Sony Alpha DSLR-A900
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Intro

The Sony A900 is the flagship DSLR in the Alpha array. Declared in September 2008, it's the first model from Sony to feature a full-frame sensor, and the start full-frame DSLR in the world to boast built-in image stabilisation. The Alpha A900 also becomes the highest resolution 35mm-arrange DSLR at the time of writing, featuring 24.6 Megapixels thanks to its new Sony Exmor CMOS sensor. This leapfrogs the previous resolution drawing card, Canon's 21.1 Megapixel EOS 1Ds Print III, spell also coming in at a considerably lower price point.

The A900's headline feature is of course its full-skeletal system sensor, a nick first gear announced in January 2008 and fashioning its debut Hera. Full-frame sensors mensuration the equivalent size atomic number 3 35mm plastic film, which allows them to dispense with the field-reduction factor of other DSLR sensors – so mount a lens like the untested Carl Zeiss 16-35mm and you'll in truth get 16-35mm reportage equally oppose to the 24-53mm coverage when information technology's mounted along other Alpha DSLRs.

The larger expanse of engorged-frame sensors also allows physically large photosites which in turn substance greater predisposition and dynamic pasture. So while the A900 boasts double the total pixel matter of the in the first place A700, its soul photosites actually remain a flyspeck larger, which should (in theory at least) allow it to perform better at higher sensitivities.

The 24.6 Megapixels captured in each image is a pot of information to number-scraunch, so to plow the figures, Sony's equipped the A900 with multiple Bionz look-alike processors. These take into account the camera to imposingly fire at 5fps, and piece that rate's competitive by the 1Ds Check III, the Sony model is again a lot cheaper.

Like every Alpha DSLRs, the new A900 features in-camera image stabilization which physically shifts the sensor to undermine camera shake. Like those earlier models you North Korean won't see the stabilizing effect though the viewfinder, but the great welfare is it works with any lens you attach, be it wide operating room tele, ground or zoom. The really impressive start is the A900's SteadyShot scheme is shifting a considerably larger detector than earlier Alpha DSLRs – so IT's the first well-lined-frame DSLR with sensor-shift opposing-shake – but Sony's still managed to squeeze the mechanics into a relatively compact body, at least for a high-end DSLR.

Other gain of full-frame sensors are the large optical viewfinders which go with them. Sony's excelled itself Hera by delivering 100% coverage which compares favourably against its similarly-priced rivals. Completing the spec are a VGA screen out, HDMI port, accurate stamp battery feedback, support for UDMA cards, AF micro-adjustment of lenses and Sony's Dynamic Range Optimizer which applies adjustments to the tonal mountain range in real-time. Even though the A900 doesn't have Loaded View (or a movie mode), that's still a very impressive specification for the money with some unique aspects.

Click here for the Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 video tour

The big enquiry of course is how well the A900 performs in practice. Most obviously, does the 24.6 Megapixel sensor really deliver a significantly higher arcdegree of detail than anything that's come before it, and are there whatever compromises with noise at higher sensitivities? And while Sony's track platte is proven with consumer and middle-range DSLRs, how does the A900 measure-up against established brands in the articulated lorr-pro and pro markets?

In our full review we'll resolve these questions, putting the A900's features to the test while flat comparing its image calibre against key rivals. At the fourth dimension of writing, Canyon's EOS 5D Mark II wasn't yet available, so we've taken the next best thing and compared the A900 against the flagship Eos 1Ds Crisscross III which shares the same resolution as Canon's new model. Additive the lineup in our comparisons is the A900's other major challenger, the full-frame Nikon D700, which may 'solitary' sport 12.1 Megapixels, but is jammed with features and handles attractively.

So read connected to get a line how the new Sony flagship measures-raised, and as always, you can see the camera's highlights in our Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 video tour of duty.

Testing notes

The Alpha A900 tested was an early sample, but we understand the image timbre and treatment are reflective of a final production model. Following our convention of examination cameras using their manufacturing plant default settings unless otherwise declared, the A900 was set to L:24M Extra Fine JPEG quality, Auto Whitened Balance, Multi-segment metering and Standard Creative Style. High ISO NR and the D-Range Optimiser were set to their default Normal and Bump off settings respectively. SteadyShot was enabled for whol handheld shots and disabled for tripod-based tests.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A900

Source: https://www.cameralabs.com/sony_alpha_dslr_a900/