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A99 - why 24mp only?

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BMWX5

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when D800 is 36mp. Will this affect the sales of A99 since it is not king of MP race?

More rumors:
  • The Sony A99 camera will have 24.3 MP full frame sensor.
  • The A99 will have 102 focus points. (Wow, nothing compare)
  • Two different A99 prototypes are being evaluated - one of them has a flip and touch screen. (I prefer both)
  • The A99 will have 3 million pixel high-definition EVF.
  • The A99 will support 24 video recording formats and a variety of screen style filters.
  • The body of the A99 will be larger and heavier than the A77.
 
Funny thing.
Yesterday, 24mp was "too much". And now it's "only".

I'm amazed how photographers managed to get the work done with "only" 12~24mp so far.
:p

Well, more megapixels means larger files, more CPU power needed to handle those files (as well as bigger memory cards and hard disks), less batery life, less frames per second and so on. Also, in theory, worse high ISO.

I applaud Sony for staying with "only" 24mp this time. Let's see how the rest works out.

--
I'm lazy to post my pics here. So you can look at them here:
http://www.zenfolio.com/neonights
 
I actually think it is a pretty smart move providing the improvements in ISO range, dynamic range, etc. are superior to the A900 sensor. 24MP is still plenty.

Plus, we should be more concerned about what other improvements to the camera are coming than just resolution like video capabilities, EVF, noise reduction, speed, and whether they finally decide to go to 14-bit A/D.

While Nikon jumped to 36MP, Canon remained relatively modest at 22MP. Do you think Canon's sales are going to be negatively impacted because they decided to stick with a lower resolution sensor? Probably not.

Also recall that Nikon's top of the line D4 is only 16.2MP.

With 24MP on a full frame, Sony will be right in the middle of the two companies when it comes to resolution. Like the story Goldilocks, maybe 24MP will be "just right."
--
Paul
 
BMWX5 said:
when D800 is 36mp. Will this affect the sales of A99 since it is not king of MP race?
Click to expand...
No, the fact that it's a Sony and the competition is Nikon & Canon will affect its sales. Seriously, I don't think it would much matter whether it were 18, 24 or 36MP. Any figure will be ideal for some, insufficient for others, but most people interested in full frame will continue to use Nikon & Canon, while others will be intrigued by the idea of a FF SLT.

(Personally, if I were considering going FF, a state of the art 24MP sensor would be fine).
  • Dennis
--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com
 
I'm with ya. I'm intrigued, but then I look at the shots from my A77 and know I'll not be able to warrant $2k for an A99 when it comes available. For the differences and pro's/cons that will debated.
 
Heck, we got a lot done with 6MP! 12MP is a luxury. 24MP lets me do a ton.

Could I still take great pictures with 6MP. Yes.

This is all rumors. The A99 doesn't EXIST. Sony hasn't said a peep about it, and people are debating whether or not it has enough MPs??

Really, turn off the computer and go shoot some pictures. When Sony releases their next camera THEN we can compare it to the competition.
--
http://tandaina.smugmug.com/
 
Sony is nowhere for the pro's
  • no A900 in production
and no new camera in production .

I have now 15000 actuations on my A900 .But i am retired now . If i was still a pro my A900 should already have more than 100.000. actuations = i needed already an new body . But there is no new body !

The pro's using NIKON have a lot of glass they can put on NIKON's they can buy new and the newest have 36mb . there is even a choice : 800 or 800 E .

And there are also a lot of "amateurs" who shoot frequently and are alway's looking for the best on the market .

I wonder why Sony is coming (to late)with only a 2Mb camera ( why not giving the choice 24 or 36 mb). Why can the camera have no touch screen that is also articulated ?and where is the A99/E ?

I stay with the A900 and i hope the camera lasts for a long time . I welcome life view and articulated screen and EVF but that is not enough for me , as i have already a good 24 mb A900 .
guido
 
Stflbn said:
I'm with ya. I'm intrigued, but then I look at the shots from my A77 and know I'll not be able to warrant $2k for an A99 when it comes available. For the differences and pro's/cons that will debated.
Click to expand...
Full frame to me is a siren song (except that the consequences of listening are that I spend too much money which isn't quite as bad as getting dashed on the rocks at sea). The lure is always there, yet a glance at my office wall at a 20"x30" print made from an ISO 400 image shot on the A700 is usually enough to convince myself that I just don't need to spend the money.

