(SR4) Sony A900 will be in Stock until December. Death of the OVF technology.
A source just told me that the Sony A850 will be in Stock until December. There will be no price drop on the camera because Sony is confident that the few camera that are still in hands of the dealers will sell out within the year. As you know this will be the last Sony camera with classic optical viewfinder. The next FF camera will be SLT (translucent) and be announced early Spring. It will very likely have a new generation 24 Megapixel sensor.
If you want that camera search at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay. Soon you will not be able to find it in Stock anymore!


RTI
8 months ago |I suppose admin wanted to say “Death of the OVF…”, well at least for Sony
Alfonso Cuitiño
8 months ago |RTI is right, “Dead” is an adjective. The right word would be “Death”, a noun
emopunk
8 months ago |+1 Canon just showed the opposite
@900 wedding potag
8 months ago |Now what??? I hope I can get used to working with an EVF. I’ve read reviews that shadows turn black in low light. I’m surprised Sony has decided to ditch OVF altogether… I wonder if I made a mistake switching over to Sony from canon. I hope I’m wrong. My studio has over $30,000 invested in Zeiss Glass.
I’ll just have to wait and see.
A900Wedptg
8 months ago |It’s Amazing that you turn out such average work with all your 30K worth of Zeiss glass
- SLT is here to stay…well until we get PDAF on sensor!
PoopNose
8 months ago |You’re so happy about SLT being here to stay? Thats why a lot of people switched to other camera makers. They didnt want to shoot pics of their trees or cats anymore.
Beachrider
8 months ago |Ummm, isn’t a580 an OVF machine? It is still being made, no?
acolyte
8 months ago |And that’s why a number are moving to Sony too – the flow is high in either direction
Vlad
8 months ago |Complete nonsense. You did the research?
SonyA77
8 months ago |Vlad, have you done YOUR research to say that it is “complete nonsense”.
The fact is that if EVF cameras didn’t sell, Sony wouldn’t have done it for the A77.
Vlad
8 months ago |Sony A77
My claim is that he cannot back up his claim. I have nothing to back up. And I don’t follow you here – PoopNose claims that many people switched to other brands, because they didn’t like the SLT design, which, judging by your comment, you probably disagree with. And I actually agree with you -”if EVF cameras didn’t sell, Sony wouldn’t have done it for the A77″, because your claim is based on common sense.
Matt S.
8 months ago |I checked out Zaccardi’s site. He has some great work, I’m impressed. Average it isn’t.
PhotoNut
8 months ago |I checked out the site and I found the portrait slide show to be quite embarrassing. Horrible black and white conversions. Blown exposures. Poor posing. What makes it really bad is that these pictures are supposed to be the showcase of the enterprise but they could have been shot better with a good P&S.
I’m not a pro and I’d hate if my gallery was made fun of but as an advice to the shooter, I’d recommend that he improve his web site and choice of slide show images for Portraits because it is not doing him any favors.
beware
8 months ago |if you have that cash to invest once and make it back with he pictures you make, your one of the lucky people some of us are just doing it for hobby
Eric
8 months ago |It will be interesting for you for sure. For outdoor photography I honestly prefer EVF’s. Seeing true DOF/bokeh while you compose is wonderful. However, in a dimly lit indoor studio I still prefer OVF’s.
EVF’s have the option to “gain up” to git rid of the shadow issue you are talking about, but the refresh rate slows down and they get noisy when you do that. The first time I did a shoot with an EVF I looked through the view finder and saw nothing but a blacked out scene because I had the camera set on something like 1/60th sec at f/8. Luckily I found the setting to tell the EVF in my Panasonic to gain up; so after that I could at least see the subject. It was grainy, but usable. Hopefully this new Sony LED EVF will be better.
Pebble
8 months ago |“Seeing true DOF/bokeh while you compose is wonderful”. Huh, did you ever tried to focus with diafragm F8 or F11, no fun I can tell you…Not with live view.
Mist
8 months ago |The new EVF can be set as the usual EVF that show you whatever effects you set, you may see nothing if shutter speed is too high, or the 2nd pseudo-OVF mode that will auto-gain up or down at any exposure settings.
startowa13
8 months ago |WTF?! You spent 30K on Zeiss glass and you did your website yourself? Pictures are average but the design you did on the website tells clients: “I have no idea what I’m doing…” Good advice, spend $500 on a website and it will be much better business…
Claus
8 months ago |Totally what I thought.
Joe
8 months ago |as a fellow wedding photographer, i understand how hard it is to build a successful business in photography, so kudos to you!
pthomaslambert
8 months ago |Hay Mr @900,
Hummmm,
I am also shooting all SONY Zeiss Glass with a nice collection of SONY G glass as well. All for my A900 and A850.
My total investment is less than $16k. And I do own all of the SONY Zeiss Glass.
Were did you come up with the $30k figure for the cost of the SONY Zeiss Glass?
Dulaney Ward
8 months ago |Have you had a chance to shoot with the A77 yet? or a prototype of the new Alpha FF cameras?
P Thomas Lambert
8 months ago |I can’t answer that.
acolyte
8 months ago |Andrea, a850 in post, a900 in title. Both?
@900 wedding potag
8 months ago |does it make you feel good to bash my site? link your work then comment on mine.
beware
8 months ago |looks like your responding too wrong person here ..
i think it’s ment for [b]A900wedptg[/b]
quote:
– SLT is here to stay…well until we get PDAF on sensor!
