Cameracraft magazine – Taking your practical photography further

Tag: Alpha

  • What's NEX? – full first-look review

    Although you will never achieve the kind of results seen with your Sony NEX-3, the technologies used in these cameras do filter down and more compact versions may be seen in the future in your Sony Mobile Phone, enabling you to take great images on the move. Continue reading to find out more about the camera system and its capabilities.

    THE SONY NEX-3 & NEX-5 cameras are ultra-slim interchangeable lens models, referred to as ‘ultracompact’ or ‘compact system camera’ models by Sony. The lens flange to film distance is only 18mm, compared to 44.5mm for the Alpha system and very similar figures for all popular SLR brands.

    The Leica M and screw mounts, with under 1mm difference between them, are 10mm greater than this at around 28mm. Screw mount Leica lenses can be adapted to M even though there is only 1mm difference. With 10mm difference, almost any lens ever made for any camera – even the Robot system, original Contax, maybe even the Pentax 110 SLR – can probably be adapted to fit the E-mount. In fact it will accept 16mm and 35mm (half-frame) ciné, C-mount CCTV lenses, and subminiature camera lenses.

    You name it, the NEX will be able to do it. Telescopes, microscopes, endoscopes, whatever. And Alpha lenses, and MD lenses. There is even enough ROOM with over 25mm the spare to fit a true retrofocus format reduction converter – that is, a 0.66X optical unit which condenses the image from a full frame lens to fit the APS-C sensor. It is already done in the video and ciné world, and these converters have a wonderful bonus. Your 24-70mm f/2.8 SSM lens becomes, with a 0.66X reducing converter behind it, a 16-46mm f/2. That’s right – the same way a teleconverter loses you a stop or two, a format reduction converter gains you a stop.

    The same converters also increase resolution, much as teleconverters reduce it. Zeiss can achieve 400 line pairs per millimetre from high grade 35mm format movie lenses when rear-converted to reduce on to 16mm or video.

    Will Sony ever make such a converter? Do they even know that Zeiss have designs, and make exactly this type of converter for Arriflex and other systems via Angenieux? Do they realise that rear fitting format-reduction converters can also perform an AF function, allowing a manual focus lens from Nikon, Canon, Contax, Minolta or whoever to be mounted on a converter which has an ultrasonic AF mechanism of its own?

    Imagine that – your 50mm f/1.2 Rokkor becomes an autofocus 33mm f/1.0 on the NEX. This is not blue sky thinking, it’s an optical practicality not a mere possibility. However, you don’t want to know the price of Zeiss converters, and for a system like NEX a universal converter might never be possible; it might have to be matched to the prime lens.

    The NEX mount is almost as wide in the throat as an SLR mount; for some obscure reason, Sony chose to measure the outer diameter of the flange, which is not what matters, and came up with 62.6mm for the Alpha and 58.9mm for the NEX. Inner diameter of the bayonet, the bit which counts, was not stated. But it’s a wide throat and can cope with a huge potential range of adapted lenses.

    Less of this ramble, and on to the plain vanilla – the camera.

    Inside the camera there is a 14.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, capable of HD video and of course the vital live view and contrast-detection focusing on which the entire camera is based. This is fed to a 3 inch, 920,000 pixel TruBlack articulated rear screen and the user must compose, control and review everything on this screen. There are few buttons, no dials except a single control wheel, and everything is converted to a virtual control or a menu choice using a Sony-Ericsson developed graphical user interface.

    The NEX5 camera, by some way the preferable model of the two, has a magnesium alloy body which matches the machined and brushed aluminium barrels of the lenses. It comes complete with a tiny camera-powered flashgun, screwed into an accessory slot on the camera top which has more contacts than a mere flash should need. Three, at least, must be for the stereo microphone audio interface which also draws Electret Condensor Microphone phantom power from the body’s battery.

    At the end of less than 24 hours with the camera, I cleaned the white table on the hotel balcony and took a few pictures which will show you the camera in detail.

    Here, you can see the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS (stabilised) kit lens to the left; the camera body is fitted with the (raised) flash and the 16mm f/2.8 E-mount non stabilised wide angle pancake lens. In front is a 49mm fit lens cap (for either), InfoLithium battery good for around 350 shots, a 4GB MemoryStick Pro Duo MkII, and the lens hood for the 18-55mm.

