Finally the fruits of Japanese giant Sony buying Konica Minolta's camera business have ripened, with the release of the a100 dSLR - the company's first digital SLR. While it would be sensible to suggest that the camera is heavily based around the existing Konica Minolta technology, it does have some Sony innovation, in particular the “Dynamic Range Optimiser” and a new Bionz image processor.
The former assures perfectly exposed pictures, reducing the loss of highlight and shadow details in difficult lighting conditions. The Bionz image processor allows high-speed burst mode photography at 3fps, and helps decrease noise while keeping colour accuracy.
The rest of the camera specs are pretty impressive for an SLR; a 10.2 mega-pixel APS-C CCD sensor is at its heart, offering high resolution sensitivity equivalent to ISO 1600, Anti-Dust Protection, a 2.5 inch glare reducing LCD and Sony's proven Super Steady Shot wizardry for blur free photography. Auto-focus begins as soon as you look into the viewfinder, so you don't have to use the normal half-press on the shutter method - which is handy (but less handy, if you see what I mean).
The best news of all though is that the a100 is compatible with all 16 million odd Maxxum/Dynax lenses that have been sold, giving it a sure footing in the market, and a haven for photographers who already have Konica-Minolta lenses. In addition, under the guise of the Sony G mount, Sony are set to release over 20 new lenses in the coming months with Carl Zeiss. CompactFlash cards are the chosen memory card format, but being Sony, you can use its own Memory Stick Duos and PRO Duos in a special included adaptor.
The camera will be released here and across Europe in July 2006. There are no price details in good old sterling, but the body will retail for $900 in America, and as a kit with an 18-70mm zoom lens for $1000.
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