Well, we knew that Sony had two digital SLRs in the works and today they've announced the Sony Alpha A700, targeted at "photo enthusiasts or serious photo hobbyists". The A700 has a 12.2 megapixel EXMOR CMOS sensor, BIONZ processing engine, and in-camera image stabilization. The A700 body will be available in October for $1400. Also available in October will be a kit that has the camera and a 18-70mm lens for $1500. In November, you can get a kit with a 16-105mm lens for $1900.


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Sony is also rolling out two new lenses along with the camera, bringing the lens lineup to 23 models. Coming as a kit lens is the DT 16-105 mm f.3.5 – 5.6. The 35mm equivalent zoom range is 24-157.5mm. The other new one is the DT 18 – 250 mm f3.5 – 6.3 lens. Another premium lens is in the works that will feature a supersonic wave focus motor. The 70 -300 mm f4.5 – 5.6 SSM G lens will be available in Spring 2008.


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Sony Alpha A700 features:

  • 12.2 megapixel EXMOR CMOS sensor
  • 3 inch, 921K pixel LCD
  • In-camera stabilization (Super SteadyShot Inside)
  • BIONZ processing engine
  • New AF system - 11 wide-area sensors, dual cross (two horizontal and two vertical) center area AF sensor
  • Optical viewfinder provides 95% coverage at 0.9x magnification
  • Maximum shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second
  • Continuous shooting up to 5 frames per second - in JPEG fine or standard, you can take as many shots as you have storage for - up to 18 RAW images
  • 14 creative styles that can be fine-tuned
  • Improved Dynamic Range Optimizer - users can select amount of detail preserved in shadow areas
  • HDMI output
  • Dual memory slots - Memory Stick Duo slot that can handle the new Memory Stick PRO-HG high-speed transfer standard and a CompactFlash slot

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