The prototype or dummy shown to the press in Croatia and other locations just two month ago turns out to have been little more than a rubber duck – a decoy to distract while the real thing was clearly already in production and looks very different. The real thing has an eye-level 1 megapixel-plus electronic viewfinder as well as a foldout screen, and the world’s most retro-tech microphone design.

Here is the press announcement from earlier this morning (GMT, I don’t man the computer at 6.17am but Sony’s Press Centre was wide awake and running). The guy in the Sony press pix obviously found 6.17am a bit rough, he looks worse for a long night out… he’s not even got himself in focus properly, let alone found out where he left his comb and razor…

“Camcorder Redefined” Sony unveils world’s first consumer interchangeable lens HD camcorder Handycam® NEX-VG10E captures cinematic Full HD movie and stereo sound with great depth

• 14.2 effective megapixel ExmorTM  APS HD CMOS sensor (19.5 times larger than conventional camcorder) for stunning HD movies with beautiful background defocus
• Accepts E-mount interchangeable lenses plus A-mount α DSLR lenses (via optional adaptor)
• High quality audio with Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone and external mic input
• 7.5cm (3 inch-type) Xtra Fine LCD and electronic viewfinder

Building on 25 years of continuous Handycam® innovation, Sony introduces the NEX-VG10E – the world’s first consumer HD camcorder with interchangeable lenses. It’s also the first Handycam® featuring an extra-large Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that allows the creation of exquisitely cinematic background defocus effects.

Targeting video enthusiasts and photographers, the NEX-VG10E opens up unprecedented artistic possibilities not achievable with conventional consumer video cameras.

Compatible with a choice of high quality E-mount lenses, it’s the first consumer camcorder that offers the same breadth of creative expression enjoyed by DSLR photographers. Alongside the three currently available E-mount lenses, users of the NEX-VG10E can experience a wide variety of  A-mount DSLR optics by using the optional LA-EA1 mount adaptor. Picking from a choice of award-winning Sony G lenses, fixed-focal length Carl Zeiss portrait lenses and other models from macro to super-telephoto, videographers will have unprecedented freedom to explore an exciting world in movie creation.

At the heart of the NEX-VG10E is a 14.2 effective megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that’s teamed with Sony’s powerful BIONZTM processor to capture very high resolution video and still images. Approximately 19.5 times bigger than the standard sensor found in other consumer camcorders, the APS-C sized imager also enables an extremely shallow depth of field. This allows videographers to achieve ‘cinematic’ results with beautiful background defocus (bokeh). In addition, the ability to capture DSLR-quality still images gives videographers extra shooting flexibility on assignment with less to carry.

Full HD 1920×1080 video images are captured in AVCHDTM format at up to the maximum 24 Mbps bit rate for superlative detail and clarity. Unlike many digital still cameras including DSLR that support HD video, there’s virtually no restriction on continuous shooting time. Just slip in your choice of either Memory Stick PRO DuoTM or SD media cards and capture Full HD video and JPEG still images for easy transfer into your existing PC storage and editing environment.

The NEX-VG10E comes supplied as standard with an image-stabilised E18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS lens that offers a powerful 11x optical zoom range. Because of its optimized design for video shooting, this high-quality E-mount lens offers smooth, ultra low noise autofocus and iris control. In-built Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation assures clearer video images when you’re shooting handheld. At wide angle settings, Active Mode enhances anti-shake performance even further, steadying jittery images even while walking. The lens also features a circular aperture for the creation of beautiful bokeh effects whether you’re shooting video or stills.

Reflecting the demands of serious videographers, sound quality matches the phenomenal imaging performance of the NEX-VG10E. The Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone uses advanced processing algorithms to combine signals from four separate omnidirectional microphone capsules. The result is exceptionally clear stereo audio with a highly directional response: this allows videographers to capture more sound from the subject they’re shooting, and less of distracting sounds around them. There’s also a jack for adding an optional external stereo mic, plus a headphone jack for audio monitoring.

With a photo-realistic 921k dot resolution, the 7.5cm/3 inch-type Xtra Fine LCD features TruBlackTM technology for an exceptionally detailed, high contrast view of images and menu settings. The LCD is supplemented by a high-resolution (1152k dot) electronic viewfinder that assists easy framing and monitoring. The viewfinder helps operator capture clear images in bright daylight and its angle can be easily adjusted for comfortable operation.

Despite its groundbreaking creative possibilities, the NEX-VG10E is compact, beautifully balanced and easy to handle, even for novice videographers. An intuitive jog dial and hotkeys make it easy to navigate camera menus and adjust shooting parameters. Videographers can also enjoy precise manual control over Iris, Shutter Speed, Gain and White Balance for professional results.

A range of official accessories includes the ECM-CG50 Shotgun Microphone that attaches to the camcorder’s accessory shoe. There’s also a choice of rechargeable battery options, including the NP-FV100 that provides power for up to 330 minutes continuous HD shooting. A dedicated soft carrying case LCS-VCD is also available as an option.

Offered to customers as a free download, Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 video editing software includes everything you need to produce spectacular HD movies. Powerful tools for video compositing, colour correction and sound mixing make it easy to achieve cinema-quality results in your own home studio. You can also upload movies to web, burn them to Blu-ray Disc™ or author DVDs with custom menus and graphics.

The Handycam® NEX-VG10E interchangeable lenses Full HD camcorder is available from October 2010.

Specifications are:

Model Name: NEX-VG10E
Image Sensor: APS-C type (23.4×15.6mm) Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor with RGB primary colour filters; 25P scanning
Gross Pixels: Approx.  14,600,000 pixels
Minimum Illumination: 11 lux. ( 1/25 Shutter Speed / F3.5)
Supplied Lens: SEL18200 Sony E-mount  E18-200mm F3.5-6.3 with in-lens Optical SteadyShot Active Mode
Zoom: 11x (optical, ring)
Focus: Auto/Manual (ring)
Focal length (35mm equivalent): Video mode – 32.4mm-360mm. Still photo mode – (3:2) 27mm-300mm /(16:9) 32.4mm-360mm
Shutter Speed: 1/4 – 1/4000 (video, manual control); 30 – 1/4000 (photo, manual control)
White Balance: AWB / Daylight / Shade / Cloudy / Incandescent / Fluorescent / Flash / C. Temp Filter / Custom
Recording Media: Memory Stick PRO Duo / Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo / SD / SDHC / SDXC (Class 4 or higher)
Recording Mode (AVCHD): FX (1920x1080i, 24Mbps); FH (1920x1080i, 16Mbps); HQ (1440x1080i, 9Mbps)
Still photo resolution (JPEG): 16:9 Mode; 4592×2576 (12M) /3:2 Mode; 4592×3056 (14M)
Audio Recording: Dolby Digital 2ch, via  Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone; External microphone input jack
LCD Monitor: 7.5cm / 3.0”-type, 921,600 dots (approx.) Xtra Fine LCD with TruBlack technology
Electronic Viewfinder: 1.1cm / 0.43”-type, 1,440K dots (approx.) Xtra Fine
Stamina: 330 min. continuous recording (with the optional NP-FV100, FH mode)
Interfaces: Accessory shoes; HDMI OUT jack; Stereo headphone jack; External stereo mic input jack; USB 2.0 (mini B / Hi-speed) jack; DC IN jack
Dimensions (D x H x W): 29.4 x 132 x 97 mm (inc. supplied lens and hood)
Weight (approx.): 1.3Kg (with SEL18200 lens, lens hood, NP-FV70 battery and Memory Stick Pro Duo)

Two more 7D screen protectors later I finally sold the 7D, but only after it had spent three years in the studio where the worst that could happen was a soft landing on the carpet. My Alpha 100 never got a protector but never seemed to get scratches on the LCD. Then the Alpha 700 arrived, and with its lovely hard coated screen I got the same sense of durability you get from glass.

