Sony A77 and NEX 7 focusing demo by The Phoblographer
Sony Alpha A77 vs Canon EOS 7D – Which one to get? (Digitalrev): “If you are still in the entry level DSLR range or simply don’t have many lenses so changing system won’t be an issue, get the Sony A77.”
I Thailand there was a Sony presentation and the A77 and A65 already had the new firmware installed (Version 1.03). There is a screenshot somewhere in the middle of the thread proving it at fotorelax.com (google translated).
According to Germany Chip.de the A65 and the A77 are the top APS-C cameras in eahc category: The A65 is on position one of the top cameras in the sub $1000 category (Click here) and the A77 is leader of the category above $1000 (Click here).
Remie is testing the autofocusing speed of the A77 before to start for Mongolia with the camera: remichapeaublanc.com
Allnew Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461].
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
As you know Nikon announced their first mirrorless system and after reading some reviews it really sounds like the image quality is visibly behind the one offered by the Sony NEX system. The image on top is from DxOmark (Click here). They tested the Nikon sensor and as you can see it doesn’t come close to the one offered by the Sony NEX-C3. And I bet the score difference will be even higher once DxO will test the [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink]. Click the links to see the comparisons: Nikon J1 vs Sony NEX-C3 vs Panasonic G3
Cameralabs (Click here) tested the new Nikon V1 and compared it with the NEX-7: “Most obviously the NEX-7 has a much larger and higher resolution sensor. The surface area is over three times greater, and it sports almost two and a half times as many pixels: 24.3 vs 10.1 Megapixels. Thanks to the larger surface area, the NEX-7 photosites are also about 50% larger in area, so it should enjoy a sensitivity advantage too.”
J1 versus NEX-5n comparison at Digitalcamerainfo (Click here): “The Sony’s large sensor advantage really rears its head in noise and dynamic range testing, however, as theNEX-5 is able to keep noise down to minimal levels while the J1 offers performance that is typical—if a bit behind—other mirrorless cameras we have tested to this point“.
And now let’s see what Canon will do to compete against the Sony NEX system…
Oh one more thing: Our reader Stefan sent us the link to an article on the New York Times (Click here) written by David Pogue. Actually it sounds like a Love-Letter to Sony: “I’m on record as being in love with Sony’s NEX series. These are extremely tiny interchangeable-lens cameras that, unlike the Nikon and Pentax, have huge, S.L.R.-sized sensors inside. (I’m going crazy waiting for November’s NEX-7, which adds the two things the NEX family was missing: a flash and an eyepiece viewfinder.)“.
Message to Sony: Your cameras are amazing, can you now please speed up the new NEX lens release?
Links to all new NEX cameras, lenses and the viewfinder:
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
Finally Sony Taiwan (Click here) announced that a new [shoplink 8461]A77[/shoplink] and [shoplink 8459]A65[/shoplink] firmware will come in mid-October! The firmware will bring the following improvements:
1.support of HVL-MT24AM twin flash controls. 2.improve of response time.
– switching LCD and EVF response time.
– front and rear dial response time
– Fn feature control 3.Others improvement.
That’s good news although I hoped for an earlier release!
—
A77 preorders at [shopcountry 8461].
A65 preorders at [shopcountry 8459].
There are now plenty of A77 owners that are testing the new Lightroom 6.5 software to convert the A77 RAW images. The new update brings support for the [shoplink 8461]Sony A77[/shoplink], [shoplink 8459]Sony A65[/shoplink] and [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink].
You can see many RAW conversion samples of A77 images on dpreview forum here, here and here.
Our reader DK wrote: “For the uninitiated, I’ve grabbed some RAWs from DPR and run them through ACR 6.5, and here are the results: ISO6400: http://accessdesires.com/test-shots/test-6400.jpg ISO3200: http://accessdesires.com/test-shots/test-3200.jpg In ISO6400 comparison, I have the A77 and its immediate competitors, the D7000, D300s, 7D and K-5. The A77 shot does have more noise but just slightly. It’d be a far stretch to tell the difference between them if they’re all printed in the same size. Hardly disastrous result as the uneducated tend to think. Do take note that the age old 12MP sensor in the D300s holds off very well against newer counterparts. And guess what, it’s the ACR that takes credit. In ISO3200 comparison, I pit the A77 against the D7000 and the 7D. Again, the A77 shows more noise, but hardly lacks any detail. Age old 14MP CCD from the A390 is thrown in for some good fun. This is considered by many as “unusable” above ISO800, and see how well it holds against modern CMOSes. Again, ACR takes credit. If you’ve been processing enough photos, you’d have noticed that there was a huge jump in noise handling performance from ACR5 to ACR6. RAWs considered unusable in the past can easily have new lives by running through the new ACR6. And you’ve processed enough photos from different cameras, you’d have known that they all share the same noise characteristic at high ISO. The noise, the detail one sensor can have depends more on how you process and which converter you use, than the sensor itself.”
