As a first competitor to the Nikon D700, the Canon 5DMKII and the highest resolution FF cam before this the Canon 1Ds MKIII

The full frame market is certainly heating up!

Features

• 24.6 MP 35mm format full-frame CMOS sensor (highest res in class)
• SteadyShot INSIDE full frame image sensor shift stabilization (world first)
• High Speed Dual Bionz processors
• Eye-level glass Penta-prism OVF, 100% coverage, 0.74x magnification
• 9 point AF with 10 assist points, center dual-cross AF w/2.8 sensor
• 5 frames per second burst, newly developed mirror box
• Intelligent Preview Function
• 3 User programmable custom memory modes on mode dial
• Advanced Dynamic Range Optimizer (5 step selectable)
• 40 segment honeycomb metering
• 3.0″ 921K pixel Photo Quality (270 dpi) LCD display, 100% coverage
• Direct HDMI output
• ISO 200-3200 (ISO 100-6400 expanded range)
• Magnesium Alloy body and rubber seals for dust and moisture resistance
• AF micro adjustment
• $2999.99 body price; available late October 2008

The interesting things to note are 100% viewfinder coverage – impressive, lack of live view, AF micro adjustment (everyone is jumping on this now with it available on the 5DMKII and started by Nikon), a decent performance with 5FPS shooting and a good high res LCD.

The image quality is pretty good too, you can see a comparison side by side of the A900 vs the Canon 1Ds MKIII here.

It shows excellent resolution but falls down at higher ISO (quite bad above ISO400) but at the same RRP as the Nikon D700!

You can read the full review here:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 Review

From the leaked advert:

The new a900 has arrived. A new height in the “a” revolution is now within reach. Engineered with the exclusive 24.6 Mega Pixel Full Frame Exmor CMOS sensor, an industry breakthrough from Sony, this powerhouse integrates only the best imaging technologies from the world’s leading image sensor manufacturer. A work of art for the truly discerning individual.

• 24.6 Mega Pixel Full Frame Exmor CMOS Sensor
• Dual BIONZ Image Processing Engine
• Intelligent Preview
• 100% Viewfinder, 0.74x Magnification
• 3.0”, 921K-out Hybrid LCD
• 9-point Centre Dual-cross AF (with f2.8 sensor and wide-area 10-point assist)
• 5 fps Continuous Shooting
• SteadyShot INSIDE

It looks like its going to be a beast of a camera aiming at the lower medium format market, much cheapear than a digital back. Also squarely aimed at the market only the Canon 1Ds MKIII currently occupies, with the Nikon D3x not yet released there is only one full frame, high res camera available.

I’ve heard rumours it’s going to be priced around the same price as the Nikon D700 – is that even possible?

September 10th or 12th (depending who you listen to) will be an interesting day for Sony uses and the rest of the camera world.

More, higher spec, high megapixel, full frame cameras will make it cheaper for all of us.

Basically the A300 is a slightly upgraded version of the recent Alpha A200, and the A350 is the same as the A300 but with 4 more megapixels.

The A200 directly competes with the new Nikon D60 and the A350 would be more in line with the Canon 450D.

The DSLR-A300 model can shoot about three continuous frames per second and the DSLR-A350 model can shoot up to two-and-a-half continuous frames per second, when using the optical viewfinder. Both are powered by the Bionz processing engine and supplied InfoLITHIUM™ battery for fast start-up times, quick response and long battery life – up to 730 shots per full charge when using the optical viewfinder and up to 410 shots per full charge in live-view mode.

Along with these Sony also announced a new cheaper less powerful flash – the Sony HVL-F42AM – (but added some features) – similar to SB-600 I guess but the first flash with White Balance control built in?

Read the full release here:

Sony announces Alpha 300 and 350

I’m not really sure if I like the rather cheesy 10.2 Megapixels on the bottom, but I guess they know more megapixels attracts the entry level users – hence the D40x upgrade too.

I’d guess perhaps an updated Nikon D80 should be heading out within 2008 as well, or maybe something more along the lines of the D50, which can trump the current D40.

Built in-body stabilization really is a plus. It’s priced very competitively too with the price in Malaysia being listed at RM1999, which normally means the street price will be lower (Around RM1800 to compete with D40/x?). It will ship with the 18-70mm kit lens.

The DSLR-A200 model features upgrades influenced by the recently-introduced, enthusiast-class DSLR-A700 camera and replaces the former Sony DSLR-A100 model, which was Sony’s first in the DSLR class.

The new model is designed to be faster, lighter and easier to use. Upgraded features include a wider, 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCDTM screen for easy playback viewing; a more compact body and an easily-accessible mode dial; an easy-to-use function menu (camera function display); improved noise control for higher quality images; an auto focus speed 1.7x faster than the previous model; improved predictive control performance; quieter shutter sound; automatic pop-up flash; and a battery life indicator that displays the percentage of battery life remaining so you know exactly when to recharge.

I guess they are skipping on the new-gen 3″ LCD to keep the price down.

Read the full specs here:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A200

A strong entry into the market firmly placed up there with the Nikon D300 and the Canon EOS 40D. With some extras the others don’t have like Super Steadyshot and dual memory card slots.

Features

• 12.2 effective Megapixel Sony “Exmor” CMOS sensor with on-chip noise reduction
• Support for Minolta and Sony lenses that use the Alpha mount
• Super SteadyShot image stabilization system
• Rugged, weather resistant body
• Dust reduction system
• Ultra high resolution 3-inch LCD display
• 5 frame/second continuous shooting
• Fully adjustable Dynamic Range Optimizer; user can bracket for DRO as well
• 11-point center dual cross autofocus system
• Dual memory card slots (CF + MS Duo), with the former supporting UDMA cards
• HDMI output

The DRO is very interesting getting some HDR like effects at the maximum setting.

