AW: Sony R1 End of live - Nachfolger ???
NTERVIEW: Juan José del Castillo, in charge of digital still cameras and video for Sony Spain and Portugal
viernes, 14 de octubre de 2005
Versión en castellano
"In principle, Sony will announce next summer two digital SLR's with Minolta mount and stabiliser"
Sony's launch in the reflex sector will be double whammy. This is what Juan José Castillo, director of Sony Spain, hinted during a chat with QUESABESDE.COM at the last Sonimagfoto. Not putting aside the brand new Cyber-shot DSC-R1, names like Konica Minolta, Carl Zeiss and Nikon also arose. Iker Morán.
Sony has stolen the show with the Cyber-shot DSC-R1.
Established photographers and companies have been to the stand (of Sony in Sonimagfoto 2005) and have loved the R1. In fact, they insist that we call it a reflex because it competes with them, as our tests have shown.
You explain its specifications to them, the 24 ? 120 mm ? a 24 mm, they love that ? and they ask: ?Why the other lens?? Everybody comments that the camera is already sufficient.
As far as I know, we haven?t had a single bad review.
Can we say that the R1 will be the successor to the Cyber-shot DSC-F828?
To all that come here to ask if it is a substitute for the F828 we explain that yes it is the successor, but they are totally different.
© Iker Morán, QUESABESDE.COM
Del Castillo holding the new R1, during its presentation at Sonimagfoto 2005.
It?s a surprising camera, amongst other things, because it?s very light. Everybody was probably hoping for a smaller sensor, and also an RGBE four-colour filter, something steadfast in respect to the F828, and has seen a significant change. The three colour filter, for example, will be kept for technical necessities.
Do we take it that Sony has decided to leave four-colour technology?
For the moment, I would say yes. I have no information at the moment on the development of any other camera filter with these characteristics. It was an idea, but at this present moment the market needs to go for another concept. I don?t know if it is because of costs, engineering or market tendencies, but I don?t believe that it is a route we will be following.
Is the R1 the beginning of a saga, or is it just a stepping stone until the arrival of the Sony reflex?
We shouldn?t forget that the reflex user is someone who takes the camera and listens to its sound ? This photographer exists, but also there are those who want semi-professional cameras and a very high level of photo quality, but would prefer not to carry around lenses or have to change them and expose them to dust.
We are aware that this sector exists, and even though it continues to become smaller and is a little saturated with other makes, we have to maintain a presence. It is what we know, through experience, how to do best: the body, the sensor, the lens? For this reason, why not continue?
We are counting on the continuance of this camera; I do believe that it will be a substitute for the R1.
Why has it taken Sony so long to release a camera like the R1?
For about three years, when we began to see that we weren?t receiving any answers to the need for a reflex camera from Tokyo, all of us in the European divisions began to ask for something that was able to compete. And this is something that they began talking about when they didn?t know how to move forward or if they could buy Nikon or merge with Konica Minolta.
Buy Nikon?
Yes, buy? or merge. A wide range of possibilities were considered to see who could develop the reflex business. I believe that Nikon was one of the proposed options.
Anyway, while all these topics were being negotiated, we asked for a camera like the R1 a couple of years ago, and maybe when they had it they closed a deal with Konica Minolta. Three years ago they couldn?t over a question of prices. Time has been lost, but now we have something to compete with in this opening in the reflex sector.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1
© Iker Morán, QUESABESDE.COM
What is known right now about the forthcoming Sony reflex?
To begin with, I believe there will be two models and they are going to be presented next summer; a professional and a standard model. But, at the moment, there is little information. For certain they will have a stabiliser on the body instead of on the optic.
A Konica Minolta mount?
Yes, I think this is certain. I don?t have it in writing, but it is what I have been led to believe during conversations about these cameras. Sony, on their part, has a lot to do with the body. I am certain that the body will be Sony all over.
So, will there be two manufacturers selling two cameras for the same mount or will Konica Minolta be able to stop making bodies and concentrate completely on lenses?
I don?t know what Konica Minolta will do. I do know that we are looking to see if the lenses will be Carl Zeiss. We haven?t come to an agreement yet, nor can I say if this will happen. One of the questions that the professionals and distributors ask us most is if we are going to think about adopting what was the Contax N mount. But I don?t know? all this has to be established.
Getting back to the R1, is there no future for large sensors?
The war on resolution is something that has given us a lot of food for thought. What happens when 3, 4, 5 million pixels are sufficient? We go for more. That?s how you get to the point where it makes sense to continue the war on large sensors. Why not?
It?s a question of lowering the prices, to see what you can offer for the same price. Of course it would be interesting to have a slim camera with a 3? screen and a zoom, but also had a large sensor. It?s an option.
The Cyber-shot DSC-N1, for example, comes with a small 8 megapixel sensor...
They are two completely different questions. There is one user profile who will not appreciate the noise factor. Although we must remember that these cameras already have a high sensitivity, etc. This is a way in which we could introduce larger sensors in other ranges.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N1
© Iker Morán, QUESABESDE.COM
Why 8 megapixels?
To offer these cameras at the same price as those with a lower resolution from last year. Why not offer 8 megapixel cameras next year, for the same price that a 4 megapixel camera costs now? It?s an advantage for the user. You have a camera with 8 megapixels, that is also one of 5, 3, etc.
8 megapixels and rising?
Yes, it?s a natural evolution. I am sure that for the second half of next year we will have compact cameras that surpass this resolution. The only limit at the moment is that we can?t lower the price any more. It won?t be the technology that sets the limit; it will be the market price.
And besides the resolution?
Tendencies talk of slim line cameras and larger screens. Whatsmore, I believe that the race should be for the optical stabiliser, wide angles, high sensitivity and noise reduction.
Does the N1?s tactile screen bring together these trends or is it a little marvel of technology?
The tactile screen has worked well for us on video cameras. This is because the moving parts inside the camera are very simple. It?s something that we should continue, maybe not at entry level, but to give the opportunity to those who are looking for something very different in the market.
It?s a mistake to discard these sectors of the market because there are those who consider these functions secondary. Whatsmore, we have to create added value to control the lowering of prices in the market.
And Wi-Fi connection?
It?s a very interesting topic, and we will have it, although I don?t know if it will be in the first or second half of next year.
Spanish to English translation by Richard Scadding
, ich möchte gerne das Fahrzeug in "freier Wildbahn" festhalten.
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