Alphatracks

Sony is offering a free firmware update for the A700. According to the release, the new firmware update

“improves image sharpness and reduces noise under certain circumstances and improves flash control at very short distances with non-ADI control lenses.”

Sony says the update offers:

• Sharper images for pictures taken under low contrast conditions
• Reduced noise for pictures taken at ISO 3200
• Improved flash control for objects closer than 1 meter with non ADI controlled lenses

In addition to the updated firmware, Sony is also updating the Image Data Converter SR and Image Data Lightbox SR applications included with the camera.

You can download the Windows and Macintosh versions of the firmware and software updates at the Sony Support site.

Alpha A700
Firmware update
photography
digital camera

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This will be the final post on the Sony Alpha full-frame sensor / anti-shake quandary. The first in the series outlined the full frame with anti-shake problem, while the second consisted principally of remarks by Bert Pasquale, a well-respected optical engineer.

Since several readers are sill somewhat confused, I have created some illustrations to help explain the situation.

Figure one shows the relative sizes of various sensors, They are drawn to the exact size, but since monitors and screen resolutions vary, the sizes may not be correct on your screen. The size of each sensor in relation to each other, however, is accurate.

Figure 1: Sensor sizes compared

The red rectangle represents a “full-frame” 24×36mm sensor. The green rectangle is a 17×2mm APSC sensor. The blue rectangle is 90% of a full frame.

Figure 2 shows the APS-C sensor overlaid on a circle that represents the minimum coverage of a 35mm full-frame lens. As you can see, there is plenty of “wasted coverage” as only the area inside the green rectangle will be captured. It is obvious that the sensor can move freely in any direction and still be covered by the lens.

Figure 2: Coverage of a APS-C sensor by a full-frame lens

Figure 3 is a full frame sensor contained inside the exact same coverage circle. There is no established size for the coverage area, as lenses will vary slightly. The designers only have to create a lens that will offer adequate coverage and sharpness of the 24×36mm film area, and still fit within the lens mount. Of course, the greater the lens coverage, the larger and heavier it will need to be. It will probably be more costly as well, so typically lens designers try to keep near the minimum dimension.

As Mr. Pasquale mentioned, the circle of coverage doesn’t immediately fall off to nothing. Rather, the edge of the circle gradually starts to provide lens light and become less sharp.The fall-off increases slowly until the image eventually fades away.

As you can see from Figure 3, there is little room for the sensor to move without clipping at least one of the corners. Again this will vary from lens to lens, as well as with different focal lengths of a zoom lens.

Figure 3: Coverage of a full-frame sensor by a full-frame lens

Figure 4 is an arbitrary 90% sensor. You can see that such a sensor is much larger than the APS-C size, yet still has room to float inside the coverage area. I chose this because several people “in the know” have suggested they believe this will be Sony’s answer to the problem. However, some other authorities have suggested that Sony may opt for a 1.25 crop sensor.

Figure 4: Coverage of a 1.1 crop sensor by a full-frame lens

On the other hand, Mr. Pasquale has suggested that the sensor may not actually move sufficiently enough to require a “crop” lens of any sort. That would be ideal, but until Sony announces the sensor, we really won’t know.

The final figure is one suggested by Alphatracks readers Warren Massey and LEdgars. In their comments, they suggest Sony could simply build an oversize sensor. As you can see by the rectangular outline in figure 5, such a sensor can move some distance in any direction without clipping. The idea is that the big sensor can move around and the camera can crop to a 24X36mm dimension at exposure. it’s a novel idea — but I not sure we will see it in the near future.

Figure 5: Coverage of a oversize sensor by a full-frame lens

First off, it would be expensive. As sensors increase in physical size, the manufacturing yield is less because typically there are more rejects. Even more significant however, is that an oversize sensor would most likely be confined to the Sony flagship. A full-frame sensor would be attractive to many other dSLR makers and in the past, Sony’s sensor division has profited by selling sensors to a wide range of camera makers. Would Nikon have any interest in an oversize sensor? It’s rather doubtful. Nikon uses a lens based image stabilization method, so there wouldn’t be a need for an oversize sensor.

