dr4gon.net

In anticipation of CES 2010, Sony has unveiled their latest alpha DSLR, the a450. This low-end DSLR features many of the same specs (and sensor) as the more expensive a550 but will cost much less. How much less, remains to be seen. The main specs are 14.2 MP, up to 7fps (first shot focused), Auto "HDR", SSS (steadyshot), and a 95% viewfinder. What it lacks is the articulating LCD and fast sensor-based live view.

Unless Sony can deliver this camera for $400, I see no point to it. They have so many sub $1000, entry level cameras that one more isn't going to turn the tables in their favor. What they need right now is an A700 replacement, a new flagship APS-C camera at ~$1200. It needs to be something competitive to the Nikon D300s and Canon 7D and significanntly undercut their prices, like they did with the A850, the frist full-frame DSLR sub $2000. All these new cameras (A +30 series and 500 series) are just not that spectacular. They can't compete with Canon and Nikon which actually introduce new technologies and features instead of rehashing and rebadging old ones.

Full press release after the break

Everyone else is wishing you a "Happy Holdiay" during this time, even though there are no other holidays I can think of that fall on this day, so Merry Christmas!

There was an issue with the 7D that was noticed when shooting in burst mode. In certain conditions, a trailing image was seen on subsequent bursts (a ghost image). I guess it hadn't quite cleared out of the buffer. I never saw this, but don't really shoot quick bursts. Anyway, the issue is now fixed with the 1.10 firmware which you can downlaod from Canon here.

• "Corrects a phenomenon that in images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible."

Gizmodo has a nice preview of Eclaire, Android version 2.0. I can't wait for some of the new features (new GUI, google maps app, browser, and account syncing)!