Shameless Wish-List Fun

[KevinBarrett]

So Photokina has come and gone and Sony showed their hand. You know what I've been missing? SPECULATION! Now the oldest camera in the line-up is the a700, even if it feels quite young again with firmware V4. Add to that the fact that when the a700 was introduced it was compared to the Nikon D300...nowadays it is compared to the D90. What's the most realistic recipe for success for the a700 successor? What should Sony offer next in the $1500 range?

[KevinBarrett]

For starters, these features would be impressive today

1. New CMOS sensor with a modest (and unfortunately, requisite) increase in MP count...a good opportunity to improve ISO performance...please, no more than 15 MP.
2. 100% coverage APS-C pentaprism
3. 5 fps is still fast, no need for improvement
4. dust/moisture resistance extended to battery and memory doors
5. intelligent preview
6. more aspect ratios, including 16x9 and 5x4
7. custom auto-ISO parameters
8. pop-up flash with group and ratio control (considering the wireless flash woes of the a900, this feature could be worth most of the cost of an F58 flashgun)
9. next generation image processor with more NR control (Noise Reduction Reduction?)
10. remote commander and MLU separately selectable from other drive modes
11. full HD video anybody? Why should Canikon have all the fun?
12. optional vertical grip with GPS perhaps?
13. ability to write to both cards simultaneously in different formats

I think I over-did it, that's easily a $2500 camera.

Most importantly, while these would be good today, to be truly successful a new camera needs to be monumental and iconic. It has to be better today then the other guys will be tomorrow. While I am very satisfied with my camera, I'm afraid Sony has been relying to much on pixel count to achieve this. While its good to be at the front of the pack in some way, winning the pixel war is akin to beginning a lengthy foot race by sprinting ahead of everyone else.

[Birma]

Good topic - speculation and wishing are free so I'll stick in by 2d's worth (that's pre-decimal money)

I like all of Kevin's suggestions, and would like to add ...

i - Flip out screen as in the A350, but with the A700 size and quality (VGA?)
ii - Live view / intelligent preview (whatever) with ability to zoom in and check focus
iii - can we have 100% view finder and liveview?
iv - wifi HD output
v - lens focus adjustment thingy as per A900
vi - dump the landascape, night shot etc. on the dial and give us a programmable selection, which includes ability to load up pre-programmed scene selections if we want.

That should be enough to be going on with.

[stevecim]

Hmmm

*Since there is so much talk over the jpg quality , upload custom jpg engines, no matter how good Sony is there will always be some one/company that can do it better. gives a chance for third partys to make some money off the alpha. imagine loading up a jpg engine with noise ninja tech built in.

* CF card and 2 MS cards. When in burst mode, frame 1 goes to the CF , frame 2 to the first MS, frame 3 to the sec MS, frame 4 back to the CF this could give a big increase in frame rate.

* recored frames straight to a usb attached disk or PC

* 2 way mirror, that way you could use the main sensor for live view but still keep auto-focus and a large OVF

*No EVF I hated it on my Pana FZ10

Stephen

[KevinBarrett]

In case any Sony guys are reading the thread, if it came down to a choice between live view and a bright 100% viewfinder, I'd take the bright viewfinder. However, if we're throwing in the video capability, then liveview off the main sensor is the obvious choice (which can preserve the big bright pentaprism!).

[Yagil Henkin]

1. Lens calibration.
2. mirror lockup option with everything.
3. shutter blind (Hey, my father's Konica T3 Autoreflex from the 70's has it!). although the current situation is acceptable and just minor inconvinence.
4. Writing RAW to CF and Jpegs to MS or vice versa. Also support for MS photopro format would be nice.
5. Live view w/ tilted screen without making the viewfinder small!
6. Wireless control from the film era. Also backward compatibility with old TTL flashes would be great
7. Even better High-Iso performance. Never thought I'd write it, since my profile of shooting is mostly 200-400 ISO, but the ability to shoot 1600 in good quaility has proved very useful several times. I'd be happy if I could count on getting 3200 ISO pics into Alamy (although I did manage to get a few of those through).
Other than that, I'm quite happy with my A700.

[aster]

Hi,

Since this is the 'Shameless' wish-list and since I hope at least one Sony official has a visual access to this thread, I'd like to voice one wish of mine without sounding 'conceited' or 'vain', I hope; I'll take the risk...

I'd like to name one model of Sony Alpha's 'ASTER'. An 'Alpha Aster', a unique asssembly of all the good features mentioned above by the other members instead of the regular numerated model-upgrading that's adopted by the ccamera manufacturers.

Well, you said 'shameless', and therefore you heard my request... ...and I'll wait to see what happens.....

That would be an Alpha I would buy, trusting it will have all the brilliant features too, that is!

Yildiz

[Dr. Harout]

I'll vote for Alpha Aster. Who's with me?

[Birma]

Truely shameless Put me down for an Alpha Aster as well. I do like the idea of special editions.