So if Sony does produce an oversize sensor, their principal customer would be Sony — and for the time being only for the top-of-the -line, limited-production flagship. Would that justify designing and manufacturing an oversize sensor? Or would Sony prefer to invest their resources in a sensor they could sell by the truckload to other camera makers as well as their own dSLR division?

Time will tell, but I’m guessing Sony has a plan up their sleeves. It should be quite interesting!

Sony Alpha
dSLR
photography
full frame
camera

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Last week, I posted about the alleged difficulty of using a full-frame sensor with the Sony/Minolta anti-shake system. See the post: Can Sony build a true full frame dSLR? I made critical error in my post, when I suggested that the sensor had room to move up and down but not side to side. This is incorrect. The typical 35mm image circle only needs to cover the full-frame sensor from corner to corner, so there would be no room to move the sensor in either direction.

So I was mistaken, but sometimes mistakes can be a positive thing. My error encouraged Bert Pasquale, an optical engineer (and Sony/Minolta SLR user) to write me with his assessment of the full-frame, anti-shake situation. In addition to pointing out my little misconception, he has several innovative ideas on how Sony could deal with the problem.

I asked Mr. Pasquale for permission to reprint his comments and he readily agreed. His remarks follow:

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Bert. This is exciting stuff! In camera, computer controlled gain? Falloff curve corrections. Sensor based warning that the stability could cause vignetting! Wonder how much of this Sony has considered — and more importantly how much they will actually implement in the Alpha flagship camera. Stick around. it looks like things are going to get really interesting. It looks like its a great time to be a Sony A-mount user!

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Can Sony really make a full-frame dSLR? Not will Sony…but CAN Sony really do it?

Some months back, I wrote that I expected the so-called “flagship” Sony Alpha (possibly named the A900?) to carry a full-frame sensor. I still believe that to be true, however I’m hedging my bets a little. It will be “almost” full-frame or “close” to full-frame. It may not be the actual size of a 35mm negative, however, which is the definition of a full-frame dSLR to most photographers.

It isn’t that Sony lacks the technology to build an actual full-frame sensor. Sony has the ability to build just about any sensor they could wish.

Super Steady Shot doesn’t play well with a full frame sensor

The problem is the Super Steady Shot (anti-shake) system. Not that there is anything wrong with SSS itself, the in-body image stabilization is one of the Sony Alpha dSLR’s major advantages. However, one of the Alpha’s other major advantages is that it can use the extensive line of Minolta A-mount autofocus lenses. And thereby hangs a tale.

Twenty-some years ago, when Minolta engineers were designing the original A mount glass, there were no digital SLRs and no anti-shake systems. Thus, there was no reason to design a lens to cover anything other than the standard 35mm film image.

Thus the AF A mount lenses were designed to project a circle that would encompass a 24 X 36mm area at the camera’s film plane. There was no need to cover a larger film plane, because no Minolta SLR offered a larger negative size.

Maxxum 7D and Antishake: no worries

When Konica Minolta engineers developed the Maxxum 7D, they designed an in-body anti-shake system. The system works by moving the camera’s sensor in relation to camera movement. In essence, if there is camera vibration, the sensor stays in one place, despite the lens and body movement. The same system is used in the Maxxum 5D, the Sony Alpha A100 and the Alpha A700. All of these dSLRs use a 17 X 23mm APS-C sensor.

See the problem? If Sony develops a 24 X 36mm full frame sensor, any lens will need to cover an area larger than 36mm — at least when SSS is turned on. If vibration occurs in an up and down motion, there is room for the sensor to move in relation. If, however, the sensor moves to the left or right, it could move outside of the area covered by the lens. Update: I was in error about room for up and down motion. See these remarks by an optical engineer to understand why the image would be clipped in any direction the sensor moves.

This isn’t an issue with the current Sony/Minolta dSLRs, since the smaller APS-C sensor has plenty of room to move in any direction without moving outside of the lens coverage. When you move up to a full frame sensor, however, there isn’t nearly as much breathing room.

Lens coverage varies

Of course lenses vary. Some of the existing Sony/Minolta lenses may offer enough coverage to allow the SSS system to move — but others would probably exhibit some vignetting if the sensor moves too far to the left or right. Who wants to drop a ton of cash on a professional dSLR when many (most?) of the available lenses might display some vignetting?

