gacktleong: Yes, the Pentax Super-Takumar 55mm F2.0 can fit on your A300 - you need a M42-to-Alpha adapter though. Yes the "Minolta Maxxum AF Zoom 35-70mm F4 Baby Beercan MACRO 1:4" fits without a problem; though it doesn't shoot any more 'macro' than your 18-70mm kit lens!

I think that's a typo - the A850 only has 1 continuous drive mode (3 FPS).

Sony's preset tungsten is 3200K (professional studio tungsten lights) - it states so in the manual.

Green is to compensate magenta, and magenta is to compensate green... you'll only ever get green from flourescent lights, which are also a bit warmer (4500K) and a heck greener (so M6 to counter the green-ness.)

kev da man: Blue car lights are cool what. Besides, if your WB was set to the lights, you'd probably end up with a car with blown, washed-out reds.

MemorableStudios: I use TTL most of the time. So if you used 2 flashes with TTL, they would both, in theory, use less power.

A more power-efficient way is to have both flashes pointing at the subject but coming from top left and top right at 45 degree angles. You'd probably have to have metal wings to hold them up but the effect would be nice (butterfly lighting.)

This post has been edited by albnok: Aug 28 2009, 07:35 PM

clivengu: Then we shall not publicize our TTs LOL.

signither: Wah, I could stare at that picture all day! (And the prawn shot is gross because it seems... flattened.)

kev da man: Even the best filters give you a bit of ghosting (but no flare.) Honestly the kit lens has excellent flare control as it is so it can do without a filter.

Banzai_san: Yes, wise to get at least the F42 for the IR AF assist light.

You can counter the lack of MLU by using the 10 second timer. However due to the lightness of the consumer bodies (A200-A550) I guess Sony decided that the mirror didn't contribute much shake to justify MLU?

Killerz622: You set your ISO on the flash to match your camera ISO; you pull out the zoom head to match your focal length * 1.5x; and then you see the distance from camera to subject. Set your camera aperture to what is shown above your subject distance.

However you need to multiply subject distance by 2 if you're bouncing the light up.

ianho: I was just at Sony Style at The Curve; they have the pink handgrip strap, and the big ladies' camera bag!

Seng_Kiat: The Kelvin WB settings list, only applies for ambient light. If you use flash, you must put a color-correction gel on the flash to match the ambient light.

wingster: The A550 is a really, really nice upgrade from the A350. I am sure you will like it because it takes Live View a step further, and does high ISO a lot better.

nickilala: I set my Creative Style to Vivid 0 +1 +3 -2 -1 (bottom-most slot). And, of course, take pictures when the color is nice lah.

nickilala: There are a few Creative Style slots; you'll notice that the first few do not have the numbers 1 2 3 next to them. For those, you cannot change the Brightness or Zone Matching, so you only see 3 parameters (Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness).

So you need to scroll all the way down to slot #3, go right, change to Vivid, then you can change the Zone Matching to -1. Once you do that the Contrast setting is disabled. So, from left to right, 0 +1 +3 -2 -1.

This method was first discovered on Dyxum by this dude Agorabasta.

Zone Matching set to -1 to bring out the shadows (longer exposure and different tone curve.)

But then if you take a shot, you might find blacks to be too bright... so you need to set Brightness to -2.

Sharpness set to +3 to shrink the noise reduction pattern (try at -3 and then +3... you can see more detail with +3, and smaller 'grain' at high ISO. If not it will look blotchier.)

Finally, Saturation I put to +1 because I like it that way.

Interesting reading:

A Sony 3CCD still video camera that uses Canon and Nikon lenses!

http://www.nikonweb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=368
http://www.broadcaststore.com/catalog/By-B...00/MVC-7000.htm
http://www.digicamhistory.com/1992.html

From http://www.sonicvideo.com/stillvideo/file1.htm:
But back in 1987 there was already an A-mount digital still video back:

http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onebody.php?id=sb-90

ianho: The A500/A550 has good handling what. It is a heck lot more solid than the A300/A350 and reminds me of the A100 a lot in terms of build.

Of course, I love the A900's "All-seeing Eye" hehe. Same kinda excitement when I see an old Pentax film SLR.

ohzmygod: Just set anything lah as you like. On the A100 I used Vivid +1 +2 +3 or Vivid -3 +3 +3.

wingster: The A500/A550 has 0.8x magnification and 95% coverage, bigger than the A300/A350 at 0.74x magnification and 95% coverage.