    The NEX baseplate view reveals the steel tripod bush set into the mag alloy casing, the lens release in a slightly unfamiliar position, the size of the grip and the location of the new Sony factory making this system – in Thailand. It was rumoured that these lenses would be branded as Zeiss. Having used these two, I can’t say they would ever have deserved that. Both are very sharp centrally but pretty soft at the edges unless well stopped down, and both have fairly strong CA. The central sharpness is excellent, about as good as you could expect, perhaps aided by the Contrast Detect focusing which is entirely free of back or front focus.

    Here’s the body, which is 24.2mm thick at its thinnest point, with the lens removed – the sensor is exposed. But that’s how it normally is, whether switched on or off. Turning the camera off does not closed the focal plane shutter (30s to 1/4000th, X at 1/160th, vertical travel). Dust removal is not going to be all that easy with the sensor cover glass sitting so well shielded and recessed behind the shutter gate. When a lens is fitted, the sun can come in and focus itself on the sensor. What issues will that cause for anyone careless enough to leave a NEX with a 16mm f/2.8 lens on its back, with no lenscap, in tropical mid-day sun? As people sometimes do, dining or drinking outdoors?

    The lens will afford some protection when fitted. The well-machined metal mount should not admit dust too easily. There are ten contacts on the E-mount lenses (note the legend ‘E-mount’ etched on the flange). They transfer EXIF information about the lens, power for the ultrasonic focusing motor which is a silent ring type, power for the aperture adjustment via a stepper motor, and command and feedback signals to make these adjustments. Enough of the protocol is shared for the E to A mount adaptor LA-EA1 to have been designed to operate SSM and SAM Alpha lenses.

    At the launch conference, Sony admitted their engineers had failed to get reliable focusing, so AF was disabled in firmware. They hoped that a firmware update would restore the planned AF functionality with in-lens motor Alpha glass.

    The ability to change aperture during video shooting is only offered with E-mount lenses, and is disabled when A-mount lenses are fitted via the adaptor. Sony does not make it clear whether different apertures can still be preset, before filming.

    This is one of the lenses which might have proved interesting on the NEX – the Sony SAM 30mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro. You can see the difference in scale and engineering approach. Note the AF/MF switch on the SAM lens – it’s the only way to over-ride AF on the Alpha bodies. The E-mount lenses are far superior, they have full time manual focus over-ride which is ultra smooth, just turn the focus ring at any time to shift away from the autofocused point. When you do this, the rear screen instantly and automatically switches to an enlarged view to aid manual fine focusing.

    Here’s a close-up of the 16mm lens iris. Whatever shape of aperture is claimed, there are only seven blades (probably to keep the action very light) and that minimum f/22 does not look especially circular to me – much like any other lens with a very small iris diaphragm. The blades are oddly asymmetrical too.

    Here you have the 18-55mm naked on the body. It’s a really good cosmetic match but you can see how large even this lens is compared to the camera. The 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 which was not ready to be tried out is even larger. Note the position of the strap lug(s). They are placed down the body and angled so that when neckdangled or shoulderslung, the camera tends to hang with the lens aiming down and the screen facing up. This saves a lot of screen scuffing, gives quick access to the info there presented, and keeps the bigger lenses neatly placed.

    Be warned, though, that you can’t expect to grab a shot from hanging position. If the camera is turned off, it takes a short delay to fire up and for the screen to brighten as the gain is adjusted (always from dark). If the camera is sleeping, first touch on the shutter button does the same, with the screen ready for use in a second or so. Then a firmer pressure acquires focus and re-adjusts the screen exposure; AF officially takes 0.3s, but I found you could easily have 2-3 seconds from the moment of raising the camera to being able to fire the shutter in confidence. I actually think my old Konica Minolta Dimage A2 is faster. I missed several candids and moving subjects when testing the NEX5.

    This is just a shot with the petal lens hood fitted. You may notice that the 16mm lens, supplied without a hood, does have a bayonet as well as a 49mm filter thread. This is to enable two afocal front lens convertors to be fitted – the VCL-ECU1 is a 0.75X rectilinear converter, turning the 16mm into a 12mm ultrawide, while the VCL-ECF1 is a 0.62X fisheye converter creating a 10mm full frame curved view fisheye. Given that the 16mm is expected to be only around £200 (or much less in effect when bought with a body), and these converters are £100 and £120 respectively, a system will be no great weight on the pocket.
    There is also an optical finder for the 16mm, which occupies the flash/mic shoe, and will cost £130. Eh?