How will Sony handle the full frame design?

Sony can tackle this problem in a number of ways. The first could be to drop SSS for the flagship model. That makes little sense, since Sony would then have to develop a line of image stabilized lenses. If they are going to develop an entirely new lens line, they might as well design larger coverage lenses and retain the in-body image stabilization.

Neither of these options are very credible, however. As I said, one of the Sony Alpha’s major selling points is that you can use those millions of Minolta A-mount lenses. Start redesigning the lenses and there is far less reason to choose the Alpha over the competition.

The rumor sites are suggesting that Sony could eliminate any vignetting problem by reducing the sensor size. The sensor could still be much larger than the current 1.5 crop sensor, but not exactly the size of a 35mm film negative. The figure bandied about is 1.1 crop. That would indicate a sensor of something like 21.6 X 32.4mm.

I want my super wide angle lens back!

Loosing 3mm on the width and 2.5mm on the height doesn’t seem like a lot — but it will affect the camera’s ability to display the widest angle of view with current lenses. One of the biggest problems with the APS-C sensor is that most of the original A-mount wide angle lenses aren’t very wide any longer. Cropping a 35mm lens to APS-C size yields something equivalent to the “standard” 50mm lens on a full frame camera. A 24mm lens is now closer to a 35mm. Even a 16mm fisheye is will only show what you would see with a 24mm lens on a full frame camera.

So one of the prime reasons for choosing a full frame camera is to make all those Minolta wide angles truly wide again. A 1.1 crop would be much better than a 1.5 crop in this regard — but is it enough? That 16mm would now be equivalent to 17.6. A 35mm would look like a 38.5 lens.

Those differences seem fairly insignificant, but there are times when you need the widest angle of view you can get. I hate to give up even a millimeter when I am working with an extreme wide angle.

There is one other option that Sony could adopt. Create a full frame 24mm X 36mm sensor and allow the camera to use the full sensor only when SSS is turned off. Turning on the image stabilization would automatically turn off the outer ten percent of the sensor. This would give the best of both worlds. When SSS is engaged, the sensor size is reduced so there is no chance of movement causing vignetting. Turn the image stabilization off and you get the entire full frame area and the ability to shoot at your lenses widest field of view.

Taking a page from Nikon’s book?

This isn’t as far fetched as it seems. Until recently, Nikon didn’t have any full frame cameras in it’s line up, and they sold a ton of APS-C type lenses to go with their 1.5 crop dSLRs. With their all new full-frame D3, Nikon users who owned a bag full of 1.5 crop lenses faced a big problem. “Big N” sidestepped the issue of the APS-C lenses not covering the FF sensor with a switch that reduces the sensor to APS-C size when shooting with a 1.5 crop lens.

Sony could do the exact same thing with their offering, simply reducing the sensor to 90% when SSS is turned on. Of course to be truly useful, there would need to be some way of indicating the crop area in the view finder. This would probably be in the form of engraved lines on the ground-glass to show the crop area.

Would this be worth it? I’m not sure it would be worth the trouble and cost — but it would sure be slick.

If you were on the Sony design team, how would you handle this issue?

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Very interesting article on the hardwarezone.com website. Timothy Fernandez interviews Mr. Keiichi Ishizuka, Deputy Senior General Manager - AMC (Alpha Mount Camera) Division at Sony.

The article is well worth a read, if only for an insight into Sony’s plans for the near term and the future. It also provides an insider’s look into the design process behind the A700.

Although Mr. Ishizuka is somewhat careful not to reveal too much info about what is in the Sony pipeline, he does say that the flagship model ( the rumor sites are calling it the A900, but Ishizuka gives no confirmation of this ) is on track for next year. He also says that Sony is indeed developing a replacement for the A100 and hints that Sony may offer other new models — without saying when such models might be announced.

The bulk of the article discusses the new A700 and the design considerations behind it. Mr. Ishizuka cites picture quality as the top feature of the A700, and also mentions the engineering behind the Alpha A700 dSLR’s shutter and vertical grip. Ishizuka also takes Fernandez on an in-depth look at the A700’s new DRO option.

