Sony discloses a camera with on sensor phase detecion.

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What’s so special in the image shown above? There is no optical viewfinder and no mirror at all! Sony fulfilled a patent for a camera that has a new sensor which contains pairs of phase detection pixels. (Click here to see the original patent on freepatentsonline). There is no need for any mirror (translucent or classic mirror) that reflects light on a dedicated AF sensor. The advantage of such technology is that you can have phase detection on mirrorless systems and unlike the translucent technology you have no light loss because of the semitransparent mirror. Phase detection autofocus is much faster than contrast autofocus. See the image below to see how Sony includes the AF pixels on the sensor:

The only “problem” with the described solution is that you need more pixels on a sensor and you will probably have to use less or smaller RGB pixels compared to classic RGB Bayer sensors.

Fuji is already using it on the [shoplink 6047]Finepix Z800EXR[/shoplink]! See the Fuji camera specs at [shopcountry 6047]. There is also a nice article on Dpreview (Click here) that describes the Fuji technology.

My two cent on that. It will not take very long to see the technology to be used on real Sony cameras. Simply because that IS the right technology for all mirrorless cameras that want to focus as fast as professional DSLR cameras.

 

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UPDATE: “9X” stays for “sales increase 9 times”

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Our friend Colamango (Click here) was present at the Sony convention in Malaysia. For a short while we questioned if the image above could refer to the translucent A9x fullframe camera. Our sources told us that this should be a mistake because there will be no A9x in 2011. Finally we got an update from a few participant at that event. Sony Malaysia only said that they were able to increase their sales by “9x” in About Half a Year. SO there were no talk about the “A9X” fullframe camera! Buh, what a hoax :)

 

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Vivitar 7mm fisheye review at Kurtmunger

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And there it is the next review at Kurtmunger. Kurt never rests :)
That time he tested a third party lens, the Vivitar 7mm F/3.5 fisheye lens on the Sony A700: “Optically, this fisheye lens is quite good, and I’d recommend it for people that have APS-C cameras. It’s pretty sharp stopped down, and control of color fringing, light fall-off and ghosting is above average. The Vivitar 7mm APS-C fisheye performs well stopped down, although it isn’t as sharp as the Sony 16mm fisheye in the centers with a wide aperture. However, the Vivitar corners seem to be sharper with more contrast at smaller apertures. Don’t use the Sony 16mm F/2.8 fish-eye (review) on an APS-C camera, as the distortive effects are diminished by the crop factor, that’s why it doesn’t make any sense to directly compare them.”

Check out price and availability of the Vivitar lens at [shopcountry 6025].
Check out price and availability of the Sony 16mm lens at [shopcountry 6026].

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JTec announces the introduction of three precision machined components for the Sony NEX-5.

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Press release:

“JTec announces the introduction of three precision machined components for the Sony NEX-5.

First, and foremost, is a cold shoe adapter for mounting an optical viewfinder of your choice. Now, you can use your favorite prime lens (with appropriate adapter) and an optical viewfinder, allowing the quick framing required in capturing event or street scenes. No longer do you have to hold the camera at arms length to frame a scene. The camera is at your eye, promoting a steadier and more accurately framed shot. The phrase “f8 and be there” is now a reality with our cold shoe adapter.

In order to take best advantage of the capabilities of the [shoplink 3003]NEX-5[/shoplink], especially the Sweep Panorama mode, JTec is also introducing two ways to to attach the camera to a tripod: a simple camera plate and an L-bracket.

The plate and L-bracket allow the camera to be mounted to any Arca Swiss style tripod head, and makes convenient landscape panoramas possible.

The L-bracket also allows the panorama to be taken in portrait orientation, and gives you the option to tripod mount your camera for taking high quality portraits. Enclosed is a Product Sheet. Full details are available at http://jtec-online.com/.

JTec is dedicated to producing high quality components to enhance your picture-taking experience. Our background in both photography and machining means we can translate real-world needs into superior parts for your use.”

