Digglloyd shared a worrying finding on the Sony A9 he is testing:

I noticed some unexpected streaking in an image with a good exposure at ISO 100. The red channel is overlaid with horizontal lines/streaks in 12-pixel-high bands. Pattern noise is disturbing in any case, but to have it at ISO 100 with a good exposure is a huge negative for any camera, high speed shooter or not.
I’ve not seen noise this egregiously bad for years now. Possible diagnosis: the high-speed readout of the A9 sensor does not read out groups of rows evenly; there is some difference in gain between the rows. The pattern noise repeats in row groups that are 12 pixels high.

I have no way to verify his detailed test yet as you have to pay to read the full article. And I have to say I have found none such issue on the RAW files shared by DPreview and Imaging Resource.

I find it strange none of the reviewers so far has ever found any banding issue on the A9 at low ISO. My bet yet is that either he got a faulty production camera or he made some sort of setting error. I ask testers and readers to peer review this. Thanks!

If indeed his findings prove to be a general issue I am sure Sony will work to fix this very soon via the next firmware update. It’s very normal that new camera may have some issues that will be fixed quickly. Don’t panic yet ;)
By the way, that firmware update will likely bring S-LOG on the camera too. This is what Sony support wrote on the BHphoto Q&A page:

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Sony A9 battery grip at Adorama, Bhphoto, Amazon. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 Glass screen protector at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.
NP-FZ100 battery for the A9 at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Jessops.
GP-EX1 grip at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
FDA-EP18 eye cup at Adorama, BHphoto.
MQZ1 multi battery charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
BCQZ1 Z-series Battery Charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

Skip this post if you don’t like unboxing videos :)

Sony A9 Unboxing and First Look (TheDigitalDigest)
Sony a9 Unboxing & Size Comparison With Alpha A6500 & Alpha a7R II (Brandon Meek)
Quick Unboxing of Sony A9 (TagTheShooter Photography)
Sony a9 Unboxing (Mike’s Camera TV)
A9 unboxing (Jonathan Richards Photography)
A9 Unboxing (Eseven).
Plenty of owner experience sharing on our Sony A9 Facebook group.

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Ringfoto Dockhorn. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Sony A9 battery grip at Adorama, Bhphoto, Amazon. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 Glass screen protector at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.
NP-FZ100 battery for the A9 at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Jessops.
GP-EX1 grip at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
FDA-EP18 eye cup at Adorama, BHphoto.
MQZ1 multi battery charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
BCQZ1 Z-series Battery Charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

Note: Today the Sony A9 is in Stock for the first time at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera.
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How well does the $9,000 Canon 500mm f/4.0 lens work on the new Sony A9? Well, check out this video from Paul Bunyard (first posted on our A9 facebook group). Note that he used the Sigma MC-11 adapter which officially doesn’t even support the Canon lens!

This is an image captured straight via Camera Wifi

All credit goes to:
Paul Bunyard
Freelance Camera Operator
http://www.wildaboutimages.com/

Shaiful Baker‎ posted a very detailed Electronic shutter comparison between the A9 vs A7Rii vs A6500 in Tungsten Light on our A9 facebook group. He says:

my conclusion, A9 Electronic Shutter is on another level.

Indeed the A9 shows no banding at all. But we need to see how the A9 performs in even worse mixed Light conditions to be sure banding is no issue. Still, it really proves that so far the improvement over the A7rII is impressive and promising!

New tests: Manny Ortiz posted that Sony A9 Real World Testing, Portraiture, Sports, and low light video (watch below). While Jason Lanier posted an ISO test video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WFdlfNlZ9Y

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Sony A9 battery grip at Adorama, Bhphoto, Amazon. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 Glass screen protector at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.
NP-FZ100 battery for the A9 at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Jessops.
GP-EX1 grip at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
FDA-EP18 eye cup at Adorama, BHphoto.
MQZ1 multi battery charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
BCQZ1 Z-series Battery Charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

Image of the three cameras via Focus Numerique.

The French site Focus Numerique (translation here) compared the top three Sports Photography cameras (Nikon D5 vs Canon 1DX Mark II vs Sony A9). On their site you can download all the JPG and RAW ISO test images to make your own testing. Focus Numerique conclusion is that the Sony A9 wins this test:

The additional 4 Mpx of the A9 and a less aggressive noise reduction allow the Sony to better render details at all ISO sensitivities.

UPDATE: After Angry Photographer criticized me I remade the comparisons between the A9 and D5. So here are some comparison crops between the two cameras. But really, I do invite you to download the images for yourself and do your own testings. I even saw some comments on SAR with people saying the D5 image is better and then people realized they switched the images. This is just to say you have to be careful when reading comments of people or following the rant of Angry Photographer ;)

This is the comparison at 12800 ISO

This is the comparison at 25800 ISO

Focus Numerique wrote about the 25.800 ISO result:

At this sensitivity, the Sony A9 clearly takes the advantage over its two competitors: the overall level of detail is superior thanks to smoothing less pronounced, while the granulation remains rather fine is aesthetic.

