This morning the internet is awash with news about Sony's official announcement to join in the fold of large-sensor compact cameras with interchangeable lenses. The system is dubbed EVIL (bad taste!), standing for the self-explanatory term Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens.
This development is no surprise at all. If you walk on a busy street here in Hong Kong, a fair bet is that you'll come across a dozen of young and lady photographers carrying a GF-1 within half an hour. These compact cameras have increasingly captured the market of young and lady photographers, a.k.a the future market (that's why the EVIL cameras are so colourful; hey, will it have a black body version?). So, it's also a fair bet that Cannon will slip in when the market is more developed (more dizzily jam-packed?) to slice off a lion's share with its versions (certainly for the China's market with the zillion of Cannon fans in the country).
Only mock-ups (ugly down pat!) were shown at Sony's press conference. The new system is believed to hit the store shelves this year (Sony's shy of a timetable). The camera will use a new Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, which is probably to be fitted in the successor to the Sony A700 (Who will want the A700 when the A850 is not expensive at all and the EVIL uses the same sensor?). The sensor will be bigger than the MFT's (but by how much, Sony?). Whether this will give Sony's EVIL system better image quality and high ISO performance is remained to be seen. And how about the focusing speed, which is still somewhat an issue for these compact interchangeable-lens cameras?
But one thing is sure, prices will drop as the competition turns keen. Oh, another thing which is sure too: the EVIL system will come in pink sooner or later (please don't!)
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