Breaking the buying strike.

Yesterday I stated my decision to stay with Sony and in that I also listed a couple of things I was going to discuss later; they were what my 'final' lens line-up plan was and how I had chosen to mark my decision to remain in the A mount when I broke my buying strike.

So, first things first, my 'final' lens line-up. Ok, even before that, whay do I insist on qualifying the word "final". Well thats pretty simple, because final only ever is final until a new lens is announced that makes me want to change my list. Also, occasioanlly opportunities will crop up to add something extra at little cost that I might choose to take. Now with that out of the way what is my 'final' list. Well I'll start with overall design of the list, basically its long slow high quality zooms with generally fast, high quality primes. So the list is:

Zooms:

Sony 16-80 3.5-4.5 CZ

Sony 70-400 4-5.6 G

Primes:

Sigma 20 1.8 EX

Sony 24 2.0 CZ

Sony 35 1.4 G

Sony 50 1.4

Sony 85 1.4 CZ

Sony 135 1.8 CZ

The Sigma 20 1.8 might look out of place in this list but really there is nothing in the a-mount better than this lens anyway.

There are a few things interesting in this list when comparing it to other brands. The first is that its a line-up that has no apologies to make. This line-up of lenses is as good as any you can get from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, or (dare I say it) Leica. At this point I should acknowledge that I know I can get a much cheaper line-up with not a huge drop in quality so why am I aiming at all these CZ's and G's? Basically because I want to give myself no excuses, no reason to think that the equipment is holding me back. In short,if I cant make great images with this line-up I should just give up any pretensions to being a photographer. And, lets be really honest, I can afford it - not all at once, it may take years to build the full line-up, but if I'm careful I can do this without taking from my family.

Secondly, what is also really interesting is that the costs are very, very similar no matter which brand I choose to go with. This line-up with Sony, Canon or Nikon all fall within a few hundred dollars of each other. So much for the myth of Sony being an expensive brand I suppose.

Now whilst this is my final wish list (until I change it) these wont be the only lenses I buy or own. I have a couple of other pieces of the glass I'm either going to just keep or buy in addition to this list. The most obvious addition will be E mount lenses. These form a completely different range and so aren't discussed any more here. The second is the Sony Easy Choice range, that is the 30 2.8 Macro, 85 2.8 SAM, and 35 1.8 DT SAM. I love that these lenses are so small, so portable and so so cheap. Given the very small investment I will almost certainly be picking up some of these.

So, how did I break my buying strike?

Today I picked up the 70-400 G, 30 2.8 DT SAM Macro and 85 2.8 DT SAM. I am so stoked.

My guesses at an A850 spec

Well the A700 is getting on, there are strong rumours of an A500/550 pair that is likely to fill up the space the A700 currently occupies so the only way is up for the A850. So developing my theory of the A850 as an uber APS body to go head to head with the Nikon D400 here's my theory.

Body. About A700 sized, wouldn't be surprised to see more sealing, bigger VF. This seems to be something Sony is staking a claim on. Some small cues to the new 230/330/380 line but not much. Sony will be sticking to the minimalist, little bling look of the A900 at this point. On this point, Sony will stick to CF - justified or not, its the 'serious' choice.

Sensor. I suspect Sony will push the sensor to match the K7/50D so expect something in the 14-16 Mp range. I anticipate that ISO performance will continue to improve but not at the rate some will want. So I reakon we'll get a few more Mp and between half and a full stop better iso performance. Yeah it will still lag the very best in class but so what, it'll still be amazing.

Live View. I believe Sony will give us main sensor LV and will claim that its line about doing it properly applied to getting contrast detect AF working really well in a DSLR. On that point I think Sony will give us a really good LV AF module. Possible - see speed and displays.

Video. I think it'll come with video with a lot of bells and whistles. This is an area Sony should absolutely nail. On a side point, I wouldnt be surprised to see Sony Vegas movie studio shipped with the camera.

Phase Detect AF. This is an interesting one. Part of me would not be surprised to see Sony forgo huge leaps in this form of AF, thinking that we are only a generation from full EVAL cameras and this is a dead end. But while possible I dont think thats where we'll go. AF cross points is the new 'headline' feature - I'm guessing we'll get at least 5, probably 7, possibly 9. I also think we'll see a corresponding increase in 'assist' points. So we'll be looking at something like 20 AF points. All this will come with the usual claims. Again it will trail the Nikons and Canon 1 series but it will be closer than ever before.

Metering. I'd be surprised if there were major changes here. Not a headline feature or a particularly compelling review point. Not saying the current system is great but look at this site, even amongst us geeks its not a topic we give a lot of time to.

Speed. Ok, here it gets exciting (for some). My guess - 10 FPS - why? These things tend to come in round numbers. Data rates simply arent an issue with something like a 15 Mp sensor and state of the art chips.

While unlikely, its possible Sony might feel adventurous and catch us by surprise here. Perhaps a killer contrast detect LV AF, an electronic shutter and an LV 20-30 fps mode.

Controls/displays. Pretty much what we have. Probable. Incremental improvement plus some modification to incorporate video. Possible. Sony must be keen to get an OLED display out there soon, this camera is a likely candidate. Might trade a slightly smaller, tilting OLED for current LCD. OLED tech could also be one of the things that takes LV from toy to truly useful with significantly better angle of view, sunlight and colour performance.

Customisation. Really part of controls I guess. Pretty simple - more. Not as much as the D300 but a lot closer. (yes I realise Nikon will have the D400).

Other bits and pieces. Probable. Frankly I expect in body GPS and some form of wireless data transfer. Lens micro adjust will be there to I suppose. Possible. Some of the stuff appearing on new superzooms like auto panos, face detect, etc

Price. $US1900

Conclusion. I seriously believe this camera is possible in 2009, whether its possible for Sony is perhaps another question. I think it is but then again I'm used to being disappointed.