Sony’s new Alpha 700, an SRL camera, includes magnesium-alloy and aluminum

A look at aluminum and design in consumer electronics
Mark Kasperowicz, Alcoa Inc.

Sony is releasing its second single-reflex-lens camera, the Alpha 700 with an interchangeable lens, in November.  The magnesium-alloy-and-aluminum body has been whittled down to 1.5 lbs.  With the Lithium-ion rechargeable battery, the camera can take up to 650 pictures and allowed the user to flip between manual modes and controls.

The image sensor takes photos at 12 megapixels and relies on new technology that cuts out the blurry feel given from low lighting. Other features include the anti-shake stabilizer and a higher, larger resolution screen that brightens in the daylight.  Standard features such as a self-timer, red eye reduction and a removable flash are included. The camera sound was even fine tuned.  Engineers designed a shutter based on audio experts’ polls to find out how a camera should click, along with how much “noise”, or pixilation, shows up in photos.

Most importantly is the use of aluminum in the camera.  Alcoa’s Satoshi Ogawa says, “With aluminum the camera will have a better surface finish such as anodizability that gives nice appearance to digital camera casing.”  He also says that because it is a small device that is handheld, lower weight is important so aluminum is the best choice.