dSLR Dad

Well, that didn’t take long (just over an hour). Sony of America has just announced the A200 at CES 2008. I still stand by my previous post in regards to competitiveness. It will come in two kit versions:

DSLR-A200K ($700): body with a Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zoom Lens

DSLR-A200W ($900): body, Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6, and a 75-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens.

Both models ship in February. (more…)

This is pretty typical of the Pre-PMA scoops. Thanks to Newsdesk in Sweden, we have another early press release from Europe. My Swedish is a little rusty, but it looks like the 10.2 MegaPixel Sony A200 is a very minor model update from the A100. Notable upgrades are as follows:

• Screen size increases from 2.5 to 2.7 inches. My guess is that a 3″ screen could not be placed into the same chassis, too bad.
• ISO100 – 3200 equivalent. That’s fine, but hopefully the image quality from ISO 200 to 800 was improved.
• All 9-points in the Autofocus system are now cross-type. This helps improve motion tracking. Not sure if any are f/2.8.
• Burst Capability is still 3fps with a disappointing 6 shot RAW buffer.
• All dials are now black. Chrome is so 2007.

I hope I’m missing something here, because it looks like the only real upgrades are cosmetic. This may be a problem for Sony as both the Nikon D40X and Canon Digital Rebel XTi should be upgraded at PMA2008. This could place the A200 further behind in this market segment, which is disappointing for all of you Minolta dSLR Dads. (more…)