Sony's Alpha A200

Sony's Alpha A200 is a relatively minor revamp to the electronics giant's first digital SLR, the A100, which itself was a more significant step up from the Konica Minolta 5D. The Sony A200 is lighter and smaller than the A100, and a good deal easier to use.

Sony claims improvements to the Sony A200's AF system that will make focus acquisition 1.7 times faster, thanks to the high-torque AF motor and improved AF sequence borrowed from the A700, and our test results do indicate a significant improvement.

Sony's Alpha-mount lens system is the oldest SLR autofocus system in the business, going back 28 years, so there's a broad and growing selection of lenses to choose from.

The Sony A200's 10.2-megapixel sensor is the same resolution as its predecessor, but it's said to let more light reach each pixel for lower noise and more detail.

Shaped to better match the sensor's 3:2 aspect ratio, the Sony A200's 2.7-inch "Clear Photo" LCD has an anti-reflective coating for easy viewing in the sun, and 230,000 pixels.

A new LCD-based function menu replaces the old dial-based function menu on the A100, and many of the menu functions and systems from the Sony A700 have made their way into the Sony A200.

New to the Sony A200 is a pop-up flash, rather than the old "pull-up" type. Now this consumer camera can deploy the flash in auto modes when necessary. Like most other digital SLRs, the user deploys the flash with a button on the left side of the lens mount housing, by the Sony A200's big orange Alpha logo.

The old battery icon has been augmented with a "percent remaining" indicator on the Sony A200, which reads "100%," in addition to displaying four bars to indicate battery status. Sony has created a new vertical battery grip (VG-B30AM) for the Sony A200 that duplicates many of the controls necessary for vertical shooting, and holds two InfoLITHIUM batteries, making the camera capable of shooting up to 1,500 shots.

Eye-start Autofocus, also from the A100, starts up the autofocus system so the Sony A200 is ready before you even match your eye up to the frame in most cases. Super SteadyShot sensor-based stabilization reduces blurry images with any lens mounted. Sony claims up to 3.5 stops of extra exposure with their body-based image stabilization system. Anti-dust is also built in, with a static-free coating on the CCD's filter that is shaken each time the camera is powered off.

The Sony A200 kit (DSLR-A200K) comes with a DT 18-70mm (3.9x) f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens for an estimated US$600.

A separate Sony A200 kit (DSLR-A200W) includes two lenses: the DT 18-70mm mentioned above, and a 75-300mm f/4.6-5.6 telephoto zoom for an estimated US$800.

Sigma Dp 1 Must Know

Sigma was showing off their digicam slab of tech, the DP1. To the untrained eye, it doesn't look like much. But Sigma's put the same 14.1-megapixel APS-C sized Foveon CMOS sensor used in its SD14 DSLR into this tiny package. There's a f/4, 28-mm (in 35-mm equivalent terms) lens, but what really impressed us was the build quality on this unit -- not a creak or bit of flex to be had on the camera. It's definitely a high-end piece of photo jewelry.

New Lenses On Show At PMA - Great

Manufacturers at this year's PMA show in Las Vegas have announced new additions to their lens ranges. These include Canon, Nikon, Samsung and Pentax, as well as new lenses from third-party manufacturer Tamron. It s different to sony thosiba laptop.

Canon has announced two telephoto lenses in its L series. The 200mm f/2 L IS USM and 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM both boast Image Stabilisation and L series construction, with the latter lens replacing the EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM as the longest lens in Canon's EF range.

Nikon has furnished its AF-S range of lenses, with the AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR and the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED. The company has also announced a new Perspective Control lens, the PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED, as well as confirming the development of two further PC-E lenses, the PC-E Nikkor 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E Micro Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D ED.

Pentax's DA lens range sees the introduction of five new models. The DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED [IF] SDM and DA* 300mm f/4.0 ED [IF] SDM add to the company's telephoto range, with both incorporating aspherical and Extra Low Dispersion elements, as well as a 'Quick Shift Focus System'. Two further zooms have also been announced – the DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL II and the DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED – while the DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited optic completes the new release and joins Pentax's macro lens range.

Samsung had earlier announced two new lenses alongside the launch of its GX-20 DSLR. The D-XENON 18-250mm f/3.5-F6.3 and 18-55mm II F3.5-F5.6 will be available in March, with the 18-55mm lens included in the GX-20 kit option.

Tamron has also unveiled three new lenses. The 17-50mm f/2.8 is now to be made available in a Pentax mount, while the 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 has been designed with both full-frame and APS-C users in mind. A third optic – the SP AF70-200MM F/2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro – has been developed for full-frame sensors and features a wide, constant aperture of f/2.8, an internal focusing mechanism and a magnification ratio of 1:3.1. The lens sits in Tamron's 'Super Performance' range and will be available first in a Canon mount, before Nikon, Pentax and Sony become available.

The company has also announced the development of three further lenses with built-in motors in the Nikon mount. These are the AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II and SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II, as well as the full-frame 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di. Details of pricing and availability are yet to be announced.

Sony Playstation 3

Sony announced the availability of a new entry-level model of 40GB version this coming 2nd November. This version will be priced at $399 and will include the movie Spiderman 3 on a Blu-ray disc