fantastic piece of technology, was working with this and the Nex6 today, these platforms are in another league. And to those who keep on complaining about overheating on Sony equipment well if you’d worked with a SLR in video before, whether that be Canon or Nikon et al then you’d of experienced that and know that it was common and what to do about it, most videographers simply carry a spare memory card and battery, swap them out and your ready to go…hope that helps
The color banding noted on 1:57 is a result of the framerate used on that particular scene in relation to the region’s (or the specific area’s) own cycle. Say here in the Philippines, we use a minimum of 1/60 shutter speed for video recording because our light cycle at 60Hz. We just double the speed as needed. In some areas, light/electricity cycles at 50Hz, hence, they have to record accordingly at 1/50 shutter speed or double that as the need arises.
I think it’s just bad timing. Nikon, Canon, Fuji and M43 just released compelling products not to mention Sony’s own NEX line making it difficult for buyers to compromise.
Negative naysayers: Go to Digital SLR Bundles and you will find the a99 at somewhere in the 39 to 43 spot depending when you look. It’s not a bundle, but Amazon tends to put things in strange places.
For all of the naysayers and unbelievers, I would encourage you to go to the Amazon site listed above and look at Digital SLR Bundles. There you will find the a99 at somewhere around #39. I know that it is not a bundle, but I have pointed out in the past that Amazon put things in strange places sometimes.
Looks like #50 now
The issue is it is overpriced. Should have been at D600 pricing. Until Sony fix this it simply won’t be a big seller.
people start getting their A99 already….
Who cares about the Amazon rankings, just ship mine please!
And to those that say ‘pros’ would never buy from Amazon, I’m a video pro and an Amazon Prime member which gets me free shipping on everything, discounts and bundle deals that aren’t advertised – plus an easy return policy. I buy from Amazon almost exclusively when buying new.