Sony officially announced that the new NEX-3/5 firmware will come on June 20th!
“A firmware upgrade (Version 4) adds the new ‘Picture Effect’ function to existing NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras. It also adds a Peaking function to assist with more precise manual focusing. This upgrade will be available June 20thand can be downloaded from: (www.esupport.sony.com). ”

And so for the A33/55:
“Available beginning June 20th, a firmware update for existing α33 and α55 cameras adds several creative and operational enhancements. Support for the ‘Picture Effect’ function featured on the new α35 model is now offered. High-Speed Synch is supported during wireless operation with a compatible external flash (α55 only). Ergonomics are further improved with revised menus and a new mode that lets users switch shooting parameters overlaid on-screen for clear, uncluttered composition. The a33 and a55camera’s Digital Level Gauge can also be displayed when shooting via the optional CLM-V55 external LCD monitor. Frequently used features can now be custom-assigned to the D-RANGE button for rapid, menu-free access.“

NEX-FS100 First Official Unboxing. Direct links for preorders check at [shopcountry 6170].

Tempus NEX Sony NEX Intervalometer Remote (SonyAlphaNex).

Sony presented two new CCD for compact cameras. A 16mp 1/2.3″ CCD and a 10mp 1/2.93″ CCD (Photographyblog).

Short Sony CLM-V55 LCD Screen review (Photocomment). Direct search links at [shopcountry 7157].

Sony HVL-F43AM test (Lowyat). Direct search links at [shopcountry 5995].

Sony 35mm f/1.8 lens tested at lenstip. Direct search links at [shopcountry 6422].

Which digital camera functions best on a microscope? (Lmscope.com) and…Sony NEX-5 and Sony NEX-3 in microscopy (again Lmscope).

New pop-up LCD protection (DC.watch).

Alpha-numérique vous invite au Salon de la Photo 2011

A new layout for our friends website http://www.sonyrumors.net/.

Noktor annouced via Twitter (Click here) that the 50mm f/0.95 for NEX will cost $1.000. The lens will have the same optical design as the current Micro Four Thirds version. Only the look will be different. They are accepting preorders on their website: http://noktor.com/products.php. This is the fastest E-mount lens currently available. If you need a fast lens like that your other alternatives are the [shoplink 7140 ebay]Canon 50mm f/0.95 (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 7142 ebay]Leica 50mm f/0.95 (Click here to see ebay auctions)[/shoplink]. They deliver a better image quality but 1) you need an adapter 2) They are very expensive!

The lens is made by the Hong Kong company SLRmagic which already sells the [shoplink 7109 ebay]35mm f/1.7 for NEX on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

The japanese company Yasuhara announced a new amcro lens for NEX named “Nanoha”. It has a 5x magnification and can take spectacular photos (Click here to see their online gallery).  The Nonoha’s website says about the lens: “The magnification is much more than ordinary macro lens. The magnification is up to x5. It means 1 pixel on the picture is about 1 micrometer on the shooting target. With NANOHA, you can find small wonders easily without using microscopes. And we added some patented features for your good shooting.”

Yasuhara is a one man company that made Cameras and Lenses compatible with the Leica M-system ([shoplink 7085 ebay]CLick here to see some of their stuff on eBay[/shoplink]). They know will release that lens for mirrorles systems + two more lenses during the year 2011.

Sony published the detailed financial report. There are couple of info regarding the digital camera segment:
1) The expected operating income increase is partially offset by the negative impact of the Earthquake, which is anticipated to primarily affect components and compact digital cameras.
2) In the CPD segment, sales decreased due to lower sales of products such as components and compact digital cameras. This decrease was partially offset by higher sales of interchangeable single lens cameras.

My guess is that Sony NEX cameras were much more successful than they had expected. At least in Japan were we can see the exact sales (See BCNranking) we can notice that Sony NEX cameras are selling more than Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras. That’s a huge surprise if you do consider the lack of lenses for the E-mount system.

Source: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/index.html

P.S.: You can see on Amazon that most cameras in the TOP 20 are compacts:
Amazon US rankings (Click here)
Amazon DE rankings (Click here)
Amazon UK rankings (Click here)
Amazon FR rankings (Click here)
Amazon IT rankings (Click here)

The Sony A850 is now officially out of production. The biggest american photo online store discontinued the camera. Click here to see the A850 discontinued message on BHphoto. A couple of months ago my sources told me that this would happen. And soon the A900 price should fall around $2000.

If you still want to get the Sony A850 check price and availability by clicking on those direct links: [shopcountry 3028].

I expected a small loss due the recent earthquake disaster but I didn’t expect the loss to be that big! You can download the full report as pdf (Click here). The company lost $3.2 billion in the 12 months! That’s the worst lost in 16 years. There are many reasons for that debacle. Electronista analyzed the results: “Most of the loss came from a $4.4 billion equivalent setting aside of tax assets to address worries about future results. The earthquake in the Tohoku area of Japan will also have cut into its performance through repairs and lost production. Slow TV sales affecting the whole industry, as well as a struggle to keep sales going for the PS3, PSP, and Walkman players, all of which are suffering due to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo DSi systems, and both Apple’s iPhones and iPods.”

It’s unclear yet if that result will affect the imaging division (I don’t think so). The good news is that Sony also predicted a big plus for the next fiscal year (+$2.4 billion). So no need to be to much worried yet! I hope the whole Japanese economy canreboot as soon as possible!