Wrong again! After six months, my Alpha 700 screen was covered in a fine patina of scratches with one slightly visible one. The coating was suffering and I bought a clip-on Sony hard plastic protector. Unlike the 7D model, this one stayed put, but over the next two years of use became a rather scruffy impediment to screen reviewing.

From then on, I decided to put screen protectors on all our Alphas. The Alpha 200 got a thin layer design for mobile phones. It did the job perfectly. The Alpha 350 got a much thicker plastic which felt almost rigid when it was applied, and left we wondering whether it would come off cleanly. The Alpha 900 got a slightly more flexible feeling sheet with a similar not too glossy, slightly uneven surface.

The Alpha 380 was given a Fujifilm LCD protector from the local shop (packs of three, with a cleaning cloth, suitable for all screens around 2.7 to 3 inches). It was still on it in perfect condition when sold. The same pack of foils provided instant cover for the Alpha 550 although its screen and surround really demanded a slightly larger protector.

Then, in February, two things happened. I order some kit from Poland and the on-line store (Foto-Tip) also had GGS toughened optical glass screen protectors. I’ve seen these labelled as Giottos Schott glass protectors and various other makes, generally at around £20 each in the UK, and had my doubts about the idea of fitting adhesive glass to my camera. Also, Alpha fit types were not all that visible in the UK. But Foto-Tip had Alpha fit glass protectors for the A700, A900, A350 and even the A550 – all the Alphas we are currently using.

They were well under £10 each including postage – cheaper than plastic clip-on protectors, a bit more than most peel off films (which also tend to come in packs of two to three, though this is rarely made clear when advertised). So I ordered the entire set. You can see them above.

Before trying anything, I examined the screens and checked their reputation on-line. It seems that they consist of much the same laminated glass and polymer film sandwich which forms the hardened glass for professional Canon LCDs, and that the adhesive is an elastic optically clear gel made by 3M and very similar to that now being used for the intermediate layers in LCD assembly.

In other words, adding this would add a layer – but to the same standards as normal glass-faced LCD, without the superior coating found in a camera like the Canon EOS 7D.

Which camera to treat first came about when the second thing happened – the plastic protector foil on the Alpha 550 must have come loose on a corner, stuck to my jacket and pulled off. I returned from shooting outdoors to find the screen no longer protected, and the camera had been swinging around with zips, straps, other cameras and all kinds of scratch hazards. It was still perfect, fortunately.

Fitting the GGS to the Alpha 550

Using a microfibre cloth, I cleaned the 550 screen very carefully and followed the simple instructions. I left the top plastic protector in place, but they recommend you remove this before fitting as it makes alignment easier. Every GGS protector has a neat black printed edge frame with the camera name. This helps with handling, as if you do get a tiny edge of finger touching the adhesive gel, any resulting mark is hidden behind the black surround.

The Alpha 550 screen surface is slightly recessed. This helped greatly with the exact alignment of the very large cover glass, which goes beyond the image area of the screen and covers all the original plastic face of the panel. There is a shaped edge to match the indent in the rectangle, and a hole in the black frame for the activity light to show.

Alignment was very easy indeed with the rigid screen – far more so than with flexible foils. The adhesion was instant, and perfect, without a single bubble. Unlike a foil, this optically plane sheet doesn’t trap air and even if you did get a dust speck in the sandwich, the gel glue surrounds it without an air pocket.

The thickness of the glass leaves the screen now slightly raised, not slighly sunk, but the edge is beautifully ground and polished so that there is no question of a sharp encounter with your nose or hands. The old foil protector had never reallty been totally clear and was always visible; the GGS protector, though lacking a multilayer coating, improves visibility in daylight compared to a plastic protector.

The perfect flatness of the glass and perfect fit to the camera make a very rewarding finished job. Does it void the warranty? Will it ever be removable? Will the 3M glue layer go yellow with age, or harden and lose contact? Will the screen crack if hit – or will the extra layer stiffen the overall assembly and reduce the risk of damage?

It’s such a permanent-looking and feeling job that I may never find out. GGS say the screen may need to be gently heated, and eased off using a scalpel blade.

The other Alphas

The Alpha 700 had a patinated LCD – six months of unprotected use. Careful cleaning minimised this. The GGS glass screen fits neatly, with its whole thickness adding to the screen which starts flush with the camera. The edge, again, does not feel likely to cut or injure but it becomes the ‘hardest’ edge on the camera. Surprisingly, the adhesive gel seems to remove any the visible blotchiness of the hard coating along with the fine scratches. The single most visible small mark on the screen remains just visible.

While the added glass layer can not improve reflections or viewing conditions, it beats the clip-on plastic shield through which everything was diffused before. The Sony name at the bottom of the screen is now hidden, but can be glimpsed refracted through the clear edge of the protector which sits proud of the surface.

Much the same applies to the Alpha 900, but the screen is slightly recessed (more like the A550) to start with and is changed to having a slightly proud edge once the glass is fitted. It is a bit neater than the A700. It’s recessed just enough to hide the Sony name at the bottom of the screen fully, it can’t be spotted through the side of the glass thickness.

Finally, the Alpha 350 has a thick plastic LCD protector as its outer layer and this stands well proud of the surround. My thought, which I still don’t dismiss entirely, is that this sheet looks as if it could be removed and replaced with the GGS glass. But I was not going to attack my Alpha 350 with a scalpel to find out. If you had a 350 with a cracked cover sheet, it could be worth trying.

With the GGS glass added, the 350 has a pretty ‘high build’ screen – the glass increases the thickness of it by about 50%. It is already pushed into your face compared to the A550, or any other Alpha, with the viewfinder eyepiece too far forward. The extra 0.3mm or whatever it is (I have not measured it) is just a little more ergonomic negativeness. But the edge still feels safe not sharp, the screen assembly appears to be given added rigidity, and I’m happy that this is a good permanent protection for an exposed and vulnerable LCD cover surface.

