All future Alphas will be SLT!!!???

[Greg Beetham]

I'm not desperate to bash the 'A77' Mike_2008, I haven't even mentioned the 'A77', just the desperation of Sony to eliminate OVF's for no other reason than some maybe pot of gold at the end of a rainbow...for now.
That argument of yours that Sony had to SLTerise the SLR range 'or perish' has got hairs on it, it wouldn't matter what camera Sony had for sale; Sony would find a way of stuffing it up either in the manufacturing stage or the distribution/marketing stage....whatever. Sony is it's own worst enemy.
Anyway we'll see how the 'A77' stacks up in due course, if it's not [top secret] forever that is...maybe we could all just make.believe that we have an A77 for another X months until it actually does appear for real.

peterottoway, a question without notice, if your A700 had the latest sensor in it, which one would you use then?
Greg

[bfitzgerald]

There is no question the A77 will be good none at all so we don't need to mock it at all. Sony will throw as much as they can in there to bag users we already know they'll play the big megapixel card 24mp is said to be the spec for it no question high fps and I'm even sure they'll let you use P shift at this price too!

They might even get around to some proper customisation too (though I doubt it)

Problem is if you don't like electronic viewfinders you'll probably just pass and as Sony won't offer an OVF model you won't have a choice in the matter. As we can see on this Dyxum thread it's not going down that well with some users:
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/sony-confir ... page1.html

There is no doubt Sony will risk losing a significant number of users some might say new ones will make up for that but that's never a good idea to burn your bridges with current A mount folks.

[Greg Beetham]

Yes Barry there seems quite a few malcontents there, it's a wonder that certain pro EVFers aren't there as well; fixing all those wrong attitudes.
Greg

[bfitzgerald]

The pro EVF/SLT campaign is in full swing on DPR and other forums will catch up soon they're actually quite good at it (if you overlook the problems they never talk about) They make Joseph Goebbels proud I have to say.

This is the real rub as I said before the SLT fan camp do NOT WANT you to have a choice you have to subscribe to their ideals and way of thinking. They never say "let's have SLT and DSLR" nope the "DSLR must die" (yup the oh so tiresome range repeated by tech obsessed folks)

They wage war on mechanical parts and optical viewfinders anyone who wants one is over 60 and using a walking stick. I'm 35 and I def don't fit that..I'm not some blow out from the 60's stuck in his ways..I tried one it did nothing for me I would not want to use one or buy one. SLT fans will have to accept their view is not shared by all and that choice is the only logical path to take.

[mike2008]

Some facts:

We don't know what the A77 performance will be like yet. Until we do all those claiming/assuming that it must be inferior for stills compared to a traditional DSLR are simply speculating. That includes Barry and Greg in this thread.

The report from spain is hardly an official announcement from sony. What sony have said in the past is that FF will stay OVF until EVF is at least as good. Therefore it is very, very premature to assume anything about the type or quality of future FF cameras.

There is always choice. Canon, Nikon and Pentax all offer nice OVF options, and barry has already made the move to them (yet still complains here about unreleased cameras). Sony gave minolta users a lifeline, not a guarantee of perpetual production of OVF cameras.

It's not a question of being pro or anti SLT; it's more a question of being open minded and waiting for evidence before reaching a conclusion. The a55 is very successful indeed in its segment, and was released in parallel with an OVF camera, the A580. To date, sony have still not yet abandoned OVF cameras. The A77 if it is a pure EVF solution and there is no OVF solution offered atthe same time will be the first step in an SLT-only future; until we see what the step is how can you all make such categorical statements about it?

[Lonnie Utah]

I tried one

quoted for emphasis.

[bfitzgerald]

Ok so I'd be better able to give an opinion if I had not tried one?

Strange logic I have to say.

