I fall into the "Have a mountain of Minolta lenses" camp -- my mountain is 14-strong. Tho only lens I'd consider replacing is my 28-70 f2.8 Minolta. The newest Sony A-mount has SSM (for somewhat quieter operation in a Church for Weddings), plus the dubious need of the extra focus points. I _just_ got an A99, last week!!! It's in great shape, but I paid near the high end of prices you mentioned. I'm very happy with it so far. I also got brand-new: The 60M flash unit; and the Vertical Grip.
Haha that's awesome! I still occasionally see some a-mount lens deals locally and try to pick them up. Congratulations on the A99! Glad you are enjoying it!
I bought myself the a99 mkii like two weeks ago, best camera I've ever had. Handles great, the body is extremely comfortable, the lens availability is amazing, you can get cheap great minolta lenses that are extremely sharp. Having a blast using it everyday and it is still a very capable camera even in 2024, it might not have the latest bells and whistles but who cares really, you can take great pictures regarding the camera you use, if you rely only on tech you might be doing something wrong. (I'm speaking on an old af system, only 12 fps and I shoot wildlife and sports with it and haven't had any problem) And I really couldn't care less as well as daily driving a discontinued system, don't need a mirrorless camera and I wont change mine until it dies.
I regret selling mine in 2020. I dreamt about 10 times I've found it in a box at home, and with all my old lenses. Maybe I can find one in future, when I have money again.
I have this camera and I love it so far. I really preferred this one over any mirrorless, some of them are pretty expensive even used. Do you think the A99II is better? I love to take pictures with analog vintage full manual lens. Great video!
Yeah It's an excellent mix between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera, basically all the benefits of the ergonomics of a DSLR and the practicality of a mirrorless camera. The prices for them are still relatively. The A99II sounds like it addresses quite a bit of oddities of the A99 like some of the odd shutter or aperture choices the camera makes in the shutter priority mode. Additionally that newer sensor does seem legitimately a nice improvement over the 24mp unit, partially owing to the fact it's a BSI sensor. The Mark II does go for a lot of money however, so I'm pretty happy with the A99 Mki. Nice to see others enjoying it for vintage manual lenses too! Thanks!
Seems like it was so well thought out was because Sony still was putting out Minolta designs. As the years went by they changed to their own EF mount and have concentrated more and more on video instead of photography. I want one!
Haha, it was a good call to use them, Minolta ergonomics were just awesome,
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My recommendation is the used Lumix S5. I have seen it for as low as $750, which is less than the Sony A99. I bought mine for $1000 a year a go and even though the autofocus is treacherous, the image quality is great.
Great video, thanks! Always wanted a A99 being a vintage minolta and later Sony shooter. I currently use a A900 which is a great camera of course. Looking to get a A99 here in Sweden including a sigma 24/2.8 for 3900 skr wich is around 365 USD. Hopefully a great deal.
@@Mr50mmish Made the deal! Had it like a week now. Happy! Very usable right from the start! Yeah the a900 is a real camera with it's magnificent viewfinder,, and i really love it, but i must say the A99 is also great so far! Two different beasts! The electronic viewfinder is really good and versatile, makes it in a way more direct to use. Also trying out the video. just getting started!
@knall1966 that's awesome news, now you got 2 awesome A mount cameras! Yeah the awesomeness of a real OVF is hard to understate but yeah the A99's evf is versatile!
Great review, I used to have the 77 model, the only anoing thing was in video mode it had a fixed aperture of 3.5 but in manual you could could use a higher aperture.
The sensor in these I believe is similar to the RX1 that I own and the original A7. My RX1's autofocus is so bad that it can't be used for moving subjects whatsoever and is focus by wire. The OS and annoying warning messages seem to be the same as my camera. It's funny now that the A7 is smaller than the newer A7C
Yeah if I remember right these are the same generation as the RX1 and A7 sensors! Haha yeah I think it was a little while later before Sony redid the menus and warnings to be less annoying. Yeah it's a pretty neat to see the progression of the designs.
IDK if you ever review the shutter sound when your editing your videos but in all your videos ive watched ive never heard a shutter, just a heads up lol. Also you should start a Flickr account and upload some full size videos there as an accessory to the video
Ah. Usually I do disable the voice isolation in the videos to play the shutter sound but in this specific one it very much is removed. That is not good. Later on if the channel gets big enough I'll probably consider hosting the full sized sample somewhere. As it stands I just don't got any more space in my image hosting sites haha so most things sit locally on a NAS haha.
@@Mr50mmish Fair enough. Great video, glad to see some love for some of these older a mount cameras. Not many videos out there, its all saturated with 5d classic and d700 videos lol.
@@JayTsPhoto Thanks! Haha yeah I was a bit surprised there isn't much out there for the A99 considering it's such a funky camera, I guess thought it's pretty high going rate isn't helping. I'm trying to see if I can use the TH-cam built in editor to add the sound back in, I can see in it's editor the dead zone haha of no audio!