And…

At the same time, I was fitting my Nikon D5000 with a Delkin Silicon Skin. I just fancied giving my ‘car camera’ a bit of extra protection, and maybe some damping for better video sound. The silicon skin comes with a couple of screen protector foils.

Despite the LCD of this camera being kept face-to-camera (concealed) all the time, and rarely used except for video shooting, my careful cleaning and dusting did not prevent several dust spots and bubbles with the first protector foil. So I removed it, cleaned again, and fitted the second. Still one bubble – and it won’t go away!

That is one very big benefit of these GGS glass protectors. They don’t get bubbles, they are easily fitted with perfect straight alignment, and after a day’s use and handling I have found a quick polish restores a perfect surface. Hopefully, they will resist scratching for years not months, and never need to be prised off their host bodies.

- David Kilpatrick

But Sony may prove yet to be the tortoise – or perhaps to be Brer Rabbit. They could make the finishing line, the goal of a truly useful video DSLR, before Nikon/Canon/Pentax/OlySamPanny get there.

The dream of any camera maker is to sow a few dragons’ teeth and have fully armed warriors spring from the ground, something which Olympus has managed to achieve twice in succession, first with the E-1 and 4/3rds, then with the digital Pen and Micro 4/3rds.

Sony, ignoring Greek myths, has so far gone for the Celtic version and chucked the bones of its dead warriors (Minolta!) into the Cauldron of Bran to rise and fight again. As reanimated corpses go, the Alpha models so far have proved pretty lively. But in all good myths, whether Greek or Celtic, it’s the real live heroes who eventually win. Sony has a couple of real giants in the Alpha 900 and 850, but not much else until a true Alpha 700 successor arrives.

That is what PMA is said to have revealed – without a name, but with a mockup and some tentative specifications:

You may not think these studio packshots from Sony are very exciting. Think again. That, dear Alpha fan, is a magnesium alloy body shell. You can tell it’s built the same way as the Alpha 900 and 700 by the small screws visible outside the perimeter of the body lens mount, and the traditional strap lugs. If it’s not magnesium or mag alloy, it’s a new material to the range and it certainly is not the same stuff the A100-200-300-500 series is made of.

Inside this camera, as with the Canon EOS 550D, there are two activating motors not one. The mirror action and the shutter action are separate. That’s not the case with the recent sub-700 series Alphas which have used a single motor to drive a permanently hard-linked mirror-shutter cycle, a cost saving measure which simplifies assembly but rules out any chance of providing mirror lock up. There is every chance this camera will have MLU.

It also has a full AF mode switch, and a depth of field preview button (presumed, unless Sony has changed the function of the button in that position, which is unlikely); it has a Memory Recall position on the shutter dial. All this says, very clearly ‘A700-900 type internal design’ to match a solid metal, weathersealed exterior shell.

The format

My press information from Sony implies that the new HD-AVCHD CMOS sensor used in the DSLR models is exactly the same sensor as they are using in the EVIL models (the mock-ups above).

Sony press release wording:

In 2010 Sony will introduce a new ultra-compact camera with interchangeable lenses that teams “any time, anywhere” convenience with DSLR picture quality. Exhibited in early concept mock-up form at PMA, the camera features a newly-developed Exmor APS-C HD CMOS sensor. It will also support HD video recording using the efficient and high quality AVCHD format. Shown in mock-up form alongside the compact, easy-to-use new camera is a selection of compatible interchangeable lenses.

Mainstream DSLR range to grow further
Sony also confirms that the current α range will continue to grow with the introduction of further new mainstream DSLR models using the newly-developed Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and integrating HD video function with AVCHD format.

This seems to be a clear indication that it’s a new HD sensor and not the same as the A550. The term APS-C is hopeful, I have amended this post – my quick measurement in Photoshop of the sensor in the image above indicated (allowing extra for overlap of the mask) that it was 16:9 but I’ve since seen a head-on shot of the PMA mockup which shows it is 2:3 format as normal.

Video

The new camera will have HD video and probably won’t attempt to focus during filming; doing so is a red herring with cameras of this format anyway, as autofocus doesn’t even work reliably with regular camcorders. But it will probably autofocus rapidly from Live View, replacing QV autofocus with a contrast-detect system that actually works, especially when combined with Face Recognition. If it does allow AF during filming, the CZ 16-80mm lens shown fitted here might not be the best choice.

Or might it be OK? Try an Alpha body and work out where the body-driven focus sounds really come from. Some lenses are noisy. But I have just stuck my ear next to several, even vintage Minolta AF designs 25 years old, and turned the manual focus ring. Guess what? They are as quiet as SSM. All that Sony needs is a silent drive motor for the focus in the body, and the ZIP sound will disappear. There is absolutely no reason why a new AF motor generation using silent technology should not transform the apparently ‘noisy’ performance of body-driven optics.

Sony’s use of the AVCHD format is much publicised. So what? It doesn’t say it is the Lite flavour, so that means the camera is probably 1080p and that the files as saved to the memory card will be easily read via the card slots of Sony devices such as Bravia televisions or PlayStation, or played from the camera’s USB connection. It also means that some computer systems and portable players, digital photo frames or PDAs may need the video converting before they can play it.

Sony has almost certainly made sure the format shoots 1080/24p, the industry standard. But I think they have done much more than this. I think the A7xx will be the first video DSLR which allows you to capture a still frame while recording unbroken video, and to do so without a shutter actuation. It may be nothing more than a 1080p JPEG still, extracted and saved in  real time (Nikon allow saving of 720p JPEGs by reviewing the footage and selecting frames, in-camera, on the D3S).

But I think Sony’s recent experiments with auto image alignment (in the two-shot HDR function of the Alpha 550, etc) are a clue to what they may do to create higher resolution JPEGs than 1080p, without interrupting video recording. A software utility which can re-mosaic and conflate two or more video frames is already available:

http://photoacute.com/studio/guide/guide.html#video_import

I’m already using this software to create double resolution images from my A550 raw files – incredible 55 megapixel landscape and still-subject shots made using a set of exposures, with SSS switched on even on a tripod to ensure that each raw records the data slightly offset on the Bayer grid. The report on this will be in the Spring Photoworld magazine.

At the moment, pressing the shutter during filming on a Canon DSLR captures a full res image but interrupts the video and sound for about 1 second. Pressing the shutter on a Nikon DSLR terminates the video and captures a still frame. Sony will, I think, be the first maker to allow instant capture of a still frame during filming without interruption.

For many, the critical factor will be whether or not Sony provides a stereo mic/line input jack, and firmware to control the impedance, fixed gain or auto gain for this (and any built-in mic). Sound has been the Achilles Heel (sorry, Greek legends again!) of video DSLRs. Only the Nikon D3S so far allows external input with mic/line compatibility, and manual fixed gain. All Canon DSLRs to date have forced auto gain even for the external input – and not one of them is compatible with line sources (officially) making the use of external preamps or mixers a matching lottery.