I expected the DRO to be a great feature. Having read Ishizuka’s comments, I am very excited about trying it out.

If you are a A-mount shooter (Mr. Ishizuka refers to it as the Alpha Mount), you should take the time to read the interview. Whether you are thinking of buying an A700, or you are concerned about Sony’s future plans in the dSLR arena, I think you find the interview very enlightening.

Check out the Keiichi Ishizuka interview at HardwareZone.com.

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The good folks at Tamron sent word that they have partnered with an outfit called Triscape to sponsor Digital Scrapbooking Day on November 3, 2007. Top prize is one of the all new Tamron AF18-250mm Di II All-In-One Zoom Lenses. If you’re curious about Digital Scrapbooking day, you can check out www.DigitalScrapbookingDay.com.

The good news, however, is that you don’t have to actually create a scrapbooking project to win. Apparently, there will be a straight drawing to determine the winner of the lens. All you have to do is send an e-mail to Tamron between now and December 10. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

If you are interested, click on over to:
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/digital_scrapbook07.asp and fill out your name and e-mail address.

Here are the rules from the Tamron site:

• No purchase necessary.
• One entry per email address.
• Employees and family of F+W Publications and Tamron USA, Inc. are not eligible to enter.
• Entries must be received by midnight 12/10/07 to qualify. Winner will be selected randomly from all entries and notified by 12/12/07 via email. If there is no response from the winner by 12/19/07 we will choose a new winner who in turn will have 5 business days to respond.
• Open to U.S. residents only.
• Void where prohibited by law.

The Di II All-In-One Zoom Lens is designed for APSC sensor digital cameras and is available in Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Sony mounts. I didn’t see anything about winner’s choice, but I assume whoever sends in the winning entry will be able to select which lens mount they want. No mention on the Tamron site that this lens is compatible with older Minolta dSLRs (7D, 5D), but if you choose the A-mount lens, I would think it would work with Minolta as well. Check with Tamron to be sure.

The 18-250 AF lens only weighs 15oz. and lists for $499. You can read more about it at www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/18250_diII.asp. I might just be willing to give up my e-mail address for a chance at winning one of these.

If you follow through and actually win the lens, be sure to let us know. I’m sure your fellow Alphatracks readers would like to congratulate you!

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The Imaging-Resource website has just posted a number of A700 sample images. In addition to images shot in all manner of lighting conditions and ISO ranges, Imaging Resource offers something called the Comparometer™ a web application that allows you to compare images from any two cameras in their data base against each other.

Normally, I’m not a big fan of online image samples, because each computer monitor is different and one photographer may shoot a little differently than I would. So I prefer to make my own tests, since the information will more valid for my type of shooting and my hardware. But this is the A700 were talking about. Since I haven’t gotten my hands on the camera as yet, I plan to go through the images and glean how well Sony has done their image quality homework.

I’m sure many more sites will be offering Sony A700 evaluation images in the near future. If you’ve found some interesting demo images from the Alpha A700 SLR, be sure to drop me a line (or leave a comment.) Let’s try to assemble some good resources for evaluating A700 image quality.

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You can’t always get what you want…but (sometimes) you get what you need.

When Sony first announced they were entering the DSLR market, there were a lot of blowhards… ah, strongly opinionated folks, who predicted that Sony would fall flat on their face. Sony was an electronics company, they didn’t know anything about photography (despite the fact that Sony has been among the top producers of still and video digital cameras for years). Sony would, they insisted, produce a bunch of mass-market crud that might appeal to people who didn’t know any better, but would drive true photographers away screaming.

A place for everything and everything in it’s place…control layout of the Sony Alpha dSLR A700 photo courtesy of Sony

It didn’t work out that way, and if the early A700 reports are any indication, those strongly opinionated folks are set to eat a big helping of crow. That crow meat must be pretty bitter, because the “Sony won’t build a quality dSLR” crowd is scrambling to find a way to avoid a steady diet of field birds for the foreseeable future.

They have a problem. Unless the A700 has some deep, unforeseen flaw we know nothing about, Sony hasn’t left them much room for complaining. As I said before, the A700 appears as good or better than anything in it’s class.