    Like the flash, shown above, it will use the 12-pin gold plated connector and thumbscrew to attach. But it’s not an electronic finder. No-one would answer whether this contact array will support an EVF attachment.

    This is how you secure the flash, which stows by folding down flat. Raising it, as in this shot, turns it on.

    This runs off the battery, which lives next to the dual-purpose card slot. Previous models have had twin slots. The NEX range uses a dual MSPro/SD slot which auto senses the type of card being used. An AC mains adaptor is available which uses a dummy battery and a cable emerging through a hinged portal in the battery door (above).

    The rear screen is articulated very much like the Alpha 550, and does not turn to face forwards, or orient itself in any way to suit vertical compositions. It is very much geared to the landscape format trend created by video shooting, HD, mobile phones and so on. Though the camera has auto orientation sensing for photos, the display does not change like an Alpha and it’s not really designed well for vertical shots.

    The downfacing position is pretty odd. It does not fold out in the usual way. I was able to shoot well enough holding the camera overhead. The screen articulation is, like the 550, a very rugged metal mechanism. It does not feel as vulnerable as many other (more versatile) swivel and tilt rear screens.

    The GUI is exactly what GUI means – very much a graphical, not textual, user interface. The six main menu icons resemble mobile phone menus. You get to them by rotating the scroll wheel and pushing its centre button. Shortcuts are marked at the compass points of the wheel for outer rim press-clicks taking you to different options or changing the display mode. The LCD has a glass cover but Sony still offers both hard and adhesive protectors. I took photographs using the ‘Sunny’ brightness setting, not Auto. ‘Sunny’ really boosts the backlight well beyond the auto brightness maximum.

    The Brightness/Color Menu includes the options for DRO+ and for HDR shooting. HDR is now three frame bracketing, with manual control up to 6EV span (plus/minus 3). The NEX has a very powerful new BIONZ processor and crunches 3 raw files into an HDR JPEG instantly – while also saving, at the same time, the middle bracketed exposure from your rapidfire 7fps burst as a standard choice. So you get two frames from your triple shutterburst, one normal, one HDR. There are also six-shot Night Scene and Anti Motion Blur modes, which synthesise a final low noise or minimum blur JPEG in-camera; I failed to test these, as the presentations made no real mention of them.

    Here you can see the second shutter release, marked MOVIE. Press this and there is no waiting – filming starts immediately, so you either need to be in Continuous AF mode, or have pre-focused using the main shutter release. A second press ends the take. Unlike almost every other HD Video 1080p capable model yet made, the NEX5 will shoot continuously without clip length limits, up to around 29 minutes (filesize limit).

    Select Shoot Mode, and an image of a virtual mode dial appears concentric with the control wheel. It turns in perfect sync with the wheel. So, without having a physical dial, Sony has given you one. Text information appears as you perform changes. Some more annoying repetitive cyber-advice can be turned off; other ‘tips’ are not optional. They follow you round for life.

    The camera includes many functions aimed at happy young exuberant target-market users. I don’t think it is complete, as the Smile Detection menu has not made adequate allowance for Goths, neo-punks, or grumpy old folk with permanently inverted scowls. A future version for the legacy Alpha-owner generation should include ‘Not Frowning’ as a smile mode!

    The Display mode change options include a semi-graphical exposure scale exactly along the lines of current Alpha models.

    Alternatively, you can opt for a different set of info more aimed at the advanced user. I found that no matter what display mode I used, the screen became so cluttered I sometimes could not see parts of the subject I was keen to check for alignment, cut off or inclusion in the shot.

    This – a very simple display indeed – was what I found most acceptable. It is interesting to note that with the exposure metered live from the CMOS, there was much less need for the plus-minus over-ride function using NEX. I was shooting raw, but even the JPEGs obtained alongside the raw files were pretty much perfectly exposed every time. For difficult subjects the JPEG-only shooter can use a three-shot HDR in-camera process, and this worked very well.

    I have a gallery of 48 full size in-camera JPEGs taken during the photo shoot opportunity organised for the press, which involved two hours in sealed dirty-window ferry and bus plus half an hour wasted on a wine tasting (?!) session, for the sake of maybe an hour of pictures. They would have been better just bussing us into Split old city and telling us to meet later. Escorting a gaggle of journos round Hvar town was singularly unproductive!

    http://www.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick/nex5_samples

    48 full size in-camera JPEGs with peculiarly deficient EXIF data. Where it says 16mm, the 16mm was used. Everything else is on the 18-55mm. The NEX5 body was used.

