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Samsung's 1080p-blasting A800B and A900 projectors unveiled, plus six more
Good ole' Sammy's announced an octuplet of new projectors, and while we'd like to say they're all special in their own little way, two models definitely catch our eye more. The A800B DLP boasts a 1080p output, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 1000 ANSI lumens, two HDMI ports, and a variety of other input options. The luxury doesn't come cheap, of course: retail price is $10,000. The other full HD model is the A900, and although we're lighter on details with this one, we do know it's packing 1000 ANSI lumens, only one HDMI port, an impressive 12,000:1 contrast ratio, and what we can only assume is price tag of equal magnitude. As for others, we've got the travel-sized $700 P400 with SVGA output, the L220 (price unknown) and $1100 L300 for bringing VGA / XGA to classrooms, respectively, the XGA-blasting D300 for large venues, and a $1500 A400B for home theaters, which features WXGA, 2500:1 contrast ratio, and 2000 ANSI. We kindly direct your attention to the read link for all the nitty-gritty details.[Via About Projectors]
Sony's A900 reviewed: 'Highly recommended' but with caveats
Most consumers won't be able to get their hands on Sony's new 24+ megapixel A900 for at least another week or so, but dpreview has already had its way with one, putting this full-frame body through its paces in a typically exhaustive review. Overall findings are much the same as the site's earlier impressions, with the main knocks being slow (but accurate) focus speed and noticeable noise when shooting at anything greater than ISO 400, making the camera's ISO 6400 mode borderline useless. However, the hefty, 850g magnesium alloy body is "incredibly solid" and its bevy of features, including 5fps burst shooting and HDMI output, make it a solid value, too. Overall the A900 sounds quite good, though far from perfect, so unless you already have a closet full of compatible lenses you might just want to wait a month and see how Canon's EOS 5D Mark II fares when run through the same ringer. If nothing else it'll be $300 cheaper.
Sony's A900 now available for pre-order
Been saving all those pennies for something really special? If you're a DSLR aficionado (or just general gadget lover), you've probably glanced in the general direction of Sony's monster Alpha A900 DSLR. At a price-point of $2,999, this isn't for everyone, but if you're in the market for a full frame shooter with a handful of enviable features -- you might want to turn your eyeballs in this direction.[Thanks, Jose]
Sony launches the A900 full-frame DSLR
Sony's been showing off the full-frame Alpha A900 DSLR since February, and after popping up in ads and in the wild last week, it's official today, right on cue. Same basic specs you've known forever: 24.6 Exmor CMOS sensor, dual BIONZ image processors, ISO 6400 sensitivity, 3.0-inch LCD, 5fps shooting, and SteadyShot INSIDE in-body optical image stabilization. Sony's also launching a few new Alpha lenses to complement this beast, including a Carl Zeiss 70-400mm f4-5.6 zoom. Early impressions from CNET are that it's a bit slow to autofocus and didn't wow with image quality, but dpreview was impressed overall, so we'll wait for some in-depth reviews to hit before making a final judgment. You're looking at a $3,000 outlay when this thing goes on sale in October -- check out more pics in the gallery, and a quick video after the break.Read - Sony A900 press releaseRead - CNET hands-onRead - dpreview hands-on %Gallery-31499%
Sony's A900 DSLR caught in the wild
Apparently, not only is Sony's fancy new full-frame DSLR -- the A900 -- showing up in ad leaks all across the interblogs, but it's been caught with its lens cover down in real life. An eagle-eyed forum poster managed to snag shots of what appear to be the camera in action, taken in Belgium this August doing what it does best... snapping pictures. There's not much more to say, but this should thoroughly wet your whistle for the model's forthcoming introduction, which we can only imagine will be happening sometime around the upcoming Photokina.[Via Digital Photography Review; Thanks, Douglas]
Ads reveal Sony's 24.6 megapixel A900 full-frame DSLR
It's not quite on Sony's schedule, but a new series of not-quite-precisely-timed ads have now revealed the company's new full-frame A900 DSLR, which boasts a mighty 24.6 megapixels. In addition to that desirable spec, it seems you can also expect to get Sony's Dual BIONZ image processing engine, "Intelligent Preview," a 3-inch "Hybrid LCD," 5 fps continuous shooting, and Sony's SteadyShot image stabilization, to name but a few features (head on past the break for the full spec list). Of course, there's no price or release date to be found in any of the ads, but we're guessing Sony will be spilling those little details when it gets official with the camera next week.[Via Photography Bay, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sony's 25 megapixel Alpha A900 to arrive in August or September
We already spent some time grappling with Sony's monster full-frame Alpha A900 prototype at PMA, but the company's displaying an updated version at the Photo Imaging Expo in Japan, and reps are apparently now saying that the 24.6 megapixel DSLR will be launched during IFA in August or Photokina in September. Other than that, there's not much we didn't already know -- which means there's really not that much at all -- but there are some more shots of this nifty clear-bodied display unit at the read link for your ocular delight.
