Sony A65/77 in Stock status check and changes (+ USA A65 rebate)

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Last week Sony announced that the A77/65 and NEX-7/5n production has been restarted. We are still not 100% sure when the cameras will be in Stock but we noticed some small good news:

1) First, The A65 that was supposed to be back in Stock in USA on December 31 now will be in Stock on December 1 at Amazon US (Click here).
2) The A77 preorder option is back at Sony Canada (Click here). And the A77 is back in Stock Amazon Japan (Click here).
3) Amazon UK (Click here) changed the NEX-7 delivery message. It now says “Usually dispatched within 1 to 3 months.” (before it was 4 months).
4) Sonystore US (Click here) now says the A77 and the NEX-7 is “coming soon“.
5) and than we have the very first Instant Rebate on the A65 camera it’s good news because you don’t do rebates on a camera if it’s not available. Here are the deals:
– $100 rebate on the A65 with S18-55mm and 75-300mm lenses at Adorama (Click here).
– $100 rebate on the A65 with S18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses at Adorama (Click here).

Overall in Stock status

The A77 body is in Stock at Digitalrev (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here), Amazon China (Click here) and Warehouseexpress (Click here).
The A77 with 18-55mm lens is in Stock at Amazon France (Click here), Amazon Italy (Click here),
The A77 with 16-50mm lens is in Stock at Amazon Japan (Click here) and Jessops (Click here).

The A65 body is in Stock at Digitalrev (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here),
The A65 with 18-55mm lens is in Stock at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Digitalrev (Click here), Amazon Germany (Click here), Amazon Italy (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here), Jessops (Click here).
The A65 double kit at Amazon Japan (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here).

One more thing

In USA Some people is already reselling their just purchased A77 camera for a lot more than the original price. Check that auction on [shoplink 10232 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and the used A77 on Amazon (Click here). Almost $400 more than the normal price for the new camera!

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New Sony A77/65 firmware update 1.04 is available in China! (Update: now removed!)

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UPDATE: Sony China removed the A77/65 firmware upgrade 1.04 page! But the download links still work. Be aware that this upgrade firmware has yet not been officially released. Download and install at your own risk! And we don’t know if you can replace that firmware with the firmware that Sony will possibly release next week. So do NOT install if you don’t know what you are doing!!!

Windows:
A77: http://ids.update.sony.net/DSLR/rourmNHbYZ/Update_SLTA77V104.exe
A65: http://ids.update.sony.net/DSLR/rourmNHbYZ/Update_SLTA65V104.exe

Mac:
A77: http://ids.update.sony.net/DSLR/rourmNHbYZ/Update_SLTA77V104.dmg
A65: http://ids.update.sony.net/DSLR/rourmNHbYZ/Update_SLTA65V104.dmg

I guess the rumor we posted yesterday is true. Sony planed the release for today but than postponed it to next week. Sony China made a mistake an posted it today and than removed it after a couple of hours. Read our readers comments to check out what has been improved!

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Using the Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 on a NEX.

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[shoplink 10220 ebay][/shoplink]

I am having so much fun with my [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink] that I am constantly looking for lenses I could purchase for it. Thought it would be nice to share my impressions about one of the lenses I am looking for. The [shoplink 10220 ebay]Zeiss ZM Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 lens[/shoplink]. You can see an image of the NEX-5n with that lens on Flickr. The reason why I am intrigued by that lens is that:
1) it has a super build quality
2) it has a perfect focal length for portraits (75mm on a NEX).
3) and it is relatively compact and fast.

The lens is not cheap, around $1200 on [shoplink 10220 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Plus you have to buy the M to NEX mount adapter ([shoplink 8850 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink]).

Lens reviews
To start I read the presentation on the Zeiss website. I didn’t find any official review of the lens on a NEX camera. I only found some reviews of the lens used with the lovely Zeiss Ikon ZM. Ken Rockwell writes that it is “an easy lens to love: it’s just so small and fast! It’s not a lens for pixel counters. It’s very sharp at middle and smaller apertures where it matters, but trades sharper images for smoother images at the largest apertures. This 50/1.5 is superb for general photography and people pictures.“. And Luminous Landscape tested the lens on the Leica M9: “There is something else that the Sonnar and some other Zeiss lenses have, and that is a very pleasant 3D feeling to the pictures. It´s not as clinical as pictures with some of the ASPH-Leica lenses sometimes can get. It just feels very pleasant, for lack of a better word.”
I would say the lens performs very well on Fullframe cameras. But how does it look on a NEX camera with APS-C sensor?

