12/08/08
It's hard not to think Olympics Games at the moment. The opening ceremony was impressive, the sportsmen and women are dedicated and records are being broken almost on an hourly basis. You can't help wondering what we are going to do in 2012 to out-do the Birds Nest stadium and the sheer planning (and cost) that went into those first few hours - some bloke turning donuts in a Barry'd up Vauxhall Nova while a few hoodies set fire to a stack of old tyres isn't going to be enough anymore, that's for sure.
That said, pundits can't help calling these the 'No Fun Games'; the stands aren't filled and there seems to be a lot of very synchronised audience members making the same moves as they move en mass from stadium to stadium. Hardly surprising there's no fun there, because 'unauthorised professional video equipment' is banned from the stadium (alongside any unauthorised banners or musical instruments of any kind). This has been taken to mean anything larger than a compact camera.
Which is a shame, because a Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 might be just the thing to inject some fun into the proceedings…
02/08/08
The first week in August, traditionally the time everyone in the UK packs up their camera bags, buckets and spades and sou'westers and heads for the sun (at home and abroad). But, have you noticed how small those camera bags are getting these days?
Perhaps there's good reason for this. In the past, in those murky distant times before digital (you remember, like before 2002), you needed a lens for everything and a film for every occasion. The weather turns moody... out with the ISO400. It turns into brilliant summer... bring out the ISO100. Camera shake? Pack a tripod. And so on. So you didn't bring a camera, you bought a back-pack.
Those days are long gone. Now, pretty much all you need is one of those little camera-shaped camera bags. Maybe you pack a spare battery (or a charger) and possibly a spare flash card. And for many people, that's it. The extra lens can be covered by something like Sony's Smart Teleconverter; the tripod is virtually replaced by Super SteadyShot.
Once upon a time, I took 20 rolls of film with me on a fortnight's break. I used eight of them, and carried those eight (and the other 12) with me for the full two weeks, in case the local processing lived down to its reputation. Every roll was put through the X-Ray machine at least twice (because Mr Border Patrol wasn't willing to do a hand-search). Of course, we were allowed bigger hand luggage then, but think of the space that took up and the inconvenience it caused. Now, it's all on a couple of SD or CF cards.
So, those of you packing for a week in Benidorm, Bermuda or Blackpool, enjoy your digital vacation.
29/07/08
It's hard to stay on target with the Sony Alpha DSLR-A350, because it
takes you in new directions. It seems our trio of testers agree,
because they find it almost impossible to stay within the confines of
the assignment!
It's easy to drift, when the camera's Live View, Super SteadyShot, and
that swing-out LCD. Staying on a specific topic is difficult, because
you are drawn magpie like to other things. You start to live by that
maxim coined by legendary street photographer Garry Winogrand “I
photograph to see what things look like photographed.”
That's why we are talking about joy in our second assignment, because
we think the Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 helps bring out the joy of
photographing things. That swing-arm LCD screen helps you see things
from different angles, the LiveView gets you into composing your images
differently and Super SteadyShot means you can experiment with faster
and slower shutter speeds and bigger or smaller apertures than you
might normally use. Which is why we want to see the joy in everyday
life and the joy in photographing that joy.
Because that's, er, joyful.
26/06/08
Hello
and welcome to the Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. Sony's Alpha cameras
are designed to be good, robust models designed to suit the needs of
every photographer. But that's just half the story; no dry, fusty
photography here; the Sony Alpha concept is meant, above all, to be
fun.
Our tester's reviews are already coming in, as are their
pictures. Our
trio are already responding to our first assignment and learning how to
get the best from the camera. They aren't pulling their punches about
the Sony Alpha DSLR-A350, but they are also enjoying its benefits and
strengths too. Our next assignment will test them - and their cameras -
harder.
We're learning, too. We're learning exactly what people
want from their camera, what top tips can help people understand the
fun of the Sony Alpha design, and just how much these cameras can
enhance your lifestyle. These are puddle-stompingly,
slide-down-the-banisters, wooo-hoo big fun cameras (without the
heartstoppingly unfunny big price tag) and it's time to get the best
from them.
We used the camera in everything from professional bread-and-butter
shoots to running round being really rather silly sessions and the Sony
Alpha DSLR-A350 excels at everything. And that's what we hope to show
you in the coming weeks. Above all, though, ThinkCamera and Sony are
taking their fun seriously...