Sony A300 and A350 DSLRs with swivel-screen and live view leaked
With just days to go until PMA, it looks like security's starting to slip a little bit -- a little creative sonystyle.com URL trickery led Beline at the Dyxum forums to images of those Sony A300 and A350 DSLRs we'd heard about. The A300 is an update to the A200, adding in live preview and a flip-out swivel screen, while the A350 looks like it'll be a 14.2 megapixel unit and probably includes live preview and the swivel screen as well. We're hearing that an A900 is also in the works, but that's a just a whisper -- looks like there might be some surprises in store this week after all.Update: Tons more pictures here, for the curious.[Thanks, Mike]
Fujifilm's FinePix A820 and A900 for consumers
Just like Canon's new PMA-bound A Series cameras, Fujifilm's new A820 and A900 cameras don't really break a lot of new ground, but there sure is a lot more megapixel bang-for-buck going on here. For $180 and $200, respectively, the A820 brings 8 megapixels and the A900 goes for 9, while both camera have 4x zooms and 2.5-inch LCDs. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any form of optical image stabilisation here, nor any of those much-hyped Face Recognition AF/AE features we've been seeing in other PMA offerings, but if all you're looking for is pixels and lots of 'em, you can't go far wrong with this pair of FinePix, which will be hitting shelves in March.
Add a letter, call it good: Samsung A900M for Sprint
In the realm of low-key product updates, the Samsung SPH-A900M may just take the cake; it's essentially an A900 Blade with different software (the external music control buttons appear to have changed color, too, but that doesn't meet our stringent criteria for a "product update"). Previously rumored across the Internets as the A900P, the re-upped model supports Qualcomm's uiOne interface customization, supposedly enabling fantastical themes that A900 users could only dream of. Otherwise, the specs seem identical -- on the whole, we encourage owners of the original to keep their envy to a minimum.[Thanks, John]
Mobile ESPN launches Samsung ACE
It's thin, but not too thin; chic, but nothing your butchier friends are gonna call you a metro for having one;, it's got features, just not many, and none are really all that impressive. Yes, that's right, it's Mobile ESPN's second cellphone, the Samsung ACE, otherwise known as the A900. Expect the same set of features (Bluetooth, swiveling camera, EV-DO, audio and media playback) as its counterpart, but with a $99 price tag, a black paint job, and ESPN logos all over the damn thing. So thank you no, we'll continue holding out for Mobile ESPN2 to launch so we can catch some real football games (and spelling bee championships, etc.).
We've seen Sprint's future, and it's... blurry
Sprint users, brace yourselves -- we've just been hit with a gaggle of hot (if difficult to read) rumors about Samsung devices due on your carrier. First up is the SPH-A420, a low end clamshell lacking an external display that should be replacing the A560. The A640 is a little higher -- emphasis on "a little" -- in the food chain, adding Bluetooth, PTT, and a VGA camera. The A980, aka "Combo," is new to us -- it features EV-DO and a 1.3 megapixel shooter, but more interestingly, it'll supposedly be Sprint's first CDMA / WiFi dual-mode traditional handset. We're also seeing pictures of an A720, a squared-off flip with dual displays. The "MEGA3," which we're guessing is a code name, is identified in the PowerPoint stack as a "premium camera" of, you guessed it, 3 megapixels. On the Windows Mobile front, the i830 is on its way, finally chock full o' WM5 goodness. Oh, and that rumored A900P with the MicroSD slot Samsung forgot to include on the A900? Apparently, that's a negative; the A900P will end up being a software upgrade alone.