Now if you think all this does not matter, all you want is a good DSLR, I know a nice patch of warm sand with plenty of ostriches to keep you company. I only shoot video on DSLR once every couple of months. When I want it, it’s great to have it. They cost me no more than non-video capable DSLRs and the inclusion of video has zero impact on the way they work as still cameras. I will welcome video on Alpha. I have the lenses for it and I’ll use it!

And the rest

The A7xx will allow studio shooting with Live View and AF, with auto gain to enable modelling lights. It will have its own LED video lighting system, with a new flashgun capable of either flash or a modelling-light/video strength continuous LED output. You will be able to see depth of field through the glass prism optical finder (no QV, no mirror prisms) or to perfect accuracy on the high resolution rear screen, and magnify the Live View image for critical focusing and d-o-f checking.

I’m almost prepared to bet that it will not support motordrive speeds faster than 5fps (or a minor variation on 5, such as 5.5fps) because the 7fps of the A550 was partly enabled by the hard-linked shutter mirror mechanism with its single motor, plus the fixed stop-down of the lens (which does not open and close repeatedly during 7fps shooting). But through the video function of the new HD sensor, Sony will enable some interesting high speed sequence options for stills, with capture speeds dependent on subsampled resolution taken directly from the CMOS. There has been a firm rumour for some time about a Sony prototype DSLR, seen in SE Asia and Australia, which could shoot something like 15fps at a usable resolution (6MP or thereabouts). So a feature like that would not surprise me.

There are new 24mm f/2 (prototype) and 500mm f/4 G (previsualisation) lenses on the way, which leaves another eight for Sony still to work on including a rumoured 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/2.8 Chinese plastic SAM duo. The nasty little 30mm f/2.8 SAM macro, by the way, turns out to be one of the best lenses I’ve ever used despite its horrible cheap skin and clunky focus motor. So if Sony does make 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/2.8 lenses for £199 apiece, do not dismiss them.

This camera will have a superb quality LCD overlay focusing screen like the Canon EOS 7D, maybe even losing the visible ‘wires’ of the Alpha 550 precursor. It will have one of the brightest viewfinders seen in an APS-C DSLR to date. Will the AF module be updated – along with a new in-body focusing motor that works in fully variable torque mode, silently?

Well, if I was a designer at Sony, all this would be happening.

The alternative would be to chuck some more bones in the cauldron and see what kind of zombie jumped out.

- David Kilpatrick

Sitting behind a desk in Scotland while Gary Friedman attends PMA on our behalf. Gary will trash all this errant speculation and provide the real story, extracted from Sony staff under duress (he carries a Xaphoon, it works every time!).

The Alpha System celebrates its Silver Jubilee or 25th Anniversary this month – though left uncelebrated by the inheritors of the Minolta AF legacy, Sony. They have no reason to draw fresh attention to the age of the system, as in four years they have taken it the same sort of distance that Minolta took the world’s first AF system in the late 1980s.

It’s not only Alpha’s 25th birthday. This is also the 25th birthday of modern AF SLR systems – all of them!

This is a multi-page article. See the links at the bottom of the page to Continue Reading after each page.

For Photoclubalpha and the historic Minolta Club of Great Britain, the anniversary does matter. A good many of you out there have been members since the launch of the system, often using the earlier SR and X manual focus systems before that. We still have a 1985 Minolta 7000AF and it’s still working just as it did when new.

25 years before the first Minolta SLRs appeared – a folding Minolta Six of 1935

I don’t mind showing my age to make a comparison. I was 11 in 1963 when I took my first pictures with an SLR camera. My father had bought himself a Pentax S3 – and the camera it replaced was 25 years old, a pre-war Zeiss Ikon Kolibri collapsible 16-on-127 model.

When the Kolibri was made, 127 was the ‘vest pocket’ format of choice. 35mm was on the rise, but 35mm SLRs had not yet arrived. They were as much a thing of the future as digital SLRs were when the Minolta 7000AF was launched.

But within that 25 years, there was hardly a single camera system made with interchangeable lenses that did not become obsolete. Only the ‘frozen assets’ of the cold war kept some systems, like the Exakta bayonet and the Praktina, alive. New brands were launched, from the British Wrayflex and Periflex to the Italian Rectaflex and many German oddities. It was not unusual for an entire system to be come and gone within a few years.

Even in the following quarter-century, the high years of the Japanese 35mm SLR, the succession of lens mount changes was bewildering. Independent lens makers like Tamron and Sigma were forced to make systems using interchangeable mounts not just because the public wanted it. A dozen or more mounts were made for every lens and in the 42mm screw thread fit alone there were endless variants – Praktica LLC (Pentacon Electric), Olympus FTL, Pentax ES and more.

It was more or less a 25-year cycle – the SR system was announced in 1958, and really got underway by 1960. It was to be another quarter century before the AF system arrived. We are now a further 25 years on – can we expect a totally new camera system, once again, in 2010?

Minolta’s SR bayonet mount, introduced in 1958/9, actually remained basically unchanged all the way through to 2005 when the last manual focus model, the X-370S, was available. It survives even now as a mount popular in China where the Seagull range from Shanghai Optical includes Minolta fit models. That mount only ever had one major revision, to add a linkage for open aperture TTL metering. The introduction of programmed exposure and shutter priority was cleverly enabled by using the existing design of lens mechanism and improving its accuracy, while adding a simple reference lug to the ƒ-stop setting ring.

Nikon’s 1959 F-mount proved similarly easy to improve without any basic modification. Both these bayonet mounts celebrated half a century of production in 2008/9 – another landmark, which Nikon was able to celebrate but Minolta of course could not.

There are 11 pages in this review, please use the Next Page navigation at the end of each page to continue reading. A sponsor link appears before the end of each page – “Get camera lenses at Shopping.com’s affordable deals.” Our thanks to Shopping.com for spotting and sponsoring this review!

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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The Alpha 500 is a 300/350 sized body and accepts the same NP-FM500H batteries as the Alpha 200, 300, 350, 700, 900 and 850 – not the smaller battery used in the Alpha 230, 330 and 380. As you can see from the overlaid image (matched exactly to lens mount size) the 500 is substantially bigger than the Alpha 380, with a much larger right hand grip and prism housing. A battery grip VG-B50AM accepts the same cells.

Until the press conferences – variously tabled between August 27th and September 2nd at locations round the world – this is the only apparently authentic image of the 500 to be found. The location is:

http://www.digitalkamera.de/Kamera/Sony/Alpha_500.aspx

In addition to Live View from the sensor with manual focus only, Face Recognition is offered (apparently) for up to eight faces. There is no reason why this needs to be linked to the main sensor; Face Recognition could be provided using the Quick AF Live View image.

