Digital Cameras

New Sony Alpha NEX-5 and NEX-3 Hybrid Cameras

by Sohrab Osati | May 12, 2010 | 4 comments

Announced yesterday was Sony’s new interchangeable-lens cameras and they look good. The two new Alpha models are the NEX-3 and the NEX-5 and will be available in July. These cameras are impressively compact and sleek which will appeal to DSLR buyers who don’t want the bulk or weight of a normal DSLR. Both models will be 14.2 megapixels with a tilting 3″ LCD screen, great for video recording. I feel many will be drawn to the hybrid design that Sony has created and its affordability. I personally have a point and shoot camera but would like more of the manual functions and professional feel of interchanging lenses. This is a great solution to this issue that many have and it’s the first type of interchangeable that is small enough to feel like a point and shoot.

Both the NEX-5 and NEX-3 will support SD, SDHC and SDXC cards as well as a memory stick. One slot in the camera will take both formats. You can also record HD video on these with a dedicated movie record button and show it off on an HDTV with the HDMI out port. The NEX-5 will record HD video in 1080i while the NEX-3 will record up to 720p. Below are the pricing options for the two model kits:

NEX-3

$550 with flash and 16mm prime lens
$600 with flash and 18mm prime lens
Polycarbonite body available in silver, black and red color

NEX-5

$650 with flash and 16mm prime lens
$700 with flash and 18mm prime lens
Magnesium alloy w body with larger grip

A wide variety of E mount lenses will be available to purchase from Sony. One drawback is the flash is an additional add-on that will cost consumers. But wait! Thankfully Sony will include a flash with the camera and it’s no issue at all. Other add-on accessories can also be purchased for the top slot like a stereo microphone for enhanced sound when recording video or an optical viewfinder. I can’t wait to try the NEX cameras hands-on and see for myself DLSR quality photos in such a small and compact size. Santa might be seeing one of these on my list this year.

If you are ready to purchase one of these beauties or want to check out accessories and lenses Sony will offer for these cameras, go to Sony Style. Click the jump for more photos and a video trailer for the NEX-5 which shows more features the camera can do.

Sony Camcorders To Get Interchangeable Lenses

by Sohrab Osati | May 11, 2010 | 57 comments

Now this is what I’m talking about. For too long, Sony has had so many different segments that didn’t talk to each other and didn’t complement each other, other then the fact that they both would probably use a Memory Stick. Meet the new Sony HD Camcorders that are to be released this Fall. What makes these guys unique is that they are equipped with the new APC-C sized sensors for sharper quality, as well as low light sensitivity and accuracy. Better yet, these units can sport the Exmor APC HD CMOS sensor and E Mount interchangeable lenses which also happens to be what the Sony Alphas currently use.

The reason I’m excited about this is a two parted. One, the quality on these new lenses and the new image sensor that Sony uses is superb. But from a business stand point, as a consumer, I would be more likely to stick within the Sony family if I know my Alpha lens benefits my Camcorder and vise versa. Bravo Sony.

Hit the jump as always for another shot and a video.

Sony DSLR Concept

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 27, 2010 | 1 comment

Industrial design student Ryan David Francis has created this Sony DSLR concept that is based around the idea of people who really prefer to use the view finder as oppose to the LCD. As you can see, the back curvature of the camera is designed to align with your face for a more comfortable sitting. I love it.

Hit the jump for more shots.

New Marketing Strategy For Sony

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 26, 2010 | 73 comments

Starting Monday (today), Sony is going to kick off a new year long ad campaign that includes many of its portfolio stars, starting off with Taylor Swift, showing off the Cyber-shot DSC-TX7. This will be a series of star-studded spots that Sony ( SNE – news – people ) plans to roll out this year, as a part of a $100-million-plus TV, print and digital ad campaign. Each ad will feature a Sony-affiliated celebrity to pitch its electronic products, such as its 3-D television and its e-reader. The idea of this new campaign is that instead of focusing in on the many products that Sony makes, it will aim for a particular market and let them know of the product. For example, in 2008 Sony spent nearly $5 billion on their global ad campaigns that ranged from laptops to DVD players.

First, I have to say that I’m floored by this. I’m wondering if of that $5 billion, $4.9 billion was spent outside of the states. Ask any Playstation owner and they will tell you that Sony has had no air presence whatsoever; Microsoft has dominated the airwaves with its Xbox ads. No matter what show or channel you watch, when they produced a big game (i.e. Halo or Gears of War), they had endless commercials running. Most of all, the sheer number of commercials and TV shows that the 360 is in as product placement is insane. This of course has been something that has hurt the PS3 and the PSP and thus, their software sales. I will give it to Sony though for their efforts with Kevin Butler in the past year. Those ads are fantastic and hilarious. My issue in this case is: where were they the other 3 years? I also mention this because the PlayStation brand is one important aspect of their business but Sony is fighting off too many players in too many markets. In the TV market you see Samsung commercials left and right. Computers and cell phones and it’s either iPhone/Droid or MacBook/HP. And for cameras, Canon and Nikon. Yet, we never see any form of Sony add showing us off their products.

