Q&A with the SLT Development Team

[bakubo]

Although a lot of people seem to prefer a side hinged LCD I am fine with the bottom hinged LCD. The way I think I would use fast LV the most would be with the camera at my waist or chest. I like that the LCD does not stick out of the side of the camera because it doesn't make the front silhouette larger and more irregular. I also like that it is inline with the lens. Also, since the LCD is behind the body rather than on the side it won't interfere with the left hand that is holding the lens, operating the zoom ring, etc. All of this also applies to when you hold the camera up above your head. For the way I would probably use fast LV the most the A580/NEX style is probably even better. There have been a few times though when having the fully hinged style like on the A55 would be very useful. For example, a few years ago in the rainforest at Olympic National Park, Washington I had my KM 7D on a tripod on very irregular, very wet ground. All 3 tripod legs were different lengths. It was hard to see through the OVF to get the framing I wanted because there wasn't a good place to stand. A movable LCD would have been great! Also, I was doing some very low shots where I had to kneel down or even lie down on the wet, muddy ground so that I could see through the OVF. I sure would have liked a movable LCD so I could have just squatted down! Also, with the full hinge on the A55 you can use LV for vertical shots too, can't with the A580/NEX style.

So, side hinge or bottom hinge both have their advantages and disadvantages. Neither is perfect.

[dynax800si]

Agree for the bottom hinged LCD, for me is the better variant.

[KevinBarrett]

That has always been my experience with Sony. I'm glad you were able to see this for yourself. Nice Q&A Kevin!

Thank you, Brian. This has increasingly been my experience with Sony for some time now.

For several months I've been part of a beta-test for an upcoming digital imaging community by Sony. My goal as a contributer to that development has been to encourage the administration to use their unique opportunities as a company-backed community to make a forum with more exclusive attractions. Q&A sessions are just one idea, and this was our first significant exercise. Overall, Sony representatives have been very responsive to the group, and I'm excited for the community to go public so that more people can experience what I've seen.

[bfitzgerald]

I'd love to see the positive side on things, however it's taken quite a bit of time to just get a few basic bits sorted out (and even then not all of them) I remain sceptical of Sony's listening capabilities at this stage.
Leaving that aside..one simple point to make as per 10fps is just how long a shutter will hold up to that kind of punishment for pro level bodies I'd be a lot less concerned but these models won't have the kind of shutters present in very expensive bodies.

I also would have asked a few "seat squirming questions" to the Sony folks, but I doubt you'd get an honest response Worth trying though and well done for effort, but I'm a tad concerned you can't get a straight response from them on the simple question of light loss and how much hits the sensor.

[KevinBarrett]

I also would have asked a few "seat squirming questions" to the Sony folks, but I doubt you'd get an honest response Worth trying though and well done for effort, but I'm a tad concerned you can't get a straight response from them on the simple question of light loss and how much hits the sensor.

Try me, I'll take your questions over to the group--it'll be valuable development material.

[bfitzgerald]

Ok I'll whip up some white knuckle questions but be warned..I won't be pulling any punches

Here are a few for starters: (I'll save the tasty ones for later!)

Why is DMF featured on the NEX models but not on any of the recently announced cameras (A33/55-A560-580)
What happened to P shift?
Why has AEL spot toggle not been restored, many users find this useful and it's very easy to program into a camera
What's Sony's policy on firmware updates? Do they this as a way to increase customer loyalty or improve products that have already been released? Or as simply fixes for bugs etc.
How useful is CW and spot metering with no AEL button on the A290 and A390 models?
The lack of permanent ISO display in the viewfinder annoys some users, why has this not been added to Alpha models? (I'll assume it has not with the A560/580)
Why do you not give users a choice about noise reduction on jpegs, such as Pentax or Nikon very low NR levels or high to suit the users taste?
Do you think that the Alpha range has become over simplified and lacking customisation (hint Auto ISO setting!)
And this one for a few folks here. When will Sony release a "real" ring-flash for Alpha users!

[Greg Beetham]

Thanks for the thought on the ringflash question there Barry, but even if Kevin does ask it, I'll bet all they say is 'we will check on this and get an answer for you' ...........and that's the last you'll ever hear of it.
I might be inclined to ask as well, 'How many batteries does Sony recommend that an average person should have on hand for the cameras that have LV and video?'
and 'Does Sony intend to have at least one or two traditional more fully featured models without video or LV in the range in the future?'
Greg

[KevinBarrett]

Thanks Barry. I've posted them but I don't want to mislead you. That particular Q&A has passed, but I wanted your questions as material to aide in the development of Q&A policies.

The consensus when we started was not to expect to get info about future product or firmware launches. It was easy to keep this understanding with 30 or so beta-testers, but some will seek answers to unrealistic questions. There was some backlash in the original Backstage 101 community when users discovered that they were'nt going to be privvy to insider information or future market strategies. We'd like to curtail that kind of disappointment this time, but still be able to give some exclusive involvement to community members.

[WaltKnapp]

I'm glad we were able to get some interesting information back from the Sony guys, and I'm glad you all appreciated it. They were more friendly and unfiltered in their responses than I ever would have imagined. How did I get to do this? I maintained contact with a Sony blog editor from the old Backstage 101 site which was closed last spring.