This also includes the specifications in German, but there are a few suspicious details. For example, the ISO range is given as to 12,800 but no lower limit is stated. It is normal to put the bottom end as well as the top, whether it’s 50, 100, 200 or whatever. The CMOS sensor is not ‘qualified’ as being CMOS-R (back-illuminated) though the inclusion of ISO 12,800 would indicate a new sensor.

Remember – Sony created a CMOS 12.24 (final) megapixel sensor which they used in the Alpha 700. Since then, Sony has not used this sensor or its variants in any other camera. Nikon has used it in the D300, D90, D5000 and D300S (which I am testing at the moment, having used all these as they were released). Nikon still only gets ISO 6400 (as Hi 1.0) from this sensor, and a very good 6400 it is – but so is the 6400 from the Alpha 700. Nikon has not advanced to 12,800.

The pixel count of the Alpha 500 is shown as 4,272 x 2,848 which is exactly the same as the Alpha 700 and the larger figure given will be the active area pre-Bayer conversion. This is an exact match for the IMX-021 sensor as used in the Alpha 700; the Nikon D300S converts to 4,288 x 2,848. Such minor differences are normal and depend on the de-Bayer algorithm used, the amount of sensor set aside for calibration, the type of Low Pass filter. But it’s unusual for an entirely new sensor type to match an earlier one this precisely. So you may either count the information as suspect, or assume that the Alpha 500 sensor is a modified Alpha 700 sensor.

According to the German site, 5 fps is achieved (much as with the Alpha 700) but the shutter unit is limited to the 1/4,000th top speed found in the lesser camera models. A wider range of creative image styles in both sRGB and Adobe RGB colour space will be augmented by a built-in HDR function. This is listed in addition to DRO+ with 5 manual steps, as found in the 700. Auto bracketing is included, but what will matter is the extent of the bracketing and how this works with the HDR processing. The card media changes to a dual slot Memory Stick Pro Duo and Secure Digital drive, much like the Alpha 230-380 series.

The rear screen is a 230,000 pixel type, though stated to be 3 inch instead of 2.7 inch, and is tiltable. The remote IR control can be used, but there’s no indication of whether a wired remote socket is retained. There is an ‘album function for the management of pictures on a PC’. The built-in GN12 flash appears to have either the usual +/- over-ride, or perhaps manual setting. This is one of the best features of the Nikon D3000, a flash which can be set to 1/32nd power and used to trigger studio strobes.

The same site has Alpha 850 specifications:

http://www.digitalkamera.de/Meldung/Sony_Alpha_500_und_Alpha_850_fuer_APS_C_bzw_Vollformateinsteiger/5981.aspx

This site states definitely that the Alpha 850 has two Bionz processor like the 900 – this was always on the cards, and raises the possibility that more relaxed processing demands could have allowed Sony to improve the noise reduction and JPEG encoding stages. Other confident rumour-mongers state that the A850 image is identical to the A900. I say ‘wait and see’. The Nikon D5000 image quality is, after all, better than the D300 much to the annoyance of D300 owners. That’s what can easily happen with the next generation, even if it’s cut down in specs or a different model. The A850 might just perform better than the A900.

It looks as if the rugged mag exterior housing of the A900 might also have been modified – that Sony badge is fixed in a panel, where the 900 has the entire front of the prism as one casting. Perhaps the top plate is now a material similar to the Alpha 700.

Most of the remaining details on the German site are repeating specifications already present in the Alpha 900 even where the writer thinks these are new or changed. There is one possible exception. The CF Card and Memory Stick switching of the 900 is not remembered by the Memory positions 1, 2, 3 on the mode dial. The German text implies that in the Alpha 850, this has been changed so that the memorised setup includes the option to identify a specific card. This would be of great use when shooting RAW to one card and JPEG to another as the occasion demanded.

Clearly all the details are not known by Digitalkamera – they ask questions as to how the live view and face recognition functions work – but they appear to have a price, of just 50 Euros (£60, $100) more than the Alpha 380 for Alpha 500. There is no mention of the Alpha 550 but one intriguing reference from another source indicates that this model may be bundled with the vertical grip. Anothe rumour is that it will have 15 megapixels. Then there’s the CMOS-R discussion too. Perhaps the Alpha 550 will be considerably more expensive than the market-beating price indicated for the 500. Perhaps it will have CMOS-R, suited to a newly developed 15 megapixel sensor, and a vertical grip packaged with the kits – and perhaps it will have HD video recording as well as contrast-detect focusing from a sensor based live view.

A 920,000 pixel rear screen with improved articulation would be too much to hope for…

- DK

To see this you need the right image, very good colour vision and a good monitor. To measure it – or at least view the differences made – you need any program which allows a Difference or Subtraction calculation to be made between two identical file exports, one with ACR 5.4 and the other with ACR 5.5. You must make the 5.4 (or earlier) test export before installing ACR 5.5, as 5.5 is now updated via an installer program which removes the earlier version. The old method (download the plug-in, replace earlier copy manually by finding the right directory) was scrapped with the change from 4.x to 5.x; it also makes it difficult to install ACR 5.x on any system where CS4 or an equivalent up to date Elements installation is not present.

The DNG converter 5.5RC also automatically replaces earlier DNG converters resident in your Applications directory. If you want to keep these, move them before running the installer. These comments apply to Mac OSX, Windows may differ but Adobe tends to be consistent.

The differences are small, affecting all three channels (RGB) and can be seen in the two filetypes I have tested – Alpha 900 and Alpha 380. The Alpha 380 file was tested using a MacBeth Color Checker studio image, and the 900 file was an outdoor scene with lots of subtle green in grass which tended to render slightly yellowish in ACR 5.4, requiring more than the expected reduction in WB setting (relative to Auto or As Set) to neutralise. While the trend is not totally removed, for the same camera profile and default calibration there is a visible improvement in the grass colour.

To see the change in pixel values, the identical exports using 5.4 and 5.5 were opened in separate Photoshop windows, and Calculations was used to create a New Document using Difference as the operator. This appears black to the eye, but moving the Levels sliders (shown inset) quickly reveals the evidence. This is not an effect created by any other cause – doing a calculation using two copies of the same file also produces a black image, but Levels shows that there are no value differences detected:

With the A900 file, the extent of the differences detected on the histogram of the new document was roughly up to level 14 G, level21 R and level 47 B (as expected, changes to the way the green channels are processed has most effect on the R and B output). With the A380, the value range on the calculation document was to around level 36 G, 42 R and 47 B. This indicates that the values of some pixels are changed by as much as 47 (steps on 0-255 scale) (blue channel) when converting using ACR 5.5 compared to 5.4. However, the incidence of values changed by this amount is tiny. Most changes are in the order of 1 to 3 on the 0-255 scale, and the Difference calculation does not distinguish between insignificant shifts (in the high bit range) and important ones (anything happening in the darker tones).

