Sony's Alpha DSLR-A900 camera, their first "full frame" model, has alerted the industry and consumers in the DSLR world that they're in the digital SLR camera business for the long haul.
The DSLR-A900 starts with a 24 x 35.9mm size CMOS sensor developed especially for this camera. Though that imaging canvas is utterly packed with pixels, the pixels themselves dominate the landscape of the image receiving area, instead of the elements of image sensors which are necessary but not actually collecting the image. Indeed, the A900's pixels are larger than the fine consumer-grade Alpha 700, despite having twice as many pixels.
On the physical side of things, the Alpha's designed for professional use: all operations are weather-sealed, its high-performance shutter's tested to 100,000 cycles, and its viewfinder (the forgotten critical SLR element in the age of squinty APS-C size viewfinder dominance) is as good as they come. Despite these claims, together with batteries and a memory card it tips the scales at ~2 lbs (900g), a good competitive number especially considering the enjoyable view.
Beyond physical elements, the DSLR-A900's got plenty of brains. To speed up throughput for pro sports and action use, Sony's employed dual "Bionz" image processors. Its two analog-to-digital engines swallow large chunks of information, shoving up to ~5 frames per second into a fast memory card-quite bold capacity considering those big RAW files.
• Info Lithium-Ion Battery
• Battery Charger w/ Cord
• USB Cable
• Video Cable
• Wireless Remote Commander
• Shoulder Strap w/ Eyepiece Cap & Remote Commander Clip
• Body Cap
• Accessory Shoe Cap
• Software CD-ROM (USB Driver, RAW Conversion and Image Management Software)
• Manual
• 1 Year Warranty
| Key Features |
| Image Sensor Type
|
CMOS |
| Resolution
|
24.6 Megapixel |
| Camera Type
|
SLR/Professional |
| Lens |
| Interchangeable Lens
|
Interchangeable Lenses |
| Image Quality |
| Camera Resolution
|
24.6 Megapixel |
| Exposure Control |
| Shutter Speed
|
30 - 1/8000 sec |
| White Balance
|
Daylight / Sunny (Preset) � Cloudy (Preset) � Fluorescent (Preset) � Tungsten (Preset) � Shade (Preset) � Flash (Preset) |
| Frames Per Second
|
5 Frames |
| Viewfinder / Display |
| Viewfinder
|
Optical |
| LCD Panel
|
With LCD Panel |
| LCD Panel Size
|
3 in. |
| LCD Protected Position
|
Without LCD Protected Position |
| Interfaces |
| Interface Type
|
USB 2.0 |
| Video Interface
|
Video Out |
| Power Supply |
| Battery Type
|
Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery |
| Included Features |
| Self Timer
|
2 Sec. � 10 Sec. |
| System Requirements |
| Operating System
|
Apple Mac OS X � Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition � Microsoft Windows XP Professional � Microsoft Windows Vista � Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional |
| General |
| Dimensions (W x D x H)
|
6.13" x 3.25" x 4.63" |