Archive for the 'Sony Alpha 200' category

During quite some time people have been speaking of Sony Alpha 200 as the name of the new high-level prosumer digital SLR camera. But when Sony presented it, the name was Sony Alpha 700. We should have been listening a little more to the rumour. The Alpha 200 name was actually real, but it was describing the new replacement for the entry level.

The Alpha 100 is dead, long live the Alpha 200!

Technical charactéristics:

• 10.2 Mega-Pixel APS-C sensor (x1.5 coefficient)
• 100 – 3200 ISO sensitivity
• 9 sensor AF. The central one is a cross (more precise), 1.7 faster than Alpha 100
• 3 frames per sec (on 6 images)
• Image recording: Raw and JPEG
• 2.7″ LCD screen of 230000 pixels
• Sensor cleaning by vibration & antistatic treatment of the reflex chamber
• Memory cards: Compact Flash type I/II (with optional MemoryStick Duo adapter)
• 131 x 98.5 x 71 mm
• 532g
• Kit 18-70 mm f3.5-5.6 for 700 US$
• Kit 18-70 mm f3.5-5.6 + 75-300 mm f4.5-5.6 for 900 US$

This is not Earth-shattering, but the camera will be a strong technical contender with a really nice price. It should be able to set the pace for the competition. The Alpha 200 will replace usefully the Alpha 100 which was still a good camera but was perceived as a bit old now.

Current owners of the Alpha 100 will not run to buy the new Sony Alpha 200 (except if they spotted the increased sensitivity ISO range), but this is a camera which will strengthen the market share of Sony just where most buyers are.

Finally, the rumours about the name of the new digital reflex camera from Sony were not based on reality (at least concerning the name of the animal). Today, Sony announces its new leading product under the Sony Alpha 700 or Sony A-700 label. Obviously, this is coming back to the naming conventions of Minolta where the figure 7 was associated to the high-end products (9 was for fully pro and 3 and 5 for amateur).

Nevertheless, the general indications of technical characteristics where rahter precise. I let you be the judge. Here are the final/official specs:

• Magnesium allow for a robust and light-weight body (The Alpha 100 had strong opposition from people feeling it was too “plastics-based”
• 12.2MP CMOS sensor
• 5 frames per second (sequences of 17 images in Raw format)
• 11-point Autofocus
• 100-6400 ISO (we will wait for the real images to know the quality)
• 1/8000e second max shutter speed (1/250e flash synch)
• LCD screen 3″ (7,5cm)
• Optional battery grip
• Compatible with CompactFlash and MemoryStick flash memory
• Minolta flash system
• HDMI, PAL, NTSC video output

You will notice that, contrary to what many other digital SLR recently announced, there is no LiveView option. It’s not that I think it is very important (I believe that it is mostly useless), but there is a notable difference when you compare to the current wave of SLR launches.

All this puts the Alpha 700 in the same class as the old Konica Minolta Dynax 7D which it should naturally replace and in the competition against the other cameras at more than $1000/1000€ that were launched or announced by Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Olympus, etc. However, the price is not officialized yet while the availability is set to mid-October.

Useful links:

• DP review
• Photography blog
• PopPhoto
• ThinkCamera
• PhotoReview
• QuestionsPhoto (prise en main)
• Imaging Resource (preview)

We long thought that Alpha 200 would be the name of the new Sony Digital Single Lens Reflex. However, Sony surprised most people and named it Sony Alpha 700.

After the recent information (or rumour) that Sony is actually preparing a 14-million-pixel digital SLR camera under the name of either Alpha 200 or Alpha 300, and taking into acount that Nikon is in tight partnership with Sony since the Nikon D200, it is time to ask what resolution will come out of the next replacement of the D200.

I would bet on Nikon using the same 14MP+ for the Nikon D300 (as the D200 used a speedier version of the Alpha 100 10MP sensor). If this happens and the Canon 40D still has a 10MP or even a 12MP CMOS sensor, it could mean that the both Nikon and sony will have a nice time beating the Canon 40D just out of launch. Even if you repeat that resolution is not the solution to all problems, Canon would have to fight for image quality (and we know they are at the highest level of the competition) without having any resolution advantage, while users are still driven by mega-pixel figures.

A rather interesting post on the Dyxum forums tells us more about the future of the digital single lens reflex cameras at Sony (provided that we believe what is still only a talk between Internet users who say they know). The first item is about the name of the future cameras: There’s no more Alpha 200 but Alpha 300 (this year) and Alpha 500 (next year). I may have to rename the category where I post thos messages

Let’s look deeper: the most advanced model (Alpha 500, as we should understand) will be the first Full-Frame in the product line (with a sensor of the same size as the old 24×36/35mm film image). So, it would not be usable with lenses specially optimized for the small APS-C sesors. This is quite well in line with the observation already done that Sony developped no lens of this type and stayed ready to switch to Full-Frame cameras. It would give them a very significant advantage if you compare with Nikon and Canon, in a competitive environment where the small compact cameras are starting to put some pressure on the lower end of the D-SLR market.

So, the Alpha 500 would have a FF 20MP sensor and through the use of an intelligent organization of the sensitive zones of the sensor, Sony would claim to be providing a stunning 40MP. Striking!

