Digitalcamerainfo (Click here) tested the Sony A33: “The Sony Alpha SLT-A33 did not blow us away in any specific area, but the camera did a passable job in all of our tests. If you’re overly concerned about image performance, then there are plenty of other cameras that will please you more than the A33 (like the Sony A55V). But, we found the A33 to be a handy shooter with a good set of controls, an intuitive menu system, and some fun features to boot.”
Chekc the A33 price at [shopcountry 3620].

Phase One released the new Capture One 6.2 which adds the support for the Sony SLT and NEX cameras. And Alpha Numerique tested the new software with the Sony A55 and NEX-5. The reuslt is that Lightroom is still better at High-ISO handling but Phase One is a very good tool for studio and landscape photography.

Cameras.co.uk (Click here) tested the NEX-3: “The Sony Nex-3 is not a cheap option, but it is a quality option. You can pick up the majority of features this camera has with an entry level Digital SLR and pay less if you prefer to. The main attractions are its picture quality and a portability that a Digital SLR simply cannot match. Overall The Nex-3 is an impressive camera.”
Check the NEX-3 price at [shopcountry 3000].

Low light test: FS100 F3 AF101 5DmkII from Philip Bloom

The well know filmmaker Philip Bloom just posted a bunch of new interesting videos made the two new Sony video cameras and the Panasonic AG-AF100 and Canon 5D markII. The Sony F3 is a PL mount camera and the Sony NEX-FS100 has an E-mount. Read the full preview and see all the videos on Philip’s website (Click here). It’s still to early to draw any final conclusion but it looks like the Sony cameras do deliver the best results! I for myself are strongly considering to buy the NEX-FS100. Want to carry it with me for my next trip in Ecuador in September. Let’s hope the camera release will be not delayed and be in Stock in July (Source: B&H).

Links to the other mentioned cameras:
– Panasonic AG-AF100 [shoplink 6087]
– Canon 5D markII [shoplink 6340]

P.S.: Had a very tuff day at work and I just saw that I did recieve many emails form readers. Will try to answer you all within the shortest time possible!

[shoplink 3617][/shoplink]

Photographybay (Click here) tested the Sony A55: “The A55 gives the novice user plenty of room to grow in both the photo and video realms. The biggest limitations I found were the image buffer when shooting RAW files at high frame rate bursts and the unnatural feel of the fast AF in video recording. For an entry-level DSLR though, the Sony A55 will go toe-to-toe with just about any other comparably-priced camera out there.”

A reminder: The A55 like other Sony cameras is currently discounted in US:
And here is the summary of all US deals:
-$50 on the A580 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H and J&R.
-$50 on the A55 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the A33 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the NEX-5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the NEX-3 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.

We are all waitng Sony, Sigma, Tamron and Zeiss to release new high quality lenses for our NEX camera. But in the meanwhile we can only report about new lenses made by chinese companies.
The latest addition is the new 28mm f/2.8 Mitakon lens for NEX. You can see image of the lens on Flickr (Click here) and image samples at Xitek (Click here).
I don’t know where you can buy the lens. I searched on [shoplink 6533 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] where I could find Mitakon lenses but not for the NEX.

The other chinese lenses with NEX mount are the SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 you can already buy on [shoplink 3514 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and the soon to come fast prime 23mm (again from SLRmagic).
There are also a few reseller that do rework the mount so that it can fit on a NEX camera without the need for an adapter. An example: The Kowa 50mm f/1.0 you can find on [shoplink 6534 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].

What is the best 12Megapixel APS-C sensor in the world? Drumming…….it’s a Sony sensor on a Fuji camera :)
The new [shoplink 6075]Fuji X100[/shoplink] got tested by DxOmark and received an Overall Score of 73 points. No current 12 Megapixel APS-C camera can beat it. By the way, did you knwo the Fuji uses the same [shoplink 3228]Sony A700[/shoplink] sensor? Let’s hope the A77 and all other future cameras will be optimized to squeeze out the full Sony sensor potential!

P.S.: The Fuji X100 with the hybrid viewfinder concepts sells for almost the double original price on [shoplink 6075 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Sony should take a look into that technology…

[shoplink 6455][/shoplink]

Kurtmunger (Click here) posted a new Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens review: “I used three lenses for this review, and all three seemed about the same in image quality, so I’m thinking the quality control for this lens is ok.“…”The Sigma 70-200mm OS build quality is good, (but not as good as the Sony), and it offers the same type of fast, almost silent focusing system that Sony uses (SSM). Unfortunately, there are a couple of things missing on the lens that should be included at this price range; like some focus hold buttons and a focus limiter option to speed up focusing in certain situations.”…”Overall, I think the Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 HSM telephoto zoom lens with optical stabilization is not all that impressive considering the price tag is in the neighborhood of the excellent Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 G.”

Direct Links to the Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 EX lens: [shopcountry 6455]
Direct Links to the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 lens: [shopcountry 6369]

Kurt also sent me the following info: “Just thought I’d relay some info on the new flash (HVL-F43AM) from Sony. I noticed it has a 15mm diffuser, which means Sony may be coming out with a 15mm lens at some point in the future, or it could be just a typo.  I put a specs chart on my homepage, and my thoughts on it.”

Let’s hope he is right ;)

[shoplink 6433 ebay][/shoplink]
If you need fast lenses for your NEX than you have to look for interesting third party lenses. As you know weeks ago I posted a news about the possibility to use the Micro Four Thirds Nokton 25mm on a Sony NEX. But he lens doesn’t fully cover the larger APS-C sensor and it’s a bit questionable if it makes sense to use that lens on your NEX camera. Some of our readers sent me possible alternative lenses which do cover the full image circle. One of the most interesting lenses is certainly the [shoplink 6433 ebay]50mm f/0.95[/shoplink] from Canon. Here is a list of links on Flickr:
– An image of the NEX-5 with the lens attached (by Eldech on Flickr)
– A second image of the lens on the NEX (by Nico on Flickr)
– Image samples (by Nico on Flickr) There are many nice images!

See the current Canon 50mm f/0.95 on [shoplink 6433 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The lens costs more or less like the [shoplink 5973 ebay]Nokton 25mm for NEX[/shoplink].

If you have more images to show feel free to share them on SonyAlphaRumors! Thanks!