Sony US deals roundup!

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Sony A99:
A99 with a free(!) grip for $2299 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Sony Store (Click bere).
Buy.com (now Rakuten) is selling the Sony A99 for $1,899.99 only. The offer runs out of time within the next couple of hours.

Sony A7 and A7r:
A7-A7r up to $650 savings are still running at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Sony Store (Click bere).
You can trade it any camera you have (also a $10 cheap used compact) and get a $300 credit for the A7 or A7r purchase at Focuscamera (Click here) , Adorama (Click here) or BHphoto (Click here).

Sony RX10 and RX100II:
Save $240 on Select Accessories with the Purchase of the Sony RX10 Digital Camera at Amazon and SonyStore.
Save up to $550 on Select Sony Accessories with Sony RX1 Series Camera Purchase at Amazon.

“Old” NEX series:
Sony NEX-7 with two lenses and extras for $899 (substract the $100 gift card) at BHphoto (Click here).
NEX-3n with kit lens is again back in Stock for $299 only at Amazon US (Click here).

 

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Sony a99 with and without mirror at ISO 100 and 6400 (by Maxime Siegler)

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SAR reader Maxime Siegler tested the Sony A99 Image quality with and without the semitransparent mirror. yes, he removed the mirror fromx his camera :)

This exposure of “mirror, ISO 100, 6s, f/1.4” was matched to that of “mirrorless, ISO 100, 6s, f/1.4” by using the exposure slider (+0.5) in ACR >>> mirror match, ISO 100, 6s, f/1.4, +0.5
mirror, ISO 100, 6s, f/1.4
mirrorless, ISO 100, 6s, f/1.4

This exposure of “mirror, ISO 6400, 1/13s, f/1.4” was matched to that of “mirrorless, ISO 6400, 1/13s, f/1.4” by using the exposure slider (+0.5) in ACR >>> mirror match, ISO 6400, 1/3s, f/1.4, +0.5
mirror, ISO 6400, 1/13s, f/1.4
mirrorless, ISO 6400, 1/13s, f/1.4

His conclusions are that the “mirrorless” shots have:
* cleaner high ISO files, i.e., the noise pattern remains relatively smooth at ISO 6400 by ca. 1/2 stop (maybe slightly more).
* slightly more refined details.

This isn’t a suprise for none of us. We already knew there is some (negligible?) loss with the mirror. If Sony keeps developing the SLT tech I hope they will offer a mirror lockup feature on future cameras. Not impossible

A similar test made with the A55 SLT camera has been made years ago by Thesybersite.

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Sony announces ProRes and DNxHD support for F5 & F55. 4K photocamera coming later this year!

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The same source that told us the 4K camera would not come in April but much later this year also told us that Sony would give a ProRes update for the F5 & F55. Well, Sony just announced ProRes and DNxHD support for F5 & F55 camera. This means the source is likely also right on the 4K photocamera coming later this year :)

This is the official Press Text from Sony:

Sony has been at the forefront of, and has vast experience in developing advanced compression technologies that led to the visually lossless HDCAM SR, a standard in the production industry since 2001.
Based on our knowledge and experience in this area we then selected the highest Level and Profile of the H.264 standard as the core compression technology for the F5, and F55 cameras. Named XAVC, it offers exceptionally high quality, with the ability to scale from HD, 2K to 4K with very modest data rates, and with frame rates up to 180fps.
XAVC has proven robust, and is well accepted by “mission critical” genres such as Episodic Television, Documentary and feature film. The adoption of XAVC by commonly used platforms has been exceptionally fast, and as a result XAVC is supported by all major workflow applications in the fields of editing, grading, transcoding and media management.
Sony is firmly committed to the continued advancement of the XAVC codec with exciting developments planned for the future. Sony is also committed to our customers and with your feedback the need for diversity and flexibility to support codecs that have been used in our industry for some time.
Our mission is to continue developing the most feature rich cameras on the market. In so doing we are excited to announce support for ProRes and DNxHD codecs as a future hardware upgrade option for both the F5, and F55 cameras.

Stay tuned for more information!

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Competition news: Nikon 1 V3 has similar A6000 hybrid AF.

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Some news from the competition: Nikon announced their new flagship Nikon 1 V3 mirrorless cameras. First thing you will notice is that it can do 20fps in continuous AF mode and a very A6000 alike hybrid autofcus system with nearly 100% frame coverage. But they do not claim the AF to be as fast as the A6000.

Second thing you notice is the high price ($1,200 here at Amazon). Quite pricey if you consider the A6000 costs $400 less.

P.S.: Nikon 1 V3 Coverage at Mirrorlessrumors.com.

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(SR5) New Full Frame E-mount cameras to be launched within the next 5-6 months (likely at Photokina).

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I can confirm via multiple trusted sources that Sony will launch new Full Frame E-mount cameras within the next 5-6 months. I guess it means they will be launched right before the Photokina September show. NONE(!) of them will be a replacement of the current A7 and A7r models. All we know for sure about these new models is that they will have an advanced hybrid AF system similar to what we got inside the newly announced Sony A6000.

The surprises: I can already tell you that there will be many more cameras in the months to come (RX and Alpha and E-mount). I am working on those rumors right now….be patient ;)

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Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.
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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!

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RX10 gets another “thumbs up” by TheVerge!

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RX10 video review by TheVerge

The Sony RX10 keeps earning positive feedback by reviewers. This time it’s TheVerge that gave their thumbs up to the camera:

Point-and-shoots are dying because all they offer is better quality — and it seems no one cares about better quality when they’re just cropping things to a square and putting them on Instagram. But superzooms are a growing market because they offer what neither phones nor compact cameras posses: versatility. The RX10 works whether you’re on the field or in the nosebleeds, whether you’re on a sunny beach or a dark club. It’s a camera for everyone, for every situation. It’s easily the best superzoom I’ve ever used, and a camera that will satisfy just about anyone who buys it.

RX10 store links:
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.

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