Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

Digital photography seems to be the in thing at the moment, I’ve got several friends who are would be photographers and a couple who are actually doing quite well out of it seeing as it started as a hobby and is now their full time job (Tez Mercer Photography), but the main thing I’ve noticed is although it’s started as a hobby, they all have top spec gear from the off, more than one camera, various lenses etc Like most hobbies I guess you have to have the best equipment and I’m not totally clued up on photography myself, but enough to make an educated guess on what’s good and what’s not.

Now Sony the name we all know and it’s well reviewed Alpha series have brought out two new DSLRs with all the latest goodies for the top end of the home photography market. So what have they got? Firstly Sony has introduced to both the A55 and A33 a new “Translucent Mirror Technology”. A technology Sony says has until now been “unattainable with traditional DSLRs”. So what’s it mean? Basically it means the camera can shoot continuous shots and focus, whether it be stills or 1080p video.

The lower spec A33 stands at 14.2MP and the A55 a slightly higher 16.2MP. Both have a new 15point auto-focus system, the A55 can shoot at a continuous 15fps and the A33 a slightly less impressive 7fps(still impressive though) Another feature likely to interest some of our readers is it packs Sony’s 3D Sweep Panorama mode. Like some of Sony’s other cameras it allows one to take 3D wide-angle shots that can be played back on a 3DTV

Unfortunately no release dates yet or prices but we believed the A33 will probably be around the £600-£700 mark and the A55 will probably set you back an extra 100 notes on top of that.

The console tug of war continues. Sony not that long ago released the slimmed down version of it’s PS3 and beefed up it’s hard drive capacity. Microsoft followed afterwards with it’s newer slimmer, quieter  bigger capacity hard drive console and soon to be arcade console. Sony not happy have now announced a new PS3 console to fight the new Xbox. But does anyone really care is the real question, what are consumers really gaining?

Japan already has the option of a white console, but here in Europe we’ve had to just make do with the plain black console to match our everyday cloud cover. Also on top of that Japan can also get a 160GB console and a 320GB console. Yes a whole 40GB and 70GB respectively more HDD space than what we can get. Well according to UK retail sources, the bigger HDD sizes are coming our way to replace the 120GB and 250GB currently doing the rounds. Whether we get a white console in this country though is anyone’s guess

No dates or prices yet but I imagine you’ll be looking just before Christmas for these to appear, probably at the prices the current 120GB(£249) and 250GB(£299) for the 160GB and 320GB respectively. Also expect any older stock to drop in price to sell through, much like the old Xbox Arcade and Elites have.

There’s obviously a lot of mp3 players out there after the top dog spot that Apple selfishly keep with their pricier players so how can the other big players mix it up. Sony’s new Walkman E450 matches the specs of the iPod Nano but what does it do to further itself from the Cupertino music box.

Firstly it’s cheaper, always a bonus and always a good selling point. Starting from £70 it comes in three adequate sizes 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. Housing a 2” sharp QVGA screen it’s certainly on the smaller side and is only slightly thicker than the current generation Nano. Playback wise it’ll play all your usual suspects of mp3 and AAC file formats with a supposed battery life of up to 50 hours.

What makes it stand aside from the iPod though is its Karaoke mode. Providing you’re hooked up with the .lrc lyric file with your music files, the lyrics will actually appear on your screen. Not only that it takes it to the next level and the player can actually knock off the singing in the track allowing you to essentially Karaoke over it without distorting the track.

Available in an assortment of colours this PMP should be on our shores come September.

3D is the rage, clearly. We touched a month or so back about the fantastic NEX-3 and NEX-5 micro four thirds(the mini SLR type) cameras from Sony that had the ability to take 3D panoramic shots which you can view provided you have the necessary TV capability and a pair of “Joe 90” looking glasses. Well now Sony have announced these two compact cameras capable of the same thing.

Firstly the WX5. The step up from the Cyber-shot WX1 this a 12.2MP camera with a wide-angle 24mm lens capable of 5x optical zoom. On the flipside it has a standard 2.8” LCD screen to view. The TX9 on  the other hand is the step up from the Cyber-Shot TX7 camera. Again sporting a 24mm lens this has the ability of 4x optical zoom however this camera sports a 3.5” touchscreen on the rear.

What makes these compacts better than their older counterparts is the ability to capture Full 1080p HD video at 60fps and also have the feature what Sony are calling Superior Auto Mode. Basically it’s like Intelligent Auto and will detect all the correct settings for your photo depending on lighting etc. What this does though is on the press of the button, the camera takes multiple pictures(2-6) instantly and puts them all together to reveal a sharper, better quality image. Another feature is the Sweep Multi-Angle mode. You take 15 pictures at different angles and the camera works it’s magic and puts them all into one image. From this the user can tilt the camera into different positions and the image will move to those angles, creating a 3D effect.

