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We're on Google+ ...Join Keith for the latest info and news  FYI: I've set up a LinkedIn group (~3300 members) for people interested in all aspects of Digital Black and White photography: Digital Black and White
We get our UK used equipt. from
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November
- 25th A new type of FF 'hybrid and a 36MP FF camera get added to the collection for next year [SAR]
3rd Wider use of EVFs move on with a new design from Sony [SAR]
October
- 19th After the announcement of the 18MP Canon 1D X, people are looking at other manufacturers 'full frame'/FX/35mm offerings and wondering where sensor design is going to go?
- At SA rumours, the talk is of an upcoming 24MP FF A9x, with a subsequent announcement of a high MP (36?) camera to follow. [SAR]
- Looks as if any forthcoming cameras will also be 'SLT' types with no optical viewfinder.
- 3rd The Sony A900 is now marked as discontinued - [SAR]
May 26th
- A850 is marked as discontinued - so much for Sony and 'Full Frame'?
More at SAR
2009 August 27th
- Keith (Other ways to help our site)
Amazon UK link / Amazon France / Amazon Germany
Amazon USA link / Amazon Canada link
Sony announce their second FF camera the A850
- Full-frame 24.6 effective megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor and dual BIONZ processors for detail-packed, low-noise images with high sensitivity up to ISO 6400 (with expanded ISO range)
- Bright optical glass pentaprism viewfinder with 98% coverage
- SteadyShot INSIDE offers up to 4.0 steps anti-shake performance with all lenses
- Photo quality (921k dot) 3.0-inch Xtra Fine LCD
- Fast, high-accuracy 9-point AF with 10 focus assist points
More info @ DPR
2008 September 9th As expected its the A900...
24.6 MP and $3000 available late October 2008. Also 2 lenses
Vario Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Series Lens
The SAL1635ZA model is a super wide angle 16-35mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom lens, well-suited for landscape, snapshot and indoor photography.
70-400mm f/4-5.6 G Series Lens
The SAL70400G lens is a 5.7x super telephoto zoom lens and the latest addition to Sony’s G-series line of premium lenses.
Designed to deliver extremely sharp descriptive performance across its wide focal length range, it is ideally suited for sports, action and wildlife photography.
Brief specifications
- 24.6 MP 35mm format full-frame CMOS sensor
- SteadyShot INSIDE full frame image sensor shift stabilization (world first)
- Eye-level glass Penta-prism OVF, 100% coverage, 0.74x magnification
- 9 point AF with 10 assist points, center dual-cross AF w/2.8 sensor
- 5 frames per second burst
- 40 segment honeycomb metering
- 3.0" 921K pixel Photo Quality (270 dpi) LCD display, 100% coverage
- ISO 200-3200 (ISO 100-6400 expanded range)
- Magnesium Alloy body and rubber seals for dust and moisture resistance
- AF micro adjustment
A900 Specifications
| Price (body only) |
$3000 |
| Body material | Magnesium Alloy chassis, high grade plastic exterior |
| Sensor | 35.9 x 24.0 mm CMOS sensor 'Exmor', RGB colour Filter Array, Built-in fixed low-pass filter, 25.7 million total pixels, 24.6 million effective pixels, On-chip Column A/D Conversion & NR |
| Image sizes |
6048 x 4032 (24M 3:2), 4400 x 2936 (13M 3:2), 3024 x 2016 (6.1M 3:2), 6048 x 3408 (21M 16:9), 4400 x 2472 (11M 16:9), 3024 x 1704 (5.2M 16:9), 3924 x 2656 (11M APSC), 2896 x 1928 (5.6M APSC), 1984 x 1320 (2.6M APSC), |
| File qualities / formats | RAW (.ARW 2.0), Compressed or uncompressed RAW option, RAW + JPEG Fine, JPEG Extra Fine, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard |
| Dust reduction | Static-resistant anti-dust coating, CCD-shift dust reduction mechanism |
| Lenses | Sony Alpha lenses, (also compatible with Minolta A-type bayonet mount lenses), Can be used with DT (1.5x crop) lenses in APS-C mode |
| FOV crop | 1.0 x |
| Image Stabilization | CCD-Shift ' SteadyShot INSIDE' system, Five level LED shake indicator in viewfinder, Claimed equivalent to 4 steps in shutter speed * |
| Auto Focus | TTL CCD line sensors (9-points, center dual cross types + 10 assist sensors), EV 0 to 18 (ISO 100) detection range, Predictive focus control for moving subjects |
| AF area selection |
Wide AF area, Spot AF area (center), Focus area selection (any of 9) |
| Focus modes | Single-shot AF, Direct Manual Focus, Continuous AF, Automatic AF, Manual focus, • AF micro adjustment (+/- 20 steps for up to 30 lenses) |
