Sony Alpha 10 or Sony Alpha 200

Sony Alpha-100

After making a successful entry in the market of the digital SLR photo camera with the A100 in July 2006, Sony should be preparing the extension of its product line (still containing one camera only). Most people expect it to take the form of the addition of a higher-end camera that could be named either Alpha 10 [A10] or Alpha 200 [A200] (Wanna bet?) This would be a good complement to the A100 and would fit nicely after the Konica-Minolta D7D.

It is definitely interesting to notice that there is still no information leaking out of Sony about this future product. However, we should remember that the Alpha 100 was not preceded by months of pre-launch propaganda; Sony went shot for a quick launch followed by months of heavy advertising (and kept its word on the launch date).

Launch date

It seems that people heard Sony murmuring in 2006 that there would be no new launch before the first months of 2007 and they decided that it meant a new product (either Alpha 10 [A10] or Alpha 200 [A200]) at the PMA 2007 in March. But there is not even a murmur now that we are nearing the right time for it.

Sensor

Here is the biggest rumour. Based upon the launch of lenses that are 100% 24×36 (also known as Full Frame, to contrast with the more common reduced size sensors – APS-sized), people started to extrapolate that Sony does not want to have “digital format” lenses because it would go against the near arrival of a full frame Single Lens Reflex. This is a first supposition. The second would be that the next Sony D-SLR camera would go right for this large sensor.

Most observers still think that most of Sony’s effort came from rebadging existing Konica-Minolta lenses that left no choice on their size. The new Carl Zeiss lenses could have been designed semi-independently with this in mind without pressure from Sony marketroids.

Nothing for it, nothing against it.

What’s sure is that Sony is a sensor manufacturer and it gives them a large choice and they are able to access to the newest technology (larger sensors or more resoolution) as much as they would need. The available technology is the only limit -and their engineers can push it.

More info, later

This does not amount ot much. Don’t stop your decision based on these weak rumours, if you intend to buy a new digital SLR camera. But we’ll keep you informed.