So how does one save his or her reputation if you publicly predicted that nothing good could come out of Sony’s acquisition of Konica-Minolta’s SLR camera business? Simple. You make up non-issues. Such as the uncertainty over the A700’s lack of a second function dial.

To be honest, I was a little concerned over this myself.

Maxxum 7D set the standard

Konica-Minolta raised he bar when they introduced the Maxxum 7D. No other digital SLR, before or since, has offered photographers the wealth of manual controls available on the 7D. All cameras have flaws and limitations and the 7D had it’s share. But a lack of manual controls wasn’t one of them. The Maxxum 7D simply stood head and shoulders above any other dSLR in that category.

A number of Minolta A-mount users were eagerly awaiting a Maxxum 9D version. They were hoping for an advanced version of the 7D, while retaining all the manual control goodness of the original.

It was not to be. Minolta’s camera business expired before the fabled 9D could become a reality, and Sony’s first dSLR offering simply didn’t boast the manual controls of the 7D.

Some 18 months later, Sony has introduced their second dSLR. It looks to be a wonderful camera. But a Maxxum 9D it is not. There is only a single dial on the top of the Alpha A700 dSLR. The lack of a second dial is the ammunition the Sony bashers are attempting to use to save a little face. Problem is, those that have actually used the camera have universally praised the camera’s controls. Who are you going to believe? Those who have had a axe to grind against Sony’s SLR from day one or those journalists who have actually used the camera in the field? I’ll take the word of the latter, thank you very much.

So what’s so bad about a menu on a dSLR?

Let’s look at the problem. Camera makers prefer menus to dials, knobs and switches, because menus are far cheaper. It’s really just software and you can program a menu to do just about anything. In contrast, knobs and switches have to be designed, produced and stockpiled. Run short of a vital button or dial and you can’t produce more cameras until new parts are collected.

Photographers, on the other hand, prefer buttons and knobs because it is usually quicker to adjust a physical control then to scroll through a series of menus hoping to remember where the one you want is hidden.

The problem with menu driven controls:

• It is hard to find seldom used settings
• Requires the photographer memorize where settings are located
• Slower to scroll and engage specific menu items
• Difficult to change menus when on a tripod without moving camera
• Tough to use when wearing gloves, etc.

Of course knobs, dials and switches have their own problems:

• With a knob or switch it is easy to change settings by bumping or nudging
• To make knobs safer, camera makers often resort to a detent or lock, which in turn can make it difficult to change settings
• There is no “reset to normal” with manual controls. With a menu control system you can usually reset everything to a normal, default state. With manual controls you have to remember to reset each control manually.

We won’t know what the A700’s controls are like to use until the camera is in wide use. Still, I am excited that those who have used the pre-release camera have pronounced the controls as excellent.

Three inch LCD offers more room for menus.

First off, the large 3 inch display offers more room to offer easy-to-use, simple menus. With smaller displays, camera makers had to resort to grouping menus in numerous modes. This is one of the objection to menus, because you had to find the right mode for the menu choice you wanted. On some cameras, you have to set the knob to a particular setting before you can reach a particular mode. So not only do you have to remember which mode you need to achieve a setting, you have to remember which knob setting will allow you to select a particular mode. Madness!

A larger LCD provides more real estate, so menus can be organized more succinctly. There is less need to switch between modes and settings, allowing the user to find a particular menu setting more easily.

Rotating LCD helps menu clutter

I saw at least one forum where a guy was mouthing-off and making fun of the rotating LCD view on the A700. He implied it was some sort of fluff marketing gimmick that was not all that useful. I disagree. If you are shooting with a vertical grip, you pull the camera away from your eye and glance at the LCD. Having the information presented in the correct orientation is a great feature. Otherwise you have to turn the camera ninety degrees, cock your head sideways or attempt to interpret the screen at the wrong orientation. I think the A700’s rotating display is a great asset and should go a long way to eliminate menu confusion.

Knobs? We don’t need no stinkin’ knobs!

