Anything new from Sony at Focus?

[Philip]

David,

Thanks for your initial report from Focus 09, but did Sony announce/hint at anything new for the Alpha system such as a flash controller, macro flash, new lenses etc.?

Philip

[David Kilpatrick]

Nothing - and clearly, no chat about anything to our regulars like Duncan McEwan - lots of photographers were on the stand a lot of the time, but Paul was busy just about every minute - I didn't have a chance to speak to him even at the press reception, because he didn't manage to make it to that!

I guess they see the 70-400mm and 16-35mm as new launch items.

David

[Philip]

Thanks. That will be a little disappointing for some I'm sure. However congrat's on getting some real bargins while there. Just out of curiousity, what were the 58 flashes selling for?

Philip

[bossel]

What about PMA - any announcements expected there?

[David Kilpatrick]

Thanks. That will be a little disappointing for some I'm sure. However congrat's on getting some real bargins while there. Just out of curiousity, what were the 58 flashes selling for?

Philip

£299

[TallPaul]

Yeah some good deals, I could not make it Sunday and not afford the time of work for a day trip

£30 for FM55 battery (Jacobs picture) was a good deal, can I ask what the FA-HS1AM was going for? Did you see any good deals on vertical grips for the A900, £99 for the A350 sounds like a steal... the A900 grip seems to be going up fast and out of stock in a lot of places all of a sudden! Sony getting some traction with studio shooters who won't pay for D3x it seems!

[David Kilpatrick]

Vertical grips for A900/700 were £269 I think, same price for each, with an additional battery included. The FA-HS1AM was £80 but mine goes back to Jacobs for a refund. It is a joke. It is not made by Sony, it's made from them by Godo Co. Ltd, Japan; it lacks any contacts in the top for legacy Minolta flash such as the 80PX or 1200AF ringflashes and therefore can not transmit a flash ready signal; it only has two pins in the Sony shoe, and also can not provide a flash ready signal, which means it is useless for enabling studio flash with the A300/A350 live view mode - and not much use with any camera using a manual flash except in Manual mode. There seems to be no point at all to having a battery powered circuit inside it and overall, it's an insult in price, design, purpose and specification.

The old Minolta FS-1100 original is a far more useful bit of kit, with a full conversion from PX/AF unit flash ready protocols to the new bodies, enabling you to do things like use Aperture Priority with a manual ringflash and have the camera automatically revert between flash sync speed and whatever is needed for ambient light - allowing the use of normal or slow sync options with older flash, etc etc.

I plan to photograph the FA-HS1AM before returning it and I'll post a blow-by-blow account of why it is almost entirely useless - especially as it is labelled for use with wireless flash triggers!

David

[Philip]

Unfortunately Jacob’s wouldn’t match show prices when I enquired about the flashgun – shame. Makes your bargains look even better David.

Philip

[Allam2009]

Did you happen to catch Alonso Diaz on the stand (don't want to be seen to be blowing my own trumpet but he was my discovery)?

[David Kilpatrick]

Did you happen to catch Alonso Diaz on the stand (don't want to be seen to be blowing my own trumpet but he was my discovery)?

No, I didn't meet Alonzo. I think he was probably not on the stand, or Duncan and Gustav would have introduced him.

David

[TallPaul]

Thanks for your insight David, I agree that the lack of the basic FS-1100 and FS-1200 are totally ridiculous, I recently bought an umbrella and cheap lighting stand for playing around with portraits with a 56AM flash (via off camera cable as I have an A900) and I am not sure the standard plastic foot will last long - all I need is a FS-1200 so I can make a secure mount to the stand but looks like i need to buy a cheap ebay item. I am sure it will work and many on here use them, but if Sony are to compete with this proprietary hot shoe they need to re-introduce these adapters, and a cheap way for A900 owners to fire off camera flash with no onboard flash available.

Glad to hear the grip deals were not that great... from a selfish point of view of course!

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the FA-HS1AM, I just sold a PCT-100 through Dyxum and I could not understand how Sony could want £100+ for the FA-HS1AM. When looking at radio triggers recently I decided that there is no benefit other than convenience of a hot shoe mounted trigger as the adapters lack all but the two pins for ground and trigger as you say, and you may as well use a PC Sync cable and some gaffa tape...

[bfitzgerald]

So if the FA-HS1AM is a waste of cash, and one does not run across a Minolta FS-1100

What are the alternatives?? If any..loads of 3rd party ebay jobs around..anything worthy of consideration??

[David Kilpatrick]

There are some which claim full four-contact compatibility (I have one which only has two contacts - and it therefore useless for rigging up anything like a 4000AF or 1200AF). I plan to pay for one tonight, they are only a few dollars. I want to see how difficult it can be to make a proper adaptor with a 5v signal to auto-set the camera to flash mode when using a wireless slave.

David

[braeside]

We discussed this a while ago, some of the '4 contact' eBay adaptors are in fact only wired for 2 contacts as I found out.
http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/vie ... &sk=t&sd=a

[NevHi]

Rather than star a new thread, and in continuation of another thread which was recently locked. Some future features in SONY cameras.

Sony's CyberShot DSC-HX1 camera gets official, coming March for $500
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/sony ... h-for-500/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
by Ross Miller, posted Mar 2nd 2009 at 8:51PM



Sony Presents First Cyber-Shot Camera With Sweep Panorama Technology
http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent. ... 538&EDATE=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAS VEGAS, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- (PMA #F171), Sony is spotlighting its first digital still camera to feature sweep panorama technology here at the Photo Marketing Association confab. The new HX1 Cyber-shot model can take 224-degree panorama shots in one easy press-and-sweep motion.

