Sony Alpha
Sony Alpha, stylized as Sony α (Greek letter alpha), is a camera system introduced on 5 June 2006. It utilizes and expands upon Konica Minolta camera technologies, including the Minolta AF SLR lens mount, whose assets were acquired by Sony after the end of Konica-Minolta's photography operations in early 2006. Sony also has an 11.08% ownership stake in Japanese lens manufacturer Tamron, which is known to have partnered with Konica Minolta and Sony in the design and manufacture of many zoom lenses.
Prior to the acquisition by Sony, the α branding had already been used on the Japanese market by Minolta for their AF camera system (marketed as "Dynax" in Europe, and "Maxxum" in North America). Sony adopted the name "A-mount system" for the Minolta AF lens mount, which has been retained in their new SLR range.
Sony's entry into the DSLR market dates back to July 2005 where a joint venture with Konica Minolta would have resulted in both companies marketing an updated line of DSLRs to the masses. Between 2006 and 2008 Sony was the fastest growing company on the DSLR market, reaching 13% market share in 2008 to become the third largest DSLR company in the world.
Sony Alpha 500
The Sony α 500 (DSLR-A500) is an midrange-level digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) marketed by Sony, which was released in 2009.
It features live view and body-integrated image stabilization. It has a 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. The camera itself received mostly good reviews, with its fast continuous shot function, much better image quality for photos taken in bad light situations compared to 3xx series and overall very good price/performance ratio. Inability to record videoclips, is the mostly often criticized point.
Compared to A550, A500 features less detailed LiveView LCD, 12 contra 14 MPixel sensor resolution and absence of 7 frame/s continuous shot without autofocus mode. Both cameras also feature unique auto-HDR mode.
References
External links
Media related to Sony DSLR-A500 at Wikimedia Commons
Sony Alpha 37
The Sony α37 or Sony Alpha 37 (model name SLT-A37) is a single-lens reflex style digital camera that replaced the SLT-A35 in 2012. However, the Alpha 37 camera features an electronic viewfinder and a translucent mirror. The main advantage of a translucent mirror is that it needn't flip up out of the way when taking a picture in order to expose the sensor, but the camera can focus and capture images simultaneously. Also the viewfinder can be used while video recording or stills/video playback, which is useful for example in bright sunlight. The camera's 15-point autofocus system can be set to single, continuous or automatic and is arranged towards the centre. The 7 fps burst mode is available only in "speed priority" mode but can reach up to 5.5 fps burst rate in combination with any other settings. The A37 is compatible with Sony Bravia Televisions.
Retail packagings and naming conventions
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