Sony A77/65 reviews (+ new Kenko 400mm price announcement)

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Kenko (Click here) announced the new 400mm E-mount lens price. It’s 22.000 YEN ($290). As you can see from the image it looks like a module of the space station :)

Mansurovs (Click here) reviewed the Sony A77: “Overall, I am very impressed by the Sony SLT-A77 and I highly recommend it to our readers. I mostly used the Sony A77 for photographing landscapes and I can honestly say that I would not hesitate to use it professionally for my work.

Which One is Which? Sony NEX 5N vs Canon 5D Mk II at ThePhoBlographer (Click here).

Sony A65 review at DigitalPhotographySchool (Click here): “with the A65 I captured stunning, sharp, brilliantly colour-saturated images.

Sony A77 search order links [shopcountry 8461].
Sony A65 search order links [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-5n search order links: [shopcountry 8452].

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New Ricoh-Pentax with Sony 16 megapixel sensor. Sony bad financial results.

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It’s not a surprise that Sony just reported a bad financial quarter result. At least in the camera division it’s easy to figure out the Thai Flood as main result for the bad results. Nevertheless the company as a whole had to report huge losses (85,7 Mrd. Yen or 855 Mio. €) and CEO Stringer had to give up his post (Source: CNET). You can downlaod the full financial report here: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/index.html.

While we are still waiting to see the new A35 and A55 successors Ricoh-Pentax (now they are the same company) announced two new cameras with Sony sensor inside. The A12 module (here at MR) and the ugliest camera I have ever seen…the K-01 (here at MR). I have to say our Sony designers are much better :)

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New NEX-7 tests, Kenko specs (and USA shipment!)

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NEX-7 vs. GH2 side-by-side video comparison (FullHD 1080p25 version) from Hacky on Vimeo.

Came back from a day of work and just found a dozen email from USA readers. Sonystore (Click here) is now shipping preorders from December and early January. So be prepared to get a package :)

There are also some new NEX-7 tests:
A NEX-7 vs. GH2 side-by-side video comparison by 3Dkraft (Click here). A new review has been posted by Expertreviews (Click here). A test with the huge 18-200mm lens has been posted on SonyAlphaLab (Click here). And here are the new 400mm E-mount Kenko lens specs at Kenko Japan (Click here).Huge lens!

As I told you I epxect soem major SLT news soon and new NEX products by April. The CP+ show in Japan starts in mid February and maybe Sony will show some prototypes too….but don’t hope too much for the A99 :)

More Sony NEX-7 preorder links: [shopcountry 8454].

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New Sony reviews collection (Tamron for NEX, NEX-5n,A77) NEX-7 in Stock in Germany.

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Triple E-mount lens test at Provideocoalition (Click here).

Dcresource (Click here) posted a new NEX-5n review: “If you find that you can live with its interface, then you’ll find a camera that’s capable of taking excellent photos and videos, with the added bonus of the HDR and Anti Motion Blur features, for taking great photos in challenging lighting conditions. Even with its quirks, the NEX-5N does the fundamentals very well, which is why it earns my recommendation.”

Tamron for NEX image samples at Focus Numerique (Click here).

Using Pentax FA Lenses on the Sony NEX-5n at Steve Huff (Click here).

A77 is Worlds Fastest Camera says Pixiq (Click here).

Quick in staus check: NEX-7 is now in Stock at Amazon Germany (Click here), Fotomundus (Click here).

 

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Sony beats Canon (again). Fuji gets priced (higher price than NEX-7)

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As you know Canons first attempt to compete against the growing mirrorless market is the release of the Canon G1X which has a 4/3 sized sensor which is slightly smaller than Sony’s APS-C. If you were wondering how close the sensor quality could go to the best Sony NEX cameras than see those DxOmark results (Click here). It’s nowhere near the Sony NEX-7! Speaking of the NEX-7. The only real competitor the Fuji X PRO 1 got (finally) a price. It’s available for preorder at Amazon (Click here)…for $1699. That yes will be a strong fight between Sony and Fuji!

P.S.: Today Canon reported big loss and slow camera sales. So kings can be dethroned?

NEX-7 preorder search links: [shopcountry 8454].

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(SR3) Also a new A38 is coming soon?

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[shoplink 7419][/shoplink]

I am sure that we will soon see a new [shoplink 3617]A55[/shoplink] successor. But today I also got a rumor about a second SLT camera. A new source told me that there is a new [shoplink 7419]A35[/shoplink] successor named “A38”. It has a new sensor and comes with a tilting LCD. That’s all he knows for now. The biggest Japanese photo show starts in 10 days at Yokohama. I guess that this could be the right time to see both new SLT cameras. There will be no new NEX camera or SLT fullframe at the event but of course Sony could decide to display some mockup or prototype. I expect some new (real) NEX cameras and lenses in April.

My two cent:
Don’t you think four SLT cameras priced between $600 and $1400 are too many? Three models are more than enough I think.

A77 and Zeiss 24mm for NEX in Stock:
The A77 with 16-50mm lens is back in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here) and Amazon FR (Click here).
The Zeiss for NEX will be in Stock on Feb 5th at Amazon (Click here).

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Zeiss ZM 18mm f/4.0 on NEX cameras

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[shoplink 11326 ebay][/shoplink]

One of the lenses I am considering to buy right now is the [shoplink 11326 ebay]Zeiss ZM 18mm f/4.0 lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Our reader Pascal tested the lens and posted his findings at DearSusans (Click here): “Contrary to my (FABULOUS) Zeiss ZM Biogon 25mm/2.8, this is not a symmetrical lens and should work much better on the NEX-7. The NEX-7′s smaller pixels make it much more adverse to symmetrical designs such as the Biogons and some early Leicas. But no such problem with this lens“. He tested the lens on the NEX-5n and these are his findings:
– warm colors
– It has the classic Zeiss 3D look
– damn sharp!
– not the best bokeh but as the tester said, bokeh doesn’t matter with that lens.
– focus ring not tight enough
– it’s a bit too big for such a slow lens.

Read the full test and watch the images samples at DearSusans (Click here)! To see some image samples of the lens on the NEX-7 check out Rob Skeoch (Click here) website. Reviews on M-mount cameras have been made by Ken Rockwell and SLRlensreview.

There are a few good reasons why I would buy the lens:
1) Versatility: I will be able to use this lens on a future fullframe Sony mirrorless system or any other mirrorless system. It’s an investment for the future.
2) Build quality and manual focusing and aperture ring.
3) You can have it in Silver or Black (perfect for my NEX-7!).
4) Image quality is top

I am looking forward to find a good deal on used lenses on eBay :)
The Silver Zeiss 18mm ZM lens is in Stock at Adorama (Click here), [shoplink 11326 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
The Black Zeiss 18mm ZM lens is in Stock at Amazon UK (Click here), [shoplink 11326 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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