First official specs and pics of A500 + A850

[Javelin]

Saw this over at DPR

http://img31.yfrog.com/img31/213/dsc0042d.jpg

Never heard of labyrinthitis I think we just call that an ear infection hopefully he's back to normal soon with now lasting affects

[PhotoTraveler]

I've heard of this condition, you can't get David Bowie out of your head from it.

Saw this over at DPR

http://img31.yfrog.com/img31/213/dsc0042d.jpg

Never heard of labyrinthitis I think we just call that an ear infection hopefully he's back to normal soon with now lasting affects

[alexramos7]

Heidfirst I have a question...

Are the a500/a550 OVF bigger than series 200 and 300??

[bossel]

There is a lot of nonsense being talked on Dxyum about 7fps

What about this: Maybe the camera achieves 7fps by opening the shutter and then taking 2 exposures before closing the shutter to refocus. So mechanically, this would be only 3.5 fps and with this technology they might go up to 10fps. But probably a single bionz can't cope with that...

[Hiroshige]

Sorry, we should have welcomed Hiroshige. I recognised the name and gave immediate activation this morning. Thanks for coming in with this post.

David

Thank you for your kind welcome.

But I must confess that I´m not such a newbie here, I´ve read in this forum and David´s wonderful articles for a long time yet.
And because there has been for every question I had already a perfect answer, I´ve never had to write myself.

So when I saw the publication in digitalkamera.de, I´ve thougt it´s my "duty" to write about in my favourite forum.
BTW on depreview http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sonydslra550/ there is already a first preview of the A550.

Michael

[bfitzgerald]

Well it's all up the 7fps thing turned out interestingly!

If only I wanted fast AF live view..I cannot help but think those who don't care for it might have wanted a non LV model. Surely good looking on the spec sheets, but a worse than A200 VF, no MLU, DOF preview, AEL spot toggle (all the grumbles from the past), it's scrubbed off my interest list on that alone. But what I really hate is how the screen sticks out and gets in the way of using the OVF, and I am left eyed..major issue.

Oh well, maybe next time

[aster]

Hi,

Apparently the A850 is officially announced and reviews are surfacing one by one on the Internet from various sources.

Yildiz

[stevecim]

Heidfirst I have a question...

Are the a500/a550 OVF bigger than series 200 and 300??

going by dpreview it has a Magnification approx. 0.80x, that's got to be better then the current 3xx models

[bfitzgerald]

You probably would not notice 0.80x to 0.83x side by side..

On the other hand whilst 0.83 is ok for entry models (A200/A100 etc) is it good enough for mid range ones?
I really don't want LV, not sony's fast AF one, just a better VF would do me. So I was hoping for one LV and one normal model, we got 2 LV ones (as I predicted) Add missing stuff like MLU and AEL spot toggle, it's got no thanks all over it for me

Don't get me wrong though, most will love it, and the sensor is sure to please, it's just Sony's has this consumer thing in their head, and they won't let go of it.

[stevecim]

looking at the preview, it does have a AEL button and it's in a better spot, where the "zoom" was on the A350
and it also gets a D-Range button

compared to my A350
Pros:
CMOS Exmor Sensor (If high ISO is has good has the A700, I'll be happy)
• D-Range Optimizer (Auto, manually select level 1-5)
• Auto HDR (Auto, Adjustable between 1.0-3.0 EV in 0.5 EV steps)
• Magnification approx. 0.80x *

(Can anyone explain what the differance in Eye-relief does?. i.e the A550 has • Eye-relief 19 mm from eyepiece, 15 mm from frame* the A350 • Eye-relief 21 mm from eyepiece, 17 mm from frame )

Live view (MF Check Live View) *
• Live View with CMOS Exmor sensor
• Metering varies according to shooting mode
• 100% frame coverage
• Display: Real-time image adjustment display (White balance, Sunset/ B&W of Creative Style,
Exposure Compensation)
• Zoom (x7.0/x14.0), Grid line display
• 3.0 TFT Xtra Fine LCD 921,600 dots

• Auto Brightness Control (auto setting in 2 steps)
• Manual settting in 5 steps
• Approx 5 fps max (4 fpsin Live view)
• Speed- Priority: 7 fps max
• RAW: Up to 14 frames
• RAW+JPEG: Up to 7 frames

Cons:

SD cards, would have liked CF + Memory Stick

[KevinBarrett]

Add missing stuff like MLU and AEL spot toggle, it's got no thanks all over it for me

If "MF check LV" isn't effectively MLU, then what is? That's like MLU-Plus! But now that it's here (effectively), I see you're complaining about the AEL toggle. The a500/550 have the ability to switch between "toggle" and "hold" for the AEL button... unless you're talking about the three-mode selector switch present on the a700/850/900 bodies?

I'm starting to think your complaints are merely academic.

[bfitzgerald]

No LV isn't 2 sec MLU, it's not academic, simply because of the fact you might not want to use LV!
Let's not celebrate sensor based LV, sure I don't mind it, it hurts nothing, but Sony are simply the last maker out there to offer this.
AEL toggle is simple an option to either hold the button or it toggles with AEL on a single press, it's not offering spot AEL toggle (which the A100 and 5d do) A200 has AEL toggle (minus spot)

Main points of interest are the CMOS sensor, and faster FPS. Being fair the FPS is very good for the class, and rival beating (if FPS makes a difference to some, that's great) Take that out of it, and there isn't a lot here really. Ok better DRO is welcome, but I shoot raw mostly..so that's not too awesome
Same 9 point AF single cross system (how about a double cross??)
Still no ISO in VF (surely the time has come)
No AF assist light built into body
No 2 sec MLU
No DMF
No AEL spot toggle
Spot metering circle gone from VF (but they keep the useless 16:9 markings)
No jpeg Xfine
VF is better than D5000 and A380, but it's no D90/A700


If you slapped a CCD in there and lowered the FPS everyone would be yawning. Ok we have a real grip, wow we had that before! This looks good because the current entry models are so poor, not academic to me..it's too consumer pumped with gimmicks (face detection, smile detection..hmm wow)

[NevHi]

These links with pictures came from today's Engadget.com

Sony Alpha 850
Hands-on the 24.6-megapixel semi pro model
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26641/s ... lr-gallery

Sony Alpha 500
Hands-on with the step-up model
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26646/s ... slr-photos

Sony Alpha 550
Accessorised for your viewing pleasure
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26647/s ... ra-gallery

[David Kilpatrick]

Would it be appreciated if I simply posted the entire press pack of pictures - about 20 high-res images per camera - on the site with full resolution links?

I have never seen the point of doing this. I have not even bothered to download all the many different product shots from Sony's press site.

David

[Greg Beetham]

What I'd like is a brochure type view from all sides, with the arrows pointing to the various buttons, ports and features with explanatory notes, then you could get a pretty good idea about the camera..
Greg