You can download the Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter Release Candidate software free from:

http://labs.adobe.com/

You can download sample files (a reduced size 6 megapixel export from A900, and a full size 14 megapixel colour checker test from A380 – above, 5.5 conversion) from my pBase pages, and compare them yourself:

http://www.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick/image/116295636

This will take you to the first of four images. It is an AdobeRGB profiled JPEG and will appear yellowish and flat as viewed through sRGB default browsers. The second pair with the colour checker have been changed to sRGB and will look correct. They are much larger 14 megapixel images and also give a useful idea of the very accurate colour rendering associated with the Sony 14.2 megapixel CCD as used in the A350 and A380.

While I have not yet had a chance to assess ACR 5.5 and its changed Bayer conversion values on a wide range of files, it is possible that noise characteristics will be improved by the fine-tuning Adobe has done, and that ‘fixing’ the de-Bayer process brings with it other benefits.

- DK

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.

This lens is an excellent match for the Alpha 900, not only in size (comparable to the Sony 70-200mm SSM) but in the Zen black finish and overall heft. I make no apologies for testing the lens mainly in the A900, because it is in overall field coverage that the optical advances have been made. Both the Nikon (due to be replaced) and Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 designs are biased to APS-C/DX format, sacrificing some peripheral field resolution especially when pulled in to close focus range at 200mm.

The Sigma design not only has closer minimum focus (1m versus 1.2m for the Minolta-Sony design) but a much flatter focus field at this distance. While peak central resolution lags slightly behind the marque lenses, edge and corner sharpness is way ahead for studio product, flower, small animal, found object, large insect and similar close-range work. It can be argued that this type of work is irrelevant to a fast 70-200mm zoom. Well, not for me. I prefer my lens once fitted to handle all distances acceptably.

While the field is extremely flat, distortion is present, as can be seen in this carefully lined-up 200mm close focus study. But this is by no means excessive distortion for 200mm, especially at close range. Some correction in Photoshop deals with it anyway:

What you see here is ‘where the Minolta-Sony 70-200mm SSM could not go’ on the A900. The focus was not quite so close, and the loss of outer field sharpness made subjects as technical as this unsuitable. Nice soft flower shots with blurred outer fields were no problem, but they are fine with the Sigma 70-200mm too. It has good smooth bokeh, with a hint of ‘colour bokeh’ linked to a fairly high level of chromatic aberration. This is a sharply rendered deviation in image size between R, G and B channels and once corrected from raw using ACR or Lightroom is invisible. Despite the APO designation the Minolta 70-200mm is not free from CA either.

Users have made comparisons with the Tamron 70-200mm, which is claimed to be sharper wide open at 200mm. It may perhaps be so at infinity, but I have used it on the Canon 50D and obtained fairly noticeable halo effects at f/2.8, getting worse at closer focus. A typical example here shows the Tamron’s wide open sharpness on the EOS 50D at ISO 200:

The Tamron bokeh is very wiry, unlike the smooth Sigma bokeh, and personally I find the aberration halo harder to live with than the slightly soft wide open image of the Sigma which is free from this kind of ‘glow’.

The Sigma lens uses a total of five ELD/SLD (low dispersion) elements within a complex 18-element design, and that indicates a high order of correction as their target. Assembly quality constraints probably account for any shortfall, and I have no reason to consider the Tamron assembly any more or less consistent than Sigma’s.  I don’t have any exact or similar Sigma comparison, but here is a good example of a close-up at full aperture – not in ideal lighting, or it would not have been shot wide open:

This is a 100% detail of the file without any sharpening applied for web. The full picture is:

This may also give you some idea of the bokeh of the lens, and the extremely limited depth of field at f/2.8. Both Tamron and Sigma are the same price in the UK. I bought the Sigma, after testing it earlier on Nikon D3, which allowed me to see how it handled the close-up range. I also bought the 2X HSM converter (though I notice that almost two months after I did so, there are still posts around claiming that no compatible converters are available!). I have tested several third party converters with the HSM lens, and none work – not even the 8-contact digital Teleplus models. They transmit the functions, but the lens hunts and jitters wildly. The actual Sigma converter seems essential to handle the protocol correctly.

How good is the converter and lens combo? If you study the Sigma MTF charts, you’ll see that the central (APS-C) area is still much better for MTF than the edge, and that 200mm is proportionately less good than 70mm. Well, adding a 2X converter will only blow up that ‘better’ central area – but it’s also only of use in the 100-200mm range of the lens (200-400mm with the 2X). Surprisingly, the converter seems to exceed theoretical magnified resolution. Work around f/8-f/11 (sensible with any converter) and very fine detail gets resolved. It’s most effective for close work, producing an overall 1:1.75 scale from the lens’s native 1:3.5, already an impressive close up ratio.

It’s at 300mm, f/11, with the converter. But that is not really the main use of 2X on a 70-200mm. Take cricket (or if you are from a non-cricketing nation, puzzle about the appeal of cricket!). The photographer can not be closer than the boundary line, which means that on full frame, a 600mm is the perfect lens for shots of the batsman or bowler. Here is a 200mm view:

This is all you get by way of scale from the closest possible viewpoint. It’s on the A900, so of course an A700 would show a larger crop. ISO 320 and f/5 allowed 1/500th shutter speed by early evening light, this was in the last few balls of the match. I do not use motordrive (continuous 5fps + C-AF), normally single shot, and to get this and my other sample pic I only took two frames. These are all I shot. I passed this match as the last three balls were being bowled. Here is what the Sigma produced at 100%:

That’s from raw without any sharpening for web. What may surprise is the next shot, taken with the 2X converter and bumping up the A900 to ISO 640:

Again, the very fast response of the A900 – about as close to a real-time SLR like the old Contax RTS as you can get from an AF DSLR – helped a single timed shot catch the right moment. Here is a 100% size clip from the 2X converted image (400mm equivalent):

You can see there’s a bit of hazy glow here at one third of a stop down (f/6.3. But in the original TIFF before saving the file for web viewing, the Sabre name on the bat is better rendered. Putting it simply, the 2X converter is adding to the lens, not just blowing up what you might get if you shot at 200mm and used Genuine Fractals. I now use the converter a lot. I also hang the entire rig off the A900 body. I checked repeatedly to see whether the near 1500g weight was pulling on the lens mount spring, and it doesn’t. I support the lens most of the time, but don’t worry if I need to strap-dangle it for a while. It is not too big, with or without converter, or too heavy to hang loose.

Here is an example of the lens used in the studio, at 200mm, stopped fown to f/18 (I need to get my studio flash heads changed for ones with lower power options). It shows the Gold, Silver and Bronze ‘Oskar’ awards given by the Master Photographers Association each year in their annual awards, and was commissioned for their trade and member flyer literature and website. The 200mm angle stacks up the three statues neatly.

This is also destined to be made into 2m high pop-up displays, which the 24MB file from the A900 will handle perfectly.

The Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 new design is, as far as my money goes, the best current 70-200mm short of the Canon 70-200mm (which is not available in Sony fit!). I have now been using it on many different subjects, and it’s had plenty of chances to reveal weakness. It has not done so. It is perhaps a touch less crisp centrally than the Sony equivalent, but it is well under half the price (in the UK, more like a third of the price). The HSM focusing is considerably faster than Sony SSM, and this is not always a good thing as the lens has no focus limiter and can do a quick 100 yard sprint if it does miss the target. It’s as quiet as the Sony, and the whole thing feels pretty solid. The rear zoom control falls under the hand very neatly, placed close to the camera, and the focus ring is soft-decoupled so you get full-time DMF and no risk of interfering with the AF unless you want to. Additional note: I have been testing the 18-250mm Sigma OS HSM for Sony, and the HSM in this does not decouple, no manual adjustment is possible without switching to MF. Do not assume that because the 70-200mm HSM allows ‘DMF’ or ‘full time manual focus’, all other Sigma HSMs for Sony will do the same.

It comes with an excellent semi-rigid padded fabric case, shoulder strap, tripod mount (detachable, 1/4 inch thread only) and deep lens shade. The front rim is non-rotating and accepts 77mm filters.

No lens of this type is small but believe it or not, it is 1cm shorter than the Tamron and over 2cm shorter than Nikon’s black beauty.

It makes a great landscape lens as well as a portrait, sports or concert lens – I have yet to try it in a concert situation and prefer to use small glass!

So, to sum the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM up:

It focuses closer than any other 70-200mm except the Tamron, and maintains a flatter field across full frame at close range. While performance of this lens will be perceived as comparable to the Sony 70-200mm at longer ranges, it offers a significant improvement at closer portrait to ‘macro’ distances.

The HSM focusing is noticeably faster than Sony’s SSM. It is incompatible with third party teleconverters even if eight contacts are present. When used with the dedicated Sigma converter(s), focus speed is not reduced and in absence of any focus limiter this can result in overshooting and hunting with difficult targets. The lack of a focus range limiter is the one single omission which reduces the functionality of the Sigma most.

Central resolution wide open at 70mm-120mm is of a very high order, with a slight loss towards the edges accompanied by visible CA. From 120-200mm, the centre and edge sharpness is more consistent but lower overall and CA is strong, requiring both red/cyan and yellow/blue corrections (typically around -40 in ACR, slightly less Y/B than R/C). Stopping down to f/4 brings the 120-200mm quality more into line with the 70-120mm range, and by f/5.6 sharpness exceeds the A900 sensor requirement across the frame at any focal length. Benefits of using aperture f/8, f/11 are mainly from increased depth of field. Settings smaller than f/11 (f/13-f/22) lose crispness as diffraction limits resolution.

Bokeh is excellent especially for close-ups at 200mm, with some visible colour effects tinting focus transitions before and behind the focus plane. Colour transmission is slightly warm with a yellow bias, not unlike old Minolta glass. Contrast is high at 70mm to moderate at 200mm at f/2.8, improving to very high at all focal lengths by f/8. Distortion shows very slight barrel at 70mm changing to variable but low levels of pincushion between 100mm and 200mm, a neutral point being somewhere around 85-100mm depending on focus distance. Vignetting is present, mainly affecting the extreme corners of the image only at the long end; it is not completely removed by stopping down.

Optical performance with the 2X converter tested is better than would be expected, with minimal CA (see below) and very slightly increased pincushion distortion. The converter is best used two stops down (working aperture f/11) for critical sharpness, or 1/3rd stop down (f/6.3) for acceptable results where the widest aperture is demanded.

Raw shooting is strongly advised to get the best from this lens, as the CA and vignetting can be fully corrected usin Adobe Camera Raw (in CS4 environment, sadly not in Elements) or Lightroom. It is possble to remove the CA from JPEGs using Photoshop’s Lens Distortion filter. Just to clarify, I also found CA was present from the Minolta 70-200mm design (equally removable) and that the Minolta Apo D 2X converter markedly increased CA.

The f/2.8 maximum aperture automatically switches on the central f/2.8 AF sensor of the Alpha 900 and 700, improving focus accuracy and speed of lock-on by 2X (the same applies to the Canon version used on Canon semi pro and pro bodies). There is no benefit on A100-A380 or KM7D/5D models. This does not affect low light focus limits, the f/2.8 sensor has exactly the same light level sensitivity as the regular sensors. It only affects accuracy (rangefinder base). Our lens does not need any micro AF adjustment on the Alpha 900.

Lens Construction: 18 Elements in 15 Groups
Angle of View: 34.3 – 12.3 degrees
Number of Diaphragm Blades: 9
Minimum Aperture: f/22
Minimum Focusing Distance: 100cm
Maximum Magnification: 1:3.5
Filter Size: 77mm
Diameter 86.6mm; Length 184mm
Weight: 1345g with tripod collar attached
SRP: £799.99 inc VAT (UK)

Walkaround tele

I have never been a real fan of 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms. I had the original 80-200mm f/2.8 AF Minolta which was wonderful, but at a time when I needed to work with rollfilm and 35mm together and tried to keep my 35mm system small and light (eventually opting to use two Minolta CLE bodies and abandon SLRs completely for travel). In 2006, I bought a Minolta 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM and converter, but the 105mm-300mm equivalent crop of the Alpha 100 and 700 made it a special purpose lens. Also, the £2000+ price at the time (now officially £1849 in the UK, but sold by SonyStyle for £1549) put me off just fitting the lens for everyday use.

The Sigma and Alpha 900 combined have changed that. The 900 is ‘medium format’ as far as results go – there is no need to carry two systems, or indeed two bodies, though any responsible digital photographer should always have a second DSLR available when travelling or working on assignment, if not two spares. The lens is the same price as my 70-300mm SSM G and gives noticeably sharper results though lacking the range. So, for the first time, I’ve started leaving the 70-200mm on the body and using it every day. By the way, those are Miniature Dobermann Pinschers encountered during the Kelso dog show week and quickly grab-shot as their owner walked towards me.

- David Kilpatrick

Footnote: since posting this review, I have looked at the dPreview test. I try to avoid looking at other tests before writing, as it can prejudice my assessment. I can only suggest that dPreview have never used other 70-200mms at ‘macro’ range, as the problems they identify simply have not been apparent in my shots. Maybe the 2X converter magically corrects the aperture-related focus shift, but I suggest there is a more subtle reason. They tested the Sigma on a Nikon body. Nikon does not use f/2.8 AF sensors – all their sensors work at a virtual aperture of f/5.6. Therefore, the focus is always correct for f/5.6 only. Yet they found the f/2.8 results apparently agreed with the AF, which is impossible using the Nikon body! Sony A700 and A900, Canon 5D, 5D MkII, and all 1D series have f/2.8 sensors which means they focus perfectly at full aperture.

