Sony A99 Iceland Expedition from Enrique Pacheco on Vimeo.

Enrique Pacheco shot this great video with the A99. You can also read his story with the A99 on his blog: “After more than two weeks of winter expedition in the south of Iceland, photographing, filming and time-lapsing all kind of landscapes and situations under harsh weather conditions, I can say that the Sony A99 has performed as a truly professional camera, offering all its potential at the highest level without any problem. What more can you ask a camera today?”

And here is an interview with Charles Michel und Giorgio Balmelli about the A99:

Sony Alpha 99: Interview with Charles Michel from Charles Michel on Vimeo.

A99 store links: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Adrian from Germany just got his Sony RX1 via Sonystore.de! You see it on the pic on top and on background you see the SAR website :) I guess other European stores are shipping it too: Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH.

Lloyd Chambers complains about the real final RX1 price: “The RX1 is a super premium camera, but it ought to be $2999 with all the accessories below except perhaps the EVF (which ought to be built-in)— upping profit margins by charging for all the stuff any serious shooter needs is a game I don’t like to see played, not to the tune of ~$1000.”

So here are my savings proposal: Lloyd, you can save $170 by simply purchasing the $7 cheap chinese metal hood ([shoplink 15410 ebay]there is one here on eBay[/shoplink]). And we may save other $150 the day some Chinese company will do an alternative thumb like we have for the [shoplink 15659 ebay]Leica M cameras (they are here on eBay)[/shoplink]. That would make a total of $320 savings (if the cheap thumb accessory will be released soon).

More RX1 bits: New image samples have been posted at Focus Numerique and WhatDigitalCamera. New Sony RX1 Photo Plus Expo 2012 presentation on youtube.

Preorders: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Lensrentals tested the newly released Sigma 35mm f/1.4 which is also available for Sony A-mount at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (click here). And Roger writes: “So I’m clear, this copy of the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 was a bit better in the center and clearly better in the corners than the best copy of the Canon 35mm f/1.4 I’ve ever tested. For the Nikonians amongst us, the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 tested on a D3x resolves almost identically to the Canon.”  Sounds amazing or not? I am rpetty sure now that the Sigma will beat the Sony 35mm f/1.4 lens (here at Amazon) on both fronts…image quality and price. Some more Sigma 35mm f/1.4 image samples can be sen at DC.watch (Shot on a Canon).

And if you want to spend even less money than check out the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 lens review at Photographyblog: “If you don’t mind the lack of auto-focusing or big-brand name, we can heartily recommend the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC as a fantastic and affordable ultra-wide prime lens for full-frameDSLR owners.” In US you can find it as Rokinon at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and on [shoplink 7453 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. In Europe the name is Samyang and you can find it on [shoplink 7380 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and with the name Wallimex again on [shoplink 7831 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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P.S.: Links to the newly announced Samyang/Rokinon lenses:
8mm f/3.5 fisheye at Amazon, BHphoto,
14mm f/2.8 at Amazon, BHphoto,
24mm f/1.4 at Amazon, BHphoto,
35mm f/1.4 at Amazon, BHphoto,
85mm f/1.4 at Amazon, BHphoto,

DPreview (Click here) just posted an extended Sony RX1 preview that includes RAW and JPEG image samples. And you really have to check out the Studio Comparison tool (Click here). There is not major RAW quality difference between the various FF cameras like the Nikon D600, A99 and Canon 5DmarkIII. But in JPEG the RX1 seems to be better than the D600 and A99 cameras and as good as the Canon 5DmarkIII.

What do you think?

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Some “Asian” RX1 cameras are shipping worldwide from eBay (here on Slidoo eBay). Shipment in Europe and US will start in 2-3 weeks.

RX1 price and in Stock checks (Click on store name):
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Eclipse 2012, Queensland Australia. from kwon, o chul on Vimeo (shot on the A99)

Many SAR readers are having fun with their brand new A99. And here is a short roundup of their tests and findings:

Sony A99 test at the German website Sonyalphamag (Translation here).

