Original German language link | Google translated English link (detailed specs available):
Sony A500:
- ISO up to 12,8000
- 5 fps
- 9 points AF system
- Max shutter speed of 1/4000th
- October 2009 availability
Sony a500, there will also be an a550 model
Sony A850:
- 24 mp EXMOR sensor, image stabilized
- No live view
- 3 fps
- Viewfinder: 98% coverage, 0.74x magnification
- 3″ 921k dot LCD
- September 2009 availability
Sony a850: "the first small-full frame DSLR"
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26 Comments
They say that the A850 will be available for less than 2000 Euro, I geuss this is the suggested price, as Nikons D700 is sometimes selling for just a ted below 2000 euro.
I wonder what the street price will be.
The A900 is also selling just a bit below 2000 Euro.
Suggested retail price is 2800 Euro for the A900.
This means that the A850 might be available for around 1500-1600 euro “soon”.
A500: another entry level??? I don’t understand Sony… and A850 is identical to A900
boh
a500:
-12MPx
-100-12800 ISO
-Tilting LCD 3″
-Double LV (2nd sensor and main sensor) with 14X
-5fps
-Built-in HDR
-DRO 5 levels
-9 AF sensors and double cross central sensor
-LV Face detection
What’s funny is how no one’s bothered to pick up on this post yet. With all the waving of hands and wild speculation, you’d think an organized chart of what’s what would appeal. LOL I suppose not.
Might as well give on the A550 as well, sir/madam
To me, this means: Nikon is coming with the D700x / D800 soon! (and they will probably want to lower the price of it so that they can keep people from running to sony for lower prices.
Hooray
Whoever NEEDS 24mp does have an equipment worth many many times what any 35mm sensor camera costs. Therefor I do not believe that Nikon feels coerced to lower price, as much as many would want them to.
On the other hand, I do believe that it will have a price impact on the current D700, as “tomorrows fairly priced” entry to FX, once we see a D4 with less noise and a few more pixels.
But still, regarding Nikons activity on the DX lens market, I very much doubt that they will go FX for all their bodies anytime soon. Not even offering a cheap FX alternative at all.
The things you say sound reasonable, however, I think there are still some of us who are waiting for the FX body that still has nice resolution with a walk around lens (say 18-200).
I know what people think now: who buys a D800 in the price range of +2k and uses it with an 18-200? Well some people only have one body and they are thinking in terms of compromising some of the pixels to use the camera in DX and still have the powerhouse for when they need it.
So in fact, if you would buy a d3X in a D700 body, you get 2 camera’s, one in the D300 (top DX) range and one in FX range, who wouldn’t want to have this camera?
So hopefully, sony will push nikon to lower prices so we can buy this little wonderfull black box
I dont know why the D700 does not already do this for you. yes only 6mp I know the world is coming to an end with only 6mp but its only a 18-200mm.
I am looking forward to exmor R. I want to see it beat the D700 with ease and when the D700x comes out hopefully the a850 will still be king of the hill.
you know i am waiting for at least a 3 layered (rather a major step forward to a 5 layered) DX sensor from nikon and a D-FM for all my old Ais lens.
so we are at least in the same boat but i think you will be getting off and on more often…
Haha,
(since she only wants the 18-200 for here photographic playing…..get the picture?)
So if I buy a D700 and get 5 mp for a lot more money, you think my wife would really go crazy??
Ahh i get it, I cant relate at all. My wife never touches the camera equipment and looks at it as if it came from Pluto (as Pluto is not even a real planet anymore, it must be a very strange dwarf planet to produce such an object. She thinks to herself b4 retreating back to her book.)
I doubt that there will be a reasonable priced 20+mp body from Nikon anytime soon. Their FX bodies, especially the one above 20mp, is targeted at pros only. And this will stay this way for quite some time. Even if they release a D700x, my guess is that it will have a price tag close to the D3. From a pros point of view the D3x is a cheap camera, so far if they needed a highres camera they had to get a Midformat camera. Compared to those, the D3x price appears very reasonable.
As much as I’d love to see prices for Nikon FX bodies dropping, as a realist I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Unfortunately.
does A500 have exmor R? or not??
No. Exmor-R at this level is still too cost ineffective. That’s going to have to wait a little longer. That being said, no one’s complaining about the quality of Sony’s crop of Exmor CMOS out on the market now; I mean, the Nikon guys are happy, the A700/A900 guys are happy…
T3 has some pretty spot on info there. Most interesting. Someone has a source.
not sure if this is going to sell unless they make it 500 less than the A900. and if it is 500 less than the a900, then the a900 won’t sell. these cameras are too similar to run parallel to each other.
Well, I think they are similar enough to be produced at the same production line, therefor, it doesn’t really matter. They produce the for a certain amount of time, and then the other…
Sony certainly doesnt care about selling A850 or A900. They know that they sit as the newcomers, and that each new sale is a wealthy user stolen from Canon or Nikon. Plus the lens sales that come with it.
IMHO. Sony will change the market, whether the rest of the industry like it or not.
Do you think that sound ingeneer will soon changes their sennheiser microphones for sony one ?
A new photographer can start buying sony cameras and lenses, but do not expect a professional to sell his lenses (10.000$ or 20.000$) , plus body, to buy sony cameras and lenses!!!
They don’t. That’s the crux. They buy TWO systems. There are plenty of pros who have done it and will continue to do so.
Yeah and pros use either Canon or Nikon or both.
Adam, that’s a crock anymore. I know several Nat’l Geo/Pulitzer prize winning photographers personally who use Canon and OLYMPUS for crying out loud. Why Olympus? They actually work better and more reliably under duress, that’s why, and their color accuracy out of the camera is ridiculous. Something Nikon and Canon simply have yet to match for all their “professional” ways.
No one system is more “professional” than the rest. If someone’s making good money from a series of Panasonic L10s then by all means, bully for them. If they’re putting out quality work because they actually got to know their gear as opposed to fretting over their buying decision from the get go (omg!! Canon’s doing this! OMG Nikon’s got that!!) like a complete loser, they are the professionals. And the gear is just their tool.
There are two former Canon Explorers of Light that frequent one of the larger stores in my territory. I say “former” because they got rid of NEARLY all their Canon gear and went Alpha 900. They have unequivocally stated that the Zeiss lenses are better than anything in the equivalent class that they ever shot in Canon. That’s pretty serious.
http://www.digitalkamera.de/Kamera/Sony/Alpha_500.aspx
http://www.digitalkamera.de/Meldung/Sony_Alpha_500_und_Alpha_850_fuer_APS_C_bzw_Vollformateinsteiger/5981.aspx
The CMOS on a500 could be a new design but not a Exmor R, this new sensor reach 12800 ISO and the before sensores like a700/D300/D90/D5000 don´t…
I bet D300/D90 could do it, but Nikon just doesnt think it gives a useable output. They can even make it 256000 if they really dont care, but that would be highly unusable probably.
I agree, it’s not a question of what can be done, but much more of what makes sense. Best example is the 50D, it’s highest ISO setting is next to useless.
if it reaches ISO12k without software “push up’ than it’s surely a nice piece of electronics
Hopefully the image quality will be good till 3200…..
What I don’t get is that Sony doesn’t bring out a 12mp FX camera, good high ISO behavior, and 12mp are more than enough for almost anyone. And pros that are attracted by a cheap 24mp, well in Nikons case, I think they won’t mind paying more for the A900, and in Canons case, they just get the 5dMKII, if available
But seriously, they have some serious glass from Zeiss, and with a decently priced 12mp FX body, I believe they would steal a lot of sales that would have gone towards a D90/D300/50D/5D/K7.