Last week, I had the privilege of two hands-on sessions with the Sony a9. With the 4K video reel playing behind the demo staff, I picked up the camera, sporting one of Sony’s high speed autofocus lenses. My jaw hit the floor when I hit the shutter button and saw the 20fps shutter shoot off 60 photos in 3 seconds, all in perfect focus. It was almost hard to believe the photos had actually been captured and stored in that timeframe, something Sony engineers are aware of and have gone at great lengths to build in some visual cues in lieu of the traditional shutter blackout we see in other DSLRs. After all, what photographer isn’t going to run this beast in silent mode?

I’m an OG As7 owner, and I love it. I got it used two years ago at a killer price point you’d be lucky to find today, and for my casual on again off again use, it’s perfect in all ways but one — the still photo resolution. It’s great at portraits, close ups, and medium shots. But I live in Colorado, and the second I take it out to do landscapes and wider angle photography, the lack of pixel data at my disposal starts to show. I can’t quite justify owning two Sony cameras, and the difference in low light support makes the A7Rii a hard compromise for someone shooting with mostly practicals or natural lighting.

SLOG is our RAW file. This would be like releasing the A7s, but saying it doesn’t support RAW photo files.

So imagine my glee when I saw the a9 showcasing brilliant 4K video footage across the continent in a variety of lighting situations, without the digital noise I would typically associate with that size of a sensor at the ISOs on display. Furthermore, the footage is captured using the 6K sensor, and then downsampled to 4K for the recording. If Baraka taught me anything, it was that an 8K overscan downsampled to 1080P produced a better looking bluray than any 4K to 1080P transfer I had seen up to that point. Starting with more info and moving down almost always produces better results. And the latitude — oh man, does the a9 have latitude.

1440P Screenshot highlighting the video capabilities of the a9

But then came the kicker. No picture profiles. No SLOG. I was told by the representative “This is a camera intended for high speed photographers”, and a lack of picture profiles doesn’t really make a difference for photographers. That’s true — if they have a quick turnaround, they’ll use the JPEG, or if they want to do post, they’ll work with the RAW files. But for video, this logic makes no sense.

At the end of the day, this seems like a needless software exclusion that greatly limits the potential of this camera to serve a larger market.

SLOG is our RAW file. This would be like releasing the A7s, but saying it doesn’t support RAW photo files. With all the HDR technology on display by Sony at NAB, it seems curious to cut their new flagship camera off at the knees by not including this feature. Why even put the work into supporting gorgeous 6K to 4K downsampled footage when it’s not going to be a suitable video camera for most professionals.

I was ready to sell my A7s and put down the cash to upgrade to the a9 the second I saw and held it. It’s a fantastic evolution of the modern day DSLR. But without SLOG, that proposition is dead in the water. And I can’t imagine I’m alone. There’s a huge market of professionals out there that don’t want to put down the cash for a full fledged cinema specific camera, but are willing to pay a decent amount for what amounts to a very high quality hybrid. The Sony A7 series has certainly proved that. But Sony needs to learn they can only segment that market so much. At the end of the day, this seems like a needless software exclusion that greatly limits the potential of this camera to serve a much larger market.

I don’t mind certain bodies having their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s inherent to the technological innovation process. But this is a deliberate exclusion, and one that doesn’t seem merited given the steep price tag. If Sony wants to announce SLOG support will come in a near future update, then they’re free to take my money. But until then, I suggest videographers avoid this camera, and send a message to Sony indicating your concerns.