In July 2005 Konica Minolta and Sony made an announcement that they were to jointly develop digital SLR cameras. This agreement hinted at shared technology between the two companies such as auto focus, metering and Anti-Shake coming from Konica Minolta and sensors, electronics and batteries from Sony. Some six months later Konica Minolta dropped a bomb on the camera market by announcing that they were withdrawing from the camera business and had transferred certain camera assets including the Maxxum/Dynax lens mount and related SLR technologies to Sony.
Almost a year on since that first announcement we have the new
, a compact, ten megapixel (CCD) digital SLR with a (Konica) Minolta lens mount, Anti-Shake (now Super SteadyShot) and a definite cross-breed appearance. It's fair to say that while this camera may share some components with previous Konica Minolta digital SLR's Sony's involvement has brought external styling, build quality and finish up to a higher standard. The lens mount is to be called the 'Alpha mount' and Sony has announced no less than 22 lenses which will carry the Sony Alpha branding (although many are based on existing Minolta lenses).
The Sony Alpha (α) DSLR-A100 is the first digital SLR for the Japanese consumer electronics giant. If it looks like the Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D and 7D, that's no coincidence: Sony bought KM's camera business in 2005.
The A100 shares the same basic design as the 5D and 7D, which includes the lens mount and CCD-based image stabilizer. So what's new on the A100, besides the Sony label? Here's a brief list:
10.2 Megapixel APS-C-sized CCD sensor
Dual mode dust reduction system: dust resistant coating over the sensor plus a dust "shake off" when powered on or off
High resolution LCD display
New "Bionz" image processor and Dynamic Range Optimizer (a hardware solution)
Uses Sony lithium-ion battery
Support for Memory Stick Duo cards via included adapter
So what about lenses? Sony is rebranding many popular Konica Minolta lenses, including the 18 - 70 mm model that you see in the product photos here. In addition, they're working with Carl Zeiss to produce high-end lenses, and you can expect three of them in the near future (16 - 80, 85, and 135 mm).
The DSLR-A100 is priced at $900 for the body only, and $1000 with the 18-70 lens.
Ready to learn more about Sony's first D-SLR? Read on, as our preview starts now!
What's in the Box?
As is the case with most D-SLRs, there are two "kits" available for the A100: one with a lens, and one without. Here's what's in each:
The 10.2 effective Megapixel Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 camera body
F3.5 - F5.6, 18-70mm Sony zoom lens [lens kit only]
NP-FM55H lithium-ion battery
Battery charger
Memory Stick Duo CompactFlash adapter
Body cap
Accessory shoe cap
Neck strap
USB cable
Video cable
CD-ROM featuring software and drivers
Camera manual
As is the case with all digital SLRs, no memory card is included, so you'll need to buy one of those before you can start taking pictures. The A100 uses CompactFlash cards (including the Microdrive), and I'd suggest a 1GB card as a good starter size. A high speed card is always a good idea when you're using a digital SLR.
If you've got some Memory Stick Duo cards laying around then you can use those too. Not because there's an MS Duo slot in the camera, though. What you will get in the box is an adapter that lets you insert an MS Duo card into a CompactFlash card, which then goes into the camera.
One change from the two Minolta D-SLRs is in the battery department. Not surprisingly, Sony wants you to buy their batteries, so that's what you'll use in the A100. The included battery is known as the NP-FM55H, which packs a whopping 11.5 Wh into its plastic shell. That translates into 750 shots per charge (per the CIPA standard), which is pretty good for a D-SLR (and noticeably better than the 5D and 7D). Unfortunately, most camera manufacturers don't release battery life information for their D-SLRs, so it's hard to compare battery life.
The usual negatives about proprietary batteries apply here. For one, they're expensive -- an extra FM55 battery will probably cost around $70. Secondly, if you ever run out of juice, you can't just pop in regular batteries like you can on a AA-based camera. The only AA-based digital SLRs are made by Pentax (and Samsung, by extension).
It's worth mentioning that the A100 doesn't give you a minute-by-minute countdown of battery life like most of Sony's fixed-lens cameras.