ISO 204800 comparison with 200% enlargement (this is the image criticized by AngryMan). Here I did note something strange. In the center of the image the D5 shows the numbers on the money bill more clearly while at the same time the A9 shows more detail on the Lion and on the face (see the beard on top of the mouth):

This is again the 204800 ISO image with the Canon (This is the image I posted yesterday):

And if you move towards the corners of the image the A9 is clearly sharper on the numbers (see the vertical 1 to 6 sequence on the right):

So my impression at 204800 ISO is the following:
1) Sony image has more detail (lion image, orange strip above the lion, beard of the face on the money bill…)
2) Nikon does a better job sharpening the details in low contrast situation (see numbers on bill). While Sony sharpening does a good job when contrast is high (see Black numbers on the white background)

To answer Angry Photographer: I don’t agree with him claiming the D5 wins just because of the numbers on the bill being better displayed at ISO 204800 ISO. Because he is cherry picking one specific detail of the numbers on the bill and the logo on the book. At the same time he missed to acknowledge that on the very same image the A9 shows more detail on the face and the lion and also shows the numbers and details better when there is clear contrast (see the Black numbers on white board). So yes, the A9 has one weakness: Sharpening applied on low contrast situation at 204800 ISO. But at all other lower (and useable) ISO settings the A9 wins.

UPDATE: Angry Photographer is also misleading you with that:

Link:  “https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5481743472449b6395f2363169cadd4d66ecf96c924cd49e1fa8deed4a579648.jpg“. This is not 12.800 ISO image from Focus Numerique! This is the 204800 ISO comparison!
Of course he likely just made a mistake. But he would kill me if I would have done this mistake :) Also because at 12.800 ISo the A9 beats the D5 and that’s way more important than ISO 204800 which no one will EVER use for sports photography use.

And if you read me Angry Photographer, I am no fanboy, I do agree with you Sony service sucks in USA :)

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Sony A9 battery grip at Adorama, Bhphoto, Amazon. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 Glass screen protector at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.
NP-FZ100 battery for the A9 at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Jessops.
GP-EX1 grip at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
FDA-EP18 eye cup at Adorama, BHphoto.
MQZ1 multi battery charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
BCQZ1 Z-series Battery Charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

Imaging Resource posted the A9 Lab shots. And at first glance I can see that the new Sony 24MP sensor is definitely better than the “older” 24MP sensor from the A7II. This is good news also in the light of the fact that the A9 was primarily designed for speed.

And here are some new video tests from Alin Popescu:

Sony a9 versus a7RII EYE-AF AF-C Tracking

Running Towards the Sony A9 Lock-on AF: Expand Flexible Spot
Sony A9 Fast car tracking photo bursts
Sony A9 Slow Motion S&Q 100 fps
1/32000s on Sony A9 Lock-on AF Tracking
Beautiful Hover Flight – Sony A9 + 70-200 BIF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjUXIcaAYFc

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Sony A9 battery grip at Adorama, Bhphoto, Amazon. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 Glass screen protector at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.
NP-FZ100 battery for the A9 at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Jessops.
GP-EX1 grip at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
FDA-EP18 eye cup at Adorama, BHphoto.
MQZ1 multi battery charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
BCQZ1 Z-series Battery Charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

The 100-400mm GM tested by CameraLabs

Gordon Laing from CameraLabs tested the new 100-400mm GM lens and the conclusion is:

Whatever I shot, the lens snapped into focus quickly and without fuss. Whether shooting sports or wildlife, portraits with face and eye detection, or close-ups, the FE 100-400mm felt very confident.
So far I’m very impressed. It feels very comfortable shooting a wide variety of subjects and so far has performed very well across the focal range and at all apertures and focusing distances.

Chad Wadsworth tested the new 16-35mm f/2.8 GM lens and writes:

The best thing I can say about the FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM is that it made me forget I was shooting a zoom both during the capture and more impressively, during the edit. Unless you absolutely need a faster lens for something like an ultra low-light concert environment, it easily handles a wide variety of conditions with results that will satisfy even prime snobs like myself. There was nothing about the GM that made me feel constrained in any way. Auto focus was quick and accurate, colors were neutral and sharpness was excellent. But most importantly, this lens, while “clean”, never felt clinical. That’s important to someone like me who cares less about ultimate specs and more about how the lens draws a scene. My eyes and my gut tell me that this is going to, deservedly, be a popular lens for Sony shooters.

The new Sony FE lenses preorders:
16-35mm GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
12-24mm G at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.