Wow my job as rumor writer is becoming easier and easier. Inside the dpreview forum you can find plenty of new leaks! And as we all have already seen the many pictures of the NEX-C3 during the last two weeks the only news here is that Sony also leaked the girl holding the camera :)

And there are also the very first screenshots of the menu system:

The menu system confirms the rumor about the new NEX-C3 having the new art filers. They will also come for the NEX-3/5 via firmware update on June 3!

Sonystyle is not exactly the most reliable source to understand if a product has been discontinued or not. Fact is that the Sony A850 is “no longer available” in their store. But as we have seen in the past that could be a temporary status. My trusted sources do still confirm that Sony will put the A850 out of production and lower the price of the A900. The next Sony Full Frame cameras will be announced in 2012.

Check the camera price and availability status:
Sony A850 at [shopcountry 3028].
Sony A900 at [shopcountry 3032].

[shoplink 6957][/shoplink]
One of our trusted sources read your comments and sent me an answer to one of the hot questions regarding the reason for the low price. He said that there will be a couple of A77 kit options. $1099 is the price for the cheapest entry level kit with the current [shoplink 6957]Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM DT[/shoplink] Standard Zoom Lens (pictured on top). It is an aggressive price to attract Nikon and Canon users. But the source believes most of the people will buy the higher priced kits with the “improved lenses“.

That last sentence lead us to believe he is talking about the new high quality kit lens which should be announced on the same day (July 7).
P.S.: First Chinese [shoplink 6966 ebay]eBay resellers (Click here)[/shoplink] are now adding the A77 name to Sony accessories. Preparing for the big launch :)

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Finally the wait is over! We know when Sony will show the new A77 to the world! A trusted source confirmed the Sony A77 will be announced on July 7 (as some reader noticed that’s not a casual date 7/7 for the A77). It will be priced at $1099 including the kit lens! As I already told you the camera will be in Stock in late September/early October. Feel free to share that news on your blog or forum. But would be nice to link back to SonyAlphaRumors as we have been the first to post that! (Thanks to our special anonymous sources!!!).

The A77 will be Sony’s top APS-C model. And I am very surprised about the very good price. I don’t know if that is the price with the current [shoplink 6957]18-55mm zoom lens[/shoplink] or the rumored new high quality kit lens (that would make that price even more amazing) . Let’s compare it with the best APS-C models from the main competitors:
The Nikon 7000 costs $1,199.95 but you pay that for the body only! Check [shopcountry 6952].
The Canon 7D costs $1,860.00 (again body only!). Check [shopcountry 6954].
The very good Pentax K-5 costs $1,479.00 with kit lens. Check [shopcountry 6953].

Let’s assume the kit lens is the current 18-55mm zoom, and let’s assume the image quality is indeed top of the notch:

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I am convinced the A77 will be the best APS-C camera on the market. It toke very long for Sony to develop the [shoplink 3228]A700[/shoplink] successor. But the reason behind that is that Sony wanted to make a perfect camera using the new SLT technology. It will fix most of the problems of the current first generation SLT cameras ([shoplink 3617]Sony A33/55[/shoplink]). Along that camera Sony will announce new accessories and new lenses. I have no 100% confirmation yet but also the NEX-7 should be announced on the same day.

Its’ going to be a big day on July 7! I hope you will be all here on SonyAlphaRumors to follow that event live! Don’t miss rumors, join us on Facebook and Twitter and follow our RSS-feed!

I toke a day off from my work to read all your comments. Ask me whatever you want and I will answer you! Thanks!

Those are the specs of the A77:

The A77 announcement on July 7.
Shipment start early October
Coming with new kit lens (A Sony 16-50mm zoom. Compared to the [shoplink 5586]Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5[/shoplink] it will have a constant aperture and probably have a bit higher price. Zeiss 16-80mm price check at [shopcountry 5586].)
24 Megapixels (The combination of the new sensor+new Zeiss lens delivers 62% more resolution than the [shoplink 3617]A55 16 Megapixel sensor[/shoplink].)
1080p/30fps, 720p/60fps and 720p/30fps high-definition video
AF fine-tuning capabilities. A source told us that it has an improved focusing system (quite fast and accurate).
3 Million dot OLED viewfinder (more than double of the resolution fo the current [shoplink 3617]Sony A55/33[/shoplink] viewfinder.)
magnesium alloy
It will take CF+SD+MS cards
No flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place
1.000 pictures with one battery

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!