/ Mark Frauenfelder / 4:16 pm Fri Feb 11, 2011

Sony's upcoming DSLR camera has a see-through plastic case

sony-translucent-camera.jpg

This reminds me of the cool see-through cases of prison-approved TV sets. Please tell me the production model will look like this. All consumer electronics should have clear cases!

Sony previews new translucent mirror DSLR camera

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  1. Didn’t we go through the translucent consumer electronics think when the imacs first came out? I remember translucent phones, translucent stereos, translucent calculators, translucent headphones, etc..

  2. I doubt the production model will be clear. Why would you want to introduce stray light into the body. Sure you could make the sensor area opaque but why bother with the risk. No one who knows anything about optics would by it.

  3. Definitely wouldn’t work as a pro body if it was clear. Clear plastic doesn’t have near enough toughness to handle more than low consumer usage.

    1. Depends on the plastic. Polystyrene or acrylic in that shape and thickness would treat “cracking” as their favorite hobby under even light use(as anybody who has ever looked at a CD case wrong can attest…)

      Done in polycarbonate, on the other hand, the shell could likely stop a .22 at modest range with only surface marring(the classic Nlagene certainly can, and those aren’t appreciably thicker).

      Neither composition, of course, would change the fact that cameras look and feel best in a matte-black finished magnesium alloy shell.

      1. The guy I bought one of my D200 bodies from had one when he was serving in Iraq. Apparently the D200 that was issued to him at the time took a bullet and still kept shooting. Didn’t look pretty afterwards but that sure attests to the magnesium alloy frame in these suckers!

    1. A digital camera still needs to be sealed against light to work properly. So all you’ll get to see on this thing is the electronics, and none of the cool stuff like the workings of the sensor, mirror and shutter.

  7. It so won’t. It is only presented that way at the trade show so reporters can report on its guts easier.

  9. Transparent cases are highly prized by nerds, but they often cannot be produced in large quantities with the kind of strength that is needed for everyday use. If the case were fortified with ribs, the resulting product isn’t clear “enough” to be attractive.

    Apple has done clear “studies” of many products, but only sold a few as finished goods.

    There was this mouse: http://www.sewardweb.com/applepromouse/

    There also was this display: http://www.welovemacs.com/m7768.html

    The most beloved might be the “clear Newton 110” — so many developers wanted them that Apple did a limited production run. http://normalkid.com/collector/110.html

    Apple later sold the “eMate 300” — a bigger Newton — in a translucent green case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300

  11. I see why you were confused though — the “translucent” in the headline refers to a novel kind of mirror technology that has thus far only been available on the Sony A55 and one other model, in which a portion of the light coming into the camera is directed to a second sensor (rather than to the main image sensor) via a translucent mirror. It makes these new Sonys the fastest to focus, and other nifty things.

    1. Yea, a semi-transparent mirror is great in theory, but there is a good reason Sony is the only one doing it currently.

      Pellicle mirrors are old-hat, but not widely favored in photography because they rob one (or more) of the four key systems of light. If one reflects 50% of the light up into the prism box (viewfinder and meter) you’ve imposed a 1 stop tariff on your sensor / film. If one favors the sensor with more light one decreases metering accuracy in dim situations AND makes the viewfinder dark (especially with f/5.6 zoom lenses which are already pushing it.)

      Sony has gone to a electronic view finder in an attempt to mitigate this last issue, but the jury’s still out on the results. Personally I find it about as bad of a SLR viewfinder experience I’ve ever had.

      1. I’m aware, but 1 stop is an acceptable trade-off for the amazing speed, imo. I say that, but honestly I didn’t buy the A55 — I don’t need to shoot 11 frames per second, and I don’t need fast autofocus during video recording. But I see the appeal for most folks.

      2. Since the A55 only requires the reflected light for focus purposes it doesn’t use a 50:50 pellicle mirror. IIRC it is 70:30 mirror where 70% of light is passed through. This has around a 1/3 stop penalty. In addition, I doubt that you’ve ever used a A55, because although the EVF is useless for colour composition, it is larger, brighter and has more coverage than most of its competitors. In addition, it stays live while you shoot.

        The reason that no other manufacturer is doing it, is because Sony just thought of it first.

    1. My place is messy enough without having another messy-looking thing in it.

      I’ve decided to embrace that as a decorating strategy. I’m not a slob, this is cutting edge interior design!. Worship my eclecticness!

  14. no the case featured is translucent but it’s a prototyping technique to check for fitment and tolerances. The production camera will be black and opaque. the “translucent” feature has something to do with its mirror technology although the comments section is critical of the way the headline was written…

  16. About ten years ago in the Sony building in Tokyo’s Ginza, they had a display of these prototypes in clear cases for all manner of their products going back 40 years.
    It’s a prototype gimmick and a bit of a tradition with them.
    Still, nice to see them still doing it.

  17. This camera is replacing the semi-pro A700, so I’d expect Sony to retain that model’s magnesium shell (which will justify a healthy premium over the A580). The A77 has already been displayed at camera shows in mock-up form with the same matte black finish as other Sony dSLRs. As mentioned above, the translucent case in the photo is a promotion thing only.

  21. reminds me of that clear apple keyboard they were thinking different with the g-4s for a while. looked great out of the box but within 6 months it had filled with the usual assortment of dust, hair crud and crumbs that all keyboards get… except now you could see all… oh yeah, apple also made that keyboard so you couldn’t take it apart and clean it.

  22. This is a prototype made transparent to show the circuits inside. it’s something like those cars cut in half at auto shows or museums. It will not be transparent as a final product. I think the word “translucent” throws you off, but it refers to the translucent mirror that the camera has- regular SLR cameras have a mirror that flips up when you press the shutter button to allow the light to reach the sensor. A translucent mirror doesn’t flip up. It stays in place and because it’s not totally reflective it allows the light to pass through it and reach the sensor.

  23. When I was living in Tokyo I thought I’d start collecting transparent cameras as a way to have a collection of really rare things, and a collection that wouldn’t get very big.

    Boy was I wrong. There are hundreds of different ones. Virtually every camera store had three different models. Yes, they were expensive and limited runs, but by no means unique or special.

    Neat though.

  24. I’m surprised so many people commenting haven’t seen one of these before. Most manufacturers make them (or used to). They’re demos so you can see the workings. My local camera store has dozens of different makes and models all with clear cases in a small camera “museum”.

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