It`s been fascinating to watch the rise of mirrorless cameras over the course of my 7+ years writing about digital photography. And Sony in particular has been fun to watch as they`ve lead the mirrorless charge in terms of sensor size and resolution.
IŽll never forget the moment the Sony NEX-7 was unveiled in a pre-launch briefing in 2011 - it was the first time I truly craved a mirrorless body - the publication I worked for at the time even named it `Camera of the Year`. Up until that point mirrorless still felt like something of a novelty: a nice option for amateurs craving a small, light ILC alternative to a DSLR, but certainly not a replacement for one, especially for those `serious` about their photography.
It`s often been Sony in particular making the mirrorless cameras I`m most eager to get my hands on.
As the mirrorless market continued to take off and cameras like the original Sony a7 were unveiled, my interest in what originally seemed like a niche continued to grow. And while a lot of brands have contributed serious innovation to the mirrorless market, it`s been Sony in particular making the mirrorless cameras I`m most eager to get my hands on - an opinion not shared by all my colleagues, mind you.
But time and time again I found my expectations of shooting a Sony mirrorless camera never quite matched the reality of using the product. For instance, when it came to the Sony a7, sure it packed a full-frame sensor in a super compact mirrorless body - something that`d never been done, but the user interface of the camera, to put it simply, felt unfinished. This led to an overly frustrating shooting experience.
The Sony a9 is the brand`s first truly refined mirrorless camera, in this writer`s opinion.ISO 1000 | 1/1000 sec | F5.6
To make matters worse, many of Sony`s early mirrorless UI stumbling points were uniquely their own: slow startup times, vague error messages, and batteries draining while the camera`s shut off ...
|
