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This review has been updated August 2010 – see the second to last page for new Adobe Camera Raw Process 2010 results, a massive improvement with Alpha 550 files.

The 500 was promised to me a week before writing this, but has not been sent by Sony. The Alpha 550 is mine; they have not been issued for reviews yet, and to get one, I had to buy one.
It’s both one of the best £600 purchases I’ve made and one of the worst. Find out why!

The literature and application CD included with the Alpha 550

The accessories included with the Alpha 550 – the neckstrap is slightly less sharp-edged than the very cheap version provided with the A200 to A380 models.

I have always valued the superb low ISO performance of the Alpha digital cameras – from Konica Minolta Dynax 7D onwards. The Alpha 100 remains unmatched for the crispness of its detail at ISO 100 when processed from raw, if you are lucky enough to get accurate focus.

The Alpha 350 had the same intensive test treatment that was planned for the 550. I left my Alpha 700 behind, and took only the 350 for a week shooting Gran Canaria. It didn’t disappoint; we knew the high ISO performance was a limitation, but shots at 400 and 800 were commercially usable. Those at 100-200 had a great colour quality and smooth, noise-free sky and neutral tones.

The 700 and 900 have both been a mixed experience. The base ISO 100 image in both cases lacks the finesse of either the Alpha 100/200/230 10 megapixel sensor, or the Alpha 350/380 14.2 megapixel CCD. However, both respond well to using settings or 160 or 320 (not 200 or 400) with Adobe Camera Raw/Lightroom processing.

The Alpha 550 has a 14.2 megapixel CMOS sensor so might be expected to behave a little more like the 700 and 900, with strong anti-aliasing and heavy noise reduction applied to the raw file (in effect) by processes built in to the sensor itself, and the BIONZ processor.

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Newly Developed Single Lens Optical System
In existing half mirror 3D camera systems with separate lenses for the left and right eyes, the parallax range is adjustable, enabling the depth of the 3D images to be modified .  However, when operating the zoom and focus functions of such systems, the sensitivity of the human eye, in particular to differences in the size and rotational movement of dual images, as well as any vertical misalignment or difference in image quality has meant that complex technology has been required to ensure that each camera lens is closely coordinated, and there are no discrepancies in the optical axis, image size, and focus.  The introduction of a single lens system resolves any issues that may occur as a result of having different optical characteristics for each eye.  Furthermore, by using mirrors in place of shutters, incoming light can now be simultaneously separated into left and right images and recorded as it reaches the parallel light area (the area where diverging light from the point of focus on the subject matter becomes parallel) of the relay lens.  The separated left and right images are then processed and recorded with the respective left and right image sensors.  As there is no difference in time between when the left and right eye images are captured, it is possible for natural and smooth 3D images to be captured, even of scenes involving rapid movement.

240fps 3D Filming
Optical tests have shown that a frame rate 240fps represents the limit of human visual perception, and beyond that it becomes difficult to detect differences in terms of blur and “jerkiness” of moving images (where images that were continuous are now seen as a series of distinct snapshots).  By developing a 240fps frame rate CMOS image sensor with properties close to the human eye, which is capable of capture natural images of even fast moving subject matter, Sony has succeeded in further enhancing the quality of 3D video images.

The combination of Sony’s new single lens 3D system and its 240fps high frame rate technology has realized a single lens 3D camera system, based on universal properties of the human eye, which enables natural and smooth 3D images with no accommodation-vergence*1 conflict to be recorded.

Technological Features
1. New single lens optical system
- Captures left and right images simultaneously to deliver natural and smooth 3D images with no accommodation-vergence conflict.
- Eliminates the need for lens synchronization, ensuring easily accurate control of 3D zoom and focus functions.
- When polarized glasses are not used, viewers with still be able to see natural 2D images, as the disparity of the images for left and right eyes are within the range that human eyes can recognize as a blur.

2. 240fps image capture to realize high quality motion images
- Realizes high quality capture of 3D content including fast-moving subject matter such as sports.
Prototype to be demonstrated at “CEATEC JAPAN 2009”

Within the growing 3D cinema industry, Sony has supported and driven the expansion of 3D by providing a wide variety of professional equipment for the shooting, production and screening of movies in 3D.  The number of digital 3D screens is increasing rapidly, and is expected to reach 7,000 worldwide by the end of 2009*2  In addition to 3D movies, Sony’s range of professional 3D products and technology is also driving the growth of 3D production and distribution across a range of entertainment industries, from theatre and music performances to sport and beyond.  Furthermore, Sony is also aiming to continue to lead the way in delivering new 3D viewing experiences by bringing 3D to the home in 2010.

Sony is causing me problems because I prefer to buy products to test – it removes the ridiculous one or two week windows allowed for loan review kit, which often coincide with some very busy period making it impossible to give the gear adequate attention, and in Sony’s case would be many weeks after first availability as the consumer magazines take priority. There is a threat that three more Alpha models will appear this year (the Alpha 500, 550 and 850). I’m running out of cash to keep up with this!

The Alpha 380 is a replacement for the 350, a 14.2 megapixel compact DSLR with Live View. I already own a 350 and find it useful because the excellent resolution is combined with an impressive dynamic range and unusual colour palette. The pictures from the 350 have a unique appeal, and in some ways the CCD sensor is better than the CMOS of the Alpha 700 for landscape and pictorial work with fine detail, assuming you are able to shoot at ISO 100.

I had to hand over just under £600 for my 380 with 18-55mm SAM kit lens. SAM stands for Smooth Autofocus Motor, and what it appears to mean is electric motor not sonic wave-type drive. Instead of being focused via the body motor and drive coupling – which the 380 retains – the lens is operated electronically for all functions apart from aperture closure.

There was an expectation that the SAM 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6 would equal the latest Nikon and Canon lenses of the same specification and leave behind the reputation of the 18-70mm Konica Minolta/Sony kit lens. It does not feel as good as its rivals; it is a plain, lightweight item. Optically, the corners are soft at 18mm unless stopped down; the SAM focus motor is nearly as noisy as a screw drive lens when it starts up. The front rim rotates during focusing; there is no focusing scale; the mount is plastic. Redeeming qualities include very good performance from 35 to 55mm. Within this range, it’s sharp wide open and has good coverage corner to corner, together with virtually no chromatic aberration. At 18mm it is poor wide open because of corner fall off, and around 24mm it’s if anything slightly worse.

Good points include the closest minimum focus around, 25cm or a 0.34X subject scale, and class leading flare resistance. Click the 18mm, f/16 image below to view it full size (processed from raw and without sharpening of any kind, or any CA correction or de-fringeing). You can just find the flare if you look had, and the sun was immediately out of picture top left with no lens hood.

Light sources included in-frame throw up no reflections, and the rear of the lens is extremely well blackened with some kind of matt coating on the plastic. A lot of attention has been paid to killing internal reflections and boosting contrast. You can probably tell from the studio shot below how dense the matt paint applied to the plastic round the rear element assembly is. Note added Aug 9th – looking at one other review of this lens, it does not appear to have the same matt finish applied to the plastic as in my sample.

The close-up ability makes it the closest focusing lens in the entire Alpha system except for the Macro 100 and 50mm designs.

Above, you see the Sony SAM 18-55mm at 55mm and closest focus, used with the pop-up flash, to the left; and to the right, the Nikon 18-55mm VR at its closest focus. The coin is a GB pound coin, and is gold in colour – the Sony colour rendering is more correct. They have made the flash pop up higher on the A380. Combine this with the smaller 18-55mm lens, and no hood supplied – result, one third life size macro shots with full flash illumination and no shadow cast by the lens/hood.

