Sony A9 Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha A9 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was officially introduced in April 2017 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Sony A9 a good camera? The A9 has a Camera Elo of 2634. This rating puts the A9 among the top 50 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the A9 also ranks among the top 50 percent. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 3-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Sony A9 vis-à-vis a credit card. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A9 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A9	127 mm	96 mm	63 mm	673 g	650	Y	Apr 2017	4,499	ebay.com
2.		Nikon Z6	134 mm	101 mm	67 mm	675 g	310	Y	Aug 2018	1,999	ebay.com
3.		Sony A7 II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	599 g	350	Y	Nov 2014	1,999	ebay.com
4.		Sony A7 III	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	610	Y	Feb 2018	1,999	amazon.com
5.		Sony A7R II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	625 g	290	Y	Jun 2015	3,199	ebay.com
6.		Sony A7R III	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	650	Y	Oct 2017	3,199	ebay.com
7.		Sony A7R IIIA	127 mm	96 mm	74 mm	650 g	650	Y	Apr 2021	3,199	amazon.com
8.		Sony A7R V	131 mm	97 mm	82 mm	723 g	530	Y	Oct 2022	3,899	amazon.com
9.		Sony A7S II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	627 g	370	Y	Sep 2015	2,999	ebay.com
10.		Sony A9 II	129 mm	96 mm	76 mm	678 g	690	Y	Oct 2019	4,499	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99	147 mm	111 mm	78 mm	812 g	500	Y	Sep 2012	2,799	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A9 was launched in the US market at a price of $4,499. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A9 offers at
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Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the imaging sensor is a crucial determinant of image quality. A large sensor will generally have larger individual pixels that offer better low-light sensitivity, provide wider dynamic range, and have richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be more expensive and lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Sony A9 features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A9 among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

Since 2007, DXO Mark has published sensor performance measurements that have been derived using a consistent methodology. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The following table provides an overview of the physical sensor characteristics, as well as the sensor quality measurements for a selection of alternatives.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A9	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.9	13.3	3517	92
2.		Nikon Z6	Full Frame	24.3	6048	4024	4K/30p	25.3	14.3	3299	95
3.		Sony A7 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.9	13.6	2449	90
4.		Sony A7 III	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.7	3730	96
5.		Sony A7R II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	13.9	3434	98
6.		Sony A7R III	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	14.7	3523	100
7.		Sony A7R IIIA	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	26.0	14.7	3523	100
8.		Sony A7R V	Full Frame	60.2	9504	6336	8k/24p	26.5	14.8	3187	100
9.		Sony A7S II	Full Frame	12.0	4240	2832	4K/30p	23.6	13.3	2993	85
10.		Sony A9 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.0	3434	93
11.		Sony A99	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	25.0	14.0	1555	89

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but also of capturing video footage. The A9 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A9 can use is 4K/30p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the A9 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 3686k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.78x. The adjacent tables list some of the other core features of the Sony A9 along with similar information for a selection of comparators.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A9	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
2.		Nikon Z6	3690	Y	3.2 / 2100	tilting	Y	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
3.		Sony A7 II	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
4.		Sony A7 III	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
5.		Sony A7R II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
6.		Sony A7R III	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
7.		Sony A7R IIIA	3686	n	3.0 / 2340	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
8.		Sony A7R V	9440	n	3.2 / 2100	full-flex	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
9.		Sony A7S II	2400	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
10.		Sony A9 II	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
11.		Sony A99	2359	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	n	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha A9 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One feature that differentiates the A9 from many older cameras is in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The A9 reduces the risk of handshake-induced blur with all attached lenses, while cameras without IBIS have to rely on optical image stabilization in OIS-equipped lenses to achieve the same effect.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha A9 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A9	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
2.		Nikon Z6	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	-	Y
3.		Sony A7 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
4.		Sony A7 III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
5.		Sony A7R II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
6.		Sony A7R III	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
7.		Sony A7R IIIA	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	Y	Y
8.		Sony A7R V	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
9.		Sony A7S II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
10.		Sony A9 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y
11.		Sony A99	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	2.0	-	-	-

It is notable that the A9 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A9 can be found in the free online Sony A9 Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it says nothing about, for example, the handling, responsiveness, and overall imaging quality of the A9 in practical situations. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is where reviews by experts come in. The following table reports the overall rankings of the cameras as published by some of the major camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A9	5/5	+ +	4.8/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Apr 2017	4,499	ebay.com
2.		Nikon Z6	5/5	..	5/5	89/100	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2018	1,999	ebay.com
3.		Sony A7 II	5/5	+	4/5	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Nov 2014	1,999	ebay.com
4.		Sony A7 III	..	+ +	4.5/5	89/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2018	1,999	amazon.com
5.		Sony A7R II	5/5	+ +	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Jun 2015	3,199	ebay.com
6.		Sony A7R III	..	+ +	4/5	90/100	4.5/5	5/5	Oct 2017	3,199	ebay.com
7.		Sony A7R IIIA	..	+ +	4/5	90/100	4.5/5	5/5	Apr 2021	3,199	amazon.com
8.		Sony A7R V	5/5	+ +	4.5/5	92/100	..	..	Oct 2022	3,899	amazon.com
9.		Sony A7S II	5/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	5/5	Sep 2015	2,999	ebay.com
10.		Sony A9 II	..	..	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Oct 2019	4,499	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99	5/5	..	..	84/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	2,799	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The above review scores should be interpreted with care, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. A score, therefore, has to be seen in close connection to the price and market introduction time of the camera, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

Check A9 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review with another camera, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. Alternatively, you can follow any of the listed hyperlinks for comparisons that others found interesting.

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