Sony α

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Sony α (Greek letter alpha) is a digital SLR camera system introduced on June 5, 2006[1]. It utilizes and expands upon Konica Minolta camera technologies, including the Minolta AF SLR lens mount, whose assets were acquired by Sony after the end of Minolta's camera operations in early 2006. Sony also has an 11.08% ownership stake in Japanese lens manufacturer Tamron,[2] which is known to have partnered Konica Minolta and Sony in the design and manufacturer of many zoom lenses.

Prior to the acquisition by Sony, the α branding had already been used on the Japanese market by Minolta for their AF camera system (marketed as "Dynax" in Europe, and "Maxxum" in North America.)[3] Sony adopted the name "α mount system" for the Minolta AF lens mount which has been retained in their new SLR range.[4]

Sony's entry into the DSLR market dates back to July 2005 where a joint venture with Konica Minolta would have resulted in both companies marketing an updated line of DSLRs to the masses. [5]

Contents

[edit] Camera Bodies

Sony Alpha-350 with 18-70mm lens
Body Release Date Sensor
APS-C
α 100 Jul 06 CCD
α 700 Sep 07 CMOS
α 200 Jan 08 CCD
α 300 Jan 08 CCD
α 350 Jan 08 CCD
α 230 May 09 CCD
α 330 May 09 CCD
α 380 May 09 CCD
35mm - Full Frame
α 900 Sep 08 CMOS

[edit] Lenses and Tele-converters

The α lens mount, originally known as the A-type Bayonet mount was introduced by Minolta in 1985 as the world's first autofocus system. As a result, virtually all Minolta AF lenses are supported on Sony DSLRs, and many Sony lenses should work on Minolta's film and digital SLRs.

During the initial introduction of the α system in 2006, Sony announced 19 lenses and 2 tele-converters, of which the majority are rebranded Konica Minolta lenses. MSRP and month of introduction are included for these lenses, below.

At the 2007 PMA Trade Show, Sony unveiled several new lenses, but has referred to them only in qualitative terms, not providing specific specifications. As a result, these newly announced lenses are not included in this list.

On May 18, 2009 Sony introduced the first α mount lenses to feature their new SAM (Smooth Auto-focus Motor) in-lens auto-focus motor for more lens-specific AF Speed improvements and silent operation. This introduction was made with the new X+30 series camera bodies (α350 + 30 = α380). Pictures of these new bodies revealed that the α mount drive bit and motor are retained in the new models for backward compatibility with the historic lens collection. This was not explicitly stated in the Sony press releases which themselves did not feature lens-off-mount photos. In addition, the new bodies utilize HDMI output for display on HDTV sets and have deprecated use of Compact Flash cards in favor of ports for both Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Pro Duo chips as well as SDHC media format. [6]

[edit] Designations

DT "Digital Technology," lenses for APS-C size sensors.
G "Gold" Series, Sony professional lenses.
ZA "Zeiss Alpha", new lenses manufactured under license from Carl Zeiss capable of autofocus unlike other mounts.
SSM "SuperSonic Motor", in-lens ultrasonic motor used on some Carl Zeiss and G Series lenses.
SAM "Smooth Autofocus Motor", near silent in-lens motor offered on some entry level lenses since 2009.

[edit] Rebranded Konica Minolta Lenses

Lens RRP Release Date
Zoom Lenses
Article DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 US$650 Aug 06
Article DT 18-70mm f//3.5-5.6 US$200, Standard α100 Kit Lens Jul 06
Article DT 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 US$500 Jul 06
Article 24-105mm f/3.5-4.5 US$470 Nov 06
Article 70-200mm f/2.8 G SSM US$1999 Aug 06
Article 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 US$230 Jul 06
Prime Lenses
Article 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye US$1000 Oct 06
Article 20mm f/2.8 US$680 Oct 06
Article 28mm f/2.8 US$250 Oct 06
Article 35mm f/1.4 G US$1400 Oct 06
Article 50mm f/1.4 US$350 Jul 06
Article 50mm f/2.8 Macro US$480 Jul 06
Article 100mm f/2.8 Macro US$680 Jul 06
Article 135mm f/2.8 Smooth Transition Focus (STF) US$1200 Oct 06
Article 300mm f/2.8 G SSM US$6000 Sep 06
Article 500mm f/8 Reflex US$700 Oct 06