Well it won't let me upload new audio in, but I was able to quickly upload a separate video and now in that section of the video there is a link to it that pops up on the top right of the screen. I'll also post it here! th-cam.com/video/Ts_m7cPUpCg/w-d-xo.html
@@Mr50mmish Yup it actually popped up in my recommended before i seen this lol. Its def not what i was expecting
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I've always wanted to own that camera, but the price has never dropped enough to justify the purchase. I have a few Minolta lenses and it would be wonderful to be able to use them without an adapter. I've had the Sony A100 and the A65... I've always dreamed of the A99.
Ah do you use them on the Sony mirrorless? If so how do you find the adapter I initially was going to get that until I found this particular A99. It does suck how these have basically held their value fairly stable while a lot of other cameras with the same sensor plummeted.
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@@Mr50mmish I use them on an a6300 and and lumix s5, on the a6300 there is autofocus but no eye recognition. It's a shame because I haven't been able to use them on a full frame sensor with autofocus. I have a Minolta film camera too. And it's really cool to have multiple lenses on a film camera. But I no longer have a scanner and the quality suffers when scanning outside.
Very cool! Does the Panasonic adapter allow electronic aperture control? Still just having the Motorized adapter sounds awesome even if it's unable to do eye detect! If you have a macro lens for the S5 or a6300 you might be able to do some film scanning with those with some contraptions! They seem pretty effective.
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@@Mr50mmish S5 adapter is mechanical, no autofocus, no aperture. The aperture is a nightmare, you dont really now the f number. I got the sigma 150 f2,8 but the film scanning is tricky.
Ah, dang that sucks! Fair I have only seen examples of DSLR film scanning and I haven't yet tried it, I still use an ancient Polaroid Sprintscan using a very old PC haha.
When it comes to handling I honestly like the A99 minus it's strange software foibles. Plus the system's lens prices are much nicer haha. But the D600 does do a bit better for IQ just because it doesn't have that SLT mirror robbing the light. I don't notice it much when I'm just using it but on a side by side with the D600 it's clearly ahead after iso 800 and high.
I fall into the "Have a mountain of Minolta lenses" camp -- my mountain is 14-strong.
Tho only lens I'd consider replacing is my 28-70 f2.8 Minolta. The newest Sony A-mount has SSM (for somewhat quieter operation in a Church for Weddings), plus the dubious need of the extra focus points.
I _just_ got an A99, last week!!! It's in great shape, but I paid near the high end of prices you mentioned.
I'm very happy with it so far. I also got brand-new: The 60M flash unit; and the Vertical Grip.
Haha that's awesome! I still occasionally see some a-mount lens deals locally and try to pick them up.
Congratulations on the A99! Glad you are enjoying it!
I bought myself the a99 mkii like two weeks ago, best camera I've ever had. Handles great, the body is extremely comfortable, the lens availability is amazing, you can get cheap great minolta lenses that are extremely sharp. Having a blast using it everyday and it is still a very capable camera even in 2024, it might not have the latest bells and whistles but who cares really, you can take great pictures regarding the camera you use, if you rely only on tech you might be doing something wrong. (I'm speaking on an old af system, only 12 fps and I shoot wildlife and sports with it and haven't had any problem) And I really couldn't care less as well as daily driving a discontinued system, don't need a mirrorless camera and I wont change mine until it dies.
Ouu the a99 Mkii sounds awesome. I'll try to pick one up if they ever come down in price!
@@Mr50mmish It is kind of pricey but worth it every penny
Where can I follow your work?
I regret selling mine in 2020. I dreamt about 10 times I've found it in a box at home, and with all my old lenses. Maybe I can find one in future, when I have money again.
Ah that sucks! Hopefully that time comes soon! The A99 will still be amazing when you get it again!
I have this camera and I love it so far. I really preferred this one over any mirrorless, some of them are pretty expensive even used. Do you think the A99II is better? I love to take pictures with analog vintage full manual lens. Great video!
Yeah It's an excellent mix between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera, basically all the benefits of the ergonomics of a DSLR and the practicality of a mirrorless camera. The prices for them are still relatively. The A99II sounds like it addresses quite a bit of oddities of the A99 like some of the odd shutter or aperture choices the camera makes in the shutter priority mode. Additionally that newer sensor does seem legitimately a nice improvement over the 24mp unit, partially owing to the fact it's a BSI sensor. The Mark II does go for a lot of money however, so I'm pretty happy with the A99 Mki.
Nice to see others enjoying it for vintage manual lenses too!
Thanks!
Seems like it was so well thought out was because Sony still was putting out Minolta designs. As the years went by they changed to their own EF mount and have concentrated more and more on video instead of photography. I want one!
Haha, it was a good call to use them, Minolta ergonomics were just awesome,
My recommendation is the used Lumix S5. I have seen it for as low as $750, which is less than the Sony A99. I bought mine for $1000 a year a go and even though the autofocus is treacherous, the image quality is great.
Yeah they seem like pretty great value! Haha one day I'll try the Panasonic full frames!
Great video, thanks! Always wanted a A99 being a vintage minolta and later Sony shooter. I currently use a A900 which is a great camera of course. Looking to get a A99 here in Sweden including a sigma 24/2.8 for 3900 skr wich is around 365 USD. Hopefully a great deal.
