The Feldman File covers eBooks, publishing, new media, Internet services, consumer electronics and salsa dancing. (Okay, not salsa dancing, but it'll be interesting to see how many people looking for information on salsa dancing end up here.)
According to Digital Photography Review, Sony has officially announced its first full-frame DSLR in four years--the A99. Technically, the A99 isn't a DSLR, because it uses the transparent mirror technology of Sony's other Alpha cameras. Sony claims that its mirror design enables the A99 to be the lightest full-frame DSLR on the market (1.79 lb. including batteries.) Instead of an optical viewfinder, it has a 2.4 Megapixel OLED viewfinder. It's also got a 1.23 Megapixel LCD display with hinges that allow it to be tilted, swiveled and reversed (it also makes great julienne fries.) As with all Alpha cameras, it's got a Sony A lens mount. The A99 has a 24MP sensor with dual phase detection auto-focus systems. It can output 14-bit RAW images with an ISO range of 100-25,600. The A99 can shoot up to 6 frames per second in burst mode, and has a built-in GPS. Storage options are Memory Stick PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo, and SD, SDHC and SDXC cards.
On the video side, the A99 fully implements AVCHD 2.0, with frame rates up to 1080p60 at 28Mbps and 1080i60 at 24 Mbps. It also outputs uncompressed video over its HDMI interface to an external recorder or monitor. The A99 has microphone inputs and a headphone output, and an optional stereo XLR adapter connects to the camera's intelligent hot shoe. A "silent control dial" next to the lens allows a variety of settings to be changed without bumping the camera during recording.
The A99 will be available in October at approximately $2,800 for body only; the XLR adapter will priced at $800 and will also be available in October. I can certainly understand Sony's decision not to burden the design of the A99 with XLR inputs for customers who only plan to use it for still photography, but $800 for the XLR adapter seems steep to me--that's almost a third of the price of the camera itself.
If you already own an A900 and are looking for a replacement, or you've got a collection of A-mount lenses and want to upgrade to full-frame, the A99 will be your obvious choice. For other buyers, however, side-by-side testing against comparable models from Canon and Nikon over the next few weeks and months will reveal the A99's strengths and weaknesses.
The blog writes that Sony is working on a new Alpha model, the A99, that should compete on a fairly equal level with Canon's 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III, as well as Nikon's D800. The A99 is rumored to have a 102-point autofocus system--more detailed that that of the D800 (51 points) or the 5D Mark III (61 points). The A99's video capabilities are supposed to be superior to those of any of Sony's previous still cameras. According to Sony Alpha Rumors, a new flash will provide continuous light for video shooting, and the camera will be designed to equally facilitate still photography and video--a challenge given the very different form-factors of still cameras and camcorders.
Sony Alpha Rumors doesn't give any dates for announcement and shipment, and the rumors have been floating around for a while--for example, the one about the 102-point autofocus system dates back to last March. However, it's clear that in order to be fully competitive in cameras, Sony needs a high-end model. Whether it's the A99 or another model, it's likely that Sony's working on a camera that can compete directly with Canon's and Nikon's best.
Two memory card slots--one for Secure Digital, and the other for SD or Memory Sticks
According to Photorumors, the A99 will be announced by Sony on September 12th and will be available in stores in October, for a price of around $2,800. I have my doubts about the announcement date, given that Apple's announcement of the new iPhone is widely rumored to be on that same date, and that would bury coverage of any other product announcements on the same day.]
Nikon Rumors reports that Nikon submitted its Coolpix S800 to the Indonesian Communication Agency for approval. According to the blog, the Coolpix S800 is expected to run Android Gingerbread (2.3.X) and will run all Google Play apps that are backward-compatible with Gingerbread. Nikon Rumors writes that the Coolpix S800 could be announced on August 22nd.
The S800 makes no pretense of being a professional camera--it's a point & shoot. Here are a few of the expected specifications:
What makes the S800 interesting is that it's based on Android. What could app developers do with a real camera, instead of having to make do with the limited functionality of the cameras in today's smartphones? Even more interesting is the possibility of a DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that runs Android, and whose functionality can be modified with third-party apps.
