To infinity and Bionz

Beyond belief the new Sony Alpha 100 camera is (to imitate that wise old Jedi knight). Or, more precisely, "Bionz" belief.

For ordinary camera-users like us, merely content to point and shoot, the clutch of new cameras on the market could leave us dazed and confused. So many questions, so many choices, so much confusion. What camera works best when you want to capture a Monet-like landscape where ponds and fronds make up one green and orange universe? What instrument to use when you want to take iconic portraits a la Mick Rock immortalizing David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop? What gadget can capture the final throes of a sunset before everything turns impenetrably dark? What about taking photos on the run like a gunslinger shooting from the hip?

For Sony, a corporation that manufactures a wide range of digital cameras (aside from audio, video, game, communications, key device and IT products), versatility is key.

Sony Philippines invited members of the media to Tokyo, Japan, for the launch of the Sony Digital Single-Lens Reflex (D-SLR) Alpha 100 camera, which has the Bionz image-processing engine and the 10.2 mega-pixel high-resolution CCD, among other features. Sony executives hope to provide everyone from pros to hobbyists with a versatile camera that is easy to use and capable of capturing high-quality pictures that Monet or Mick Rock would probably approve of.

The Genesis Of Alpha

For day one of the press tour, the journalists (from Australia to Singapore to the Philippines) were brought to the posh Omotesando Hills for the press conference and product demonstration.

"With Sony, technology is our strength," said Yutaka Nakagawa, Sony Corporation EVP and corporate executive officer.

"Our Sony D-SLR business slogan is, ‘Become Shin-Uchi! Become the star performer,‘" enthused Toru Katsumoto, Sony Corporation senior general manager-AMC Division. Shin-Uchi is the star performer of the traditional Japanese art of Rakugo. Katsumoto detailed the features of the new camera.

The Alpha 100 boasts the built-in CCD shift-type Super SteadyShot anti-shake mechanism. "It lets you take photos that are sharp and beautiful even when shooting freehand (without the aid of a tripod) at much slower shutter speeds." This solves the problem of low-light conditions, and since the anti-shake mechanism is built into the camera, lenses can dispense with their own image-stabilization mechanism.

The bottom line is, the Alpha 100 allows a non-pro like me to take sharper, steadier photos even if I tend to shake like James Stewart in Vertigo or Michael Jackson in the Thriller video when I’m just about to snap that all-important frame. So say goodbye to blurry photos.

"We are introducing a new image-processing engine called Bionz," said Katsumoto. "We want to go beyond the image (hence the term "Bionz"), we want you to have pictures that are much better than you can imagine."

The Bionz engine ensures that all of the "rich color and detail are as vivid" as the person taking the photo remembers. This engine "accurately controls color saturation, contrast and white balance to produce sharp, vivid, yet natural images." Now, the phrase "natural images" is essential. A really meticulous photographer doesn’t want his pictures to turn out as if they were posterized or PhotoShopped into something unreal or unnatural. He wants it the way he remembers it.

The Alpha 100 has the newly developed 10.2 Mega High pixel CCD, which, coupled with the Bionz engine, produces prints that are "stunningly sharp and exceptionally clean" and gives photographers the ability to capture "incredibly minute details, subtle gradations and delicate shifts of color."

There is also the D-Range Optimizer function, which "accurately adjusts exposure balance when shooting under high-contrast lighting and color conditions, such as with strong backlighting."

When you’re shooting the subject and you’re positioned in front of a strong available light source, your subject tends to become a magnet for shades and shadows like a Rembrandt chiaroscuro gone horribly wrong at the restorer’s easel. In the advanced mode, the D-Range Optimizer analyzes "adjusts the brightness of each area individually to ensure the photo is balanced."

Katsumoto added that two technologies enable the Alpha 100 to take better pictures: Anti-Dust Coating and Anti-Dust Vibration, which keep spots and streaks off the images. Not only that, the camera has a 2.5-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus, with a wide viewing angle, and a new lithium ion stamina battery pack, which is ideal for a long day of shooting and impersonating National Geographic gonzo photojournalists.

As for the all-important lenses, the Sony Alpha 100 has 21 variants (zoom, macro, fish-eye, super telephoto, etc.) including superb-quality Carl Zeiss and G lenses.

Sony digital imaging marketing division general manger Tatsuo Takahashi says, "As for marketing strategy, what is very important is that we have a very good product. Building upon strong imaging technologies as well as design capabilities, we now extend Sony’s expertise to a higher level by offering Sony’s first D-SLR camera with exceptional features and design. Our target customers in the Asia-Pacific region are first-time D-SLR purchasers and Cyber-shot users (who want to upgrade their equipment).

For day two of the press tour, the journalists were brought to the Sony headquarters for more product demos.

Sony AMC Division development department group manager Toru Shiono said, "What’s great about the Sony Alpha 100’s D-Range Optimizer is that it when it lights up the subject, it also preserves the background information." Thus, the subject, although amply lit, isn’t situated in a sort of void or some nowhere land. Colors are crisp and lighting is balanced.

Sony Philippines Digital product marketing manager Ina Villanueva said, "We are very excited about this new addition to the Sony Family. We are serious about the Digital SLR category and we are optimistic about the market."

In terms of design, Sony Communication Design Development Department art director Takuya Kawagoi said, "Why is the body of the Alpha 100 black? We want to keep up with current style. We wanted to come up with a camera that is a combination of Sony functionality and simplicity. I have been with Sony for 15 years so my mindset is pure Sony."

Kawagoi related how his team of 10 designers worked on the Alpha with a clear objective in mind: respect the trademark style of the Sony camera and at the same time come up with something unique, something original.

"Our goal was to come up with an iconic camera," Kawagoi concluded.

Thus, the genesis, the alpha of a new Sony icon.

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The Sony D-SLR Alpha 100 camera is available at Sony Square shops and Digital Solutions Plazas. Prices are P70,999 (body only), P82,999 (body plus standard zoom lens – 18 to 70 mm), and P96,999 (body plus standard zoom and telephoto lenses – 75 to 300 mm).