Sony Cameras
This full-frame mirrorless camera is the most technologically advanced, innovative camera Sony has ever released. Capture what you’ve never been able to capture before with a 50.1-megapixel sensor capable. Shop Used Sony Cameras & Digital Cameras by Mirrorless Cameras, Digital SLR Cameras, Digital Point & Shoot Cameras & more. Browse Models - Sony A7III, Sony a7RII, Sony a7R IV, Sony A7C, Sony A7II, Sony A7SII, Sony a7RIII, Sony.
| Sony building, Ginza, Tokyo image by murphygb(Image rights) |
In 1945 engineer Masaru Ibuka and physicist Akio Morita founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). Soon they introduced a new electric rice cooker. In 1950 they introduced 'Soni' magnetic tape and a tape recorder. In 1955 they renamed the company to Sony, and in 1960 they introduced the World's first TV-set based on transistor technology.
In the photo business Sony is one of the newer players. It entered the photography market in the age of digital photography. Having been active in the home video business since 1965, it started in the market more experienced with electronic cameras than some of the traditional camera makers. Its first Mavica (Magnetic Video Camera) way back in 1981 stored 570x490 pixel frames from an SLR 'TV camera' on 2' magnetic floppy discs called Mavipaks.[1] Mass market items from the Mavica range were a spectacular commercial success since they utilized the convenience of 3.5' floppy disks as the digital photography boom began in earnest. These were later followed by the Mavica CD models, which used CD-Rs as the storage medium. These oddly-shaped formats necessarily made the cameras rather unwieldly, so moves towards smaller memory cards were undertaken, as digital cameras became even more compact than their film-based ancestors.
| Sony's first digicam Mavica FD7 stored its image files onto diskette image by Jamo Spingal(Image rights) |
Sony relied very much on the German optics designer Carl Zeiss. It was June 6th 2006 when it released the first of its DSLR cameras for Minolta's Alpha mount lenses, the Sony Alpha SLRs. This camera succeeded Konica Minolta's digital SLR series Alpha/Maxxum/Dynax and surpassed the predecessors concerning reliability. In autumn 2007 a new model, the DSLR-A700, was introduced in Italy. In 2008 the company offered DSLRs for beginners (Alpha 200) as well as for advanced to professional photographers (Alpha 900). The Alpha 900 has an image sensor with 35.9×24mm frame format (equivalent to 35mm film format), making it interesting to use it with the finest old Minolta A-mount lenses. Nevertheless some new Sony- and Zeiss lenses are available for the Sony α system. In 2009 the highly light-sensitive cameras DSLR-A500 and DSLR-A550 were added. The DSLR-560 and DSLR-580 of 2010 were last DSLRs of Sony. Since then Sony featured its own SLT reflex camera conception instead of the traditional digital SLR concept. A semi-transparent fixed mirror which directs some of the incoming light onto AF sensors is the principle of this kind of reflex camera. The pentaprism and pentamirror viewfinders of these SLTs are replaced by EVF. The compact Sony NEX digital system cameras and camcorders were another innovation of 2010. After having introduced top camera models of each Alpha system camera class - a full-format SLT, a full format NEX camcorder and a versatile APS-C format NEX still camera for real enthusiasts - in 2012 the company founded a strategic joint venture with Olympus which had suffered a severe fraud scandal before. Olympus will deliver optical components for Sony, and Sony will deliver image sensors for Olympus. Other renowned camera makers also use Sony imaging sensors for several of their cameras. The company has a significant market share in the sensor market. This business was also extended in 2012 by taking over Pixim. In 2013 Sony began to extend the Sony α system by CSCs with 24×36mm sensors, staying successfully the only one in this full-frame CSC market for at least 4 years.
- 1Sony α system cameras and lenses
- 1.1α-bayonet
- 1.2E-bayonet
- 2List of Sony's other digital cameras
- 3Mavica
Sony α system cameras and lenses
Konica Minolta used different brand names depending on distribution regions for their DSLR cameras. Sony decided to use a unified global brand name for their DSLR cameras and chose the name α, pronounced alpha. This was the name used by Minolta in Japan and China. The brand name α is a bit hard to type. So for example, the Sony α290's full model name is known as the Sony Alpha DSLR-A290.
