Beginning of End for EF mount?

[Joel Eade]

A 1DXIII with a 500 f/4 III...... Man I'd be all over that. Drooool..........

I'm interested in seeing what kind of "pro body" mirrorless they come up with (probably before the 2020 Olympics). But really, what would be the advantage over DSLR?? I can't think of any. It wouldn't be weight... it's the lens weight that matters most. And it won't be battery life. And this might not matter to everyone, but I'm sure a mirrorless would not work as well in cold weather as DSLR. So I'm pretty sure I'm a DSLR-for-life kind of guy.

As of now I am with you, sticking with DSLR because the mirrorless stuff (as a system) isn't complete enough for me to switch.

Currently I would consider the Sony a9 to probably be the king of mirrorless cameras for action type photography.

The biggest advantages it has over DSLR for me are

1.focus points across the entire sensor that work at f/8 and smaller apertures so no issues with supertele's and teleconverters
2.focus is straight on the sensor...no micro adjustment needed, AF is faster and it tracks moving subjects better
3.completely silent electronic shutter with no blackout shooting at high frame rates (up to 20 frames per sec)
4.electronic shutter up to 1/32,000 sec


Biggest problems are

1.poor battery life
2.lack of a large variety of lenses
3.no really high res model yet.

[Kayaker72]

AF is faster and it tracks moving subjects better
3. no blackout shooting at high frame rates (up to 20 frames per sec)

Hi Joel,

I haven't come across this information. Do you know of some instances where people compared AF of the A9 against, say, a 1DX or D5? The general impressions I've heard is that the DSLRs were still faster, but these were from "youtubers" more that professional wildlife photographers. While this may not be the best example, the first youtube video I saw that opened my eyes to the A9 being up there with the others was by Michael the Maven:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xo9qKPVhEk

From ~6 min to ~8::30 min, there are his "sports" tests. Take them for what you will, but the A9 % accuracy is lower, but due to the high burst, there were more keepers.


As for the shutter, my understanding is the there is no "blackout" but rather as the shutter is actuating that it holds a frozen frame, which can have a similar effect.

Another thing to consider, if comparing the A9 to these other cameras, but something is up with Sony's file size. It is almost DOUBLE that of Nikon/Canon:
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sony-a9.aspx

Bryan's test about 1/3 down the page.

[Joel Eade]

I've read what would be considered anecdotal reports rather than scientific tests from A9 users on other forums such as BirdPhotographers.net or Naturescapes.net that the A9 initial focus acquisition and tracking are superior to Canon and Nikon. Also I follow Arthur Morris' blog where he has stated similar experiences having recently purchased an A9. I have no idea about file size but in the forums I follow the A9 users do state the IQ is not quite as good as the Nikon D850.