This should mean that I would experience an even worse focus shift on stopping down at close range. This has not happened. The colour bokeh they mention is present, but it is cleared by normal CA adjustment. They appear to have found a fault with the lens at macro (minimum) focus when the truth is that is exceeds the performance of all other 70-200mm designs at this range.

This an f/2.8 closest focus shot from the Minolta 70-200mm SSM at 200mm, and it was taken on an Alpha 700. The curvature of field is clearly visible (softness to the outer zone), and I can assure you, it gets much worse on full frame! I did not come to reviewing the Sigma in ignorance of the weaknesses of other more expensive lenses. You can believe whatever test sites, equipped with targets and standardised lab procedures, that you wish. I used to do that stuff 20 years ago for magazines, and eventually realised that it did not tell the whole story very well. Today I take a few pix and look at them. Simple practical results can tell you more than any amount of procedural testing. That is not to say you should ignore chart-testing, and I hold a couple of German tech-lab test experts in high regard.

In reply to one of the comments below, I am adding this simple diagram which shows the effect of a curved focus plane combined with an out-of-parallel sensor. The curve, and the angle, are both very exaggerated here (a sensor 2 degrees out of true would be useless). The grey represents the acceptable depth of focus at the sensor plane – if the black line, the actual focus plane of the lens, falls within this grey zone the image will look sharp. You can see that the effect of the curved field and the out-of-true sensor in this case produce a small zone of poor sharpness to the right as seen, but with improved sharpness at the extreme right (this would be degraded by other aberrations, so the image might or might not appear equal to the middle or the adjacent zone). At the left, you will see that the curved field deviates considerably from the sensor plane and falls well outside the depth of focus. Combined with aberrations and vignetting, this will show a markedly unsharp ‘end’ of the picture.

You won’t find this diagram in textbooks because it is not part of received knowledge. It is based on observation and deduction. If any optical expert would like to challenge it, please go ahead. You may also wish to consider what happens with any lens with a curved field (that means most lenses, at one focus distance or another) when an AF-sensor module is not perfectly collimated – these can also be set at an angle. – DK 16/7/09

Backing this up was probably the best line-up of personnel you could expect to find. Paul Genge, running the live demonstrations, is beginning to reveal himself as a bit of a spiritual successor to a man he never knew – Minolta’s legendary Dick Bryant. He is discovering photographers for Sony, and nurturing them. In conversation on the stage, he made the business of presenting work easy even for those like Gustav Kiburg (kingfisher) with English as a second language. As Duncan McEwan said, Paul put his interview and demo partners totally at ease, and the result was a four-day programme of shows which worked perfectly.

This shot gives a very wrong impression of the audience! Most of the time it was impossible to get to a place to take a shot, so I had to wait until my second day of the show and at the very end of the day. Michael Wayne Plant was demonstrating tungsten lit beauty portraiture with the Alpha 900, and the aid of a large Bravia screen tethered shooting arrangement:

This is what an HDMI connection can do! Paul is pointing to the screen and asking Michael whether he always sets RAW+JPEG; Michael is about to reply with praise of Capture One v4 software, which he actually uses to give his raw processed shots a unique look (something very easily done by saving presets in C1).

Other guest speakers included Duncan McEwan and Gustav Kiburg, featured in the last edition of Photoworld. Here we have Gustav showing me his superb stack of A3 mounted prints, made by a Netherland photo lab using Fuji Pearl base paper (a kind of opal-metallic base, which looks amazing with those feather colours):

On the last day of the show, Gustav learned he had won the Photo of the Year from Dyxum.com, the Dynax-Maxxum AF system enthusiast website – http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=43032

Like all my shots here in the Stand, the portrait was taken using the HVL-F58AM flipped up for bounce with the little reflector card pulled out – an effect quite different from direct flash. On the stand, there was also an exhibition of prints:

And, of course, there were the 16-35mm and 70-400mm – the most sought-after new lenses – to be handled and viewed through on Alpha 900 bodies, plus many staff including Bernard Petticrew (ex Minolta) manning desks with more examples of the gear.

It was also on sale at the show, primarily through two dealers – Cameraworld and Jacobs. At the Cameraworld stand, I encountered this visitor carefully noting down the prices of stuff against his selected list of items. After he went, one of the sales staff said if he’d handed the list over, they would have knocked even more off the total!

This is a shot taken on my £90, 25-year-old Sigma focus confirm M-AF mount 16mm fisheye (like the uncorrected shots above) put through Pantools transform to cylindrical perspective. That’s a 70-400mm in the top right for £999 and a 16-35mm for £1099 next to it. Did I buy? No! I will admit these lenses are too big and serious for a roaming snapshooter like me (in my zoom lens guise). For serious stuff in the studio, primes do even better, and I have those.

But I did find in Cameraworld’s cabinet a 1.4X Teleplus 300 DG converter, secondhand, labelled “Mount?” and £60. It was clearly an Alpha mount, so I asked to look at it, and sure enough it even said M-AF on the side. £60 was handed over, and on returning home, I found that this high-end converter fits my 70-300mm SSM lens and permits AF without technical problems. The f/8 working aperture at the longer end requires reasonable light to focus, and for the focus limiter switch to be on.

Jacobs’ stand was even more packed with bargains:

I know you will be frustrated by this – all those boxes and no prices you can read! Try clicking the pic…

But here’s a late edit to console you – you might have been looking at the Calumet stand, with its desultory handful of beaten up old Alpha 100 boxed kits selling for prices no-one would contemplate today:

(about 50% higher than prices for similar new, pristine boxed A200 kits!)

As ever, I didn’t have enough time at the show – but not because two days is not enough. With the number of stands, and the people I know, it would be easy to spend two weeks doing what really is needed to learn about everything new.

Duncan McEwan said he had been on the Sony stand nearly all the time – hardly any chance to see the show. On the third day, they printed up a sign and opened a counter area for the featured photographers to talk to visitors. While the big draw on the Sony stand could have been equipment, it ended being photography, and photographers.

Here’s a goodbye shot of Duncan and Gustav – and those figures you can see in the background are other photographers from the lecture programme, talking to people over the counter.

Focus on Imaging ends at 6pm Wedneday February 25th, one day remaining after I post this. Though the show offers are only available at the show, I can not imagine that any dealer like Jacobs if telephoned would refuse an offer based on reading a report of the show and seeing their stock.

I also bought a £300 Alpha 350 body from Cameraworld (£299 at Jacobs, my error!) and an FA-HS1AM flash adaptor for some tests I need to run. I failed to buy a £99 vertical grip for the Alpha 350 from Jacobs, I just was not looking hard enough – and I had to resist buying one for the A900, and adding a second HVL-F58AM flash to my kit. Judging from the bags leaving the show, others had more money to budget than I did!

- David Kilpatrick, February 24th 2009, back in Scotland after a four and a half hour drive.