KM5D/A100/A200/A230 - 0.83x magnification, 95% coverage
A300/A330/A350/A380 - 0.74x magnification, 95% coverage
A500/A550 - 0.8x magnification, 95% coverage (100% coverage in MF Check LV)
KM7D/A700 - 0.9x magnification, 95% coverage
A850 - 0.74x magnification, 98% coverage
A900 - 0.74x magnification, 100% coverage

Seng_Kiat: You need flash gel for non-5500K WB. Kelvin WB for gelled flash, or no flash.

clivengu: Yes, the DEC settings do not show in RAW.

chiggy: Am loving #12 (but with a tighter crop.)

Oh hello Sony Alpha 850! This is the very nicely priced, slightly down-specced version of the A900. A full-frame digital SLR for under USD2000!

What's different from the A900?


The A900 has 5 FPS or 3 FPS burst drive modes. The A850 only has a 3 FPS burst drive mode. (Also note the ooo in the viewfinder and top LCD screen, different from the A900's oooL or oooH.)

The A900 viewfinder has 0.74x magnification and 100% coverage.
The A850 viewfinder has 0.74x magnification and 98% coverage.

Is that 2% that much of a difference? No, honestly - if you put them side-by-side you would not be able to see the difference in viewfinder size!

A900 sensor = 35.9mm wide
35.9mm * 0.74x * 100% = 26.566mm

A850 sensor = 35.9mm wide
35.9mm * 0.74x * 98% = 26.03468mm

The difference is 0.53mm!

As for the number of pixels you gain outside the viewfinder on 98% coverage - the square root of 98% is 99%. So take the A850's 6048 pixels wide - 1% is 60.5 pixels which makes 30.25 pixels off the left and right. Honestly, not much more.

However, there are those who can feel the difference who say it is more apparent on longer focal lengths.

With longer focal lengths I tended to shake while framing, nulling the accuracy of putting a subject exactly on the edge of the frame. So, to make the most of a 100% viewfinder you'd want to put the camera on a tripod.

Oh, and the RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote is not included with the A850.

It is speculated that the A900, having a movable 100% viewfinder mask, makes it more expensive (presumably, the factory checks alignment and moves the mask to cover the proper 100% area). The A850 might not have a moveable mask. That said, the A900 is said to have a superbly aligned 100% viewfinder, unlike some other brands which have a 100% viewfinder but the sensor/viewfinder is misaligned slightly.

Cosmetically, the A900 mode dial has embossed PASM lettering, while the A850's is printed. Minor thing.

The A900 has a black finish with speckled highlights, while the A850 has a matte, fine-grained surface. This makes the A850 look fuller (despite being identical in size and weight). The A900 looks mostly black with highlights while the A850 looks gray (like the earliest pictures of the A700 prototype!)

I suspect that the A850, due to the different finish, might attract people subconsciously.

Here are shots of the A850's new matte finish:
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news-gallery/26...gallery/4#image


(Short break for the ladies.) Here's the new LCS-TT10, a fashionable camera bag. You can see just how big it is, next to the A230 and the pair of red heels!


(Short break for the guys.) Here's 3 A900 bodies with Sony 50mm F1.4 lenses. Thanks Signither for sending me the picture!


And now, for the Sony Alpha 550! This has a 14.2 megapixel CMOS sensor.


Top view.


Rear view. Somewhat a mix between the A350 and A380 design, with thankfully the full A350 grip.

This is truly the successor to the A350 - it has a swivel screen with increased articulation (it can face 90 degrees downwards now) with a 3" 640x480 screen. No more noisy-at-ISO1600 14.2 megapixel CCD sensor!

Viewfinder Magnification and Coverage:

Here's a list of APS-C cameras and their viewfinder magnification and coverage:

KM5D/A100/A200/A230 - 0.83x magnification, 95% coverage
A300/A330/A350/A380 - 0.74x magnification, 95% coverage
A500/A550 - 0.8x magnification, 95% coverage (100% coverage in MF Check LV)
KM7D/A700 - 0.9x magnification, 95% coverage

(Note that you cannot compare these numbers directly to full-frame cameras because you need to multiply them by the frame size as well.)

