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Sony Alpha 100 DSLR previewed
The first DSLR from Sony is sure getting plenty of hype, but we think we'll reserve judgement until we spy a solid review of a production unit. Until then we'll have to make do with this hands-on preview of the 10 megapixel Sony Alpha A100, and try not to get caught up in that fancy Greek lettering. Luckily, things are looking plenty good in pre-production, with features galore, and a potential to rival the image quality of cameras nearly twice as expensive. Specially notable is an eye sensor to automagically activate auto-focus, Sony's special sauce image stabilisation that mixes the best of Sony and Konica Minolta tech, the 2.5-inch 230,000 pixel LCD, and of course the large 10 megapixel CCD. The camera build is pretty solid, shooting speed is fairly fast, and other little niceties like Konica Minolta and Minolta lens compatibility make this camera very attractive. PopPhoto is predicting a roughly $800 street price, and while the similarly specced $1700 Nikon D200 might have it beat in a few (important) areas, Sony's new kid on the block might have a chance to do battle with Canon's EOS 30D or at least pose a serious threat to its own price range.
Sony's Alpha DSLR A100 debuts
Looks like the Alpha's what we thought it'd be after all -- and everybody waiting for Sony's first official DSLR need not wait (much) longer. Really, there's nothing much in the Alpha A100 we weren't already speculating based on the previous specs reported on the interwebs, but at least now the details are a little more fleshed out: its 10.2 megapixel sensor is a Super HAD (Hole Accumulated Diode) CCD with Super SteadyShot OIS, anti-dust filters and vibration, and Bionz Image Processor hardware; the camera also features the Minolta A-lens mount (of course), a 2.5-inch anti-reflective display, 3fps burst mode, 600 shot lithium-ion Stamina battery,CF and Memory Stick Pro Duo (via CF adapter), and a sweet feature that initiates autofocus when you look into the viewfinder (so you don't have to waste time with the half-press). Not bad, but we're honestly a little worried about the price up in this piece. We'll keep ya posted.Update: and the price! $999, "expected to ship on or before July 28th, 2006" according to the SonyStyle page. Oh, and DP Blog also has some sweet info on the 20 or so lenses announced for this thing as well, better check that out before you make any buying decisions. There you have it ladies and gents, enjoy. Thanks, Steve.
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]
Sony's Alpha DSLR brand
Following up on that farewell to Konica Minolta, Sony just announced their new D-SLR sub-brand hitting the streets this summer: Alpha. Yeah, Alpha as in "beginning" or "essential," not pre-beta instability (we hope). Sony will produce the complete camera system including the lenses (no Carl Zeiss?), accessories, CCD (hopefully not those CCDs) and CMOS imaging sensors, and other Sony imaging technologies. And like we already knew, the new Sony shooters will be compatible with Konica-Minolta lenses and accessories. That's it, we can all go back to waiting now for actual products to be announced. Oh, and we linked to the Sony Alpha website per the press release which is, er, down at the moment... "Alpha" indeed.Update: Thanks to everyone who pointed out that Minolta's SLRs were marketed in Asia under the Alpha brand. At this point, it looks likely that Sony will be using the brand globally, dropping Minolta's previous use of Maxxum (North America) and Dynax (Europe) branding for its SLRs. We'll let you know if we learn otherwise.[Via Sony]
Firefox 2.0 alpha released
DownloadSquad has noticed that an alpha release (read: not stable) of Firefox 2.0 is live, available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, and waiting for your clicks. I'm having a hard time tracking down any kind of official list of what's new in this next major point release, but after quickly running it I can tell you it's at least a bit zippier. I've heard reports of a much-updated UI, better bookmark management and more security options are all on the menu, though I'm sure (and I hope) there is much more planned for the official release.So check it out if you're interested in what's coming next, but for those of you who can't afford to deal with sketchy software, you might want to keep moving along.
Camino 1.0 alpha released
Camino, my favorite Firefox alternative that's OS X native and Mozilla-made, just reached 1.0 alpha status. The list of changes in the release notes is massive: faster page drawing speeds, new certificate management, downloads list saved between sessions.. let's just say that nearly every facet and function of the browser has received improvements, upgrades or new features. Go snag a copy at CaminoBrowser.org or peruse the full release notes if you have the time. On a side note: Since Camino is essentially a fully ported version of Firefox for OS X using both the Keychain and Services, would any heavy Firefox users out there want to chime in and let us know how well it performs, and if it plays with Firefox sites nicely?