Image and video samples on NEX:
I found that aperture test made by Janus that shows the bokeh look of the lens on the [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink]:

I also found some nice NEX+Zeiss image samples here at Dpreview forum, pbase, flickr (whaker), flickr (Amselchen), flickr (Clarobuck), Clubsnap.

It looks like the lens is a real winner but I will wait to see the first tests of the [shoplink 8448]Sony 50mm f/1.8[/shoplink] before to consider to buy the Zeiss Sonnar lens. The Sony has autofocus and is cheaper. But on the other hand I love to work with manual focus and I like to buy lenses with super build quality (makes me feel it was worth to buy it). If only the price would not be that high!

—
Zeiss ZM Sonnar f/1.5 links at [shopcountry 10220]
M to NEX mount adapter on [shoplink 8850 ebay]eBay[/shoplink]

 

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(SR5) New A-mount Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 SSM coming with the A9x!

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After a long pause I can finally share a new SR5 (top rumor) with you! According to trusted sources Sony will release a new A-mount Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 SSM lens in 2012. I am not sure yet about the exact month but it could be announced along the new A9x in Spring. I have also no idea yet about the price. Easy to guess it will be more expensive than the [shoplink 7134 ebay]Sony 50mm f/1.4 lens ($399)[/shoplink]. It should be more in the price league of the manual [shoplink 10196 ebay]Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 lens ($700)[/shoplink].

A couple of months ago the Japanese blog Egami found a new Sony patent that describes the characteristics for two new standard lenses. A new 50mm f/1.2 and a new 50mm f/1.4 fullframe lens. You see the lens specs on top of this post.

One more info: Sony postponed all Sony fullframe lens releases from 2011 to 2012. They will all come with the new FF cameras. So expect a nice bunch of new lenses! Stay tuned on SonyAlphaRumors! And don’t forget to join us on facebook (Click here).

Poll:

What's the camera that would be able to steal the spotlight from Canon/Nikon?

  • new FF E-mount camera with larger body, new menu design, with great weather sealing and ergonomy (18%, 1,338 Votes)
  • Sony A9r 60+ Megapixel camera (17%, 1,271 Votes)
  • Camera with curved sensor (14%, 1,054 Votes)
  • Classic design and Rangefinder styled FF E-mount camera (13%, 980 Votes)
  • Camera with 3 layer RGB sensor (aka Foveon) (12%, 888 Votes)
  • something else not mentioned here (write your idea down in comment system) (7%, 546 Votes)
  • Medium format RX (7%, 519 Votes)
  • new 645 medium format system mirrorless camera (6%, 447 Votes)
  • camera with the first 100MP sensor. (4%, 298 Votes)

Total Voters: 7,341

Loading ... Loading ...

Links:
Sony 50mm f/1.4 lens at [shopcountry 7134]
Zeiss Planar 50mm lens [shopcountry 10196]

Current Zeiss fullframe lenses for Sony:
SAL-1635Z 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* AF SLR Lens [shopcountry 9773]
Distagon T* 24mm f/2 SSM Wide Angle Lens [shopcountry 9769]
SAL-2470Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9776]
SAL-85F14Z Telephoto 85mm f/1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar T* Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9782]
SAL-135F18Z 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* Autofocus SLR Lens [shopcountry 9771]
SAL-135F28 135mm f/2.8 Manual Focus SLR Lens [shopcountry 9772]

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!

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(SR4) UPDATE: Sony A77/65 firmware updated 1.04 finally coming next week???

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UPDATE: The administrator from Digicam-info contacted me to say that he got a news form a trusted sources to say that Sony originally planed to release the firmware tomorrow (Nov 24) but they postponed the release to next week! It’s form one of his trusted sources and I upgraded the rumor value from SR3 to SR4.