The end result is a lens which will produce very good looking snapshots and really does not need the lens hood which is no longer supplied. Sony has cut costs; you don’t get a proper rear lens cap, just a ‘milk bottle top’ as it has been dubbed, and you don’t get a lens hood any more. I bet it’s all down to market research – they went out and observed users, only to discover that over 50% of users leave the lens hood on, backwards.

Here’s an 18mm wide angle close up in the field (literally). Click the image for pBase full size (again, please note, NO sharpening or corrections have been applied – you see exactly what the lens and camera produces).

And here is a 55mm version. Basically, this little lens is pretty good to use. This shot is wide open at f/5.6 too. All the example pictures in this article reproduced this size can be clicked to visit the full size original and view the EXIF data.

Why so much focus on the lens?

Well, the camera body was already known before delivery to be a cut-down version of the A350 in terms of size and dedicated controls. The 18-55mm lens is the first of a new line of SAM optics, a brand new design. It is supposedly more a Sony product than earlier kit lenses (just as the 16-105mm is). While the lens is definitely a better performer you certainly don’t need to replace a proven 18-70mm with it (they vary, and so it appears do the new ones, as other reviewers have not found the same edge-of-field softness from 18-28mm as I have on this sample). The new SAM 30mm ƒ2.8 macro and 50mm ƒ1.8 portrait lenses look more interesting, and they may well have quieter motors. Note added Aug 9th – apparently they don’t, just as basic.

18mm, good geometry, hand-held 1/80th with SSS – it’s not stunningly sharp and even at f/8 some fall off can be seen. But CA is very well controlled (bright sky edge to arch shows a trace) and distortion on this subject is acceptable.

18mm at f/8 again, here you can judge the uncorrected CA a bit better and also see how well the Alpha 380 has handled the grass texture (something which many popular DSLRs turn into mush). The trees against the sky are also a good test, here the new lens is doing better than a typical 18-70mm Sony under the same conditions.

Here you can see where the lens falls down at 18mm – that curved horizon and the curved base of the interpretation sign. But the sharpness (at f/10 in this case) is really pretty good and stopped this far down the corners are as good as the centre.

Here, the 55mm performance at f/8 shows up pretty well. Bear in mind if you go to view this full size that it’s focused on the seated people and re-composed. There is some loss of sharpness to the corners mostly at the top, indicating a slight field curvature which benefits the tub of flowers in the bottom right.

If this lens was significantly better from 18-28mm wide open, felt better built and the SAM motor was not so noisy when starting up and parking it would be a closer match to the competitors’ designs.

My experience with the lens was influenced by the A380 finder. The Nikon D5000 finder is similar in size, but whether it’s down to eyepoint or brightness, is slightly better to use with the identically specified Nikon 18-5mm lens. The A380 finder should be similar to the A350 but it seems to react to small apertures by getting very much dimmer. As you zoom the 18-55mm from 18mm to 55mm, on a sunny day, it looks as if the sun has gone in suddenly. This has had me checking to see whether the sun really had gone behind a cloud. The dimming effect is more noticeable than on any other DSLR finder I’ve used.

The new Alpha 230, 330 and 380 models are radical ergonomic redesigns of the existing 200, 300 and 350 series. There is a 15% reduction in size (volumetric) and weight, an update to the styling, and a completely revised user interface with graphic representation of setting adjustments – with a built-in ‘handbook’ to accompany the modes and options. They also have mini-HDMI image output, compatible with Bravia TVs and with interactive software inside the camera to allow the Bravia’s own remote control to change, orient and zoom into images (Bravia Sync). Twin card storage is MS ProHG Duo/SD and only one card is usable at a time, with a hardware switch to change slots. A smaller battery type (shared with the HX1 Cyber Shot) is used. A new self-timer drive mode grabs a quick burst of 3 or 5 frames, cutting the chances of spoiled portraits and groups shots when someone blinks at the wrong moment.

The new flashgun HVL-F20AM operates as a wireless flash controller for the full-frame α900. “While Sony’s flagship DSLR does not have its own integrated flash, the HVL-F20AM can be used as an inexpensive trigger for wireless remote flash heads” according to Sony UK.

While the rear screen is the same 230,000 pixels the use of a battery with only 55% of the capacity previous offered may indicate that screen technology is changed to a lower power consumption design. Without using Live View, all three cameras offer 500 or more shots per charge to standard test conditions. The screen is higher in brightness than the earlier models. Other improvements in circuitry may save power to keep shots-per charge figures respectable.

The new bodies continue to support older lenses requiring an in-body focus motor, but the new kit lenses 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM and 55-200mm f/4-5.6 SAM use in-lens motors. We hope these are not micromotors, but if they are built by Tamron for Sony it’s worth noting that Tamron has never yet used a sonic motor. Even the recent 70-200mm f/2.8 Tamron in Canon mount, where competing with USM is important, uses a conventional focus motor. Sony call this a Smooth Autofocus Motor so maybe it’s not a micromotor after all – that would be JAM, or Jerky Autocus Motor…

Sequence shooting is limited to 2.5fps with all three cameras (previous 200 and 300 could achieve 3fps) or 2fps with Live View. DRO (Dynamic Range Optimisation) is enhanced – presumably making it more effective, as on the A700 and A900, at balancing shadow to highlight detail in difficult lighting situations.

Other lenses to be released are the 50mm f/1.8 DT portrait lens, 30mm f/2.8 DT macro lens (due Autumn 2009) (both SAM). See:

http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/digital_imaging/digital_cameras/dslr/release/40522.html

http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/dslr/block/2/subblock/1

Here is a system chart of specifications from Sony UK (due to the email delivery formatting they use, we have converted this into a JPEG as it does not copy correctly for web use):

Click the graphic to open a full size version.

The full US press release text follows.

SAN DIEGO, May 17, 2009 – Sony is making it easy for first-time digital SLR buyers to step up from point-and-shoot digital still cameras with the introduction today of three new easy-to-use α (alpha) cameras (models DSLR-A380, DSLR-A330 and DSLR-A230), four new lenses, a flash and accessories.

To continue reading please click Page 2 link below!

So I filmed a few clips just to catch these ‘moving stills’ with the birdsong – and a fair amount of traffic noise, as expected in a cobbled town like Kelso. Major disappointment, not experience with the D90, 5D MkII or the EOS 500D was the level of wind noise catching the microphone. I was actually worried that my fingers might get in the way of the mic, and when filming, I was unaware of the very loud wind noise occasionally spoiling an otherwise good level of sound recording.

What may be needed is some kind of baffle or popshield made from fabric or foam. No external mic plugin is possible, and live sound filming in windy conditions – very common in many places, Scotland included – demands a cure for this!

Here is my 2-minutes’ worth of mini clips capturing a bit of the abbey, a walk through the kirkyard, and finally back in my garden for some cherry blossom and close-ups.

This is a full 720p encoding on YouTube so please do click the HD symbol and view it full size.

On returning to my office around 6.30pm tonight, the first thing I did was fire up the Sony VPL-EW5 projector and Playstation 3 with card slots, and stick the SD card in. Bingo! Unlike the Canon EOS 500D movie file format, the Nikon .AVI files are recognised by the Playstation. I could not play the Canon files at all directly from the card. It worked with the Nikon. Result, great HDTV playback from the Playstation 3 via its HDMI connector to the projector which is native 720p-ish (actually, WXGA which is 1200 x 800 not 1280 x 720, and better suited to showing 35mm format stills – but the 720p output is great anyway).

