Alphatracks

Sony has started shipping the Alpha A350. I took delivery of one of the big orange boxes last week and have started putting the A350 through it’s paces. So far, I am fairly pleased with the 14m dSLR — I will post a review with samples shortly.

I had hoped to update my copy of Adobe Lightroom to version 1.4, which is required to read the RAW files from the Sony Alpha A350, A300 and the A200 as well as several other new cameras. Unfortunately, Adobe posted the update for only a few hours. If you click on the link to update to 1.4, you get the message:

Adobe hasn’t said when the revised 1.4 updater will be available, but until they get their act together, I won’t be able to process my A350 RAW files in Lightroom. This limitation also applies to Adobe Camera Raw, meaning at this point there is no way to edit A350 RAW files with an Adobe product.

Sony has started shipping the A350 model, with the similar A300 to come shortly. Don’t expect to edit RAW files in Lightroom/ACR until Adobe perfects the latest update to ACR.

My fall back has been Sony’s Image Data Converter and Lightbox SR which shipped with the A350. The two programs do a credible job, but I know exactly what to expect from LR. It will take some time to become comfortable with editing in with the Sony software. In addition, the Sony software does not recognize my older Minolta RAW files, so I require two different sets of software to work with my image collection. Grrr. I hope Adobe fixes the bugs in 1.4 soon.

Of course there is another solution: Apples’ Aperture. Frequent Alphatracks contributor Bert Pasquale has been playing with Aperture 2.0 and he seems more than happy with it. He writes:

Let me think about this. Aperture and iPhoto are more or less niche products in Apple’s product line. They help with the bottom line, of course, but they are far from Apple’s main bread and butter. On the other hand, Photoshop is Adobe’s crown jewel. They make a lot of cash from other sources, but Photoshop is their premier product.

So how is it that Apple appears to effortlessly produce an update that supports the latest cameras well in advance of their release date, while Adobe’s can’t ship it’s famed Camera Raw software until after the new models hit the street? For that matter, why did Adobe release an ACR/Lightroom update that was so filled with bugs that almost a week afterwards they still haven’t been able to fix it?

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Mark Weir, the Senior Technology and Marketing Manager for Sony’s Alpha dSLR division appears in an interview on the latest podcast from The Digital Photography Show.

I am a frequent listener to the DPS podcast. It is an easy-going. no-stress show. Hosts Scott Sherman and Michael Stein freely admit they aren’t professional photographers — they are just a couple of regular guys who are nuts over digital photography. The testimony to their interest in digital photography lies in the latest show, which happens to be episode #84. It takes a lot of work and effort to produce a podcast on a regular basis — most of casts in my iTunes library are abandoned during the first year. Sherman and Stein, however, have just released their eighty-fourth show and don’t appear ready to quit anytime soon.

Although I enjoy listening to show, the pair spend way too much time yammering about cameras that start with the letters “C” and “N,” WAY too much time. Until recently, they attempted to defend their posture with usual “most people” use certain brand cameras. Now, however, it appears they have had enough complaints from listeners that they have rethought their show. They have started discussing lots of other cameras on the podcast. The Mark Weir interview is one of their efforts to welcome other dSLR makers to their party.

They caught up with Weir at the Sony booth at the recent PMA show. The interview runs about 30 minutes — the first half discusses the Sony Alpha dLSRs, while the second explores some of the new technologies Sony is bringing to their point and shoot models.

There isn’t anything really new in the interview, but it is still worth listening to, especially if you are an A-mount shooter. Weir explains in detail the advantages to the new Sony Live View system offered in the Alpha A300 and A350. He also hammers home the advantages of in-body image stabilization. In addition to not having to buy IS with every lens you acquire, Weir points out that it is impractical to add lens-based IS to many macro and wide aperture lenses. Thus the Sony in-body system allows users to enjoy IS in many types of lenses that are simply unavailable from competing lens-based IS systems.

Weir also proudly announced that the upcoming Alpha flagship dSLR will be the first full-frame SLR with in-body IS. I guess that answers some of our questions on that point. I was really impressed that he was able to say the phrase “Super Steady Shot” and not sound the least bit silly.

Sherman did try to pry information about the price of the flagship out of Weir, but got nowhere. All Weir would say on the subject of price is that he thought everyone would be pleasantly surprised about the price — or words to that effect. I liked hearing that, but only time will tell.

You can download the Sony Mark Weir interview at The Digital Photography Show. As you might expect, the show is also available on iTunes. Just search for The Digital Photography Show in the podcast directory and download episode #84. It’s a fairly long podcast, and a lot of the stuff in the beginning wasn’t all that interesting to me. The Weir interview starts exactly at the 30 minute point.

A while back, I pointed out that the A700 was forcing many of the media to look at Sony with fresh eyes. With the addition of the A200, A300 and the A350, Sony is developing a line of dSLRs that demand respect and attention. It appears that Scott Sherman, Michael Stein and the Digital Photography Show have started to get the message. After all, “A” comes before “C” and “N” in the alphabet!

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A300, Alphatracks, Camera, Sony Alpha, Tom Bonner, Sony A350

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What a difference a year makes. At the 2007 PMA show Sony Alpha dSLR line was shunned by most of the press. There were no great announcements, although Sony did show off two mockups of yet unnamed dSLRs. The “Advanced Amateur” model eventually came to pass as the A700, while the tantalizing “flagship” is still waiting to be released. Other than the concept cameras, which Sony refused to elaborate on, there wasn’t much to see. The press lavished tons of coverage to other major and minor dSLR offerings, but except for the few A-mount sites and forums, Sony was just a postscript at PMA 2007.

