The video on top has just been posted on Sony’s Youtube channel. And I bet that after you saw this you will shout…WOW!!! Now you can take images where you couldn’t record them before! I think the A7s (now listed at Amazon) could become a new sort of drug. Once you take it you will never get back. The High ISO performance of the camera not only allows you to see where you didn’t se before. You can also have very short shutter timing at medium low light conditions (and that’s probably the biggest plus for photographers).

Damn, now I want to get the A7s too! Sony, if you read me…can you send me one for free? :)

Note: In Switzerland (Internet.ch) you can preorder the A7s for a much lower price than the one published by WexUK (Click here). The A7s is listed at Amazon (Click here), Digitalrev (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) but with no price or preorder option.

A7s sites in different languages at Sony US, DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, SE, FI, PL.

Den Lennie just updated his A7s post by including an amazing A7s High ISO test (Click here and scroll down to see the video). The screenshot on top shows you the noise at crazy 409,600 ISO. This is really a complete DARK(!) room with no light. And the video you will see that actually up to 102,400 ISO noise is acceptable!

And here is the image at ISO 6400. As you see there is no light in the room at all!

A7s sites in different languages at Sony US, DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, SE, FI, PL.

After publishing the 50mm f/1.4 ART review (read here) SLRgear also published the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 test (read here). The good news is that you don’t have to spend $4,000 to get a terrific lens because the Sigma turns out to be 95% as good as the Otus! SLRgear writes:

While the Zeiss does show better performance in the corners at ƒ/1.4 on a full-frame camera, the other optical performance characteristics are pretty evenly matched.

Now we have to see how much the Sigma 50mm A-mount lens will cost. let’s hope it’s just a tiny bit under $1,000!

More news: Zeiss confirmed the release of the 85mm f/1.4 Otus lens (Source: MirrorlessRumors).

DxOmark (Click here) just published the A6000 sensor test results. As you know the A6000 has phase detection pixel across the full sensor but despite that it manages to match the best APS-C sensor on market to date. So you have both, top image quality and top autofocus performance on a small mirrorless camera. can’t get any better than this! Oh yes it can….the camera will ship tomorrow in USA :)

This is what DxO writes about the A6000:

Based on sensor performance alone, at $649 (body only) the A6000 appears to be excellent value for money. And while we’ve yet to assess image quality with native mount lenses, the Sony A6000 certainly looks like a promising addition to the range.

Sony A6000 store link list with US and Europe links:
Sony A6000 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonyStore. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT, WexUK.
Silver A6000 at Amazon US, BHphoto, WexUK.
Sony A6000 with lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonyStore, Sony Canada, WexUK.
Silver A6000 with lens at Amazon US, BHphoto, WexUK.
Sony 70-200mm FE at Amazon, BHphoto, SonyStore. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT

More A6000 tests:

a6000 outguns a99 in burst shooting

Sony A6000 image samples at Imaging Resource. AF test with A6000 with FE 55mm f1.8 by Josselin Cornou on Youtube.

SAR reader Michael and Joseelin sent me the links to some A6000 video tests:
“Just been surfing and found some new a6000 youtube videos that you – and your readers – might like to see. First one – sadly – shows that the a6000 struggles somewhat in low light and there are other videos out there to suggest the same: the a6000 is not quite on par with the fastest micro 4/3s from Panasonic (probably it´s another story in good light). Anyway, it´s not slow either. Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Y1e96W_o8
or, maybe, as indicated in this first australian review from The Australian (newspaper), it simply has a focusing problem when you go rapidly from near to far and vice versa (he wrote a piece on it as well in his written review, you can find it on the web). Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNbyM60lUSQ
and finally a good test with fast moving object approaching the camera: 5-6 missed shots out of more than 20 – that´s not bad. And as other reviews has underlined it seems that the a6000 is very good at getting focus back after losing is. And video just seems great. Video 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5dhqgEgC4U
and a pretty impressive low light video (notice that af doesn´t even get distracted when people passes in front of the lens). Video 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sTXVmxXylg“

Sony Alpha A6000 sample movie: low light handheld pan 1600 ISO from Gordon Laing on Vimeo.