I checked out a few of the stills, JPEGs, shot on the way. Colours are punchy, exposure is not over-generous, blue skies are quite noisy at ISO 200, sharpness is moderate only with the 18-55mm VR lens. But here’s an example anyway:

Anyway, I’m looking forward to testing the D5000 with a little more time to use it than I had for the 500D. On Wednesday next week I get the 35mm f/1.8 DX lens and a 75-300mm to allow a bit more creative experiment.

Please feel free to post the link to the video directly from YouTube, or embed if you wish, or link to this page.

- David Kilpatrick

The Cyber-shot HX1 by Sony, teams stunning picture quality, lightning-fast shooting and powerful creative features in a stylish, supremely easy to use camera. The new flagship of the Cyber-shot range showcases a range of sophisticated image sensing, optical and processing technologies that offer unrivalled creative possibilities.

Offering cutting edge performance and a powerful 20x optical zoom range, the compact HX1 fits effortlessly into a weekend bag or small travel case. It’s an ideal companion for anyone who needs top-flight imaging performance and advanced shooting functions without the bulk of packing a digital SLR and all its accompanying lenses.

At the heart of the HX1 is a new Sony-developed ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor with an effective resolution of 9.1 megapixels. Originally developed for the Sony Alpha digital SLR programme, ‘Exmor’ technology delivers outstanding images with reduced noise, especially when shooting in high ISO settings.

(Editor’s note – sounds of hysterical mirth and weeping from A700 and A900 owners)

In tandem with the powerful BIONZ image processor, the ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor supports full-resolution shooting at an incredible 10 frames per second (max) using a mechanical shutter. Outpacing many pro-spec digital SLR cameras, this super-fast shooting rate is ideal for capturing high-speed action or spontaneous events like parties, where anything can happen in a moment.

The ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor supports two new shooting modes that reduce image noise when you’re shooting in low light. If you’re capturing static subjects, new Handheld Twilight mode grabs a high-speed burst of six frames, combining them to create a single optimised image with dramatically reduced noise levels. If your subject is moving, Anti Motion Blur mode also superimposes six frames to produce one crisp, composite image with less subject blur.

Also powered by the ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor, ‘Sweep Panorama’ is a brand-new shooting mode that captures breathtaking landscapes, city scenes and more. Just hold down the shutter button and swing the camera horizontally (or vertically). The Cyber-shot HX1 seamlessly stitches together a high-speed burst of frames to create an extra-wide, high resolution image. Panoramas can be viewed as a scrolling preview on the three-inch LCD screen or new S-Frame digital photo frames or previewed on a PLAYSTATION®3.

(No indication is given whether this means the normal scrolling playback functions of the frames and Playstation, or whether software updates will enable additional dedicated modes)

Making its Cyber-shot debut is a new G Lens that has been designed to complement the extraordinary imaging possibilities of the ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor.

Developed originally for the Sony Alpha Digital SLR family*, the G Lens in the HX1 teams aspherical lens elements and ED (extra-low dispersion) lens for uncompromising optical precision. You’ll experience superb resolution and minimal chromatic aberration at all settings, from 28mm wide-angle right up to 560mm super telephoto. This generous 20x optical zoom range accommodates a huge range of shooting possibilities, from landscapes and fun-filled family moments to action-packed sports events.

(*Editor’s further note: this is pure hype, no such G lens has ever been developed for the Alpha range, so we look forward to the release of the 28-560mm for full format in due course… though the press release missed the important bits, it’s a 5-100mm f/2.8-5.2 design – which makes the sensor, in linear size terms, about 70% of the Konica Minolta A2 megapixel CCD)

The Cyber-shot HX1 is the first compact camera from Sony that’s capable of shooting 1080/30p HD movies. It captures crisp, detail-packed HD video clips plus stereo sound at a smooth 30 frames per second.

HD movies and still photos can be enjoyed with superb quality on your BRAVIA or any HD Ready television*. BRAVIA Sync displays the camera’s playback screen on the TV screen, allowing handy control of slideshow, zoom, image index and other functions with your BRAVIA TV’s remote.

The Cyber-shot HX1 makes it brilliantly easy to get great results without the worry of adjusting camera settings correctly. Intelligent Scene Recognition has been enhanced with the addition of Smile Shutter. This lets you capture beautiful smiles automatically, even in tricky situations like twilight or backlighting.

The camera’s tilt-angle 3.0” LCD gives extra flexibility for framing your shots comfortably in any position. Clear Photo LCD Plus technology delivers superb picture quality and contrast, with a resolution of 230,000 dots that’s capable of resolving fine details.

(Further note – that’s a fairly low-res screen, not the same as the 3″ screen of the A700/900. And it’s good to see my old mate Juan Kerr showing the world how to hold a camera – ‘no, don’t put your big mitts all over it, we want to see the G logo – just prop it up from underneath – use your finger and thumb – that’s great..’)

A new jog dial simplifies ‘click and rotate’ selection and adjustment of camera settings. For extra convenience, there’s also a Digital SLR-style Custom button that can be assigned to Smile Shutter, White Balance adjust or metering mode select functions.

The Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 digital compact camera is available from the beginning of May 2009.

(End of press release – no price given, and no indication of formats or detailed specifications. The critical issue for most serious buyers will be whether a raw format is offered for recording; 9.1 megapixels is sufficient for good quality work especially with an ISO 50 option. Also, since no mention is made of it, we assume this EXMOR sensor does not use back-illuminated technology, but is a scaledown of the same CMOS used in the Alpha 700)

Serious issues

For Alpha owners, the HX1 becomes the first consumer bridge cam – presumably selling for slightly more than an entry level A200 kit if it is intended to compete with Pentax’s latest X70 model – to offer the G lens logo. Remember that former Sony digicams have been equipped with Carl Zeiss T* lenses, and no-one suggests that this degrades the Zeiss glass available for the SLR system. G lenses are also appearing on HDTV video cams, though not at such a low price point yet.

This points to Sony reducing their royalties to Zeiss. It has been rumoured that for a period, Sony were (or are) paying rights or royalties to Konica Minolta for their catalogue of lens designs. It was also assumed that the G designation was part of this. The apperance of the G branding on unconnected glass indicates that the G label was overlooked as intellectual property when KM handed over ‘Alpha’ to Sony. KM still makes glass for other brands – some JVC video cameras are fitted with Konica Minolta lenses, but not G.

So we must wait and see. The promotion of the Sony G lens branding could mean that future designs for the Alpha system tend to be G, not Carl Zeiss.

The HX1 looks, superficially, much like an Alpha DSLR with its Sony label on the prism-shaped eye level finder and flash housing. While it is clearly different from an Alpha 900, the distinction between this and the A300 is less visible. It’s no doubt smaller and lighter, but not that much smaller to the eye. The 5-100mm lens has a respectable aperture and at f/5.2 for the long end, is a stop faster than the 18-250mm SAL DT manages at slightly less tele-power. At the wide end, 5mm and f/2.8 combine for exceptional depth of field wide open.

This is an interesting camera – no successor to the DSC-R1, and no substitute for a DSLR, but incorporating many of the functions on wish-lists for future Alpha models.

- DK

For over a hundred years, camera makers have tried to reduce the size and weight of equipment; to make focusing errors disappear, and pictures become sharper without needing a tripod. In the early years of the 20th century rollfilm began to replace plates; in the 1930s 35mm film took over from rollfilm, though it was to be 40 years before professional use matched amateur enthusiasm. For the snapshooter, sub-35mm formats like half frame, 110, Disc and the Advanced Photo System (APS) then attempted to supplant the full 24 x 36mm 35mm format.

The Vectis S-1 SLR – a film format, in its non-panoramic form, called APS-C . That gave its name to the sensor size Sony call DT and Nikon call DX.