 

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Sony will use electronic viewfinders only. But is there a Sony future for Hybrid viewfinders a là Fuji X100?

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Optical or electronic Viewfinder? It doesn’t matter anymore what you prefer! If you want to stick with Sony than electronic viewfinder is the only possible future. As you remember Sony officially announced they will drop the classic optical viewfinder technology. So is there really no other option?

Yes there is one…The hybrid Viewfinder! The new [shoplink 5969 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink] offers a dual EVF/OVF vision. The bad news is that such technology works with fixed lens only. I thought you might be curious to see how it works (see the video on top). The question now is, can the X100 technology be improved? In short yes. Sony should learn from the [shoplink 5968 ebay]Contax G2[/shoplink] that has the best viewfinder ever put in a rangefinder camera. It zooms as you change lenses, so it always has the perfect size! (Click here to read the review made by Ken Rockwell). Now the dreamers question:

Will you buy the A6500?

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I would love to get my hands on that camera!

You can preorder the Fuji X100 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon UK. There is also one single camera on auction at [shoplink 5969 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. It will not be cheap!
Check out the Contax G2 auctions on [shoplink 5968 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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New Sony A580, A55 and NEX-3 reviews

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Today we have a nice mix of new Sony camera reviews!

Whatdigitalcamera (Click here) tested the Sony A580: “The most important element of the Sony A580, the image quality, is impressively consistent if not quite as eye-catching as it should be. Results are of an equivalent level to the chasing pack and the camera performs reasonably well in low light, although above ISO 800 image noise becomes apparent.”
Direct Sony A580 links to [shopcountry 3028].

Stayfocusedpress (Click here) posted a three part Sony A55 review: “When I first learned about the Alpha A55, I was amazed by the number of innovative features that Sony claimed to have packed into this new body. In the two months that I’ve used this camera, I remain impressed by the results that I’m seeing in the images and the ease with which I am able to capture them.”
Direct Sony A55 links to [shopcountry 3617].

Trustedreviews (Click here) tested the Sony NEX-3 which is going to be replaced soon by the NEX-C3: “The ‘negatives’ here are a ‘basic’ looking design, lack of body integral anti shake, omission of built-in flash (so you have to carry the clip-on variety around with you), and in the case of the NEX-3, video clips are ‘just’ 1280×720 pixels rather than Full HD. Howevermitigate, on the positive side, the price for the NEX-3 body plus twin lens kit combo on review feels very fair, at between £540 and £599 depending on where you shop. It’s also very easy for the amateur to get detailed, ‘professional’ looking results at the press of a button. It may not be truly pocketable, and has it’s issues but overall it’s well worth considering either as a smaller alternative to a DSLR or a step up from high-end compacts. ”
Direct Sony NEX-3 links to [shopcountry 3000].

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Sony sensor beats the Canon sensor (DxOmark)

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Warning! Don’t show that post to your Canon friends, they could become very angry ;)
It’s right, Canon has a much wider lens range and a more professional/complete system. But you can no longer say that Canon sensors are really better than Sony sensors. De facto DxOmark (Click here) proved that Sony do deliver a better image quality than Canon sensors! See the image on top. The new [shoplink 6011]Canon 600D[/shoplink] gets easily beaten by both SLT and DSRL Sony models. Also the much more expensive [shoplink 6012]Canon 7D[/shoplink] can’t come close to the Sony cameras (Click here to see that at DxOmark). Now let’s hope Sony can prove to be a reliable system by releasing new lenses too and by improving their customer service. If that happens I am sure they will get much closer at Canon in terms of sales share.

Check out those direct links to see price and specs of the cameras:
Sony A55 at [shopcountry 3617].
Sony A33 at [shopcountry 3620].
Canon T3i/600D a [shopcountry 6011].
Canon 7D at [shopcountry 6012].

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