Sony today announced three new digital single-lens reflex cameras — the A500, A550 and the full frame A850 — cameras that make you say, this company means business.
Sony has now announced six DSLRs this year, with the first three being the A230, A330 and A380 back in May.
Here are a brief information on the A850: Ship next month at US$2,000 body only, 24.6 megapixels full frame Exmor CMOS sensor, dual BIONZ image processor, ISO 100 – 6400 (expanded), 30 – 1/8000 shutter speed, 921,000 pixels LCD, 9-point AF; viewfinder, card slots, controls and other sensitive areas are protected from dust and moisture by rubber seals, 3fps continuous shooting.
Sony A850... US$2,000 full-frame DSLR
With today’s announcement, Sony also joined the fray in the race for a high-ISO performance previously dominated by the likes of Nikon and Canon, with the release of the A550 and A500, which boost ISO capabilities of up to 12800.
Sony A500/A550... up to ISO 12800
The two cameras are identical in design. However, the A550 has a 14.2-megapixel sensor while the A500 has 12.3 megapixels. Both cameras also have a fast continuous shooting of 5fps. However, the A550 is capable of 7fps in speed priority mode.
Both cameras also share other features including a shutter speed of 30-1/4000 and bulb and various other scene modes normally seen in compact cameras, including landscape, sports and macro modes.
The A550 and A500 are priced at US$950 (body only) and RM750 (body only) respectively or US$1,050 with 18-55mm kit lens and US$850 with kit lens, respectively.
All the three cameras, and the three previous ones, offer no video mode. I did hope, however, to see the sweep panorama feature incorporated in Sony’s newest DSLRs but perhaps the company would want that feature to be unique to its compact cameras.