[alphaomega]

We go round in circles and we are back on to why Sony are in business? To satisfy a few OVF supporters or make inroads into CAN/NIK's stranglehold on the DSLR type business segment? The NEX and SLT cameras have done much better in capturing market share than the traditional DSLRs. They did not sell a lot of A700 cameras as I understand it. It is claimed this was caused by high ISO noise compared with CAN/NIK equivalents. So producing an A700 "replacement" as a straight competitor to A7000/60D with OVF and all is a bit like "shooting yourself in the foot". Sony need new users and only by offering unique selling points can they gain this advantage. So they seem to be going for largest APS sensor, high ISO with lowest noise, fastest ever shooting rate and best ever video with AF and all. Can't argue with the approach having been in business from 1962 to 2006. They simply need to attract new users and that means professionals and enthusiasts currently using CAN/NIK equipment and upgraders that are maturing and need better equipment. Walt might find that a new A77 (or whatever it is called) will enable silent shooting at a rate that will give him the optimum shot or doing video that can produce still images to beat anything his A700 can do at any ISO setting so that he can also get pictures where he currently needs flash. Time will show. All the critics should simply wait until there is something to praise or criticise as the case may be and depending on your needs. Barry has now put himself in a position that it would not matter what kind of EVF Sony (or anyone else) came up with. He would have to reject it as a matter of principle.

[Greg Beetham]

Like I said Mike_2008, I'm not pre-critisizing the pending 'A77', there is the existing A55 to get a good idea about putting an EVF into an SLR style camera from a still taking perspective; yes it's the best yet at doing video and can take decent stills (with some limitations), and it's probably quite ok at the price point it's at, if you like video (and EVF's) that is. There is the A580 OVF DSLR as an alternative and is also quite a good camera mainly because (in both cases) of the new sensor. The OVF in the A580 is nothing special, and it has the system flash delay that appeared with the A33 and A55, and that's a question that needs an answer, or is it that that is the answer looking for the right question...with Sony who can say.
But talking about the 'A77' for a moment, if Sony only offer an SLT/EVF 7 and no OVF version that will be a very courageous move by Sony, they must be very confident they have something special and will be accepted by the photographers that inhabit that region....because heaven help em if they don't bring a fault free '7' to the reviewers desk after this amount of time, without an APS-C '7' even in their range.
And I'm not interested in the 'move to another brand' if you don't like it argument; Sony has a responsiblility to those that have supported them, not to disenfranchise them, and that includes maintaining system component compatibility....system flashes as an example.
Greg

[mike2008]

And I'm not interested in the 'move to another brand' if you don't like it argument; Sony has a responsiblility to those that have supported them, not to disenfranchise them, and that includes maintaining system component compatibility....system flashes as an example.
Greg

A responsibility hmm. I think that is a very debatable point. KM had the same responsibilities, and it didn't stop them from abandoning all of those users when push came to shove.

[Argonaut]

Apologies if I missed it, but just exactly why is there a delay in the EVF? Is it built in to the design, or is it crippled in some way? IOW, would a software update ever fix it, like Sony did with the NR on the a700? I find it difficult (but not impossible) to believe that Sony would aim at a wide market and fail to account for people who take photos of moving objects.

It's going to rain here for the next couple of days and I'll be in the workshop trying to create a sighting device for the hotshoe.

[OneGuyKs]

Keep in mind that all professional camcorders ever made use EVF, and Olympics you watch on your TV is shot with EVF camcorders. Poor DSLR could not use EVF like professional camcorders due to PDAF that only works with mirror. Now Sony has solved that problem. OVF is for amateurs. .

[OneGuyKs]

Sony has a responsiblility to those that have supported them

That's just outright idiocy. So Sony is your slave, and they must keep making cameras that you want, even if they keep losing money and until they go bankrupt? No they don't. Switch brand if you are not happy.

[Lonnie Utah]

Ok so I'd be better able to give an opinion if I had not tried one?

Strange logic I have to say.

No. You only tried it once, in a store. You haven't given it a REAL chance in real world conditions yet. Nobody outside of Sony has seen the new offerings. How can you dismiss something you have no experience with.

[Scooterman]

Time will tell. It won't be for Barry Fitzgerald, but then he has at least one foot in the Pentax camp.

Yes time will tell no one should make their minds up before the event, who knows Sony may just give us the goods that are promised, and Barry has four feet in the Pentax camp.
Richard