On the cover of the current issue of "TWICE" (This Week in Consumer Electronics,) there's an ad for Nikon's cameras with the tagline "There's a Nikon for Everyone." It got me thinking about something I noticed at the Sony and Panasonic booths at last week's NAB conference. These companies have so many different camcorders and cinema cameras that even the people selling them can't keep track of all of them. For example, when I was in the Sony booth, I couldn't find the 35mm cinema cameras (NEX-FS100, FS700, F3, etc.) I asked one of Sony's salespeople where they were, and she said that all of the company's cameras were on display in the huge circular "camera pit" at the center of the booth. I'd walked around the entire pit and hadn't seen the 35mm cameras, so I went around again but didn't find them. It turned out that the 35mm cameras were in a completely separate section of the booth.
There are so many products that they overlap each other in price and functionality. The same is also true for still cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony and others, and smartphones from Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, etc. Makers of notebook and desktop computers have the same problem--just look at the proliferation of models at HP, Dell and Acer. Manufacturers make so many models in order to avoid losing a sale, but they wind up confusing potential customers. Each of these products costs a significant amount of money to develop, manufacture and support. Resources that could be used to develop entirely new products are instead used to create minor product variations to fit into every conceivable price point.
Apple is a great example of a better approach to the problem. At any one time, Apple has a single line of smartphones, tablets, and notebook, all-in-one, mini and full-sized desktop computers, each of which is refreshed once a year. Apple continues to sell a single version of the previous year's tablet and smartphone (two years in the case of phones) at lower prices. Each computer line has four or five models, which vary by display size and processor. When a new computer line is launched, the previous line is discontinued. It covers all the price points, yet it's simple for consumers to understand and for Apple to sell. It also works well with Apple's strategy of making product announcements into newsworthy events.
Sony lost $6.4 billion last year; Panasonic lost $10.2 billion. They no longer have the money to invest in endless product proliferation--which might explain the relatively paltry number of new products shown by Panasonic at NAB. They, and companies like Canon, Nikon, Samsung, etc., would be well advised to focus on fewer, better products that are clearly differentiated from competitors and from each other.
For DSLR digital cinematography fans, Nikon has been a continual source of frustration: Their DSLRs are superb still cameras, but video has always been an afterthought for the company--more an item on a marketing checklist than a well-implemented feature. However, Nikon's new D800 might change that. EOSHD reports on one of the first D800 video samples, footage shot at a temple in Taiwan. The video is gorgeous--far better than video shot on Nikon's D4, and with much more detail than video from Canon's new 5D Mark III, which has been roundly criticized for the softness of its images.
For its part, DxO Labs tested the D800 and said that its imager is the best that it's ever tested, with a rating of 95 out of 100. It had extremely accurate color rendition, the best dynamic range they've ever measured (14.4 stops) and excellent low-light performance (the ability to go to 2853 ISO without compromising image quality). They said that the D800's imager is about as close as you can get to medium-format performance in a DSLR imager. This performance is especially impressive given the 36.3 MP resolution of the D800's imager. In general, for a given imager size (such as APS-C), the higher an imager's resolution, the worse its low-light performance will be. Nikon has managed to combine excellent low-light performance with very high resolution.
DxO didn't test the D800 in video mode, but the video found by EOSHD suggests that the quality of the D800 is very good. However, Nikon still hasn't figured out a way to do 60P in 1920 x 1280. 60P is only supported at 1280 x 720 resolution; 1920 x 1280 supports 30P and 24P. Also, the D800's very high resolution could result in rolling shutter and moire problems; much more testing of the camera's video mode is needed. In short, I wouldn't rush out and place an order for a D800 yet, but the camera is shaping up to be a serious option for digital cinematography.