With their Alpha DSLR-A700, Sony has created a midrange digital SLR that keeps up with the “big boys”. The A700 offers an excellent mix of photo quality, performance, features, and build quality — not to mention support for legacy Minolta lenses. Yes, it’s lacking the live view feature of its competitors, but I don’t really miss it, to be honest. While I don’t see Canon and Nikon owners rushing to eBay to sell their gear to buy the A700, it’s a great D-SLR for those with a collection of Minolta lenses. I enjoyed my time with the DSLR-A700, and can recommend it without hesitation.

Read the full review here:

DCRP Review: Sony Alpha DSLR-A700

What a lot of announcements lately with the Canon and Nikon offerings, Sony comes up soon after.

• 12.2 Megapixel CMOS
• New AF Sensor
• Faster Focusing
• High Speed Shutter
• Anti-blur
• Pentaprism Viewfinder
• Weather sealed
• 3″ LCD
• HD 1080 Output
• Wireless Remote Included
• New Kit Lens DT 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 with Internal Focus

Like the A100, the new camera still wears its Konica Minolta heritage very much on its sleeve, and when you start to look a little more closely at the specification it’s obvious that there’s still an awful lot of Konica Minolta DNA in the A700. This is hardly surprising given that the circumstances behind its development.

And, just as the A100 was obviously based on – and designed to be a successor to – the KM 5D, the A700 follows on from the 7D, and – despite lots of Sony touches and an attractive new design – 7D users are likely to find using the new model reassuringly familiar.

Albert has a good post about it here too:

The New Sony Alpha 700!

Sensor cleaning is becoming a standard feature on modern digital SLR cameras. While the manufacturers may use different techniques to get rid of the dust from the image sensor, they all promise clean, dust free images. Do they all work equally well? Can we throw our air blower away? We have tested the four different types of sensor cleaning technologies to see which one will most likely to fulfill the expectations.

I was quite surprised with the results, and how badly they all performed. It turns out they are all pretty much useless when it comes to cleaning/dust removal. Only the Olympus fared reasonably.

Here is our ranking according to effectiveness:

1. Olympus: good
2. Canon: poor (we are disappointed)
3. Pentax and Sony: useless (we are very disappointed)

If you are looking for a camera, have the dust removal as an expectation only at the end of your list. If sensor cleaning / dust removal is a must, the choices are limited to Olympus and Panasonic cameras.

Read the full test here:

Review: Dust removal systems / sensor cleaning

You wouldn’t find many pro’s putting up with the tiny fiddly Memory Sticks that Sony likes to force on it’s users.

So why not capitalise on that and use Compact Flash! Easier to handle and more rugged too.

Sony has announced that is moving away from manufacturing just Memory Sticks and started to offer Compact Flash cards for digital camera users.

The new card range will be compatible with a wide range of products featuring the Compact Flash slot, including many digital cameras, printers and other imaging and PC devices.

Interesting eh?

We’ll have to wait and see if their prices and reliablity are on par with Sandisk.

Sony will launch a range of three 66x transfer speed cards with capacities of 1GB, 2GB and 4GB as it tries to prove itself as an option for professional photographers using Nikon, Canon and of course its own Alpha range launched last year.

In addition, two higher-end, value added 133x transfer speed cards with 2GB and 4GB capacity, which are supported by Sony’s image recovery service.

Source: Photography Press

One gadget to help you do this is the Sony GPS tracker.

The Sony device very interesting little device for recording the position where photographs are taken. The GPS-CS1 is a small (9 cm / 3.5 in) cylindrical device which you simply attach to a backback or belt loop and carry with you while you shoot, it records your GPS location and this information can later be synchronized with your digital images to provide a map of where your photos were taken. We assume it does this using date and time information stored in the image header (which obviously requires your camera’s clock to be synchronized). Interestingly the mapping solution is an online website with maps provided by Google Maps (it appears that the synchronization software will write the GPS location into JPEG EXIF headers).

An example of the Sony mapping site is here and the Flickr geotagging map is here.

Image from dpreview.com

Having IS/VR in the lens means you can see the effects through the viewfinder and it’s more accurate as it’s tailed to the lens (each one having different focal lenghts, different aperture and different setups with more/less blades and elements).

Having tried the Alpha out the picture quality is ‘ok’ for an SLR type cam, but its not very exciting, the latitude or dynamic range doesn’t seem very great and the controls aren’t super accessible.

I’d go for the Canon 400D or the Nikon D80 everytime, if you have the budget of course get the D80 as it’s the superior cam but does cost more.

Also remember when you are buying a camera you are buying into a system, the bodies will come and go, what you will spend money on is accessories and lenses.

Sony lenses are expensive and hard to find, the second hand market is next to zero and finding anything for Konica-Minolta mount in Asia is hard.

KM was pretty popular back in Europe but it’s not here in Asia.

Anyway here is some info if you are considering getting a mid/entry level dSLR and specifically the Sony Alpha A100.

Reviews

DPReview Extensive Sony Alpha A100 Review

DCRP Review: Sony Alpha DSLR-A100

Imaging Resource: Sony Alpha A100

Camera Labs Sony Alpha A100

Comparisons

EOS 400D / XTi vs Nikon D80 vs Sony A100 – Camera Labs

Sony Alpha A100 Compared to the Nikon D80 and Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi / 400D Digital SLR’s