Good Thinking, 99

Transcript

ALPHA SLT-A99 GOOD THINKING, 99 34 It was always going to take a while for Sony to get established in the D-SLR market, but the A99 suggests the brand is now really capable of challenging Canon and Nikon in the high-end sector. Report by Paul Burrows. FIXED ASSET Sony’s last foray into the top-end of the D-SLR market was with the immensely underrated A900 which was a Nikon D3X competitor at roughly one-fifth the price. Then, for a brief time, there was the even cheaper A850, still with the same sensor and high-grade bodyshell, making it the first really affordable D-SLR with a 35mm-sized sensor. Why photographers didn’t break down Sony’s door to get at the A900 is indicative of the brand still being something of an unknown quantity at that stage, but the SLTseries cameras have increased the awareness of the Alpha system since then, and the Zeiss-flavoured lens system has been expanded too, including those for use with the 35mm-sized sensor. With time, too, is coming more credibility, especially as a long-term stayer in the D-SLR business which is something photographers have never had to worry about when buying either Canon or Nikon. Importantly too, Sony’s investment in the Alpha D-SLR program doesn’t appear to have suffered as a result of it also developing the NEX-series of compact system cameras. In fact, if anything, Sony’s D-SLR activity has increased in recent times, including the introduction of new lenses and accessories. As an aside, there’s been some nit-picking in a couple of online forums as to whether the A99 is really a D-SLR, but since it has a reflex mirror – even though it’s fixed and the EVF gets its feed directly from the sensor – we reckon it still qualifies (and, besides, do we really want another category of digital camera?). The styling is similar to that of the A77 with the same distinctively gently-curved top panel which is made possible because there isn’t a glass pentaprism in there, just an OLED-type EVF panel. However, the A99 lacks a built-in flash. It’s bulkier and heavier than its sibling, but not by all that much and the overall size is pretty similar to that of the D800 or EOS 5D Mark III. The covers are all magnesium alloy and the bodyshell is fully sealed against the intrusion of moisture or dust. There’s a well-shaped handgrip that makes the A99 very comfortable to hold and, although the body weight is only around 750 grams, it still feels well balanced with a big, heavy lens attached like the magnificent Zeiss-designed 2470mm f2.8 zoom supplied with our test camera. Unique at this level of D-SLR is the A99’s tilt/swing adjustable LCD monitor screen which is mainly there to assist video shooters as SONY ALPHA SLT-A99 ON TRIAL ON TRIAL SONY t was never going to be a case of achieving overnight success, especially as something as complex as the D-SLR market. Sony was full of very ambitious plans when it launched its first Alpha D-SLR back in 2006, and then reality set in and the enormity of taking on the established ‘photo brands’ – particularly Canon and Nikon – became more apparent. Even with its Minolta heritage, Sony was still seen as the new kid on the block and, besides, the reality was that it wasn’t really offering anything different beyond novelty value. All that started to change with its SLT-series models which not only gave Sony a pointof-difference, but actually delivered a couple of easily understood benefits. Last year’s SLT-A77 and SLT-A65 clearly demonstrated that Sony finally understood what was needed to be competitive in the D-SLR market and that’s even more apparent with the new flagship model. It might have taken a while, but with the SLT-A99 Sony has finally arrived as a potent force in D-SLRs in its own right and with the potential – provided it also gets on top of all the other bits of the business, like marketing – to achieve (or even exceed) the market share it’s been aiming for since the beginning. The A99 is the first SLT-series model with a 35mm-sized sensor, but more importantly, it incorporates just about everything Sony has to throw at a D-SLR in terms of design, features and performance. Locally, the price tag just manages to sneak under $3000 which is pretty remarkable given what’s on offer. Both the Nikon D600 and Canon EOS 6D are cheaper – which have arrived at the same time – but neither can match the A99’s build quality, suite of features or specifications. The