SONY α900(A900)
The last α-mount SLR with a prism
A review and Photo Examples of the α900 Digital SLR Camera
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Table of contents
Gallery
Review
1．Overview
The α900 is Sony’s flagship pentaprism SLR camera, succeeding the Minolta camera.
It’s a camera that feels like it’s finally come this far since the Minolta era, with a 24MP 35mm full-frame sensor that can be used with Minolta α lenses, in-body image stabilization, and a highly refined fusion of analog and digital technology.
The body is large, measuring 16cm wide, 12cm high, and 8cm deep. In this state it weighs 850g.
With the vertical grip attached, the height increases to 16cm and the weight exceeds 1kg.
When holding the camera, it has a mode dial on the left shoulder and two rotary dials on the right.
There is also a joystick on the back for menu operation, so the operation buttons are sufficient.
The viewfinder screen can also be replaced.
2．Usage
The α900’s viewfinder is really fun to use for manual focusing, and although the physically large viewfinder of the LEICA S Typ007 is also good, the α900’s viewfinder is the best of all 35mm cameras.
The focusing screen can be replaced, and the M type, which makes it easier to focus on bright lenses, and the L type with grid lines are available.
The focusing screen is unnecessary for the EVF of a mirrorless camera, but one of the joys of using an SLR camera is being able to change the screen to suit your shooting purpose.
When shooting, the camera was not quiet in any way, as it made a loud mirror drive sound and shutter sound. Anyone who has been using SLR cameras for a long time will understand how those sounds lift your spirits when you are taking pictures. That’s why modern cameras are so quiet, it’s surprising.
As of 2023, I have two SLR cameras, the LEICA S Typ007 and the SIGMA SD10/SD14, and I remember that it made about the same amount of noise as the LEICA S Typ007.
For a Sony camera, the button layout was decent and I had no trouble operating it.
With a film camera, the ISO sensitivity could only be changed by changing the film, but with a digital camera, it can be changed within the sensor’s specifications. The α900 could be set to a maximum ISO sensitivity of 3200 (extended setting 6400) in normal settings, but as far as I could see on the monitor, ISO800 was the limit for regular use and ISO1600 was for emergencies.
It served me well for about two years as the mother ship for the M42 lens and the MINOLTA-α lens.
The lens I used most with this camera was the CarlZeiss Sonnar 135mm-ZA, and I had a lot of fun with its good body and sensor that can be used for everything from the latest lenses to old lenses.
3．Add info.
The next-generation α99 camera has an upper limit of 25600, which shows the sensor’s evolution over the past four years.
The α99II has increased the sensor pixel count to 42MP while maintaining the same ISO sensitivity as the α99, which is impressive.
I thought about getting one again a few years ago, but ended up buying a used EOS-1DsMKIII that was lined up at the time, and so far I haven’t been able to get one again. I would have no complaints if I could attach Leica R lenses without modification, but it’s unfortunate that it’s physically impossible due to the length of the flange back.
Specification
| Model name | α900 | α99 | α99II |
| Sensor Pixels | 24 megapixels | ← | 42 megapixels |
| Sensor Size | 35mmフルサイズ | ← | ← |
| Back LCD and Pixels | 3.0 920,000 dots | 3.0 1.28 million dots | ← |
| View Finder | Fixed eye level Pentaprism used | EVF 2.36 million dots | ← |
| Viewfinder Magnification | 0.74 | 0.71 | 0.78 |
| Max Shutter Speed | 1/8000 | ← | ← |
| ISO sensitivity | 200-3200 (100-6400) | 100-25600 (50-25600) | ← |
| Battery | NP-FM500H | ← | ← |
| Recorded media | CF/MS | SD/MS | ← |
| Release date | 2008.10.23 | 2012.10.26 | 2016.11.25 |
| Size(mm) | 156.3× 16.9× 81.9 | 147× 111.2× 78.4 | 142.6 x 104.2 x 76.1 |
| Weight(g) Body only | 850 | 733 | 770 |
Options
- Vertical position grip VG-C90AM (2 batteries can be mounted)
- Remote Commander: RMT-DSLR1, RM-S1AM, RM-L1AM
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.12.17
- 2024.02.28:Update
- 2023.11.04:First draft
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