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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Sony quickly ended speculation about whether the new 24mp sensor would show up in the yet to be officially named “flagship” dSLR. Soon after Sony announced the full frame sensor, several high-profile Sony doubters expressed their opinion that Sony would never use the sensor in their own cameras, because after all “Sony would never dare to challenge Nikon and Canon in the pro arena.”

Here is what technology site Gizmodo had to say when Sony took the wraps off the new sensor: “Sony isn’t about to pop it in one of its Alpha models, at least not as far as we can tell.” That idea was echoed by several other commentators.

That sound you hear is those same forecasters gnashing their teeth after Sony proclaimed that, yes indeed, the upcoming flagship will be equipped with the big full frame sensor. So much for the theory that Sony is afraid of competing in the professional category.

There is, however a minor mystery. The new full frame sensor is rated at 24.8 megapixels. The flagship, on the other hand, will boast 24.6mp. That unexplained 0.2mp difference has led to some interesting speculation.

Sony Alpha flagship will boast full frame sensor, 24+ megapixels

Some have suggested it is a completely different sensor. Sony however has indicated that the flagship will use the recently announced full frame sensor.

If you’ve been reading Alphatracks for any length of time, you know we have discussed at length the ramifications of installing a full frame sensor with in-body stabilzation.

Could that 0.2mp difference represent the crop factor needed to use the sensor with Super Steady Shot? If so, it isn’t much of a crop. If my math is correct, the sensor would be roughly 99.193548387096774193548387096774 percent of a full frame. That would be something like a 1.008 crop factor. In other words, no crop at all.

Of course Sony hasn’t said the missing 0.2 megapixel is related to the Super Steady Shot. Perhaps there is some other reason Sony trimmed that portion of a mp from the sensor. Since the flagship will use a CMOS sensor, it should be possible to “shut off” any unneeded pixels.

Sony has said the flagship will ship this year. Many observers are suggesting a Photokina timeframe. (September) Sony hasn’t confirmed that — in fact Sony hasn’t said that the dSLR will be known as the A900, although many people have already started calling it that. Sony has firmly said the dSLR will ship in 2008.

To me, it really doesn’t matter where that 0.2mp went. The flagship will be full frame and pack more that 24mp.

All of a sudden those Sony haters have started to get rather quiet.

Technorati Tags:
Alpha flagship full frame, Alphatracks, Photography, Sony Alpha, Tom Bonner

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Okay, I know this post has absolutely nothing to do with Sony or Minolta. It doesn’t even have anything to do with photography. Still, I am confident that a number of Alphatracks readers are digital artists as well as digital photographers. If you are one of them (or if you want to become one), then you should know that DAZ Productions is offering free downloads of the excellent Bryce 5 3D rendering program.

This isn’t a crippled trial version or a demo that will self-destruct in thirty days. Now through September 6, you can download the full working application from the DAZ website. This is the real deal. You don’t even have to give up your e-mail address to download the software. I just went to the site, clicked the link and the download started. For some reason the software downloaded as a text file instead of a Stuffit archive on my Mac. I simply dropped the text file on the Stuffit Expander application and everything unstuffed properly.

When you actually start the application for the first time, you will need a free DAZ account to get the required serial number. I already had an account, but if you’ve never registered with DAZ you will need to sign up to get the serial number. It’s no big deal to register. I have had my DAZ account for about a year now. I get an occasional e-mail, maybe one every five or six weeks. Usually the e-mail contains an interesting discount or featured 3D package. How do you think I discovered the free Bryce download? So I feel it was worthwhile to register.

Once I put the serial number in, the program launched and appears to be working fine. Of course, the Bryce interface can be intimidating and the program does have a steep learning curve. The DAZ website has a large tutorial section to get you started, and other training materials are available for free on the web. That is a good thing, because I didn’t find a PDF manual with my download.

Bryce 5.0 runs on Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows NT. Like any graphics-intensive program the faster your processor and the more RAM you have the better the program will run.

Even if you only dabble at 3D rendering, Bryce 5.0 will be a great addition to your software collection. I suggest you down load it now, while the free offer is still in effect.

Here is the link:

DAZ Productions - 3D Models, 3D Content, and 3D Software

I promise I’ll tackle the Minolta 9D subject next time. Until then, Stay Focused.

technorati tags:Bryce, 3D Rendering, free software, DAZ Productioins

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