3" LCD - 6048 x 4032 Image - HDMI - PictBridge - MPN: DSLRA900
The Sony Alpha A900 is the flagship full frame model of the Alpha line. But I did a little research on the Alpha's... and found out something ugly and bothering that plagues all the current Sony Alpha's that most potential buyers don't know: all the Alpha dslr's are using a proprietary battery (the NP-FM500H) that is VERY EXPENSIVE, compared to other current li-ion batteries today; and it's kind of hard to find. But even worse, it appears that Sony is doing something to prevent third party battery manufacturers to offer better priced alternatives, in order to rip off consumers with their overpriced NP-FM500H battery. And if you think to get their (also expensive) vertical battery grip.. that one uses TWO of those overpriced suckers! Currently there are many good and well priced third party batteries available for ALL the other brands of dslr's that use proprietary li-ion rechargeables, EXCEPT the new Sony Alpha's. Things may change after I write this, but so far Sony is apparently succeeding in ripping off consumers with their overpriced batteries. And yes, you will need extra batteries with dslr cameras, because dslr's are power hungry; and even if that expensive NP-FM500H lasts a very long time, batteries do wear out with the time. Of course, this may not be a very big concern after all, at least for some people, but in my case, I usually take hundreds of shots in a day, and now I realize that if I end up buying this camera, I'll also end up losing a lot of money to overpriced batteries and accessories in the long run. I really hate when manufacturers resort to "predatory" practices like these: attracting consumers with cheap dslr's (see the A200), and then, they lock them into proprietary and overpriced items like the NP-FM500H battery. Pretty much like the inkjet printer scheme: give away the printer, catch'em and suck their money with expensive cartridges. OOOHHHH, and what if Sony decides to discontinue the NP-FM500H battery in the future, rendering ALL the current Alpha's instantly obsolete... in order to force you to upgrade to a newer model.. since NO ONE currently makes compatible batteries for the current Alpha models??? Think about it! That has indeed happened in the past with certain laptops! Discovering that issue with the Sony Alpha A350, and by extension all the other Sony dSLR's, was serious enough for me to eliminate Sony cameras from my considerations. So... if you are thinking in buying a Sony Alpha dSLR, beware that you may end up spending too much in the long run, and even risking of endangering your dSLR to instant and permanent obsolescence.
How much more expensive are the Sony batteries compared to the other commonly available rechargeable batteries on the market today?
Jun 28, 2010
Bad info
You are full of it. All Alpha cameras seem to use the same battery. The price is less than $40 (not much) and that's about 2% of what you spent for the Alpha 900. So What is your gripe. You should have spent that much for a UV-lens to protect each lens you have ($700-1,800 @).
My Kodak used 4+4 Ni Mh batteries, no alkaline batteries please, $20/4 batteries at Radio Shack, and that camera was less than $400. Do your research then think about flaming the product.