Rumor roundup: Fixed lens APS-C camera to be announced in Summer. Hybrid E-A mount cam in 2013.

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I am being asked by some SAR readers what’s the news on the fixed lens APS-C model and the Hybrid camera concept. The news I have says that the APS-C camera with fixed lens a là [shoplink 11547 ebay]DSC-R1 (here on eBay)[/shoplink] will arrive this summer and compete against the Canon G1 X ($799). Like the Canon it uses a very compact zoom lens and not a prime lens like the Sigma DP series the Fuji X100 and Leica X1.

The hybrid E-A or (A-E?) mount camera that will bring full support for both lens systems is still in being developed and will not come before 2013. At that stage I really don’t know how this camera will look and what exactly Sony wants to do in terms of design and features. How this will work remains a bit of a mystery. I only can think on a similar solution of the Zeiss Ikon Contax I, II and III that can still be found [shoplink 10295 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink].

After the May 17th NEX-F3 and Sony A37 announcement I will intensively work on the next A99 Full Frame camera release. I am crossing my finger that this will become a great camera!

 

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New A77 versus K5 torture test (and a Nikon D800 review).

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ThePhoBlographer (Click here) compared the ISO results of the A77 with the Pentax K5. As you may know also the (in my opinion very good) K5 uses a Sony sensor. The reviewer writes: “The A77 has two things working against it in these tests, I believe. First is the fact that the sensor has a significantly higher megapixel count than the Pentax K-5, and cramming more pixels onto an APS-C sensor will generally add to the noise. The other issue I noticed though, is the inability to be able to turn off noise reduction.”
Do you agree?

Speaking of Sony sensors used by other brands Dpreview (Click here) just published the full Nikon D800 review which they say uses a Nikon designed sensor. As I told you many times this sensor is basically a Sony sensor with Nikon engineered tweaks. Let’s see if Sony will release a similar high reoslution camera in 2013!

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(SR5) A Sony NEX-F5 is also coming this summer!

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The Sony NEX-5n has proven to be a very good camera and a real hotseller (right now on top at Amazon). But according to our top sources Sony is ready to launch an improved version this summer! It will be called Sony NEX-F5 (and as you know the NEX-F3 is coming on May 17th). I have no specs yet but I have been told there will be improvement in all aspects of the camera (image quality, video quality, screen, usability). As usual if you heard something about the NEX-F5 feel free to drop me a message :)

P.S.: There is a $50 instant rebate on the NEX-5n at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). And the super 50mm f/1.8 lens is also in Stock at Amazon (Click here).

A personal message: For days now I am working in the middle of nowhere. There is a low speed Internet connection, and I have to write articles with my iPhone in order to save energy. That’s why you will see a huge amount of typos and why I am not answering your mails. I may post a picture of the place where I am later :)

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Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8 tested on the NEX-7

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Image courtesy: Photozone.

Klaus from Photozone is really doing an amazing job by testing lenses on his new Sony NEX-7. He just published the next lens review (Click here). As you know the NEX-7 requires tp quality lenses to get out the most from the super resolution 24 Megapixel sensor. Klaus tried the new Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8, a $759.95 M-mount lens (here at Amazon). Good to hear that this is a lens that does a good job: “On Sony NEX (APS-C) the full format lens delivers pretty good results from a user perspective. At large apertures the center performance is fine, and that’s where it counts here, whereas the border performance is rather soft.”

Klaus still has to test the Zeiss 24mm lens which I expect to be best overall performer on the NEX-7. Too bad it’s still hard to find in some countries (like USA). Here are some search links. Good Luck!
Zeiss for NEX at [shopcountry 8450].
NEX-7 at [shopcountry 8454].
Voigtlander 75mm on [shoplink 12505 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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Reminder: Sony announcement on May 17th. (Next announcement in Summer)

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Good Morning!
In case you forgot it, we are ten days away form the next big Sony announcement. Every image and spec of the new camera and lenses have been already leaked. The image on top shows the roadmap from Sony. As you can see it’s Sony’s goal to strengthen the Middle and High Alpha range within the year. I was hoping that Sony would show the A99 prototype too but it’s unlikely that this will happen.But let’s see…miracles can happen from time to time!

P.S.: The NEX-7 is marked as “new” because massive shipment started in March only :)

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Two new A57 video reviews by Kai and John Sison.

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It’s Sunday and time to see some more “relaxing” reviews. Let’s see how good the brand new A57 is! The camera itself is already in Stock at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and in Europa at Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon Germany (Click here) and Amazon France (Click here).

On top of this post you will find the latest review from that crazy horse of Kai. Kai is known to not really like the current electronic viewfinder technology but at the end he damn likes the new A57!
And below you will find one more A57 video review by our reader John Sison! Well done John!

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