When digital SLRs arrived, many formats were tried out from full frame to quarter-frame but something very similar to the APS-C (Classical) format proved economical to manufacture and offered an acceptable trade-off when used with existing lenses. Though it only used the centre 16 x 24mm of the full 24 x 36mm coverage, this central zone was and remains a ‘sweet spot’ getting the best sharpness from many optics.

Losing recent advances

The loss of wide angle coverage which resulted meant that new lenses had to be designed just for this format, though the mount fitting was inherited from existing systems. This was a challenge because the back focus distance involved demanded extreme retrofocus zooms. But it also improved the results, forcing the lenses to be more ‘telecentric’ and project the image from a greater distance on to the digital sensor. This, for technical reasons, improved the all-round quality centre to edge.

The Sony SAL 18-250mm – a DT lens with a range that has never been achieved on full frame.

While SLR bodies did not shrink to match the 0.66X reduced imaging area (1.5X factor), they could be made as small as any film body used to be – or beefed up and given professional features like 5 frames per second motordrive, which you will find in the Sony Alpha 700. Sensors improved to the point that unheard of ‘fast film’ speeds produced fantastic results. ISO 400 was no longer fast; ISO 1600 is an everyday setting and ISO 6400, never achieved by any film as its normal rating, arrived for action shots. Low light is best tackled using lower settings, but that’s another subject!

The Alpha 900′s big mirror hides a large focal plane shutter – over 35mm size – and full 35mm size sensor.

Now, along comes the economic possibility to make full frame digital sensors just five years after the first wave of consumer-enthusiast ‘APS-C’ format DSLRs. In that five years, whole ranges of lenses have been developed offering unprecedented zoom ratios and features. There never was such a lens as a 24-160mm* or a 42-450mm* for film, but digital SLR users quickly got used to just this kind of range. Once, if you bought a typical zoom like the Minolta 24-105mm D you thought it a big step forward to get close-ups at 0.18X – that’s less than one-fifth life size, on full frame. The digital replacement, Sony’s CZ 16-80mm, manages 0.24X which is better than one-quarter life size, but it does that on a 1.5X factor format – meaning it’s the same as a 24-120mm (more range) focusing down to capture one-third life size on film.

The comparison is 0.36X versus 0.18X and that means the digital lens, on the digital format, actually shoots close-ups at twice the output magnification (for the same size print, in case any pedants are reading this).

*A 16-105mm and 28-300mm when used on APS-C

Depth of field

Throughout the domain of the APS-C DSLR, the small sensor format has transformed things. For the same angle of view, a full frame film camera needs 1.5 f-stops more stopping down to get the same depth of field (sharpness in depth). So, a shot which would be sharp enough from foreground to background at f/8 on an Alpha 700 must be shot at f/13 on full 24 x 36mm.

This shot was taken at f/11, 60mm focal length. Click it to open a full 24.6 megapixel image and see just how limited the depth of field is when examined so closely!

Is that a problem? Not on its own, but it also means a shot taken at 1/125 (which freezes most facial expressions and slight body movements, if not action) would need to be taken at 1/40 instead. There is a big difference. Wind moving foliage, people walking, many slow movements in the real world are sharp at 1/125 but blurred at 1/40.

So, to regain the benefits which have been conferred by the small digital sensor, any full frame digital sensor really needs to offer equal quality at three times the ISO sensitivity figure (or 1.5 stops), just to enable the user to get back to the same actual depth of field and motion-stopping shutter speeds. This means a full frame DSLR must be as good at ISO 400 as an APS-C model is at ISO 125.

This shot was taken at the same place, but with a focal length of 22mm and aperture of f/25 – an extreme case of stopping down, with 1/8 shutter speed and tripod. Click to view the full size version.

Should that be pixel for pixel, or allow for reducing the image size? I think it needs to be absolute not relative. There is not much point at all in full frame unless you can genuinely make a bigger print or a sharper print, which means using extra pixels if offered.

There is only one good reason for wanting full frame other than this – if you actually want less depth of field. If differential focus effects, isolation of a portrait subject from a background for example, are important to you then the Alpha 900 will deliver this more readily than the Alpha 700 (or other APS-C model) under similar flash or lighting conditions.

The effects of differential focus work beautifully with colour. Since this flower was blowing around and vibrating, I need a fast shutter speed (1/250th) with the 100mm macro at f4 after sunset. I underexposed at ISO 200 and pushed the processing from ARW using ACR 4.6, by 2.3 stops plus extra brightness, vibrancy and clarity (but not saturation). It’s a noisy result without anything more than ACR default NR but I like the colour and the bokeh (remember it is effectively at ISO 1000). The A900 viewfinder makes shooting this type of subject a real pleasure even in poor light. Click to open a larger version.

The focal length factor

If you buy into the Alpha 900, you are committing yourself to a whole different range of lenses. If you buy the forthcoming 70-400mm zoom, it will not offer the same reach the 70-300mm model does on the A700. You have the option to use a cropped APS-C mode, which produces an 11 megapixel file, or to crop any full frame as you wish. That in effect more than restores your telephoto reach.

One benefit of full frame – if you don’t keep your subject dead centre in the frame, you can crop in and get as big an image as APS-C. Click on the shot for the full size 70-200mm SSM image. 1/1000s f/5.0 at 200mm, ISO 400.

But if you are shooting with a long lens and want 24.6 megapixels, the cost in size, weight and money may be prohibitive. The difference between a 200mm f/2.8 and 300mm f/2.8 shows this perfectly. The Minolta APO G 200mm f/2.8 weighed just 790g, was 135mm long, and took 72mm filters; the 300mm f/2.8 APO G of the same period weighed 2310g, was 240mm long, and needed 114mm filters (but a rear 42mm filter slot was provided).

The 200mm f/2.8 covers exactly the same field of view, at the same maximum aperture, on the Alpha 700 as a 300mm f/2.8 does on the Alpha 900. The 200 focuses to 1.5m; the 300mm can’t get any closer than 2.5m and at closest focus, produces a smaller subject scale than the 200mm does. Fortunately the last Minolta and current Sony APO G (D) SSM version can manage 2m and now beats the vintage – discontinued – 200mm for magnification.

My 17-35mm KM D lens is restored to a genuine 17mm view – and through the large bright finder, precision composition is made easy. ISO 200, f/11. Click on picture for full size.

At the other end of the scale, the wide-angles, your choices are limited. A probably superb CZ 16-35mm f/2.8 will be available in January 2009 at around three times the price of the existing 11-18mm which serves (though lacking in speed) for APS-C. And, if you consider the 10-20mm Sigma useful on APS-C, you could simply opt for the 15-30mm Sigma on full frame; it’s exactly the same range and slightly faster! Or you could choose the 12-24mm Sigma, which has no 8-16mm equivalent for APS-C.

The Alpha 900 looks entirely at home with the 16-105mm SAL DT, but in practice, it’s not… practical!

Should you try an APS-C lens on the A900? Sony say it will give incorrect exposure metering unless you use centre weighted or spot. I say that you really can’t see the APS-C frame markings in the viewfinder against most subjects. For action shots, you have little chance of being aware of the frame zone. And you can’t turn the cropping off (except with some independent lenses which the camera fails to recognise as needing a crop), and the raw file is cropped too.

For walkaround zooms, you must look at rather older designs – the 28-300mm Tamron in place of an 18-200mm or 18-250mm. Is it really worth the compromise? The whole point of walkaround zooms is convenience, and the Alpha 900 increases size and weight. The resolution and overall performance of a 28-300mm may not fit well with the full frame.

