Sony unveils first alpha DSLR

Sony has taken the wraps off of the company's first Alpha DSLR camera and, as expected, the digicam appears to be largely based on designs from Konica Minolta, and supports all lenses that work with Konica Minolta's earlier DSLRs, the Maxxum 5D and 7D. At this point, Sony is being coy about key details, like the digicam's megapixel count or actual launch date, but the company does say the camera is still expected to ship this summer, and that it plans to release 20 new lens models over the course of the next year -- which should be a relief to any 5D and 7D owners who were worried that they'd have to toss their gear on eBay and switch to -- shudder -- Nikon or Canon.

Update: According to Sony, "final photography"  for the first Alpha model  "has not been finalized yet." So, assume that what you see above is subject to change, and may end up looking completely different by the time Sony releases it. Kind of like the Playstation 3's "boomerang" controller.

[Thanks, David]

[Grid212 @ May 11th 2006 12:39PM]

or Pentax.

[Julian @ May 11th 2006 12:46PM]

Why? I used to be a sony user, having owned 3 different sony models, and all of them where crap. Great image, but broke easily and lived at tech support. Now I am a happy Canon user, and image quality is amazing, and so is the camera quality.

[G. Snyder @ May 11th 2006 1:03PM]

"which should be a relief to any 5D and 7D owners who were worried that they'd have to toss their gear on eBay and switch to -- shudder -- Nikon or Canon."

That is funny. In the SLR camera world, Nikon and Canon have always been tops whereas Minolta and maybe Pentax kind of occupied the middle ground, with the likes of Vivitar being at the low end.

The only thing that would make me shudder about Canon or Nikon is price, but you often get what you pay for (it is more of a question of really needing what you are paying for).

[tLo @ May 11th 2006 1:09PM]

How has Sony screwed up the PS3? It hasn't even been released yet...just a lot of people bitchin about the price which doesn't seem unreasonable.

[NeoteriX @ May 11th 2006 1:28PM]

(blah blah blah canon and nikon fanboy whining)

*rolls eyes*

Please guys. The Engadget article was just trying to be funny and take the sardonic perspective of a Minolta fanboy.

I myself own a Canon and can recogize humor when I see it. Get a life guys.

[ThinkKnot @ May 11th 2006 1:43PM]

Now let's see if they doom the camera by being dumb enough to make it a Memory Stick camera. Sony should drop the damn MS altogether and just standardize on SD like most other camera makers.

Maybe it will go over big with the Christian photographers since the alpha logo looks like a little fish.

[Jeff @ May 11th 2006 1:44PM]

When are people going to realize that digital cameras are NOT the wave of the future. What happend to the days where people could take a picture and not instantly obsess about what it looked like. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Someone "snaps" a photo with a digi cam and everyone in the god damn group wants to see how they look. Ridiculous.

[steve they took our jerbs @ May 11th 2006 1:44PM]

does it come with hdmi?

will there be a low end version that skips out on key features like a viewfinder, forcing you to get the higher end model?

also, will the alpha run on a yet to be determined proprietary card format that no other device will utilize and somehow f up your computer when you plug it in to your card reader?

[Jeff @ May 11th 2006 1:47PM]

Jerbs you will never be able to afford any electronical device with HDMI output. Stick with your 1984 Gameboy. Thank you.

[CAMERA MAN 420 @ May 11th 2006 1:50PM]

I wonder how well it's going to pick up my bong rip smoke. I've got some really sweet pics on the net of ripped smoke if anyone wants to check it out. Kinda sounds like a pussy ass camera though, bitch made. Shit...I'm blazed!!

[tekdroid @ May 11th 2006 1:56PM]

Toru Katsumoto's comments on Sony's commitment to the DSLR market read like a story. Hah... a welcome change to the usual boring press-release drone.

Sounds like they mean business.

[dan @ May 11th 2006 2:00PM]

shudder? canon kicks sony's, minolta's, nikon's and kodak's collective asses.

nuff said.

[Nick @ May 11th 2006 2:03PM]

#9 Jeff said:
"Someone "snaps" a photo with a digi cam and everyone in the god damn group wants to see how they look."

Admiring your photos on the camera's LCD after you shoot is called "chimping." As in "ooh ooh ooh" lookit da pic I took.

No self-respecting amateur or pro photog wants to get caught dead chimping their own photos.

[CAMERA MAN 420 @ May 11th 2006 2:05PM]

take a rip and chill bra....ya you Dan. Relax bra. Maybe throw in some Marley, sit in a recliner with your feet up. We are all just trying to have a chilled out convo about pics and rips man. Harshing my mellow man.

[Jeff @ May 11th 2006 2:16PM]

Nick you are not impressing people by make up fake definitions for geek words. You probably just went straight to Wikipedia or some other source funded by George Bush's possee of conservative hipocrates to figure that definition out. It's Bush supporters like yourself who are so out of touch with reality that they think words like "chimping" make sense. Next you will probably tell me that we are winning the war in Iraq.

[CAMERA MAN 420 @ May 11th 2006 2:17PM]

Just so you know, I have been taking pics of bong smoke for 10 years, no amature, and I "chimp" or what I call, "grizzly fur fuck" my pics all the time. I don't need to be printing off weak pics of bong rips. If you knew what it was like to sell a tight pic of smoke for over 3500 bucks, you'd grizzly fur fuck your pics too....NICK

[Nick @ May 11th 2006 2:20PM]

#17 Jeff stuck his foot in his mouth and said:
"Nick you are not impressing people by make up fake definitions for geek words."

