Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
For those of you interested in a little more pixel peeping with the Sony A850, A900 and Canon 5D Mark II, I’ve added several more samples taken at various noise reduction settings.
I’ve made all of these available in this forum thread, which includes 100% crops and full-res files for download and inspection.
The original ISO comparison, which did not use noise reduction, can be found here.
The Sony A850 is the newest full frame DSLR from Sony. It’s based largely on the Sony A900; however, its a couple of notches below on feature sets. Since the A850 uses the same 24.6-megapixel sensor as found in the A900, we shouldn’t expect any real difference in image quality between the two.
Although, comparing these two cameras to the Canon 5D Mark II, which is the current prosumer state of the art for low-light performance, is another story. You’ll also see some Canon 7D samples at higher ISOs for the sake of comparing a crop-sensor camera to these full framers. To see how the Sony A850 and A900 stack up, read on. [Read more…]
Sony has released a firmware update for the Sony A230, A330 and A380 DSLRs. The firmware version 1.10 addresses the following:
When the [Metering mode] is set to the [Center weighted] or [Spot] metering modes, the exposure will be locked when the focus is confirmed. (When shooting in AF mode).
To learn more about the update or to download it, visit Sony’s download site for Windows PC or for Mac.
Rumors of the Sony A750 have been floating around for a while now in the form of hoaxes and wishful thinking; however, those rumors have recently picked up and the chatter is stirring that Sony will unveil a full frame follow-up to the aging A700.
The rumored specs for the A750 suggest a 14.6-megapixel full-frame sensor, which should fit neatly between the APS-C powered Sony A550 and the high-resolution, full frame Sony A850. As for pricing, there’s no hard number bouncing around but, if there’s truth to these rumors, my guess would be in the $1500 range.
[via Neutral Day, among others]
The Sony A850 has no differences from the flagship Sony A900 besides a slower rate of fire, a slightly smaller viewfinder and $700. For the money, it is the best bang-for-your buck value out there right now for full frame photographers. Put some nice Minolta or Zeiss glass in front of that sensor and you’ll begin to see some very nice results. During my hands-on time, I noticed some other slight differences in handling.
You have to go through me!
The following post comes from Massimo Strazzeri, who was Photography Bay’s winner for the Sony Twilight Football Contest. Sony flew Massimo to Argentina for what turned out to be an amazing sight-seeing adventure, soccer match and some hands-on time with Sony’s new A550.
I am very happy that Photography Bay could be a part of this great adventure for Massimo. Additionally, I am very grateful that Massimo has taken the time and effort to share his story and images with the rest of us.
Enjoy Massimo’s story and photography below. You can find out how to connect with him at the end of this post. -Eric [Read more…]
Sony has developed a high frame rate single lens 3D camera, which purportedly will capture high quality 3D images at 240fps. The new camera is just a concept at this point. It relies on an optical system that will simultaneously capture left and right images through a single lens which then reflects light to two mirrors and, in turn, two imaging sensors.
Sony is expected to show a prototype at CREATEC JAPAN 2009 in Japan on October 6.
More details in the press release below. [Read more…]
Along with the introduction of the A850 DSLR, Sony has introduced the 28-75mm SAM lens. At around $800, the new 28-75mm becomes a more cost effective option over the Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The SAM moniker in the new lens stands for Smooth Autofocus Motor. The 28-75mm lens consists of 14 elements in 16 groups, which includes 4 aspherical elements. Filter thread size is 67mm.
On Sony’s crop-sensor cameras, which includes everything but the A850 and A900, the 28-75mm focal length produces an angle of view equivalent to roughly 42-113mm on a full frame camera.
The Sony 28-75mm f/2.8 SAM lens should be available in November 2009 for about $800. Check availability on Amazon.com.
The Sony DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro lens is designed for Sony crop-sensor lineup and introduced with the Sony A500 and A550. The DT 30mm macro lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0.129mm, which enables the camera to produce 1:1 ratio in recording images.
The Sony DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro will carry an initial retail price around $200. Check availability on Amazon.com.
Sony has officially announced the Sony A850, which is a full frame 24.6-megapixel CMOS sensor. The A850 also features SteadyShot sensor-based image stabilization, a 3-inch 921k dot LCD and a 9-point AF.
The A850 should be available in November 2009 at an initial retail price of $2000. Check availability at Amazon.com.
More details in the press release below. [Read more…]