With macro lenses, the 1:1 aspect is again changed back to where it was pre-APS-C. Of course, it is still 1:1, but relative the print size the magnification on full frame is less impressive. Remember, 1:1 on the Polaroid 20 x 24 inch camera is a head and shoulders portrait – and 1:1 on a video camera is the head of a butterfly. Macro is a field where the super-bright, large viewfinder of the Alpha 900 really pays off and 24.6 megapixels can be very useful, but if you want to match the stunning closeups people have been getting on the Alpha 700 and Alpha 350 you must add an extension tube to your macro lens.

The 100mm f/2.8 Macro AF works well on the Alpha 900, but on the 700, only half this area of subject would have formed the entire picture. Click on picture for full size.

However, I should not play Devil’s Advocate all the time. The large finder of the Alpha 900 also transforms wide-angle views with lenses like the 17-35mm Konica Minolta D, to the point that you feel you have regained true wide angle composition. No matter that the 11-18mm at 11mm is just the same on the Alpha 700; it’s small, vague and dark as a compositional view compared to what you see through the A900. The 900 returns the 16mm f/2.8 fisheye lens to its true coverage and look.

It allows lenses like the Sigma or Tamron 14mm f/2.8 designs to do their job, as with Sigma full frame ultrawide zooms. Lenses like the 200mm Apo G f/4 Macro from Minolta, which is almost too long for comfort on the Alpha 700, become far more friendly. The 50mm f/1.4 is a standard once again, the 35mm f/1.4 and 28mm f/2 get their status back; so do the 28mm f/2.8, 20mm f/2.8 and Minolta 24mm f/2.8. The 85mm f/1.4 designs frame better for portraits and the 135mm f/1.8 and STF lenses can at last be used in a normal sized indoor studio.

My 50mm f/1.4 restored to its normal view! This is the Alpha 900 used for a 13 megapixel direct in-camera JPEG at ISO 1600, with +1 over-ride set to get the correct tonal quality for the shot. Sharpness (and all other parameters) set to 0 default using Standard sRGB style. Auto WB. High ISO NR set to Normal. Since this was shot with cRAW, it is a FINE quality JPEG not Extra Fine. Click to image to see the JPEG.

The flash dilemma

If you use on-camera flash, or the wireless system, the Alpha 900 will cost you real money. It has no built-in controller for wireless remote flash units, and no onboard flash. The affordable HVL-F42AM makes a decent if bulky substitute for the missing pop-up, but can’t control remote flash. The only flash which will do so is the HVL-F58AM, a superbly made and presented bit of gear but one of the most expensive camera top flash units on the market.

Your existing Minolta 3600HS(D) 2500(D) and 5600HS(D) guns, or Sony HVL-F36AM and HVL-F56AM equivalents, can be wirelessly controlled by the HVL-F58AM but only at their native power values. No controllable ratio can be set. Nor can they be assigned into ‘Groups’, a function used by ratio-lighting setting. The HVL-F42AM can be, and so can additional HVL-F58AM guns. Examine the possible costs, and you will realise that one of the expensive 58 guns is sacrificed to act as an on-camera controller from the start. It would be easy to spend £1,000 setting up a two-head wireless flash kit for the 900.

With reluctance I’ve bought a 58, because I have a 42, 56 and 36. The 58 will be most useful for solo flash on camera work, bounced light for groups, and so on. The other three can form a reasonable ‘studio’ with some control possible via the (wasted) 58 in controller mode.

But – I have also found on eBay a little Minolta 2000i flash. It’s incompatible with digital TTL and has no manual controls, so it will always fire at full power. That’s GN20 and coverage for a 28mm lens only. It has a low profile, unlike the digitally compatible Konica Minolta 2500D flash which is a mini bounce model. I’m quite capable of working out manual exposures for GN20 (f/2 at 10m ISO 100, f/4 at 5m, f/8 at 2.5m, f/16 at 1.25m, f/22 at 0.75m). For £14 it will make a neat standby in a pocket.

And then there’s the filesize!

The final question, once you appreciate that moving up to an Alpha 900 also means living with more assertive shutter-mirror action and a larger body to handle, is all about what it consumes and what it needs to support it.

First of all, Sony claims 880 exposures per battery charge. I believe this is an error; it is more than the Alpha 700 (750) despite running twin processors and having exactly twice the data to push through. I have not yet managed much over 250 exposures per full charge, shooting RAW+JPEG, and see little chance of reaching 880 under any circumstances.

A detailed image like this can be 24MB just an an Extra Fine JPEG. As JPEG+RAW, this one used over 40MB of card space – 25 shots per GB. cRAW compression saves 12MB per shot (24MB file versus 36MB file). This shot shows that at f22, the minimum aperture possible, diffraction is not ruining a 17mm view on the A900 with its relatively large pixel pitch. The point of focus is easily found, in the first third of the boat where there is some rope above very sharply detailed textured boat floor. f22 is not enough to keep the prow sharp, or the background view. Remember, when viewing this on a 96dpi monitor, you are viewing a ‘print’ over five feet high close up! Click image to go to the full size file.

You will need exactly twice the card space for the same number of shots. So, if you use 4GB cards and find they fill up on a typical day, you’ll need 8GB. However, the Alpha 900′s very clear and large viewfinder helps you avoid poor framing or timing, and the general feel of the camera promotes craftsmanship rather than random snapping. If you can begin to put yourself more into rollfilm technique mode, you may even end up being more economical with the gigabytes.

Bridge will create thumbnails for raw – with Alpha 900 images, the process of creating these (in similar programs too, like Lightroom or C1 Pro) to high quality is longer than for smaller image sizes.

Finally you have to process and archive your work. Programs like Bridge and Photoshop use hard disk space for scratch memory and cacheing previews; you can be sure that doubling the data size of every shot converted to a thumbnail, previewed to high quality, and processed in Photoshop will double the workload on your computer processor and the demands on temporary or cache hard disk space. Even if you have an efficient setup with 3-4GB of RAM available, it’s the reading and writing times for the original images and everything associated with them that will slow you down.

If you have a recent computer system, all will be well. But you may have a slightly older system which had coped perfectly with A100, A200, D5D, A700 and even the 14.2 megapixel A350 files. Start work with the A900, and it just loses that edge. So, be prepared to have to upgrade your PC or Mac in addition to the relatively minor investment needed in external HD drives for archiving files.

The package

All these factors add up. Each one alone is not too hard to reconcile with your plans for future DSLRs – but when you take them as a bundle, it can be a heavy bundle! I have not even considered the possibility that to get the most from the Alpha 900, new Sony and CZ lenses may be neeed. Though the body costs £1,800 a set of 16-35/24-70/70-400mm will add £3,000 and your ideal flash kit £1,000 more. Computer upgrades could cost you another £1,000 and so could that HDTV you covet for viewing the images at their best!

If you already own an Alpha 700 with 11-18mm/16-80mm/70-300mm you will gain one or more f-stops of aperture across much of the range, and some genuine telephoto reach. You will lose the great benefit of APS-C, a top grade general purpose zoom offering a far more useful long end than the 24-70mm does on full frame. Don’t imagine the 24-105mm can do this job; I have one, and there is no comparison. The 16-80mm CZ on APS-C is a much better lens all round than the Sony SAL 24-105mm on full frame.

The 70-300mm G SSM is a wonderful lens – free from CA and sharp corner to corner wide open – but it’s essential a consumer grade design, with distortion even at 200mm turning the horizon into a dish. Click to view the full size file.

But you may already own a 24-70mm CZ; you may have a 70-300mm SSM G which will do a moderately good job on APS-C, though with a ‘consumer’ level of distortion and vignetting. Like me you may have older 17-35mm or 28-75mm lenses and find that they work well; or real vintage stuff like the 70-210mm f/4, original macros and 50mm f/1.4 which perform even better. The Alpha 900 could reward you for keeping or acquiring such lenses by showing you what they are really designed to do.