Sony's new Alpha SLT-A57 is Sony's most important entry-level DSLR (yes, it's actually an EVIL design, but in a DSLR-like body) to date. Here's some of the new camera's features:
A 1.44 megapixel LCD viewfinder
10 fps continuous shooting mode with autofocus
Autofocus built into the body rather than the lenses
1920 x 1080 video at 60P or 24P (50P and 25P in Europe), with AVCHD 2.0 compression
A bigger battery, the same as the A65 and A77
The A57, with a kit 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 lens, will have a suggested list price of $799. The body alone will cost $699. As Digital Photography Review points out, the A57 is a slightly feature-reduced version of the A65 with a 16 MP imager instead of the 24.3 MP imager in the A65, for $300 less. It's going to be a serious alternative to Canon's T3i and Nikon's D5100, especially for videographers. It's also a better value for the money than Sony's own NEX cameras, although it's considerably larger.
Digital Photography Review has a site where you can compare images from the A57 with those from a variety of other cameras side-by-side. Click here to visit their site.
The rule over the years for camera and camcorder manufacturers has been to make a model for every need and every price point. Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic sell everything from inexpensive point & shoots to DSLRs. All but Nikon do the same with camcorders--prices run from around $100 for YouTube-focused models to upwards of $100,000 for digital cinema cameras.
The "model for every purpose and every pocket" approach means that, as a manufacturer, you won't miss a sale because you don't have a model that a customer can afford or can use, but it has some significant downsides. One is that it's expensive to develop new camera designs, both in terms of money and time. Canon's new C300 digital cinema camera took two years to develop, and that was considered a "fast track" project that required adapting the electronics from an older camcorder design in order to meet its deadline. In addition, as development budgets get strained, it's necessary to "milk" designs by releasing cameras that are minor variations on each other. Not to pick on Canon again, but the T2i, 60D and T3i DSLRs are very similar to each other, with minor differences in areas such as LCD mountings and video settings.
There's another side-effect of having so many models--features are deliberately left out of some lower-priced models in order to avoid cannibalizing sales of more-expensive ones. Sony is famous for this; for example, a big reason that the FS100 only has a HDMI output instead of HD-SDI is to avoid cannibalizing sales of the F3 camcorder. There's no technical reason why the FS100 can't have HD-SDI--the less-expensive Panasonic AF-100 has it, and it was introduced a year before the FS100.
Some companies practice another approach--build a limited number of models (or even a single model) of camera or camcorder, with a very specific target market or application. That brings us to GoPro, a camcorder company based in Half Moon Bay, California. GoPro only sells two models: The HD Hero and the new HD Hero2. Physically, the two cameras are almost identical to each other, but the Hero2 has improved electronics and optics. There's about $60-$70 difference between the two models, and none of them sell for more than $300. According to company founder Nick Woodman, GoPro initially built ruggedized cameras for use by surfers and skiers, but they were designed to be used by two people--one to surf or ski, and the other to shoot the action. Woodman's revelation, and the core principle behind everything that GoPro sells, is that athletes want to take video or still pictures of themselves in the act, or from their point of view. That meant that GoPro's cameras needed to not only be ruggedized--they had to be tiny, operate automatically, and be mountable just about anywhere.
GoPro sells a suite of mounting kits that allow its cameras to be mounted anywhere from the exterior of a race car to a surfboard. The company has a library of incredible footage shot underwater, on skydivers, mountain bikes, snow skis, skateboards, even as the payload for a weather balloon at the edge of space. It also has accessories to make the cameras easier to aim, extend their battery lives, transmit their video via Wi-Fi and gang two cameras together for 3D video. Yet all of it is based on the same camera design, for the same fundamental application.
I was amazed by how crowded the GoPro booth was at the NAB conference last April. This is a under-$300 camera, yet broadcast professionals were packed into the booth. GoPro's cameras are used for shooting the contestants' points of view on reality game shows, for recording experiments on Discovery's "Mythbusters", and for use almost anywhere danger is involved. Two thoughts went through my mind:
Someone is going to buy Woodman Labs, the parent of GoPro, and
Surely one of the big Japanese camera or camcorder makers will jump into the market.
