Yesterday, TechRadar reported on Sony’s unveiling of a new 24.6MP full-frame CMOS sensor for use in DSLR cameras. Today, it seems, Sony is already showing off the first digital camera that will employ it.
Well, almost. The new model that's currently on display in Sony’s booth at the PMA photographic conference in Las Vegas doesn’t actually have a proper name just yet, and is instead being referred to as a ‘flagship model’. Sony hasn’t given away any real details about it either, although the company has claimed it will ship before the end of the year.
What is known about Sony’s new high-end DSLR is that it’ll employ the 24.6MP sensor unveiled yesterday and feature Sony’s own in-camera image stabilisation technology, otherwise known as Super Steady Shot.
Sony targeting Canon and Nikon
The new model will also sport a 3.5-inch LCD screen on the back, which is apparently capable of delivering 1MP of resolution. There’s no word yet on whether the LCD screen will be Live View-enabled, but we wouldn’t be surprised to discover that it is.
So, where does all this leave us? Or more to the point, where does it leave Nikon’s D3 and Canon’s EOS-1Ds Mark III flagship full-frame models? Between them, the two companies have the professional DSLR system-building market as good as sewn up. Does this latest move by Sony signal that another player is about to enter the market, or will the new model just be a standalone premium product?
Of course, only time will tell as to whether Sony really has the desire or the willpower to compete at the uppermost reaches of the pro DSLR market. Sony will be well aware that most pros are more interested in complete systems than individual camera bodies – however advanced they might be – and Sony doesn’t yet have the lenses or the accessories to compete with either of its rivals on that front.
