A couple of weeks ago I asked all SAR readers to send me their best work done with Sony cameras. I received a huge amount of mails and I know grouped them in different parts. It took some time to post this on SAR also because in the meantime I updated the SAR website and many bugs had to be solved. I used my free time and many evenings to get rid of all problems. But finally I toke that Sunday to check out all your mails and work!

The list contains work from amateurs and from pros. Some of the work I have seen is of very high quality. Check out the first part of the SAR readers work list:

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Jaime: “I have shot a very special pano from a paragliding acro show with some of the best pilots, and the weight and size of the nex was a very important part of the shoting process, i hope you like it. http://www.360cities.net/image/monumental-acro-paragliding-show-spain
Here you have a video of the event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsura7hlYQA&feature=player_embedded”

Icie: “I found a way to do wireless strobe photography underwater using a system based on the NEX-5 and various accessories. Link: http://pireze.org/2012/underwater-cosplay-photoshoot-denpa-onna-to-seishun-otoko/”

Steven: “This is a sweep panorama taken with the NEX-5N and the much-maligned 16mm f/2.8 E lens, with wide-angle adaptor. It depicts the Amber Fort outside Jaipur, India (and shows what the little NEX-5N is capable of). Here are some other photos of the Jaipur area taken with the NEX-5N and Sony E lenses (16, 24, 55-210): http://www.stevepinker.com/Other-continents/India-1/22606189_c9k4kR#!i=1810106006&k=p4RwdpB
These are from Jerusalem (some with the Leica Summicron 50 and the Zeiss Biogon 35): http://www.stevepinker.com/Other-continents/Jerusalem-1/22726207_cR4wvR#!i=1822062404&k=mbw7JNK
 And these from Florida include many taken with the 70-400 (and a few with the Leica Summilux 50): http://www.stevepinker.com/North-America/Florida-III-1/22163176_XWPkgH#!i=1769717211&k=h4ZrF72”

Danish: “This was a small Musicvideo me and my brother made for “Laura Bean and the Spanish Inquisition” titled “All You Ever Do (Is Give Me The Blues)”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OHBWfGOVoA. I’m a Director Of Photography by profession using cameras like RED One,Epic aso. More and more lately the use DSLRs has risen. Of course I’ve been using Canon DSLRs(mostly 5dMk2 and 7D) most as there aren’t any other cameras available in rental. But as a former Minolta User, I was really delighted to see the a77 coming and I’ve been using it since getting one at the end of 2011. What I really love about this cam is the antishake in Video mode giving me really fluid motions handheld and none of this terrible “micro shake” you usually get. The footage quality in 25p is awesome and it was a pleasure to check exposure with the EVF in very bright sunlight. However, a pain in the ass is that image magnification to focus isn’t possible in video mode- I really hope they will change it in a firmware update. Also it would be neat to easily take pictures in video mode – just as possible with Canon cameras. That were just a few minor disadvantages. I gave the image a -3 in contrast in standard/normal mode as it went through grading. Light was mostly bounced sunlight and my powerful pro LED lights by “The Light”. I used ND Filters for open aperture on the Sony f2.8 16-50mm SSM and Sigma Macro EX 50mm. I really hope you give this video a spot as there quite are a few beautiful images taken with the awesome a77.”

Dave: “This is my latest video… the full review of the Sony NEX-F3. Feel free to use the embed code to feature on your website if you would like to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU9M7lHmMSk”

Ze: “send you Nex-7 photos; here are some I took in Manhattan, mainly with the 50mm lens.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/exdei/sets/72157629810722369/”

Jonas: “Video with the NEX-7 at https://vimeo.com/40387729”

Rob: “Hi Andrea! Just wondering if you could make my birthday, and post a link to my website on sonyalpharumors? I turned 17 yesterday, and have been shooting sony since the age of 13!
I use the a77, with sony lenses, flashes, etc, and use the a200 as a nice little backup camera :) Ive become obsessed with music photography at 15, and am slowly gaining popularity with it on a worldwide scale! A link on sonyalpharumors would just be amazing for me! I recently made my own website, and started up on 500px (having been on flickr for the past few years, in fact, you once posted my a77 size comparison from it ahha!)
500px.com/robellis1 and robellisphotography.co.uk are my two newer ways of sharing photos, with flickr.com/robellisphotography being my old site :)”

Andrew: “Just thought I’d share my work shot on the Sony A77. It’s a short film called ‘Six Weeks Later’. Lenses used are the CZ16-80mm, Sony 50mm f1.4 and Minolta 135mm f2.8. You can watch the film here:
https://vimeo.com/35814274”

Linh: “Feel free to check out my flickr stream at flickr.com/lng0004”

Marcel: “https://vimeo.com/36300622 This is the trailer of a TV series I shot with a NEX 5N with voigtlander and carl zeiss glass. There are a few shots with a gopro in the series. It was broadcasted in Catalonia in most local tv’s, shot in Paris on december it was 13 chapters of 7 minutes each. It’s supposed to look like self shot recording but with an aesthetic plus. It’s only in catalan though. Here you have the facebook page where you can find all the chapters in case you find it interesting. http://www.facebook.com/paristv”

Daniel: “as you told us on the blog: one more little clip shot with the great nex 5n and different lenses. Maybe it’s good enough to be shown :) would be great. https://vimeo.com/41202703”

