Canon just announced the camera that will be THE direct competitor of the upcoming A99 SLT camera. A camera news coverage is available via my friend Frank from CanonWatch (Click here). Preorders with price and specs info are available at Amazon (Click here).

At first glance I have to say I am surprised to see so little innovation inside the markIII. I mean, there are many small improvements and some more major improvements (like the new AF system). But I think the Nikon D800 (and D800E) did more.

I bet the A99 will be cheaper than the 5D, have a faster AF in video and be on par in terms of RAW image quality. But what in your opinion should Sony “copy” from the new Canon 5DmarkIII?

Sony A900 successor rendering made by tecnofotografia. But unlike you see on this picture the successor will be SLT and not a DSLR camera.

Whatdigitalcamera (Click here) questioned if Sony is still committed to the DSLR technology: “With all of the major releases throughout 2011 being of the translucent mirror (SLT) variety, could this spell the end of Sony DSLRs as we know them?”

Sony contacted Whatdigitalcamera and said that “we are absolutely committed to the DSLR / SLT market.” The first thing to notice is that Sony mixed the DSLR/SLT terms. Sony didn’t just say “We are commited to the DSLR market“. Sounds like their intention is to sell the idea that SLT and DSLR are the same thing. And the other statement that follows confirms that: “Through our SLT cameras we believe we can deliver new benefits such as fastframe rate with continuous AF in both stills and videos. The a77 is proof of how serious we are about this market and the number of awards, including the What Digital Camera Gold award and the prestigious Amateur Photographer Reader Product of the Year show that this is model is rated very highly.  Stock is now available and we are excited to find out what people think when theybuy, own and use this product.”

Why talk about the A77 when Whatdigitalcamera was only talking about the discontinued DSLR line? Truth is that all DSLR are officially not listed on Sony’s websites:
Sony A900 at [shopcountry 3032].
Sony A850 at [shopcountry 3028].
Sony A580 at [shopcountry 5509].

I still hope I misunderstood the Sony statement and that there we be really new DSLR cameras (with optical viewfinder!). But according to our sources there is no new DSLR coming this year :(

Meanwhile the real big news of the this time is the Canon 5markIII which is coming out tonight. Image leaks and specs are already out and have been posted by our new partner “Frank” at CanonWatch (Click here).

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Our reader Gabriel just found the new firmware upgrade files on Sony Germany’s webiste (Click here)!!! UPDATE: The firmware is now available on Sony UK, and Sony Japan too. And here is the firmware improvement list:
Enhancement of AF response: When subject distance changes enormously.
Improved stability in certain camera operations:
When setting [Lens Compensation: Distortion] “Auto” and [Picture Effect] “Miniature” at the same time.
When setting [Exposure Compensation], [Intelligent AF] operation improves.
Restrictions: only for use with cameras sold in Europe. Not all models are sold in all countries.

In short, this update imrpoves the camera AF performance.

This is a super good news for a camera I really love because of the exceptional price-quality balance. And this is also the camera that is always on top of the Amazon ranking:
The NEX-5n on third position of the mirrorless camera rankings in USA (Click here).
The NEX-5n is on fourth position of the mirrorless camera rankings in UK (Click here).
The NEX-5n is on 9/11 and 19 position of the mirrorless camera rankings in Germany (Click here).
The NEX-5n is on fourth position of the mirrorless camera rankings in France (Click here).