So, the Sony A99 is out but as usual we always want to know what Sony will (or has to do) as next. Nikon and Canon are now fighting on a new terrain…the entry level FF cameras! The Nikon D600 is leading the Amazon ranking (Click here to check out). And the Canon 6D is about to be announced soon (specs here). Both cameras are priced at around $2100. Question for you is…

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By the way, I think the RX1 ($2800 here at Amazon) as a NEX-FF camera would cost even less than the D600 and Canon 6D. The Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 may be worth $1000…if you count that the Zeiss 24mmf /1.8 lens costs $1100! That would make the NEX-FF the first sub-$2000 FF camera. But you know, that’s just my baby math. Things may would not be that simple in the real world…

Meantime if you need to see an A99 versus D600 spec comaprison check out that page on Dpreview. And here are some more A99 image samples at Rob Skeoch, Chip.de and Fotoskoda.

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A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.
RX1 Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 Amazon, BHphoto, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 Adorama, Amazon, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 Amazon, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH.

The friends of Alphaniacs posted that nice picture of the  Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 SSM prototype lens attached on the new Sony A99. You notice that nice “00000000” mark on the lens! That would sell for a hell of a price on eBay :)

We don’t knwo the price of the lens but we have many Zeiss 50mm lenses for different mounts and I thought it would be nice to give you an overview:
[shoplink 14186 ebay]Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* for Canon (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14187 ebay]Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* for Nikon (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14188 ebay]Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 50mm f/1.4 50/1.4 LTM (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14190 ebay]Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.4 for Contax (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14189 ebay]Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 ZF 50mm F1.4 Nikon Ai-S (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]

As you see the price range is soemwhere between $500 and $800. Of course these are all manual focusing lenses and do have a different design. But I hope the price will be a bit below the $1.000 mark.

P.S.: Thanks again to the SAR facebook comunity for finding this picture!

I don’t often talk about the competition but the Nikon D600 was one of this rumors that created a lot of buzz because it was said that the FF camera would cost 1500 Euro&Dollars only. Now that the camera has been announced we know that the rumor was wrong and the camera sells for $2100 right now at Amazon (Click here to see). So not really a deal-breaker. The Sony A99 specs are much higher and in terms of price the RX1 (Click here) might be to consider to be even cheaper if you would take away the price of the superb Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 lens -> of course we can only guess the price of such a lens if it would be sold separately.

While this is not a scientific measure it’s always interesting to look at the overall digital camera popularity ranking (Click here). On top you can find the Sony NEX-6 with 16-50mm kit lens. And that is not a surprise (at least for me). It’s agreta camera for the price and it takes good pictures too (Just look at the ISO samples posted right now on ePhotozine).

The real surprise is that the RX1 FF compact camera seems to outsell the Sony A99 body! Again, those are very fluctuating results and they may change soon. But could it be that the RX1 will sell more than the A99? May this is one of those unique cameras that will convince hard core Canon and Nikon owners to switch over and buy for the first time a Sony camera. Le’ts hope this will happen :)

One more thing: There is also a lens ranking (Click here). The most sold single lens is the 16-50mm pancake. Right behind we have the 35mm lens and on position 21 the 10-18mm zoom.

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A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.
RX1 Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 Amazon, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH.

Image courtesy: Quesabesde.

The A99, RX1 and VG900 all feature the same new 24 Megapixel FF sensor. How good is it? I found three links with A99 image samples you can download and analyze: Official samples at Sony Japan. Many full size samples at Lenstip. ISO test at Fotopolis. Many samples also at ePhotozine. ISO test by Digifotopro.nl. Image samples at Blog Sina (takes a long time to load pics!). Keep in mind that the firmware version is 0.92! Small improvements cans till be achieved before the camera ships. So, what do you think?

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A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.
RX1 Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 Amazon, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH.
Full accessory page Amazon.

P.S.: A full list of preorder links will be continually updated at Alphacameradeals. It would be too much to put up all links inside that news post!

We had a big and a small lens surprise. The big one is that Sony announced the development of the new Zeiss “Planar T * 50mm f/1.4 ZA SSM Full-frame lens. It’s based on the classic Zeiss lens that exists in different version like for example the 50mm Planar for Nikon and Canon (Here at Amazon). Filter diameter of the SSM lens is 72mm. The lens will be release in Spring 2013 and there is no price info yet.