Dude, I own a Canon D30 and a 10D. Here is the proof of the term chimping:

http://www.sportsshooter.com/special_feature/chimping/

[dan @ May 11th 2006 2:20PM]

wow cameraman 420.
you sound absolutely worthless.
must be nice...

[CAMERA MAN 420 @ May 11th 2006 2:22PM]

Answer the question Nick...are we winning the war or not. Red state bastard.

[CAMERA MAN 420 @ May 11th 2006 2:26PM]

Dan...if teaching people how to blow glass as an advanced art instructor at 3 colleges, teach a web class to over 2,000, and sell overpriced art for thousands of dollars to "chimpers" like you...then yes, I have no worth. Envy away Dan, envy away.

[Jeff @ May 11th 2006 2:27PM]

Dear Engadet Editor,

Please change the word "make" in #17 to "making". Some of the conservative closed minded freaks(cough...Nick...cough, cough) can't use common sense. Typical.

Regards,

Jeff

[G. Snyder @ May 11th 2006 2:28PM]

" (blah blah blah canon and nikon fanboy whining)

*rolls eyes*

Please guys. The Engadget article was just trying to be funny and take the sardonic perspective of a Minolta fanboy.

I myself own a Canon and can recogize humor when I see it. Get a life guys."

Ha ha - who even said Nikon was best. You must have had that one saved up and ready to go.

[CAMERA MAN 420 @ May 11th 2006 2:33PM]

hey bras, being a hippy is where its at. i love being a total loser and bragging about my granola crunching, Patchouli wearing, tie-dyed, brain-fried fat ass.

[steve they took our jerbs @ May 11th 2006 2:44PM]

jeff,

not only do ysatPS3s, but you are out of touch with a dictionary.

Regards,

The person who just pwnt you.

[Brandon @ May 11th 2006 2:51PM]

There's nothing wrong with chimping, everyone does it... Just don't let people catch you doing it.

The Stealth Chimp is what it's all about. And never ever make chimping noises, even if it is the best picture you've ever seen. Save that for when you've got it safe on your hard drive in the privacy of your home. Then go nuts.

[deadmonkey @ May 11th 2006 2:54PM]

If KM had a DSLR out when Canon came out with their first gen prosumer DSLRs or even when Nikon came out with THEIR first gen DSLRs I would have bought the KM. Not so much a KM fanboy as a big collection of KM glass from my Maxxum analog SLR. As it is I made the hop to a Nikon D70 and never looked back. I'm NOT going to reinvest in glass again so I'm staying with Nikon. Having said that I've noticed a marked difference in the quality of the KM glass vs. the Nikon Nikkor glass. The Nikon glass is, imho, superior in clarity and light transmission.

[Camera man 420 @ May 11th 2006 3:04PM]

deadmonkey...your trying to act like super geek. Your not fooling anyone. Ease up, your acting like the entire tool box, not just one tool... Take a rip bra

[Jeff @ May 11th 2006 3:48PM]

Jerbs I understood your PS3 sarcasm. There are more important things to be discussed here though. First of all, this post is about digital cameras, not about your super sick HDMI/PS3 jokes or trying to use a dictionary to find the definition of phrases I write. And for the record I still don't understand your acronym slang, it sucks.

[steve they took our jerbs @ May 11th 2006 3:53PM]

"this post is about digital cameras"

so says the person who brings in bush, conservatives and iraq.

lol.

[Jeff @ May 11th 2006 4:11PM]

There is an obvious connection between digital cameras and George W. Bush, and no, I wont make that connection for you. If you can decode all these acronym messages that you invented that you better be able to figure out the George W. connection. On the other hand there is no connection between digi cams and HDMI. Do us all a favor and take your techy jargin to a post that cares.

[CommentDweller @ May 11th 2006 4:45PM]

Comment trolls, politics, drama, this thread has it all! Gotta love Engadget comments, LOL. Nice hijacking of this thread. I call shenanigans on Camera Man, Jeff and Jerbs, but nice try guys.

[Nick @ May 11th 2006 5:33PM]

#35 Balls said:
"Complaining about photographers reviewing photos on an LCD, is like complaining about drivers who use keyless entry systems to unlock the door."

Who was complaining? Way to twist the conversation, douchebag.

[Geir E @ May 11th 2006 5:47PM]

Why is everybody against Sony this days? Konica Minolta had some of the best SLRs and DSLRs in the industry. No, they didn't have the pro support as Canon and Nikon but for sure they didn't lack in features nor in quality compared to Canon and Nikon in the same price range.

I've had minolta cameras for 10 years, never had trouble with anyone. Been through rain, show, ice, 30 plus and 30 minus - been trown around and still both looks and works like new. I have no doubt that Sony will continue the quality of the legacy that KM passed on. And why all this whining about memory sticks? It's just as good as CF, MMC and SD. Pity Samsung changed from Memory stick to SD/MMC on their sportscam (SC-X205 / 210 / 220 from the X105 version)

[furtim @ May 11th 2006 7:31PM]

I say we take off and nuke the comments from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[js @ May 11th 2006 7:36PM]

It costs twice more than the PS3, and all it can do is take pictures. Nice.

[adm @ May 11th 2006 10:53PM]

so what's the new prorietary format for use with this? ultra-mega-memory stick/shaft/bar/disc trio pro instructor?

[DirtHerder @ May 12th 2006 1:07AM]

"And why all this whining about memory sticks? It's just as good as CF, MMC and SD."

Completely agree with that one.

If anything I hope Sony continues the trend of offering dual memory formats in their prosumer and up camera's. I think that's brilliant.

The ONLY memory based move from Sony that WOULD piss me off, is if they continue to proliferate camera's that ONLY use Duo or smaller memorystick form factors (diluting their own memory format just seems stupid and lame to me).