Digital Cameras Now Rival Pro Film Equipment

From TIME Digital: For now, though, you still have to pay a premium for digital convenience.

By Greg Lindsay Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999
    • A new breed of digital cameras is finally making inroads into 35mm-film territory. Sony joined the invasion force this week, unveiling two new cameras that compete directly with their 35mm counterparts.

    The Cyber-shot Pro (DSC-D770) uses the same form factor and feature set as professional 35mm-film-based cameras, including a long, wide aperture lens barrel, Carl Zeiss optics, manual focus, manual zoom, manual everything and a two-handed grip that is widely associated with serious business thanks to photographer films such as Antonioni's "Blowup" and "The Killing Fields."

    The new Sony has a 1.5 million-pixel resolution, good enough to substitute for standard 35mm prints. Built-in software lets you make Photoshop-style cropping and brightness adjustments in the camera using the included LCD screen. The catch? The $1,999 list price is still more than twice what a film camera will run. MORE >>