The other smaller surprise is the Silver 16-50mm E-mount pancake. There is no info about the availability nor preorder for that lens now. The Black version can be preordered at Amazon, Adorama and more links at Alphacameradeals (Click and than scroll down)

European Sony preorder links Europeans like me have a much harder time to find preorder possibilities:
NEX-6 links to Jessops,  Wex Uk, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–CH (Click on the nationality code to open the sonystore site).
A99 preorders at Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany.
VG30 at Wex Uk.
RX1 at Wex UK, Wex Germany.
10-18mm at Wex UK.
16-50mm at Wex Uk.
35mm at Wex UK.
VG900 at Wex UK.
Let me know if you can find more!

New Sony Accessory: Damn, not only cameras and lenses but also a huge amount of new accessories has been announced and an overview can be seen at Amazon (Click here). Longer accessory preorder list of course on Alphacameradeals.

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A99 competition rumor. The Nikon D600 having a 1500 Euro price tag was fake. CanonWatch (Click here) posted the real info. 2100 Euro (very likely $2400) is the price.

Note: This post will continually be updated. Reload the page from time to time to see the new links!

Preorder links (full list at Alphacameradeals)
Preorder them through my link and support me through affiliate commission! That would be very important for me if you can do it…Thanks!
A99 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links at Alphacameradeals.
RX1 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 links at Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 at Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm at Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals (Click and than scroll down)
Sony E-mount 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals (Click and than scroll down)
Sony E-mount 10-18mm at Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals (Click and than scroll down)
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 at Amazon, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH.
Full accessory page at Amazon.
A full list of preorder links will be continually updated at Alphacameradeals. It would be too much to put up all links inside that news post!

Hot info:
Sony also announced a FF 50mm f/1.4 Zeiss Planar for Spring 2013! Source: Sony Japan.

Reviews and Previews:
A99: Preview at Dpreview. Preview at Photographic Central. First impressions at ThePhoBlographer. Hands-on at Engadget. Hands-on at Hardwarezone. Preview at Digitalcamerainfo. First look at Videoacademy. Reflexiones de DSLRmagazine. Hands-on at ePhotozine. Preview at Imaging Resource.
RX1: Preview at Dpreview. Preview at Photographic Central. First impressions at ThePhoBlographer. Hands-on at Engadget. Preview at Digitalcamerainfo. Hands-on by Steve Huff. Reflexiones de DSLRmagazine. Hands-on at ePhotozine. Preview at Imaging Resource.
NEX-6: Preview at Dpreview. Preview at Photographic Central. First impressions at ThePhoBlographer. Hands-on at Engadget. Preview at Digitalcamerainfo. Hands-on at ePhotozine.
VG900: First impressions at ThePhoBlographer. Hands-on at Engadget. Preview at Digitalcamerainfo. Focus Numerique.
HVL-F60M Flash: First impressions at ThePhoBlographer.

Image samples
A99: Official samples at Sony Japan. Many full size samples at Lenstip. Image samples at Blog sina (takes a long time to load pics!). Digifotopro.

Videos:
A99: Sony presentation. A99 video sample from Sony Australia. Official video by Sony Australia. First look review by Charles. Hands-on by Dpreview. A99 menu on youtube.
RX1: Sony presentation. Official video by Sony Australia. Hands-on by Dpreview.
NEX-6: Sony presentation. Official video by Sony. Luca Rossini in Alaska.

Official Press Release:
A99 at Dpreview. ThePhoBlographer. Sony. Sony Japan. Techradar. Photoscala. DC.watch. Quesabesde.
RX1 at Dpreview. ThePhoBlographer. Sony Japan. Techradar. SystemKameraforum. Photoscala. DC.watch.
NEX-6 at Dpreview. Techradar. SystemKameraforum, Photoscala.
VG900 and VG30 at Dpreview. ThePhoBlographer. Sony Japan. Photoscala.
NEX lenses at Dpreview. ThePhoBlographer. Techradar.
Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 news at DC.watch.

Poll:

Take time to read as much as you can about the new cameras. After that answer…

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User reaction:
SAR readers reaction on facebook.

SAR message:

Keep sending me links to reviews you find interesting and preorder options all over the world! With that huge amount of stuff I really need your help! Thanks!