Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

[Atlasman]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Here in Canada, the D700 has a MSRP of $3300.

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Here in Canada, the D700 has a MSRP of $3300.

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

In with the UK product specialists now for the hands-on workshop. If anyone has any questions - please ask and I will attempt to get answers.

I'll ask about live view in a minute...

Ian

There is no live view - my feeling is that the way the image is read (and noise processed) off the sensor precludes a live view mode because the frame rate would be too slow, but I can't get any confirmation of this.

Instead, there is a single shot preview mode that lets you choose from a range of creative settings which are then selected by the user and applied to the next shot.

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

I have the camera in my hands for the first time and I have to say it feels very good and considering the size of the chassis, even with the battery grip, it doesn't feel excessively bulky or heavy.

We've been told that although the cameras are pre-production and image quality is not certified as matching production units, we will be able to publish samples from these cameras for you to download.

Ian

[Josh Bear]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Where's my new canon 5DII .

See how I have already made the purchasing decision. sad but true

Josh

[Atlasman]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

B&H has the D700 for $2999.95 US. The price earlier was in Canadian dollars.

[Bob Ross]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

In with the UK product specialists now for the hands-on workshop. If anyone has any questions - please ask and I will attempt to get answers.

I'll ask about live view in a minute...

Ian

Hi Ian,
I have read that they have redesigned the mirror actuation mechanism, so my famous first question would be, has this done anything to lower the loudness when shooting? How does it compare to whatever you or others there have?
I have always liked the "Minolta" handling and my only nit-pic with the DSLRs was the loudness of the mirror/shutter. The a900 looks like a very nice package. I don't know what I would do with all that resolution....
Bob

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Hi Ian,
I have read that they have redesigned the mirror actuation mechanism, so my famous first question would be, has this done anything to lower the loudness when shooting? How does it compare to whatever you or others there have?
I have always liked the "Minolta" handling and my only nit-pic with the DSLRs was the loudness of the mirror/shutter. The a900 looks like a very nice package. I don't know what I would do with all that resolution....
Bob

Hi Bob, yes the mirror has a new dual hinge design to minimise the depth of its movement. This enables the low pass filters in front of the sensor to intrude slightly more into the mirror box, behind the mirror.

The Alpha 900 doesn't seem to be as loud as the Alpha 700, which has a distinctive and high pitch sound.

I'd be interested to hear if you think somy might have been better off going for a lower resolution sensor to maximise the dynamic range and noise characteristics. The very high resolution of the Alpha 900 sensor means the pixel pitch is only slightly larger than the Alpha 700's APS-C sensor, though the actual photosite size should be reasonably larger because the scaling makes better use of the surface area of the larger sensor.

We are getting a day with the camera to go in a shooting tour around Edinburgh today and I will be analysing the image quality when I get home tonight.

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Where's my new canon 5DII .

See how I have already made the purchasing decision. sad but true

Josh

Canon is keeping very quiet about this. The EOS-50D was a surprise. I'd be very disappointed if the 5D replacement didn't make an appearance at Photokina in two weeks time...

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

B&H has the D700 for $2999.95 US. The price earlier was in Canadian dollars.

[Bob Ross]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Hi Bob, yes the mirror has a new dual hinge design to minimise the depth of its movement. This enables the low pass filters in front of the sensor to intrude slightly more into the mirror box, behind the mirror.

The Alpha 900 doesn't seem to be as loud as the Alpha 700, which has a distinctive and high pitch sound.

I'd be interested to hear if you think somy might have been better off going for a lower resolution sensor to maximise the dynamic range and noise characteristics. The very high resolution of the Alpha 900 sensor means the pixel pitch is only slightly larger than the Alpha 700's APS-C sensor, though the actual photosite size should be reasonably larger because the scaling makes better use of the surface area of the larger sensor.

We are getting a day with the camera to go in a shooting tour around Edinburgh today and I will be analysing the image quality when I get home tonight.

Ian

Hi Ian,
That is good news about the sound that camera makes.
I'm not sure about the resolution choice. DR might be an issue, but they have addressed it with camera processing choices. I don't know if they are as good as more sensor DR, but it should be close. Noise should benefit with down rezzing to print sizes under A3. There would always be the option to use a lower camera resolution, if the 25MP is a file burden. For subjects and situations where I used to use a medium format the 25MP would be handy. I don't encounter those as often as I used to...
The FF might bring with it some concerns for lens performance, especially for the edges and corners. The 25MP should also make the better prime lenses more desireable. We may find that the cropped sensor was helping some of the older lens designs, while it was being complained about.. The comments about the edge/corner performance with FF makes me glad that I went with 4/3rds. The massive resolution numbers will probably stalk all the formats eventually and the noise/DR vrs. oversampling gain questions will be with us again & again.
Hope you had fun on your photo tour.
Bob

[Ian]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

As this thread is getting quite long, I have started a fresh one here:

http://dpnow.com/forum2/showthread.php?t=6361

Ian

[yoshi]

Re: a short lived rumour - to be announced on the 17th?

Where's my new canon 5DII .

See how I have already made the purchasing decision. sad but true

Josh

Hi Josh,
At a rumour site in Japan, a guy posted earlier today, that it is neither "7D" nor "3D" but simply "5D mark II".

A camera magazine to be sold on and after the Sept.20th (available on previous evening in big cities), will have an introductory article about "5D mark II" together with Sony A900, Nikon D90 etc. --- So it should be announced before the 19th.

Another guy added in the same thread that the official press release would be on the 17th. This infor was given to him from a printing firm. All leaflets and catalogues are ready for delivery and should be available at big camera shops by now, he (or another guy) said. --- now many people know it. --- only potential users do not know it!?

One more guy added that the pic of the "5D" posted in a UK site (northlight-image?) is a real one according to his analysis including the shape of the pic and that of the "teaser".

it's the 13th today so 4 days later, we will know if or not this last rumour ? is real.

p.s. the price seems to be a bit more expensive than Sony Alpha 900, though.
yoshi

p.s.2: If you can check where Ian will be on this day (Edinburgh? or London?), it will add more reality to this last minute rumour.

[Josh Bear]

Re: Sony reveals Alpha 900 full frame flagship DSLR

Thanks for the info Yoshi

Best regards

Josh