[Vivec]

Ah, I would like to see a new a700 with:

- Autofocus capability at F8 (like the 1DsIII)
- Better in-camera JPG's with better noise reduction algorithms
- Micro focus adjust for lenses
- A viewfinder that is as big and bright as the a900

And with a better sensor:

- (even) better high-iso performance (especially on blue skies)
- (even) better dynamic range
- (even) better auto focus performance (especially on BIF)

Secondary wishes are:

- HD Video
- More megapixels to increase crop capability (18MP ?)

[aster]

I'll vote for Alpha Aster. Who's with me?

Truely shameless Put me down for an Alpha Aster as well. I do like the idea of special editions.

Thank you for your genuine support for a camera that has nothing to be 'ashamed' of. I hope some Sony designers are fast listening and reading too!
It would be a camera to be proud of to take just anywhere anytime!!

Yildiz

[alphaomega]

I think Kevin Barrett has opened an interesting discussion and a lot of good suggestions have been made. Clearly Sony could not incorporate all these without us all having to break the bank to afford a new "Super A700".
Please let me add my little bit as well. I really think that Sony should keep the A700 but perhaps at some stage release a MKII with even better noise performance and some IQ improvement particularly at higher ISO settings - but keep the 12 Mp CMOS sensor size.
Vivec suggested:

More megapixels to increase crop capability (18MP ?)

. I would go with that but only in say an A750 specifically developed to produce the equivalent of an APS-C sized A900 i.e. the best IQ APS-C DSLR in the 100-400 ISO range on the market.
If you saw the Amateur Photographer recent review of the Canon 50D and the way the higher ISO performance was slated then I think you will all agree that it is not yet possible to produce an 18 Mp APS-C DSLR that can produce the kind of high ISO performance a D3 can output (50D at 1.5 equals 17.5 Mp if I remember DK statement correctly).
Sony should realise that for the advanced amateur they should have two cameras. I suggest an improved A700 with the 12 Mp CMOS sensor and a new A750 with a 17-18 Mp CCD? sensor majoring on high IQ/Resolution in the 100-400 ISO range. This camera should also have the A300/350 type live view on a movable 3" screen and still retain the A700 type OVF. Other goodies would be welcome such as some of those suggested above but I would not vote for video. Keep the price down so that we can all afford a separate £500 or so HD video camera if we need one.

I also use Panasonic LX2/3 pocket cameras and they are great at doing ISO100 RAW but forget higher ISOs. This has to do with the size of the sensor as we all know. The same applies to DSLRs and the manufacturers should come to their senses and not promote packed sensors as high ISO gear.

Just a thought.

[KevinBarrett]

This camera should also have the A300/350 type live view on a movable 3" screen and still retain the A700 type OVF. Other goodies would be welcome such as some of those suggested above but I would not vote for video. Keep the price down so that we can all afford a separate £500 or so HD video camera if we need one.

You're talking about LV off the main sensor, which won't have the same functionality as an a350's LV system, but be more like the competition's LV. The articulating screen has nothing to do with live view, but just happens to appear on Sony's live view models; it can be offered on any camera, whether it uses Sony's LV at the pentamirror, main sensor live view that preserves the quality of a pentaprism OVF, or Sony's "Intelligent Preview." If we want to preserve the viewfinder, then it's main sensor live view for us. It becomes a natural progression from there to offer video capability, as the camera is essentially mimicking the behavior of the simplest cameras offered in cellular phones: main sensor live view with still picture and video functionality. I think we can safely demand it without adding much in cost. In short, we can have our cake and eat it too!

At the very minimum we should demand a900 functionality without compromising the affordability and versatility of the a700 hardware:

• micro focus adjustment (thanks, Yagil and Vivec)
• intelligent preview
• MLU

Still, Sony cannot expect to challenge the market leaders if they are too afraid to threaten their flagship. The next $1500 camera cannot be compromised to save comparatively tiny flagship sales, and must offer enough functionality to tempt buyers away from 50Ds and equivalent Nikons.

[Yagil Henkin]

Ah, I would like to see a new a700 with:

- Autofocus capability at F8 (like the 1DsIII)"

AFAIK, Minolta had this ability for years. Since sony still has the 500/8 Mirror AF lens in production, I have no reason to think it's any different with sony.

[alphaomega]

Kevin Barret wrote:

You're talking about LV off the main sensor, which won't have the same functionality as an a350's LV system, but be more like the competition's LV.

in response to my wish-list. This is a shameless wish-list so I actually wanted to retain the A700 OVF capability but for Sony to invent and add the type of LV found in the A350 but with the A700 OVF size retained and using the 3" rear folding screen as on the A350. Why not? If they could come up with a 17-18 Mp APS-C sensor with superp ISO 100-400 resolution, low noise and IQ I would be on for buying one if the price was no higher than £1200 here in the uk. I would take the Video if incorporated but not if it pushed up the price to £1500 or whatever. Micro focus would be a definite bonus as well as better dynamic range than the A350. I still say that it appears to me to be non-sensical to ask for a higher Mp sensor than in the A700 and lower noise at the same time. I just do not think it is doable at the present time. Just look at the Canon 50D.