Sony camera is targeted at both enthusiast-level shooters and professionals – and has no model above it from which it might cannibalise sales – but Canon needs to protect the EOS 5D III and Nikon the D800, so both their models are obviously down-specced in a number of areas. It’s worth noting, however, that the D800 uses essentially the same CMOS sensor as the A99, albeit matched with Nikon’s ‘Expeed’ image processor rather than Sony’s ‘Bionz’ engine. I the clever hinging mechanism allows it to be raised to eyelevel and then tilted to optimise the viewing angle (especially handy in bright conditions). It also steps up in resolution to 1.228 megapixels. Sony has equipped the A99 with some heavy-duty video capabilities to compete with the likes of the D800 and the EOS 5D Mark III. Shown here are the built-in stereo microphones, but the camera has both a stereo audio input and output. The A99 returns to a standard hotshoe, albeit Sony’s new ‘Multi Interface Shoe’ which cleverly incorporates a set of connections for coupling various external devices (including an XLR-connection box for pro-level microphones). “It might have taken a while, but with the SLT-A99 Sony has finally arrived as a potent force in D-SLRs in its own right and with the potential to achieve (or even exceed) the market share it’s been aiming for since the beginning.” Like the A77, the A99’s control layout is largely ‘old school’ in terms of retaining many buttons dedicated to either single or dual functions. 35 The main mode dial now has a locking button to prevent it being accidentally moved off a setting. HOTTER SHOE 36 “The 102 sensorbased autofocus points work with the 19 conventional points to give increased frame coverage laterally and also a sense of depth for better coverage of subjects moving towards the camera or away” The A99 is also the first Sony D-SLR to have a standard ISOtype hotshoe instead of the Dynax twin-rail fitting inherited from Minolta. However, Sony has very cleverly integrated an array of electronic connections inset along the front edge for coupling other accessories, most notably an XLRtype connector microphone adapter which delivers a balanced input. An adaptor is now available for the owners of flash units with the old Minolta fitting. On the A99 then, the plain old hotshoe has become the much grander ‘Multi Interface Shoe’. The control layout is almost identical to that of the A77 except for the addition of a new ‘Silent Controller’ located just below the lens release button on the A99’s front panel. It comprises a central button with a surrounding selector dial and it’s primarily designed for use when shooting video – for increased operational convenience as well as to help reduce handling noise – but can also be configured to make various adjustments when shooting stills. The nearby lens mount is surrounded in orange – or, to be precise, cinnabar (the Alpha system’s corporate colour) – which is Sony’s new easy identifier for its cameras with 35mm-sized sensors (the Cyber-shot RX1 has it too). Like the A77, the A99 has a monochrome read-out panel on its top deck (with built-in illumination) despite having the comprehensive EVF and external monitor display options. Also retained are a beefy main mode dial and the same 57 varieties of external controls, including a joystick-type navigator rather than a keypad. There are seemingly buttons on every spare piece of real estate, but in practice the A99 is very straightforward to fly and hard controls remain very much the norm at this level of D-SLR even if there alternative ways of doing things such as control screens. Revived on the A99 is the ‘Quick Navi Pro’ interactive control screen in the main monitor. Activated via the ‘Fn’ button below the joystick, ‘Quick Navi Pro’ provides quick access to all the capture settings and their adjustments. These include the ISO settings, metering modes, white balance, dynamic range expansion processing, the picture modes, AF modes, flash modes and ‘drive’ modes with navigation via the joystick and setting via the camera’s front input wheel or, in some cases, the rear one as well. Alternatively, pressing in the joystick brings up the submenus and/or settings with subsequent adjustment via the input wheels. The A99 has two memory card slots, both of which accept SD format memory cards (with UHS-1 support) while one will also fit Memory Stick PRO types. The power supply is the