Sony debuts on the digital SLR stage

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 8 Jun 2006 at 16:50

Sony has been showing off its Alpha range digital SLR camera to the UK press this afternoon. The Alpha 100 is Sony's first venture into high-end digital photography, but the Japanese giant declares it intends to be battling for market leadership - against the established Canon and Nikon - by 2008.

Sony is building on the expertise and technology it acquired from Konica Minolta, which exited the market back in January. This signalled Sony's push into SLR territory, which the company sees as a big growth market. We first flagged it, however, as far back as July 2005.

Described as an entry level model, the spec for the Alpha 100 includes: a 10 Megapixel CCD sensor, a 2.5in screen (taken from the Sony T9 Cybershot), a Super SteadyShot system (that counteracts user movements to eliminate camera shake), and anti-dust system for protecting the CCD and the Bionz Image Processor (providing hardware-based image processing, such as optimising data and reducing noise levels).

It has a Compact Flash card slot and a MemoryStick Pro Duo adapter, and in terms of battery life, Sony claims 750 shots from a single charge. For continuous shooting, the A100 works in JPG or Raw mode at three frames per second.

There is also the Eye-Start Autofocus system, which was developed by Konica in the early nineties, for auto focussing and exposure when you raise the camera to the eye, with the LCD screen turning off to save battery life.

'The goal is make you an even better photographer,' declared Sony's UK product manager for Digital SLR, Paul Genge'.

Sony stressed the Alpha's compatibility with Konica Minolta lenses, of which it estimates 16m in use worldwide, and it promises compatibility with a total of 20 lenses by the end of the year, such as products from Carl Zeiss with which Sony already has a strong relationship.

With UK availability beginning in July, pricing starts from £599 for just the camera body and £699 with a standard Alpha lens, rising to £849 for a twin-lens offering.

There will also be a range of accessories available, such as flash guns, cases and quick chargers.

It seems Sony is taking a cautious approach to its entry into the SLR market: 'We are not re-inventing the SLR wheel - this is a traditional SLR offering,' said Genge, who said 2007 would see Sony establishing itself in the market and then challenging for a leadership position by 2008.

He didn't rule out Sony developing professional digital SLR cameras, in the future, as this development takes place.

More information will become available on the Sony website, but if you are seriously considering a digital SLR, then dpreview.com is worth checking out.