α-bayonet
Cameras that use Sony α mount lenses:
entry level alpha models
|
|
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A200
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
moderate models with live-view
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A390
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A450
advanced models with live-view
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A560
| Sony α77 prototype, Photokina 2010 image by Uwe Kulick(Image rights) |
flagship models, full-frame sensor (24×36mm)
SLTs (=single lens 'translucent mirror' system cameras)
- Sony α35
- Sony α37
- Sony α57
- Sony α58
- Sony α65
- Sony α68 (2015)
- Sony α77II
- Sony α99 (24x36mm)
- Sony α99II
lenses
| Sony 4/500 G image by Uwe Kulick(Image rights) |
samples
|
|
E-bayonet
Cameras that use Sony E-mount lenses:
system cameras
- Sony NEX series of CSCs (APS-C)
- Hasselblad Lunar (APS-C)
- Sony α3000 (APS-C)
- Sony α5000 (APS-C)
- Sony α5100 (APS-C)
- Sony α6000 (APS-C)
- Sony α6100 (APS-C)
- Sony α6300 (APS-C)
- Sony α6400 (APS-C)
- Sony α6500 (APS-C)
- Sony α6600 (APS-C)
- Sony α1 (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony α7 (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony α9 (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony α7R (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony α7S (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony α7C (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony α7 II / α7R II / α7S II / α9 II
- Sony α7 III / α7R III / α7S III
- Sony α7R IV
- Sony QX1 (APS-C)
camcorders
- Sony NEX-VG10E (APS-C)
- Sony NEX-VG20E (APS-C)
- Sony NEX-VG30E (APS-C)
- Sony NEX-VG900 (24x36mm --> FE mount)
- Sony PXW-FS7M2 (24x36mm --> FE mount)
lenses
samples
|
|
List of Sony's other digital cameras
|
RX series cameras
Compact with larger sensors
- Sony DSC-RX1 (2012)
- Sony DSC-RX1R (2013)
- Sony DSC-RX10 (2013)
- Sony DSC-RX10 II (2015)
- Sony DSC-RX10 III (2016)
- Sony DSC-RX10 IV (2017)
- Sony DSC-RX100 (2012)
- Sony DSC-RX100M2 (2013)
- Sony DSC-RX100M3 (2014)
- Sony DSC-RX100 IV (2015)
- Sony DSC-RX100 V (2016)
- Sony DSC-RX100 VA (2018)
- Sony DSC-RX100 VI (2018)
- Sony DSC-RX100 VII (2019)
W series compact
|
|
| Exmor R sensor
|
T series
Ultra compact, slim design compacts the successor to the Minolta X series compacts.
| DSC-T33 image by nik.jalopx(Image rights) |
|
| Exmor R sensor
|
H series
Ultra Zoom
Bridge
| Compact
|
U series cameras
- Sony DSC-U10 (2002)
- Sony DSC-U20 (2002)
- Sony DSC-U30 (2003)
- Sony DSC-U40 (2003)
- Sony DSC-U50 (2003)
- Sony DSC-U60 (2003)
S series
|
|
P series
| DSC-P1 image by Uwe Kulick(Image rights) |
|
|
F series
| ] |
| DSC-F717 image by Martin Taylor(Image rights) |
| F1 image by maoby(Image rights) |
Early cameras have a 180 degree rotating lens platform.
- Sony DSC-F1 (1996)
- Sony DSC-F2 (1997)
- Sony DSC-F3 (1997)
- Sony DSC-F55 (1999)
- Sony DSC-F55V (2000)
- Sony DSC-F77 (2002)
- Sony DSC-FX77 (2002)
- Sony DSC-F88 (2004)
- Sony DSC-F505 (1999)
- Sony DSC-F505V (2002)
- Sony DSC-F707 (2001)
- Sony DSC-F717 (2002)
- Sony DSC-F828 (2003)
Lens style cameras
| QX100 image by MH Chuang(Image rights) |
Barrel body lens style design
- Sony DSC-QX10 (2013)
- Sony DSC-QX30 (2014)
- Sony DSC-QX100 (2013)
- Sony ILCE-QX1 (2014)
Mavica
Still-video cameras
These are video cameras that capture an analog still image onto a Mavipack or VF (Video Floppy) disk. Photos can be viewed and printed with a suitable VF player and or printer.
- Sony Mavica MVC-A10
- Sony Mavica MVC-A7AF
- Sony Mavica MVC-C1
- Sony ProMavica MVC-2000
- Sony ProMavica MVC-5000
- Sony ProMavica MVC-7000
Digital
High Density 3.5' floppy disk
| Sony Mavica FD87 image by Patrick Gervais(Image rights) |
- Sony Mavica FD5 – (1997) max. resolution 640×480; fixed focal length
- Sony Mavica FD7 – (1997) max. 640×480; 10x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD51 – (1998) max. 640×480; fixed focal length
- Sony Mavica FD71 – (1998) max. 640×480; 10x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD73 – (1999) max. 640×480; 10x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD75 – (2001) max. 640×480; 10x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD81 – (1998) max. 1024×768; 3x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD83 – (1999) max. 1216×912 (interpolated from 1024×768 native resolution); 3x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD85 – (2000) max. 1280×960; 3x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD87 – (2001) max. 1280×960; 3x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD88 – (1999) max. 1280×960; 8x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD90 – (2000) max 1472×1104 (interpolated from 1280×960); 8x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD91 – (1998) max 1024×768; 14x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD92 – (2001) max. 1472×1104 (interpolated from 1280×960); 8x optical zoom; Memory Stick slot
- Sony Mavica FD95 – (2000) max 1600×1200; 10x optical zoom
- Sony Mavica FD97 – (2001) max. 1600×1200; 10x optical zoom; Memory Stick slot
- Sony Mavica FD100 – (2002) max. 1280×960; 3x optical zoom; Memory Stick slot
- Sony Mavica FD200 – (2002) 1600×1200; 3x optical zoom; Memory Stick slot
Optical disc
- Sony Mavica CD250
- Sony Mavica CD350
- Sony Mavica CD500
Industrial cameras
Sony Cameras Reviews
- Sony DKC-ID1 - 1996
- Sony DKC-C21X
- Sony DKC-C100X
- Sony DKC-C200X
- Sony DKC-C300X
- Sony DKC-C2050X
- Sony DKC-CM30
References
Nikon Cameras
- ↑Shutterbug article (archived)
Sony Cameras Mirrorless
Links
- Sony's first home video system of 1965 at Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation [1]
- Sony Mavica SLR (1981) listed at number 14 in Jason Schneider's Top 20 Cameras Of All-Time (archived) on Shutterbug.
Sony Cameras For Video