Sony announces PMW-EX3 camcorder (NAB Show 2008)

Sony announced at PMA 2008 the new full HD PMW-EX3, the direct descendant of the PMW-EX1. If you check out its form factor and that of the new XL H1S and XL H1A Canons, you will immediately find plenty of similarities and will immediately understand how much Canon has influenced the prosumer segment.

However, Sony made its new handheld as mean as possible with a lot of neat features:

• Native 1920×1080p resolution.
• 24p availability for cinema-like feel.
• 3 x 1/2 inch CMOS sensors.
• XDCAM HD EX recording.
• Interchangeable lens.
• Uncompressed HD-SDI output.

Sony Alpha A350 DSLR review at CNET

In PMA 2008 Sony made a surprise move by announcing two and not only one new DSLR body. The Alpha A350 is the more impressive of the two since it packs 14.2 megapixels, together with a long list of concentrated features like sensor based stabilisation, swivel screen and live preview. CNET has reviewed the A350 and finds that it is a good camera with good dynamic range, performance and build quality.

Samsung and Pentax to possibly join the full-frame DSLR race

ElectronRun covers DSLR developments and only last week I listed 7 reasons DSLRs are so important to manufacturers. From PMA 2008 it is becoming apparent that the reflex camera entry category is already incredibly crowded. Manufacturers respond with an increasing number of models and the inclusion of as many features as possible.

This however leads to more price competition and a distinct difficulty to achieve product differentiation. This time the safety valve seems to be full-frame sensors. Canon had them first, Nikon followed with the excellent D3 -that is surely going to cut a lot of business from Canon’s formerly exclusive domain- and Sony has plans to join the club with a 24.8 megapixel sensor.

Sony DSC-H10 superzoom reviewed by dpreview

Now that DSLR cameras have come in terms of price so low, camera manufacturers had to come up with a solution to preserve the intermediate category between real compacts -i.e.: pocketable- and DSLRs. Superzooms seem to be -for now- the answer. Dpreview reviews the Sony DSC-H10 in order to check whether there have been improvements over its predecessor the DSC-H3 that was review only in January.

Apperently, apart from the larger 3 inch screen, there is hardly any real difference between the two models. Resolution remains the same 8 megapixels, results are good and sharp, while metering and stabilisation do their part in a satisfactory way. What I found disappointing was that manual options do not work so great and for better results the user is limited to the automatic mode.

Minolta 58/f1.2 converted with ROM Chip to AF for Sony A700

Source: Dyxum

Some people are plain create and come up with stuff and conversions that would more likely be expected from factory engineers. As Engadget reports, the moderator of the Dyxum photographic forum has managed to convert an old 58 mm/f1.2 Minolta lens from the 60s to AF for a brand new Sony A700!

The forum post describes the process which involves both mechanical and electronic intervention. A custom ROM chip was added and the mount was reworked, both to ensure compatibility with the A700’s characteristics.

Nikon DSLR share almost equal to Canon’s, Canon still world #1 overall

Source: CNET and IDC

The ripples of the digital camera revolution have not settled yet. CNET is reporting that according to IDC data on world camera sales, Canon is still number one overall, a lead it has retained continuously in recent years. However, in the most important DSLR category, Canon’s significant lead has all but been eroded by Nikon’s explosive progress.

In particular, the world DSLR pie of roughly 7.5 million units has gone by 42% to Canon, 40% to Nikon and the remaining to everyone else -with Sony being the most aggressive DSLR outsider. To get a feeling of Nikon’s progress, bear in mind that in 2006 Canon’s share was 46.7%, while Nikon was lower by one third at 33%. With the current trend, Nikon with its fast 71% growth will overtake Canon this year -Canon’s growth is stuck at 29%.

Sony HDR-TG1 is world’s smallest 1080i camcorder you can buy

As if the Sony HDR-SR11 and HDR-SR12 camcorders were not enough, Sony now releases the HDR-TG1, a compact machine that is at the lower end of the HD segment and is targeted towards casual videographers with a priority for portability. The main characteristics are as follows:

• Very compact dimensions of 32×119x63 mm and corresponding low weight of 300 gramms. Do not complain if you easily lose or cannot keep your camcorder steady!
• AVCHD codec. Hopefully here quality problems will be resolved as with the HDR-SR12.
• Full HD 1080i recording. With flash based storage it is better to keep things nice and compact don’t you think? Not much place for 1080p here.
• Memory Stick storage with 8 GB included with the camera. With all the Memory Stick flavours out there, be prepared for a headache when you decide to buy more cards.
• 10x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optical zoom lens.
• Almost 1 hour of full quality recording at 1980×1080i and 16 Mbps.
• 2.7 inch touch LCD screen, quite convenient for a camcorder of such small dimensions.
• 4 megapixel picture capability.

Sony HDR-SR12 and HDR-SR11 “are great camcorders” – Review by CamcorderInfo

So far 2008 is a good year for HD camcorders. The Canon HF10 was the first to break the deadlock and offer great performance for the AVCHD standard. Now Sony seems to join the top end of consumer HD camcorders with its new HDR-SR12 and HDR-SR11 models. The only difference between the two is the storage size, with HDR-SR12 offering 120 GB of hard-disc space and HDR-SR11 exactly half of that.

PMA 2008 DSLR wrap-up

This year’s PMA has been nothing but exciting for DSLR cameras. The great news is that Canon and Nikon are no more alone in the arena. Of course we have the issue of legacy lens and photographer resistance to change when they have been served by their cameras for year on end…

The show’s disappointment? For me the fact that Canon did not replace its 5D with a newer model, but of course it is their regular practise to only release one major model per show. We will have more chances for this later in the year. Full-frame sensors are Canon’s strong card as it has the longest history and a proven record. If the 5D successor comes in at a low enough price point to become competitive against smaller sensor DSLRs it will be the most exciting development I could expect this year…

Sony readies 24.8 megapixel full-frame sensor

Sony is taking the DSLR segment much more seriously than Canon and Nikon would like. In addition to the new A300 and A350model announcement, the actual big news is that Sony is readying -possibly for production in 2008- a 24.8 megapixel 35 mm equivalent full-frame sensor! Sony’s announcement mentions 12-bit processing, a 6.3 frames/second rate and low noise characteristics. So get ready for a truly professional model announcement very soon.

Is it time to start talking about the Big Three in DSLRs? I believe yes, as Sony will cover every user need with a complete range of five -or more- DSLR models.