Baron Abas shot a gourmet video (on vimeo).

Sunday Boredom: Ask Us Anything About the Sony A99 (ThePhoBlographer).

Sony A99 preview by Spymit. Sony Alpha A99 video stabilization review at Portreti (translation here).

Thodoris: “couple of concerts shot with the Sony A99 during the past weekend:
http://thodorismarkou.com/blog/2012/11/jumping-fish-festival-the-heavy/
http://thodorismarkou.com/blog/2012/11/jumping-fish-festival-macy-gray/
Most photos in both concerts were shot at ISO 3200-4000. A handful of them have different ISO ratings, and I singled them out by changing their titles – just hover over the photos to see examples of ISO 2000, 5000, 6400, 8000, 10000. Also, the crowd-only shots have been pushed 1-2 stops in both concerts. The Sony A99 RAW files have a lot of headroom in the highlights and the shadows. All photos were processed with the latest Adobe Camera RAW software.
The tilting screen is incredibly useful, I found myself using it a lot in shots where I needed a higher vantage point. The AF system continues to amaze me. I used the camera with the CZ 24-70mm/f2.8, the Sigma HSM 70-200mm/f2.8 and the CZ 135mm/f1.8 – in all cases the autofocus was fast and accurate. The metering system also responds very good to concert stage lighting. By the end of the second concert I was only using Aperture/Shutter priority because, well, with clean 3200-6400 ISO (which allow for high shutter speeds) and a good metering system, no need to use Manual mode.”

A99 store links: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Luminous Landscape tested the new Sony 10-18mm E-mount lens. And the usually very critical reviewer ends the review with that short sentence: “It is the best of the four super wide-angle zooms I’ve tried, and I consider it a keeper.”

Also a SAR readers tested the lens and sent me this email: “NEW images from the Sony 10-18mm f4 lens / NEX 7 at image shack album: http://imageshack.us/g/1/9887931/. Feel free to share the link on SAR. (The Watermark copyright is my own company). Initial impression of the lens are:
Excellent build quality, great balance on the NEX 7, surprisingly sharp corners even wide open, incredible depth of field, mild distortion at 10mm but easily correctable, excellent color and contrast.  Bottom line, the is my new favorite lens for my NEX 7! (Even better than my 24mm CZ 1.8).”

Sounds good!

The new 10-18mm E-mount lens is in Stock at Amazon and Adorama and on eBay (via Slidoo).

Image courtesy: Techradar

Techradar posted the A99 hands-on review. And the most interesting part is the comparison with the Nikon D600, Nikon D800 and Canon 5DmarkII. You can see it here. Let’s look at the RAW files:
1) Signal to noise ratio: The A99 is on par with the Nikon D600 while the Canon has an edge from ISO 3.200 towards.
2) Dynamic range. The A99 isn’t the best at ISO 50-100 but form 200 ISO towards it’s on top with the D700 and 5DmarkII.
Overall it looks like the A99 and D600 are damn close in their performance. Certainly the A99 holds up well with the best in this class. Now le’t see if the RX1 can beat them all! Can’t wait to see these results on techaradar soon.

More A99 tests: New A99 test by Yodobashi (translation here). A99 video by SAR reader Baron (on vimeo). New image samples by Frank Doorhof.

A99 Cyber Monday deals: Free 32inch HDTV on every A99 purchase! Check out the deal at AlphaCameraDeals (Click here). In UK you will get 15% off on sony.co.uk (A99 = 1952£). By entering the voucher code SONYBF10 at the checkout you’ll get 15% off TVs, HiFi, cameras and Handycams. There is also a small $54 price drop via [shoplink 15618 ebay]BigValue on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. And login and set your A99 search on Slidoo to get notified one Bay price drops and deals.

A99 store links: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.