Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Sony Cyber-shot W510, W530, W560, W570, T110 and H70

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At CES 2011, Sony announced updates to its W, H and T-series Cyber-shot series cameras.

Sony Cyber-shot W570 Key Features

  • 16.1MP Sensor
  • 720p Video Capture
  • 5x Optical Zoom w/ Image Stabilization
  • 2.7-inch LCD
  • Sweep Panorama
  • $180 Retail Price – Availability

Sony Cyber-shot W560 Key Features

  • 14.1MP Sensor
  • 720p Video Capture
  • 4x Optical Zoom w/ Image Stabilization
  • 3-inch LCD
  • Sweep Panorama
  • $160 Retail Price – Availability

Sony Cyber-shot W530 Key Features

  • 14.1MP Sensor
  • 4x Optical Zoom w/ Image Stabilization
  • 2.7-inch LCD
  • Sweep Panorama
  • $130 Retail Price – Availability

Sony Cyber-shot W510 Key Features

  • 12.1MP Sensor
  • 4x Optical Zoom w/ Image Stabilization
  • 2.7-inch LCD
  • Sweep Panorama
  • $110 Retail Price – Availability

Sony Cyber-shot T110 Key Features

  • 16.1MP Sensor
  • 720p Video Capture
  • 4x Optical Zoom w/ Image Stabilization
  • 3-inch Touchscreen LCD
  • Sweep Panorama
  • $230 Retail Price – Availability

Sony Cyber-shot H70 Key Features

  • 16.1MP Sensor
  • 720p Video Capture
  • 10x Optical Zoom w/ Image Stabilization
  • Sweep Panorama
  • $230 Retail Price – Availability

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

 

Sony Cameras Coming This Week . . .

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Sony Booth

Sony has a press conference set for Wednesday evening this week at CES 2011, which should lead to the unveiling of numerous new tech products.  Photo Rumors has it on good word that Sony will be dropping the following new point and shoot cameras:

  • Cybershot DSC-W510: 12MP, 2.7 in. screen, sweep panorama function
  • Cybershot DSC-W530: upgrades to a 14MP sensor
  • Cybershot DSC-W560: adds SteadyShot and 720p HD video
  • Cybershot DSC-W570: adds 16MP, 5x zoom (25mm on the wide side)
  • Cybershot DSC-WX9: high end model, 16MP Exmor R CMOS, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video, 3D, 10fps, background defocus feature, HDMI
  • Cybershot DSC-WX10: top of the line, f/2.4 lens, manual WB, very high speed AF
  • Cybershot DSC-H70: 16MP CCD sensor, 3 in. LCD, 720p HD video, sweep panorama
  • Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R CMOS sensor, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video 3D, HDR, 10 fps
  • Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R sensor, 3 in LCD screen, 1080i video, sweep panorama, background defocus feature, 10 fps
  • Cybershot DSC-T110, DSC-TX10 – very small point and shoot camera, no other details available

Stay tuned for the official words and hands-on reports with all the new cameras at CES 2011.

[via Photo Rumors]

Sony Bringing Translucent Mirror to NEX-Format Cameras?

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If a recent patent application from Sony is any indicator of coming products, it looks like we could see a translucent mirror in future NEX-format cameras.

The obvious benefit of using this design in future NEX cameras is the ability to use a phase-difference autofocus mechanism (as typically found in DSLRs) instead of the slower, less accurate contrast-detection method that so-called “mirrorless” cameras have used to date.

Sony has already forged this technology in current Alpha “DSLR” models – Sony A33 and A55.  The rapid live view and video autofocus in the A33 and A55 looks to be a hit among reviewers so far.

Essentially, this patent application presents the A55 in an NEX-5 body.  It’s actually a design that should have been pretty easy to see coming.  There’s nothing really new that’s not already in the A55 . . . Sony’s just taking out the parts that make it look like a DSLR and presenting it in a smaller package more akin to the NEX cameras we already know.  And, it could very well be an Alpha mount camera in a compact shell, which would mean native functionality with Alpha lenses.

While I found the AF speed and accuracy in the Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 to be quite acceptable, taking it up a notch or two wouldn’t hurt at all.

What do you think about this design?  Would you be interested in an APS-C camera that is this compact and has DSLR-like AF speed?

[via PhotoRumors]

Sony Announces Faster SD Cards, Continues Using Canon DSLRs for Product Shots

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Sony has announced a broader range of SD cards with capacities up to 32GB and top transfer speeds of 20MB/s.

