Is this what Sony did with A230/A330/A380?

[bakubo]

[mikeriach]

Another Dilbert fan!!
I really thought he worked for my company but I guess he represents many others.

Mike (also an Engineer)

[bfitzgerald]

I'll put money down right now for a series of ok ish/mediocre reviews for these new models

I hope they do tank..they deserve it!

They will be about as popular as Bernard Madoff, at an investment seminar

[Heidfirst]

AP seemed to reckon that the A380 was competitive in this week's test ...

[alphaomega]

Ref heidfirst comment on AP review of A380 above I have stated elsewhere that AP reckoned the higher ISO performance of the A380 was an improvement over the A350. That may not seem a lot but if AP thinks that the A380 is competitive - even without video - Sony may not be totally at sea. I think we should wait and see what the A500 series brings later in the year and if a successor to the A700 also makes an appearance. With the Sony sensor in the Nikon D90 and D5000 apparently outperforming the Canon equivalents there is hope that Sony will come up with vastly improved models also in terms of higher ISO performance. I for one would give Sony the benefit of the doubt and wait a few months before passing any damning judgements. It could well be that the A2/300 new models have been positioned "lower down or more entry level" to make room for a wider model offering from the A230 to the A900 with 5/700 series models in between. Time will show.

[KevinBarrett]

Canon and Nikon are showing that you can position models "lower down" without crippling essential features (honestly, the AEL button?!), which makes Sony's market position with the new models look absurd. The comic looks spot-on to me.

[bfitzgerald]

Sony have their own ideas, and I honestly don't think they listen to users or deviate from those boardroom geeks who have it all worked out.
Which would be fine if their on stage performances were top tier, but they are not. Sony are the Kylie Minogue of the pop world, it's about image and PR, not much in the substance dept.
Not only are these on my ignore list, but I would not suggest them to any new user, I strongly disagree with their take on entry DSLR's

[peterottaway]

Barry I think you have the wrong example with Kylie for the point you were trying to make.

After all she has been an " actor " and " singer " for some 25 years and is still making money out it. How many singers never made it or were one hit wonders in that time ?

No the A230 or A330 are definitely not what I want, and the A380 has the basic performance but would quickly start to frustrate me. BUT any of these cameras with the 2 kit lens will produce decent results with only a small effort on the owners part. That is something not possible when I bought my first SLR in 1971.

[bfitzgerald]

Well depends if you like her or not!

My point is simply that I don't see these clever touches we got with Minolta, nor their strategy of offering more for less (KM5d and film 5 a good example)

Simply shelf padding with 3 near identical/feature cut bodies isn't my idea of fun, wasted chance to really appeal to various buyers. Sony are saying that their entry range is now exclusively for newbie type users, and everyone is left out of the party.
Including their own customers who might have upgraded bodies if they had enhanced the last batch of models.
Do they really think downgrading is the way to go? Heck the list of improvements is very slim indeed..2.5fps is a joke for 2009..

[Javelin]

downgbrade.. no but they don't want users with enrty bodies to just buy another entry body either. those users probably won't buy many accessories and lenses.

[Greg Beetham]

From what I've seen of the Sony splurb, they are taking the tack of promoting the DSLR's ability of taking a much superior photo than a compact can in every type of lighting conditon...an uncomplicated DSLR that a newb can use just like a p&s and get much better pix, DSLR response times is better than most compacts as well.
It'll be interesting to see if it works though, once the punters are told (or find out beforehand) that the Sony new ones don't have video they'll most likely wander off in the direction of Canikon...I'm even willing to bet a beer that for once the MP score won't be the main thing anymore.....as long as it's got video.
Greg

ps. Baz, I agree Kylie isn't probably a Megastar, but I saw a behind the scenes doco on her once and it turns out she's very well liked by all who come in contact with her, film crews, production people etc. as she's not a pima donna that chucks a fit when things don't go her way all the time...and she doesn't do drugs.

[bfitzgerald]

I was of course talking about "pure talent" not really if she is a nice person or not! I am sure she is a fab wonderful person, I just don't see that magic spark or extra special something that defines her as a performer.

In the same way I don't see magic touches or sparks from sony. True it's just a camera maker, no big deal..but still, I would take magic with quirks any day, over going through the motions

[Birma]

While I am disappointed with the latest three cameras (they don't do anything for me) I think it would be hasty to bury Sony dslrs just yet. It is only 3 years since they got in to dslrs and they have produced some nice kit in that time (A700, A900, 70-400, 24-70, ...). (I agree it would be better for us if there was more firmware updates, and the jpg processing probably needs sorting.)

I would take magic with quirks any day, over going through the motions

I think the new cameras are "quirky", in the same way that the Panasonic GH's are, and the Olympus PEN. I can see how they are trying to appeal to the p&s-ers who want somthing "a bit better" but are not photo hobby-ists.

I am surpised that Sony are behind the game with video, although I can see that if they had been the first they would have also been slammed for diluting the purity of the slr . My fear is that the Sony execs will not see enough $$$ in the hobby-ist market and keep focusing on the entry-level.

(P.S. I have several Kylie albums, but none by MJ )

[bfitzgerald]

Funny you should mention..but I was looking for my Michael Jackson albums, and I found only a couple, seems my ex-wife claimed custody of them, if my memory serves me right..all is fair in love and war

I did however manage to get my Jimi Hendrix ones out (and lp's too) (maybe she didn't like his music lol)