It’s Amazing that you turn out such average work with all your 30K worth of Zeiss glass
Vlad
8 months ago |No need to be a cook to dislike the food.
@900 wedding Photag
8 months ago |@ pthomaslambert
I have multiple sets a gear for my employes, I have 3 event bages with A900s + Gear. Each have a 16-35 2.8 a 24-70 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 plus I personal have all the prime’s(my favorites) you do the math…
sleek
8 months ago |sony should make a smooth transition for the pros by making a hybrid OVF/EVF viewfinder. Fuji did just that and i believe sony could make it better
Sahaja
8 months ago |Probably easier to make both EVF and OVF models available – and leave customers the choice. A hybrid OVF/EVF would probably require a lot of expensive R&D and Sony already have the best OVF (in the A900) and EVF available.
Master Control
8 months ago |Pro’s won’t even bother with an EVF until the technology is much more matured than it is currently- no matter how good the EVF is. I wonder how many of them are considiering selling off the Zeiss lens investment they made.
Good though that Sony segregate themselves from the other brands, it’s a bad thing to have professionals and high end enthusiasts on your side giving you free promotions left and right.
end of line.
Beachrider
8 months ago |I am buying, if they are selling! More for me!
Dulaney Ward
8 months ago |Yes, and there will be plenty of pros buying. Bring your Zeiss sales on!
acolyte
8 months ago |‘it’s a bad thing to have professionals and high end enthusiasts on your side giving you free promotions left and right.’
Can you elaborate? My imagination hit a wall.
typezeiss
8 months ago |are you a pro? Just curious as to what you are basing your statement on.
Vlad
8 months ago |The EVF would be a problem only for a small part of professionals.
Daemonius
8 months ago |Well, maybe I will get A900, but then its going to be Canon or Nikon. Not interested in EVF and I doubt I will ever be. Maybe its time to buy Leica..
PoopNose
8 months ago |I like your style kid.
The Sony camera’s are beasts, but the A900 was a wonderful piece of photography equipment. The OVF has it’s purpose, but for studio lighting, and multiple flashes, it is not realiable like a traditional VF. All the other choices you mentioned are great.
David
8 months ago |A fantastic camera. I would buy another one if I needed it!
Beachrider
8 months ago |Unfortunately, in-studio multi-flash situations have always been manual-only on Minolta & Sony Alpha cameras. I don’t think that Minolta or Sony ever went after that market. That being said, a substantial part of the market used medium-format (not 35mm). Nikon flash systems have dominated this market for non-medium format.
Puggs
8 months ago |Actualy Studio photographers use Studio flash and/or lighting systems, they do not use little nikon flashes. It is also not rare for pro photographers to use Studio flash systems on location.
Clyde
8 months ago |Beachrider said: “multi-flash situations have always been manual-only on Minolta & Sony “.
Not true. Wireless and Wired Maxxum/Sony multi flash setup can be used in full TTL both indoors and out since 20 years ago. WAY longer than Nikon was capable of Wireless TTL.
Me
8 months ago |I thought Sony is waiting to get feedback (from the A77) before making a final decision on OVF. HAs a decision been made?
SLTPro
8 months ago |Guess they got their feedback and that was OVF was OK. TBH for me it’s just another one of those great innovations (of which there have been hundreds!) that people moan about for a while until it get’s better and better and the advantages then outweigh the disadvantages of anything that it is replacing. Eventually it is accepted as the norm. Personally I love EVF.
Rodrigo
8 months ago |No. It is clear that Sony has gone “all in” with SLT, Mirrorless, and EVF. THey will not produce any new SLR models. I think the’ve figured that they cannot quickly take Canikon in the pro market so they go for the prosumer, enthusiast amateur, birding market.
I think whis will give them advantages because I’m sure EVF is the future because that techonology can only improve.
Beachrider
8 months ago |You DO realize that Sony has capably run the Video Pro segment for over a decade…
Vlad
8 months ago |And?
Daemonius
8 months ago |Video cameras run over EVF or LCD for long time. And they have quite a lot of experience in that.
Im sure they are not afraid of competition, they just think that EVF is future. Plus thanks to that is A77 capable to do 12 FPS burst (or 8 FPS regular). And its cheaper than high quality pentaprism.
They are somewhat right, but I just kinda like that huge chunk of glass on top of camera and that super-bright view of the world through lens.
Vlad
8 months ago |What do video cameras have to do here? Sony isn’t fairing well in the stills camera market and going EVF is one way to address this.
Dulaney Ward
8 months ago |I believe that 2012 is the year that Sony will finally go after the professional market in a big way–WITH EVF.
Camera of the Year three years in a row?
Leo
8 months ago |Sony does not leave the OVF, do not know where it goes! wrote that Sony is working in FF 3 for next year, 24 Mpx and 36 Mpx EVF OVF, one more which is something very new that Sony is working 2 years ago, possible backlit sensor? will be a new concept hybrid SLT as Fuji?, this camera is very little known and is top secret!
Regards
Dr. Tom
8 months ago |My guess is the third one is a NEX camera but they don’t want to hurt NEX-7 sales so they are keeping it hush hush.
Gabriel
8 months ago |“As you know this will be the last Sony camera with classic optical viewfinder.”
Dammit!!!
