You may have noticed that incident a while back, in which a peculiar halo-like glow surrounded the sun. Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire resounded briefly in my mind, then I decided to capture the magnificent sight to show all those I know – and perhaps make a buck or two by selling the images to a newspaper (times are tough when you’re a freelancer). Hurriedly, I dug out the digital camera purchased ages ago, when the digital fad had began. After fumbling over the array of plastic silver buttons that adorn my ancient digital camera, I finally managed to capture a few stills, immortalising this majestic moment on the passages of memory within the device.
Or so I had thought. Because when I took a closer look, much to my disappointment, what I saw on the tiny screen did not mirror the ethereal beauty I had witnessed in the sky above me. This archaic piece of technology had done an injustice to a marvel of nature – the images were grainy and pixelised, resembling an ugly impressionist painting. The Man upstairs would have probably construed it as an affront to his creation.
One of these Sony SLT-A55V or SLT-A33 cameras would have certainly been handy to have around. Acquiring one would not only enable you to snap incredible photographs, but would also entitle you to some serious bragging rights: these are the world’s first mainstream digital cameras to offer Transluscent Mirror Technology. No doubt, this sounds cool, but how does it work?
Dismantle most cameras and you’ll find a mirror box, which houses – you guessed it, a mirror. Now, the 33 and 55 cameras feature a mirror box containing a fixed mirror of the translucent variety, which allows light to travel through without being completely transparent. The most salient virtue of this tweak is a super quick auto-focus ability, even during periods of swift motion. The fixed translucent mirror also gives the camera smaller dimensions, that allows for greater ease of use and leaves the user slightly less encumbered when he or she is carrying it around but isn’t busy clicking away.
In addition, the SLT-A33 and SLT-A55V are one of the first cameras in the world to equipped with the technology to record movies in sublime Full HD quality. This is atributed to Sony’s Exmor sensor, which enables image quality in the double-figure megapixel range: 14.2megapixels for the 33 and 16.2megapixels for the 55.
Another interesting feature from the latter 55 model, is its ability to “geotag”. This simply means that a clever built-in GPS tags images with the actual co-ordinates at which they were taken – so you can prove your amazing feats on hiking trips to your sceptical friends, who’ll question the verity of your claim to being a conquerer of mountains. In those moments where time is of the essence and you need to start shooting immediately, a MOVIE button on the camera allows you to cease and begin recording.
The Sony SLT-A33 and SLT-A55V seem like perfect tools with which to capture the events that transpire this holiday season.