Available in September we’re still waiting on Sony pricing them up. Viva la 3D.

The Sony Vaio J11M1E/B(try and remember that) is a brand new 21.5” Full 1080p HD multitouch screen all in one PC, just in time for the revised iMac and for all of us who opt for the traditional PC over the Mac. If you’re looking for a PC with looks and certainly saves on bulk space this could be for you.

Inside the all in one body the Vaio J specs speak for themselves. Not quite a top of the range PC but sufficient for everyday use.

• Intel Core i3 Processor
• 4GB RAM
• 500GB HDD
• Nvidia GeForce 310M Graphics
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• WiFi, Bluetooth and DVD writer

The main draw to this system though is the screen. a Full 1920x1080 affair so there’s plenty of room for plenty of windows. Sony has also developed a Media Gallery on the PC to make full use of the multitouch functions, allowing the user to browse its content with finger gestures, flicks and rotating motions. YouPaint is also an interesting software addition allowing you to paint and draw with your hands all over the screen.

Out next month there’s no price as yet, but we imagine you’ll need to invest in some screen cloths for those fingerprint marks

Last Friday saw the release of Sony’s first 3DTV the Bravia HX803. We spoke about it a few months back as one to watch, well now its here, ready for the World Cup and has been backed by an advert campaign shown during the World Cup matches ( if you haven’t seen it click here)

For a quick re-cap, HX803 is available in two screen sizes, 40” and 46” and packs Full 1080p HD with LED backlighting for great contrast ratios. They also include Sony’s Motionflow 200Hz Pro technology for super smooth images, Freeview HD, Bravia Internet Video and DLNA support for streaming. They also come packed with plenty of HDMI sockets too, 4 in all. The screen itself uses active shutter technology to give you better quality 3D images with special(expensive) LCD shutter glasses.

So although content to watch isn’t so readily available, Sony is adding some options for you to get your hands on some 3D viewing. The BDV-E370 is a 3D  Blu-Ray player which comes bundled with “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" Also the PS3 has recently updated to allow 3D games playback and when the NEX-3 and 5 cameras we spoke about last month come out they have the ability to take a high resolution panoramic shot that when shown on a 3D TV such as this, the image will appear in 3D.

Available now the screens start at a whopping £1799.

It was only a few days ago when we showed Sony’s new micro four thirds Alpha NEX range cameras that were scheduled to come shortly. Well it appears Sony are already working on the next model in the range to beat the current great looking new range to enter the four thirds market and go to war with the likes of the Olympus PEN.

What the NEX-7 is said to have over it’s older brothers the NEX-3 and NEX-5 is a different in the sensor chips, allowing it to snap video at Full HD at 60fps and 24fps. Also it will increase it’s 720p capturing to 120fps and 60fps, allowing super slow motion capture of video. The other difference is the size with the NEX-7 coming in slightly larger. Now obviously if you’re in the micro four thirds market, size is probably what has swung you with DSLRs just that little bit too big. That aside it will still support the same E-mount lenses as the NEX-3 and NEX-5 however with an adaptor it will also support the A-mount lenses used by Sony’s Alpha DSLR cameras, sweet.

The only downside is it’s all rumour with Sony apparently making it official at the Photokina expo in September where we also expect to see Panasonic and Olympus show us their new models. Also that means there’s no date or price yet, watch this space though.

After the success of last years Olympus PEN (E-PL1 and E-PL2) it seems the market was open for the micro four thirds camera. If you aren’t sure what that is it’s basically a DSSLR style camera with interchangeable lenses but is the size of a compact camera. Now Sony is entering the frame with its trusty Alpha range of cameras with the NEX-3 and the NEX-5.

Both compact cameras in size, the NEX-3 is 25.4mm thin and the NEX-5 an even slimmer 24.2mm. The difference between the two is that the NEX-5’s body is made from Magnesium making it even lighter than the NEX-3, in fact Sony claim its the lightest camera where one can change the lens.

Both contain the new Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor. This means you can snap images at a fantastic 14.2MP and can record video at another fantastic 1080i. Both also have 3” LCD with a simple control system and even despite the sheer amount of menus and options, Sony claims it’s easy to get around.

Also available are 30 different lenses so you can play about to get that perfect shot, including the classic skateboard picture, fish-eye shot.

Available next month Sony is keeping quiet on the price, but I gues we’ll know soon seeing as June is only 3 weeks away.