[edit] Rebranded Tele-converters

Model RRP Release Date
1.4× Tele-converter US$600 Sep 06
2× Tele-converter US$650 Sep 06

[edit] Carl Zeiss lenses

Lens RRP Release Date
Zoom Lenses
Article Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 ZA US$700 Apr 07
Article Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm SSM f/2.8 ZA US$1700 Feb 08
Article Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm SSM f/2.8 ZA US$1800 Feb 09
Prime Lenses
Article Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZA US$1300 Oct 06
Article Sonnar T* 135mm f/1.8 ZA US$1400 Oct 06

[edit] Other Post-2006 Lenses

Lens RRP Release Date
Zoom Lenses
DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6
DT 18-250 f/3.5-6.3
70-300 f/4.5-5.6 G SSM $800 Apr 2008
70-400 f/4-5.6 G SSM Feb 2009
DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Mar 2009
DT 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Mar 2009
28-75mm f/2.8 Mar 2009
Prime Lenses
DT 50mm f/1.8 Mar 2009
DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro Mar 2009

[edit] Other accessories

[edit] External flash units

Main article: iISO flash shoe

The hot shoe on Sony DSLRs (carried over from Minolta's Maxxum/Dynax and its bridge digital DiMAGE A1/A2/A200 series) is not of the standard design used by other camera manufacturers. Adaptors, however, are available.

The first two flash models released by Sony (HVL-F36AM and HVL-F56AM) are, like the first generation of lenses, rebadged models of Minolta design.

Model Guide number ISO
HVL-F20AM 20 100
HVL-F36AM 36 100
HVL-F42AM 42 100
HVL-F56AM 56 100
HVL-F58AM 58 100

HVL-F36AM and HVL-F56AM flashes are rebadged Minolta Program 3600HS and 5600HS.

[edit] Vertical control grips

Model Bodies
VG-C90AM α900
VG-C70AM α700
VG-B30AM α200,α300,α350

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sony (2006-06-05). Sony enters the D-SLR camera market with innovative technologies to expand the creative possibilities. Press release. http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/digital_imaging/digital_cameras/pslr/release/22445.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-31. 
  2. ^ Tamron Co., Ltd. (2006-08-04). Stock Information. Press release. http://www.tamron.co.jp/en/investors/ir/index.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-11. 
  3. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minolta#Autofocus_SLRs
  4. ^ Sony (2006-04-20). Sony decides α as new brand for digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras. Press release. http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200604/06-033E/. Retrieved on 2006-09-29. 
  5. ^ Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. (2005-07-19). Konica Minolta and Sony Agree to Jointly Develop Digital SLR Cameras. Press release. http://konicaminolta.com/releases/2005/0719_01_01.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. "Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc. and Sony Corporation have reached an agreement to jointly develop digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras." 
  6. ^ dpreview.com (2009-05-18). Sony reveals new A380/330/230 camera bodies with L Lenses with 'SAM' AF technology. Press release. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0905/09051804sonyalphas.asp. Retrieved on 2009-05-18. 

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sony Alpha

[edit] Previews

[edit] Reviews

[edit] User Sites

v • d • e
Konica Minolta/Sony α Digital SLR timeline
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
High-end Full-frame α 900
APS-C KM 7D α 700
Midrange α 350 α 380
Entry-level α 300 α 330
KM 5D α 100 α 200 α 230
v • d • e
Sony Corporation
Technologies and brands
α · Betacam · Blu-ray · BRAVIA · CD · Cyber-shot · DAT · DVD · Handycam · HDCAM/HDCAM-SR · LocationFree · Memory Stick · MiniDisc · MiniDV · mylo · PlayStation · PSP · S/PDIF · SXRD · UMD · VAIO · Video8/Hi8/Digital8 · Walkman · Walkman Phones · XDCAM · Xplōd
Historical products
AIBO · CV-2000 · Betamax · Sony CLIÉ · Discman · JumboTron · Lissa · Mavica · NEWS · Qualia · SRS-17 · TR-55 · Trinitron · U-matic · Watchman · WEGA
Operating segments
Acquisitions
Columbia Records · Columbia Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures & TriStar Pictures) · Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (20%) · Aiwa
Joint Ventures
Key personnel
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