News & Reviews:   Sony Alpha

For professional photographers, a new camera lens is always something exciting. With that in mind, Sony has announced a new full-frame lens for its Alpha cameras. Say hi to the FE 50mm F1.2 GM, a G Master lens designed for stills and videos.

If you are in Mid Valley today, there's a good chance that you were passing by the Sony Expo 2019 which has already started! The expo is opened publicly with a wide range of Sony products including the latest wireless headphones WF-1000XM3, as well as product sharing sessions that will be held on 28 August 2019.

To round out the current lens family, Sony just announced two new full-frame lens for their E-Mount cameras, the FE 50mm F/1.4 ZA and FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS G Master lens. Not sexy names, but they takes sexy pictures.

Sony recently announced their full-frame Alpha A7s mirrorless camera. Notable tech specs and features include an ISO range of 50 to 409600 and a 12.2MP full-frame sensor with downscaling for 3850 x 2160 4K video, but the real kicker is that it can output 4K video at 4:2:2 colour sampling via HDMI. While it remains true to the Sony Alpha school of design with it's solid build and feel, it offers a number of internal tech specs and features which add on a bit more value to the camera. This includes WiFi, NFC, XAV S-Format support, a Multi-interface shoe and APS-C cropping in 1080p mode. The Sony Alpha A7s remains a very solid still image camera but the new features make it a much better 4K and HD video recorder. Unfortunately, we still have no pricing or Malaysia release dates but we expect it to come within Q2 of 2014.

Sony has recently come out with the Sony Alpha A6000 mirrorless camera with tech specs and features that are simply awesome at just $800 (RM2654) with a 16-50mm power-zoom lens kit. Drool-worthy tech specs and features for the Sony Alpha A6000 include a new 24.3MP CMOS APS-C sensor with BIONZ X processor and 179 phase-detect and 25 contrast detect AF points (resulting in a crazy 0.06 second autofocus lag). Other notable features include 11 fps continuous shooting with tracking AF, a 100 percent frame coverage OLED viewfinder, tilting 3-inch 921K-dot LCD, pop-up flash, a multi-interface shoe and 1080p at 60fps video recording with 4K still image capture. It seems standard to also include WiFi and NFC with the A6000 and it also comes with a number of apps which include Direct Upload and Photo Retouch apps. Controls and design are spot on. Unfortunately we have no specific Malaysia release dates or pricing but it should reach Malaysia in or after April 2014. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.

Sony has officially announced the Sony Alpha 7 and 7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras for the masses. Confirming tech specs mentioned previously, the Sony Alpha 7 will offer a 24.3MP full-frame CMOS sensor, a BIONZ X processor a low-pass filter and all at $1700 (RM5374) for just the body. The Sony Alpha 7R bumps up the features to a 36.3MP sensor minus the low-pass filter but packs in the same BIONZ X processor at $2300 (RM7271), again for just the body. Both have built-in WiFi and USB PC along with XGA OLED electronic viewfinders to go with 3-inch 1.23M-dot LCD screens that can be tilted up 84 degrees and down 45 degrees. Both look nearly identical with an awesome magnesium alloy build and have fairly small footprints for full-frame camera sensors and should make good options for the professional and enthusiast photographer. If you're looking for a kit the Sony Alpha 7 includes a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at $2000 (RM6323) while other lenses will be made available in later months. No specific Malaysia release dates but both cameras are expected to ship in December 2013.

While Sony's E-mount system works quite well with their Sony Alpha NEX-3 and NEX-5 mirrorless cameras, it doesn't work very well with full frame cameras due to short flange-back distance, which is why most photogs don't use it for that form factor. This may change as reports indicate Sony may release 2 full-frame mirrorless digital cameras with E-mounts that may be called the Sony Alpha A7 and Sony Alpha A7R. Tech specs and features for the A7 include a 24MP camera sensor, on-sensor phase-detection AF and an anti-aliasing filter. The higher-end A7R ups it to a 36MP camera sensor but doesn't pack in the other features of the on-sensor phase-detection AF and anti-aliasing filter. While they don't do in-body, sensor-shift image stabilization, they are weather-sealed and offer eye-tracking AF, focus peaking, WiFi and NFC connectivity. Since they are about medium sized, you can use them with a vertical grip and they also have tiltable LCD monitors with built-in high resolution OLED electronic viewfinders. The A7 may be priced at $1698 (RM5397) for just the body along with a $1998 (RM6350) price tag for an additional  28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. The A7R on the other hand may cost $2198 (RM6986) for just the body. No Malaysia release dates for now so stay tuned for more information.

Sony has added the NEX-C3 to its range of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The C3 features the same 16.2MP seen in the SLT A35, again promising improved battery life. The latest model is directly aimed at offering a compact-camera-like experience to users looking to upgrade to a large-sensor camera. It also features the 'Picture Effects' processing filters that will be available to NEX-3 and NEX-5 owners as a firmware update.

Sony NEX-C3 specification highlights:

• Revised 16.2MP CMOS sensor
• ISO 100-12800
• Creative Control results-orientated user interface
• Picture Effects processing options
• 720p30 HD movies in MPEG-4 format
• 921k-dot, tilt-angle LCD
• Detachable flash unit included
• 25-area AF system
• 49-segment metering
• 1/4000th - 30 sec exposure
• ‘Peaking' function for manual focus assist
• Manual, Auto+ and Photo Creativity control
• Enhanced battery life (400 shots per charge)

It seems to be the trend to pack all the tech that makes a DSLR awesome into a more compact body, which is what Sony have done when they officially announced their Alpha a3000 digital camera. Offering the full DSLR tech specs range of a 20.1MP APS-C Exmor Sensor and E-mount interchangeable lens (with 18 types to choose from) the Alpha a3000 is basically a mirrorless camera in a super compact DSLR body. You can see this from all the features which includes:

• Full HD video recording (50i / 25p)
• electronic Tru-Finder (100% field coverage)
• 3-inc TFT display
• up to ISO 3200
• 25 point auto focus

Recently, Sony Malaysia launched two new additions to their digital camera range in the form of the A58 and the NEX-3N. Launched in tandem with the Sony Alpha Experience 2013 in Malaysia, the two new digital cameras are intended to add more options for their respective mid-range markets. The A58 digital SLT (in the picture above) is part of the A-Series range of Sony digital cameras and offers the following features:

• 20.1MP Exmore APS HD CMOS Sensor
• BIONZ image processing engine
• ISO range 100 to 16000
• SteadyShot INSIDE (slower shutter speeds)
• Tilt-angle LCD
• OLED Tru-Finder
• 15-point autofocus + Lock-on Autofocus
• Burst mode (eight frames per second)
• Auto Object Framing