Sony was not about to let that happen again. The 2008 PMA show was packed with Sony and Sony Alpha dLSR news. Of course everyone is still talking about the incredible 24mp, full-frame sensor that Sony announced, and the introduction of not one but two new live view dSLR bodies caught a lot of people by surprise. The A300 and A350 are a huge shot in the arm to the Alpha line, and should go a long way to convince potential customers that Sony is serious about playing in the dSLR arena.

In the excitement of the huge sensor and live-view SLR announcements, many observers may have overlooked Sony’s release of several new dSLR accessories.

Sony will add a new flash unit to their existing Alpha flashes.

The first totally new Sony Alpha Flash unit, the HVL-F42AM, will be available in the near future. The other Flashes in Sony’s line up appear to be re-badged versions of Minolta flash units. That isn’t a bad thing, Minolta’s wireless flash system was considered by many to be excellent.

The new HVL-F42AM might appear to be a middle of the road unit, filling the gap between the the HVL-F36AM (GN 36) and the big HVL-F56AM (GN 56). While the new flash’s guide number of 42 does place between the current two Sony shoe mount flash units, the HVL-F42AM has an zoom range of 24-105mm. You can cover up to a 16mm lens with wide angle adapter. The current flashes in the Sony catalog offer a range of 24-85mm and the adapter covers 17mm.

As usual, Mike Hohner seems to have an inside track on Sony’s latest products. Here is Hohner’s “Flash tech data for Sony Alpha HVL-F42AM” page.

There is also a Sony Europe press release covering the PMA announcement floating about. Here’s what the release has to say:

With wireless, ADI and manual modes, plus a full range of tilt and swivel possibilities, the new flash unit sounds like it might be an excellent addition to any A-mount user’s camera bag.

Then there are the lenses. Although technically not a PMA announced product, Sony’s latest two lenses were introduced on the eve of the show, so they might as well be considered new PM products. Both of the new lenses use SSM technology for quicker auto focusing.

Say hello to the Carl Zeiss® 24-70mm f/2.8 lens

Coming this spring, the $1,700 Vario Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA is a very-fast, wide to mid range zoom lens. According to the Sony release:

The second new lens, also available this spring, is the $800 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G-series zoom.

The SAL70300G lens incorporates the optical performance of Sony’s G series in a compact and flexible telephoto zoom lens ideal for sports and portrait photography. Constructed of 16 elements in 11 groups, with one extra-low dispersion element, this lens offers superb contrast and sharpness across its wide focal length range.

The use of extra-low dispersion glass compensates for chromatic aberrations which challenge long telephoto zoom lens design, maintaining excellent optical characteristics from center to periphery. Internal focus construction not only realizes compact size, but also a close focusing capability of just 47 inches (1.2m), unusual for a lens of this focal length range.

New 70-300 G-series SSM Alpha mount lens

Like the SAL2470Z, focus drive is provided by Sony’s Super Sonic wave Motor (SSM) technology. Silent and highly accurate, the SSM system is ideal for providing larger lenses with the speed and rotational precision often required by telephoto shooting. To match auto focus operation to the situation, a focus range limiter can be set to a minimum distance of three meters. A lens barrel mounted focus hold button locks focus if desired.

These lenses are good ammunition to use against those who imply that Sony doesn’t offer sufficient quality glass to complete against the “established camera makers.” We will have to wait to see how these lenses perform in the real world, but it sounds like they could hold their own against anything similar from other manufacturers.

Next up, the new vertical grip. Again this isn’t technically a PMA product, as it was announced along with the A200. The grip is available now at a lest price of $249.00 (less batteries). The PM news is that it is compatible with the A300 and the A350, as well as the original A200. This provides a great deal of flexibility if you trade up or add second body in the A200-A350 family. It does not fit the A700, which has it’s own specific vertical grip, and will not fit the A100 style bodies.

With the PMA announcements, Sony has taken a major step forward in it’s quest to become a major player in the dSLR realm. Many observers have relegated the Sony Alpha as niche product, offering some nice features but unable to compete against the big name dSLR makers. Sony continues to add luster to its brand, unhurriedly creating a dSLR system that can compete against the best of the best. As these products begin to gain momentum in the marketplace, watch for Sony to assume a dominate role as a dSLR maker.

Read the complete Sony Alpha Europe Press release

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A300, Alphatracks, Photography, Sony Alpha, Tom Bonner

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Another week, a couple more new Sony Alpha dSLRs…

Sony has officially announced two new dSLRs, both featuring Sony’s new Quick AF Live View system. This brings the Sony dSLR model lineup to five, provided you include the original A100, which is no longer in production but still available in many outlets.

Only about four months ago, the A100 was Sony’s only dSLR and had been for eighteen months. To many observers, it seemed Sony had lost their direction and might even abandon the dSLR market.

Tilting live view LCD appears on new Alpha dSLRs.

Sony has effectively shut down the naysayers by releasing the A700 in September of 2007, then unleashing the A200, A300 and A350 in January 2008.

The A200 was announced at the CES show, and only a few weeks later, Sony sends word that the A300 and A350 will ship in March and April.

The A300 specs seem similar to the A200 with the same 10.2mp sensor. The A350 ups the ante with a new 14.2mp CCD sensor.

The feature that sets the two “main-stream” dSLRs apart is the Live View system. The tilt out 2.7” LCD panel allows the user to compose and shoot from a variety of angles. The Quick View system uses a second sensor to continuously monitor the scene:

Here is what the Sony press release has to say:

Although I am not particularly interested in Live View, on paper it appears the Sony system is one of the best implementations of Live View yet.

Alpha 350 boasts 14.2mp (CCD).

After an incredible drought, A-mount shooters suddenly have wide selection of dSLRs to choose from. And yesterday’s huge announcement of the 24mp full-frame sensor is a reminder that the A900/flagship model is yet to come.

All of a sudden, it is a great time to be an Alpha Mount shooter!

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