Sony launches three high-end cameras, priced Rs 84,990 onwards

Strangely, Sony has been the most innovative camera manufacturer over the past year, not Canon, not Nikon. After the stupendous success of its RX100 premium compact camera in India, the company has now launched a ‘bridge-style’ Cyber-shot RX10 promsing great picture quality in a compacy body. It has also announced two high-end full frame mirrorless cameras, the Alpha 7 and Alpha 7R. The Cyber-shot RX10 will have a fixed Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-200mm F2.8 lens which will cover almost all the needs of the average user from macro to the telephoto. The F2.8 maximum aperture means the camera will do well in low light, but not as good as the F1.8 lens on the RX100 series. Like in the DSC-RX100 II, the 20.2 effective megapixels (approximate) 1.0-type back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor is around four times bigger than those in standard compact cameras. The camera also has Full HD video in 50p or cinematic 25p frame rates. To assist in video recording there will be a audio level meter with adjustable levels. Plus, on-board Wi-Fi allows easy one-touch connection with an Xperia or any other NFC-compatible Android smartphone or tablet. The Cyber-shot RX10 can also connect to an iOS device over the air. The camera will be available by the end of December and will cost Rs 84,990. While the Alpha 7 has 24.3 effective megapixels, the 7R has a stupendous 36.4 effective megapixels. The camera will also usher in six new full-frame lenses in this range. The 35mm full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor in both cameras incorporates light concentration and photo diode expansion technologies, while the Alpha 7R also features a new ‘gapless’ on-chip lens design that eliminates gaps between adjacent pixels. These advances increase light collection efficiency, achieving outstanding resolution, sensitivity and low noise while circumventing the challenge of decreased pixel size due to the extremely high pixel count.These cameras too have Wi-Fi and NFC. While the Alpha 7 is priced at Rs 94,990, the 7R will cost Rs 1,24,990.