Mike Evans posted an exhaustive article for current M-mount lens owners on Macfilos.com. For the first time Leica lens owners can buy a FF digital camera that is not a $8000 Leica M. Thes are some short thoughts:
– On the A7-A7r: “In my view any problems with lenses longer than 28mm will be minimal.”
– Why buy M-mount lenses for the A7-A7r: “Because M lenses are purely mechanical, they last and last and last. The second advantage lies in the short-travel and ultra precise focus ring. Most M lenses have a maximum travel of about 40 degrees. Those who invest in mechanical M-mount lenses have none of these worries. Their lenses sail on serenely across the seas of time, appreciating in value all the while, and can be bolted on to a wide range of systems, present and future.”

Also Lloyd Chambers is explaining some bsics about the use of M-mount lenses on the new Sony FF cameras: “my guess is that the A7R will fare much better than the A7 due to its microlens design which is absent from the A7”

SAR note: I bought the new Voigtlander VM-E adapter and the fantastic [shoplink 21602 ebay]Voigtländer Ultron 21mm f/1,8 lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink]. I will test it ont he A7r and share the review on SAE. Hope this is one of the wide angle lenses that works fine on the A7r! If you also have some M-mount lens +A7r test to share drop me a message! Thanks!

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Support SonyAlphaRumors: After months of FF mirrorless rumor work I would be glad if you can support my work by making your A7-A7r purchase by using these links below. I will earn a small commission and you don’t pay one single penny more! Thanks!

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev
A7 at Digitalrev.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Metabones (Click here) just released the new Canon FD Lens to Sony NEX Speed Booster. The price is $399. The FD system offers a large range of good quality and relatively cheap lenses you can buy on [shoplink 22286 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The most “famous” lens is the [shoplink 22287 ebay]Canon FD 50mm f/1.2 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].

Voigtlander just made one of my dreams come true! They announced a new M-mount to E-mount adapter that will dramatically reduce the close focus distance of M-mount lenses! As you maybe know M-mount lenses usually have a close focus distance of 50cm on Voigtlander and 70cm on Leica lenses (the close focus distance is longer on tele lenses). By using that adapter this is what you get on [shoplink 22240 ebay]Voigtlander lenses[/shoplink]:

Here are the adapter specs:

The adapter costs 289 Euro and will ship in December! More info at Vogitlanders website.

Links: [shoplink 22240 ebay]Voigtlander VM lenses on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]

[shoplink 22205 ebay][/shoplink]

Short break from serious news to switch over to some gossip :)
You may want to know who the heck uses these Hasselblad “Lunar”, “Stellar” and the future A7 clone the “Solar”. Well, after David Lycnh a second super star got caught playing with the Lunar. It’s David Beckham! You can see the pics of him wearing the Lunar at Popsugar. By the way David….I bet you read SAR daily don’t you? :)

Currently two Lunars are for sale on [shoplink 22205 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

The offset microlens design from the A7r (the A7 has no such design).

There are still many questions regarding the A7 and A7r features and performance. For example we just learned that only the Sony A7r (36MP) has the offset microlens design. This is very important to know if you plan to use third-party manual rangefinder lenses on your cameras (for example [shoplink 15491 ebay]M-mount lenses[/shoplink]). And most of you likely didn’t know that the A7 has front curtain electronic shutter. So if you still don’t know if you should get the A7r or A7 here is a list that mya be helpful:

Pros for A7R
1) A7R is 36 MP while the A7 has 24 MP. Also an advantage if you want to use current E-mount lenses (you get 16MP on the A7r and 10MP on the A7)
2) A7r has missing AA filter which should give you a kick more per pixel sharpness
3) A7R’s sensor has off set micro-lenses designed to better capture light hitting edges/corners (might work better with Leica M lenses) — A7 sensor does not.
4) On A7R micro-lenses have gapless design. A7’s sensor doesn’t
5) Front panel on A7R is magnesium alloy. It’s plastic on A7.
6) Top two dials (exposure compensation and mode dial) on A7R are made from solid aluminium billets. On A7 the dials have rubberized exterior.

Pros for A7
1) Costs $600 less (and best price quality goes to the A7 with 28-70mm kit lens option)
2) A7 has AA filter which avoids major moiree issues and is also great to have if you shoot videos (it’s harder to get rid of moire on videos).
3) A7 has front curtain electronic shutter — A7R does not
4) Flash sync on A7 is 1/250. It’s 1/160 on A7R
5) A7 has on sensor PDAF. A7R doesn’t.
6) Continuous shooting: A7 — 5 fps. A7R 4 fps

Thanks “OneGuy” for completing the list!

Preorders in US:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Preorders in EU:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,

Image courtesy: Quesabesde.

Obviously we don’t have real preorder sales info yet. But at least Amazon in some way shows us what’s hot and what’s not. And According to their overall mirrorless ranking (Click here to see) the Sony A7r is the most preordered of the two new Full Frame cameras. It’s followed by the A7 body and on third place we have the A7 with lens kit option. Have to say that I actually expected the kit version to sell more than the A7 body only. Anyway, looks like the Megapixel factor is still very important. UPDATED: I checked SonyAlphaRumors outgoing links and the A7r got 30% more clicks than the A7 and A7kit sum.

The A7r is also the second most sold overall camera at Amazon (ranking here) and the Zeiss 35mm lens sells more than the other FE lenses when you look at the lens ranking (click here).

Still, these rankings not telling us anything about the popularity of the cameras. We have to see if the A7-A7r will be still be within the top list the next coming weeks. My bet is they will remain there for a long time :)

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Support SonyAlphaRumors: After months of FF mirrorless rumor work I would be glad if you can support my work by making your A7-A7r purchase by using these links below. I will earn a small commission and you don’t pay one single penny more! Thanks!

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE.
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE.

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The video on top has been posted by Oscar and shows the AF performance of the A7 with the Zeiss 55mm lens. Quite snappy and fast! Better than I actually expected. Would have been nice to see how big the difference is between the A/ (with Phase detection) and A7r (with contrast AF only).

And Sony answered many of your questions at blog.sony.com. These are some of the most important answers:
1) Asked about the Minolta 7000 and A7 design similarities they answer: “There is a bit of a retro design in this camera which was purposeful”
2) About A-mount future: “Sony Alpha owners can rest assured that we fully support the A-mount system of cameras and lenses”
3) About the NEX-7 successor: “The α7 and α7R Full Frame cameras represent a new level of performance for the E-mount system and are therefore not direct successors to NEX-7.”
4) “Our new model naming prefix strives to unify the model names.  “ILC” indicates “Interchangeable Lens Camera” followed by an indicator of A-mount “A” or E-mount “E”.”

More A7-A7r news:
A7-A7r first impression at Trustedreviews.
Sony A7 preview at Camerahoarders.
Image samples at Heise.de
A7 and A7r hands-on at Chip.de (German).

Support SonyAlphaRumors: After months of FF mirrorless rumor work I would be glad if you can support my work by making your A7-A7r purchase by using these links below. I will earn a small commission and you don’t pay one single penny more! Thanks!

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, FI, FR, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE.
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE.