# NYT's Doug Mills has converted to A9



## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

We've talked about where Sony might make in-roads with pros for some time. I'm convinced that photojournos, staff photographers, etc. are where Sony can steal pros _right now_. 

Sports? They need a lot more longer glass. Weddings? They need a better speedlite system.

But the folks in a photography scrum can use the A7/A9 right now as those two things above are a much lower priority for them.

But sometimes I need to be reminded to see mirrorless as a boon and not just a replacement. Here NYT's Doug Mills is touting the A9's completely silent shutter as a competitive advantage against other news agencies as they are often in the room at the same time he is and _he doesn't want them to know he's found something interesting to shoot_. He also states he's shot Canon his entire life and switched to the A9 because it was a game changer and that 'Canon does not have one of these mirrorless cameras' (presuming he's referring to FF).

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4714207/doug-mills-switches-sony-a9

Amazing what you can find on C-Span.

- A


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## BeenThere (Jul 13, 2018)

Presume you meant “Canon does not have one of these mirrorless cameras.”

Let’s hope that changes by year end.

A good point about Sony making inroads with some pros now.


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

BeenThere said:


> Presume you meant “Canon does not have one of these mirrorless cameras.”
> 
> Let’s hope that changes by year end.
> 
> A good point about Sony making inroads with some pros now.



Yes thank you. Corrected. Single quotes b/c I didn't record it verbatim.

- A


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## edoorn (Jul 13, 2018)

this is what Sony is doing a lot; approaching high profile photographers and make the offer to switch (sponsored or at least partially). Smart strategy.


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

edoorn said:


> this is what Sony is doing a lot; approaching high profile photographers and make the offer to switch (sponsored or at least partially). Smart strategy.



Of course. They've been trying that since A7 launched. 

What matters here is that a professional photographer -- sponsored or not -- thinks what the A7/A9 platform offers is worth being their daily driver. They are staking their livelihood on it.

So though the gear may be given gratis for this kind of influencer PR in return, I don't know. I doubt he's a schill, though. Comes across to me that this dude really wants a crazy high fps rig with a silent shutter, and Sony gave it to him.

- A


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## slclick (Jul 13, 2018)

The only place I saw inroads was at the WC and it was with Nikon. No longer a sea of white, I noticed nearly half of all lenses there were black.


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

slclick said:


> The only place I saw inroads was at the WC and it was with Nikon. No longer a sea of white, I noticed nearly half of all lenses there were black.



WC was pretty heavy Canon, but I'd peg one black lens in 4, not 50% at all.

Look at a TV/political press scrum the next chance you get. Sony is getting in there.

- A


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

Just from some google pulls of just 'World Cup photographers' from the last month (date confirmed as this world cup, aligned to specific different games): still pretty heavy Canon. This is a smash and grab anecdotal collection, and it does vary.

https://www.google.com/search?q=World+Cup+photographers&client=firefox-b-1-ab&tbm=isch&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:m&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvr7r125zcAhVEilQKHfmcBksQpwUIIA&biw=1920&bih=983&dpr=1#imgrc=cDhvsndcamEDtM:

- A


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## slclick (Jul 13, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> Just from some google pulls of just 'World Cup photographers' from the last month (date confirmed as this world cup, aligned to specific different games): still pretty heavy Canon. This is a smash and grab anecdotal collection, and it does vary.
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=World+Cup+photographers&client=firefox-b-1-ab&tbm=isch&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:m&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvr7r125zcAhVEilQKHfmcBksQpwUIIA&biw=1920&bih=983&dpr=1#imgrc=cDhvsndcamEDtM:
> 
> - A



And mine was very limited as well after only brief glimpses while watching about 15 matches


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

slclick said:


> ahsanford said:
> 
> 
> > Just from some google pulls of just 'World Cup photographers' from the last month (date confirmed as this world cup, aligned to specific different games): still pretty heavy Canon. This is a smash and grab anecdotal collection, and it does vary.
> ...



Many more games on my end (I'm a nut) but in fairness, they were generally in the background. Occasionally, I could grab a half over lunch and I didn't see anything terribly different at the throw-in close up shots than I'd see at other major events. But I'm sure Canon will put out another press release about their high percentage again.

- A


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## littleB (Jul 13, 2018)

At Croatia-England, the field corner closest to me had like 20 photogs, and 4 or 5 were black. Several guys had 2 cameras, one with a big white, the other one more like 24-70.
Will see what it will be at the final.


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## littleB (Jul 13, 2018)

This is how it looks. Took the photo by a mobile phone, the forum auto-rotates wrongly.

They had a very very funny walk towards the team exit point, bordered and restricted by the rope when slowly moving to the point.


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## Mikehit (Jul 13, 2018)

How do you know the whites were Canon, not Sony?


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## littleB (Jul 13, 2018)

Mikehit said:


> How do you know the whites were Canon, not Sony?


Did I ever said that?
How do you know any of whites was Sony?


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

littleB said:


> Mikehit said:
> 
> 
> > How do you know the whites were Canon, not Sony?
> ...



It was a joke. 

But if you want to be pedantic, just zoom in (or check the link I posted above). Sony only has one superwhite longer than 200mm. 

- A


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## Orangutan (Jul 13, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> We've talked about where Sony might make in-roads with pros for some time. I'm convinced that photojournos, staff photographers, etc. are where Sony can steal pros _right now_.



Competition is good for Canon users, so I'm not bothered by the poaching at all. That said, the fact that such individual announcements are still notable is an indication that migrations of top pros are not common.


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## slclick (Jul 13, 2018)

Matches, not games. Thought you were a nut?


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## ahsanford (Jul 13, 2018)

slclick said:


> Matches, not games. Thought you were a nut?



Nuts don't have the use the English football vernacular. I still call it soccer when I know I am talking to Americans, for instance.

- A


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## Kit. (Jul 13, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> We've talked about where Sony might make in-roads with pros for some time. I'm convinced that photojournos, staff photographers, etc. are where Sony can steal pros _right now_.


Well, it happens. Here, for example, you can see one Sony:
http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/2018/07/12164810/4b494500-9ee8-49a8-8e1f-1b84adb35cbe.jpg

Here you can see even two:
https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2018/07/12/77f21747-196a-4b38-8e81-3f7dae5240c9/thumbnail/1200x630/9403c6938c83b695b56ec4f0e74d1b25/rtx6aytc-1.jpg


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## slclick (Jul 14, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> slclick said:
> 
> 
> > Matches, not games. Thought you were a nut?
> ...



Well, since the good ol USA is the ONLY country to call it by the improper name, I'm on a mission to petition one and all to call American Football 'Handegg' as it should be. 3 hours for an hour game, please.....


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## Orangutan (Jul 14, 2018)

slclick said:


> ahsanford said:
> 
> 
> > slclick said:
> ...


Sure, but you need to stop calling the "field" a "pitch" since no item is "pitched" during a futbol game. (throw-ins don't count)

Oh, and per Wikipedia: 

"According to Partha Mazumdar, the term _soccer_ originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association"


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## edoorn (Jul 14, 2018)

I can totally see the attraction btw of the A9 for photo journalists, the silent shutter and tracking for sports (and no blackout) are absolutely useful.


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## AlanF (Jul 14, 2018)

Orangutan said:


> slclick said:
> 
> 
> > ahsanford said:
> ...



You are quite right about soccer being English Public School slang for "association".
But, we do use football and not "futbol".
We do use "pitch" and not "field". It comes from cricket pitch, where the game was started by pitching the stumps, where pitch comes from the old English pichen, to fix firmly or drive (stumps are wooden sticks, knocked into the ground).


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## Neutral (Jul 14, 2018)

edoorn said:


> I can totally see the attraction btw of the A9 for photo journalists, the silent shutter and tracking for sports (and no blackout) are absolutely useful.


Not only this, reliability as well.
Not long back I dropped a9 with attached Sony 70-200 f/2.8 GM from about 6m height on concrete floor covered by very thin wood. Forgot to zip backpack, was distracted by something.
I almost had heart attack and was shocked by my bad luck.
I thought everything went to small pieces.
To my big surprise a9 had no visible damages, only one dial was a bit affected but still performing as requred. After that did multiple tests with different lenses- nothing was affected at all, no misalignment, all sharp from edge to edge, no issues at all. Not sure what would be with my 1DXm2 if I had it instead of a9 with me that day.
Even 70-200f f/2.8 GM glass did not cracked, lens is performing though alignmet is not ok, everything is soft.
Lens hood did the magic, absorbed shock energy and saved lens glass and camera.
All that is the best prove to me that a9 is much more reliable than anything else. Could not imagine any other SLR camera would survive that. And for 1DXm2 due to the much higher weight kinetic energiy would be much higher and all mirror mechanism would go to pieces, possibly the sensor as well. For a9 i think floating sensor mechanism also absorbed shock and saved sensor and alignment.
Just kind of miracle.


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## AlanF (Jul 14, 2018)

Neutral said:


> edoorn said:
> 
> 
> > I can totally see the attraction btw of the A9 for photo journalists, the silent shutter and tracking for sports (and no blackout) are absolutely useful.
> ...



Please drop your 1DXm2 + 70-200mm in exactly the same way and tell us if it really doesn't work.


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## Neutral (Jul 14, 2018)

AlanF said:


> Neutral said:
> 
> 
> > edoorn said:
> ...


I leave that to you to do this with your 1dxm2 if you want to see results and take all the consequencies and resulting losses ;D 
Good luck


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## AlanF (Jul 14, 2018)

I don't have a 1DX so I have to leave the experiment for you! Seriously, we don't know how the 1DX II would fare if the fall was cushioned by a lens hood acting as a crumple zone.


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## ahsanford (Jul 14, 2018)

AlanF said:


> I don't have a 1DX so I have to leave the experiment for you! Seriously, we don't know how the 1DX II would fare if the fall was cushioned by a lens hood acting as a crumple zone.



Depends on the hood, surely. Just got a 200mm f/2L IS loaner from CPS and goodness gracious you could sit on the hood it comes with. I presume (besides the sports collision considerations) they did this to allow you stand the lens + camera up on the hood. 

A design like that wouldn't crumple much -- it would probably just shear the locking screw / blade feature off, at which point what happens is anyone's guess.

- A


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## AlanF (Jul 14, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> AlanF said:
> 
> 
> > I don't have a 1DX so I have to leave the experiment for you! Seriously, we don't know how the 1DX II would fare if the fall was cushioned by a lens hood acting as a crumple zone.
> ...


The 200mm f/2 has a carbon fibre hood like the one on my 400mm DO II or 300mm/2.8, and is indeed a hefty strong brute. But, he has a 70-200/2.8 which has a relatively flimsy plastic hood which would crumple, and it did, saving his camera.


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## Mikehit (Jul 14, 2018)

Neutral said:


> edoorn said:
> 
> 
> > I can totally see the attraction btw of the A9 for photo journalists, the silent shutter and tracking for sports (and no blackout) are absolutely useful.
> ...



WOW! So many assumptions. One of the reasons the 1Dx2 is so large is precisely because of the designed ruggedness. Try dropping your Sony body without a lens hood to absorb the shock and tell us how rugged it is. Or read the LensRentals article about the supposed weather-sealing of Sony bodies....


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## timmy_650 (Jul 15, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> edoorn said:
> 
> 
> > this is what Sony is doing a lot; approaching high profile photographers and make the offer to switch (sponsored or at least partially). Smart strategy.
> ...



Also it is great business strategy, you want the pro maket, they usually own few bodies and a bunch of glass. So talk to the Pro and let them use your camera. They will either like your camera or won't and tell you what they don't like about it, so you can make your product better.


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## Refurb7 (Jul 15, 2018)

No doubt the A9 is a fine camera and up to Doug Mills' standards. This 3rd generation of Sony A cameras is the first that has reached that level. I personally owned and used the A7II and it sucked in a number of ways. Definitely sub-standard for actual work. Now the A7III seems to have fixed most of the things that I hated about the A7II, so it's possible I'll get the A7III at some point (A9 being too expensive).

However, I don't get why C-Span is doing an interview about a camera. This seems like a Sony promotion in every way, including the long close-up of the two cameras. And I personally can't relate to Doug Mills. He is at a star level in the photography world, so he gets treated like a king by Sony. But he has no clue how much the A9 costs, or, it seems, how much any camera costs: "I think they are cheaper than most of the SLRs out there. I want to say I think they're under $5,000 and I know the other ones are around $10,000." Just two wild guesses, one of which happened to be right. Clearly he spends nothing on cameras.


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## timmy_650 (Jul 15, 2018)

Refurb7 said:


> But he has no clue how much the A9 costs, or, it seems, how much any camera costs: "I think they are cheaper than most of the SLRs out there. I want to say I think they're under $5,000 and I know the other ones are around $10,000." Just two wild guesses, one of which happened to be right. Clearly he spends nothing on cameras.



Yea and that isn't abnormal, when a company buys you tools to use, you aren't overly concerned about the price. When I worked construction, I didn't know how much the saws I used cost. I could of gone to hardware store and found out but I didn't care, only that they worked.


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## ahsanford (Jul 15, 2018)

Refurb7 said:


> And I personally can't relate to Doug Mills. He is at a star level in the photography world, so he gets treated like a king by Sony. But he has no clue how much the A9 costs, or, it seems, how much any camera costs: "I think they are cheaper than most of the SLRs out there. I want to say I think they're under $5,000 and I know the other ones are around $10,000." Just two wild guesses, one of which happened to be right. Clearly he spends nothing on cameras.



Fair, but that doesn't mean his perspective is meaningless. I find _what he prioritizes to be important_ as interesting, that's all. He'd like a high FPS silent camera because his job is (in a way) a form of highly competitive realtime ethnography/observation, and he doesn't want to give away what he believes is an interesting insight. I find that fascinating.

I don't see his read of mirrorless defining the market trend in general or indicate a deluge of reportage folks sliding over to Sony or anything. It's just one dude with an interesting take on how mirrorless is a game-changer to what he does. That's all. 

(Happy 5D3 (only) user here. I'm not a YAPODFC person or anything.)

- A


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## YuengLinger (Jul 15, 2018)

Is this becoming the -Adderall infused OCD post stacking forum?

OR is it still CR?

Tiresome as hell to scan grindingly dull pontfication posted merely for the sake of getting to 10k posts.


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## slclick (Jul 15, 2018)

YuengLinger said:


> Is this becoming the -Adderall infused OCD post stacking forum?
> 
> OR is it still CR?
> 
> Tiresome as hell to read grindingly dull pontfication merely for the sake of getting to 10k posts.



Do you get a hat? Or a pennant?


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