same 1650 mAh ‘InfoLithium’ lithium-ion battery pack as is used in the A77, but a new optional battery grip (called the VG-C99AM) is available and houses two batteries. These are in addition to the camera’s battery (which remains in place) so there’s a total of three packs in play for extended shooting. ON TRIAL We’ve praised Sony’s OLED EVF as seen in the A77 and NEX7 – and it’s interesting to note that Panasonic has adopted an OLED panel in the new GH3 – so the A99’s eyelevel finder is a known quantity. It remains that an optical finder is superior overall, but Sony’s 2.36 megapixels OLED delivers sufficient sharpness, contrast and colour fidelity to be an acceptable alternative. It’s also virtually free of lag even with fairly brisk panning. The EVF is necessary because the phase-difference detection autofocusing system’s sensors need to be located in the top of the mirror box as a result of the fixed mirror arrangement. Sony calls this Translucent Mirror Technology (the initials ‘SLT’ actually stand for ‘Single Lens Translucent’) and the idea is that conventional autofocusing can be maintained with both live view and video recording rather than the slower contrast-detection system. As it did with the handful of 35mm SLRs which had pellicle mirrors, eliminating the up/down recycling sequence also allows for faster continuous shooting speeds. The A99 doesn’t have the A77’s rapid-fire capabilities, but it can still rattle along at up to 6.0 fps with continuous autofocusing and metering. SIZE AND SPEED Coincidentally, the A99’s new 35mm-sized ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor boasts the same total and effective pixel counts as its ‘APS-C’ format sibling – 24.7 and 24.3 megapixels respectively – but obviously these are bigger pixels. This is reflected in an increase in the sensitivity range which now spans the equivalent of ISO 100 to 25,600 (with extensions to ISO 50 and 102,400). 37 There’s huge scope for customising the A99’s controls as many of the buttons can be assigned a range of functions. New ‘Quick Navi Pro’ control screen provides direct access to the camera’s capture functions. Note the dual-axis level display in this screen. One of the live view screens showing the 19 manually-selectable AF points and dualaxis level display. 38 The maximum image size is 6000x4000 pixels and JPEGs can be captured in two smaller sizes with a choice of three compression levels tagged ‘Extra Fine’, ‘Fine’ and ‘Standard’. RAW+JPEG capture appends a large JPEG to the RAW data with the same choice of compression settings. RAW image capture is at 14-bits per RGB channel. It’s also possible to shoot in the ‘APS-C’ format – which is called the Telezoom mode – and increases the maximum shooting speed to 8.0 fps. EXTRA POINTS While the A99 inherits the A77’s 19-point AF system, it also gets a supplementary phase-detection system using 102 measuring points integrated into the imaging sensor. Sony is calling these ‘assist’ points because that’s pretty much what they do – they can’t be individually selected – and this overlay on the sensor is possible in the A99 because of the semi-silvered mirror. Apart from the advantage of being at the focal plane – which has benefits in terms of focusing accuracy – the assist points have a major role in the auto tracking functions via a new autofocusing mode called ‘Depth Map Assist Continuous AF’ or ‘AF-D’ for short. Here the 102 sensor-based points work with the 19 conventional points to give increased frame coverage laterally and also a sense of depth for better coverage of subjects moving towards the camera or away from it. However, AF-D is only available with a limited number of Sony/Zeiss lenses. Linked to this capability is the availability of a focusing range control which allows the range to be defined in order to eliminate foregrounds or backgrounds. For shooting video there’s something called ‘AF Duration Control’ which is designed to ignore interruptions – such as somebody walking in front of the subject – of varying durations. With manual focusing, assistance is provided by either a magnified display or a ‘focus peaking’ display which indicates the plane of sharpest focus by highlighting the area of maximum contrast. As on the A77, this can be shown in a preselected colour (red, yellow or white) and at one of three levels of sensitivity. Eye-start AF operations – now one of the very few features left over