“There’s now a choice of three SDHC card ranges by Sony. The perfect partner for your Cyber-shot™, Handycam®, ? NEX or DSLR camera, they’re also a great match for SD/SDHC-compatible cameras, camcorders and devices from all manufacturers. The affordable ESSENTIAL Series and value-added EXPERIENCE Series are joined by the flagship EXPERT Series for photo users who demand class-leading capacity and transfer speeds.”  -Sony Press Release

Sony also continues the trend of hiring out Canon shooters for its official product shots, with the top photo captured by the Canon 1Ds Mark III.

I realize that Sony is hiring a photographer, but it’s also trying to be a serious player amongst serious photographers.  I never see Canon and Nikon using product shots captured by the other companies’ DSLRs.  Occasionally, a Phase One MF camera will be used by Canon, Nikon or Sony for product shots, which is understandable for high-res product shots since the cap is at 21-25MP for DSLRs right now.  However, Canon’s product shots are otherwise captured with a 1Ds Mark III or a 5D Mark II, while Nikon product shots are generally captured with the D3x.

Sony’s got two 25MP DSLRs on the market.  And, I know I’ve ranted about this before, but isn’t it time for Sony to eat its own dog food?

[Sony]

Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD

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Tamron has announced a new 18-270mm travel zoom lens for DSLRs.  The 15x zoom lens features a Piezo ultrasonic motor for fast and silent AF.  It also features Tamron’s vibration compensation to reduce camera shake image blur.

The new lens should be available in December for Canon and Nikon mount versions, while a Sony version of the lens is planned for a later date.

New Compact Flash Specs Proposed by Sony, Nikon, SanDisk

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SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB CF Card

The future of camera memory cards may be a new CF card that offers transfer rates of 500 MB/sec and capacity in excess of 2 TB. The development of these proposed specifications were announced today as part of a joint effort among Sony, Nikon and SanDisk.

Nikon, SanDisk and Sony have submitted these high-powered specs to the CompactFlash Association in hopes of a future standardization of the format.  The new card specifications are based on a PCI Express interface (in order to achieve a 500 MB/sec transfer rate) instead of the Parallel ATA interface used in current generation cards.

According to the statement issued by SanDisk, Sony and Nikon, the new cards will be similar in size to existing CF cards.  Hopefully, that also serves as a hint that the new cards will do away with the pins inside camera, which are so susceptible to being bent.

Complete details of the announcement are below. [Read more…]

Firmware Friday: Canon 7D, Rebel T2i, Sony NEX-VG10

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Camera Firmware Update

Below you will find this week’s firmware updates.  Hit the manufacturer website links for more details and download instructions for the firmware.

Canon 7D version 1.2.3 – “Fixes a phenomenon in which the settings of the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 revert to the default settings when both the camera and the ST-E2 are set to auto power off. Fixes a phenomenon in which the Macro Ring Lite (MR-14EX, MT24-EX) and slave flashes do not sync while shooting wirelessly.” [Canon Website]

Canon Rebel T2i version 1.09 – “Fixes a phenomenon in which tone jumps become noticeable in some images, depending on the shooting scene, when shooting with the Auto Lighting Optimizer settings (Low / Standard / Strong).” [Canon Website]

Sony NEX-VG10 version 02 – “Support for the autofocus function with A-mount lenses.” [Sony Website]

Sony NXCAM HD Camcorder in Development, Uses NEX E-Mount

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Sony is teasing the development of a new pro-level NXCAM camcorder that uses the same E-Mount lenses found on the popular NEX-series of cameras, like the 18-200mm lens packaged with the Sony NEX-VG10.

Because the NXCAM uses features the E-Mount system, it can accept Sony Alpha mount lenses like the 70-400mm with the aid of the LA-EA1 adapter, which appears to be attached in the above screenshots.

Good news on the recording format front – it looks like the NXCAM will feature full 1920 x 1080 resolution in AVCHD format at a variety of frame rates, including 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and the all-important 24p.  Check out the video below for the rest of the teaser. [Read more…]

Apple Adds Additional RAW Support in Mac OS X 10.6.5

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Apple Aperture 3

Apple’s Mac OS X 10.6.5 update has added system-wide support (including Aperture and iPhoto) for a number of new RAW formats captured by the following cameras:

  • Canon EOS 60D
  • Canon PowerShot S95
  • Hasselblad H4D-40
  • Nikon D3100
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
  • Sony DSLR-A290
  • Sony DSLR-A560
  • Sony DSLR-A580
  • Sony SLT-A33
  • Sony SLT-A55

The update is available via systems updates in Mac OS X 10.6.