I was wondering if anything was happening about Backstage 101. After promises to keep in touch and keep us involved in the ongoing process they just vanished. I know I was offered no such opportunity as you were.

Walt

[WaltKnapp]

Barry, look at it this way: they made a camera that can do 6fps, maintaining live-view and all other expected functionality. Then they said, "well, what would it take to go faster, still?" I don't think the compromises to get it to 10 fps are ideal, but considering the price, it would be confounding for the SLT cameras to be slower than the NEX cameras, or the Cybershots, for that matter. Now that the processing power is there to handle huge files with such speed, it is disadvantageous to exclude it from cameras that aren't otherwise mechanically limited.

To me the problem is not so much them going off into a relatively limited camera design with just a few shooting functions focused on, the problem is then heading toward that being all they will offer. I'm not looking for that focus, simple as that, I'm looking for a much more across the board high end camera.

Walt

[bfitzgerald]

Thanks Kevin I don't expect any info on future products no company would ever do that. But I'd like to see some acknowledgement that there are areas to look at. Dare I say the restoration of some bits such as MLU does indicate that they know it was a mistake to leave that off. I'd be intersested to know if that was a deliberate choice on older models (leaving it off) or they used a new shutter design..the subject of some fairly heavy debates in the past.
Regarding FW updates I'd like them to see that as an opportunity to address concerns and issues and I feel they've been very weak on this aspect.

Other areas cause concerns such as Toru's comments about the in body motor and the long term prospects on that. Again I would not expect a response on that but I'd wager many users would be very vocal on that one if it turned out they did take it off at some point.

Ditto on the long term prospects for OVF users, I'm very concerned that only EVF models will be available in the future and not that long away.

I'm looking for Sony to "remove those fears" and that is very easy to do even with a general statement.

But more than anything my feelings are that Sony are somewhat distant from users on these points. You'll never get all you want but I would have expected Sony to address some issues with FW updates on previous models. Yet nothing happened. If Sony can start to actively show they are listening (and on even smaller points) then I think they will do themselves the world of good. I never took part in backstage myself but I read some of it. Again nobody expects info on new upcoming models that's unrealistic and will never happen. But action counts for a lot on this one..if and when that happens Sony will find themselves getting a much warmer reception across a range of users. But they first have to admit that there are problems or areas to look at, then actually do something about it! Supporting older products via FW updates would hugely boost their respect levels from all forms of users.

[alphaomega]

Barry Fitzgerald wrote:

Other areas cause concerns such as Toru's comments about the in body motor and the long term prospects on that. Again I would not expect a response on that but I'd wager many users would be very vocal on that one if it turned out they did take it off at some point.

If that happened I would make sure I had enough Sony DSLR cameras with motor in house to last at least 10 years. Fortunately for me the cameras are now so good for my purposes that I could do just that. On the other hand it would be "courageous" of Sony to do just that to use a much quoted Yes Minister phrase. Not sure about EVF. My experience with the R1 was not good. It really needs to be much better to replace OVF and some users would be driven away for good. Not sure that an A77 with EVF would be the "right" replacement for the A700. Maybe Sony just cannot get space for a large enough OVF to go with their LV implementation and have opted for EVF. We may be moving to a point with Sony where the Walt Knapp type of minority user may be well advised to switch to Nikon or Canon. I guess that the D7000 is the kind of camera they would want Sony to release to replace the A700 with full backwards compatibility.

[Greg Beetham]

I think the WK type of minority user (and btw I'm one as well), just want's an A700 refresh/update/fix model sans battery consuming video and LV if the LV is going too impact the OVF, that will do just fine thankyou very much.
Greg

[bfitzgerald]

alphaomega the Nikon D7000 is probably very close to what some users of the A700 would be looking for in an update. I have to hand it to Nikon they did come up with something that really is very good overall no obvious weak points to speak of (heard something about bracketing but nothing big) At around £1000 it's going to be very tricky for Sony to compete with that but they've got some time to flesh things out. Canon have been completely caught out here as well they moved the wrong way (downgrading the 60d in most areas) and Nikon really got the jump on them.

I've seen the 60d drop to £899 already and you can be sure it's going to have to go down even further to survive in the market.
If Sony price near to the D7000 they'd better match it blow for blow or else they'll have adjust the price. Things have really heated up in this sector now, major AF update for the Nikon and many would argue it's a more natural place for this type of body, leaving a new D5000 at some point to meet the middle ground users needs.

It's going to be interesting to see how Sony respond to this. But it's all good as competition encourages rivals to up the stakes and users can get more bang per buck as well.

[BrianSmith]

Thanks for the thought on the ringflash question there Barry, but even if Kevin does ask it, I'll bet all they say is 'we will check on this and get an answer for you' ...........and that's the last you'll ever hear of it.

Like everything in business, the answer to whether Sony makes a ringflash comes down to numbers. Can they sell enough of them to make it profitable?

Sony has Minolta's books. They know exactly which products were profitable and which were not.

There seems to be a sentiment among some users that if Minolta made something, Sony needs to do the same.

How'd that work out?

Some people would also like to see Sony make a real ringflash with a circular flash tube - not just two sidelights covered by a ring of plastic - big enough to fit on 77mm lens threads not just the macros. The numbers might not be there to support the profitability of either request, let alone both. It's important to note that "numbers" relates to actual sales - not the number of times the same person asks for the same thing.