Beachrider
8 months ago |I just checked. Sony still produces a390 and a580 as OVF cameras. I agree that there have been no other announced OVF cameras since those two.
Sahaja
8 months ago |Those are penta-mirror cameras, nothing like the gorgeous big penta-prism OVF in the A900.
Ken
8 months ago |so those models are actually still IN production?
acolyte
8 months ago |Yup! No discontinued yet.
Gabriel
8 months ago |I counted on classic DSLR FullFrame camera from Sony. Now, I don’t have any hope. SLT is not interested me. I saw images comparision from A55 with mirror and without! mirror. I don’t remember that webside but that was experiment only. On image from body with translucent mirror, details was to low. Image without mirror was more sharpness. This is more important for me than 12fps or Phase AF on camcorder mode. If Sony thinks about competing with Canon on proffesional level, they must remove that mirror because quality of details on image from new 1D will better.
Beachrider
8 months ago |a55 EVF is a generation behind a65 and a77 EVF. You pay your money and take your own chances, but you may want to look at them.
Gabriel
8 months ago |I talk about image quality right now. I believe EVF someday will offer better image than OVF. But image from sensor? Translucent mirror causes less sharpness and details. I don’t want that technology. In this news writes about last Sony DSLR FF cameras. I hope, Sony someday will show mirrorless camera with Alpha-mount.
Beachrider
8 months ago |Since the image is recorded on the sensor, there is good reason to want to see what-the-sensor sees. I believe in trying mirrorless NEX5n photography, too. I can simply say that action photog needs the mirror, at this time.
rttew
8 months ago |i personally think it is a big mistake to scrap optical viewfinders; the A77/65 prove this point. i would rather be able to successfully see the image i want to capture and compose through a more traditional viewfinder than to have 12fps.
Ken
8 months ago |have you actually looked through the a77/a65′s EVF yet?
Dave Cox
8 months ago |How do the A77/A65 prove this point? Point me to the evidence. All these EVF haters just hate the idea not the actual results.
Puggs
8 months ago |Hi Dave
I have to agree, unless you have used an a77/a66 for a full day or 2 then i don’t believe you can judge. Just going to a shop and trying one for 10 minutes doesn’t count.
Unless your actually using the camera and not trying to work out whats wrong with the EVF they you wont get the full advantage of the EVF.
Being able to see what will happen if you under or over expose, being able to see the effects are just some of the advanges of the EVF. Zoom focus is also great.
JustSomeOne
7 months ago |I have looked through it and as pro A900 user i can tell it’s disgusting…
just my opinion though, but EVF is absolutely the wrong way…
SonyA77
8 months ago |You haven’t looked through the A77 EVF.
I am always puzzled by why people think an OVF will give them anything even close to what the sensor actually captures.
Ken
8 months ago |<—— reads the title, looks over at the a900+grip+CZ135 and sighs
I <3 my a900
Gonetotheotherside
8 months ago |Well. Based soley upon the tendency of overexposed highlights in the new SLTs probably because of the sensor gain. I’ve gone over to canon.
Totally gutted. But if Canon can, then Canon can!
I’ve read over the past months all those contributors moaning about iso, noise and mega pixels. When canon announce a 1DX that fits the bill. Nobody budges.
More affordable cameras on the horizon from canon. When are you all going to realise you won’t get what you want with Sony.
Not to say Sony don’t produce a good product (A900) but this isn’t going to be repeated very soon.
The Market isn’t ready for EVF and until canikon produces EVF full frame – it won’t be trusted.
SonyA77
8 months ago |You don’t appear to have read all the positive reviews that the A77 is getting.
Arthur
8 months ago |A discount would be a nice move to show appreciation for those OVF patrons of Sony Alpha who got screwed by Sony and their radical leap into the future.
I was going to buy a 500mm lens, but now a900 body will be the last of my Sony products, and after that I am going to save up for Nikon D4x/s or whatever they come up with in 3-4 years from now.
Note to Sony: If you want to be the best, learn to satisfy every niche of the market. Broad brush approach is not appealing to a conservative crowd of pros and advanced shooters. That’s why Canon and Nikon are household names when it comes to photography.
acolyte
8 months ago |“Note to Sony: If you want to be the best, learn to satisfy every niche of the market.” – It has been proven that this does not do as well in the market. Especially in this economy crisis. You have to focus on a certain segment in the market.
Previously, competition is great, everyone tries to make the ‘better’ product, unlike Microsoft who enjoyed their monopoly 10 years ago. However, those times are over. Lowest cost, lowest effort, highest profit, is what business aim these days.
Canon and Nikon may be household names when it comes to photography – so is Konica/Minolta. When I was a kid I actually never heard of Nikon, only Fujifilm, Kodak, Konica, and Minolta. The age of DSLR, which is still young, shifted the focus.
Not all business aim ‘to be the best’. Sony’s strength is in their innovation. I’d lost my trust in them if they move away from it. If you don’t like it, do move to other brands.
If everyone use the same thing, there’s only so much innovation that can be possible. You want Russia-style cars of the WW times?
All the cars looked the same!
Dr. Tom
8 months ago |+1
zacao
8 months ago |Here are some useful tips on China’s “Intranet”.
There’s serval B2C site like Amazon out there, but their market shares are not comparable with C2C site like Taobao (Chinese equv. of eBay, but way bigger).