Point of no return

This article is intended to stop you in your tracks, but not to stop you entirely! I have to own and use an Alpha 900. I could not run this website or Photoworld magazine without doing so. I also have to keep my earlier equipment. The A350 sits there with a 16-80mm on it now. The A200 has the 16-105mm. The A700 has been passed to Shirley who prefers one lens to do everything, so it now has the 18-250mm.

So what do I do? I use the Alpha 900. I use it because once you have done so, there is no going back. Buy it, and your APS-C gear will be forgotten. Your cherished CZ 16-80mm won’t get a look in, even if you can’t afford a CZ 24-70mm and end up with a budget alternative like the 28-75mm D on your new full-frame. The accuracy of the focusing before you even consider using the micro AF adjustment, or try manual focus, will make you unwilling to return to the vagueness of the APS-C focus points again.

After making a 20 x 16 Epson Stylus Pro 3880 print on Ilford Galerie Gloss premounted exhibition board media, I realise why I will be shooting with the Alpha 900 in future. 17-35mm Konica Minolta f/2.8-4 D lens at f/22; lighthouse added from a second shot, as its real position is to the left outside this composition. Click the image for a full size file. You re welcome to download and print this if you would like to see for yourself!

You will keep using the Alpha 900, and you will probably travel with it even if at first you put your lighter and more versatile kit aside for vacations and trips. Commonsense tells you that the extra depth of field from the APS-C format makes it much better for sports, family, pets, theatre, concerts and all those 90 per cent of your images where a little more in sharp focus can only help. But you’ll use the Alpha 900 instead. You may even end up with worse pictures sometimes, and be aware of it, but still unrepentant!

To conclude – you will have moved on to a different system. It may still be Alpha, and the changeover may be smoothed by Sony’s attention to keeping memory card types, battery, remote controller, cable connections, filetype, lens compatibility and the user interface consistent.

No skilled photographer who takes the step up to the Alpha 900 and full frame digital will regret it – but you need to take that step in full awareness of everything involved.

- David Kilpatrick

Unique features and key points for the Alpha 900

Full frame 24 x 36mm capture
Good compatibility with many older Minolta and Konica Minolta AF lenses
100% viewfinder at 0.73X magnification (2nd largest of all DSLRs made)
Fully corrected eyepiece allowing clearer vision of the focusing screen
20% brighter viewing image than any other DSLR
24.6 megapixel image, the highest resolution of any DSLR
5fps continuous shooting, the fastest for any DSLR over 18 megapixels
SteadyShot image stabilisation through sensor piezo movement applies for all lenses
Oversized reflex mirror gives maximum brightness and coverage for tele and macro lenses
Shutter speeded 30 seconds to 1/8,000 with X-sync at 1/250
PC X-sync socket
Alpha dedicated wireless flash system with channel, ratio and group control possible
A genuine 5 frames per second capture rate (tested)
True mirror lock-up mode, 2 second m/up timer and normal 10 second self timer
Viewfinder eyepiece backout blind
Intelligent Preview first stops the lens down for screen depth of field viewing then shows an adjustable capture on the LCD screen
Top LCD provides shooting settings summary and changes context for adjustments
Three Memory positions on the simple PASM/Auto main mode dial, like the Dynax 7D
Two memory slots with extremely fast read/write on the main CompactFlash drive
1920 x 1080 HD output and 16:9 capture mode
True cropped RAW mode for APS-C lenses (11 megapixels, 1.5X factor)
Magnesium alloy body
Weathersealed with gaskets on all controls and labyrinth design for card and interface doors
Capable of full style adjustment range in both AdobeRGB and sRGB modes
Extra Fine JPEG mode available as an alternative to raw
USB tethered shooting software supplied for both Mac and PC
Full image browsing and raw conversion software supplied for both Mac and PC
High ISO NR includes OFF option as well as Low, Normal and High

My name is Nick Sharples. I am the director of corporate communications of Sony Europe, and it is my pleasure to be your host for this afternoon’s activities. I suspect many of you will not have attended a launch in Scotland before, so I thought it might just be worthwhile spending a couple of minutes on explaining first of all where we are.

Scotland occupies the Northern half of Great Britain, and historically Scotland and England have not got on, being in a constant state of strife all the way up until the year 1707 when the kingdom of Scotland joined with the kingdom of England to become the kingdom of Great Britain – and we have been joined together ever since.

Now Scotland itself is bounded on the East by the North Sea and to the North and the West by the Atlantic. It comprises over 917 different islands. Edinburgh is the capital city, it’s the second largest after Glasgow, and Edinburgh has a striking setting sitting as it does perched on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky outcrops. The city is dominated by Edinburgh Castle seated atop one of the tallest of the crags. From the ramparts you can look down on a series of mediaeval lanes, sweeping terraces and grand houses that hide thousands of years of history… but there’s also a modern side to Edinburgh. Edinburgh is one of Europe’s largest financial centres, it’s home to cutting edge art galleries, bars, clubs and restaurants and Edinburgh also hosts one of the largest cultural festivals in the world – the Edinburgh Festival – not to mention the Edinburgh Tattoo, based here in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh is part of the reason why we brought you all the way here to Scotland but the other is the stunning scenery for which Scotland is rightly famous. Just a few miles outside Edinburgh is a land of lakes, of castles, of rolling moorland and highland, and indeed dramatic mountainscapes. All of this is a haven for great photography and provides ample photo opportunities. Many of which you will have the opportunity to sample tomorrow morning, hopefully once the rain has stopped and we’ve put in an order for that already.

So enough of Edinburgh and let’s move on with the business of the press conference. We have a number of speakers for you this afternoon and I’ll pop up from time to time to introduce them but to start the proceedings and to place the launch of our flagship alpha digital SLR in a wider Sony context it gives me great pleasure to introduce Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Edinburgh. My name is Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe. Thank you for joining us today here in Scotland for what I hope will be an enjoyable and informative event. Edinburgh and the highlands are a photographer’s dream come true they mix ancient historical monuments like the castle with the beautiful rolling highland, heathland and mountain and best of all everything is bathed in the special light that is unique to Scotland.

Now, to the business. In a moment you will be hearing from my colleagues about Sony’s decisive first move into this higher end DSLR but first I would like to remind you just why digital imaging is so important to Sony. The great looking pictures are at the very heart of what Sony does and from breathtaking photos – of which more in a momenr – to the stunning clarity of high definition TV Sony has dedicated itself to imaging excellence “like no other”.

Television viewers can enjoy the gorgeous high definition pictures on their Bravia television that have been captured by broadcasters using Sony professional cameras. And don’t forget, of course, that Sony was one of the primary movers in the development of the Blu-Ray Disc, a technology that’s central to the whole family of Sony products, from Playstation 3 to Vaio PC. In the latest high tech cinemas around Europe movie enthusiasts can enjoy big screen HDTV pictures captured with Sony HDTV movie cameras and presented by our incredible four-state dissolve projector. The finest in the world.

Companies can bring efficiencies and savings to their business with Sony HD video conference system that link customers, staff and partners around the world. Surgeons can beam HD video images from delicate neurosurgical operations to students on another continent and of course, visual imaging know-how is core to our other media interests from movies, video games.

So, at Sony, we really understand the power of digital image. It’s what we do from our consumer electronics business to the solution that we provide for broadcasters and media professionals. This passion for great pictures in nowhere more apparent than in our digital imaging group. This covers amateur digital compact cameras, digital SLR, Handycam and camcorders. Indeed, it is one of the most important contributors to our global electronics business.

