UPDATE 8/27/07: A big announcement is expected from Sony on September 4th at a press conference in Italy.
UPDATE 8/26/07: The latest images of the newest Sony Alpha in the wild.
UPDATE 7/18/07: Check out the story on the new Sony blog and the latest Alpha talk here.
UPDATE 7/13/07: Some new news on both new models:
Sony was confirmed to be working on a FF-DSLR (Alpha 300) including a high-end APS-C counterpart (Alpha 200). Information released from Japan revealed that the Alpha 200 will not be much larger in size than the current model 100, confirming Sony’s acknowledgement of female users as a major DSLR growth segment in ways identical to what Olympus had long been saying.
Allegedly, the Alpha 200 will feature a 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensor derived from Sony’s technology, which means you’re very likely to get LiveView. (Read more here . . . )
UPDATE 7/12/07: There’s some good reasons why the launch of a new Sony Alpha DSLR is imminent.
UPDATE 7/6/07: The DPReview.com forums brought us some more photos of the purportedly new Sony Alpha camera. Read more about it and see the photos here.
UPDATE 7/1/07: A forum poster over at dyxum.com says that we can expect a press release from Sony on July 9:
A big press release will be sent out the 9th dealing with the new DSLR’s coming out this year from Sony. I just spoke to the East Coast Sony Rep. here at the bike shop I work at. He wouldnt give me any details, but he said he can talk about stuff after the 9th…thats all I know right now. I want my full frame chip!!!!
It’s about time! They’ve been stringing us along for long enough. Keep your eyes on this page for an official announcement.
ORIGINAL POST: Looks like Sony will be mixing it up with the big boys soon. Sony has announced a couple of new cameras in their DSLR lineup. There will be a pro version (think Nikon D2X or D3 and the Canon 1Ds Mk II or 1D Mk III) and a prosumer version (think Nikon D200 and Canon 30D or 40D). There’s some mock-up model photos over at gizmodo (more photos). DPNow has some better angles. Keep in mind though that these models are just for show and will likely be substantially different once the production models are released.
I think this is good news for all consumers. Stiff competition means better products at cheaper prices for consumers to choose from. Sony sort of kick-started the new line of 10MP DSLRs in addition to the buzz created by the in-camera image stabilization. Nikon and Canon had almost come to a stalemate in the DSLR market until Sony came along, capitalized on the demise of Konica-Minolta and shocked the world with the Alpha 100.
Official Sony Fact Sheet:
Sony is exhibiting its latest digital imaging products at the PMA 2007 International Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, which started on March 8th.
(Alpha) Digital SLR Camera
The following camera bodies and interchangeable lenses will be exhibited in addition to the current DSLR-A100 digital SLR camera and 21 interchangeable lenses, including Carl Zeiss® products. With the expanded product portfolio, ? is set to broaden its system configuration and appeal to a wider user base.
Exhibited Prototypes
New camera model (body) targeting high-end amateur users
- Positioned higher than the current DSLR-A100 digital SLR camera
- Achieves high level of overall picture quality through development of new image sensor and
- Bionz™ image processing engine
- Super SteadyShot® image stabilization inside
- Realizes high performance that meets expectations of high-end amateur users
Flagship model (body)
- The highest-end ? (Alpha) product
- Achieves high level of overall picture quality through development of new image sensor and
- Bionz™ image processing engine
- Super SteadyShot® image stabilization inside
- Realizes high performance that lives up to even professional users’ demanding requirements.
- One of the two prototypes stated above will be on sale within this calendar year.
Interchangeable Lenses
A wider lineup of interchangeable lenses offering high picture quality and performance has been planned to be developed. Eight concept lenses from the line-up are shown at PMA.
- Large aperture standard zoom
- Telephoto zoom
- Large aperture wide angle zoom
- Super Telephoto zoom
- Super Telephoto Fixed
- Telephoto Fixed
- Wide angle Fixed
- Large aperture Wide angle Fixed
More than five lenses including 24-70mm/F2.8, 70-300mm/F4.5-5.6, DT18-250mm/F3.5-6.3 will be launched within a year.
Sony’s PMA press announcement:
[tags]sony, alpha, a100, a10, a1, a200, a300, a400, a500, pro, prosumer, dslr, news, rumors[/tags]