The Sony Digital SLR range of cameras with Super Steady Shot
The Sony Alpha 100 digial camera is Sony's first entry into the DSLR arena since they took over the Konica Minolta line of cameras.
Retaining the Minolta A Mount for lenses has meant that it already has a large user base and users will have an existing line up of high quality lenses to choose from.
The camera has a feature list that gives it's rivals, such as the Canon EOS 400D and Nikon D80, some good competition and immediately makes Sony a major player in the DSLR market.
The Sony Alpha 700 is Sony's much anticipated follow up to the a100 which includes enhanced features and additional specifications.
The Sony Alpha 700:
12.24 MP Exmor™ CMOS Sensor with BIONZ™ processor
The big brother to the a100 which features better dust and moisture seals, up to ISO6400, a revised layout with just a single dial on the top of the camera and 5 frames per second amongst lots of other improvements which the enthusiast or semi pros will find useful.
The Sony Alpha 100:
10 MP APS-C CCD Sensor
A large sensor gives you greater flexibility with your images. A large, high quality image can be cropped more heavily or creatively while still retaining a large enough document size to produce large high quality prints. A sensivity or ISO range of 100 to 1600 allows you make the best of most lighting conditions producing images with noise levels and image quality that puts it among the top performers in it's class.
Super Steady Shot
Both models feature Super Steady Shot which takes the already successful Anti Shake system found in the Konica Minolta Dynax 7D and 5D cameras and with some refinements gives the photographer the ability use up to two stops less and still get a sharp image. What does this mean in real life terms? Well if use your camera without a tripod, you will be fully aware that as the shutter speed gets longer, the chance of the image blurring due to you moving the camera at the moment the image is taken increases. The Super Steady Shot technology can compensate for tiny movements by actually moving the sensor to counter act your movements producing a sharper image at slower shutter speeds.
As this is being done inside the camera body it means that every lens you use becomes image stabilised. Something you have to pay a lot more for from other manuafacturers who build image stabilisation into their lenses.
BIONZ™ Image Processor
This is the computer chip inside the camera that processes the image data and this chip gives you a unique feature of the Sony Alpha 100 and 700, Dynamic Range Optimisation. This is designed to improve detail in the shadow areas and highlight areas of your image ending up with what is meant to be a better image. This has no effect when shooting in raw format though as raw is the data straight from the sensor without any processing. On the Sony Alpha 700 the improved BIONZ™ processing provides better noise control throughout the ISO range.
Long Battery Life
Gone are the days when you'd charge up your battery, take about 20 pictures and have to charge your battery up again. The Sony Alpha battery will give you up to 700 shots on the a100 (depending on how you shoot) and a similar amount on the a700, which is more than enough for the keen amateur. Having that reliability in the battery enables you to shoot every moment you want to capture rather than conserve battery life in case a better moment comes up.