    The NEX system and the initial 3 and 5 model cameras needs much more writing about it, with many new functions and features. This has just been a small guided tour of the camera for you to see it in detail. We will be posting further reports as time permits, rush-blogging not being something I intend to do when there is so much detailed information to be digested. My quick reports from Croatia and during transit back home have already appeared on the BJP website:

    http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=874544

    http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=874550

    You can see a short 720p HD movie (rescaled from the original 1080i for YouTube, edited using iMovie 09 on Mac) here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSl3jN2sk7Q

  • Sony NEX generation launched

    –
    SPLIT, Croatia, breakfast over – Sony Europe presents the new NEX-3 and NEX-5 mirrorless, HD video capable slim interchangeable lens APS-C digital cameras. This has been a launch anticipated by almost complete and accurate leaking of the specifications of the two cameras. Sony UK also provided advance information to all dealers, including pricing, before the press launch – allowing retail websites to have full data up and running as from May 11th.

    Toru Katsumoto presents his team’s latest offering (he holds a silver NEX-3)
    The entire system with accessories is to be available in June at once, no waiting for anything except the 18-200mm lens which will arrive a month later. Edit: the brochure says ‘October’ for the 18-200mm, at the presentation it was said that it would follow in a month or so. October is four months or so.
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  • GGS Toughened Glass LCD Protectors for Alpha

    Back in that first golden summer – well, it was late autumn going on winter, just the time to acquire a new DSLR when the days were short and the light awful – the Konica Minolta Dynax 7D arrived with a plastic screen protector in the box. A week later the first one had, after several recaptures, successfully jumped ship leaving the decks bare.
    Two more 7D screen protectors later I finally sold the 7D, but only after it had spent three years in the studio where the worst that could happen was a soft landing on the carpet. My Alpha 100 never got a protector but never seemed to get scratches on the LCD. Then the Alpha 700 arrived, and with its lovely hard coated screen I got the same sense of durability you get from glass.
    Wrong again! After six months, my Alpha 700 screen was covered in a fine patina of scratches with one slightly visible one. The coating was suffering and I bought a clip-on Sony hard plastic protector. Unlike the 7D model, this one stayed put, but over the next two years of use became a rather scruffy impediment to screen reviewing.
    From then on, I decided to put screen protectors on all our Alphas. The Alpha 200 got a thin layer design for mobile phones. It did the job perfectly. The Alpha 350 got a much thicker plastic which felt almost rigid when it was applied, and left we wondering whether it would come off cleanly. The Alpha 900 got a slightly more flexible feeling sheet with a similar not too glossy, slightly uneven surface.
    The Alpha 380 was given a Fujifilm LCD protector from the local shop (packs of three, with a cleaning cloth, suitable for all screens around 2.7 to 3 inches). It was still on it in perfect condition when sold. The same pack of foils provided instant cover for the Alpha 550 although its screen and surround really demanded a slightly larger protector.
    Then, in February, two things happened. I order some kit from Poland and the on-line store (Foto-Tip) also had GGS toughened optical glass screen protectors. I’ve seen these labelled as Giottos Schott glass protectors and various other makes, generally at around £20 each in the UK, and had my doubts about the idea of fitting adhesive glass to my camera. Also, Alpha fit types were not all that visible in the UK. But Foto-Tip had Alpha fit glass protectors for the A700, A900, A350 and even the A550 – all the Alphas we are currently using.

    They were well under £10 each including postage – cheaper than plastic clip-on protectors, a bit more than most peel off films (which also tend to come in packs of two to three, though this is rarely made clear when advertised). So I ordered the entire set. You can see them above.
    2018 update: You can find new GGS Larmor screen protectors on Amazon UK or WEX Photo Visual as well on eBay. B&H have plenty of other brands and types but not this.
    Before trying anything, I examined the screens and checked their reputation on-line. It seems that they consist of much the same laminated glass and polymer film sandwich which forms the hardened glass for professional Canon LCDs, and that the adhesive is an elastic optically clear gel made by 3M and very similar to that now being used for the intermediate layers in LCD assembly.
    In other words, adding this would add a layer – but to the same standards as normal glass-faced LCD, without the superior coating found in a camera like the Canon EOS 7D.
    Which camera to treat first came about when the second thing happened – the plastic protector foil on the Alpha 550 must have come loose on a corner, stuck to my jacket and pulled off. I returned from shooting outdoors to find the screen no longer protected, and the camera had been swinging around with zips, straps, other cameras and all kinds of scratch hazards. It was still perfect, fortunately.
    Fitting the GGS to the Alpha 550
    Using a microfibre cloth, I cleaned the 550 screen very carefully and followed the simple instructions. I left the top plastic protector in place, but they recommend you remove this before fitting as it makes alignment easier. Every GGS protector has a neat black printed edge frame with the camera name. This helps with handling, as if you do get a tiny edge of finger touching the adhesive gel, any resulting mark is hidden behind the black surround.

