Review SONY A99

What is this!! a fast FPS shot? A large 24 Full Frame Sensor!! Could this be real?? lets check it out the review.....

SONY A99 FF Sensor

The Sony SLT-A99 is the Japanese camera maker's flagship model, aimed squarely at DSLR enthusiasts who will settle for nothing less than a full frame sensor in a rugged body with a plethora of external and customizable controls. It arrives almost four years after its predecessor, the A900, the company's first full frame DSLR. You'd certainly expect significant new features given such a long gap between products and Sony has lost no opportunity to equip the A99 with every bit of electronic expertise they've incorporated into their NEX and SLT models in the interim. Whereas the A900 was a defiantly conventional SLR that would have been immediately familiar to Konica Minolta film-camera users, the A99 is something of a technological tour-de-force.

Start with a dual chip AF system, live view focus peaking, tiltable rear LCD, built-in GPS and 1080p60 movie recording plus the ability to output uncompressed video, and the contrast to the stills-only A900 couldn't be more stark aside from the A99's identical 24MP resolution. And then of course, there's the fact that with the A99 Sony has opted for an electronic, versus optical viewfinder. From a features standpoint, it's clear that Sony was out to rethink its approach to the enthusiast market and attempt to lure would-be DSLR shooters with a surfeit of technology while broadening its appeal to videographers.

Like its predecessor, the SLT-A99 enters a full frame DSLR playing field still dominated by the 'big two', so the camera's success will depend not just on its advances over the A900, but how well it competes against the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Nikon D800. Sony may have chosen not to challenge the 36MP Nikon D800 for pixel count - somewhat of a surprise given that the D800 houses a Sony-made sensor - but has opted instead for a unique dual sensor AF system that promises more precise subject tracking along with a 6fps continuous AF burst rate.

Sony has gone to great lengths to stress the work that has gone into improving the camera's image quality. The latest 24MP sensor has been designed so that more of each photosite is light-sensitive. The electronics in front of this light sensitive region have been slimmed-down to increase the angle from which each site can receive light. These changes, combined with a design that provides a short and high-capacity path between the sensor output and the image processor, and the addition of 14-bit Raw output, should mean improved still image quality.

The rapid adoption of DSLRs by video professionals has made HD recording with manual exposure control a stock feature in even mid-range models. With the A99 though, Sony leverages its considerable video expertise by combining 1080p60 video capture with SLT-enabled phase-detection AF along with the ability to output uncompressed video over HDMI (a feature we first saw in the Nikon D800). Another well-implemented nod to the needs of run-and-gun videographers can be found in the inclusion of a 'silent controller' that allows for adjustments to made while recording without the attendant button clicks.

Sony SLT-A99 key specifications:

• 24MP full-frame CMOS Sensor with on-chip phase detection AF
• Fixed-mirror design SLT
• 2.4M dot OLED electronic viewfinder
• 14-bit Raw output
• ISO 100-25,600
• Up to 6 frame-per-second continuous shooting with AF
• ISO-compatible flash hotshoe with 'multi interface' expansion connector
• Pull-out three-hinge tilt/swivel 1.23m dot RGBW LCD screen
• Top panel LCD
• Microphone and headphone sockets
• Built-in GPS
• AF Micro Adjust

SLT design

The A99 is based around Sony's SLT design - a variant on the DSLR concept that uses an electronic viewfinder (EVF), rather than an optical one. Instead of having a mirror that has to flip out of the way to to take a photo, it uses a fixed semi-transparent mirror that redirects light (with negligible luminance loss) to a DSLR-style phase-detection autofocus sensor. This means live view and autofocus are always active and that the A99 can offer a consistent shooting experience whether you use the flip-out screen or the EVF. It also means the conventional 19-point phase detection focus sensor is always illuminated, along with the 109-point on-sensor array. This puts the A99 in the unique position of having dual phase-detection focus systems available at all times - an unusual feature that Sony has developed several features to exploit, including 'AF-D', its depth-map assist continuous AF feature
The decision to build a full-frame SLT camera will certainly be controversial among enthusiasts who equate a 'serious' camera with an optical, rather than electronic viewfinder. It's worth pointing out though that the A99 sports the same 2.4M dot resolution OLED 'Tru-Finder' EVF whose performance we found so impressive in our NEX-7 review. And the benefits that an EVF provides, including exposure and white balance preview, focus peaking and a customizable information overlay, all without removing the camera from an eye-level shooting position, may be enough to sway those who spends even a little time actually using it.

Landscape Fotography

Definition of Landscape Photography are : 

Landscape photography is intended to show different spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Photographs typically capture the presence of nature and are often free of man-made obstructions. Landscape photographers often attempt to document the space as well as convey an appreciation of the scenery.

Landscape Photography for me is a mixture of Art and exercises, why exercise? because sometime u would need climb some mountain or some spots that needed u to do hiking a bit, (Imagine what we would do to take just 1 or 2 pictures) sometimes the result of the picture taken is breathtaking.

