Adobe updated their Camera Raw plug-in and added support for the new Sony A560 and A580 cameras.

The Photographer Tony Bridge reviewed the [shoplink 3617]Sony A55[/shoplink]: “They are certainly not the first to use one in a  DSLR (Panasonic did it with the G1/GH1) but this viewfinder is so close to an optical one that I would have no hesitation in going electronic with all my cameras from here on. Combine that with the pellicle mirror and all the advantages that accrue from that decision and a sensor which is clearly at the top of its class and you have a picture making machine which represents astonishing value. At that price it has to be the weapon of choice. For a long time I’ve been looking for a camera which was small, light, intuitive and offered me a quality level suitable for exhibition work, which offered no compromise results at a highly compromised price point (so call me le miserable!). Not all of us are in a position to afford a Leica.” Click here to read the full review. Thanks Tony for sending me the link!

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One of our readers (Mistral) just found that new adapter on eBay: “Just to let you know that Kipon, the Chinese manufacturer of adapters, just launched a Canon EF –> Sony E adapter with built-in aperture (since there is no mechanical coupling in the EF mount, you can only use the EF lenses wide open with conventional adapters). Their website is http://www.dl-kipon.com but it is down more than often.
The adapter for sale on eBay:
[shoplink 4840]http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-EF-Sony-nex-3-5-adapter-w-build-in-aperture-/250739038323[/shoplink]”

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Popphoto choosed the new [shoplink 3617]Sony A55[/shoplink] as camera of the year: “A really good measure of the strength of a technology company is how well it does things that can’t be done.Sony, confronted with a vexing glitch of DSLR video, dipped into a bag of old and new tricks to come up with a remarkably simple solution. Along the way, it invented essentially a new type of camera, one for which we don’t quite have a name yet. What we can call it is the Alpha 55, and the Camera of the Year for 2010.”

I couldn’t agree more :)

And hee the direct preorder links if you want to check the Sony A55 price and availability:
Amazon, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon FR, Pixmania DE, Pixmania BE, Pixmania AT, Pixmania UK, Pixmania NL, Pixmania PL, Pixmania IT.

Sony develops “Hybrid FPA”, a novel liquid crystal alignment technique that achieves faster response time for liquid crystal displays (Akihabaranews)

Sony CineAlta Moves Beyond Bayer (ImageSensorWorld)

Taiwan market: Sony surpasses Nikon in ILC market (Digitimes.com)

NEX Body and Rear Lens Cap Available (SonyAlphaNex)

Join the Sony World Photography Awards 2011 (worldphoto.org)

Sony NEX-VG10 with Sigma 50-500mm Bigma (SonyAlphaNex).

The Sony clock :)

Carl Zeiss announces record sales (PMAnewsline)

David Bejarano from Sonyalpha.es compared the present Sony and Canon lenses. He wrote me the following text:

