T.O.P and the Sony A900

[braeside]

Worth a read (as are the comments).

The Online Photographer again - #5 Recommended Camera

[artington]

Another sensible commentary from an adult (rather than the juveniles who mostly populate the popular photographic press). However, it seems to me (as a mere ham) that Sony now needs to populate its lens catalogue if it is really going to take on Nikon. Nice to read, nevertheless.

[KevinBarrett]

Thanks for the link! That's high praise for the a900, and fortunate for Sony that he pointed out its renewed competitiveness in pricing. From the comments it appears he has stirred up genuine interest in the camera, even if there are still a lot of haters (who seem to have concentrated on the camera's outward appearance).

Personally, I think the prism hump is gorgeous.

[Dr. Harout]

...Personally, I think the prism hump is gorgeous.

I like that classic look too.

[Greg Beetham]

To be honest, I always thought the appearence was a bit odd, Sony has two styles in the one camera, modern rounded contoured body combined with old style classic sharp corners and angles on the prism, personally in the name of consistancy, I think I'd prefer it had all one style or the other, not that it affects the functionality one hoot of course, one thing you could say is, it sure is distinctive.
Greg

[KevinBarrett]

The highly angular pyramid on top of the "Alpha Flagship" concept certainly softened us up to receive the a900. If the a900 haters are recalling that pointy-headed beast to criticize the styling, then I have to agree that the concept needed some work. The a900 we have now is one of the best-looking cameras on the market (The Nikon D3 is pretty handsome, too). In comparison the 5D and 1D bodies look like melting wax models of cameras.

As a product design the pyramid highlights the uncompromised pentaprism and the a900's status as a FF model. It doesn't pretend to be "aerodynamic" like the other brands, and ignores a long history of camera designs that were meant to disguise a useless pop-up flash. I don't see it as inconsistent or odd, but as a return to normalcy.

[NevHi]

There is nothing useless about a pop up flash and it's one of the main (valid) criticisms of the A900.

[David Kilpatrick]

Agreed. I do not need pop-up flash, but I do need something to replace it - a small, GN14 or so direct flash for fill-in. I do not need ADI, TTL or anything else. Thyristor control was always fine for that type of use, or even just a simple manual range 1/1-1/4.

David

[artington]

Personally I don't care tuppence what a camera looks like so long as it is ergonomically designed and handles well. As a user of the Minolta 5600 HSD I do care that the A900 has no pop-up flash which can trigger off camera flash units wirelessly, not forgetting the need to buy the expensive Sony 58AM flash and additional Sony slave units.

[pakodominguez]

...Personally, I think the prism hump is gorgeous.

I like that classic look too.

most of the criticism about the A900's top is based on the photographs Sony and others published, images made in a way the pentaprism looks biggest that it really is -probably, the idea was showing in the outside the 100% view, same move than "AS 'Inside'".

but the the A900's shape isn't ugly at all. Once you have it on your hands, the last thing you'll think about is the huge" pentaprism.

When i spoke with Mark Weir at the PhotoPlus Expo, he agreed we need a small flash/wireless controller. I'd sugested it has to be free for A900 owners since they "forgot" for a wireless solution "inside"

regards

[Dusty]

Agreed. I do not need pop-up flash, but I do need something to replace it - a small, GN14 or so direct flash for fill-in. I do not need ADI, TTL or anything else. Thyristor control was always fine for that type of use, or even just a simple manual range 1/1-1/4.

David

Which is why I have to get an adapter shoe. My old thyristor flashes always did a great job, as long as I didn't try to overextend them, and I can't find any for the Sony/Minolta flash shoe.

Paying $500 for a flash is just too steep for me, and feature creep the flashes doesn't really impress me. Give me 2- 4 power settings, a zoom/bounce head and a WA diffuser panel. If you want to sweeten the deal, give me a secondary fill flash for bounce. My last Vivitar 283 was bought 6 years ago for my wife, and was under $150.

Dusty

[Allam2009]

However, it seems to me (as a mere ham) that Sony now needs to populate its lens catalogue if it is really going to take on Nikon. Nice to read, nevertheless.

They obvioulsy don't think this in Poland where Sony now has 40% of the DSLR market - way ahead of Nikon! Still a way to go in other countries though...

[KevinBarrett]

Agreed. I do not need pop-up flash, but I do need something to replace it - a small, GN14 or so direct flash for fill-in. I do not need ADI, TTL or anything else. Thyristor control was always fine for that type of use, or even just a simple manual range 1/1-1/4.

David

I used my pop-up flash the other day for the first time in a shoot for a coworker. He wanted portaits in a tight spot in his loft and the bounce just wasn't going to reach him the way I wanted it to. I used the pop-up to control my f56AM off camera and got the light I wanted.

My comment about the "useless" pop-up flash was regarding the flash's ability to actually illuminate a scene. I agree with DK here that the a900 needs something to replace the pop-up flash's ability to control off-camera flash guns.

[Mark K]

A900 is pretty and well crafted.
Apart from noise, I really want the shutter sound better

[NevHi]

My comment about the "useless" pop-up flash was regarding the flash's ability to actually illuminate a scene.

I "only" have a Dynax 5D, and have used the pop-up flash to illuminate countless scenes, including for 100mm Macro at night. It's far from useless. Horses for courses, when I need more flash I stick one on. I don't have an A900, but including a pop-up flash on it would have been useful, even if used as a triggering device for more advanced lighting systems. Not everyone needs another half kilo of flash sitting on the top of the camera for close ups and candids, fill ins etc. I suppose the question that should be asked is how many of us use our cameras pop-up flash for perfectly satisfactory results. I'm voting yes. It's just so convenient.