One month ago in many forums people started to say that Sony could release the long expected firmware for the A850 and the A900. We didn’t hear anything form our sources so we posted the “rumor” with a low value “SR2=from unkown sources”.
What we post now is a rumor from one of our trusted sources. The Sony A850 and the Sony A900 will be released in March!
I really hope Sony has been able to address all the critics we read in the forums during the last months!
UPDATE: I have no details about the new firmware. I was only told that it will be a “major update”.
Like you I have not been really happy to see mockups only at PMA. Normally when a company shows you something like that you get the feeling that you will have to wait a lot of time to wait before you can see the REAL cameras. But during the last days I received some surprising rumors! I am still waiting to get some confirmations from other source but I really believe Sony is going to surprise us…in a good way! No more mockups :)
So stay tuned, as soon as I can I will give you the good news!
P.S.: I hope the new layout is a step in the right direction. Now it should be easier for you to read our news..at least I hope so!
Digitalcamerarview just posted their latest Sony A850 test. If you read the pro and the cons list you will not find any surpise. The Sony A850 has an excellent resolution and dynamic range and has a not so exciting High-ISO performance.
Click here to read the review: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4186&review=sony+alpha+dslr+a850
Click here to check the current price on Amazon: Sony Alpha 850
It happens that Ken Rockwell is one of the most famous Photographyblogger of the world. And it happens that he visited the Sony PMA stand. And what did he say?
“I’m intrigued by the Sony Alpha 850, which for $2,000, seems like a very competent DSLR, which just happens to be full-frame, 24MP, and with a slew of available Zeiss lenses.
If I was starting from scratch and wanted a DSLR for nature and landscape, I’d have a hard look at the A850.”
That’s good advertising for Sony!
The bad part is that he also noticed that the PMA Sony isn’t really good: “Sadly, Sony doesn’t do trade shows right. When I walked up to the Sony booth, the guy trying to help show me the Alpha 850 and Alpha 900 had no real idea of what they were, and didn’t care enough to try to find someone who did. It was as bad as a bad retail store. This is weird, at a trade show, usually everyone there knows everything about everything, but not at Sony. The same thing happened last year.!”
As you know since months SonyAlphaRumors is telling you that Sony is working on a Half-mirror (Pellix-mirror) camera. Click here to read the original rumor we posted on December 1 2009!
I remember many of you didn’t really believe in what we told you :)
Let’s start with the very interesting part:
“There is proposed a digital camera which is capable of simultaneously performing phase difference detecting AF by a phase difference detecting AF sensor and live view in which time-series images for determining a picture composition are electronically displayed on a display”
In fact Sony invented the Holy Grail of photography (and videorecording). You will be able to use the very fast Phase-Detection Autofocus during video recording. And no more mirror blackout during still photography. No noisy mirror movements! It will make less noise than a Leica rangefinder camera!
Or read the part below (copied from the patent text) which summarize everything very well:
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
“However, in such a technology as described above, a half mirror is fixed to a camera body. Therefore, in actual photographing (in capturing a still image for record), light passing through the half mirror is used. That is, typically, an actual photographing image is generated using light passing through the half mirror at a predetermined transmittance to reach an image pickup device. As a result, a sufficient quantity of light may not be obtained in the image pickup device in actual photographing.
It is desirable to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of obtaining a sufficient quantity of light used in actual photographing in a configuration capable of simultaneously performing phase difference detecting AF and live view.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus including a half mirror, a phase difference detecting AF sensor, an image pickup device, and display means. The half mirror separates light from a photographing optical system into transmitted light and reflected light. The phase difference detecting AF sensor receives the reflected light reflected on the half mirror to detect a focusing state by a phase difference detecting method. The image pickup device receives the transmitted light passing through the half mirror to generate time-series images with respect to subject image light from the photographing optical system. The display means sequentially display the time-series images generated by the image pickup device. In the apparatus, the half mirror is provided so as to be movable between a first position on an optical path of the subject image light from the photographing optical system and a second position to which the half mirror is evacuated from the optical path of the subject image light, and when the half mirror is in the second position, the image pickup device generates an actual photographing image on the basis of the subject image light reaching the image pickup device from the photographing optical system without passing through the half mirror.”
P.S.: Sorry if I still didn’t manage to update the SonyAlphaRumors website design. I have been really busy at work. Will have time tomorrow to make everything :)
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