dSLR Dad

Vote For Your Choice

It’s that time of year again. Time to push out one year and bring in another. And on this, the last day of 2008, I offer up the nominees for dSLR Dad Camera of the Year 2008 (listed in chronological order): (more…)

Popularity: 3% [?]

I never used to worry much about my Canon 20D’s LCD screen.  It was only 1.8-inches and had plenty of camera body wrapped around it.  Now, with most dSLR screens taking up more than half of the back of the camera, keeping that LCD clear is becoming more of a concern.  There are many solutions on the market, but most involve a thick additional piece than usually just ends up getting in the way.  The best solution I have found for protecting that big piece of glass on the back of your camera is the invisibleSHIELD by ZAGG .

ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD is a thin polyurethane film originally created for the military to protect the leading edge of helicopter blades that is highly resistant to scratching.  The results can be seen in this comparison video (more…)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Michael Reichmann, creator of The Luminous Landscape, has published his review of the 24.6-Megapixel Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 dSLR Camera:

The Sony A900 is a very serious undertaking for that company, and is a camera to be reckoned with. Sony plays to win, and it becomes a dominant force in virtually every segment of the consumer and professional electronics industry that it chooses to participate in. (One of their only failures was with Betamax, but they then transformed that format into a professional product and went on to dominate the broadcast industry with it for the past 20 years.) So, as we look at the A900, think of it not just as a new high-end DSLR, but also as Sony’s stake in the ground – claiming their intention to become a major player in the DSLR marketplace.

You can read his entire review here.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Digital Photography Review has published their epic odyssey on the full-frame, 24.6-Megapixel, Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 Camera:

The success of the Alpha 900 amongst the Minolta, Konica Minolta and Sony faithful seems assured; at a launch price of just shy of $3000 it offers a lot of ‘bang for your buck’ and there is undoubtedly a significant number of Minolta film SLR users who’ve been waiting years for a full frame digital body on which to use their existing lenses. The challenge for Sony, however, is to generate some interest from people without an existing investment in the Minolta (or subsequent Alpha) system. And on paper the Alpha 900 looks promising - and we’re already impressed with the build, handling and viewfinder, so let’s find out how well the latest addition to the small but growing ‘full frame club’ performs.

You can read all 37 web pages over at dPreview.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Now things start to get interesting

Sony announced at their PMA 2008 press conference that they will ship a new Flagship Alpha dSLR this year. This Alpha will use the new 35mm full size Sony CMOS Image Sensor which has 24.81 Effective Megapixel resolution. Sony has named this new sensor Exmor. The prototype on display looks like it has the following features:

• Standard SLR shape and size with a separate vertical grip. The portrait grip is not integrated like it is on the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III or Nikon D3.
• Sony Exmor Full Frame CMOS sensor with 24.6 Effective Megapixels. Sony will be using the other .21 Megapixels for other functions.
• 3-inch LCD screen
• Controls and layout similar to the Sony Alpha A700
• It will use Super Steady Shot for image stabilization
• Available at the end of 2008. The next big trade show is Photokina 2008 in September, so look for a near-production model then.

There are some interesting design choices made by Sony on this new Alpha, (more…)

Popularity: 19% [?]

Sony has unveil two new mid-range Alpha-series dSLRs. The Sony Alpha DSLR-A300 features a 10.2-megapixel APS-C CCD image sensor. The Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 upgrades to a 14.2-megapixel sensor. A side effect of the A350’s bigger sensor is a slightly slower frame rate of 2.5 frames-per-second (fps) compared with the 3pfs of the A300. Both Alpha models share the following features:

• • “Quick AF Live View” technology
  • Fold-Out, Variable Angle 2.7 inch LCD
  • BIONZ image processor
  • Super SteadyShot image stabilization enables shutter speed benefit of 2.5 to 3.5 steps
  • Compact Flash card slot
  • DSLR-A300 with DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens will ship in April for about $800
  • DSLR-A350 camera body = $800
  • DSLR-A350 with DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 3.9x zoom lens for about $900

Sony will offer the following kit options (available to order now at Amazon):

• Sony Alpha A300K with DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zoom Lens
  
• Sony Alpha A300X with DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 and DT 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Zoom Lenses
• Sony Alpha A350 (body only)
• Sony Alpha A350K with Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zoom Lens
• Sony Alpha A350X with DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 and DT 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Zoom Lenses (more…)
  

  Popularity: 18% [?]

  Tags: konica, maxxum, minolta, preview, Resource Guide, Sony A300, Sony A350, Sony Alpha, Sony dSLR

Today, Sony Corporation has announced a new 35mm full size CMOS Image Sensor with a 24.81 Effective Megapixel resolution. The importance of this announcement is significant. Specifically, which manufacturer is going to release a 24.8 Megapixel, Full Frame dSLR at PMA2008 on Thursday?

Last year, Sony showed a prototype Flagship Alpha dSLR at PMA 2007 along with a prototype of the Alpha A700. The details were few and far between, but the Flagship Alpha was not expected to ship until after 2007. Now Minolta dSLR Dads are hoping that Sony will finally introduce a Full Frame Alpha dSLR, but I’m not so sure. I would put the probability at 60% for a new Alpha. I only remain reserved because 24 Megapixels requires excellent optics, something that Sony must show it can deliver with the Alpha brand.

The higher probability is for Nikon to introduce a new Full Frame dSLR flagship above the D3. Nikon has used Sony almost exclusively for their CMOS production in the DX00 series and D3. In fact, the Sony Alpha A700 shares the same sensor with the Nikon D300. If you go back in time to the announcements of both the Nikon D300 and the Nikon D200, you will notice that they were preceded by a Sony CMOS press release just a few days prior. Finally, Nikon’s own corporate messages have hinted at a potential D3X dSLR to compete with the 21.1 Megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. The dSLR Dad puts the probability of such a D3X announcement at 80%. Of course, don’t expect it to ship until the second half of the year. Maybe production units could be available by Photokina in September?

Either way, 2008 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for all dSLR Dads.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Tags: exmor, full frame sensor, Nikon dSLR, rumor, Sony dSLR, Sony DSLR-A900