CameraLabs is testing the A6000 and writes and posted a couple of image samples and videos. About the video you see on top of this post he writes:

I was particularly impressed by the way the AF system smoothly adjusted between the guitars near the end of the clip. Meanwhile there’s little to no noise to speak of, just nice clean footage with lots of detail. I would however mention that very slight focus breathing when you pause for more than a couple of seconds on a subject.

EosHD just got the A6000 and got a positive suprirse when reviewing the video qulaity of the camera:

The Sony A6000 is the best Sony consumer camera yet for video. A Nikon D5300 in a mirrorless body, with far more features, the image quality is closer to the FS700 in 1080p than to a NEX 7 or A5000. The pristine sharp EVF, a magnified focus assist which can be activated whilst recording (rare!), peaking, zebra, 16:9 screen and of course the mirrorless form factor. This is arguably the best current ‘cheap’ camera for video, de-throning the GH2 and GH3. At just $650 it is an absolute bargain.

And here are some SAR readers tests:

Lachlan: “I posted up a video I shot with my new a6000 + SELP18105G lens. It’s just a simple room tour video but so far over the few days I’ve had the camera I’ve been super impressed by the autofocus system.http://youtu.be/6WARzXS20Bo”

A7r vs A6000 comparison at Wimarys.

Robert: “ich hab das heutige schöne Wetter genutzt, um den AF der neuen A6000 zu Test. Mit dem Sel50 bei offener Blende habe ich einige fantastische Downhill Bilder schießen können: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93080917@N03/sets/72157643165455194/“

Michael: “Wll, you shouldn’t miss out on this one. Now, I don’t know why this german guy used crazy low iso and not that high shutterspeeds, but at least it gives an impression on what all are waiting to see: how well does the a6000 in tracking fast moving objects. So, while test (a great deal of missed shots in my opinion) is – still – not conclusive, at least the guy is very happy – comparing with way more expensive stuff as Canon 5d mark 3 and the likes – and he’s very happy with the snappy 11 pics. shutterrate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl3C-xvFluA”

Sony A6000 preorder list with US and Europe links:
Sony A6000 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonyStore. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT, WexUK.
Silver A6000 at Amazon US, BHphoto, WexUK.
Sony A6000 with lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonyStore, Sony Canada, WexUK.
Silver A6000 with lens at Amazon US, BHphoto, WexUK.
Sony 70-200mm FE at Amazon, BHphoto, SonyStore. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT

Image courtesy: Photozone.

Two top lens review sites tested the new Zeiss 24-70mm f/4.0 FE lens. And this is what they write about the lens:

Photozone (Click here):

The Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS ZA didn’t really convince us completely – not at this price point for sure. While it is a joy to use the lens thanks to its high quality finish and super smooth controls, the optical characteristics aren’t quite as impressive. Sony/Zeiss seems to follow the ugly trend of under-designing lenses based on the assumption that digital correction will fix the flaws

SLRgrear (Click here):

In terms of build quality, the Sony FE 24-70 Zeiss is excellent with an all-metal construction and that characteristic Sony and Zeiss matte black design. When it comes to image quality, however, this particular lens misses the mark. With less-than-stellar performance in sharpness, particularly in the corners at all focal lengths (and even stopped down), plus strong vignetting and distortion, the Sony FE 24-70mm ƒ/4 ZA OSS Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* didn’t meet our expectations.

As you see both reviewers are not very satisfied with the lens performance. A good lens…but not stellar as expected from a lens with a Zeiss badge on it. I hope Sony will take note of it and offer a slightly higher quality version zoom lens in future!

The Zeiss 24-70mm FE can be bought in USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. And in Europe at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT (Click on country name to see the lens site).