Sony Alpha A7S, DSLT A77II and RX100 III cameras launched in India

Sony has announced its three high-end cameras across various categories such as the full-frame mirrorless Alpha A7S, the semi-pro DSLT A77II and compact RX100 III, in India today. The A7s will be selling for Rs 1,54,000 from mid-July onwards whereas the Cyber-shot RX1000 III is already available for Rs 54,990. The DSLT A77 II will come in three configurations: A77II body only for Rs 84,990; A77IIM with 18-135mm lens for Rs 1,04,990 and finally A77IIQ with 16-50mm lens for Rs 1,14,990.   Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III The Sony RX 100 III sports the same 20.1MP 1-inch BSI-CMOS sensor that was seen on the RX 100 II but it pairs it with a powerful BIONZ X image processor which is seen on the Sony high end mirrorless cameras such as the Alpha 7, Alpha 7R and Alpha 7S models. The interesting addition to the RX 100 III which was highly anticipated is dedicated pop-up OLED viewfinder. Sony calls it the OLED Tru-finder EVF. It comes with a 1.4 million dot resolution and it pops out from the top edge just like the pop up flash unit. The pop up mechanism helps maintain the RX 100 III’s compact form factor. The EVF also has a proximity sensor which switches between the viewfinder and monitor display.   [caption id=“attachment_223863” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Sony RX 100 III comes with a dedicated pop-up 1.4-million dot OLED viewfinder[/caption]   It comes with a ZEISS Vario Sonnar 24-70mm lens with a fast aperture range of f/1.8-f/2.8. The RX 100 II had a f/4.9 maximum aperture at the telephoto end, this makes the RX 100 III two stops faster. The RX 100 III has a built-in 3-stop neutral density filter.   [caption id=“attachment_223864” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Sony RX 100 III sports a 20.1MP BSI-CMOS sensor[/caption]   The Sony RX 100 III is also the first Cybershot camera to feature HD video recording in the XAVC S format which records full HD videos at a data rate of 50Mbps with lower compression. Apart from this the RX 100 III also features Wi-fi and NFC allowing you you to transfer images wirelessly as well as remotely control the camera.   Sony Alpha 7S The Alpha 7S is Sony’s latest fill-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera which looks quite similar to the Alpha 7R. But the two most important differentiators are the fact that A7S has an ISO range going from 50 all the way to 409,600 and the fact that it can shoot 4K video.To give you noise free images at higher sensitivity levels, Sony has decided to employ an Exmor CMOS 12.2MP sensor which is paired with a BIONZ X image processor. This is half the mega-pixel count of the A7 and a third of that of the A7R. According to Sony, the larger pixels provide better dynamic range, gradation and colour fidelity.   [caption id=“attachment_221224” align=“aligncenter” width=“620”]  Sony Alpha series A7s will feature a 12.2MP sensor with ISO sensitivity going upto 409,600[/caption]   The other important feature of the A7S is the ability to shoot at 4K resolution - QFHD, 3840x2160 pixels). But there is a catch, you will need to use an external recorder plugged in via an HDMI cable to be able to shoot 4K. The A7S camera is also equipped with S-Log2 gamma. Common to Sony’s range of professional video cameras, S-Log2 expands the dynamic range by up to 1,300 per cent to minimise clipped highlights and loss of detail in shadows. Additionally, the A7S adopts the workflow-friendly XAVC S recording format in addition to AVCHD and MP4 codecs. XAVC S format allows for full HD recording at a data rate of 50 Mbps with lower compression for improved video quality.   Sony Alpha 77II This is a camera targetted at advanced amateurs. It comes with an Exmor CMOS 24.3MP sensor and is paired with a BIONZ X image processor. This is the same processor that is seen on the A7S as well as the A7 and A7R.   [caption id=“attachment_226621” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Sony A77II comes with a 24.3MP Exmor CMOS sensor and has dust and water sealing[/caption]   It around 79 AF detection points of which 15 are the cross-type points. Most of these are located at the centre of the frame. There’s a suite of sophisticated new AF functions that make the most of the new 79-point system. Expanded Flexible Spot mode maintains focus even if the selected AF point loses track of the subject, activating eight surrounding AF points that recognize the subject. In combination with AF-C AF mode, this dramatically increases performance with moving subject. Lock-on AF mode lets users select one of four AF area modes (Wide, Zone, Flexible Spot or Expanded Flexible Spot). Once its target is acquired, the camera keeps tracking as long as the shutter button remains half-pressed.   The A77 II can capture a non-stop burst of up to 60 full-resolution JPEG images at a maximum continuous shooting speed of approximately 12 frames per second (in Continuous Advance Priority AE mode). It comes with dust and water resistant sealing on the camera-body. There is on-board Wi-fi as well for quickly sharing images and remotely operating the camera as well. The A77 II can record Full HD 60p and 24p movies using the AVCHD 2.0 format.