It seems a little unnecessary but (there’s a sucker born every second) the 24.6-megapixel full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor equipped α850 is being geared towards “a broader group of consumers,” says Kristen Elder, the Director of Digital Imaging at Sony. Before you raise an eyebrow and ask why Sony has another full-frame DSLR when the α900 is top dog, ask me how much the α850 is going to be. It’s coming in under $2000, which is $700 cheaper than the α900.

Compared to the flagship α900, the α850 comes up short in three main areas: FPS, viewfinder coverage and an optional IR commander control. The α850 only has a 98 percent field of coverage compared to the α900’s 100 percent. The flagship shooter handles 5FPS while the α850 musters up 3FPS.

The α850 will be available next month for “about” $2000, body only.

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