| AF assist, illuminator | Yes (built-in LED lamp), Range approx 1m - 7m |
| Eye-start AF | No |
| Shooting modes |
Auto, Programmed AE (with shift), Aperture priority AE, Shutter priority AE, Manual, MR (memory recall) / Custom, |
| Sensitivity |
Auto (200 - 3200) - upper/lower limit selectable *, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200, Up to ISO 6400 (expanded range) |
| Metering modes | Multi-segment (40 segment Honeycomb pattern), Center-weighted, Spot |
| Metering range | EV 0 to 20 (Multi-segment / Center-weighted), EV 2 to 20 (Spot metering), (at ISO 100 with F1.4 lens) |
| AE Lock | AEL button (customizable), Half-press shutter release |
| AE Bracketing | Single or continuous bracketing, 3 or 5 frames, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 2.0 EV steps*, *2.0 EV steps for 3 frames only |
| Exposure compen. | -3.0 to +3.0 EV, 0.3 or 0.5 EV steps |
| Shutter | Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane Shutter |
| Shutter Speed | 30 to 1/8000 sec, Bulb |
| Flash X-sync | 1/250 sec, 1/200 sec (with SteadyShot INSIDE on) |
| Aperture values | Depends on lens, 0.3 EV steps |
| DOF preview | Yes, dedicated button |
| White balance |
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, colour temperature (2500 - 9900 K), Manual (Custom) - 3 memories |
| White balance fine tuning | Auto (none), Preset WB: -3 to +3, Fluorescent WB: -2 to +4, colour temperature WB: G9 to M9 (19 step Magenta / Green compensation) |
| White balance bracketing | 3 frames, Hi or Lo steps |
| Dynamic range optimizer |
Off, Standard, Advanced Auto, Advanced, DRO advanced bracketing (3 frames, High/Low selectable) |
| colour space | sRGB, Adobe RGB |
| colour modes | Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night view, Autumn Leaves, B&W, Sepia, Adobe RGB |
| Image parameters | Contrast (-3 to +3), Saturation (-3 to +3), Sharpness (-3 to +3), Zone Matching (-1 to +2 steps), Brightness (-3 to +3 steps), (Available in all colour modes) |
| Noise reduction | Long exposure for exposures longer than 1 second (User controllable: On / Off), High ISO NR High/Normal/Low/Off at ISO 1600 or higher |
| Viewfinder |
Eye-level fixed optical glass pentaprism, Spherical Acute Matte focusing screen (interchangeable), Magnification approx. 0.74x, 100% frame coverage, Dioptric adjustment (-3 to +1.0), Eye-relief 20 mm from eyepiece, Eyepiece cup removable, Eyepiece shutter built-in, Viewfinder info bar |
| LCD monitor | 3.0 " 'Xtra Fine' TFT LCD, 921,600 pixels (640 x 480 x 3 (RGB)), 100% coverage, Anti-reflective coating |
| Flash compensation | -3.0 to +3.0 EV in 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 2.0 EV steps |
| External flash (optional) | Sony HVL-F58M, Sony HVL-F56M, Sony HVL-F42M, Sony HVL-F36M, Macro Twin Flash Kit HVL-MT24AM, Ring Light HVL-RLAM, Off camera flash shoe FA-CS1 AM |
| Drive modes | Single-frame, Continuous (H/L selectable), Self-timer (10 or 2 sec), Continuous bracket, Single-frame bracket, White balance bracket, DRO bracket |
| Continuous , shooting * | H: Approx 5fps max, L: Approx 3fps max, RAW: Up to 12 frames, cRAW (compressed): Up to 25 frames, RAW+JPEG: Up to 10 frames, JPEG (XFINE): Up to 11 frames, JPEG (STD/FINE): 285/105 |
| Self-timer |
10 sec, 2 sec, Mirror up function (optional), Remote control |
| Orientation sensor | Yes, for shooting, playback and control panel display |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mass storage, Multi-LUN or PTP), Video out (NTSC or PAL), HDMI type C mini jack, DC-IN, Remote terminal, PC control (with supplied software) |
| Remote control * | Wired: with optional RM-S1AM or RM-L1AM, Wireless: with included remote control |
| Video out | AV (Selectable NTSC or PAL), HDMI (1920 x 1080i, 1280 x 720p, 720 x 580p, 720 x 576p), 'PhotoTV' HD settings applied with BRAVIA. |
| Storage | Compact Flash Type I/II, UDMA Mode 5 compliant, Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, PRO-HG Duo, Supports FAT12 / FAT16 / FAT32 |
| Power | NP-FM500H Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (1650 mAh), CR2025 Wireless remote, Battery charger included, Optional AC adapter, Batter life Approx 880 shots (CIPA standard) |
| Vertical grip | Vertical Grip VG-C90AM, One or Two NP-FM500H batteries with auto switchover for power (additional battery is optional). |
| Dimensions | 156 x 117 x 82 mm |
| Weight (body) | No battery: 850 g, With battery: 895 g |