I certainly hope that Woodman Labs isn't sold--the scariest example of what could happen is what happened when Cisco acquired Flip Digital. Before the acquisition, Flip was the leader in the market for inexpensive, simple-to-use camcorders. Earlier this year, due both to competition from smartphones and mismanagement, Cisco shut down Flip completely. Whenever a big company buys a small, focused company, it's usually the small company that suffers. As for the second possibility, a Japanese competitor could try to copy GoPro's ideas, but they'll stumble on their need to be all things to all people. To build a viable competitor, you need to understand GoPro's markets and applications as well as GoPro does, and that's hard when you're also trying to build cameras for every possible market and application.
Had GoPro tried to enter the general-purpose camera or camcorder markets, it would have had its head handed to it. Instead, it dominates the point-of-view market, which it can effectively defend. There's a lesson there, not just for other small companies but for the big camera makers as well. It may be time to focus on a few markets instead of trying to compete in all of them.
Nikon finally entered the small-form-factor interchangeable lens camera (sometimes called EVIL) market with a new system, called Nikon 1. The first two members of the Nikon 1 family are the J1 and V1. Both models use a new 1" 10MP CX sensor developed by Nikon (hence the "Nikon 1" name). Both the size and the resolution of the sensor are substantially smaller than the sensors used by Panasonic and Olympus in their Micro Four-Thirds cameras, or by Sony in its NEX-series cameras. The smaller sensor gives the Nikon cameras a larger crop factor (2.7x) than its competition (for example, a 100mm lens on a Nikon 1 camera would be comparable to 270mm.)
The J1 is the entry-level model in the Nikon 1 line. It has an electronic shutter that limits sync speed to 1/60th of a second, but that operates at up to 1/16,000th of a second. It's got a 73-point autofocus system that switches between phase- and contrast-detection to get the best focus under current lighting conditions, and a 3", 460,000 pixel resolution LCD. Its burst rate with adaptive autofocus is 10 fps, and a blazing 60 fps when focus is locked. In video mode, it can record at 1080i60 and 1080p30. It's got lower-resolution slo-mo modes at 400 and 1,200 fps, as well as a somewhat confusing Motion Snapshot mode that records brief clips at 1080p60 but plays them back at 1080p24 for a slow-motion effect. The J1 will ship in the U.S. on October 20th with a 10-30mm lens for $649.95.
The V1 is the "enthusiast" Nikon 1 model. It's positioned by Nikon as the world's smallest camera with both an .47', 1.44MP resolution electronic viewfinder and interchangeable lenses. It has both an electronic and mechanical shutter; the electronic shutter is the same as in the J1, and the mechanical shutter supports sync speeds of up to 1/250th of a second and can operate up to 1/4000th of a second. The V1 also has connections for stereo microphones and a "multi-accessory" port for attaching a speedlight or GPS module. Other than these features, the V1 is functionally identical to the J1. The V1 will also ship in the U.S. on October 20th with a 10-30mm lens for $899.95.
Nikon also announced a range of lenses for the Nikon 1 cameras: The 10-30mm zoom included with the two new cameras, a 30-110mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens, a 10-100mm f4.5/5.6 power zoom for movies, and a 10mm f2.8 pancake lens. Nikon will also offer the FT-1 F-mount adapter for using conventional Nikkor lenses with Nikon 1 cameras. Prices and availability have not yet been announced.
I have to admit that I'm underwhelmed by the Nikon 1 cameras and lenses, based at least on their specifications. The 1" CX sensor is both substantially smaller and lower-resolution than either the Micro Four-Thirds or APS-C sensors. Nikon compensates to a degree with the camera's hybrid autofocus system and very fast burst rate (up to 60 fps with focus locked), but I doubt that's going to be enough to save these cameras. Nikon says that it's pursuing consumers who want better cameras than point & shoot models, and who want interchangeable lenses without the complexity of DSLRs. The problem is that the new Nikon models don't appear to be significantly smaller, cheaper or easier to use than competitive cameras that take better pictures and are more flexible (although the new hybrid autofocus system is a significant advance). In addition, the big plus of the Nikon 1s, their fast burst rate, is of most use in applications such as sports photography, where image quality is a paramount consideration.
