Seems like Canon is doing very well here in Malaysia.

Canon Marketing Malaysia has seen a 70% surge in profits so far this year over 2005, recording its highest profits since its incorporation 19 years ago.

In a statement on Dec 22, Canon Malaysia said its performance was achieved against a backdrop of rising unit sales of Canon products and more efficient operations.

It did not reveal the profit amount, nor the specific financial period.

“Although there was only 5% revenue growth due to declining price points, Canon notched a signification growth of 30% in unit sales in five of our primary consumer and business products as well as hikes in market shares,” said its president and chief executive officer Liew Sip Chon (pic ) .

“This was supported by the steady demand for consumer products and businesses, from SMEs to the public sector, pouring in more investment into technology in their pursuit for efficiency and more effective processes.

Pretty big growth!

Source: The Edge

Personally I think the Alpha can’t fight, the only advantage it has is the in-body anti-shake system which frankly isn’t as effective as having it in the lens.

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

Not surprisingly Canon is coming up with a competitor for the recently released Sony Alpha A-100 and the Nikon D80.

The all new Canon EOS 400D (Or Rebel XTi).

The specifications will be as follows:

• A 10.1 MP CMOS sensor (3888 x 2592 pixels)
• APS-C (1.6x) format, EF-S lens compatibility
• 2.5″ LCD screen
• 9 point AF system
• ISO 100-1600
• RGB histogram
• 30-1/4000s shutter
• 1/200s sync speed
• 3fps continuous shooting
• buffer for 10 RAW images
• ultrasonic dust removal for sensor
• high precision focusing with lenses f2.8 and faster
• picture style modes
• 0.2s startup time
• Digic II processor
• compatible with BG-E3 grip
• LCD turns off when eye is at viewfinder
• small, lightweight (plastic) body
• USB 2.0 interface
• $799 for the body only, $899 with the 18-55 kit lens.

Leaked from the Canon China site.

It’s good to see another manufacturer taking up the anti-dust sensor treatment, I hope Nikon invests some research in it soon too!

To assure fine photo results, Canon employs dust-resistant materials and structures to dramatically reduce dust generation within the EOS 400D DIGITAL. Measures also are taken to prevent dust from adhering to the sensor due to static electricity. A remarkable new function is the Self Cleaning Sensor Unit that actually vibrates the low-pass filter to remove dust particles from it. Additionally, by targeting image data for leftover dust after cleaning, the Dust Delete Function within the bundled software can be used after shooting to remove dust spots that may remain on the captured image. For photos that are consistently distinct and clear, this dust reduction system is essential.

There’s isn’t all that much difference from the previous Canon 350D, 2 megapixels more, the buffer size has been increased, the LCD size is larger, there are more AF points, an RGB histogram mode has been added as have picture styles.