In-body focus motors...

[ianmiddy]

A response to a thread by Barry Fitzgerald caught my eye:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read. ... e=28786155

Any thoughts on if/when we'll see a Sony equivalent ?

...and if Live-View is improved [within the same time-frame] so that we have something like the Sony AF method, but with the ability to zoom in for manual focus with old screw-drive glass, will it matter quite so much ?

Cheers

IDM

[David Kilpatrick]

Actually, Sony has already announced that all CZ lenses will be converted to SSM in the next generation - which will mean an SSM 16-80mm, 85mm f1.4, etc. The dPreview forum is unaware of this as no-one has really flagged it up properly (the information comes from a Korean site, and seems plausible). Everyone was surprised when these lenses were not SSM to start with.

I don't think Sony will be so quick to drop body drive. The Nikon and Pentax body-drive mechanisms were/are both really clunky and slow compared to the Minolta/Sony body drive (though nothing was ever worse than the Yashica AF mechanical drive). Sony's current in-body drive is much faster than SSM with certain lenses, and definitely faster in obtaining a first focus lock from a long transit shift, even with the new 70-300mm or the 70-200mm classic. Once locked, SSM is much better at making fine shifts and tracking focus. But it is not a faster solution, just a finer solution. In short focal length lenses it may eventually be faster too.

David

[ianmiddy]

I don't think Sony will be so quick to drop body drive.

I hope so - much as I'd like some of the CZ glass and the 70-200, there are [for me] two things against

(1) My Wallet hiccup!

(2) I really wouldn't want to give up the colours and OOF most of the first-gen Minolta glass gives

Still, hopefully there'll be A350/A700s around for a while after my current bodies give up the ghost, and by the time those die chances are we'll all be talking about PP'ing techniques for gigapixel holograms, the way progress is going...

Cheers

IDM