Nikon's new lenses are also fairly slow, especially the power zoom, which negates some of the cameras' depth-of-field advantages. On paper, at least, there's not much about the Nikons that would cause anyone other than a devoted Nikon customer to buy them, rather than buying a Sony, Panasonic or Olympus model.
Maximum recording time 20 minutes per clip (multiple clips can be recorded if there's sufficient memory)
Built-in mono microphone with jack for external stereo mic
And now, the price: In the U.S., the list price of the D7000 without lens will be $1,199.95, and $1,499.95 for a D7000 with a 18‐105mm f/3.5‐5.6G ED VR lens. Nikon will begin shipping the camera next month.
The D7000 is priced just above Canon's 60D and well below the 7D, and it has continuous video autofocus that neither the 60D nor 7D have. Once formal reviews start coming out, we'll know much more.
Update, 7 September 2010: According to EOSHD.com, Ichiro Takagi, Deputy President of Sony's Imaging Business Group, announced that Sony will be adding manual video controls to some of its NEX- and Alpha-series DSLRs (most likely the NEX-5 and Alpha A55, although Takagi-san didn't mention specific models.) The new firmware is to be formally announced at Photokina at the end of the month, so unless Sony announces yet more new models between now and then, the firmware will upgrade existing models. (Now, if Nikon will only get on board...)Nikon and Sony have recently announced two important DSLRs: The D3100 from Nikon and the A55 from Sony. Both cameras have 1080P (at least under some conditions), both have continuous autofocus in video mode, and both are priced very aggressively (especially the D3100). However, both are missing something every important: Manual controls in video mode.They do video in full auto only.
Both cameras support both manual and full auto operation in photo mode, so all the capabilities for supporting manual video are built in. Everything, that is, except for manual support in the cameras' firmware. Why did Nikon and Sony choose not to implement manual video mode? One argument is that given the target audience for these cameras, first-time DSLR owners moving up from point-and-shoots, manual video would be too difficult to use and too intimidating. However, shooting good pictures in manual still mode isn't easy, yet both cameras can do it.
In my opinion, the reason reason why Nikon and Sony have left out manual mode is that they don't want to cannibalize other, more-expensive products. Nikon is likely to have a higher-end DSLR with manual video mode coming very soon for $1,000 or more (U.S.), and to date, Sony's position on full manual is that if you want that, you'll have to buy one of their camcorders. Only Canon has gotten it right, with 1080P and full manual control in the T2i/550. Canon, which sells at least as many DSLRs as Nikon and quite a few more than Sony, trusts its customers to be able to flip the necessary switch to enable or disable manual control.
Manufacturers have the right to put whatever features they want into their DSLRs. However, if a customer wants manual video control, they're not going to accept full auto, and if they can't find manual in a camera in one product line at a price they can afford, they'll buy a camera from someone else.
Nikon has introduced the D3100, a replacement for the D3000 and a direct competitor for Canon's Rebel T2i. Most importantly for readers of this blog, the D3100 is the first Nikon DSLR that can do full 1080P video, albeit only at 24fps (faster frame rates require 720P.) It's also got continuous autofocus in video mode, which only the Panasonic GH1 and G2 have been able to do.
In Zacuto's DSLR shootout, Nikon's D3S had the best low-light performance but took a backseat in most of the other tests due to being limited to 720P. The Nikon D3000 has nowhere near the extended ISO exposure range of the D3S, but it's an indicator that a professional-level 1080P DSLR is coming from Nikon.
One of the most impressive features of the D3100 is its price: With an 18-55mm zoom lens, its list price in the U.S. is $699.95, almost exactly $200 less than the T2i with a comparable 18-55mm lens. For those photographers who already own Nikons and have an investment in Nikon lenses, the D3100 means that they can move into video without losing their investment.
