Sony Alpha digital cameras

Dpreview ads A7r studio comparison shots and a user experience review.

November 15, 2013
reviews
98 Comments

You can now have some fun and play with the JPG and RAW comparison tool that just added the A7r images (Click here). There is also a new A7-A7r experience review article (Click here). And there is a surprising statement:

After shooting with the α7 and α7R for some time, I preferred the α7R for its faster, more reliable autofocus and better images overall. Naturally, I wanted to prefer the α7, with its lower-res 24MP sensor and lower price. The main reason I preferred the α7R: I liked the images better, and I liked the experience better. The α7’s JPEG noise suppression looks quite overprocessed, giving even out-of-focus areas a brush-stroke appearance, and its phase-detect autofocus isn’t as fast, nor as accurate (we’ll be testing further to confirm and characterize this).

So, now it’s the A7r that has a faster AF?

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
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, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Lucky UK readers: 100 pounds off on both Zeiss FE primes!

November 14, 2013
deals
10 Comments

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Those lucky UK readers will jump for joy when reading this :)
Both Zeiss FE primes already got a 100 pound discount: It’s now 598 pounds for the 35mm lens (Click here) and 752 pounds for the 55mm lens (Click here).

More new Sony EU deals:
Next price drop on the A3000 with kit lens in Germany (Click here).
You pay 383 Euro only for the RX100 with the secret code (Click here).

Debunking rumors: No Otus A-mount prototype is around yet :)

November 14, 2013
rumors
26 Comments

PDNonline wrote that they tested the A7/A7r with “the so-new-it’s-still-a-prototype Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 (via the LA-EA3 adapter)“. If true this would mean they had an A-mount Otus Prototype in their hands! But guess what…this isn’t true. They just confused the Metabones EOS adapter with the LA-EA3 adapter :)

Rokinon lens deals. RX10 shipping on November 23.

November 14, 2013
deals
27 Comments

The RX10 will ship soon! November 23 according to Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). And there are also superkits for that cameras on Focus camera: kit one, kit two and kit three.

There are also two new deals on Samyang (aka Rokinon, aka Bower) lenses:
$50 of on the Bower 35mm f/1.4 Lens for Sony/Minolta at BHphoto (Click here).
$100 of on the Rokinon 16mm f/2.0 Lens for Sony A or Sony E mount Groupon (Click here).

From source: Sony A7-A7r preorders 200% more than expected from Sony. Sony A7r review at CameraLabs.

November 14, 2013
reviews
164 Comments

A trusted source just told me that “the pre-ordered quantities are almost 200% bigger than expected by Sony“. That’s great news! It means they already sold triple as expected! Now imagine how much more they could sell with a rangefinder designed version (NEX-7 alike).

And now a new review:
CameraLabs (Click here) published the full Sony A7r review. And I like that first part of their conclusions:

“I’ll cut straight to the chase: the Sony Alpha A7r is one of the most impressive and exciting cameras I’ve ever tested. This is a camera which delivers the quality of the Nikon D800e in a body which weighs half as much and costs almost one third less….most high-end photographers I speak to cite the absence of full-frame models with AF as what’s holding them back from dumping their DSLRs and adopting mirrorless. Well Sony’s now removed that barrier with not one but two full-frame mirrorless bodies.”

Obviously the camera gets the “Highly Recommended” mark :)

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
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, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Guest post: full frame e-mount roadmap (by Vlad)

November 14, 2013
news
87 Comments

SAR note: This is a readers guest post. If you want to write an article on SAR just contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

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Full frame e-mount roadmap discussion by SAR reader Vlad.

Note: The following is a speculation, based on current rumors. It should simply serve as a conversation starter and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Today’s topic is the full frame e-mount roadmap

It looks like the different colors denote different lines of lenses, i.e. Sony Zeiss (blue), Sony G (yellow) and the regular Sony (grey). If that is correct, Sony is trying to present the ILCE line in its best light during the introduction, but there will be more affordable Sony lenses coming towards the end of 2014.
There are 3 upcoming lenses (mid 2014), that we can more easily speculate on, as they are described to some extent in the roadmap:
1. Sony Zeiss ultra wide angle F4 zoom – based on the current offerings and the speed indicated here, it’s already pretty clear that they are going for size reduction. I’d expect at best a 16-35, but probably something shorter and I don’t think they’ll go wider than 14mm.
2. Sony Zeiss fast prime – nice job of leaving that wide open. If we still consider that the grey lines are Sony lenses, it means that there won’t be many Sony Zeiss ones coming for some time, so something around 85mm makes the most sense (given that we already have a 35 and 55) and I won’t expect anything faster than F2. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an F2.8.
3. G macro lens – here we can expect everything. Given the G denomination, I don’t think it will be anything short, a good entry for a first macro lens for a system that Sony obviously wants to make look good, makes me think of a 100mm. Easily F4. Or faster and shorter, 60mm F2.8?
As to the upcoming Sony offerings, it seems probable that they will fill in the gaps (such as a wide prime), but also provide budget alternatives to the Sony Zeiss lenses and include stabilization for some.
On the high-end, the new family of Zeiss manual lenses (not Sony Zeiss), will probably be of big interest to many, but I expect really high prices for those.
(http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/zeiss-will-launch-manual-focusing-lenses-for-the-a7-a7r/)
What do you think about these assumptions and what Sony or Zeiss lenses would you like to see most, come end of 2014 and through 2015?

First image samples taken with the huge Tamron 150-600mm lens.

November 13, 2013
news
70 Comments

At Blog Naver (Click here) you can see the very first image samples taken with the new Tamron lens (link found via Dicahub). The A-mount lens is now listed at BHphoto (Click here). But there is no info on price and availability yet.

Specs at Tamron.