from the Minolta days – is possible via proximity sensors set into the viewfinder eyepiece so autofocusing (and metering) begins the moment the camera is held up to the eye. However, on the A99 the feature can now be switched off. Exposure control is based on a metering system which uses the imaging sensor, measuring from 1200 points with the choice of multi-zone, centre-weighted average or spot patterns. The standard auto exposure modes are supported by an AE lock, up to +/-5.0 EV of compensation and auto bracketing. The program settings can be shifted with either aperture or shutter priority. The exposure bracketing sequence can be set to either three or five frames with adjustments of up to +/-3.0 EV or +/-0.7 per frame respectively. In addition to the standard set of ‘PASM’ exposure modes, the A99 has eight subject/scene modes available for manual selection – portrait, sports action, macro, landscapes, sunsets, night view, night portrait and ‘Hand-held Twilight’ (which captures multiple exposures in rapid succession to eliminate the noise that would otherwise be an issue in low light situations). The main mode dial has one ‘Auto’ position for pointand-shoot operation, but can be assigned to ‘Superior Auto’ control which employs scene recognition analysis so it can automatically apply functions such as ‘Auto HDR’, ‘Hand-Held Twilight’ and continuous shooting if the situation demands it. The standard focal plane shutter has a speed range of 30-1/8000 second with flash sync up to 1/250 second, and is tested at 200,000 cycles. In the video mode, the minimum shutter speed is ¼ second. Like the A77, the A99 also has the option of using an ‘electronic first curtain shutter’ which is designed to allow faster response and recycling times. A bit confusingly, it actually isn’t a physical shutter curtain (or set of blades) at all and, instead, is a feature of the imaging sensor which is switched on line-by-line to create the exposure. The exposure is then completed by the conventional shutter’s second curtain closing over the sensor. This arrangement also helps reduce vibrations and, not surprisingly, shutter noise. The white balance control options are extensive, starting with a total of nine lighting presets to supplement the auto correction, including four for different types of fluorescent lighting. There’s also AWB micro-adjustment, a white balance bracketing mode, finetuning across the full amber-to-blue and magenta-to-green spectrums and manual colour temperature setting (from 2500 to 9900 degrees Kelvin) with the option of applying CC filters over 15 strengths in the A-B and M-G ranges. Finally, there’s only the provision for creating and storing up to three custom white balance measurements. WORKING THE PIXELS In terms of its JPEG image processing functions, the A99 does pretty much all the same things as the A77, starting with a selection of 13 ‘Creative Style’ presets. These are labelled Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B&W, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves and Sepia. Each of the colour presets has adjustment for contrast, colour saturation and sharpness. The B&W and sepia modes obviously don’t have the saturation adjustment, but surprisingly they don’t have the contrast filters or toning effects (beyond sepia, of course) that are available on Canon and Nikon D-SLRs. There’s also a choice of 11 ‘Picture Effects’ – which are applied at the point of capture – and quite a number are adjustable. The selection comprises Posterisation (B&W or colour), Pop Colour, Retro Photo, Partial Colour, High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera, Soft High-Key, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-Tone Mono and Miniature. The ‘HDR Painting’ effect deliberately creates the exaggerated painterlylook of ‘overcooked’ high dynamic range processing. The A99 also has a proper multi-shot HDR capture mode which fires off a sequence of three frames with either automatically applied correction (based on the contrast range detected in the scene) or from manually-set exposure adjustments of between +/-1.0 EV to +/-6.0 EV. Alternatively, dynamic range expansion processing is available via Sony’s ‘Dynamic Range Optimiser’ (DRO) which is also available with auto correction and a choice of five manual settings (designated Levels 1 to 5). DRO bracketing is also available. Like A77, the A99 has Sony’s ‘Sweep Panorama’ function with the choice of standard and wide modes delivering, respectively, image sizes of 8192x1856 pixels and 12,416x1856 pixels from automatic in-camera stitching. The direction of sweep can be set to either left or right, or up or down. Noise reduction processing is available for both long exposures and the high ISO settings, the latter with three settings (low, normal or high). Additionally, the A99 has ‘Multi-Frame Noise Reduction’ mode which captures a burst of six images and these are then combined to give the right brightness level, but with much lower noise levels. This does exactly the same thing as the ‘Hand-held Twilight’ mode except that the sensitivity can be manually set (up to ISO 25,600). As on the A77, the A99 has builtin lens corrections for distortion, shading (i.e. vignetting) and lateral chromatic aberrations. The rest of the ‘equipment’ list includes a built-in GPS receiver, a dual-axis electronic level display (also shown SONY ALPHA SLT-A99 ON TRIAL ON TRIAL The menu design is unchanged from that of the A77 and comprises sets of scrollable pages within tabbed sections. The A99 has Sony’s ‘SteadyShot INSIDE’ body-based image stabilisation which is achieved via ultra-high speed shifting of the image sensor. The amount of correction varies according to the focal length of the fitted lens with Sony quoting a range of 2.5 to 4.5 stops (i.e. from telephoto to wide-angle). Sensor cleaning is performed at the same time the sensor is being shifted, but there’s also a ‘passive’ cleaning element in that the low-pass filter (LPF) has an anti-static coating. Video recording wasn’t available on the A900, but Sony has leveraged its expertise in this area to give its new ‘35mm’ D-SLR some serious capabilities in this area. Just as well, of course, because both Canon and Nikon have upped the ante in this area with their latest generation D-SLRs. Full HD resolution footage can be recorded at 50 frames progressive scan – representing 28 Mbps – or at 50 frames interlaced, giving 24 Mbps. It’s also possible to record at 25 fps progressive scan at two quality levels (giving 24 Mbps or 17 Mbps). Stereo microphones are located just ahead of the ‘multi-interface’ hotshoe and the A99 has both a stereo auto input and an output for monitoring purposes. Audio levels are adjustable in-camera over a range of 32 steps and a levels display is shown in the monitor screen. Full HD video is recorded in the AVCHD Version 2.0 compression format. As with Nikon’s D800 and D4, the A99 delivers a clean, uncompressed video feed to its HDMI output (which is apparently streaming data at 100 Mbps!). The level of video functionality is very high and includes the availability of the main exposure modes, the picture modes and even some special effects. A key performance difference, however, is that the fixed mirror allows for full-time phase-difference detection autofocusing to be maintained with its inherently superior speed. Subject tracking is available when autofocusing during video recording, although only in the program exposure mode. In any of the other exposure modes, focusing has to be preset or adjusted manually. in the EVF which is very useful), a dual-delay self-timer, depth-of-field preview, provisions for using either wireless and hard-wired remote controls, and Sony’s ‘Smile Shutter’ remote release (probably a bit out of place on a camera of this calibre). SPEED AND PERFORMANCE The test camera was a preproduction model so it had a couple of bugs, including the intermittent disappearance of the top panel display, but Sony Australia was still happy for us to consider the image files as representative of what the camera is capable of. In fact, Sony is to be commended for making the camera available at all prior to its announcement which is something we would like more distributors to do. Not only were we given a preview, but we could actually take the camera away for a more thorough evaluation. Although we still didn’t have a lot of time it was enough to leave us thoroughly impressed. Like the A77, this is a camera more than capable of holding its own against rival models from Canon and Nikon. It most obviously lines up against the D600 and EOS 6D, but can also be considered alongside the EOS 5D Mark III, especially in terms of its video recording capabilities. Sony fully intends this to be a pro-level model – and the build quality certain seems to confirm this – so the