Alpha 580 review is now up

[David Kilpatrick]

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2010/12/2 ... -way-view/

With some full size image downloads accessible to subscribers, and a short video example at full HD on YouTube.

David

[ianmiddy]

Very good review [as always] - enough to persuade me to order one...

...one question to David though - do you think the A350 still has anything to offer over the A580 from an 'image quality/style' point-of-view - I'm particularly thinking of this in the context of your "Sony Alpha 350 – a Creative Review" article and the 'work with colour, texture, light, found subjects, moods, shapes, spaces, tone' conclusion - which has had me using it for less 'run-of-the-mill' subjects over the past year or so...

I ask because I'm in two minds about keeping it [as I am also about the 5D, 7D & A100 - they all seem to have little differences to offer] - as the 350s lower res screen compared to the A700/900 was one reason for looking at the 550, and now getting the 580...

Cheers

IDM

[David Kilpatrick]

There's still something unique about the A350 rendering. Maybe it's all down to the colour filters used and the colour profiles in raw processing.

Although we have sold most other cameras as they were replaced (latest being 550) we kept both our 350s and they are with our daughter and her boyfriend. I also have kept my A100 for a similar reason - it's got something going for it which I do not see in the files from later cameras.

David

[ianmiddy]

I also have kept my A100 for a similar reason - it's got something going for it which I do not see in the files from later cameras.

Agreed - recently been revisiting some of my older images from 2007/2008 and there's something about the colour rendition that looks more attractive than the 700/900...

...guess I'll keep the 350 for a while - I tend to think there's not much s/h value to bodies [as compared to lenses], but had been considering p/x'ing one of the older ones for a 100'ish macro - but that can prob wait until spring.

Thanks for your thoughts.

IDM

[agorabasta]

David, that was another piece of truly good tech journalism, quite enjoyable reading coupled with a lot of good info.

Still I have two things to point out -

A55 and A580 share exactly the same base curve. Had it been otherwise, their ACR profiles would make the correct WB impossible with profiles of one cam used for the other (like balancing the whites would produce coloured greys) which is obviously not the case.

You may easily have a third point support while shooting at waist level and/or at arms length, a neck strap really helps with that. No matter how I hate neck straps, I use my A500 this way only (that's my one and only 'neck-strap-camera')

[alphaomega]

Very interesting and detailed review. Must go over it again with my A580 in hand. Glad to read that my CZ 16-80 will do justice to the 16Mp sensor.

[bfitzgerald]

Well I actually thought this one was pretty good. I note the comments about contrast detect AF and the lack of AF in live view with screw drive lenses. There is of course no technical reason why they can't do contrast detect AF it is very much possible with screw drive lenses (albeit speedy it's not..though getting better on some new models)

Full sized downloads for subscribers only is possibly a tad on the mean side..many reviews will offer these for everyone to see.

[David Kilpatrick]

Not a matter of being on the mean side Barry, it's part of the package with the PDF versions of the magazine issues. I dare not offer free downloads of say 15MB of high quality JPEG files in a single article to all comers, the danger of getting my site out of action or kicked up to a cost I could never afford would be too high.

For many years I have put full size files on pBase and all it's done is cost me a lot of money (relatively) to do so. I don't plan to remove them, at least not yet, but they can not remain there for ever.

David

[pakodominguez]

There is of course no technical reason why they can't do contrast detect AF it is very much possible with screw drive lenses (albeit speedy it's not..though getting better on some new models)

I would love if you could expand this or us...

Full sized downloads for subscribers only is possibly a tad on the mean side..many reviews will offer these for everyone to see.

everything free on interned is and odd (and erroneous) concept

[pakodominguez]

From the review:

One most noticeable thing, shooting with several cameras and lenses, is how much higher the contrast is from the CZ at 16mm on A55 or A580 compared to the contrast of the E-mount 16mm pancake lens on NEX.

How the Zeiss perform at 16mm on the NEX?

[bfitzgerald]

On the web storage for photos area surely there is a cost effective option with a third party site that won't hit the main website bandwidth?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ph ... g_websites

Onto contrast AF well let's put it like this the camera I got with a P stamped on it can do it with screw drive AF lenses and I'm pretty sure it's supported on Nikon too (the ones that can AF screw driven lenses) Ok it's pretty slow (slower in low light still not that fast even good light) but it works as said in the article. It moves the focus across the range back and forth and then it locks. I'm not a heavy live view user but this omission would be somewhat annoying for the A580 esp if you own mostly screw drive lenses.

[pakodominguez]

Onto contrast AF well let's put it like this the camera I got with a P stamped on it can do it with screw drive AF lenses and I'm pretty sure it's supported on Nikon too (the ones that can AF screw driven lenses) Ok it's pretty slow (slower in low light still not that fast even good light) but it works as said in the article. It moves the focus across the range back and forth and then it locks. I'm not a heavy live view user but this omission would be somewhat annoying for the A580 esp if you own mostly screw drive lenses.

No, I would love to understand is how "easy" you make it sound. I don't know anything about how the AF works on Sony/Minolta, Pentax, Canon or Nikon works, but if Pentax do it and the rest not (yet) it is, I guess, not all the AF systems are created equal...

By saying "no technical reason why they can't do contrast detect AF" you think they are not doing it on propose? or they are not putting all the effort necessary in order to achieve AF with screw drive lenses?

[bfitzgerald]

I like to keep things simple! I'm no AF expert but to my eyes they do the same thing if you move the lens via a motor in the body or in the lens itself you're doing the same thing...erm moving the lens into focus.

At a guess it's something Sony made a choice about for some reason whatever the motive for that is I have no idea

[David Kilpatrick]

On the web storage for photos area surely there is a cost effective option with a third party site that won't hit the main website bandwidth?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ph ... g_websites

No thanks. I don't mind putting up small images free, but my pictures are not like dPreview nipping out to shoot the same market and landmarks every time, or sites which have a test subject in the studio. They are real pictures with a copyright of some value, and if people want an unadulterated top quality (PS Level 10 compression) JPEG then $10 for whatever I choose to make available, plus all magazine editions and back issues, is not exactly a bad deal. Even when clearly marked for private use only and must not be copied or linked to.

David

[bfitzgerald]

When I did the review for the CX-3 I didn't exactly go out of my way to take mind blowing shots..but ones with a bit of variety that might reflect real world use and conditions in a variety of ways bright daylight, low light, macro shots etc etc at various ISO levels. Frankly I couldn't care less what happens to the shots at full res on the review site.

If I have anything I like and don't want it out there it doesn't go out! Solution is to take creatively uninteresting shots for reviews but ones that might be technically interesting for the review reader.