The A500/A550 has a bigger viewfinder than the A300-A380's tiny one, thankfully!

It does 4 FPS in Quick AF Live View, 5 FPS in Optical Viewfinder mode, and 7 FPS in Speed Priority mode (where AF and exposure are automatically locked.)

Considerately, Sony did not lie about specifications - they could've claimed it does 7 FPS straight - other brands claim high FPS but only when AF and exposure are locked (and faster than a certain shutter speed!)

At least, we know it can do 5 FPS with continuous AF and auto exposure in between frames.

There is also the A500, but that's the not-so-hot sister - it only has a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor and a 3" 320x240 swivel screen, and lacks the 7 FPS Speed Priority mode.



It also has MF Check LV in addition to the Quick AF Live View introduced in the A300/A350 - it uses the main sensor for Live View, but in manual focus only. You can magnify it either 7x or 14x. It will even auto-gain (brighten up). However, it does not stop down the lens, and there is no DOF Preview button on the A550. It also drops the mirror first before flipping it up again to take the shot (redundant, like a lot of Live View implementations). If it just tripped the shutter without the mirror it could've removed vibration and made for a quieter shot.

It has Face Detection and Smile Shutter when in Live View - very very very cool! Face Detection makes sure it focuses on a face, and exposes the face properly (and probably tunes the white balance too!) Smile Shutter is too fun on my Sony Cybershot W190 and I am glad to see it on a dSLR - it will come in handy when you don't want to set a 10 second timer to take group shots when the camera is set on a surface.

It has DRO (up to Level 5) like the A700/A850/A900! Great stuff for JPEGs.

There's Auto HDR - it takes 2 successive frames. You can specify how many EV are these 2 frames apart, up to 3 EV. From samples I've seen it looks much better than DRO Level 5!

So, would I get an A850 or A550 as a backup camera? Definitely the A550 - the A900 does everything the A850 does, but the A900 doesn't have Live View or 7 FPS. There's no point in me getting an A700 either as it's just a APS-C version of the A900. The A550 could be my B Cam (cinematography term for a camera that gets hooked to stunt rigs and gets hard-to-reach angles the heat of the action.)

Of course, I am in no rush - if the A700 replacement is a better B Cam, I might wait for that!

The A500, A550 and A850 are not using backlit sensor technology (Sony calls it Exmor R on their Cybershot and Handycam series). It is said that because the circuits that cover regular CMOS sensors are the same size whatever the size of the sensor, so while a tiny sensor might gain 30-40% in light-gathering capability by becoming backlit, a bigger APS-C or full-frame sensor gains maybe only 5%, thus not justifying the cost.

That said, the A550 samples on the Internet look surprisingly clean even at ISO3200. Go!

http://www.lenstip.com/1753-news-Sony_Alph...ple_images.html
http://www.dcfever.com/news/readnews.php?id=3281
http://www.klubkm.pl/forum/showpost.php?p=...4&postcount=422

And some shots of the A550 (with a new type of screen protector, nice!)
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26647/sony...-camera-gallery

lwliam: In the context of a B Cam LOL!

If I could choose only one APS-C camera, it might be the A700 still, for the controls. However, the A550 is very, very tempting.

AlphaBeta: The A850 starts shipping in September 2009. It is already in Malaysia, sitting in warehouses. Waiting for the first sighting of street price, which should be very, very exciting!

It still claims to be moisture-proof (but again, we'll leave it to the brave to test splash/dust.)

hkhk: The cats' eyes would shrink if exposed to bright light for a long time... it's just a flash.

finalfantasty: The F42 can be used off-camera as a wireless slave. The F58 can be used on-camera to trigger wireless slaves but only on the A700/A850/A900.

AlphaBeta: I have shot under the rain with the A900, of course with an umbrella.

However when hanging it over my neck and walking, it still gets a fine layer of rain because my umbrella isn't that effective.



hkhk: LOL yeah I meant iris heh. Their iris would be bigger in the dark and smaller in bright conditions.

I realllly should stop looking at what DxO Optics Pro can do. (Specifically the A900 with ISO6400 and NR on.)

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y...history_state0=

The F20 doesn't work as wireless slaves out of the box unfortunately. The Sunpak PF20XD for half its price (or rather, almost the price marushin paid) does optical slave mode and manual power no problem.

kev da man: Yep as you see it DxO 5.3.4 makes the A900 look a lot better.

