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A new source just sent me this: “Sony has just released FW 1.04 a few hours ago. expect it to be available for download in a few hours…improve IQ, response time, usability.. and others…”

If that turns out to be true than this would be the second good news within 12 hours :) The first good news is that Sony restarted the A77/65 and NEX-7/5n production!

UPDATE: The source told me that Sony Japan notified that the firmware will be out that week.

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All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461]
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

Image on top: The Sony Chonburi factory

Sankei.jp (Click here) reports that the camera production restarted at the end of last week! Sony is using the Chonburi factory in Thailand which usually produces car radio. Now they “transformed” it into a fully operable A77/65 and NEX-7/5n production factory. Sankei also reports that Sony will move the compact camera production in China.

Some of our japanese readers can confirm the news? If it is true than dear Sony managers and workers…Chapeau!

The Sony NEX-7 was very likely the camera that would have made join the NEX systems many current Nikon or Canon shooters. It has been perceived as a very usable and professional tool for street photography (along that amazing Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 lens). Now that the factory has been flooded we have to wait 3-4 months before the camera gets in Stock. And serious competition might is coming in the meanwhile. Fuji will announce a professional interchangeable system based on the popular [shoplink 6075 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink] camera. Olympus might will come with a sort of [shoplink 10069]rangefinder styled SP camera[/shoplink]. Canon has no hurry yet, but I am sure they will do something more “professional” than what Nikon did with the [shoplink 10068]”One” system[/shoplink] which is targeted for the consumer market.

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New NEX lens and camera preorders:
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

So here we are! I collected and summed your full frame lens suggestion made two weeks ago. As you can imagine I had to simplify the list (otherwise we would have something like 300 lenses in the poll!). Here are the things you have to know before you vote:

1) Please think before to vote and be honest! Be aware that Zeiss lenses and fast lenses will be sometimes very expensive! So vote only if you really would buy it!
2) The poll is not scientific and has a general value only. The goal is to give Sony an overview of what focal length and what aperture future full frame lenses should have.
3) The sum of all percentages you see after any lens option is higher than 100%. This happens because every voters can vote many lenses. Example: If a lens has an overall score of 34% this means that of all voters 34% voted that lens.
4) All lenses are SSM and full frame!
5) Don’t be angry with me if you don’t find the exact lens you wanted as option in this poll. What matters is the general impression. So please vote lenses that are as close as it gets to your preferred choice.

Let’s vote!!!

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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]

I keep getting news about Sony’s factory situation. As you know the situation is much worse than it was back in march after the Tsunami in Japan. The good news is that floodwaters is receding from the industrial area of Ayutthaya where Sony factories are located. Sony is now pushing to restore full production within two month. If all works best and if also suppliers will manage to restore their full production capability than Sony could restart the NEX-7 and A77 production in January. This means new Stock of cameras could arrive in February.

But this is the best case scenario. You will definitely not find any new stock of A77 and NEX-7 cameras this year :(

Sony has some reserves of A65 and NEX-5n cameras that can be sold during the Christmas time. That’s it.

All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461]
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

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I talked with a couple of my top sources. They told me that the Sony A77 stocks are almost gone. Overall in some big countries the request of A77 cameras has been 4 times higher than the available amount of cameras. That’s why you should expect the Sony A77 to be not in Stock anymore. And the bad news is that the Thai flood had a much worse consequence on the Sony production than the Japanese Tsunami from March. The problem is that Sony has to rebuild a complete new plant. But also third party suppliers have been affected. The sources do not expect new stocks of A77 cameras and of course NEX-7 cameras before March! Also other camera manufacturers like Canon and Nikon will have similar problems.

I am telling you all that because if you plan to buy the A77 I would seriously not wait to much. In most stores certain A77 kits are our of Stock. At the moment there are only six cameras sold by third party resellers at Amazon US (Click here),  two cameras in Stock at Amazon DE (Click here), body only in Stock at Warehouseexpress (Click here) and some kits in Stock at Jessops (Click here). It’s out of Stock in other Amazon stores, at almost in all Sony online stores. The only cameras you can find regularly in Stock right now are the [shoplink 8459]Sony A65[/shoplink] and [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink].

As I said, I do expect new Stocks of A77 and NEX-7 in 4 months only. That’s a lot of time. I am also checking if that will affect the new product release (like the A9x). I suspect the answer is yes. It makes no sense to announce the A9x when you actually cannot produce it!

All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461]
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

Our reader John sent us the following message sent him by Sonystore USA:

“Hello XXX,
Thank you for your recent Sony purchase.
We would like to inform you we are experiencing a delay with your Sony order.
Due to the flood in Thailand and the direct damage to Sony’s manufacturing facilities resulting from the flood, Sony is not able to meet the original delivery schedule that we shared with you when you ordered the NEX-7 camera.  It is our highest priority to launch the NEX-7 as soon as possible and we would like to update you bi-weekly beginning Monday, November 21st until we can confirm the new intended shipping date.  As a reminder, pursuant to your pre-order terms, your charge will not place until the order is shipped.
We apologize for this unforeseeable situation and thank you for your continued support.  You are going to love your NEX-7 camera!

Sincerely,
Sony Customer Care
store.sony.com”

What worries me is that “bi-weekly” notification service. It really gives you the idea of how long you have to wait to get the [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink]! I looked at the status on other websites. Amazon JP still says “usually ships within 2 to 3 weeks”. It is temporarily out of Stock at Amazon UK and “noch nicht verfügbar” at Amazon DE. Only Amazon US doesn’t accept preorders anymore. Days ago I told you that I got the info from sources that full production will be back in February only.