Oh the A900 is awesome too. That deal sounds great. Hopefully it goes well. Let me know how you like the A99 when you get it!
@@Mr50mmish Made the deal! Had it like a week now. Happy! Very usable right from the start! Yeah the a900 is a real camera with it's magnificent viewfinder,, and i really love it, but i must say the A99 is also great so far! Two different beasts! The electronic viewfinder is really good and versatile, makes it in a way more direct to use. Also trying out the video. just getting started!
@knall1966 that's awesome news, now you got 2 awesome A mount cameras! Yeah the awesomeness of a real OVF is hard to understate but yeah the A99's evf is versatile!
Also glad you are enjoying the A99 :)
Great review, I used to have the 77 model, the only anoing thing was in video mode it had a fixed aperture of 3.5 but in manual you could could use a higher aperture.
Thanks, that's a bit funky. Did Sony ever explain why the mode fixed the aperture to 3.5?
You could place a little paper on the lens back, and then it would record at 1.8 or even faster apperture. I used this to record myself
The sensor in these I believe is similar to the RX1 that I own and the original A7. My RX1's autofocus is so bad that it can't be used for moving subjects whatsoever and is focus by wire. The OS and annoying warning messages seem to be the same as my camera.
It's funny now that the A7 is smaller than the newer A7C
Yeah if I remember right these are the same generation as the RX1 and A7 sensors! Haha yeah I think it was a little while later before Sony redid the menus and warnings to be less annoying.
Yeah it's a pretty neat to see the progression of the designs.
I shoot an a77ii for the same reasons. Very capable system.
That's awesome! Was that the last APS-C camera Sony ended up making for the system?
IDK if you ever review the shutter sound when your editing your videos but in all your videos ive watched ive never heard a shutter, just a heads up lol. Also you should start a Flickr account and upload some full size videos there as an accessory to the video
Ah. Usually I do disable the voice isolation in the videos to play the shutter sound but in this specific one it very much is removed. That is not good. Later on if the channel gets big enough I'll probably consider hosting the full sized sample somewhere. As it stands I just don't got any more space in my image hosting sites haha so most things sit locally on a NAS haha.
@@Mr50mmish Fair enough. Great video, glad to see some love for some of these older a mount cameras. Not many videos out there, its all saturated with 5d classic and d700 videos lol.
@@JayTsPhoto Thanks! Haha yeah I was a bit surprised there isn't much out there for the A99 considering it's such a funky camera, I guess thought it's pretty high going rate isn't helping. I'm trying to see if I can use the TH-cam built in editor to add the sound back in, I can see in it's editor the dead zone haha of no audio!
Well it won't let me upload new audio in, but I was able to quickly upload a separate video and now in that section of the video there is a link to it that pops up on the top right of the screen. I'll also post it here! th-cam.com/video/Ts_m7cPUpCg/w-d-xo.html
@@Mr50mmish Yup it actually popped up in my recommended before i seen this lol. Its def not what i was expecting
I've always wanted to own that camera, but the price has never dropped enough to justify the purchase. I have a few Minolta lenses and it would be wonderful to be able to use them without an adapter. I've had the Sony A100 and the A65... I've always dreamed of the A99.
Ah do you use them on the Sony mirrorless? If so how do you find the adapter I initially was going to get that until I found this particular A99. It does suck how these have basically held their value fairly stable while a lot of other cameras with the same sensor plummeted.
@@Mr50mmish I use them on an a6300 and and lumix s5, on the a6300 there is autofocus but no eye recognition. It's a shame because I haven't been able to use them on a full frame sensor with autofocus. I have a Minolta film camera too. And it's really cool to have multiple lenses on a film camera. But I no longer have a scanner and the quality suffers when scanning outside.
Very cool! Does the Panasonic adapter allow electronic aperture control? Still just having the Motorized adapter sounds awesome even if it's unable to do eye detect! If you have a macro lens for the S5 or a6300 you might be able to do some film scanning with those with some contraptions! They seem pretty effective.
@@Mr50mmish S5 adapter is mechanical, no autofocus, no aperture. The aperture is a nightmare, you dont really now the f number. I got the sigma 150 f2,8 but the film scanning is tricky.
Ah, dang that sucks! Fair I have only seen examples of DSLR film scanning and I haven't yet tried it, I still use an ancient Polaroid Sprintscan using a very old PC haha.
sony a99 vs nikon d600 -- who wins?
When it comes to handling I honestly like the A99 minus it's strange software foibles. Plus the system's lens prices are much nicer haha. But the D600 does do a bit better for IQ just because it doesn't have that SLT mirror robbing the light. I don't notice it much when I'm just using it but on a side by side with the D600 it's clearly ahead after iso 800 and high.
Wow, the chromatic noise at high ISO is pretty narly. Not the camera you probably want to use to shoot indoors (ex. museum) without flash.
Yeah, the SLT mirror penalty really shows in high ISO. With NR it does help quite but yeah it is not great.
i shoot in raw, use 12800 -20000 , post pro it on dxo pureraw. the result turns out better than my samsung nx500 nx1, pentax k3 and sony a6300
Oh man that face, lol. Very Rock like.
Haha