We have already enjoyed significant success in Digital SLR, a category that we have no presence in before 2006. We are delighted that in such a short time we have achieved more than 17% European market share according to the latest market research, and in countries such as Poland and the Netherlands we have much stronger presence performance where we enjoy a number two market leader position ahead of our key competitors.

Since launching our first Alpha 100 we have steadily extended the family, adding bodies and lenses and accessories to create and amazingly versatile DSLR system that lets mainstream photo enthusiasts take their passion to the next level. We have broadened the Alpha offering to four models including the Alpha 700, that hinted at our up-market ambitions. Until today our cameras have been based around the popular and affordable APS-C format sensor but that’s about to change as you will see in a moment.

The worldwide digital SLR market is on fire right now and in Europe in particular there is significant growth potential for a manufacturer like Sony. We have already entered the entry level class with three new models in Spring, and we are really excited to be introducing our new flagship model to the high flying semi-pro segment which are presently dominated by just two players. This is just the kind of challenge that we relish.

Equally we are well aware of the formidable difficulties in breaking into a ruthlessly tough market where we have no track record. Since the beginning of this year it has been common knowledge that Sony was working on the flagship DSLR based around the Full Frame Sensor. It was an obvious next step, building on the successful launch back in 2006 of our very first Digital SLR. With the flagship model we want to show how serious we are about digital imaging and demonstrate our commitment to this market, and thereby fulfilling our ambition to complete our full range line-up from entry level to the high end. This is something else that sets Sony apart from many other electronic or photo companies.

Our expertise lies in semi-conductor design and the fabrication manufacture. This means that we enjoy absolute control over all aspects of architecture, production, quality control… and it means we can turn new ideas into the commercial silicon quicker and more efficiently than other companies.

With our new camera, this unique skill-set and imaging heritage has led us to create a competitively priced camera with the highest ever resolution sensors ever seen on a DSLR camera, and with this new DSLR flagship we have proven that the plurals of performance and image quality are finally accessible to serious amateurs and enthusiasts, who are ready to raise their game to the next level. At the same time we have confidence this flagship model can also strive to match the needs of our professional users.

OK, I’m not going to be giving you a complete run down on the capability of this amazing camera now. I’m going to leave that job to my good colleague, Toru Katsumoto, later – but do I want to stress again just how important the digital imaging business is to Sony.

We’ll be hearing more details in a few weeks time after Photokina but I am delighted to confirm that Sony is continuing its commitment to all photographers and to the photo industry with our ongoing support of the Sony World Photography Awards. For the second year running we will be giving our full support to this fantastic contest that has already generated some incredible images from amateurs and professionals from around the world – and once photographers get their hands on our new flagship DSLR, I’m really looking forward to seeing the results on display in next year’s competition. Thanks everyone. I hope that you all enjoy and profit from your time in Edinburgh.

Thank you very much!

(to be continued next with Katsumoto-san’s section – thank you, Shirley, for deciphering this from my Zoom H2 recording! All photographs taken with Alpha 700 firmware v4, ISO 1600, 24-105mm KM D lens – David)

Read Part 2: Toru Katsumoto unveils the Alpha 900.

http://www.gginternet1.co.uk/sony01/

It is mainly about HDTV Motionflow, LED technology, Reader, OLED (Organic LED) screens, Handycam, the electronic Picture Frame, something called Sountina which appears to radiate sound from a column speaker – etc. It features Fujio Nishida, President of Sony Europe; Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer making jokes which fell on a rather mirthless set of ears;

“We continue to grow our enormous digital imaging business where we maintain leading market share”, said Stringer, before lauding the success of Blu-Ray (something which was by no means sure until recently).

He promised network connectivity in 90% of devices in 2010 – which means, perhaps, that DSLRs will have built-in WiFi, just to keep up the count towards a target figure. But he also refers to “electronic” devices in this context, and the Alpha division appears to be a separate category.

He said that Sony has committed to doubling its revenue from countries like China, Russia, Brazil and the Eastern European zone. “The global economic downturn is beginning to have an effect on Western Europe”, he told the journalists, but the east was showing a 25% growth. Eastern Europe and Russia show a 60% sales increase for Sony. Poland showed a 65% sales increase in the first four months of 2008. In Turkey, Sony has seen 43 months of consecutive growth, increasing by 500% in five years.

Nishida said that new products would be launched in Europe on the same date as in Japan. These include the OLED TV XEL-1 which is only 3mm deep. The Bravia EX-1 HDTV will receive its HD content via a wireless link from a media box sited up to 30 metres away. It mounts on the wall like a picture, without wires except power supply.

He said that the 50Hz frame rate of TVs was now old-fashioned and too slow for fast-moving sports. Motionflow introduced 100Hz in March 2007. The new Bravia 200Hz Z-4500 has four times the frame rate of standard HDTV, using algorithms to interpolate between the frames of the original. It will be on sale by Christmas.

New LED TVs would use side-injected illumination instead of a lighting panel placed behind the picture elements. The Bravia ZX-1, only 9.9mm thick, is the world’s slimmest TV and uses this new illumination method. It will also go on sale in Europe in December.

After discussing Blu-Ray, Nishida introduced the Sony T-500 with 10.1 megapixel still camera shooting 720p HDTV video clips, which goes on sale from this month. He then moved on to Walkman S-series players including photo storage, and mood sensing – it will pick the right music to play according to your activity level.

The Sony Reader was explained in the conference by Nishida – it is an electronic book reading device – and its first launch will be in the UK this week, followed by rollout in other countries. Nishida-san concluded with discussion of built-in wireless networking and control connectivity, including reference to Cybershot cameras but not to the Alpha range.

Simon McDowell, of Sony Entertainment Europe, spoke mainly about Blu-Ray and home entertainment. The most spooky thing is a new Blu-Ray based feature, BDLive, which lets you upload a snapshot of yourself into a movie and appear in the film…

Fujio Nishida concluded the press conference by announcing football sponsorship of the EUFA Champions League – a new signing to continue for a further 3 years up to 2012. “We have some exciting technology developments planned for football in the coming months”, he said.

BDLive to let the viewer in as a substitute?

- DK

Well, I’m going to risk being shot down and say that I think it will be 95% coverage, like the Nikon D700, but could even be slightly less than 95%. Why?

The Alpha 900 has full-frame SSS, in-body image stabilisation. Photographs of the inside mechanisms indicate that it does have an oversize ‘film gate’ and shutter assembly, to allow for the movement of the 24 x 36mm sensor. There is some possibility that optical vignetting may occur when strong SSS correction happens during an exposure, but I would hope no mechanical vignetting is allowed.

Optical vignetting happens if the sensor moves to the edge of the lens image circle. Mechanical happens if the sensor moves beyond the rectangular frame created by the shutter opening.

Why should this affect the viewfinder? If the finder was a 100% view, it would only be accurate when the sensor was parked – SSS turned off. It’s difficult enough to make a 100% viewfinder match up perfectly to a static sensor, as Canon and Nikon have both found. SSS would have to park the sensor assembly dead centre to make it match a 100% viewfinder.

Therefore, a 95% view through the large prism seems far more likely. 95% is not a big trim round the edges of the field of view, but it’s enough to ensure that the sensor more than covers everything when SSS is turned off. It also makes it less likely that a displacement of the sensor, with SSS on or not precisely parked, could produce a composition significantly different from the viewfinder view.

A carefully composed Alpha 700 shot with AS enabled, showing the theoretical 95 per cent viewfinder coverage and the actual frame. The subjects are offset to the left in the image, but were centered in the finder; however, all of what could be seen through the finder is present in the overall image (the crop shown would be moved to the left to restore the composition).

