Minolta Maxxum 7, Pentax S-M-C Takumar 28mm f3.5, Agfa Portrait 160 converted to B&W with Silver EFEX Pro.
Sony made their major pre-Photokina announcement earlier this week with 4 new bodies for a total of 8 bodies, a camcorder and 6 lenses for the summer of 2010.
By all reports the NEX-3 and NEX-5 are selling very well so far. While lens options are a little restricted with only an 18-55 and a 16/2.8 pancake and the software UI is a little wonky, the overall package is excellent and they deliver a level of IQ, particularly high ISO IQ, that’s class-leading. Sony’s doing pretty well here, especially considering the competition (Panasonic, Olympus and Samsung) has all pretty much dropped their DSLR development to concentrate on LVIL cameras.
The A290/A390 twins have apparently hit the market with nary a ripple. A minor but useful upgrade over their predecessor triplets, they solved the ergonomic issues of the A230/330/380 but retain a class-trailing sensor and image processing chain and come in at inflated prices. Nikon’s new D3100 and Pentax’s older K-x both run rings around these, as does the Canon T1i. They’ll sell but they’re not building any momentum for the Alpha line.
This week gave us another pair of twins. First off is the A560/A580 pair, which are built directly on the older A550 and replace the current A450/500/550 triplets. The A560 is little more than an A550 with HD video and a new AF unit while the A580 gets a new 16MP sensor as well. They retain the mostly useless Quick AF Live View, class-trailing viewfinder and the limited flip-up LCD setup of their predecessors. Other than being what the A550 should have been last year (IE, having HD video) these are pretty warmed over updates and in True Sony Fashion the A560 won’t be available until 2011, at which time there will no doubt be another round of better, cheaper cameras from the competition.
The real news however is the A33 and A55 SLT’s. SLT being Single Lens Translucent cameras. Functionally these are LVIL cameras but with a new twist. They use a semi-reflective Pellix mirror in the mirror box to feed a proper phase-detect AF system and get fast AF out of the deal. This also means that they get full-speed AF even while making an exposure (or a movie) as the AF system doesn’t depend on the Live View feed or a mirror that’s flipped up. Of course, this does mean they are A mount cameras, not E-mount as they need the mirror clearance of the SLR mount. Additionally they get a large and high-resolution 100%, 1.1x 1.44M EVF which is about the same size as the 5D’s OVF or the Panasonic G2′s EVF. Sony overdid the specs by a bit, with 10fps AE-locked burst on the A55 and 7fps on the A33, faster than the AF system or EVF can handle, but otherwise quite nice setups. Overall they’re built on what looks like the A290 frame with some additions and they also get a flip/twist high-rez LCD. It’s bottom-hinged instead of my preferred side hinge, but even then it’s still a huge upgrade over the older system still used on the A390, A560 and A580. The A55 also becomes the first interchangeable-lens camera with an integrated GPS unit for all those Geotagging fans out there. Not a feature I’d ever use but some people love it.
Personally, I’m quite interested in the A33/A55. The combination of a big, easy to focus EVF and an ISO12,800 limit in a compact package brings together my favourite aspects of the Panasonic G1 and the Pentax K-x into one body, and also a body in a mount which I’m currently invested in.
We also got the official US announcement of the new 24, 35 and 85mm lenses that were announced a month ago globally. Pricing looks excellent with the ZA 24/2 SSM at $1250USD, the DT 35/1.8 at $200 and the 85/2.8 at $250. I expect all three lenses to be brisk sellers and frankly could see owning all three at some point in the distant future.
