<s>
Sony	O
α	O
(	O
the	O
lower	O
case	O
to	O
Greek	O
letter	O
alpha	O
,	O
often	O
transliterated	O
as	O
Sony	O
Alpha	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
digital	B-Device
camera	I-Device
system	O
introduced	O
on	O
5	O
June	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
and	O
expands	O
upon	O
Konica	O
Minolta	O
camera	O
technologies	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Minolta	B-Application
AF	I-Application
SLR	O
lens	O
mount	O
,	O
whose	O
assets	O
were	O
acquired	O
by	O
Sony	O
after	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
KonicaMinolta	O
's	O
photography	O
operations	O
in	O
early	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
acquisition	O
by	O
Sony	O
,	O
the	O
α	O
branding	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
by	O
Minolta	O
for	O
their	O
AF	O
camera	O
system	O
(	O
marketed	O
as	O
"	O
Dynax	B-Application
"	O
in	O
Europe	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
Maxxum	B-Application
"	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
adopted	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
A-mount	B-Application
system	I-Application
"	O
for	O
the	O
Minolta	B-Application
AF	I-Application
lens	O
mount	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
been	O
retained	O
in	O
their	O
new	O
SLR	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
's	O
entry	O
into	O
the	O
DSLR	B-Device
market	O
dates	O
back	O
to	O
July	O
2005	O
where	O
a	O
joint	O
venture	O
with	O
Konica	O
Minolta	O
would	O
have	O
resulted	O
in	O
both	O
companies	O
marketing	O
an	O
updated	O
line	O
of	O
DSLRs	B-Device
to	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
2006	O
and	O
2008	O
Sony	O
was	O
the	O
fastest	O
growing	O
company	O
on	O
the	O
DSLR	B-Device
market	O
,	O
reaching	O
13%	O
market	O
share	O
in	O
2008	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
third	O
largest	O
DSLR	B-Device
company	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2010	O
,	O
Sony	O
introduced	O
two	O
α	O
NEX	O
mirrorless	B-Device
interchangeable	I-Device
lens	I-Device
cameras	I-Device
equipped	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
proprietary	O
Sony	B-Algorithm
E-mount	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
a	O
few	O
Sony	O
APS-C	O
DSLRs	B-Device
have	O
Live	O
View	O
,	O
except	O
for	O
the	O
Sony	O
α100	O
,	O
α200	O
,	O
α230	O
,	O
α290	O
,	O
α700	O
,	O
α850	O
and	O
α900	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
Sony	O
replaced	O
the	O
legacy	O
DSLR	B-Device
design	O
with	O
SLT	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
,	O
where	O
the	O
"	O
SLT	B-Device
"	O
stands	O
for	O
"	O
single-lens	B-Device
translucent	I-Device
"	O
which	O
refers	O
to	O
a	O
fixed	O
beam	O
splitter	O
in	O
the	O
image	O
path	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
SLT	B-Device
can	O
shoot	O
movie	O
files	O
at	O
Full	O
HD	O
1080p	O
AVCHD	O
with	O
continuous	O
phase	O
detection	O
autofocus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
the	O
α33	O
and	O
α55	O
cameras	O
,	O
Sony	O
also	O
announced	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
last	O
Sony	O
DSLRs	B-Device
-	O
the	O
α560	O
which	O
can	O
also	O
shoot	O
movie	O
files	O
at	O
full	O
HD	O
stereo	O
1080p	O
AVCHD	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
limited	O
manual	O
controls	O
and	O
no	O
continuous	O
AF	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
three	O
cameras	O
use	O
the	O
same	O
technology	O
Sony	O
Exmor	B-Device
APS	O
HD	O
CMOS	O
sensor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
α33	O
and	O
α55	O
are	O
SLT	B-Device
based	O
(	O
fixed	O
translucent	O
mirrors	O
)	O
and	O
can	O
take	O
movie	O
files	O
with	O
continuous	O
Auto	O
Focus	O
,	O
whereas	O
DSLRs	B-Device
using	O
reflex	O
mirrors	O
typically	O
cannot	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
not	O
without	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
all	O
Minolta	B-Algorithm
A-mount	I-Algorithm
lenses	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
Sony	O
DSLRs	B-Device
(	O
except	O
for	O
that	O
some	O
newer	O
camera	O
features	O
cannot	O
be	O
used	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
Sony	B-Algorithm
A-mount	I-Algorithm
lenses	O
work	O
on	O
Minolta	O
's	O
film	O
and	O
digital	B-Device
SLRs	I-Device
(	O
except	O
for	O
that	O
SSM/SAM	O
lenses	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
only	O
with	O
manual	O
focusing	O
on	O
cameras	O
not	O
supporting	O
SSM	O
and	O
that	O
APS-C	O
format	O
lenses	O
cannot	O
reasonably	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
film	O
cameras	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
smaller	O
image	O
circle	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
new	O
bodies	O
utilize	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
output	O
for	O
display	O
on	O
HDTV	O
sets	O
and	O
feature	O
dual	O
memory	O
card	O
slots	O
for	O
both	O
Sony	O
's	O
proprietary	O
Memory	O
Stick	O
Pro	O
Duo	O
chips	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
SDHC	O
media	O
format	O
,	O
while	O
eliminating	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
mirrorless	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
as	O
well	O
as	O
camcorders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
they	O
were	O
all	O
called	O
"	O
NEX	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
name	O
has	O
been	O
dropped	O
for	O
"	O
ILCE	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
mirrorless	B-Device
stills	O
cameras	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
4-pin	O
iISO	B-Algorithm
flash	I-Algorithm
shoe	I-Algorithm
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Auto-lock	B-Algorithm
Accessory	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
)	O
on	O
all	O
Sony	O
DSLRs/SLTs	O
and	O
some	O
NEX	O
models	O
up	O
to	O
2012-08	O
was	O
introduced	O
by	O
Minolta	O
in	O
1988	O
for	O
their	O
Maxxum/Dynax/α	O
series	O
of	O
A-mount	O
AF	O
SLRs	O
and	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
on	O
their	O
digital	O
DiMAGE	O
A	O
cameras	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
offers	O
a	O
slide-on	O
auto-locking	O
mechanism	O
but	O
is	O
mechanically	O
incompatible	O
with	O
hotshoes	B-Algorithm
based	O
on	O
the	O
ISO	B-Algorithm
518	I-Algorithm
standard	O
as	O
utilized	O
by	O
most	O
other	O
camera	O
and	O
accessory	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
passive	O
adapters	O
Minolta	O
FS-1100	O
and	O
FS-PC	O
allow	O
to	O
adapt	O
Minolta	B-Application
AF	I-Application
and	O
TTL	O
flashes	O
with	O
ISO-based	O
foot	O
to	O
cameras	O
with	O
Auto-lock	B-Algorithm
Accessory	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
FS-1200	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
use	O
AF	O
TTL	O
flashes	O
with	O
Auto-lock	O
Accessory	O
Foot	O
on	O
earlier	O
Minolta	O
SLRs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
,	O
however	O
,	O
require	O
digital-ready	O
flashes	O
for	O
TTL	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
no	O
TTL	O
support	O
,	O
but	O
voltage	O
protection	O
and	O
galvanic	O
isolation	O
is	O
required	O
,	O
the	O
Sony	O
FA-HS1AM	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
instead	O
to	O
mount	O
ISO-based	O
equipment	O
on	O
Auto-lock	B-Algorithm
Accessory	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
cameras	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012-09	O
Sony	O
introduced	O
a	O
new	O
21+	O
3-pin	O
ISO-518	B-Algorithm
compatible	O
hotshoe	B-Algorithm
called	O
Multi	B-Algorithm
Interface	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
,	O
replacing	O
the	O
Auto-lock	B-Algorithm
Accessory	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
,	O
previously	O
used	O
with	O
α	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
adapter	O
ADP-MAA	O
adapts	O
existing	O
4-pin	O
auto-lock	O
foot	O
flashes	O
to	O
cameras	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
Multi	B-Algorithm
Interface	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
adapter	O
ADP-AMA	O
allows	O
photographers	O
to	O
use	O
some	O
new	O
equipment	O
with	O
Multi	B-Algorithm
Interface	I-Algorithm
shoe	I-Algorithm
on	O
older	O
cameras	O
with	O
Auto-lock	B-Algorithm
Accessory	I-Algorithm
Shoe	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sony	O
flash	O
system	O
does	O
not	O
include	O
a	O
ring	O
flash	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Minolta	O
R-1200	O
and	O
1200AF	O
ring	O
flash	O
heads	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
the	O
Minolta	O
Macro	O
Flash	O
Controller	O
MFC-1000	O
on	O
Sony	O
DSLRs	B-Device
as	O
well	O
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
older	O
Minolta	O
Control	O
Unit	O
1200AF	O
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vertical	O
control	O
grips	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
α	O
DSLRs	B-Device
and	O
MILCs	B-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
most	O
recent	O
entry-level	O
DSLRs	B-Device
:	O
α230	O
,	O
α330	O
,	O
α380	O
,	O
α290	O
and	O
α390	O
.	O
</s>