If anything, I half hope that FF stays expensive for a while to reduce the irrational temptation.
  • Dennis
--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com
 
Guido FORRIER said:
Sony is nowhere for the pro's
  • no A900 in production
and no new camera in production .
Click to expand...
Basically a full frame repeat of the A77 mess, when there was nothing current for a while.
Guido FORRIER said:
I wonder why Sony is coming (to late)with only a 2Mb camera ( why not giving the choice 24 or 36 mb). Why can the camera have no touch screen that is also articulated ?and where is the A99/E ?
Click to expand...
All we have are rumors. For all we know Sony may roll out any or all of what you suggest.
Guido FORRIER said:
I stay with the A900 and i hope the camera lasts for a long time . I welcome life view and articulated screen and EVF but that is not enough for me , as i have already a good 24 mb A900 .
Click to expand...
I was very content with the IQ from my 12MP APS-C A700, but ended up upgrading to get a quiet shutter. At least that was a fairly affordable upgrade. Spending $2-3K to get LV would be tough !
  • Dennis
--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com
 
....

I'll aplaud Sony the FF comes with a 24MP sensor. That will give them more room to develop a state of the art IQ sensor with the current technology! That's also enough resolution for maybe 90% of photography.

If they do it right ( like they did the A900 ) and charge a fair price, it'll be a winner.

... Lucas
--
Always having fun with photography ...

http://www.lucaspix.smugmug.com/

 
I would stick to 18-24mp than 36mp. Too much size, and I always re-size my pics to smaller size.
 
I don't care much about megapixels now when we have plenty of them!

When the A900 was came a lot of people hoped for a 16-18 Mp version of this camera, and the same happened when the A77 was introduced.

I think those are the folks that never buy a camera, since there is no low price/high quality model that fit their ultra-spesific needs.

:-)
 
Plus 1

+1

There should be a facebook type plus one to a comment.
 
Dennis said:
Basically a full frame repeat of the A77 mess, when there was nothing current for a while.
Click to expand...
What mess? Please explain.
 
OK, so SOME pros show up with a van load of stuff.

Some PROs shoot sports.

Some Pros shoot celebs.

Some Pros shoot magazine shots in the studio.
Some do it outdoors.

Now I have 8 lenses and 2 bodies. A77 and a100. My old Minolta AF film stuff is on the shelf getting a rest in plastic boxes.

You cannot get in a small european car with much more than what I carry along with a monopod, a tripod, water, lunch, and maybe my wife.

My poor mini cooper, I need a van and I just an amateur.

So 95% of the time I take 2 or maybe 3 lenses and the a77, spare battery, rain sleeve, charger, and some filters.

Why then pray tell does Nikon matter if they have 'more glass'. Whaa. I don't use more glass than 2 lenses 95 percent of the time.

Why does it matter at all. Go to the freaking Nikon forums and praise the lord. Yell it. We are #1. Go for it. This is the supporters section where we talk about SONY. Get a life.
 
The rumor on SAR is $2500/3000 body only. That seems too pricey given what is out there now and what will be coming from the other two in the next 6 months.
 
About a year and a half of non-stop complaints on forums because Sony showed no signs of an A700 followon. People complaining about A700s breaking, not being able to find replacements, not knowing whether they wanted to continue with Sony ... as is typical, much more noise then actual problems, but it's not good for a company's reputation and certainly doesn't encourage pros when there are long gaps like that in a product line.
  • Dennis
--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com
 
osu said:
The rumor on SAR is $2500/3000 body only. That seems too pricey given what is out there now and what will be coming from the other two in the next 6 months.
Click to expand...
Seems a bit too early to tell, since the camera hasn't been tested yet and whatever else is coming from other makers is rumors too.
 
Sony had options open for the pro during that time with the A850 and A900. I'd hardly call that a mess.

Why isn't anyone talking about the rumor of a Zeiss 50mm f1.2? That lens on a FF SLT would be a dream camera no matter what the pixel count.
 
Tandaina said:
Really, turn off the computer and go shoot some pictures. When Sony releases their next camera THEN we can compare it to the competition.
Click to expand...
Some people seem to live on those stupid rumor sites. Personally, I think they are a major waste of bandwidth and they are all grabbing at straws like there is no tomorrow simply to drive traffic.

Pathetic.

--

The greatest of mankind's criminals are those who delude themselves into thinking they have done 'the right thing.'
  • Rayna Butler
 
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