Of course the Alpha 700 is a 95% finder. In theory it is possible to have SSS shift the sensor so far, at the moment of exposure, that you might fail to get exactly what you saw through the finder on your final shot. (See comments to this post – ‘in theory’ you should always get what you composed! – I have now run tests and the variations in sensor position or parking are very small, between 10 and 20 pixels, with just the occasional shift big enough to be noticed).

In practice, the movement of the SSS mechanism is tiny – measured in a few pixels at the most, and as each pixel is only around 1/100th-200th of a millimetre, displacements of 2.5mm or 5mm are very rare. So on the whole, we get in our image what we composed in the finder. The 95% view provides a good margin of safety.

Would Sony dare put a 100% viewfinder in a camera with SSS? It’s just possible they might do so. They might print a small warning in the user manual to state that for accurate use of the 100% viewfinder, SSS should be turned off. But a 95% finder would be safer for the user and Sony alike.

(Update Aug 22 – several sources insist that the Alpha 900 finder is not only the largest and brightest of any DSLR now on the market, but definitely 100%. My view is that this is good for marketing, but we can expect some reports of sensor misalignment; those have happened with all the KM/Sony DSLRs so far, and every other make I know of except Olympus.)

Windowed readout

This section has been amended – the Alpha 700 doesn’t window 16:9 ratio files. The final release of ACR 4.5 treats 16:9 raws from 700, 200, 300, and 350 identically – locking out the full raw file size which is actualy present. The earlier beta release cropped A700 files but did not crop the latest model files.

The Alpha 900 sensor is said to feature ‘windowed’ readout, a function also found on the Nikon D2X and D700, and on the Nikon D2X models. Windowed readout allows different crops or aspect ratios to be selected. The Alpha 350 does not feature it for the 1.5X and 2X crops when in Live View mode, but the 16:9 mode results in a visually cropped raw file in correctly aware raw processors (as on the 700/200/300).

What is the difference? If you own an Alpha later than the 100, you can try it out. If you shoot RAW and set 16:9 image ratio (HDTV format) you will discover that not only your JPEG is cropped – your .ARW file appears as cropped too. But it’s not. Examination using a non-aware raw converter like Raw Photo Processor or Capture One Pro shows the full 3:2 raw. ACR 4.5 and Sony IDC show the cropped area only. Sony Image Data Lightbox shows the cropped thumbnail, but if you double click to preview, reveals the rest of the image slightly greyed out top and bottom.

In theory it could improve continuous sequence shooting rates in a model where the raw file was genuinely cropped. In the Alpha 350/300, the sensor readout is NOT ‘windowed’ to get the 1.5X and 2X ‘Smart Teleconverter’ crops – a full size raw file is captured and processed (whether saved or not) to create whatever resolution and digital crop you select, and there is never any boost to sequence shooting rate. And you can’t use the Smart Teleconverter in raw-only shooting mode, as it only affects in-camera JPEGs.

A 16:9 raw file next to a full frame raw file, from the Alpha 700

The Alpha 900 will feature at the very least a 16:9 crop and a 1.5X crop, to allow the use of DT (APS-C format) lenses such as the Carl Zeiss 16-80mm with a 10 megapixel file size. The viewfinder will have frame markings for the 1.5X crop, and the usual top and bottom lines to indicate 16:9. I’d like to hope it will have a 2X mode, a still-useful 6 megapixel image. The 16:9 and 1.5X are not optional choices for Sony. They must include these and the sensor is equipped to provide them. Anything else, like 2X or 5:4 ratios would be optional.

Windowed readout can create cropped RAW as on the Nikon models, so if Sony provides the option to use it with full frame lenses – again I do not know whether they have done so – caution would be needed in using the finder. You get genuinely cropped raws.

The benefit is possibly blistering motordrive speeds. Assuming the Alpha 900 has been configured to manage at least 3fps at full 24 megapixel resolution when shooting raw, it should be able to achieve 7fps at windowed 1.5X 10 megapixel resolution. We might well see 5fps full frame and better than 10fps APS-C – now that would put the Alpha 900 in an interesting market position!

It’s all down the how the raw saving is implemented. If it is genuinely cropped – for 1.5X if not for 16:9 – faster sequences may be on the menu. If the raw file is always saved at full size, and just includes metadata cropping information, it may be possible to use DT lenses like the 11-18mm and get a useful full-frame wide angle at 14mm with a forced crop.

Because the Alpha 900 is designed to use APS-C lenses as well as full frame, it will be interesting to see what area the AF sensors cover. Will they be clustered centrally within the 1.5X image zone, or scaled up to work optimally with full frame movement tracking?

Electronic shuttering

The final possibility offered by the new sensor is an electronic shutter. I think there is a 50% chance the Alpha 900 will have one. Why?

The 900 has the largest focal plane shutter assembly of any 35mm-format camera (DSLR or otherwise). I don’t know the exact gate size, but it must be around 40 x 30mm. So far, even with a fast 1/8,000th shutter fitted to the Alpha 700, Sony has not achieved particularly fast flash synch speeds. The A700 can be used safely in the studio at 1/250th with zero vignetting but the autoset speed with the dedicated flash system is 1/60th-1/200th (in most conditions it sets 1/125th or 1/160th).

Alpha 700, full frame in the studio - no cutoff at all with studio flash cord sync at 1/200th. This image was centered up just as carefully as the first one and is very accurate relative to the viewfinder composition.

The extra size, and transit opening, of the Alpha 900 shutter gate could mean a sync speed slower than 1/160th unless the shutter itself has been speeded up to a 1/12,000th specification – something very difficult to get in a unit bigger than that used for the 9xi and Dynax 9. My gut feeling is that to avoid reduced shutter life and a loud shutter sound Sony will restrict the Alpha 900 to 1/4,000th like the Dynax 7D (a camera it closely resembles in many ways, including the return of the 1-2-3 memory registers).

This would mean a flash sync speed no better than 1/90th with SSS active, perhaps 1/125th for PC sync connections or non-SSS, non-wireless operation.

The provision of electronic shutter mode on the full-frame sensor would make it possible for Sony to offer faster ‘virtual’ flash sync speeds. The Nikon D70 did this, enabling synchro sun at 1/500th. Flash timing latency, inevitable in an electronically triggered system, may prevent anything faster. Having options of 1/250th or 1/500th would make the Alpha 900 appeal to fashion, portrait, press-PR and wedding photographers as all regularly use synchro-sun fill in.

(Update August 22 – it seems that Sony has taken the first option – though the highest shutter speed is 1/8,000th like the Alpha 700 and the ‘gate’ is much larger, they’ve achieved a faster flash sync speed than the Alpha 700 without electronic shuttering- there’s no question of it being restricted to slower speeds. What this means for shutter noise/life will depend on the construction of the shutter. I think we are going to be given details of a very advanced shutter design using lightweight materials. How can they do this, and keep the price down to the low figure hoped for by so many? – DK).

If Sony has implemented electronic shuttering, the ultimate bonus would be burst mode ‘open once, capture sequence’ shooting – where the shutter opens for a short time and a sequence is recorded at a higher than normal frame rate, perhaps with reduced resolution. This is a CMOS technology Sony has been working on for the last few years.

(Further update – I do not think, if my latest information about the focal plane shutter is correct, that the electronic shutter with very fast burst shooting will appear in the Alpha 900. I am certain that it will appear in a future Alpha DSLR. – DK)

You’ll have to wait until mid-September to learn whether the Alpha 900 will be more than just a moderately priced full frame DSLR. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

- DK