But this is only about a 2008 camera that is still far from being ready. For 2007, the Alpha 300 (or can I still call it Alpha 200?) would bring no less than 14-15 mega-pixels with a crop factor fo 1.25 that would near the FF target. Think about it: As the Alpha 100 shocked the public with the first ultra-low-cost 10MP when only Nikon could fight on the field of image size (with a Sony sensor, by the way), the Alpha 200/300 could be able to shake down the best oppponents, even without the marketoid-like doubling of resolution through the sensitive site organization of the sensor.

But to stay compatible with the already existing market of compatible low-cost lenses, the Alpha 200-300 would include a menu option allowing the user to switch to a lower resolution (11MP?) and giving compatibility to the cheapest lenses.

Most of the rest of the post is rants and raves about the Sony marketing babble: “We are the world leader in photo sensors; We succeeded in prying 6% market share out of Canon and Nikon hands in a year only, we are ready to overtake anon and leave them the 3rd rank“. All is quite in line with the information recently appeared in the news: Canon has recently left the pole position to Nikon on the Japanese market (many analysts believe that the Japanese are showing the way for the rest of the world with a year of advance).

Such cameras would be able to transform the dreamof Sony into a hard reality and move the market around. Howevern we still do not have a precise launch date for such an Alpha 200 or 300. and even less about the Alpha 500…

Sony wanted to react to the (too?) many comments following their (simplistic) presentation of the new products of the SLR market (including objectives) at the recent PMA. For this they decided to include the photo issue in the Sony Electronics Products blog in order to better sequence the information that will be needed at the time of starting the new Alpha 200 in the middle of the other expected announcements by Canon and Nikon.

It is becoming more and more critical to lure the public into company information to avoid the impact of rumours and grey-market information. We’ll see if Sony learns to handle this kind of communication.

The successor of the Alpha 100 from Sony (digital single lens reflex camera) was at the center of an article on the web site of Akihabara (the technology business/sales quarter of Tokyo).

Nothing great or very new, but 12.8 MP, up to 3200 ISO, 10 frames per second and image stabilisation on the sensor. 10 fps looks a bit too high to be completely credible and the post does not give any precise source of information, so beware.

We are still waiting for the newest announcements from Sony photo departement. However, PhotoClubAlpha.com got an official image of the 2007-8 line up. We see everything that has been shown in the beginning of the year, but in a much cleared view.

Click to enlarge

For people interested in the longer focals, the most attracting part of the image is on the right. We see a black tele-zoom that points at the long awaited 100-400mm (possibly a f/5.6 to keep the AF coupling with Konica-Minolta and Sony bodies). I hope I read it well and I can’t wait to have this for wildlife photo. Then, there is a prime which looks a lot like a 300mm f/4 that is not the Minolta APO G design. It will have to compare favorably with the second-hand marvels that are still moving around eBay (my own Minolta APO G 300mm/4 is a blue diamond). The last one on the right is certainly a 600mm at f/4. Prepare your significant other now to avoid a heart attack when you will sign the check for this. Prepare your physician for the back aches after lugging this around.

On the left, it’s much more difficult to get certainties. There are three zooms and two primes. Two of the zooms and one of the primes have quite large front lenses pointing to very large apertures (more probable than only wide angles).

The pro camera (on the right) is probably no longer the wooden mock-up of PMA, but they keep the odd-looking penta-prism. I wouldn’t comment long, but many people said that this was the clue to a Full-Frame sensor. The counter-argument is still that the Canon 5D did not need to have such a beast of a prism to do full frame. However, many observers still think it would be the right time to introduce a full frame in the Sony line.

Update: Don’t ask about the availability dates. This is very hush-hush at Sony. There is a persistent rumour that the left side camera will be available in June, but it seems quite surprising knwowing that we are already mid-May. Maybe an announcement in June 2007. For the lenses, nobody seems ready to give precise dates; So, it’s still “2007-8″.

Sony just announced the new Digital SLR bodies for the high-end of a line started last year with the Alpha 100. No names yet, very few features described, but already some elements to keep in mind.

Availability: Some time this year for one of the cameras (you can’t get more fuzzy than that!)

Both cameras will have Super Steady Shot (Sony’s technology to stabilize image by moving the sensor inside the body). Both will be extended with an external/additional grip.

One of the products (for high amateurs) should be described as:

• Higher end/higher performance than the Alpha 100 (many people wanted a Dynax 7D replacement)
• New sensor (it is not said if it will be more than 10MP or larger than APS-C)
• higher-rez BIONZ image processor (suggest more than 10MP resolution)

The other one (the flagship model) looks quite ugly in its PMA display. I wonder where they found the idea of moving back in time to this design. It seems that they wanted to make it look definitely serious. But the body displayed here could well be inert rather than a full working prototype (my feeling only). I’d bet that this one will not ship in 2007.

Complement: Sony will launch some more lenses as 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, DT28-250mm f/3.5-6.3 (nice zoom ratios).

Source: Gizmodo, The Photo Station and Photim forums.

Sony Alpha-100

After making a successful entry in the market of the digital SLR photo camera with the A100 in July 2006, Sony should be preparing the extension of its product line (still containing one camera only). Most people expect it to take the form of the addition of a higher-end camera that could be named either Alpha 10 [A10] or Alpha 200 [A200] (Wanna bet?) This would be a good complement to the A100 and would fit nicely after the Konica-Minolta D7D.

It is definitely interesting to notice that there is still no information leaking out of Sony about this future product. However, we should remember that the Alpha 100 was not preceded by months of pre-launch propaganda; Sony went shot for a quick launch followed by months of heavy advertising (and kept its word on the launch date).

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