Many landscape photographs show little or no human activity and are created in the pursuit of a pure, unsullied depiction of nature devoid of human influence, instead featuring subjects such as strongly defined landforms, weather, and ambient light. As with most forms of art, the definition of a landscape photograph is broad, and now includes urban settings, industrial areas, and nature photography, Waterfalls coastlines, seascapes and mountains are especially popular in classic landscape photography. Though most photographs are inspired by traditional landscape painting, the technique can be applied to other subjects; most places and things can be photographed as a landscape, a kitchen, a lamp, a wall, or even the human body. Contemporary Landscape photography has made a notable shift from being about nature and the environment towards being more about the direct relationship between man and nature and where they intersect.

What U need for Landscapers......

In my opinion when u pursue a landscape photography I prefer to take equipment as light as possible. The more equipment u carry the longer time u have to decide which equipment you have to shoot. And also u don’t need a very expensive lens or equipment to take landscape photo.

1.     Camera (Of Course)

U need this to take picture, any brand will do it can be Nikon, Canon, Pentax or Sony. As long it has sensor of DX of Fullframe in it, you are ready to go. Don’t worry about brands all has good sensors and it is just a matter of taste. Me myself use a D90 Nikon and D5000 Nikon

Camera, Lens, Flash

2.     Camera Bag.

Try buying a camera bag with rain coat for your equipment protection, for landscapers it’s hard to forecast the weather you are in to, Siling bag or Bag pack will do, any brand as long has tick protection for your equipment. 

Backpack Type

3.     Lens.

For budget photographer you can always use your std kit lens, Don’t be fool by their name “KIT LENS” all the camera manufacture tends to produce good picture for branding purpose I guess. These lense are as sharp as 10 million rupiah lens. But if you have more budget u could get wide angel lens like the 11-16mm Sigma or the Nikon 11-24mm that would be a plus . anything starts with 10 or 11 is a wide lense.

Wide Nikon Lens

4.     Tripod.

Video Tripod

Low Angel Position

Ball Head Tripod

These 3 legged friends is the must have equipment a must have to take it with you on landscape journey,  landscape Photography needs a sharp picture of standing point till the Far end of the obkect. Using hand only to support your camera won't be sufficient. Before u rushed to your nearest store to get a Tripod u have to understand there is 2 types of Tripod. One if For panning Tripod which mostly is used for video shoot out and the other one is using ball head. these tripod will cost u around Rp350,000 to if you have the cash Rp.1,500,000. Some of the Photographer prefer the Panning type but for me, Ball Head Tripod are the best, not only they have high flexibility of angeling your camera but also they are good in low height photography.

             U could see in the picture reff. above that a ball head tripod has more flexibility for angel shots.

5.     Shutter Release cable.

If you are born rich u could buy the digital ones, which u can set when and how to release the shutter speed, which u can adjust the aperture and the shutter speed on the remote which will cause you around Rp.300,000 till Rp500,000 rupiah, or if you really don’t want to burn your pocket hole u could buy the analog type which has just the shutter release button. Any model will do as long it’s comfortable.

Shutter cable

Any Brand will do, if you have the budget u could buy the Nikon or canon brand, if you want cheap but usable, alot of chinese brands will do.

   6. FIlter

Graduate Square Filter

One of the essential equipment that I tend to bring when shooting a landscape Photo. Camera lens filters still have many uses in digital photography, and should be an important part of any photographer's camera bag. These can include polarizing filters to reduce glare and improve saturation, Special Filter for example Graduate Filter or simple UV/haze filters to provide extra protection for the front of your lens and aims to familiarize one with these and other filter options that cannot be reproduced using digital editing techniques. 

Screw on Filter

There are many type of filter that can be used in Photography, explaination will be in dept in other pages but for now, I will just introduce to you examples of Filter.








In the next topic I will explain to you the basic setting of the camera for Landscape Photography.............

Photography

Definition Of Photography:

Method of recording permanent images by the action of light projected by a lens in a camera onto a film or other light-sensitive material. It was developed in the 19th century through the artistic aspirations of two Frenchmen, Nicéphore Niepce and Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, whose combined discoveries led to the invention of the first commercially successful process, the daguerreotype (1837). In addition, two Englishmen, Thomas Wedgwood and William Henry Fox Talbot, patented the negative-positive calotype process (1839) that became the forerunner of modern photographic technique. Photography was initially used for portraiture and landscapes. In the 1850s and '60s, Mathew B. Brady andRoger Fenton pioneered war photography and photojournalism. From its inception, two views of photography predominated: one approach held that the camera and its resulting images truthfully document the real world, while the other considered the camera simply to be a tool, much like a paintbrush, with which to create artistic statements. The latter notion, known as Pictorialism, held sway from the late 1860s through the first decade of the 20th century, as photographers manipulated their negatives and prints to create hazy, elaborately staged images that resembled paintings. By the 1920s and '30s, a new, more realistic style of photography gained prominence, as photographers such as Paul Strand, Edward Weston, andAnsel Adams began to pursue sharply focused, detailed images. The Great Depression and two world wars inspired many photographers, including Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, to pursue documentary, often socially conscious photography. Inspired by such work, many photojournalists, including Alfred Eisenstaedt and Margaret Bourke-White, also emerged during this period. In the second half of the 20th century, the urban social scene became a subject of much interest to photographers, as did celebrity portraiture and fashion photography. At the turn of the 21st century, photographers took advantage of digital capabilities by experimenting with enormous formats and new manipulative techniques. As technological advances improve photographic equipment, materials, and techniques, the scope of photography continues to expand enormously.