EOS1D X and D4 are in its sight too… and it’s significantly cheaper than both. From our initial tests though, Nikon’s D800 remains unchallenged in terms of overall image quality, but then no other ‘35mm’ D-SLR gets close to it either. Nevertheless, “As with Nikon’s D800 and D4, the A99 delivers a clean, uncompressed video feed to its HDMI output which is apparently streaming data at 100 Mbps!” A first on a D-SLR at this level is a tilt/swing LCD monitor screen which Sony has provided as much for the convenience of videographers and still photographers. Navigational duties are performed via joystick-type control rather than the more common four-way keypad. The A99 has dual card slots, both of which accept SD format types while the top one is also compatible with Sony’s Memory Stick PRO format/PRO HG Duo devices. An orange band around the lens mount is Sony’s new way of identifying its digital cameras equipped with a 35mm-sized sensor. Sony’s A99 is a hugely important camera for the company which obviously hopes it will do better than the hugely underrated A900. 39 THE VERDICT 40 The A77 showed just what Sony was capable of in terms of building a truly competitive enthusiastlevel D-SLR and, at the time, we noted it was probably a hint of what might be to come at the next level up. The A99 does indeed have everything needed to help the brand make more of an impact on the notoriously difficult professional sector, but history records that breaking the CanonNikon stranglehold here has broken the spirit of quite a few would-be challengers. The keen pricing will undoubtedly be of some help, and will also boost the appeal to enthusiast-level shooters even with the D600 and EOS 6D also vying for their attention. In terms of value for money, the A99 even challenges the superlative D800. However, beyond all of this, Sony has built a superb camera which works well in every department and is capable of excellent performance, both in terms of its systems and of image quality. Selecting the A99 is no longer a case of ‘daring to be different’, but rather of knowing when you’re really onto a good thing. D-SLR VIDEO MAKER – EVERYTHING YOU’LL EVER NEED TO KNOW range equivalent to ISO 10025,600 (expandable to ISO 50 and 102,600). Focal Length Increase: None. Formats/Resolution: Three JPEG compression settings and RAW output (lossless compression), plus RAW+JPEG capture. Three resolution settings at 3:2; 6000x4000, 3936x2624 and 2640x1488 pixels. Three resolution settings at 16:9; 6000x3376, 3936x2216 and 3640x1488 pixels. 24-bit RGB colour for JPEGs, 36-bit RGB colour for RAW files. Video Recording: Full HD = 1920x1080 pixels at 50 fps, progressive scan, 16:9 aspect ratio and AVCHD Version 2.0 compression format (28 Mbps quality); or at 25 fps (24 or 17 Mbps quality). 1920x1080 pixels at 50 fps, interlaced (24 or 17 Mbps quality). HD = 1440x1080 pixels at 25 fps, 16:9 aspect ratio and MPEG 4 compression. Clip length of up to 20 minutes in duration or 4.0 GB in file size. Built-in stereo microphones and 3.5 mm stereo audio input. Recording Media: Dual card slots. One multi-format for SD/SDHC/ SDXC (including UHS-1 types) or Memory Stick PRO/PRO HG Duo; and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC only. Continuous Shooting: Up to 6.0 fps in Continuous Advance Priority AE mode for 15 frames with JPEG/large/extra fine capture, up to 15 frames with RAW capture. Up to 2.5 fps in low-speed mode. White Balance: TTL measurement auto/manual control; nine presets each with fine-tuning (magenta-to-green and amber-toblue), one custom setting, manual colour temperature setting (2500 to 9900 degrees Kelvin) with magenta-to-green and amber-toblue CC adjustments. AWB micro adjustment. White balance auto bracketing over three frames. Interfaces: USB 2.0, HDMI output, 3.5 mm stereo microphone input, 3.5 mm stereo audio output. Additional Digital Features: Fixed pellicle mirror allows for conventional AF with live view and video recording, image stabilisation via sensor-shift, built-in GPS receiver, active sensor cleaning, 7.62 cm LCD TFT monitor (1.23 megapixels) adjustable for tilt/ swing, 13 ‘Creative Style’ modes (Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, Black & White, Clear, Deep, Light, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves and Sepia), image parameter adjustments (contrast, sharpness and colour saturation), 11 ‘Picture Effects’ (Posterisation – Colour/B&W, Pop Colour, Retro Photo, Partial Colour – red/yellow/blue/green, High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera, Soft High-Key, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-Tone Monochrome, Miniature), ‘Sweep Panorama’ (Wide and Standard modes), ‘Auto HDR’ capture mode (Auto, 1-6 EV in one-stop steps), ‘Dynamic Range Optimiser’ (Auto, Levels 1-5), DRO bracketing, incamera lens corrections (Shading, Chromatic Aberration, Distortion), exposure histogram with luminance limit alert (highlights and shadows), RGB histograms, long exposure noise reduction, high ISO noise reduction (High, Normal, Low), adjustable image display time, 4/9 thumbnails display, slideshow, playback zoom (up to 13.6x with JPEG/large images). PictBridge compliant. Power: Rechargeable 7.2 volt, 1650 mAh ‘InfoLithium’ lithium-ion battery pack (NP-FM500H type). Dimensions (WxHxD): 147.0x111.2x78.4 mm (body only). Weight: 733 grams (body only without battery pack). Price: $2999 body only. Distributor: Sony Australia, telephone 1300 720 071 or visit www.sony.com.au 100% AUSTRALIAN TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY MAKE EVERY SHOT A WINNER NZ $10.99 Type: Professional digital SLR with Sony Alpha bayonet lens mount (A-mount). Focusing: Automatic via hybrid phase-difference detection systems. 19 points wide-area measurements with dedicated line CCD sensor arrays (including 11 cross-type arrays). 102 points with on-sensor phase-detection arrays. Focus points may be selected manually or automatically by the camera. One-shot and continuous modes with auto or manual switching (the latter with a predictive function and auto tracking) and Depth Map Assist Continuous AF. Sensitivity range is EV -1 - 18 (ISO 100). AF assist provided by built-in illuminator. Metering: 1200 pixels multi-zone evaluative (using image sensor), centre-weighted average, spot, ADI flash and TTL flash. Metering ranges are EV -2 to 17 for the multi-zone and centre-weighted modes, EV 4 to 20 for the spot mode (ISO 100/f1.4). Exposure Modes: Continuously variable program (with aperture/ speed shift), shutter-priority auto, aperture-priority auto, metered manual, ADI/P-TTL flash and Continuous Advance Priority AE. Subject programs for portrait, landscape, macro, sports action, sunsets, night scene, night portrait and ‘Handheld Twilight’. Shutter: Electronic, vertical travel, metal blades, 30-1/8000 second plus ‘B’. Flash sync to 1/250 second. Exposure compensation up to +/-5.0 EV in ½ or 1/3-stop increments. Viewfinder: 1.3 cm OLED-type EVF with 2.359 megapixels resolution. Coverage = 100% vertical/ horizontal. Magnification = 0.71x (50mm lens at infinity). Eyepiece strength adjustment built-in. Fixed semi-translucent reflex mirror. Flash: No built-in flash. External units sync via ISO standard hotshoe or PC terminal. Additional Features: Auto exposure bracketing (over three or five frames and up to +/-3.0 EV), AE lock, multi-mode self-timer (two or 10 second delays), eye-start AF operation, audible signals, wired remote control, wireless remote control, auto power-off, 28 custom functions. SEPT/OCT 2013 $8.50 SONY ALPHA SLT-A99V $2999* ON TRIAL the A99 does give it a close run in terms of the value-for-money crown… it’s hard to believe Sony is offering quite so much camera and performance for under $3000. The hybrid AF system is fast and very accurate, although we didn’t have the opportunity to test it with any fast-moving subjects. The 1200-point metering is a known quantity and works reliably even in very contrasty situations. The test JPEGs – captured as large/extra fine files – exhibit excellent sharpness, colour fidelity (with very smooth tonal gradations) and dynamic range which is a key benefit of the bigger sensor. So are lower noise levels and the A99 performs exceedingly well here all the way up to ISO 6400 with both the definition and saturation holding up exceedingly well. Noise starts to become more apparent at ISO 12,800 and 25,600, especially in areas of uniform tone, but these settings are still usable. Of course, there’s a huge choice of adjustments to control the look of JPEG images beyond the default settings. In the hand, the A99 doesn’t feel nearly as bulky as it looks and the control layout is easily mastered, making this a very efficient camera to operate. NIKON D7100 READY TO RELEASE YOUR INNER PRO FIRST LOOK! 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