Size comparison by Vlad (Thanks!)

The Full Frame for the masses is now here! The A7 and A73 (presentation page here at Amazon) are creating quite a buzz on the web. Here is a list of must read articles:

Brian Smith: Great field test with many image samples!
Sony Japan: Full size A7r image samples (image one, image two and image three).
Luminous Landscape: has one image sample and short hands-on description.
Blog Sina: It is the only site having posted A7r image samples. It includes some pics take with Zeiss ZM lenses. The photographer noted that the [shoplink 21606 ebay]21mm Biogon[/shoplink] does indeed show some vignetting and color shifting on corners.
Photoclubalpha: Thoughts by David Kilpatrick.
Ming Thein: His view on the A7 series announcement.
Imaging Resource: Hands-on by Dave Etchells (scroll down to see read his hands-on).
EosHD: RX10 has one new kilelr feature…5K readout!
Singlag: A7 and A7R with Zeiss 35/2.8 +55/1.8 with 100% crop with NR off
Dearsusans: What we learned from the A7 launch…

Editor’s note: All future E-mount cameras will have the Alpha/RX menu. By bye NEX menu! And the even bigger news is that there will be no more camera branded as “NEX”. By bye NEX!

I updated the preorder list and included many more links:

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page / some links via Dealsrunner):
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.

And these pics are from SAR reader Rowland (Thanks you too!). It’s from a Sony event in Asia. You can see the ripped A7 and a Leica comparison. Click on image to enlarge:

One more comparison by Vlad. That time with grip attached:

We have new reviews and tests of the most recently released Sony stuff:

1) David Kilpatrick posted the full A3000 camera review at Photoclubalpha (Click here).

2) Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS sharpness test by Antonio Forma FB. Full test at FredMiranda. And a review at Sony-club Russia (google translation here).

Just a note because many asked me this: The A7-A7r looks quite differently from the A3000!

Kai, the famous Bad Boy from Digitalrev tested the QX100 from Sony. As usual be prepared to a load of irony and dark humor :)

—

Here are all direct links to preorders in USA/Canada:
QX100: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX100 at Amazon (Click here).
Black QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
White QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX10 Amazon (Click here).
Xperia Z case with QX mount on Amazon (Click here).

Here are all direct links to preorders in Europe:
Black QX100 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Black QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
White QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Xperia Z1 at SonyDE, SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.

Sonyelectornics posted that video of a QX100 Lens Style Camera Teardown.

There is an interesting new review written by David Pogue on the New York Times site:

Sony’s concept for the new QX100 is among the most brilliant in its history. But the QX cameras’ execution just doesn’t live up to the ingenious idea behind them.

He lists many issues but most fo them can be solved via APP upgrade or with the next generation modules:

But listen: let’s not mope. Let’s celebrate the spirit of that spectacular central idea, the master engineers who brought it to life and even the executives who greenlighted this crazy, offbeat product. Let’s hope that spirit survives long enough for us to see a QX 2.0 next year.

In short…please SOny work on a decent APP update! This will solve half of the mentioned issues and tunr a half camera in a…decent camera :)

—

Here are all direct links to preorders in USA/Canada:
QX100: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX100 at Amazon (Click here).
Black QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
White QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX10 Amazon (Click here).
Xperia Z case with QX mount on Amazon (Click here).

Here are all direct links to preorders in Europe:
Black QX100 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Black QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
White QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Xperia Z1 at SonyDE, SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.

On sensor phase detection is the future tech. The NEX-FF and mirrorless ILCE camera will rely on that. As you know the Canon 70D has likely the most advanced solution called “Dual Pixel CMOS sensor”. In that case On-sensor phase detect AF is available on every pixel and adopted for initial subject acquisition.

DxOmark (Click here) posted an interesting Canon 70D vs Sony A77 comparison to see if the Canon tech is as good as it sounds on paper. The full test video page can be seen here. These are some of their findings:

Autofocus accuracy on fast appearance
– In Bright light conditions the Sony AF system is faster
– In Low Light conditions the Sony SLT-A77 performed nearly as well as the Canon, despite only 30% of the light entering the mirror-box being used for AF in the Sony.

Autofocus accuracy for tracking
– In Bright light conditions the Canon EOS 70D is slightly slower as we’ve seen before, while the Sony SLT A77 reacts quickly but displays lens breathing (a change of angle of view during shifting of focus).
– In Low Light conditions the Canon EOS 70D is clearly the better at focusing of the two on test.

DxO conclusion is:

For video enthusiasts, this camera is one of the best choices available on the market currently and at least is a viable option to the entirely likeable and very capable Sony SLT models.

Overall the A77 proves to be a better performer in normal shooting conditions and shows it’s limits only when it gets…dark. Note that the Canon 70D is a brand new camera that also costs $300 more than the two year old A77. It will be interesting to see how the soon to be announced NEX-FF and ILCE7/9 cameras will perform with their new on sensor phase detection tech.