Let us not forget that Sony has found space for a number of buttons and switches in addition to the main knob. The A700 isn’t one of those toy SLRs that look like a 1/4 scale model of real 35mm SLR. The somewhat larger body means there is room for many switches and buttons, which can take the place of that second dial. Many of the most important settings (white balance, auto/manual focus, anti-shake, etc. ) are available with just a button click.

Interestingly enough, as I write this, I happened to notice my old Maxxum 7000 sitting on my desk. It was considered revolutionary in it’s day, not only because of it’s advanced auto focus system but because of all the electronic features Minolta stuffed into the camera body. Guess what? There isn’t a single knob or dial anywhere on the Maxxum 7000. Everything is controlled with buttons, slide switches or rocker switches.

Hmm…if the Maxxum 7000 could gain a reputation as one of the top film SLRs of all time with out any knobs, I’m guessing the A700 should do just fine. I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to those who have actually used the camera in preference to those who are complaining without having seen the camera, much less used it.

You know who you are. You haven’t used the A700, but you’re out in the forums complaining about the lack of that second dial. What sort of side dish do you want with your entree of raw crow?

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think!

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If you haven’t seen it, you really should check out Stephen Shankland’s review of the Sony A700 over at his blog: Underexposed.com. If the Alpha A700 wasn’t already at the top of your shopping list, wait until you see the images at Underexposed.

The Alpha DSLR A700 is stripped bare so you can see all the exciting technology inside the camera. Everything is revealed: the magnesium body, sensor, Bionz processor, prism and more. This is really drool-worthy stuff – so protect your keyboard before visiting!

See the A700 at Underexposed.com

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Help discover DRO secrets

Interesting thread on the DPreview Sony SLR talk forum. Seems some of the forum members are casting around for a method to create a new software plugin that would allow users to edit DRO photographic images in Photoshop.

DRO is the Dynamic Range Optimizer used by the Sony Alpha A100 camera. We are expecting an enhanced version in the new Alpha 700 dSLR. Similar to an in-camera HDR tool, DRO attempts to allow the camera to display a much greater dynamic range. Thus in contrasty lighting conditions, your image can show more details in the shadows without blowing out the highlights.

DRO differs from HDR in that it is done in-camera, while HDR images are created in computer. With HDR you take a series of bracketed exposures then use software to combine the best exposed areas of each bracketed shot into a single image. Sometimes the images are hokey looking, but done correctly they can be stunning.

Looking for a few good Sony Alpha A100 owners

The original poster of the thread is asking for A100 owners o help him derive the algorithm used by the A100’s DRO system. Whether anything will come of this — or whether a DRO manipulation plugin is really necessary - I’m all for it.

One of the ways to determine the health of camera community is to watch for users making hacks, mods and tweaks to their photo gear. If there is a low amount of this sort of thing, the community isn’t thriving. If users are banding together to share information and help one another create modifications to their cameras and lenses, you can bet that is a growing community.

Sometimes camera makers frown at this sort of thing, but they really should appreciate how an active community can boost sales and brand awareness. Canon seems to be blessed with a number of active camera hackers, and it hasn’t seemed to hurt their bottom line. There was even a well publicized case where someone figured out how to hack the firmware on the original Digital Rebel to give it capabilities that were only available in higher priced models.

Camera hacking is healthy

That might sound like it could hurt the sales of higher priced cameras, but I expect that Canon got a tom of PR out of that exploit. At the same time, many users didn’t dare to apply the homebrew frimware hack, for fear they could end up with a unusable camera. So even people who didn’t own a digital Rebel (like me, for instance) heard about the hack, creating lots of brand awareness. But few people were willing to forgo buying the higher priced camera by taking a chance on messing up a perfectly good Rebel. It was all good for Canon.

So I welcome any homebrew experimenters willing to tinker with the Sony Alpha or Minolta Maxxum dSLRs. That’s how cameras get to be classics. The hackers start experimenting and share their findings on the web. Other users apply what they learned from the hackers and start improving their gear and their photography. Still others are intrigued and start their own experimenting and tweaking. The word gets out and it seems like everyone is modding their cameras. Or their lenses. Or their software. More equipment get sold, used gear retains value and the brand achieves cult status.

Like I said, nothing may come of this particular experiment. But it is a healthy indication. Sony would do well to encourage more of this sort of thing.

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