When it's time to recharge the battery, just pop it into the included external charger. No word on how long it takes to charge the battery (I should have this info in the final review). The battery charger doesn't plug right into the wall -- you must use a power cable.
Much to my dismay, Sony will not be offering a battery grip for the A100.
Okay, now let's talk about accessories, starting with lenses. If a lens worked on the Maxxum 5D or 7D then it'll work here too. If you have an older Minolta lens then you'll want to check with Sony support to see if it works. Sony will be offering 19 lenses with the A100 initially, including three with the Carl Zeiss label. If you can imagine a lens, it's probably in Sony's lineup.
Next up are flashes. Like the Maxxum cameras, the hot shoe on the A100 is proprietary, so you can't just attach any old external flash. Sony will be offering two flashes, the HVL-F36AM and the HVL-F56AM, and I assume that other Minolta flashes will work too. There's also an off-shoe adapter, which I'm guessing has a flash sync port on board.
Other accessories include a wired remote (two of them, to be exact), an angle finder and various viewfinder add-ons, an external dual battery charger (which doubles as an AC adapter), and the ubiquitous camera case.
I'll touch on the software bundle and documentation when I review the production-level DSLR-A100.
Look and Feel
If you've seen the Maxxum 5D then you've basically seen the DSLR-A100. It's a good-sized camera with a sturdy plastic shell over a metal frame. The camera is easy to hold, with a substantial right hand grip, and the important controls are within easy reach of your fingers. The A100 has quite a few buttons and dials, which can be intimidating to new users.
Here's a look at how the A100 compares to other D-SLRs in terms of size and weight (body only, of course):
jess_simbarbe
I under stand that in the UK the A100 (body only) goes for £599. This fits in
nicely between the D70s at £489, and the 30D at £749. It's
interesting to me that the D70s has dropped £10 over the last 5
days, and the 30D has dropped £35.
I think with this pricing it'll be successful,
especially that it has in-body anti-shake.
It certainly has great specs on paper. If I was buying my first
DSLR, I'd be interested. But like you, I'm already invested in
another brand and don't want to re-buy my 2 lenses, flash and i-TTL
cable.
This is an interesting challenge for Sony. I wonder if they think
Nikon users will switch, or weather they think there are still
enough first-time DSLR buyers to allow them to move into the #2
spot by capturing a very large percentage of new buyers from now on.
It seems likely the A100 will look better on paper than the new
10.2MP Nikon (I'd welcome built-in sensor cleaning and image
stabilisation in my next Nikon). But will that be enough to put a
dent in Nikon's #2 position?
And what about Canon? Can they continue to charge a $149 premium
for the D30? I'm sure loyal Canon users would say yes, because it's
about the quality of sensor and so on. I wonder how true that is
for the broader market? Especially with respect to an A100 level
camera. Does the pool of new-to-DSLR buyers really care all that
much about clean images at ISO1600?
How important (to the first-time-buyer market) are those extra 2MP,
in terms of luring people away from Canon? It would be an
interesting turn of events, if Canon was forced to lower the price
of the 30D substantially because the market (in their ignorance)
regarded the A100 as a superior camera! Of course, this will seem
ludicrous to a loyal Canon fan. But I'm not talking about loyal
Canon fans here.
And will sensor cleaning and built-in antishake be the straw that
pushes new purchasers to the A100 instead of the new Nikon?
For me personally, this is a fascinating battle to watch. If I had
to guess, I'd wager that Canon retains their #1 spot, and Nikon
stays at #2. I don't think the pool of first-time-DSLR buyers is
big enough, but even if it is, there are too many existing Canon
and Nikon DSLR users who will inevitably get asked 'What DSLR
should I get?'
If Nikon's new 10.2 MP camera is priced competitively (versus the
A100), and if it comes with advanced features pinched from the D200
that appeal to camera reviewers, I'd say Sony's chances of gaining
significant market share were doomed.
Unless Sony invent some new irresistible killer feature that pulls
us all into their system, it's hard to see them grabbing the
massive chunks of new buyers they'll need to overtake Nikon. In my
opinion, it's too late for Sony to become #2.