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

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!