Before you go rush out and buy a D3100, you should wait until experts such as Philip Bloom and Nino Leitner and blogs like Digital Photography Review have a chance to test it. Resolution is just one of the many factors affecting video quality and performance, and we don't yet know what compromises Nikon made in order to get to the D3100's low price. Nevertheless, the D3100 is proof that Nikon is taking video seriously and intends to keep up with Canon.
The new generation of high-quality, video-enabled DSLRs is thoroughly changing both the high-end still camera and camcorder markets. It's now inconceivable for a manufacturer to release a $1,000+ DSLR without some sort of HD video capability. Even Sony, the lone holdout, is rumored to be biting the bullet on November 18 with a HD-capable DSLR that will compete with the Panasonic GH1. (Technically, the GH1 isn't a DSLR, it's a Micro Four Thirds camera without a viewfinder, but it does everything that a DSLR does.)
The ironic thing is that RED, the company that made cinematic video production much more affordable with the RED One, first identified the need for print photojournalists to be able to shoot competent video without having to carry two cameras. It rechanneled its development effort for the Scarlet, which was originally supposed to be an inexpensive, handheld 2K camcorder, into a video-capable DSLR. That was almost two years ago, and not only has RED not yet shipped the Scarlet, it hasn't even provided a definitive list of features or release date.
When the Scarlet comes to market, it will have to compete with a variety of products from virtually every major DSLR manufacturer, at price points starting around $1,000 to over $5,000, with a huge range of capabilities. While Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, etc. weren't educated about the market opportunity solely by RED, it didn't do RED any good to tell its competitors so early about what it was doing. In my opinion, the early announcement was sheer hubris: "We beat you with the RED One, and we'll beat you again with the Scarlet."
Once you make a product announcement, you have to get the product to market quickly. You cannot assume that your competitors are too slow or too dimwitted to respond. The first time around, competitors took RED for granted because they were a new company, run by someone from outside the broadcast electronics business. Lots of companies like that had announced products, perhaps even shipped a few, and then sank beneath the waves. But RED was for real, and its competitors learned to pay attention.
If you're a new entrant into a market, you usually get one free pass where your competitors underestimate or dismiss you. Once you become successful, you're on their radar, and the requirement to get to market quickly becomes paramount.
I previously wrote about the restart of Red's Scarlet project, apparently to turn it into a still and video Digital SLR. The Scarlet, of course, was supposed to cost $3,000, and Red fanboys everywhere have been waiting breathlessly. Well, the first HD video from Canon's new 5D Mark II has shown up (thanks to our friends from Gizmodo), and it looks awfully good. The 5D can be had from Ritz, a reputable dealer, for under $2,700 without lens, or for about $3,500 with a lens. The video referenced by Gizmodo used 11 different lenses, so this was anything but a simple production. Nevertheless, pro photographers, the market targeted by Canon, buy lenses all the time, and still lenses cost a small fraction of the cost of video lenses. This is why Red made its move.
There's still plenty of market opportunity for Red, but as Jim Jannard said, the market has changed (dramatically), and the Scarlet, with its fixed lens and video-only orientation, simply wouldn't have cut it when it reached the market next year.
Well, so much for the Red Scarlet, the $3,000 3K video camera scheduled for release next Spring. Here's a quote from Jim Jannard, the founder of Red: "We have changed everything about Scarlet because the market has changed and we have discovered a lot of things in the process. We have a new vision. Wipe you (sic) minds of the past announced Scarlet. Forget the design and forget the price. It is all different now. We think you will be surprised. Glad we didn't take any deposits... :-) ."
Red has recently been talking about introducing its own digital SLR (DSLR) still camera. With the recent introduction of digital SLRs from Nikon and Canon that can shoot HD video, the functions of still and video cameras are blurring, especially for press photographers who are increasingly called upon to shoot video for websites. There's a real opportunity to release a DSLR that does stills and video equally well, so Red had the choice of building two cameras (the Scarlet and a DSLR), or building one. They've apparently chosen to build one, which will be the redesigned Scarlet.
This only reinforces what I've said in the past: Don't believe anything about a product until you can buy it. The milled aluminum mockup that they showed at NAB is probably being melted down as I write this.
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