Sony unveils Alpha 100 – its first true Digital SLR camera
Decided to escape the heat of London so I am in Morocco with Sony checking out its new Alpha Digital SLR camera. Serious Sony watchers know that this has been on the cards for ages especially after Sony acquired Konica Minolta earlier this year.
According to Europe CEO Fujidio Nishida the time has come to revitalize Sony as a camera manufacturer by placing it at the forefront of Digital SLRs. Sales of compact digital cameras have been slowing down – due to both market saturation and the impact of camera phones, so not surprisingly Sony, along with everyone else sees digital SLRs are where it is at. The market is small, but Sony believe has huge growth potential.
Nishida believes that everyone should have access to digital SLRs not just the enthusiasts and the pros, but acknowledges that the complexity, price and weight mean that most consumers don’t consider them.
Sony’s answer is the Alpha 100
It looks like a fairly standard digital SLR but has a very prominent lens and a dash of retro styling.
Key features include
10 mega pixel CCD sensor
Super Steadyshot technology to counter camera shake which is in the body rather than lens.
An anti dust system
Bionz image processing system which Sony claims delivers clear reproduction of rich natural colour and sharp detail.
D range optimizers image enhancement system, which intelligently adjusts dynamic range of images. Works in real time with no adjustments required
The clever bit though is that the camera is compatible with many existing Konica Minolta accessories and lenses, and Sony hopes to have up top20 new lenses available for the camera by the end of the year.
New models in the Alpha range will follow next year. More news later and a hands on later.