As I told you last week this will be a major upgrade because we expect improvements in JPEG image quality too! Here is the list of new features/improvements:

1) expanded the number of automatic compensation of compliant lenses
2) Improvement of Responses
3) Improvement of IQ
4) Improvement of Usability

And here are the links to check the price and availability of the two cameras:
Sony A77: [shopcountry 8461]
Sony A65: [shopcountry 8459]

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POLL results analysis: Here are the fullframe lenses you want!

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Two weeks ago I posted that fullframe poll (Click here) to ask you what kind of lens you need for the full frame Alpha mount system. We had 3.900 voters from all over the worls. The poll gives us a general idea of what our readers want from Sony. I ask you to share your evaluation about the results. These are mine:

1) The most requested lens is actually a surprise because I would have never expected to see so many votes for it. The 12-24mm f/2.8 got a 28% share (1,094 Votes).
2) The most requested focal length is the 50mm standard prime. The 50mm f/1.4 Zeiss (24%, 927 Votes), the 50mm f/1.0 Zeiss (19%, 734 Votes) and the 50mm f/1.2 (13%, 503 Votes). Close behind we find the 35mm wide angle prime lens. The 35mm f/1.4 Zeiss collected 25% of your votes (978 Votes). And the more compact 35mm f/2.0 had 461 votes (12%). Very close behind the 35mm lenses we find the 85mm lenses.
3) There is no surprise when it comes to standard zoom lenses. The 24-105mm f/4.0 (25%, 974 Votes) is the third most requested lens. The 70-200mm f/2.8 Zeiss (23%, 882 Votes) is the fifth most requested lens.
4) Another surprise has been the high request for Tilt shift lenses. The 24mm TS earned a 16% share (641 Votes).
Overall It’s obvious that readers ask for classic good quality prime and zoom lenses. It’s a call for Sony to complete the “backbone” of the lens system. And I am sure Sony is already working on it.

Here are the detailed results of the poll and feel free to add your analysis of the results! Thanks!

Select the three lenses that hope will be announced in 2018

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

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These are the links to the current Sony Full Frame lenses (without the older Minolta lenses). You can check the price to get an idea of how much the suggested poll lenses could cost!
SAL-16F28 Fisheye 16mm f/2.8 Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9774]
SAL-1635Z 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* AF SLR Lens [shopcountry 9773]
SAL-20F28 20mm f/2.8 AF Lens for Alpha & Minolta Maxxum Series [shopcountry 9775]
Distagon T* 24mm f/2 SSM Wide Angle Lens [shopcountry 9769]
SAL-2470Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9776]
SAL-2875 28-75mm f/2.8 SAM Constant Aperture Zoom Lens [shopcountry 9777]
SAL-35F14G Wide Angle 35mm f/1.4G Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9779]
SAL-50F14 Normal 50mm f/1.4 Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9780]
SAL-50M28 Normal AF D 50mm f/2.8 Macro Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9781]
SAL-85F14Z Telephoto 85mm f/1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar T* Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9782]
85mm f/2.8 SAM Mid-range Telephoto Lens [shopcountry 9768]
SAL-100M28 100mm f/2.8 AF Macro Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9770]
SAL-135F18Z 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* Autofocus SLR Lens [shopcountry 9771]
SAL-135F28 135mm f/2.8 Manual Focus SLR Lens [shopcountry 9772]
SAL-70200G Zoom AF 70-200mm f/2.8 APO G(D) SSM Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9782]
SAL-70300G 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G SSM Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9783]
SAL-70400G 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9784]
SAL-75300 AF D 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9785]
SAL-300F28G 300mm f/2.8 APO G SSM Autofocus Lens [shopcountry 9778]

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New Sony press release confirms A77/Nex-7 production has started.

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A dozen of our USA readers sent us the same message received via Sonystore US. Thanks! Here is the original text sent by Sony:

“We would like to update you that Sony has restarted production of NEX7 in our Chonburi Thailand factory which was not impacted by the flooding.
Since we are just beginning to ramp up production in these new lines, we have just begun restart of production at this early stage; however this is positive news that Sony is getting back on track and recovering from flood impact. Although there are no details to share on production schedule today, we expect within the next 2 weeks to have a clearer idea for you.
Again, thank you very much for your continued patience.
Sincerely,
Sony Customer Care“

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