Also, Chinese Amazon is just a dwarf compared to the “Big Three”, the 360Buy, 51Buy and the New Egg.
I suggest you lookout for those sites too.
Arthur
8 months ago |To admin: do you know if A900 is going to be discounted at all?
acolyte
8 months ago |‘There will be no price drop on the camera’ This?
Admin relays rumors. This can be considered a rumor
Walt
8 months ago |I need a viewfinder that shows me the current view as I photograph unpredictable moving living things. The close as you get to that is a pentaprism Optical viewfinder. The speed of light moves the current image to you very fast through the viewfinder optics.
In contrast the EVF no matter what it’s resolution or color balance falls down in that it’s a processed image and that processing takes time, sufficient time for a fast moving subject to progress a good ways across the view field while the EVF is only showing you where it was a while back. If the subject is on a predictable line (like a train on a track, a airplane flying or such) one can with extra effort predict where it might be and correct by leading the shot in the right direction. Like shooting ducks with a shotgun.
But if the subject is not on a predictable track, like most living things, then any guess as to where it’s gone is subject to error and thus makes your framing subject to error. Try photographing ants running on the ground, for instance. Or individuals in pedestrian traffic in a city. Using the machine gun approach in multiframe won’t really compensate for the accuracy of fitting the subject in the frame in a ideal composition.
Yes, many of us are very good at learning to compensate, but this is unnecessary as a OVF does not have this problem. Even a poor mirror prism viewfinder gives you realtime view of where your subject is. It has other problems that make it second rate to a pentaprism viewfinder, but it easily beats the view of the EVF in timing.
And for those saying that they get a automatic DOF/Bokeh preview are wrong. The view the EVF is giving you comes from the wide open lens and also does not include the effect of flash. Neither the DOF you see or the Bokeh are correct unless you shoot all your exposures wide open all the time. And that’s something that’s not going to build your reputation.
It’s for these real photo shooting problems that I reject EVF, beyond that it rarely has any connection to the color, dynamics and so on of either the real world or my final output photo. Those saying it’s personality are dead wrong, it that EVF is poor and limiting technology where it counts. Using a viewfinder to obtain a clear view of the subject and it’s framing in the photo.
Sony has indeed segregated themselves from the interchangable lens DSLR market. The question is where? Certainly not to pros or advanced amateurs, who are not going to consider EVF a step up at it’s current or even near term future development as the key problems are fundamental to the design. Sony has clearly decided to effectively abandon DSLR in favor of competing with the higher end of consumer cameras like bridge cameras by designing cameras to coddle people from those and lower level cameras. Sony has dropped back to just another consumer camera company. Clearly this was the decision that the top management made about still cameras when the merged Alpha back into the cybershot building and transferred control back to the cybershot managers.
The thing I find most sad is the folks who have kept themselves so ill informed as to think there will still be a FF OVF camera in the future or that a 3 or 5 series camera is the same as a 7 or 9 series camera. (or for that matter that there will be any more OVF at that level either) Most of the a700 camera folks have finally realized what is happening, time for FF folks to wake up. There are companies that continue to support high end shooters, but Sony is not one of them.
I’ll continue to shoot with my a700s as long as they continue to do their excellent job. But have no expectations to drop down to the consumer camera SLTs with their limitations, even if Sony puts a 9 series label on them. I need cameras that are capable of not limiting my shooting as SLTs would.
Arthur
8 months ago |+1
harvey_tbee
8 months ago |And for those saying that they get a automatic DOF/Bokeh preview are wrong. The view the EVF is giving you comes from the wide open lens and also does not include the effect of flash. Neither the DOF you see or the Bokeh are correct unless you shoot all your exposures wide open all the time. And that’s something that’s not going to build your reputation.
-1! I use old lenses on my Nex; I close them to judge the bokeh and then make the picture. WYSIWYG! Did you ever really do that on your SLR, like more than once or twice? I don’t think so! At least in this respect the NEX is a better camera. The whole idea of the SLR has been a tremendous success, but it does’t have to last, especially when better ideas pop up. And yes, the EVF is a better idea, though perhaps not perfect yet (but perfect enough for me, I realized checking a A55).
acolyte
8 months ago |You can complain all you want, but SLR is a step back for Sony
Proof is there – they can make sensors, but Nikon make better cameras using their sensors.
When you can’t win the war at one location, attack it from a weaker point somewhere else
Don’t know if it’s in Art of War but sure is the way in the business world
If you’re a wedding photographer, and at your location there are 10 other wedding photographers, 3 of which are renown and 5 of which are low cost, how far can you win the battle?
Complain all we want, but it’s much more productive to find ways to make the best use of the current technology. Complaining too much leaves a lot to lose, and to narrow our vision.
Don’t get stuck on complaining, Walt. There are a lot more to come, don’t miss the train, Sony’s or Canikon’s or whoever.
Carl
8 months ago |I don’t think Nikon make better cameras. They make cameras that measure better, by trading off image quality for the sake of producing somewhat cleaner 1:1 crops at high ISO, and putting stabilisation into [some] lenses, which is maybe half a stop more effective than in body stabilisation that works will all lenses.
c.d.embrey
8 months ago |Sony has been making Broadcast Video Cameras for a long, long time. They use EVFs, and the Camera Operators at the World Cup, Olympics, NBA, NFL, etc have no problem keeping the Fast Moving Athletes in focus and framed.