Er, what problems do Exmor R have with bright lights? Any links?

What I've seen so far is superb stuff. Excellent ISO1600 on a compact!

nickilala: The F20 is far more useful on the A850 and A900. Otherwise its only benefit to your A700 is that you have a tiny bounce flash which only bounces in landscape mode. The F58 is far more useful on the A700 - you get to use the F58 on camera to trigger other flashes on the A700/A850/A900. Of course, if you have only one flash, then you use the A700 pop-up to trigger the F58 off-camera.

Say what?

The A230/A330/A380/A500/A550 has its On/Off switch moved around the shutter like Nikon... and Canon puts their 7D On/Off switch where Minolta/Sony used to put it!

This is shocking coming from Canon, ever so stubborn to make changes to ergonomics. The Movie/Photo dial looks SO familiar. Hmmm. Also liking the orientation linked AF point. They stole the RAW button from Pentax.

Though, they lose the high-precision viewfinder screen by their transmissive LCD. Presumably people who shoot with F1.2 lenses in manual focus will use Live View (and blind themselves with the LCD in dark places where F1.2 would be good.)

Interesting that Canon is joining the D300s class - professional-grade single-grip APS-C.

Also more interesting is how little is really released for DPReview to say - the price is still TBC but according to http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1251777601.html it's USD 1699 for body only. They don't even have pictures of their new lenses!

So where should (or rather, where would, seeing that Sony will do what it thinks the market wants) Sony put an A700 replacement? As a step down, where the 50D is, with the price to match, or aim for the Canon 7D/D300s level?

Based on its featureset for different markets, we can see that Sony thinks that full-frame users are traditionalists who have no use for video. Let's hope the gadget-gizmo chasers, telephoto shooters and APS-C loving professionals make it into their market research.

Although it does seem like everybody in Japan must be tight-lipped or face competitors copying features, I know that there is a certain amount that brands know what each other is doing. It's just whether marketing/product planning makes it so, or not.

kev da man: I've been using RawTherapee; freeware with good batch processing.

How many current Nikon bodies can trigger off-camera TTL flashes using their pop-up flash?

No - D3000, D5000
YES - D90, D300s, D700
Er, no pop-up flash - D3, D3x

3 out of 7. The D60 and below cannot trigger off-camera TTL flashes; D70 above can.

And Canon:
NO - 1000D, 500D, 50D
YES - 7D
Er, no pop-up flash - 5DMkII, 1D MkIII, 1Ds MkIII

1 out of 7.

A230/A330/A380/A500/A550 all can but the A850 and A900 don't have a pop-up flash. 5 out of 7. You can add the discontinued KM5D/KM7D/A100/A200/A300/A350/A700 to get 12 out of 14.

dazzle: The Minolta Dynax 7xi in 1991 had wireless flash on film SLRs.

kev da man: The SB-900 is just, just a bit less of a hassle, going from WL to fill-flash - you need to change the mode dial from Slave to On, before mounting it and then locking it.

I don't like the activation process for WL on the body either - you need to dive into the menu. With Sony you just change your flash mode to WL.

I love how with Sony flashes, if it is in WL Slave (for the F58, specifically RMT or RMT2), and you mount it on, it automatically becomes standard fill-flash. With Nikons you have an extra step (or two, if you count flipping the lock.)

I've a feeling you will like the A700's dual dials, too!

SpOOkY: Yes, you can turn WL on all the time on a Sony flash. You can also always turn on WL on an Alpha. You can always mount the flash on body and immediately get fill-flash unless you have a A700-A900 with F58 or F20 (where you'd need to do something or else the on-camera F58/F20 will send a WL signal instead of doing fill-flash). This is a good shortcut for those who always cycle between WL and fill-flash but not pop-up flash.

This post has been edited by albnok: Sep 1 2009, 05:58 PM

kev da man: You can set the front dial or rear dial to change EV on the A700-A900.

I disagree with your comment on ergonomics, as I strongly value being able to operate the camera with the right hand alone. The D100-D300 series means you need to use your left hand to change things like ISO and Drive mode. Also, Quick Navi is not enabled by default - if it is, you can press the ISO button and it will NOT go into a separate screen, but lets you change the setting while seeing all other settings.