Scout Images

I was lucky enough to be dragged off to the Gold Coast for the June long weekend. Although I was not initially planning to go on this trip I made the most of it and took some photos. Due to the restrictions on baggage (I decided to save a bit of money and fly with carry on only) I only brought along my D60 with my new AF-S DX 16-85mm VR and this was complemented by my Sony CyberShot TX5.

Now most people would head to the Gold Coast in search of the thrills of the various theme parks up there, but this is not what I found myself doing. Instead I visited Springbrook National Park and Burleigh Heads National Park. Although both these trips were short ones, I did manage to get a few images worth sharing. There were countless points in time when I wished I had lugged up my D300 and associated lenses, and other moments when I wished for my tripod and graduated ND filters, but I made do with what I had.

For all of you that were waiting eagerly for more news on Sony’s E-mount based NEX3 and NEX5 I was lucky enough to attend the launch roadshow here in Australia. This event was held at Luna Park and enabled the attendee’s a proper play with these cameras. There were plenty of NEX5′s to go around, each equipped with the 18-55mm lens. There wasn’t a single 16mm pancake in sight though.

What did I think? My first impression was that this thing is pretty well built. It feels solid and reassuring with its generous grip and metal lens body. However as you started to dig deeper and try to use the camera it’s flaws really start to show.

As someone what uses DSLR I naturally was interested to see how Sony had delivered the promise of control. Quite simply they didn’t. The external controls were not ideally positioned with the rear real estated dominated by the nice 920K dot 3″ LCD, leaving the main controls to sit on the far right, right where your thumb rests. This meant that whenever you went for a secure grip (especially in portrait orientation) you inadvertently pressed some buttons. As for actual manual controls….they were frustrating. Using the CyberShot style D-pad to control aperture and shutter speed is neither comfortable, nor easy as unlike most systems scrolling up does not do the opposite of scrolling down when you are trying to switch between shutter and aperture. I definitely prefer the implementation on the Lumix LX-3 and similar compact cameras, or better still, the SLR-like controls found on the EP1/EP2, NX10 and G1/GH1/GF1.

The accessory flash is a nice touch, being small enough to be attached permanently, but at the same time it is incredibly fiddly to mount and remove, and there is no option to mount a larger flash unlike the NEX3/NEX5′s competition. The availability of a dedicated microphone (for video) is a nice touch, as are the lens converters for the 16mm pancake.

Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to take home any photos taken with the NEX5 so I cannot comment on image quality. However, with it’s 14.2MP Exmor CMOS sensor it should be close to that of the Alpha A550 (which may be the source of this sensor).

Here are a few snaps of the event (taken with my Sony TX5 compact which has a backlit Exmor R CMOS).

After a long period of debate (refer here) I have finally added a fisheye to my kit bag. It has not been smooth sailing, with the process of obtaining this lens having been a bit of a rollercoaster ride in itself (with a DOA lens and a bit of wait before a replacement lens could be sourced), however I am glad to be able to say that I am very happy with my purchase and have to send a huge thank you the folks at HK Supplies who have made what could have been a stressful situation somewhat easiser.

As the title suggest, I am now the proud owner of a Tokina AT-X 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 Fisheye…the only zoom fisheye available (the Pentax 10-17mm is essentially the same lens in a different shell). This lens gets me out of trouble with my film/DX digital kit as it is fishy on both formats.

I just wanted to share some of my first pictures with this lens, taken a few days ago, along with a few from the Sony Cybershot Twilight Cruise event, where the TX-1 and the WX-1 was introduced to retailers in the Sydney region. Unfortunately I do not have any sample images from these cameras.

I have just come home from attending Sony’s CREATE Roadshow where I was told about the new Sony Alpha DSLR line up. Everyone there also got a chance to spend a few hours with the A330 – the middle of the road in this new lineup.

Whats new? At first glance the new cameras have shrunk and have had a nice facelift, becoming an attractive two tone (gunmetal/black) package. However the first glance does not tell the truth…picking up the camera it appears that Sony has forgotten about ergonomics. The grip on these cameras (the A330 and A380 being the same body with a different sensor, and the A230 being a very similar body with the Live View functions and tilt screen removed) is deep but thin at the same time, leaving you with a grip that is uncomfortable with most hands. The buttons have been redesigned to mirror those of the CyberShot cameras closely “to aid the transition to DSLR”, but IMHO this has two fold ramifications for the end user. Firstly, there is a larger difference between the control set of these camreas and those higher up in the line up which will cause problems for Sony as their new users grow into the enthusiast/professional cameras, and there is a definite handicap with the ease of use the camera in a full manual mode.

The woes in the design do not end here. The redesigned GUI interface is nice, but at the same time the menu system has become more convoluted and harder to use with the splitting of controls into two distinct menu systems (activated by the menu button and the Fn button). This will require the user to remember where each feature is located, unlike the older Alpha menu system and the Nikon menu system which has a quick access menu as well as the full menu which contains all the options.

Furthermore, the direction pad that previously allowed the user to quickly set the AF point (when in the Local AF mode) has become a pad with hot keys to control ISO, Display, Flash and Burst/Self-timer/Remote. Although having these hot keys is nice and downsizing the number of buttons is good, this has meant that you have to dig into 2nd level menus to change your local AF point which is a BIG problem. As a final point, the cut down body size has meant that the menu button and the Aperture/Exposure compenstation buttons have been awkwardly placed on the top of the camera, further detracting from the ergonomics of the camera and making the Menu button rather hard to find.

Sony has decided to ditch the compact flash cards in these cameras, which is neither a good or bad thing, but the good news is that these cameras have a dual card slots for SD and MS which is more than welcome (is this a sign to the end of the MS card??). These cameras also sport a new (recycled from HandyCam) battery, which is smaller so I am assuming that this will be reflected in the battery life of the camera.

All of these cameras have the same 10/14MP ratings as the models they replace, there have been no actual physical upgrades between these 3rd generation Sony DSLRs and their 2nd generation cousins. In fact I could not find the wireless mode for the pop up flash on the A330 which I was using. The AF seemed to be similar to the older models as did the capture time, image quality did not appear to be improved, but I cannot comment on this unless I get an actual sample unit to confirm and compare.

The camera that I was issued (as was every other camera there) was fitted with Sony’s new 18-55mm lens, whihc to their credit, looks and feels like an improvment on the 18-70mm lens that it replaces. This lens was noticeably faster and quieter than the older kit lens.

The Good

• Dual SD and MS card slots
• 18-55 lens
• In body image stabiliser (Steady Shot)
• Quick AF Live View (A330/A380 only)
• Tilt screen (A330/A380 only – although this implementation is not as good as that of the Nikon D500 and the Olympus E-620/E-30)

The Bad

• Compromised control set
• Awkward grip
• Button placement

Overall, I feel that this is a step backwards for Sony. No doubt their marketing machine will ensure sales of these cameras, I have failed to see any significant changes to justify the purchase of these newer cameras over their older counterparts that are ergonomically superior and have more features. The new interface does not inspire confidence and users who want more control will quickly find that access is hampered and will either upgrade or move to a competitor. Unless there is a significant improvement in image quality (especially at high ISO) there seems little point in upgrading or choosing one of this new series over the older model which can be bought for cheaper.

Please keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts that have been deducted from a short hands on session (only a bit over 2 hrs) with the A330 (which is identical to the A380 and very similar to the A230) and does not take image quality into consideration. Please look at further reviews for a more information, or even better, compare the two generations of camera side by side.