A77 Firmware 1.03
The source over at mobile01 said that they are already testing firmware 1.03 for the A77. Let’s hope they are right and tomorrow Sony will release the new firmware!
P.S.: The source of the firmware news also made some videos and images of the F1 grand prix in Singapore: Mobile01 (Click on green links to open the images).
Other new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461].
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
Chris Niccolls from TheCameraStoreTV made the video on top were you can watch a [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink] Hands-On Field Test. Jordan likes the camera a lot and I also think that this is going to become my next camera. The [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink] I do currently own will become a Christmas present for my brother :)
Also ThePhoBlographer (Click here) had a hands-on with the NEX-7: “Indeed, this camera is going to win awards. And I’m eagerly awaiting mine to come in for review. I couldn’t put a card in because it was a pre-production model, but the images with the 24mm lens were sharp and the bokeh was decent but nothing to get too excited about.”
As you know the NEX-7 will be in Store at around mid November but you really have to preorder it now to be sure to get it before Christmas. This is going to be a hotseller! Preorder at [shopcountry 8454] (Click on store name). If you have still money left than preorder the Zeiss too at [shopcountry 8450]. If you are on budget but still looking for a fats lens than the Soy 50mm f/1.8 is the lens for you: [shopcountry 8448].
P.S.: And if you want to check where you can find the camera in other countries and Sony Stores check that list:
[shoplist 8454]
C. Garrarad had a small talk with Sony and wrote on Alphamountworld: “it is confirmed that they are working on a new firmware update for the new cameras announced with the 24mp sensor. We didn’t get into specifics but there will DEFINITELY be a new firmware version for them to address issues.“.
And if we are really “lucky” than the new firmware (version 1.03) should be out…TOMORROW! This according to a source of mobile01.
The new firmware will hopefully fix all issues we talked about in these days. As you know the problems was that the 1.02 firmware wasn’t updated for the new BIONZ processor which is used for the production camera. The pre production camera had a slightly different processor.
If the “rumors” are true than you can avoid to cancel your preorders or if you already have done it than click those links to check for preorder options: [shopcountry 8461].
Other new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
The video on top shows the color band noise produced by the [shoplink 8461]Sony A77[/shoplink]. You can see it at the end of the video. I guess this has again something to do with the firmware issue. I hope the new firmware upgrade will fix this soon. Interesting that not a single official reviewer did noticed the problem. If some A77 owner or reviewer is reading this please check if you see the same problem on your camera. Thanks!
New A77 ISO comparison at fotkidepo here and here. At low ISO the A77 easily beats the [shoplink 6952]Nikon D7000[/shoplink] and [shoplink 6954]Canon 7D[/shoplink].
Our reader George sent me this: “Andrea, I’ve had the A77 in the UK for a week and been doing some tests of my own in RAW + JPEG at all ISO’s. The JPEG images look very good but the RAW’s are looking awful with a lot of color noise that I cant get rid of. When I put the files through the only RAW converters that I have which will recognise the files (IDC v4 and Rawtherapee 4) I’m having a problem getting rid of the noise and I’m left with ugly artefacts. There’s a thread on DPRview about it , “Me and My A77 – Noisy Images”. The consensus of opinion is that the JPEG’s out of the A77 are looking very good but there’s something strange going on with the RAW files which must be down to a lack of proper RAW support. The strange thing is that I’m using IDC v4 which came with the camera. If you could find out from your sources why the RAW’s are looking awful and when we’ll have Adobe RAW support then it would put my mind at rest. Overall the camera is terrific. I’ve got a gallery on my website with images that are available for download to see the problem. http://www.wirralpix.com/p442257830“
Sonny A77 hands-on at ThePhoBlographer: “Overall, the build quality of the A77 seemed very impressive. It’s a solid body that isn’t overly heavy, but still feels extremely robust. The Sony Rep told me that he shot a wedding with it this past weekend, and it was able to take all the normal punishment that a wedding photographer dishes out on their cameras. He also stated that the 16-50mm f2.8 lens handled extremely well when shooting the wedding. By that, it had great image quality, focuses quickly, and just overall worked well. Indeed, the 16-50mm was quite impressive, but I wasn’t floored by it.”
Alison sent me this: “There is another way to open the A77 files is the Bibble 5 release candidate: http://support.bibblelabs.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=19362 . I tried just two files, but they worked fine (technically, both images were out of focus ;)) ”
And those are the links to preorder the new cameras and lenses:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461].
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
