Sony A850 - spec

[gurbally_seth]

<p>It is rumoured to be August 27th</p>

[timb196]

<p>I'll be interested to see if they have done anything with the JPEG engine and that a firmware upgrade for the a900 come out with the A850. If it doesn't and the JPEG engine of the 850 is better, then there will be some unhappy campers.<br>

Tim</p>

[philippartridge]

<p>A little more on lens speed and weight of camera gear. Jiun, weight always matters for those that carry their cameras/lenses/accessories. If you speak to a few wedding pros they complain about the heavy lenses they need to use and the total payload of a pro body and 'pro' lens - generally over 2kgs or 4.5 lbs, more if they use a flash. A lot of folks suffers bad backs from this constant load.</p>

<p>Now, another issue arises - for so many DSLR photographers, fast lenses equal pro quality and the converse applies to slow lenses. So there is a market distortion at play as well, because what buyers demand is a big factor in what the makers produce. This appears to be Nikon's problem, a big market problem I feel, because there is a large unmet need out there for slow, practical lenses (zoom and prime), especially since they tried to pass off the underwhelming 24-120 as a kit lens recently. Fast lenses, while undoubtedly sexy and having their place, place huge demands on AF systems, photographer skill and size of wallet for not necessarily better performance. </p>

<p>The best lens I own is an f4, the Mamiya 65mm f4 for the Mamiya 7, and it was not and still is not, cheap.</p>

<p>Zeiss made some great manual focus lenses for the Contax SLR cameras, which are now available as stop down metering options for Sony DSLRs, they can be chipped for EXIF, SSS compatibility, focus confirm and A mode metering. I have two on order, having reluctanctly decided against the 24-70/2.8 ZA. Yes, the rumoured 28-75/2.8 may be a Tamron, but it should be a Zeiss! At least it will likely be light and a sound performer, if not top echelon.There are a lot of fantastic slow lenses available for Sony users via Leitax adaptors now, such as the Leica R Elmarit series, and Zeiss's 85mm f2.8. You can check out their performance at photodo and various other websites - absolutely top notch.</p>

<p>Now, wide angles - Zeiss erred in not making the 16-35 an f4 rather than a largely needless f2.8. Reason is that this is destined to be a landscaper's lens, though some wedding pros need width in dressing rooms etc. A 900 gram lens puts enormous pressure on lightweight tripods also, and one needs a great tripod to get the best from a 25Mp camera. So you get a ripple effect - heavy lenses lead to high pack weight and bulk, lead to heavy tripods, heavier tripod heads and plates, large filters (or as with the crazy 14-24 Nikkor, rube goldberg-style filter 'systems'), larger lens carry cases and so on. You end up with a Hummer when you need a Subaru.</p>

<p>Lastly, and sorry for the long post, body weight. Very, very few landscape guys would ever carry a grip - totally unproductive, compared with extra batteries. The Sony A900 weighs in at the same weight, give or take, as a Nikon D200 - 850 grams; with batt, around 900 grams. 25Mp vs 10Mp, FF vs APS-C. So we have a wonderful platform for a wonderful landscape setup, but only with the right lenses. I have not checked this in the flesh, but the 24-70 looks like it may unbalance the A900 in some tripod use. The primes I want will weigh in at around 250-350 grams each. If I get a 28/2.8, a 50/1.4 and an 85/2.8 together they will weigh less than a 24-70mm ZA and perform with minimal distortion or aberrations. When one has to carry all the camera gear on long treks, lets just say, it can change your perception of a fair weight. Not trying to be disrespectful here, we all have different needs, and these are mine.<br>

The A850 will sell like hot cakes, it will be the Canon 5D of its time.</p>

<p> </p>

[ilkka]

<p>The way Sony has been coming out with 300 series bodies, I would not be surprised if they soon have A880 and A820 as well. And then A930 after that. For me the A900 is fine as it is and does not need replacing. It is always good to have choices, and competition, but I am not so sure if too many competing models and too many new models every year is a good thing. It can cause some people to keep waiting for the next one.</p>

[jiun_der_chung]

<p>Ilkka, that would be interesting if your hunch turns out correct as the second two numbers seem to indicate sensor designation if the 300 series is any guide. If so, it would be interesting what the A880 sensor might be.</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>I think we should also remember that 'f/4' type zooms aren't usually 'lower quality' than f/2.8 zooms, infact they're often superior in some ways. Just look at the Canon 70-200 'L' zooms - the f/4 is optically 'better' than the 2.8 version in terms of resolution and sharpness across the frame. Infact, slower lenses often 'peak' at lower apertures than 2.8 zooms, which is why they're often favoured by landscape photographers who generally stop down quite a lot. I don't deny the need or use of a 2.8 zoom - sometimes it's far more flexible and can make the difference in low lighting, however, if we compare apples to apples (in terms of age and quality) it's definately not the 'ultimate' in terms of optical quality.</p>

[holger]

<p>Brenner Versand (one of Germanys largest photo retailers, shop and mail) has it on yesterdays news letter, with picture and price: EUR 1´999.00 body only, EUR 2´699.00 with 28-75 (19%VAT incl.). Looks very much like the 900. Price should be list prices, not bad at all. Delivery from september on.</p>

 

[ricardovaste]

<p>That price is awful Holger. It's no different to the A900.</p>

[jiun_der_chung]

<p>Now, now Richard, you are beginning to sound like you want one.</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>I want everything silly ;-). I'm not getting one, but I want Sony to succeed. The A900 b/o is cheaper in the UK at the moment. Upon reflection, this is probably nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction by the retailer... an unoptimistic speculation at most. My source says under 1000GBP b/o.</p>

[jani_a]

Where is this retailer??