Sahaja
8 months ago |Sony is clearly going after consumer and enthusiast/hobbyist sales. That’s probably where the most interest in the latest “cool” features is, and that’s undoubtedly where the money is.
But the DSLR companies that are most successful in those markets (Canon and Nikon) also have a very strong presence in the pro market. The brand image that this gives them is something that can’t be bought. Many companies have made very good DSLRs for the consumer and enthusiast markets – but those that didn’t have camera systems used by high profile professionals seem limp along and most of them eventually fail.
Most working pros seem to be pretty conservative in their camera purchases. Look at what happened in the medium format market. Rollie, Yashica/Contax and others introduced very nice cameras with all kinds of new features Hasselblad and Mamiya didn’t have – yet professionals resolutely stuck to those tried and tested cameras because they really didn’t need all those fancy new features.
Sure SLT, EVF and all the rest of the innovative features Sony are introducing look very attractive and good on paper. But I think a solid, conservative, photographers camera like the A900 is actually far more attractive to working professionals. Sure there are many things about that camera that could be improved, but to totally abandon it for only SLT camera models with all kinds of the latest features could turn out to be a very bad move.
I could of course be totally wrong about this. Only time will tell.
Adhib
7 months ago |While I absolutly love the EVF sony is making and the SLT. I totally agree with this guy.
SonyA77
8 months ago |Walt do us all a favour? Go and buy a Canikon. You do nothing but moan about EVF all over the forums too. Sony isn’t for you, get over it and move on.
butch
8 months ago |while i dont need one yet my A330 replacement is likly to be the A580 when they get ready to can it. io really thought maybe the A65 but im not sure id liek the grip and i sure dont need the 24MP
if i was going new tec it woudl be NAX7 or NAX9 (but i sure will not bet on them ether
Master Control
8 months ago |Attacking a phantom market with pro/enthusist SLT, just like Sony did with the A230/330/390 that were targeted more for Women. Entry level SLT’s were intially excellent sellers because like the A300/350 they were innovative and truly different offerings at the time. But people get bored quick in this market.
SLT will eventually fail (yes I know, the turd in the punchbowl comment) and Sony will enjoy good success with NEX taking over all of the Alpha brand name. In 5 years time SLT’s and the Minolta A mount will be pretty much a fargone conclusion.
Vlad
8 months ago |Everything eventually fails. Maybe we should stop doing anything?
Master Control
8 months ago |Sounds like a great plan.
Doug
8 months ago |I’m tempted to buy a second A850 body as a backup. I fear that the next generation of FF bodies with SLT will be compromised in terms of IQ. I hope I’m wrong, but the disappointing performance of the A77 does not bode well for the A9X.
harvey_tbee
8 months ago |Disappointing performance? Really? Maybe you’re not entirely on your own, but I’m not sure you are with the people you want to be with
SonyA77
8 months ago |What disappointing performance? Do people here actually read reviews???
Clyde
8 months ago |It’s about time cameras evolved beyond prisms and mirrors. I am glad to see them go.
Cameras today aren’t any more advanced than the best film cameras from ten years ago. We insisted they make digital work like film cameras because of fear and dogma about what a camera should be… never realizing that we were holding back what cameras could be. Finally cameras can evolve again. They should have been evolving for the past ten years… but only the medium has evolved… not the cameras. That which doesn’t evolve will surely die.
Ken
8 months ago |agree. I don’t know about EVFs, I mean… I would think they will only get better. There was a HUGE leap from a33/a55′s EVFs to the a65/a77′s EVFs… and it was within ONE year. As for the mirror goes… IMO… it’s always better with less moving parts. I have no doubt eventually everybody will be going that direction (of less or none moving parts), and I mean that by technology in general, not just cameras. I still remember my first iPod, that thing was actually a drive, and you could “feel” it spinning inside lol.
Dulaney Ward
8 months ago |I agree too. The A77 is being called by reviewers the best apsc camera ever. {See Pop Photo.} I expect next year’s Alpha cameras to set a new standard for FF cameras. And they may never look back. It’s like they’re moving ahead with the speed of light! [Sorry, Walt. You used that argument once too often.]
Doug
8 months ago |LOL Popular Photography is garbage. They’re the least objective, most advertiser-influenced photography magazine in existence. Their reviews might as well be written by the manufacturer’s PR department.
c.d.embrey
8 months ago |Not just PopPhoto, ALL magazine (not just camera) cater to their advertisers. Advertising is where the money is, not subscriptions!!! It wasn’t always like this. Now-a-days most Fan (camera, audio, cars, etc) Magazine are nothing but thinly disguised advertorial from cover to cover. Last review that I read that didn’t like a camera was the Photo District News review of the Leica M8.
Same goes for many web sites. Do you think a full time blogger, who is given advance access to products, will be critical of them???
SonyA77
8 months ago |Stop talking rubbish. I read plenty of magazines that criticise their advertisers products.
SonyA77
8 months ago |Try Amateur Photographer then, they gave the A77 a whopping 90%. Don’t even think about saying AP is pro Sony, because they usually hate them. AP is a well respected UK magazine that has been going a looong time.
The fact is that professional reviewers love the A77.
Dave Cox
8 months ago |Good comment. I think people are very resistant to change. Let’s face it, if you really want the best DSLR you won’t be looking at Sony. Or Canikon for that matter. Hats off to Sony for going down the innovation road – I’m enjoying it personally speaking
Doug
8 months ago |Innovation that sacrifices image quality is no innovation at all.
