Over one month ago our sources told us that the NEX-3 and the A33 would be replaced by new slightly improved models. Sony recently discontinued both models making us believe the replacement would be imminent. But the very latest info we received from our sources do describe a very bad scenario for Sony plants in Japan. We have been told that during the last three weeks not a single sensor has been produced in Sony Japanese plants. As we told you on Friday there are two problems:
1) There are many aftershocks and every earthquake that is bigger than 5 point Richter automatically stops the production
2) Energy supply is very limited

Even Howard Stringer (CEO of Sony) said that the iPhone 5 will be release will be postponed because of sensor supply problems (Source: 9to5mac)! UPDATE: Our sources confirmed that the next iPhone will feature a Sony 8 Megapixel camera sensor.

The big question now is: Will the NEX-C3 and A35 announcement be delayed?

I have been told by one source that there have been a very last minute change. Some products that should have been announced before the NAB show in Las Vegas will be delayed. We don’t know yet if this includes the NEX-3 and A35. This is a very last minute decision and I ask my sources if they can send me more info about that.

And I guess that also other future Sony products could be delayed (I hope this will nto apply to the A77!).

If you have some info to share about that drop me a mail at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com or use the contact form on the right sidebar. You can avoid to send me your name and mail address. It also doesn’t store your IP-address (you are 100% anonymous). Would be nice if you can at least send me a fake name so that I can recognize you in future. Thanks!

The Japanese website Egami.blog found a new Sigma patent that discloses a 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. As you know Sigma announced that they will soon release lenses for E-mount cameras. That’s why we can assume that lens will be made for our NEX cameras. Anyway we already have a [shoplink 2996]Sony 18-55mm[/shoplink] lens for NEX. I really do hope they will release some fast prime lens too!

Check out the Sony 18-55mm price at [shopcountry 2996].

9to5mac just found an interesting statement from Howard Stringer (CEO of Sony). He said “that their camera image sensor facility in Sendai was affected by the recent tsunami/quake. In the next breath, he said something to the effect of getting image sensors to companies like Apple will be delayed.“. It is rumored that the next iPhone 5 will feature the same 8Megapixel backlit camera used inside the new [shoplink 6244]Xperia neo (Click here to se that cam)[/shoplink].

I know this is not an Alpha related rumor but at leats it’s good to hear that Sony sensors are gaining an interesting momentum. According to DxOmark Sonys APS-C sensors are better than the Canon-Panasonic-Samsung sensors. And now even Apple will use Sony’s knowledge.

We told you Sony would announce the A35 and here it is check it out for yourself (before Sony removes it): http://www.sony.nl/hub/dslr! Say bye bye to the old [shoplink 3620]Sony A33[/shoplink] which officially has been discontinued by Sony Japan. The Sony A35 will bring only minor improvements over the A33.

P.S.: The Sony A33 is now discounted on many online stores. If you want to get a cheap and good SLT camera this could be your chance: [shopcountry 3620].

NOTE: This is not a fools day joke!

A few days after the earthquake in Japan Sony sources told me that Sony is having a lot of troubles with their factories in Japan. They had to stop the production in many plants and they have no clue when production can go back to normality. They had no major damages but there are two main problems:

1) There are many aftershocks and every earthquake that is bigger than 5 point Richter automatically stops the production
2) Energy supply is very limited

We got the info that all japanese companies are not telling us the complete truth. They are officially playing down the issues. In reality we can expect delays for months on almost any product they do produce in Japan.

I was hoping the new NEX and SLT camera announcement would NOT be delayed because we are so close to the very important NAB show in Las Vegas. Many sources now contacted me to say that Sony deleted “som”e of the new product announcements in the very last minute! I have been told that Sony was not able to produce one single sensor during the last three weeks!

I am currently investigating the news with other sources. Will post more about that soon…

UPDATE: I am not sure yet which product has been delayed. I am asking around to see what’s going on…

UPDATE_2: Sounds like only a few products will be delayed. I am not 100% sure yet but the Sony A35 will  not be delayed

The image on top shows the “Hybrid OEVFD” functionality

What the hell! The new Sony A77 will have a ultraspeedy Quadbionz core that will allow a 23 fps at full 24 Megapixel resolution. It also can take FullHD videos while you are taking photos or chatting via skype on the 4.2 inch OLED touchscreen of the cameras. But the really best new feature is the “Hybrid OEVFD” which stands for Hybrid Optical Elctronic View Finder Dream. It’s a much further development of the [shoplink 6075 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink] technology. It allows you to see the real optical image, the electronic image or any youtube video you want!

Damn is that a good DAYYY! :)

Links:
– [shoplink 6075 ebay]Fuji X100 on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]

I still don’t have a 100% reliable confirmation from my sources but it sounds like the NEX-7 could be announced within the next few months. A new source told me that it will be announced around the same time of the A77 (July). It will feature the same A77 sensors (very likely 24 Megapixels). The big question is if it has a built-in viewfinder. The trusted sources didn’t tell me anything about that but they said the NEX-7 will not be a [shoplink 3003]NEX-3/5[/shoplink] successor, it will be a complete new NEX model. But there is one thing you have to keep in mind. After the recent Japanese disaster roadmap could change within the next weeks. As soon as I receive some info about that I will post them on SAR.

One more thing: All sources do confirm a new NEX and SLT camera will be announced next week. If the rumors are true we should see new models on Monday or Tuesday. Don’t know the extract time yet (I hope some of you can tell me about it). Stay tuned on SAR!

Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!