“Tired of hearing the endlessly and tiresome song “The A-mount has a very limited number of lenses; I would wish to post this comparison, so everybody could speak knowingly.
Debunking myths… if only a little
It is a truth repeated and accepted by everybody that Sony lacks the breadth of catalogue of Canon or Nikon. And that is often used when evaluating the Sony products: “Yes, it could be a good camera, but when you need to make grow your gear
Not long ago, on a thread on the Sonyalpha.es forum, a user said: “And after the [shoplink 4378]A580[/shoplink]… what?”, questioning the growth capabilities of his Sony gear
Some months ago, taking pictures with some Canon and Nikon users, where only a girl with an A300 and myself with the [shoplink 3032]A900[/shoplink], were Sony users, were holding the jokes and ironies of one of them. I didn’t want to argue; so I just asked him for a memory card, took some pictures, and while I handed it to him, I told him “Just look at these at home, and then we can talk about Why I’m shooting with Sony”… Now this Canikon user has a problem, because his gear doesn’t give him pictures with so much dynamic range, sharpness, detail and colours. Now he doubts a lot but… “There are so few Sony lenses”!
It would be naive not accept that today Canon’s lenses list is much larger than the Sony’s one but… How far? So I decided to compare their catalogues, and now I’m presenting the result.
The only aspect I try to answer is if Sony’s lenses list is as short as it’s said. It should be necessary to analyse some other aspects which would take the study a little bit further. There are a lot of reviews
There are already many reviews that assess lens performances. I’m not talking about qualities, although I must say that G lenses can talk face to face with Canon’s L and L-II, if not overcome them, and all CZ lenses outperform their respective Canon counterparts, according to the different reviews I’ve been reading.
Talking about the sealed Canon lenses, I remember an article of an A900 and a [shoplink 4835]24-70/2.8 Carl Zeiss[/shoplink] lens, shooting on the Paris-Dakar rally, completely full of desert sand and dust, while continued working perfectly; or the Luminous Escape experience praising the A900 reliability that outperformed some failing Canon bodies
You can find here a Canon vs Sony’s catalogue comparative, you can use it to take your own conclussions …
Firstable, is important to realize you can find a lot of similar lenses on Canon’s family; some of this “duplicate” models have been developed to achieve quality improvements (for the L and L-II series) and some others because they are stabilized lenses (LS). But, in the Sony family ALL lenses can work as stabilized lenses because all Alpha bodies (except the NEX bodies) have in body stabilization, and you don’t need to duplicate versions.
Second, there are some Canon lenses with no AF motor, but its use is limited only to Canon bodies with integrated AF motor. In the Sony system the camera bodies include an AF , which has shown their advantages; newer in-body engines now are outperforming in terms of speed and precission some SSM engine“

Image courtesy: http://www.hkmug.org/

Sony Europe just announced the new firmware. You can download it here: http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/DSLR/dslr.aspx.

Let me know if you are happy with the new improvements! Thanks!

UPDATE: Japanese firmware version:
For the A850
http://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/download/DSLR/UUnXMtUM/DSLRA850v20.exe?fm=jp
For the A900
http://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/download/DSLR/UUnXMtUM/DSLRA900v20.exe?fm=jp

PRESS RELEASE:

Companies Jointly Develop New Specifications to Meet Needs of Professional Photography and Video Markets

Milpitas, Calif., November 29, 2010-SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), Nikon Corporation and Sony Corporation today announced the joint development of a set of specifications that addresses the future requirements of professional photography and video markets. The three companies proposed the specifications to the CompactFlash® Association (CFA)1, the international standards organization, with the intent to standardize the format.

Professional photography and High Definition (HD)2 video applications require a new generation of memory cards capable of processing significantly larger files. To address the imaging industry’s future speed and capacity demands, SanDisk, Nikon and Sony proposed a new card specification whose performance and storage capabilities surpass those of existing memory cards. Once accepted, the new format will enable exciting new possibilities in the professional imaging and video markets.

The proposed specifications achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second (MB/sec)3 (theoretical maximum interface speed) using the highly versatile PCI Express4 interface. The increased speeds will enable imaging and video applications that could not be accomplished using the current CompactFlash specification’s Parallel ATA (PATA)5 interface. CF6.0, released in November 2010, offers maximum performance of up to 167MB/sec.

The new specifications’ faster speeds enable continuous burst shooting of massive RAW images. The enhanced performance also allows users to quickly transfer storage-intensive high-resolution photos and videos from the card to a computer. The specifications combine high-speed data transfer with low power consumption via a power scaling system to extend battery life.

In addition to industry-leading performance capabilities, the new memory card specifications also meet the future capacity and durability requirements of professional imaging applications. The proposed new specifications have the potential to extend theoretical maximum capacities beyond two terabytes (TB)6, making them especially useful for high resolution images and HD video applications. Similar in size to a CompactFlash® card, the new specifications’ access control function and highly durable form factor produce a combination of physical ruggedness and reliability that is indispensable for professional usage models.

“This ultra high-speed media format will enable further evolution of hardware and imaging applications, and widen the memory card options available to CompactFlash users such as professional photographers,” said Mr. Shigeto Kanda of Canon, chairman of the board, CFA. “This next generation format is expected to be widely adapted to various products, including those other than high-end DSLRs.”

“The ultra high-speed media, which will be realized by this new card format, will expand the capability of digital SLR cameras and other professional digital imaging equipment,” said Mr. Kazuyuki Kazami, operating officer, vice president and general manager, development headquarters, imaging company, Nikon Corporation.