    The Alpha 550 screen surface is slightly recessed. This helped greatly with the exact alignment of the very large cover glass, which goes beyond the image area of the screen and covers all the original plastic face of the panel. There is a shaped edge to match the indent in the rectangle, and a hole in the black frame for the activity light to show.

    Alignment was very easy indeed with the rigid screen – far more so than with flexible foils. The adhesion was instant, and perfect, without a single bubble. Unlike a foil, this optically plane sheet doesn’t trap air and even if you did get a dust speck in the sandwich, the gel glue surrounds it without an air pocket.
    The thickness of the glass leaves the screen now slightly raised, not slighly sunk, but the edge is beautifully ground and polished so that there is no question of a sharp encounter with your nose or hands. The old foil protector had never reallty been totally clear and was always visible; the GGS protector, though lacking a multilayer coating, improves visibility in daylight compared to a plastic protector.

    The perfect flatness of the glass and perfect fit to the camera make a very rewarding finished job. Does it void the warranty? Will it ever be removable? Will the 3M glue layer go yellow with age, or harden and lose contact? Will the screen crack if hit – or will the extra layer stiffen the overall assembly and reduce the risk of damage?
    It’s such a permanent-looking and feeling job that I may never find out. GGS say the screen may need to be gently heated, and eased off using a scalpel blade.
    2018 update: the latest GGS, Afunta, Vello and similar glass protectors use a silicon adhesive which is even better for fixing, but allows removal with just a fingernail to lift a screen corner.
    The other Alphas
    The Alpha 700 had a patinated LCD – six months of unprotected use. Careful cleaning minimised this. The GGS glass screen fits neatly, with its whole thickness adding to the screen which starts flush with the camera. The edge, again, does not feel likely to cut or injure but it becomes the ‘hardest’ edge on the camera. Surprisingly, the adhesive gel seems to remove any the visible blotchiness of the hard coating along with the fine scratches. The single most visible small mark on the screen remains just visible.
    While the added glass layer can not improve reflections or viewing conditions, it beats the clip-on plastic shield through which everything was diffused before. The Sony name at the bottom of the screen is now hidden, but can be glimpsed refracted through the clear edge of the protector which sits proud of the surface.
    Much the same applies to the Alpha 900, but the screen is slightly recessed (more like the A550) to start with and is changed to having a slightly proud edge once the glass is fitted. It is a bit neater than the A700. It’s recessed just enough to hide the Sony name at the bottom of the screen fully, it can’t be spotted through the side of the glass thickness.
    Finally, the Alpha 350 has a thick plastic LCD protector as its outer layer and this stands well proud of the surround. My thought, which I still don’t dismiss entirely, is that this sheet looks as if it could be removed and replaced with the GGS glass. But I was not going to attack my Alpha 350 with a scalpel to find out. If you had a 350 with a cracked cover sheet, it could be worth trying.
    With the GGS glass added, the 350 has a pretty ‘high build’ screen – the glass increases the thickness of it by about 50%. It is already pushed into your face compared to the A550, or any other Alpha, with the viewfinder eyepiece too far forward. The extra 0.3mm or whatever it is (I have not measured it) is just a little more ergonomic negativeness. But the edge still feels safe not sharp, the screen assembly appears to be given added rigidity, and I’m happy that this is a good permanent protection for an exposed and vulnerable LCD cover surface.
    Update: two months after this post was written the NEX mirrorless range was launched, and I visited Croatia to be one of the first journalists to use the system – reported here. We transcribed the launch presentation too. But after less than a year, the rear LCD screens of NEX models were showing signs of serious deterioration. I decided to risk my camera after studying how the screen was made, and removed the top layer. The GGS (actually a JYY branded version) screen protector turned out to be able to replace the worn original plastic top layer easily and I wrote about this in April 2011, sparking off hundreds of YouTubers and bloggers to follow our lead.
    And…
    At the same time, I was fitting my Nikon D5000 with a Delkin Silicon Skin. I just fancied giving my ‘car camera’ a bit of extra protection, and maybe some damping for better video sound. The silicon skin comes with a couple of screen protector foils.
    Despite the LCD of this camera being kept face-to-camera (concealed) all the time, and rarely used except for video shooting, my careful cleaning and dusting did not prevent several dust spots and bubbles with the first protector foil. So I removed it, cleaned again, and fitted the second. Still one bubble – and it won’t go away!
    That is one very big benefit of these GGS glass protectors. They don’t get bubbles, they are easily fitted with perfect straight alignment, and after a day’s use and handling I have found a quick polish restores a perfect surface. Hopefully, they will resist scratching for years not months, and never need to be prised off their host bodies.
    2018 update: you can read my post about the 5th generation GGS Larmor product here.
    – David Kilpatrick

  • Alpha's Silver Jubilee


    The Alpha System celebrates its Silver Jubilee or 25th Anniversary this month.
    We have a full length revision of the article which appears in the latest Photoworld now online as a page here.
    Read our 25th birthday review of the Alpha system’s history now!

  • Stunned by the beautiful game

    Peter Crouch cuts a striking figure on the football pitch at the best of times and when recently asked to train the UK Sony ‘Twilight Football’ team ahead of their big game on the 22nd September, the outcome was some simply stunning imagery. (Editor’s note – continue reading to see the ‘stunning imagery’… but have somewhere handy to put the hair you tear out)
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  • Crop or cram? Pixel density versus the big view…

    The Alpha 900 offers an unrivalled view through its 100% prism finder. The extra brightness, as well as the size and clarity, make most subjects far easier to photograph well. For some users, however, the full frame camera brings a disadvantage in terms of reach and resolution. You need lenses 50% longer (and thus twice the size, and four times the cost!) to fill the frame with the same distant sports and wildlife subjects. I don’t need to remind anyone how popular these two subjects are with amateurs, and sometimes, how important to professionals.
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  • Alpha 850 – 24 megapixel 3fps in 900 body

    Sony’s new Alpha 850 will be identical to the Alpha 900 in size, handling and external design – including the omission of onboard flash. The camera, expected to be launched before September, uses the same 24.6 megapixel CMOS sensor as the Alpha 900 but has – it is rumoured – only a single BIONZ processor, and a very slightly modified viewfinder. It is shipped without the Remote Commander (this becomes an optional extra) indicating that minimum retail price is Sony’s aim.
    fotobrenner2
    This is a screen grab from Fotobrenner.de in Germany who have the body only offered for €1999.00 and the kit with SAM 28-75mm f/2.8 new lens for €2699.00. As listed that makes the body about 10% more expensive than the current street price of the Alpha 900 – indicating either that the A850 prices are RRP and will rapidly fall, or that the A900 is about to get a price hike. They offer the A900 for €2499.00 and that would – pro rata – make the UK street price for the A850 about £1599. Please note: though the 28-75mm picture is authentic, the body shown has the AF switch set to C – just like the Sony shots of the A900 issued to dealers. Maybe they would do this for all packshots for some reason, maybe it was chance – more likely. It would be unlikely to happen again for the 850 shot so I reckon this is shopped.
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  • Sony and Zeiss renew co-operation agreement

    OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 15.04.2009.
    Carl Zeiss today announced that its Camera Lens Division will extend their successful collaboration with Sony Corporation for a further 5 years. Taking full advantages of their competence both companies agreed to cooperate even closer in developing and commercializing new imaging devices in the future.
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  • HX1 Cyber-shot with EXMOR CMOS and G Lens

    Press release from Sony, March 3rd 2009 – important bits highlighted in bold, uncalled-for comments in italics:
    The Cyber-shot HX1 by Sony, teams stunning picture quality, lightning-fast shooting and powerful creative features in a stylish, supremely easy to use camera. The new flagship of the Cyber-shot range showcases a range of sophisticated image sensing, optical and processing technologies that offer unrivalled creative possibilities.

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  • Sony at Focus on Imaging (report)

    SONY’s stand was a real brightener for Focus. Gone were the black and orange colours I criticised at photokina, which for two successive years created a black hole compared to Canon’s oasis of light. Instead, huge white silks extended to the roof with bright spots and floods creating an inviting zone of pure light. White and orange rules!

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