here we go again -

[Dulaney Ward]

Oh, it was a Nikon press conference. Thanks for the clarification, DK--I misunderstood and I think some others did.

When do you think we'll heaqr about the new Sony cameras?

Dulaney

[alphaomega]

Reference DK above on Nikon this site quotes a likely D300s specification:

http://nikonrumors.com/2009/05/28/nikon ... specs.aspx

Extract:

Nikon D300s
Type Single-lens reflex digital camera
Lens mount Nikon F mount (with AF coupling and AF contacts)
Effective picture angle Approx. 1.5 x conversion factor (Nikon DX format)

Effective pixels
Effective pixels 12.3 million

So this would appear to be basically the A700 sensor evolved to include video. Probably very close to the D90 sensor.
We can probably now expect a version of this sensor in the much awaited A850. It would appear that those expecting a lower Mp FF model will be disappointed and so will those expecting a higher res. APS-C to equal the Canon 50D. It will be interesting to observe what sensor will then be featured in the A500/550. Will it be the 10/14 Mp mix as in the A330/380?
If that turns out to be the case I must confess I will be a bit disappointed. So what about the twilight September foodball match? Are Sony now confident that they have a 12 Mp sensor that can perform well at higher ISOs?

[rush2112]

Many of us wanting 12-16MP FF won't be too disappointed if Sony delivers us an APS-C camera that gives us close to a two stop increase in noise performance over the a700. Depending on the feature set I may actually prefer an APS-C camera that delivers great high ISO performance to a low resolution FF release.

What you've presented would be a much better seller for Sony than a full frame 12-16mp camera as well. The question is, do they posess the technology first of all to accomplish that, and can they implement it without too much of a monetary sacrifice to themselves or the consumer?

I hope they can truly, and APS-C is the place to do it. If backlit technology lives up to its claims for handy cam, and is implemented into future exmor APS-C sensors, that will be a huge leap and advantage for Sony. I think many Alpha shooters who know about this possibility are really hoping that Sony will do it.

[alphaomega]

rush2112 wrote:

If backlit technology lives up to its claims for handy cam, and is implemented into future exmor APS-C sensors, that will be a huge leap and advantage for Sony. I think many Alpha shooters who know about this possibility are really hoping that Sony will do it.

I think that a backlit APS-C sensor is some way away. I remember writing that it is strange that Sony has not commercialised a new sensor and I thought that possibly that was because its existence was kept a secret between Nikon and Sony as the only two possible users. I now know why there has not been a commercialisation - simply there is not a new sensor to commercialise. Maybe the technology does not exist yet to produce a 16Mp APS-C sensor that can also generate quality high ISO pictures. I believe there have been questions raised about the the high ISO performance of the 50D. Maybe the answer in the short term is the 12 Mp CMOS sensor with its larger photo sites. Anyway it is all speculation until the new cameras are released although the D300s spce. looks realistic. I would have thought that a larger sensor would have warranted the designation D400.

[mikeriach]

I hope that any of you early adopters who want to get rid of those horrible old A700s ( ) will be putting them up on the "for sale" thread at knock-down prices asap . (If the FF is £1000+ then please feel free to also get rid of your 11-18s as well!)

After spending a long weekend with my recently aquired A700 and 70-400G I have to agree with Birma, please throw your spare A700s in our direction. It was such a step forward in quality from the A100 which I still have and use frequently however the A700 is the preferred weapon for handling. Still need to play a bit with the processing though.

Mike

[PongoAlpha]

You can bet your cotton socks that within 5 years Sony will have the best digital stills camera range on the market. They are masters at innovation, just ask yourselves why are all portable cassette players called Walkmans because Walkmans never stood still from 1979 to 1999 over 450 different models came on line. I have been using Minolta since the early 70's but got very disillusioned when Konica arrived on the scene, I was just about to bite the bullet and go with Canon when Sony snapped up the phot division of KM. I'm glad I stayed.

[David Kilpatrick]

Welcome along PongoAlpha. Be warned, if you say it too loud that Sony has managed to be top in some fields, a lot of flack may come your way - not so much here, of course, as in other forums. I grew up with amazing Sony stuff, from the transistor radio my dad brought me back from Japan in 1963 through to the tiny (14 inch? Maybe 12) Trinitron colour TV we got in 1974, and the lovely mini-component audio we got the next year. Not to mention the original Minidisk recorder in the 1990s, which I still have along with its stereo mic.

So I have no problem in believing they will deliver, even if the Alpha 230-380 series disappoints.

David

[PhotoTraveler]

I ran into a person at work one day with a Sony radio from the 60s, he apparently bought it during vietnam war. Still works fine, has it on his desk doing its thing 40-50 years later. Thing looked to be in great shape, only styling tells you it's old.

I've bought bum sony stuff. But you can find countless Sony products around that are older than dirt and just doing their thing still.

[Greg Beetham]

Geez' PT I didn't realize there were still AM radio stations around playing phonograph records
Greg

[alphaomega]

DK wrote above

So I have no problem in believing they (Sony) will deliver, even if the Alpha 230-380 series disappoints.

Well, Sony will deliver something. Time will show what it is. With there being no new Exmor commercialised it looks increasingly as if the next batch of cameras A500/550/850 or whatever they will be called will all feature developments of their current sensors, being most likely the 12 & 24Mp CMOS and possibly 14Mp CCD. The fact that Nikon have used a development of the 12Mp Exmor in their D90 & D300s would indicate to me that there is not a larger CMOS APS-C sensor due for release. As I have stated in the D300s thread I do not believe that Sony have or are developing a smaller FF Sensor. I am not into FF so if the next batch of Sony DSLRs utilise the 12 & 14 Mp APS-C sensors I will most likely purchase one of the remaining A700s at probably around £500 and hand my old one to my son. I don't need video and for all intents and purposes the A700 will do what I need a camera to deliver. I could do with a 16Mp APS-C to allow for more extensive cropping on occasion but the A700 is simply good enough for what I want to do. My A350 produces lovely images at ISO200, so I use the A700 on mostly tele work & higher ISO and A350 on standard & wide angle work at ISO200. No new DSLR that can substantially improve on that means no purchase of a newly released Sony.