Sony adds the A450 to the line-up

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Originally Posted by Peekayoh

This is interesting.
http://friedmanarchives.com/newslett...9-12/index.htm

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Nice. Seems like everything I liked about the A300 but with MUCH better high ISO noise, which was my biggest complaint about that camera.

I think most of the flack the A5x0 has taken is not because it is a bad camera, it is because people want to see the a700 updated, and the A550 was not a proper semi-pro camera.

I also don't see a ton of market there, but I could be wrong. Canon has a bit of a no-mans land between the upper Rebels and the semi-pro xxD, and the D90 has the extra control dial and a couple of other things that make it feel more like a low end D300 and less like a high-end D5000/D60/etc. It seems like a almost $1000 DSLR without DOFP, second control dial, MLU, etc is aimed at people with more money than photography skills.

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Originally Posted by Peekayoh

Rooz, I don't uderstand your statement, neither do I know why you care.

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what makes you think i do ? i was just making an observation. sony release yet another low end, low spec dslr making it 6 dslr's under $1k apparently. wow...there's a plan to make every photographer all warm and fuzzy inside.

Oh, c'mon ... breakthrough technology doesn't happen overnight. It takes at least a week.

Rooz, you said that Sony have become an embarrassment and that is what I fail to understand.

With the A450 Sony have released what looks to be a very capable camera which has more appeal to an enthusiast than have any of the latest A2xx/A3xx series. So, why is that a bad idea?

Any reasoned arguments in support of your case??

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Originally Posted by laydros

Nice. Seems like everything I liked about the A300 but with MUCH better high ISO noise, which was my biggest complaint about that camera.

I think most of the flack the A5x0 has taken is not because it is a bad camera, it is because people want to see the a700 updated, and the A550 was not a proper semi-pro camera.

I also don't see a ton of market there, but I could be wrong. Canon has a bit of a no-mans land between the upper Rebels and the semi-pro xxD, and the D90 has the extra control dial and a couple of other things that make it feel more like a low end D300 and less like a high-end D5000/D60/etc. It seems like a almost $1000 DSLR without DOFP, second control dial, MLU, etc is aimed at people with more money than photography skills.

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I think you're right about the flack, although I would change "people" for "reviewers" who obsess on the Bling.

Is it about the lack of an A7xx? Maybe, but I don't see why all the fuss, the A700 is still a very capable camera (I got a second body at a knock down price) but it will be interesting to see the replacement when it comes.

Toru Katsumoto (Sony Alpha Division Director) implied that the delays were due to bit of a rethink on features. So what would that be, Live View, new AF, Video?

He also said that Sony intend to soon release products that break new ground technologically. Got to be video related, maybe!

Interesting comment at CES today by Stan Glasgow (President and C.O.O. - Sony Electronics Inc) "We're holding the biggest news about digital imaging for Stringer's keynote tomorrow..." (Sir Howard Stringer Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Sony Corporation).

Yeah, body announcements are typically a big deal. The fact that Sony announced that before the keynote leads me to believe something considerably more interesting is coming today.

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Originally Posted by Peekayoh

Rooz, you said that Sony have become an embarrassment and that is what I fail to understand.

With the A450 Sony have released what looks to be a very capable camera which has more appeal to an enthusiast than have any of the latest A2xx/A3xx series. So, why is that a bad idea?

Any reasoned arguments in support of your case??

