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Gadgets: Sony's new camera raises the bar

Last update: September 30, 2008 - 4:38 PM

$3,000 (body only) • www.sonystyle.com

When Sony entered the digital SLR business by buying the remains of Konica-Minolta, it started with a modest offering. But the Sony Alpha A900, released last week, contains features found on flagship cameras from Nikon and Canon. Like the high-end cameras from its competitors, the new Sony's image sensor is roughly the same size as a 35-millimeter film frame. But the A900's sensor contains 24.6 megapixels, making it the resolution champion among digital SLRs. The camera lacks live view but introduces a preview system that lets you check depth of field and generates an image that can be tweaked for color balance and exposure before taking the shot. Sony is pricing the camera at $3,000 for the body alone, well below the price of the other two makers' top models.

Ø A MONITOR FOR THE MULTITASKER

$550 • www.samsung.com

Working with multiple monitors has its advantages: more applications can be open and managed at a glance. But the downside is the desk space consumed by two or more monitors. Samsung's SyncMaster 2263DX mates a 22-inch high-resolution (1,680-by-1,050 pixel) monitor with a 7-inch, 800-by-480 sidekick display that mounts above or to one side of the larger screen. The small display can be detached and used independently. The main display has HDMI and DVI digital inputs, and a VGA input for analog video. The smaller display has a USB input. The main monitor has a built-in 3-megapixel webcam, built-in speakers and two microphones that minimize ambient noise.

NEW YORK TIMES

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