After a muted response to its announcement of three DSLR cameras — the A230, A330 and A380 — back in May, and in view of the fanfare generated by the announcement by other camera makers, there is a need, in my humble opinion, for Sony to re-enter the market with a bang. A big one.
And with the rumoured release of the A500, A550 and A850, Sony might just have a window of opportunity to do so.
Pan ‘em up and stitch ‘em down
Sony can choose to ride the current trend but consumers will be mightily pleased if the Japanese giant can introduce in its upcoming DSLRs a killer feature currently at its disposal — the “Sweep Panorama” technology it first introduced in February via the HX1 ultrazoom wide angle point-and-shoot camera.
In Sony’s own word, “Sweep panorama mode lets you reach beyond the traditional wide-angle lens and capture breathtaking shots. With wide and ultra-wide settings and horizontal or vertical directions, sweep panorama mode can take up to 224-degree horizontal or 154-degree vertical shots.”
I think everybody would want to have this feature on their DSLRs; even if they don’t, it wont hurt to have this feature embedded in their cameras. Examples of pictures taken with the sweep panoramic feature can be seen here and here.
That would be an awesome feature to have in a DSLR. Imagine the possibility of taking massive panoramic pictures of DSLR quality! The Gods of the Grand Canyon would surely approve.
Frame ‘em full
Soon, the full frame format should also trickle down to the more affordable camera segment and why not Sony be the one to start the ball rolling?
The rest of the features, like smooth HD video at 30fps, is up to Sony to figure out.