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if you're NEW to dslr and have no clue maybe theres something in it. but for experienced or existing customers its ridiculous.

my reasoning is pretty simple cos i'm a simple sort of bloke. a company who offers 6 sub $1000 dslr's in its CURRENT lineup with very little between them all is clutching at straws and implementing shotgun marketing. the only logic they are employing is put as many products out there as possible to coerce unsuspecting buyers to buy a sony. ie: we cant build better cameras than the opposition so lets just put more of em out there and trap uneducated, unsuspecting newbs to our brand.

only time will tell if this is an effective marketing strategy or not. so far not so good for sony who's market share in dslr is nowhere near what they would have wanted when they released the a100.

forget market share and think on it from a system pov. sony offers nothing new photographically as far as improvements go. they are still all outperformed by their opposition and the key model in their lineup, the a700 is still awaiting some sort of refresh. if i was a sony owner i'd be looking at these moves and thinking...hmmm...still no decent lens selection, still no decent customer support or product availability and i'm seeing ANOTHER cheapo dslr which makes it something like 9 cheapo dslr's released by sony in the last 12-18mnths. so i'd be thinking..."whats in it for me ?"

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Originally Posted by Peekayoh

Is it about the lack of an A7xx? Maybe, but I don't see why all the fuss, the A700 is still a very capable camera (I got a second body at a knock down price) but it will be interesting to see the replacement when it comes.

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yes, thats cos you already own a sony. its capable yeah but when compared to the opposition its miles behind. why anyone who was not minolta affiliated would buy an a700 is beyond my understanding. the only appealing thing in sony's lineup is its FF cameras which in good light are very good.

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Toru Katsumoto (Sony Alpha Division Director) implied that the delays were due to bit of a rethink on features. So what would that be, Live View, new AF, Video? He also said that Sony intend to soon release products that break new ground technologically. Got to be video related, maybe!

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yes, exmor R was supposed to be groundbreaking too remember ? its a failure of epic proportions in low light though. you can only cry wolf so many times. sooner or later people are gonna wise up to the "new ground breaking technology" talk and just say "yeah right, we've heard this all before." or maybe...they're actually couting on the lowest common denominator knowing there's no shortage of hacks out there who believe this crap...

Based on the recent SONY CES presentation, I "MAKE.BELIEVE" that they see their future in the 3D Realm ... and not in the conventional 2D market. They want to force Canon and Nikon into a chase, which, if they are smart ... they will refrain from.

I am not sure who thinks having all kinds of stuff constantly pitched into your face is a fun time, but what the heck ... that's the play!

People get contacts to AVOID wearing glasses!

I'm not going to go as far as to say that I don't think 3D TV will take off, but I will at least say I will be surprised if people are willing to wear glasses to watch the evening news and oprah, not to mention buy another tv after just upgrading to an HD LCD TV.

At least it seems they are finally giving up on memory stick, but I can't help feeling like serious photography is not very high on their list. Maybe the A700 replacement announcement will come after the craziness of CES dies down.

I have to admit ... the waiting is growing rather annoying for the α7xx announcement. It honestly could be a dramatic shift in still photography, by providing a better high-ISO image and perhaps a revolutionary mirror-solution for rapid-fire sports capability.

Admittedly, when they announced the α200 at the 2008 CES show, it was a bit unusual, and then the α300/350 twins at 2008 PMA show, later that month.

Then, the totally unexpected pass at PMA 2009, resulting in the mid-April announcement of the +30 retrograde releases. It left us all suitably unimpressed.

But, the shocking α850 (a retrograde α900) was the real mind-blower and confusing addition. Oh sure, the price was more in line with what people WANT to pay for a Full Frame, but as a replacement for the α700, it is not. Only the α900 could do that, mainly because of it equally faster fps.

So ... we wait. Left wondering, which way did they go? In-camera-video lust is playing havoc with the DSLR camera world, but the massive memory requirement and poor focusing solutions for such a feature still prohibit its serious use.

And worst of all, this upcoming 3D venture leaves the entire world wondering ...

"Who asked for this 'in your face' technology?" or, better yet, "OMG! Do I really have to buy another 60-inch, 3D-capable LCD TV, this year?"

with the obvious follow-up question,

"What landfill do I have to dump this relatively new and barely used 60-inch, 120Hz, 1020dpi, HDTV in?"

I have to say, it all is a trifle bit more than confusing to even the most avid SONY user. :confused:

Anyone else care to offer some insight?