I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first read this! Fuji announced a new mirrorless system with interchangeable lens system that will use a very large sensor. Exact size of the sensor has not been unveiled but Fuji said it is the highest resolution and lowest noise sensor ever used and it will beat any current full frame sensor! That’s probably the first real competitor for the NEX system and probably also of the future full frame NEX camera! Amazing Fuji. You did what Nikon and Canon where not able to do for now!
There are a couple of new NEX-7 related news. As you know that camera will be in Stock by mid-November and I will certainly buy one! Now let’s see the list of news:
The video you see on top of this post shows an the high speed mode of the NEX-7 (10 frames per second with 24M RAW). There is also a Sony NEX-7 Russian fashion shooting video on youtube. New image samples have been posted at Fotopolis. SonyAlphaNex did a Sony Alpha NEX-7 vs Leica M9 size and spec comparison. The NEX-7 is really the closest “thing” to the Leica M9 which costs 5.500 Euro ([shoplink 5502 ebay]click here to see that cam on eBay[/shoplink]). And to see a real image comparison between the NEX-7 and Leica M9 click over to ThePictureDesk.
For our German readers: ClubSonus posted an unboxing video (Click here) and a German hands-on video (Click here).
Now, those are the NEX-7 preorder links (Click on store name to visit the NEX-7 product page): [shopcountry 8454].
And here is the new Zeiss lens links: [shopcountry 8450].
And than we have that nice “cheap” new NEX lens, the 50mm f/1.8: [shopcountry 8448].
For birds shooter or travellers there is the new 50-210mm zoom: [shopcountry 8444].
Those links are automatically generated. If for example you are located in Germany the links will lead you to Sonystore Germany and other big German stores. But many of our readers told me that in reality German readers do also buy in UK stores, or Spanish readers in German stores and so on. That’s why sometimes I give you the links to all stores I do usually check to get info about availability or price:
[shoplist 8454]
That’s it regarding the NEX-7. Now let me work on new rumors… :)
I am going to summarize the latest A77 I received from my readers. First of all the A77 is now in Stock at Amazon Japan and Sonystore Canada. And if you are from Aberdeen you will get the A77 body for GBP977.45 instead of GBP1149 (Thanks Kenneth for sending this).
Whatdigitalcamera (Click here) reviewed the A77: “Sony’s uncompromising approach to the Alpha A77 has produced a camera that not only matches some excellent competition, but beats them in a number of areas too“. The camera earns the “Gold Award“!
If you are already an A77 owner and you are experiencing some black out issues try this:
1. Turn off A77.
2. Take out battery.
3. Insert battery again.
4. Press these 3 buttons (Menu+Movie+Ael) simultaneously.
5. Turn on A77 and keep the 3 buttons pressed for 5 seconds. There will be a green spot “blinks” on the lower left corner of the LCD screen. Then “alpha logo” should show up again.
Here is the succes story of some who have tried this (page 5 of the thread): Dyxum forum.
Another SAR reader tested the Toshiba 95MB/s SDHC card on A77. See video on youtube here and here.
Reminder: The A77 1.03 firmware will be released within the next two weeks and fix most (if not all) the A77 isssues!
Preorder: the A77 at [shopcountry 8461]
UPDATE: The Sony A77 manual is available in 17 laguages at support.sony-europe.com (Thanks B.)
Finally we can start to talk about “serious” full-frame rumors coming from trusted sources. First, our Japanese friend and administrator of DigitalCameraInfo (Click here) got an interesting info about the upcoming Nikon D800. The rumor confirms what we told you back in June: Sony developed a new 36 Megapixel sensor that is going to be used inside the next Nikon FF camera (Click here to read the original article).
And now the good news: I have been told by our sources that Sony will first share the sensor to Nikon and than use it on their own FF camera which will be announced early 2012! The exact release date has not been chosen yet but I have been told there are is a huge pressure to release it as soon as possible. Compared to the Nikon D800 the Sony (A99?) will have slightly different specs and a lower(!) price. The Nikon D800 can take 4 frames per second, records 1920 × 1080/30p and cost 300.000 Yen (3.000 Euro, or $4000). The major difference is that Nikon has an optical viewfinder while the Sony has SLT technology. Meanwhile the [shoplink 3028]Sony A900[/shoplink] has been discontinued and you will see some nice rebates soon. I will keep you updated with specs and news I am getting form my sources. It’s really an exciting time ;)
One more thing: New lenses will be released along the new Full Frame camera!
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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For the very first time a mirrorless camera earned the “Gold Award” at Dpreview! Go here to read the super detailed [shoplink 8452]NEX-5n[/shoplink] review: http://dpreview.com/reviews/sonynex5n/.
In short: “The 16.1MP sensor in the 5N is capable of capturing images that rival some of the best APS-C format DSLRs on the market, and up to ISO 6400 image quality is impressive. Even at ISO 12,800, image quality is far ahead of most of the NEX’s Micro Four Thirds competitors.”
Sony really made a nice work with the [shoplink 8452]NEX-5n[/shoplink] and if it wouldn’t for the “Click” issue I guess they would have sold far more cameras than they did. But as you know, the issue will be fixed by Sony service and I hoe the new Stocks of the cameras will already come in perfect conditions. Let’s praise Sony for doing such an amazing camera. If you look at what Nikon did we should be very happy to have the NEX-5n :) What’s really missing now is lenses lenses and lenses!
The NEX-5n is in Stock at [shopcountry 8452].
The new 50mm f/1.8 lens preorder at [shopcountry 8448].
The new Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 lens preorder at [shopcountry 8450].
And here is the full list I check to see where the NEX_5n is in Stock worldwide:
[shoplist 8452]
We have been told by our sources that Sony will delay the shipment of the first [shoplink 8461]A77[/shoplink] cameras in Europe to deliver the cams with the new 1.03 firmware. As you know firmware 1.02 isn’t 100% compatible with the very new Bionz processor used for the A77 production version The 1.02 was optimized for an older Bionz processor. The new firmware that will be announced mid-October should fix all the issues we mention last week (black outs, shut down etc).
A SAR reader asked Sony UK when they will fix the [shoplink 8452]NEX-5n[/shoplink] “click” issue and that’s their response: “I understand you are thinking or purchasing a Sony NEX-5N camera. This is not an inherent fault with every single NEX-5N. I can confirm that a firmware fix will be released in October to resolve any issue with the affected models. I can confirm that the firmware update will totally eliminate any issue with the affected Sony NEX-5N cameras. Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.”
In summary in a couple of weeks the A77 and the NEX-5n should work fine! And please, do not make any mistake with the [shoplink 8454]NEX-7[/shoplink]!
P.S.: On Amazon (Click here) you can already read 11 user reviews. The truth is that all would rate the camera with 5/5 stars if there wouldn’t be that “click” issue. And one more reminder: You can preorder the 50mm lens on Amazon (Click here).
Good news folks! After the [shoplink 3028]Sony A850[/shoplink] also the [shoplink 3032]Sony A900[/shoplink] has been discontinued! Sony Japan (Click here to read the translation) confirmed that they finished the A900 camera production. Why is that good news? Because I have been told by top sources that this is happening because the A900 will now get some price drops and after that you will see the new ff camera.
In these last 10 days I worked on new FF, NEX and lens rumors. I thank the sources for their help and I thank your reader for your patience. It’s a lot of work to get rumors and I also try to doublecheck the info I get to avoid big mistakes. And now it’s time to open the new rumor season to see what’s coming next. From what I know right now (and I haven’t told you anything yet) there are only good news. Many good news!
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