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David Kilpatrick analyzes the new Sony concepts
Sony A850 and A900 double review by photographybay!(SR4) More news about the rumored GH1 Sony competitor…
As you know 10 days ago we reported that Sony is working on a Panasonic GH1 competitor. We received the news from one of our trusted sources (and a second source confirmed the rumor). We also received the rumor saying there will be a November 18 Sony announcement. Both rumors were/are true, but our mistake was to think they were connected to each other! In this days we tried to understand what’s really going on with the supposed new Sony mirrorless video and still camera. Now we can tell you a little bit more!
Sony has already a REAL! prototype of mirrorless video and still camera which uses a APS-C sensor. The bad news is that the camera is going to be presented on Photokina 2010…that’s in September only 
As soon as we have more infos we will post it. We will also be a little bit more careful in future (to not repeat mistakes anymore).
In the meanwhile let Sony know what you want:
[poll id="2"]
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It would be nice to have a really big touchscreen on the back. I have used the Sony DSC-T series compacts for a while and also Nikon Film and Digital SLRs.
If they could integrate a 4″ touchscreen with professionalized controls (customizable of course).
And interchangeble lenses optimized for Video (silent operation) With motorized zoom (with manual override) that would be a dream come true.
Fast autofocus would be a must . DSC-Ts autofocus has been way to slow so far…
A multi aspect ratio Sensor like in the GH-1 would be apreciated too (to shoot 16:9 Videos and still use the whole image circle.
I would also like to see sensor shift IS and finally silent operation of the Shutter!!!!! Please give me a chance to shoot during filming on a movie set… (DSC-R1 like would be enough)
Thanks
i second the touchscreen, and would add that i need the screen to be either fully articulated (like GH1 not just tiltable like A380) or better if the whole back panel (LCD+controllers on the back) is detachable.
touchscreen wouldn’t work for me – price to fun factor is still very very poor :/
“interchangeble lenses optimized for Video” – it’s not about being silent danworx, currently you can get SSM lenses which are silent too. It’s about smooth aperture regulation and AF which can use info from lenses to focus well in video mode.
I agree Sky_walker, but there are too noisy lenses available right now, while your points are certainly more important.
Touchscreens are already very usable. Also i would prefer the complete backside of the camera for display use instead of wasting space for buttons. A touchscreen interface can be much more intuitive when done properly. Also customisation would be very easy to implement. Just think of all settings you frequently use, at a touch of your fingertip. Also iPhone like sliders for fast changes would be very handy.
I found the Touchscreen use of recent DSC-Ts very promising for future enhencements towards usability.
And please don’t waste any R&D for eye level Viewfinders, they are definitely not necessary as soon as you get used to a screen.
By the way, since the introduction of Steadycam, Monitors are used to frame Movie Cameras with huge success… and that’s definitely more difficult than framing stills (have tried it with a 16mm Arri Film cam on a pro rig).
[...] now received confirmation from two sources that the Sony mirrorless camera (the Panasonic GH1 competitor) is real! The mistake we made was to think that the camera is going [...]
“And please don’t waste any R&D for eye level Viewfinders, they are definitely not necessary as soon as you get used to a screen.” – hehe, I say other way around: screen is definitely not necessary when you get used to good eye-level viewfinders.
Besides that: Major part of photography pleasure is using the optical viewfinder
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Completely agreed about Touchscreens, but honestly – I’ve never seen a camera which let me to customize the menu in the way I’d like it to be…. but who knows? Perhaps one day…
i also think that there is a redundancy in having two electronic screens (LCD+EVF) displaying the same things. there should be a way to overcome ambient bright light making the LCD invisible, internal EVF makes the camera more expensive, heavy and bulky. LCD users who are a majority are being sold an extra undesirable feature against ther will when the manufacturer include a built-in EVF. Let at least be external optional one so that those who don’t want it can skip it.
“hehe, I say other way around: screen is definitely not necessary when you get used to good eye-level viewfinders.
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Besides that: Major part of photography pleasure is using the optical viewfinder
I’m curious how you would shoot with the camera in positions where your arms can reach but your head would have difficulties to get to…
Talking about for example holding the camera over the handrail of a bridge (with the camera pointed sideways to get a half profile of somebody looking of the bridge). You would be able to just see the screen but definitely not to look through the finder! Lowangle shots are much easier too (I don’t fancy lying on my belly or folding myself into impossible figures to get lowangle shots).
Using a screen to frame a shot definitly frees your imagination for positioning the camera. You will very likely use different angles much more frequently than with a (eye level) finder just because they are so much easier to reach.
And by the way I started with eye level finders and had some difficulties adapting to screens, but now I don’t miss finders at all.
One last advantage of touchscreens is the possibility to tap on a point on the screen that shall be in focus, that is really a handy feature I use a lot because it’s much faster than multiple clicks on the navigational button.
“I’m curious how you would shoot with the camera in positions where your arms can reach but your head would have difficulties to get to…” With tiltable LCD using live-view. But let’s be fair – how many photos you make with hands up up in the air or with camera laying on the ground? For me it’s like… 1 per month perhaps… if any at all (and yes – I have LiveView). I’d gladly give away any electronic view functions – both EVF and LV – for a very good optical viewfinder… unlucky not many such cameras these days and all of them are expensive
About the focus – call me old grandpa but I use central AF point only. It’s faster to catch focus and than pick the composition than clicking these crazy pads (agreed – pads for aiming AF is a miserable failure) or trying to reach the exact point of screen I want with my fingers >_<
i am sorry but i dont understand what is the point in including a feature like in-body stabilization?!?! what did those who compiled the poll thought? that sony would introduce their camera without stabilization or that they’ll suddenly start to do in-lens IS, both are very unlikely and it just goes without saying that the camera will have in-body IS, just as it goes without saying that there will be manual controls, RAW, AEB…etc, so it was pointless to include something like that.
Also high ISO noise, sony has been making APS-C sensors for a very long time and they will simply use the same sensors they use in their Alpha range, they are already in a fierce competition on this aspect of image quality with other mnfr’s, it is not going to make a difference when we ask for something that they have been trying hard to improve for years. The same for AF which will be CDAF, this has been used in digital compacts for ages, and any thing they can do to improve it will be done without a proof of popularity by a poll.
I mean we should send “messages” about the features which are a matter of decision, the Sony managers/designers wonder: will we make the camera with articulated screen or not? with an EVF or not? In any camera the answer could be yes or no, so we need to tell sony about that not about body IS or AF or that we want good image quality, of course we all want that. And where is the memory stick vs CompactFlash or SD cards in the poll, completely forgotten and left out! Somebody has missed his/her cup of coffee before writing down this poll.
[...] post a rumor as soon as we have one. – Regarding the wrong November 18 rumor read this post: “More news about the rumored GH1 Sony competitor…“. Related Posts:(SR4) More news about the rumored GH1 Sony competitor…(SR4) UPDATED -> Sony [...]