Dave Cox
8 months ago |Yawn. Same old argument, still no evidence.
passer-by
8 months ago |Mirror slap vibration is also sacrifices image quality.
Clyde
8 months ago |No doubt I keep saying that.
Keep in mind that all the benchmark tests are performed on cameras with mirror up to maximize IQ. But they are mirror down in real world… aside from SLT and mirrorless native.
Real comparisons should be made against DSLR’s with their mirrors DOWN and FLAPPING… Then we’ll see how well they hold up to vibrationless SLT. I think any loss from SLT is quickly evened out against FLAPPING Mirrors.
And folks don’t realize just how fast flappy mirrors affect vibrations. It’s not just slow SS that they affect. Mirror flap affects all SS to a degree except the very very fastest.
That’s one reason the rangefinder market is still around… for folks who understand that ultimate micro contrast is achieved without a mirror to shake things up.
Clifton
8 months ago |i take it you are still using medium format film then.
Bucho
8 months ago |So what am I gonna do with my 8-Track tapes. Innovation…. blah
PeterM
8 months ago |It’s funny how Pop Photo is garbage when they review Sony but when they give high marks to Nikon or Canon suddenly they are a great and honest review mag.
SonyA77
8 months ago |LOL
Cliff
8 months ago |Phase detect AF is the future. I don’t understand how I shot for so many years without it.
I don’t want to talk about “translucent” mirrors anymore. [puts fingers in both ears] I got a camera with lightning fast AF and that’s all that matters to me!
I trust that Sony is giving me good image quality and that SLT is the way to go. I cant stand Sony SLT “nay-sayers”. They are all just “stuck” in the old ways of the SLR world and are not smart enough to realize that fast AF is WELL WORTH the light loss and distortion.(c’mon,..who cares about meaningless things like that?)
You people with your old style “clear and free” path from lens to sensor make me laugh. I like my locked-down plastic mirror in between, thank you.
We need more “positive” people on this board and less people concerned about the “physics of light”. (gimme a break!…that stuff is for pixel peeping nerds)
Cliff
Dave Cox
8 months ago |+1,000,000
David
8 months ago |Yup.
Who cares about HOW it’s done!
If the end result is great IQ, amazingly fast, accurate AF and a camera which is ajoy to use. WHO CARES?!
I couldn’t care less if maybe there could have been slightly better high ISO from that sensor without the SLT tech. That’s ridiculous
c.d.embrey
8 months ago |“…that stuff is for pixel peeping nerds” Pixel Peeping Nerds — isn’t that redundant???
One thing you can say for the PPNs is that they have provided the world many great photos of brick walls
SonyA77
8 months ago |Cliff
8 months ago |Besides, I think that really clean and clear images that are shot with high ISO’s are overrated anyway. I’ll take on some image noise to get the AF I want. I think it’s good deal.
People freak out about image noise and clarity. To me, it kinda makes the picture feel “warmer” and more “vintage” anyway. (It’s a GOOD thing!)
In the end, we are the ones laughing. We got super fast AF and Canikons don’t!
They can keep their squeaky clean pix…cause I don’t want ‘em!
Cliff
Marlon Richardson
8 months ago |I shoot professionally using medium format and 35mm. I shoot Sony along with film. I love Sony lenses and cameras I could care less if it’s EVF or OVF. As long as the cameras improve.
c.d.embrey
8 months ago |A Super 8 shooter, I’m impressed!!! And I bet your clients are too!!!
Megsnz
8 months ago |wow so long to wait.
Job
8 months ago |1st the film turns to digital…
2nd the OVF became Electronic…
I wonder if the next camera will not require a lens attached?!!!!
Such is the advancement of the sensor!
I love to see EVF to improve and it will for sure!
but one thing is clear however, it will affect our eyesight for sure! its like sticking your eye in front of a wide screen TV all day… and you don’t have tell me that you don’t have 20/20 vision now!
Davidlam
8 months ago |Will Sony drop A-mount in the next 5-10 years when PDAF on sensor technology mature? SLT to me is kind of interim solution. I think most of the A850/A900 users shall miss the wonderful OVF.
Even though we got a very good EVF on A77, it still takes time for our eyes to adopt to the difference in brightness (from ambient light to EVF)!
Sahaja
8 months ago |Don’t worry about your eyesight – after EVF, they’ll come up with a new and better view finder that you plug directly into the visual cortex system of your brain. Bypass the crude optical system of your eyes entirely.
Sergei
8 months ago |It’s a tool, for Pete’s sake! Masters play on shitty instruments sometimes – their music is still GREAT! Now, can we pull all the “string” on our instruments to make them sing is a different question
Sergei
8 months ago |It’s a tool, for Pete’s sake! Masters play on sh..ty instruments sometimes – their music is still GREAT! Now, can we pull all the “string” on our instruments to make them sing is a different question
Kevin
8 months ago |I see the NEX line as being the real game changer!! sooner or later we will see major advancements with the EVF systems, having a OVF or EVF does not make or not make a camera professional.. Bottom line comes down to you the photographer if you don’t believe you are professional having a certain kind of camera surely won’t make you one..
I am digging what I am seeing and think the new technology Sony is bringing to the table is awesome..
