Comments on: Hands-on preview: Sony's full-frame DSLR-A900

At 24 megapixels, this midrange model has the highest resolution to date in a dSLR.

[One-Eared Gundark]

Twenty-four megapixels?! Do we really need that much in a DSLR?

I'd rather see a full-sized sensor with 'only' 12 MP. Each pixel would be bigger to allow more light to be collected. This would increase the sensitivity of the sensor, resulting in lower noise at high ISO.

That's just my two cents, though.

[ADWD]

LOOKG GOOD UP FRONT, BUT AS YOU SAY THE PHOTOS ARE MUSHY, SO IT'S A WAIT AND SEE WHAT FURTHER DEVELOPS FROM THIS CAMERA

[dc2141]

Wow, 24 whole megapixels....and in a sensor the size of a 35mm piece of film. Ever heard of Mamiya? Hasselblad? Pretty important names in photography but easy to skip for people who want to pretend that Canon, Nikon, and Sony are the end-all of camera makers.

Compared to what Mamiya and Hasselblad digital equipment captures, the image quality of Sony's new "flagship" (as well as that of Canon's and Nikon's) will be a complete joke, not only because 24 megapixels is underwhelming to the medium format crowd, but also because those megapixels come packaged in a sensor that's dinky, comparatively.

True, digital medium format equipment can be outrageously expensive, but then Canon's 1Ds MK III isn't exactly cheap, either, particularly when you factor in the cost of 35mm-esque premium lenses compared to medium format lenses. And this Sony won't go for cheap, either.

[emph]

Not sure what the issue was with that camera but check out some samples here:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dslr_a900-review/gallery.shtml

[emph]

"Compared to what Mamiya and Hasselblad digital equipment captures, the image quality of Sony's new "flagship""

Lets put this into perspective; the A900 retail price is under $3000 dollars. The street price will likely be $2500 in a few months. The studio cameras your comparing it to cost 30 to 40 thousand dollars, and are designed to sit on a tripod in a studio and generally have a limited iso range. Sony is pushing the price/megpixel envelope on full frame DSLR's. The other manufactures will respond with compareable prices cameras driving the priced of full frame sensor DSLR's down. Perhaps in a year or two we will see these cameras at the $1000 dollar price point, thats when most non-pro photographers will buy one.

[dedalus6]

"Compared to what Mamiya and Hasselblad digital equipment"
Funny that you can make such comparison, Medium format and DSLR are two totally different categories of camera.
It's like compared a rapid firing, portable automatic rifle to a big artillery gun mounted in a bunker, each designed to do a particular job and each has its pros and cons. Which one would you choose if you go in to a fight? I choose the rifle anytime although you can probably kill more people with artillery guns.

besides, would any photographer take a medium format camera to Iraq, or jungle in the Amazon? would it survive the environment if you can manage to transport it? Have you seen any photographer in Beijing covering the Olympics carrying a medium format camera?

It wouldn't surprise me in a couple of years Medium format cameras will completely disappear, once all camera companies make sensors that are good enough....