Dave: “I own stacks of manual glass and have used them in combination with the NEX-7 for some very fun video work. I have recently acquired the three fast E-mount primes, the 16mm, the 24mm Zeiss and the 50mm OSS (all wonderful for their own purposes), but here’s a sample video using the camera with Canon FD legacy glass – a 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8 and 135mm 2.8. It’s also a good showcase for the NEX-7’s ability to shoot 1080p/60p video for slow-motion effect. Enjoy and please feel free to critique! https://vimeo.com/38994583”

Mark: “Here is a short work that I made using a Sony Nex5(original) with the 18-55 kit lens.  Each frame was individually processed and added to the video timeline.  I was inspired to this after visiting the “Musee des Arts et Metier” in Paris, France (where I currently live). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BOBtR45h3s”

Luis: “This video was entirely shoot with the Sony A77, and a Sigma 30mm f1.4. It’s about a trip to the market and the cooking experience that followed it. Hope you like it and hopefully that it get’s posted on your blog. https://vimeo.com/38771109”

The next list is coming after tomorrow! Feel free to send me your work and I will update the list with the newest link I get! Thanks! And really…great work guys!

Roger Cicala from Lensrentals posted some thoughts about Sony’s sensor strategy based on the latest news that also the new Olympus E-M5 is actually using a Sony made sensor. Robert compared the Sony situation with that from Kodak ages ago: “They were cutting edge developing first dry plates and then film, releasing ‘consumer’ cameras that brought photography to the masses, and making everyone’s prints. They dominated the photographic and movie industries for nearly 100 years.”

I don’t know, on one side I am happy to see Sony ruling the sensor technology and business, on the other side it’s a bit pity that they are not really pushing their own camera business. Things are going a bit slow there and it almost looks like their focus is on selling sensors instead of cameras. Anyway, we are close to Photokina and Sony may show us the exact contrary!

One more thing: Lexar announced that it will join the Sony XQD technology (via ThePhoBlographer).

Richard Gale made the cinema housing for the NEX 5N you can see here on top. EosHD posted the news and writes: “It essentially turns the tiny toy-like NEX 5N into a mini Red. Advantages include a secure full sized HDMI port, cooling system, integrated Sony monitor, robust build quality, better handling and protection for the camera itself from drops, etc. As you can see, looks wise it is quite an eye opener too, turning the NEX 5N into something much closer to a digital cinema camera.”

It transform your NEX-5n in a sort of small RED camera. Existing owners of the NEX 5N can buy the kit sub £1000. As soon we find more info and first preorder options I will post them here on SAR!

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Sony NEX-5n shop links at [shopcountry 8452].

Via 43rumors I found a way to control SLT and DSLR cameras with an iPhone remote controller APP. You need these two things: A Triggertrap Mobile Dongle (Click here) and a Triggertrap connction cable (Click here). The Triggertrap APP (here on iTunes) allows you to control the camera with the following features:

* Time Lapse
* Eased Timelapse (timelapses with acceleration!)
* Distance-lapse (take a photo every 30 ft/m)
* Vibration and shock sensors
* Sound detection (Clap to take a photo!)
* Facial Recognition sensor
* Motion detection
* Magnetic & metallic detectors
* Long-Exposure HDR**
* Long-Exposure HDR Timelapse
* Star Trail mode
* Cable Release (press to take a photo) which also supports Long-exposure shots (exposures of up to 24 hours!)

The Triggertraps website shows the supported cameras. No NEX camera is included for now.

I am pretty sure Nikon, Canon, Sony and maybe Pentax will bring us plenty of new Full Frame cameras at Photokina. And the battle will be particularly tuff in the FF entry-level segment. While Sony will price the A99 (or A88) somewhere between $2.500 and $2.800 Nikon and Canon are “rumored” to price it at $2.000 and maybe even lower. Reminder, the Sony FF camera will have much more advanced features!

Falk Lumo (Click here) is a well known Pentax user but it’s worth to read his latest post about the Full Frame future. According to him APS-C DSLR/SLT have no more sense to exist. Photokina will focus on cheaper FF models and he says “Photokina 2012 may start a trend for dSLRs to be full frame (only).”

And for Photokina 2014 (yes in two years) he says that FF will “become mainstream above $1,000, in a more compact form factor” while “Mirrorless SLDs and large sensor compact cameras dominate the segment between $500 and $1,000, mobile phones below.”

I don’t think that APS-C DSLR will disappear any time sure but in my opinion Sony should also think to introduce a FF Mirrorless model. That would be something that finally could convince Canon and Nikon pro’s to switch over to Sony or not?

Yesterday Sony announced the new faster XQD cards (Press release here). The first generation XQD cards had a write speed of 125MB/s and the only camera capable of using them is the Nikon D4. This is the kind of super speedy cards you will be able to use on the next Full Frame SLT camera from Sony. The 24 Megapixel FF sensor is rumored to have a 10-12fps speed and you will need those cards to get the best out of it! And it comes for a price. The current 125MB/s cards are priced at $120 for the 16GB version (here at Amazon) and $230 for the 32GB version (here at Amazon). The newer faster cards will cost ¥60,000 (around $754) for the 64GB card and ¥40,000 ($503) for the 32GB model.

Yep, cute prices :(

The E-M5 sensor…from Sony!

Back in February Olympus announced the popular Olympus E-M5 camera. They didn’t unveil the sensor manufacturer that they said was not Panasonic. Yesterday Olympus President Hiroyuki Sasa “confessed” that the sensor has been made by Sony (Source: Yahoo Japan).

So after Nikon (for example the D800), Pentax (K-5) and Ricoh (See some GXR modules) we now have Olympus on board. Sony is far away from becoming the DSLR and Mirrorless camera market leader but they are now close to dominate the global sensor market!