I do make a part time income with my photography,even stuff shot with my A100..
hanugro
8 months ago |Is there any more news on FF a mount prime lens from CZ? I need super wide prime and hopefully 85 f/1.4 get SSM upgrade.
JB
8 months ago |+1
Sahaja
8 months ago |As long as they have A-mount, I think it would be smart for Sony to continue with at least one “classic” full frame DSLR model with an OVF based on the A900 with incremental improvements. Make it more reliable – improve the AF, flash, add proper live view, weather sealing and so on – but otherwise keep it pretty much as it is.
Sure, alongside this, they should introduce all the SLT / EVF models with all the latest innovations they can come up with. Those cameras will certainly get far more ink and internet buzz – which may translate into shot term sales boosts. But I think also showing a real long-term commitment to a line of good solid photographic workmanlike cameras based on the A900 would do them a lot more good for their image over the long haul.
Davidlam
8 months ago |Agreed
Sahaja
8 months ago |Frankly, if Sony give up OVF for EVF entirely, the Sony EVF camera that more professionals are going to be interested in is the NEX-7 (and a full-frame NEX-9 if Sony ever make one).
Clifton
8 months ago |When digital was introduced professionally people were paying 1000s for 1mpx sensors but some people were thrilled it opened doors like on the fly ISO adjustment, instant image review and so on. THANKFULLY, there wasn’t an internet service where people can express their dislike of the change like its the end of the photography industry, people got on with using what they liked and thankfully the industry evolved into what it is today.
Almost every argument against EVF has a similar argument against digital itself.
I can sit on my little office chair, behind my little monitor and tell the world’s biggest and most successful electronics manufacturer how they should run their business, but at the end of the day, they already employ 100′s of people to do that and i think they value their opinion more than mine. what idiots.
Dave Cox
8 months ago |I love this comment. Just as much as I hate the comment somewhere above about ‘I can’t use an EVF because it doesn’t track moving objects’. People spend hours composing these long essays about technology without taking the time to actually understand it.
Good stuff Clifton.
Alexey Ozerov
8 months ago |Header – Sony A900 will be in Stock until December. Death of the OVF technology.
Main text – the Sony A850 will be in Stock until December.
Where is the truth
?
Solo
8 months ago |I am a professional photographer currently using the A850 and Zeiss. The OVF is absolutely fantastic, best I’ve ever used, and I will miss it. But I did get a chance to try the A77 and hey, its not bad. Seeing the predicted exposure, and can prevent you from losing your shot in scrambled situations when you don’t have time to meter the subject.
For the complaints about the delay, I moved the camera quickly and there was no noticeable delay in movement. I suppose since I’m not shooting pictures of bullets coming out of guns, I won’t notice the delay that comes probably when moving the camera at obscenely (if not quite idiotic) speeds. Again, I noticed no delay, but if its there, then it doesn’t bother me.
The A55/A35 EVF disgusted me but the A77 is definitely a step up. Is it better than the A850 OVF? Simply, no. The advantages provided by it however are 100% worth the slight quality drop. I do hope that the EVF in the new FF models however is an improved version and not identical to the EVF of the A77. It really needs to outperform the A850/A900 OVF for it to get our FULL attention. Thats what I Think anyways… without the limitations of reflecting mirrors and prisms, couldn’t the view of the EVF potentially be HUGE? I would love a view that was 4x the size of the A77 finder. Now wouldn’t that be something…
I switched over from canon and still glad I did. Sony is going in a good direction with their SLT cameras. The people bitching about light-loss/sharpness-loss… not worth my time. How those people took pictures back in the days of film or 2mpx dslrs, I do not know.
For those of you who were bashing the earlier website, please look at mine and give it an honest bashing. It is aimed at clients with a moderate budget, but also give the images a good glance: shot with the Canon 40D (arguably a POS compared to the A77), A Nikon D70 (no argument there, a POS compared to the A77), a Canon 5DmkII, and my Sony A850. IF those complaining about light-loss in the SLT mirror can differentiate my images by camera and lens combination… well then they may have a point but I sincerely doubt this will be the case. http://www.fkwstudio. com
Raul S.
8 months ago |Hey admin…any info on new lenses???? I thought that along with A65/A77+all NEX line big announcement, some new A-mount lenses were being announced (Zeiss if I’m not mistaken).
Atmo-Sphere
8 months ago |PLEASE WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
Do you remember what happened when they introduced the first auto-focus camera’s? Lots of people cursed at them because “focusing was to be done by photographers..NOT by technology…if they took themselves serious that is”. Nowadays almost EVERY person on the planet uses auto-focus almost exclusively…because it has been developed extensively and offers so many huuuuuge advantages ….and the manual focus camera’s …….are FAR from popular… and completely obsolete.
Do you remember what happened when they introduced the first digital camera’s? Lots of people cursed at them for having far less dynamic range, far less resolution, far less availability and far less speed (huge shutter-lag) than the existing camera’s. Nowadays almost EVERY person on the planet uses digital camera’s exclusively…including its worst enemies (the pros) ..because they have been developed extensively and offer so many huuuuuge advantages ….and the chemical film based camera’s ……….are FAR from popular… and completely obsolete.
Do you remember what happened when they introduced features like live-view, built in video, built-in flash for DSLR, face-recognition, higher and higher resolutions, LCD-displays on double action hinges…and EVF instead of OVF? Exactly the same as with ALL these other technological improvements: people started cursing at it…started yelling that it was of no use whatsoever and that it should be restricted to the goofy picture-taking low-end consumer (compact-)camera’s class ……only to be buying camera’s with those exact same ‘useless’ and ‘low-end’ features several years later.
