Sony's new SLR adds heft to full-frame market

Sony's new SLR adds heft to full-frame market

LAS VEGAS--The heyday of 35mm film SLR cameras is long past, but one foundation of the technology is staging something of a comeback with new help from Sony.

The vast majority of digital single-lens reflex cameras today use an image sensor that's smaller than a full frame of 35mm film, which means lenses behave somewhat differently than on a film camera. For years, only Canon sold SLRs with a full-frame sensor, but Nikon entered the market with its top-end D3 late in 2007. At the
We will commercialize this model by the end of this year," said Toru Katsumoto, senior general manager of Sony's digital imaging business group. "This model uses a full-frame size, 24.6 megapixel, CMOS censor with Exmor

Sony hopes the company's flagship SLR will appeal to professional photographers, but Katsumoto said in an interview that's not the main thrust for the camera.

"It's not for the real professional," Katsumoto said of the flagship model. "We'd like to make this camera of course for professionals, but also for enthusiasts and high-end amateurs."

Sony's move helps the full-frame remain relevant and perhaps spread it a bit more widely. But don't expect the full-frame format to dominate the way it did in the 35mm film era.

Full-frame economics
It's much more expensive to manufacture larger image sensors. Other SLR makers--Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic, Leica, and Samsung--use smaller sensors only, and Nikon and Canon say their small-sensor camera lines are here to stay. Camera makers also have been selling lenses that are geared specifically for small sensors and that sometimes don't work on full-frame models.