Canon in desperate need? Sony to Launch α9 II, the Ultimate Weapon for the Tokyo Olympics
On October 4, 2019, Sony announced that the α9 II, the second generation of its flagship full-frame mirrorless camera, will be released on November 1, 2019. The first-generation α9 was released on May 26, 2017, so the model will be redesigned in just two years and five months.
It is surprising that Sony was able to develop a second-generation interchangeable lens camera that overcomes the shortcomings of the first generation and improves on its strengths so quickly (flagship cameras generally undergo a model change every four years or so due to the schedule of the Olympics). The α9 II is the perfect camera for the Tokyo Olympics coming up next year, and we can feel Sony's strong enthusiasm for having a leading sports photographer choose it for the event.
The α9 II is equipped with a high-speed continuous shooting function that is unrivaled by other cameras, namely, blackout-free continuous shooting at up to 20 fps with AF/AE tracking, but this function is limited to when the electronic shutter is used. Comparing the electronic shutter with a conventional mechanical shutter, the electronic shutter has the advantages of faster continuous shooting speed, silent shooting, and less blurring because it does not use a physically moving curtain. However, it also has disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage is the phenomenon known as "dynamic distortion" (also called "rolling shutter distortion").
Try taking a picture of a train running at high speed from right beside it with your smartphone (not equipped with a mechanical shutter, only an electronic shutter). The train should appear distorted. In a photographer's field where mistakes are not tolerated, if the subject appears distorted, the camera is useless.
The first-generation "α9" camera was developed with special technology to minimize "dynamic distortion," so compared to the middle-class "α7" series, it is an amazing camera that produces almost no "dynamic distortion" even when shooting with the electronic shutter. Even so, "motion distortion" is not zero.
（If an image sensor with an electronic shutter called a "global shutter" (instead of a "rolling shutter") were used, "motion distortion" would not occur even when using an electronic shutter. However, such a full-size mirrorless SLR does not yet exist on the market.)
Therefore, full-frame mirrorless cameras, unlike smartphones, have not only an electronic shutter but also a mechanical shutter. When using the mechanical shutter, the continuous shooting speed of the "α9" was limited to 5 fps at best. This is 1/4 of the continuous shooting speed when using the electronic shutter, and since the continuous shooting speed of the flagship film SLR cameras around 1990 was around 5 fps, I personally found this prehistoric slowness when using the mechanical shutter to be the biggest drawback of the "α9".
Although there are of course individual differences, I think that 10 fps is one standard for a stress-free continuous shooting speed when shooting a fast-moving subject. Sony's development team seems to have been aware of this, and the new "α9 II" has increased the continuous shooting speed to 10 fps when using the mechanical shutter. Although this is a modest and unnoticed change, I consider it to be a very important point.
Shooting at the Olympic venues, there is no room for error, so sports photographers need to be proficient in handling the equipment they use. α9 II will be released more than eight months before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so I can assure you that you will have more than enough practice time to learn to handle it reflexively in the spur of the moment situations. I think it is good.
The date for the market launch of Nikon's first full-frame mirrorless camera flagship has not been stated, but it will probably be sometime in the spring of next year. However, Nikon's full-frame mirrorless camera flagship does not yet exist on the market, and should hopefully be available by early next year.
If we compare the time required for a photographer accustomed to handling Sony's α9 to become proficient in operating the α9 II with the time required for a photographer who has been using Nikon's full-frame DSLR flagship, the D5, to become familiar with Nikon's full-frame mirrorless camera flagship, the latter will be significantly longer than the former. It is easy to imagine that it would be longer, looking at Nikon's full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7.
The subjects of the Olympics often move at high speed, and the possibility of irregular movements cannot be ruled out. For these reasons, photographers shooting at the Olympics must be able to handle the camera equipment they use as freely as if it were their own limbs.
One company that has a lot of problems is Canon. The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported that Canon's first flagship full-frame mirrorless camera will be introduced in 2021. Due to a serious business miscalculation, the company has been forced to come clean that it will never be ready in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
By 2021, Sony may have introduced the third generation of its full-frame mirrorless camera flagship to the market. Sony is no doubt planning to not only lap Canon, but to further pull away from it, while Canon is coasting along, having gained tremendous support from photographers who shoot fast-moving subjects, such as the Olympics and F1.
The Sony α9 II has corrected some of the weaknesses that have been pointed out in Sony's full-frame mirrorless cameras in general. For example, dustproof and drip-proof performance, grip holdability, and clicks and button layouts that can be operated without fail even when wearing gloves are all unspectacular but extremely important points for serious photographers.
The fact that these were weak was unavoidable, as Minolta's "α" SLR cameras were rarely used in "battlefields" such as sports and news reporting. Nevertheless, as stated in the press release announcing the release of the "α9 II," Sony has "continued to develop the α system in response to the expectations" of photographers, reflecting their feedback. I believe that this serious, customer-oriented attitude is to be commended.
On the other hand, how did Canon fall so far?
(To be continued in the next issue)
first appearance : AGORA