My point? STOP running around in what’s basically that same circle over and over and over and over again like a stupid lemming…and open your mind for Pete’s sake! Nothing rocks from the very first second after introduction…everything needs to grow, to be developed, everybody needs to learn……just like you!! Don’t trip into the pitfall of “oh I’m such a respected, experienced, skilled, competent and knowledgeable photographer that i don’t NEED technology to progress at all”
Do you really not see what is happening around you? Every – and i repeat: EVERY- function in EVERY machine or apparatus of any kind that can be engineered from ‘mechanical’ (moving parts, hinges, bearings, levers, axis, grease, wear and tear etc) to electronic….is being transformed or cancelled sooner or later.
My prediction: This will – besides the ‘slapping mirror-mechanism- also happen to the shutter mechanism AND the aperture mechanism within 5 to 10 years on a global scale. And lots of people will yell “please do NOT kill the good and reliable mechanical shutter/aperture”…only to be completely satisfied with the camera’s they buy years later….that have no moving parts whatsoever anymore.
Another prediction: 2D photography and videography will lose a LOT of (if not ALL) ground to 3D photography within the same period of time (5-10 years). So…first the ‘R’ of ‘Reflex’ will fall completely (the mirror AND pentaprism are out the door)….and later probably the ‘S’ from ‘Single lens’ …if that is not solved otherwise that is (example ‘sweep 3D from sony). And most of those functions will ‘creep in’ from below (introduced and field tested in the consumer class products and then developed upwards)………like it or not.
You WILL love them…..you WILL embrace them…you WILL buy them…..no matter how ‘frightened of life’ (growth) you are…no matter how sadly you cling to the (things and people of) the past as if they are always better…not realizing that you’re just choosing for what you know…because it scares you less than what you don’t know.
Walt
8 months ago |It’s really stupid to compare one piece of technology with another that was introduced in the past, and only shows lack of thinking on the part of those who try to justify SLT that way. And most making such comparisons are ones who did not experience that history when it took place and are making misleading statements about it as a result. Some technology introduced in the past was grabbed immediately by anyone buying a new camera because it was a plus with no minus. And other technology died because it’s pluses did not outweigh it’s minuses.
SLT is not a plus with no minus. For still photography there is some question if it even has any plus that could not also be in a pentaprism OVF DSLR. Those who actually pay attention to the technology and how it functions will find that the EVF contains significant minus characteristics that will never be designed out of them. EVF delay compared to the delay of OVF is one of those. At best the delay may be shortened slightly but that’s a far cry from the virtual no delay of a OVF.
We are already seeing composition changes in photos taken with EVF. The average location of a fast moving subject is now showing up with the subject in the leaving half of the frame more and more. Lots of room behind the subject and less ahead. This comes about as people shoot on the basis of the time delayed view of the EVF which shows the subject in the frame behind where it actually currently is. Shoot like you see in a EVF and you will average this composition. Is that good? Well, the standard advice in composition of moving subjects is to give them space in the framing ahead of them to move into, it’s considered a better composition.
Could you compensate for the delay to bring the subject back? Sure, you just first have to estimate from the speed of the subject and the EVF delay (which varies) how much to lead your frame. Just what you need to be fiddling with while shooting.
If you are a non thinker, and deliberately ignore the minuses and what they will do to limit photography or alter the composition of photos that is your problem and you should not assume all are so foolish or are going to cheer adding extra requirements to our efforts. We will tell Sony that we don’t like what they are doing and have every right to do so to keep cameras modern and not slide backward in available functionality.
There are reasons why EVF, which has been around for a long time in low end consumer cameras, has not made advances into advanced and pro cameras. Now Sony puts it’s Cybershot managers in charge of Alpha and they clearly think they are building for the low end consumers desires or what’s probably likely they don’t know advanced or pro photography at all. That hardly makes them right for advanced and pro cameras.
JustSomeOne
7 months ago |well said!
strategySony
7 months ago |sony is looking for the non-pro, the computer software user, the 3D TV owner, the PS3 gammer… they want to combine photo’s, 3D, video, and HDTV…. the people who will continue to buy sony will be all electronic, the EVF will feel great to someone who will wear 3D glasses to watch google tv…
dont stress, if it does not work out for the pros, sony will just continue to make the sensors for Nikon pro-users
Markac
7 months ago |Sony is talking about up to 3 new FF models next year. One of them should retain an OVF. The A900 had what is probably the best OVF on any DSLR. The A77 might have possibly the best EVF on an APS-C camera, but it is nowhere near a match for the 100% FF optical viewfinder on the A900. I thought Sony was trying to judge the feedback about continuing the use of an OVF on a FF camera. Has there been a definitive decision? I guess we’ll have to just wait and see?
EVF is great when shooting video, and I work with Sony Broadcast cameras. However I’m a purist when it comes to stills photography and OVF rules here.
photo_grapher
7 months ago |Just found this page through google, cannot believe after 30 years of reading ‘printed’ photo news and endless magazines of so called expert editorial teams harping on about which camera is better than others…. the same pointless arguements have bounced onto the internet. No one seems to get it!? Are you all a buch of camera camera users – or photographers? There is a difference.