The new RCCDroid Android App (Download here at play.google.com) now added support for the Sony A99! This is the description of what you can do:

Remote Camera Control for Sony SLT-A58/A99 over USB, to replace Sony RM-VPR1
– Tethering A58/A99 (an OTG adapter must be connected to the android device)
– Contactfree shots
– Contactfree BULB
– Preview of taken pictures
– Display of camera parameters

It is planned to implement the following features:
– Change of camera parameters
– HDR-shots with different values
– Timer-shots
– Video-shots

I can confirm that those of you that preorderd the A6000 the very first days after the announcement will get the camera sooner than expected. And there are some rumor saying this first shipment will start the next week already. Still, the official release is differs from store to store: SonyStore (April 15), Amazon (April 20) and BHphoto (April 23).

The A6000 is already shipping in European and Asian stores and plenty of SAR readers contact me to share their happiness :) The A6000 is one of those cameras that gives us a clear idea of what we can expect on the future A77II and A9 cameras. Super fast AF on the full imaging area!

Sony A6000 preorder list with US and Europe links:
Sony A6000 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama, BHphoto (Click here), SonyStore (Click here). In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT, WexUK.
Silver A6000 at WexUK (Click here).
Sony A6000 with lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama, BHphoto (Click here), SonyStore (Click here), Sony Canada (Click here), WexUK (Click here).
Silver A6000 with lens at WexUK (Click here).
Sony 70-200mm FE at Amazon (CLick here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyStore (Click here). In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT

For once we don’t have bad news to report about Sony financial situation. Reuters reports that Sony expects its sales of imaging sensor chips to jump 16 percent to 360 billion yen ($3.52 billion) in the year ending this month. And Sony is pretty confident to growth further because of an increased demand of high quality cameras for “selfies” on smartphones! Yep, Okamoto from Sony said that

Smartphone makers are upgrading their front-facing cameras for users who want sharper self-portraits, and that has opened up a whole new market for Sony

Sony has calculated that capacity at its existing factories would be unable to keep up with demand by mid-2015, even with a drop in demand for compact camera sensors. Now let’s see if they can sell more Sony cameras too :)

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LEICA APO-MACRO-ELMARIT-R 100 mm f/2.8 ([shoplink 24905 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

Joseph Lei sent me these images (Source: Pbase) of his Sony A7r and thrid party lenses. Quite some awesome lenses he owns! And the combination between the Sony camera and these fast lenses looks sexy too :)

Thanks Joseph for sharing these!
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Contax Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 ([shoplink 24906 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Contax Zeiss Planar 85mm f/1.4 ([shoplink 24907 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Canon 85mm f/1.2 II ([shoplink 24908 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Canon 35mm f/1.4 ([shoplink 24909 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Contax Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ([shoplink 24910 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Contax Zeiss Distagon 25mm f/2.8 ([shoplink 24912 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Canon 17-40mm f/4 ([shoplink 24913 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Canon 24-105mm f/4 ([shoplink 24914 ebay]lens here on eBay[/shoplink])

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Well, we made a lot of jokes on the [shoplink 22672 ebay]Hasselbald Lunar camera[/shoplink] which is basically a luxury version of the Sony NEX-7. But there seems to be a market for these kind of cameras! A charity auction in Florida sold two of such cameras for a total value of $54,500 ($27,250 each)! Hasselblad released a full press release around that story you can read below.

P.S.: eBay auctions of: [shoplink 22672 ebay]Hasselblad Lunars (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 22691 ebay]Hasselblad Stellars (Click here)[/shoplink]. David Lynch and David Beckham are proud owners of the Lunar!

—OFFICIAL HASSELBLAD TEXT—-

A crowd at a charity auction in Florida couldn’t believe their eyes as two brand new Hasselblad Lunar cameras with a joint retail value of around $14,000 suddenly rocketed in value to $54,500.
Two photo enthusiasts at the world-famous three day-long annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance exotic car festival began bidding against each other for the chance to own an ‘ultimate luxury’ olive wood-handled Lunar camera, crafted by the iconic camera brand.
When the bid reached $28,000 neither party wanted to lose out on a Lunar, so a deal was struck for an extra camera to be auctioned – for a joint record-busting price that raised a total of $54,500 for a spina bifida charity.
The deal also included a unique set of classic motorsport photographs shot over decades with a Hasselblad camera by Concours Show founder and chairman, Bill Warner.
Warner said: “Hasselblad is simply the ultimate camera. It’s the Mercedes-Benz, the Porsche and the Ferrari of cameras, all in one.”
The Amelia Island classic car and automotive art festival, which is billed as ‘three days of automotive passion at the International Historic Motoring Awards, Motoring Event of the year (2013)’, draws classic car enthusiasts from across the globe each year and raises millions of dollars for charity.
Michael Hejtmanek, President of Hasselblad Bron Inc. said: “We knew our new, retro-look Lunar range was compelling – especially the rich-veined olive wood edition with its advanced technology and supreme ergonomics – but for a pair of them to raise $54,500 for Spina Bifida Jacksonville at this auction is just outstanding.”

Further information:
http://www.hasselblad-lunar.com/
http://www.spinabifidajax.org/
https://www.ameliaconcours.org/

The South African blog Htxt.co.za got the official confirmation from Sony that the A3500 will be announced soon and ship in April already. This means the camera will be announced before the A77II which will be announced in early May. HTXT writes:

Sony’s Alpha 3500, a new E-mount mirrorless camera to replaces the A3000 (which has been the entry-level camera in the Sony range up until now) is coming to SA in April 2014.
Very little that has changed – it’s the same 20MP APS-C sized sensor with the lowest resolution electronic viewfinder and LCD screen of the entire Alpha range.
What is important for Sony, particularly in the South African market, is the price point. This mirrorless camera looks like a DSLR, something many local consumers are still keen on, and will hit the price point of just R3999. This puts the Sony Alpha 3500 in the same range as the coveted Nikon D3100 and Canon EOS 1100D.
The Sony Alpha 3500 will come with a new 18-50mm lens and at that 4k price point, we are keen to get a hands-on with it soon.

Important note: The last couple of days I got plenty fo rumors about A and E-mount stuff plus new RX cameras (or sort of RX cameras) I Thank all sources for sharing the info. As usual please understand that I try to double or triple check rumors before to post them. Thanks!

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Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.
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Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!