It is also the company's first Cyber-shot camera to use the exclusive 1/2.4-inch Exmor(TM) CMOS sensor technology. This technology allows it to achieve burst speeds of 10 frames per second at full 9.1 megapixel resolution in continuous burst mode.

Setting it apart from most digital still cameras, which use an electronic shutter to achieve high speed, the HX1 unit has a mechanical shutter that helps reduce distortion when shooting a moving subject.

Compared to images shot with traditional sensors, the HX1 model takes clearer images with about 50 percent less noise when in handheld twilight or anti-blur modes. It is also the first Cyber-shot camera to include a Sony G lens and 1080p HD movie clip recording capabilities.

"Traditional CMOS sensor technology provides higher shutter speeds, but we are using what we call an Image3 system that combines the best image, sensor and processor," said Karim Noblecilla, senior product marketing manager in Sony Electronics' Digital Imaging Division. "By combining this sensor with a high-quality Sony G lens and powerful BIONZ(TM) processor, we are able to create solutions beyond fast speed that helps consumers get better pictures."

Incorporating on-chip A/D conversion, which minimizes image degradation that can occur during analogue processing, Noblecilla said the Exmor CMOS sensor delivers outstanding images, reduces noise and can continuously shoot at a high speeds.

Clear Images in Low Light or for Moving Subjects

Compared to cameras with traditional sensors, the HX1 model has two scene modes that significantly reduce noise. Using the high-speed shutter Exmor CMOS sensor technology, the new model takes six shots within a fraction of a second. Combined with the power of the BIONZ imaging processor, it immediately superimposes them into one picture. The camera calculates the position of objects in each frame and composes the sharpest picture possible, resulting in clearer, sharper images.

The two modes that use this functionality include hand-held twilight and anti-motion blur. For difficult shots in low light, the hand-held twilight mode results in clearer and sharper pictures without the need of a tripod. Anti-motion blur uses High ISO to reduce blur especially in dimly lit environments.

To reduce blur, the camera detects if a person or object is moving, or if the camera is shaking, which is likely when taking a telephoto shot. When it superimposes the images, the camera captures the moving subject or object from one of the six shots. It takes, combines and composes the rest of the image using the six shots. This reduces blur on the main subject and results in a sharp, clear background.

Sweep Panorama Technology

Capturing wide landscapes, church spires or skyscrapers is as easy as "press and sweep." Sweep panorama mode lets you reach beyond the traditional wide-angle lens and capture breathtaking shots. With wide and ultra-wide settings and horizontal or vertical directions, sweep panorama mode can take up to 224-degree horizontal or 154-degree vertical shots.

Using the fast-speed Exmor CMOS sensor, the camera continuously shoots full-resolution images at a high speed. Using the BIONZ imaging processor, it automatically stitches the pictures together to create one stunning panoramic photo. The maximum resolution is 7152 x 1080 (ultra wide horizontal).

"This panorama mode is so seamless that it removes the guess work," Noblecilla said. "The camera indicates where you are in the degree range, so you know how wide you can shoot and stitches the photos automatically. It calculates and aligns pictures for you without using additional software."

1080p HD Movie Recording

The HX1 camera captures movie clips in 1080p HD resolution, and a built-in stereo microphone records crisp, clear audio. The camera's wide 20x optical zoom is also available while shooting.

When set to HD movie, it records at 30 frames per second (1440 x 1080). The camera uses the high-quality, high-compression MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format. Other recording options include standard-definition video and VGA.

The camera also has HDMI(TM) connectivity via supplied HDMI accessory (cable not included) so images can be shared in high definition on an HD television set. MPEG4 AVC video recording allows you to view footage on a PC and upload it to the Web.

Sony G Lens

The Sony G lens is optimized to complement the advanced image sensors and image processing technology in Sony's cameras. The HX1 camera features a 28-560 millimeter f/2.8-5.2 wide-angle lens with 20x telephoto range. With the combination of this G lens and sweep panorama mode, the camera can cover almost any telephoto and wide angle need.

Containing a six-blade aperture, the G lens produces beautifully defocused backgrounds with a soft, natural feel. A-spherical lens elements and elements made from extra-low dispersion glass combine to minimize chromatic aberration common to high-magnification lenses.

Intelligent Auto

Like many of Sony's new cameras this year, the HX1 model has the convenient and powerful intelligent auto mode, which combines Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN), Optical SteadyShot(TM) and face detection technologies. It recognizes scenes and lighting conditions within one-thirtieth of a second, and then changes settings. This produces clearer images with more natural skin tones, reduced red-eye, fewer closed-eye shots and less overall blur without compromising image quality.

The iSCN feature detects up to eight scenes and automatically changes settings that will apply to the scene or lighting conditions. With the iSCN Advance feature, the camera takes a second shot when low or backlight is detected, letting users choose the best picture.

With face detection technology, the camera will adjust the flash, focus, exposure and white balance producing more natural skin tones and reducing red-eye. Face motion detection identifies a moving subject and adjusts the ISO to minimize blur. In conjunction with iSCN, the camera takes two pictures simultaneously and saves the one in which the eyes are the least closed.

A new selected-face memory function registers one face (selected by the user) as the main face and adjusts focus, exposure, flash and white balance accordingly. The camera remembers the face every time that face shows in the frame.

Additionally, the camera comes with Smile Shutter technology that helps capture a smile the moment it happens and dynamic range optimizer (DRO) technology that adjusts for contrast.

Pricing and Availability

The Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 camera will be available in April for about $500 and pre-sales will start in March. The camera and a range of accessories will be available online at sony style.
SOURCE Sony Electronics Inc.