Sony To Supply 8-Megapixel Camera For 2011 iPhone?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 13, 2010 | 11 comments

The Street is currently reporting that for the 2011 iPhone, Apple will be dumping its current partner, OmniVision. This company has provided all of the current iPhone cameras, including the current 3.2 megapixel for the iPhone 3GS and has a supposed order for a 5 megapixel for the upcoming iPhone.

Hello Sony(SNE), goodbye OmniVision(OVTI). Apple has picked Sony’s 8-megapixel camera chip for the 2011 iPhone, according to supply and manufacturing sources, said Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar.

I wont really get into what this entails for Apple and iPhone customers since we’re not an Apple site, but this has some serious positives for Sony. It’s no secret that in the last few years, Sony has lost ground both on consumer sales and component sales to Samsung. Samsung has done a great job of advertising their products while Sony has not and people have floated over to their brand. But that’s not all; in the component world, Samsung is supplying Flash chips which has been a huge and ever-growing segment of products. Portable devices such as the iPhone, the iPad, the Zune, and the PSPgo now use Flash memory. If Sony can land more manufacturing deals, especially with a high volume product like the iPhone, then this can significantly help the much needed cash flow of Sony. Heres to hoping it’s true; as of now, it’s just speculation.

Sony Alpha A500 Coming?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 8, 2009 | 5 comments

If the above screenshot is any indication, Sony is looking to add to their ever expanding lineup of DSLRs with a new 500 model. With Sony’s current Alpha series, Sony is able to cover a wide range of consumer needs, from the more consumer oriented, to the professional. One weak point in the current lineup is the lack of any DSRL with HD Video. Could the Alpha 500 be that model? More so, does the Alpha 500 even exist or is this screenshot from SonyStyles Canada page really a mistake or just a place holder? Time will tell, my dear Watson…

[Via Photorumors]

Sony A900 Sheds Some Skin

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 13, 2009 | 21 comments

So this is just a pretty cool shot of the Sony A900 (own the A100 myself and im indeed in love with these cameras, although my dad leaned towards the Nikon D90X). So this is what the camera looks underneath…yet on the on the outside at the same time. An Engadget poster said it best about this Exoskeleton, “Smile for me if you want to live”.

“Intelligent Auto Mode” comes to the Cybershots

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 18, 2009 | 10 comments

Sony is bringing what it calls “Intelligent Auto Mode” to a few of the upcoming cybershots (T900, T90, W290 and H20). With this mode on, the camera will be detecting the scene conditions and adjusting your camera settings for the best possible shot which is very different from the Auto mode which more or less, just makes sure your camera is on. This should be a great feature as more and more people are running around with digital camera’s now, but don’t know how to truly utilize all of its features yet. The best part yet, this feature starts on camera’s from the mid $200 range and above, so no heft price tag is needed to obtain it.

As always, hit the MagicGate for a full press release.

MagicGate!

Advertising Bliss: Sony Foam City

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 10, 2008 | 34 comments

This has to be by far one of the most amazing advertising campaigns ive seen. Both visually and inspirationally. Sony in Miami designed the worlds largest foam machine that custom build for the shoot, making a total of 120 million gallons of bubble. That’s 500,000 gallons per minute. The commercial premises was to give all the locals Sony Camera’s ranging from Alpha DSLRs, Cyber-Shots and Handycams and allow them to experience this event and produce their own footage. Now the armature footage itself was not used for the commercial, but it will be posted on Sony’s online gallery.

Hit the magic button to take a look at the behind the scenes for this amazing shoot.

MagicGate!

Sony Ericsson To Bring Wi-Fi and More To Digital Cameras

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 4, 2008 | 1 comment

According to a new patent, if Sony can have their way, were going to be having more options then just built in Wi-Fi or Eye-Fi cards. This comes in the form of offering both built in or card or attach on accessories with GSM, CDMA, WiMAX in addition to the already available Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options. This means that the minute your camera is in your home network, you can begin to transfer your pictures to your computer without needing to hunt down a USB cord or taking the card out and inserting it into your card reader. With built in Wi-fi, this can also open up the possibilities of directly publishing your photos (current iPhone and .Mac users can publish photos directly to their Web Gallery) or being able to email out photo’s without the need of a computer. The less cords, the happier I am so sign me up for this but this better damn happen cause I signed up for flying cars by the year 2000 and I still cant get 25MPG!

Sony TG1 Ss The Worlds Smallest HD Camcorder

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 15, 2008 | 1 comment

Called the HDR-TG3E in Europe (but HDR-TG1 everywhere else), this little guy is able to boast an astonishing 1080i picture while being small and light weight. All this achieved with no loss in quality as the body is made from Titanium to achieve its lightweight factor. Not only that but the unit ships with a 4GB Memory Stick Duo witch is rare when a camera is packed with media, let alone a nicely sized one in this case. The camera also seems to show no sign of compression artefact’s. Few other tidibits about the TG1, the unit contains built in flash, touch screen buttons and boasts a dock for charging/USB connection and has HDMI Out. Hit the link to get a full review and video preview of the camera from Tracy & Matt.

[Via Tracy&Matt]