There are also two A-mount news to report after yesterdays big Sony event:

1) Sony finally shows there is a future for A-mount
By openly disclosing the two new A-mount lens releases for 2015 Sony brought back some confidence in the A-mount system. Finally after many words from managers we also got some…facts.

2) A-mount and E-mount differences  fading out:
The A6000 already started to get one step closer to PRO DSLR autofocusing performance. The one major advantage of A-mount over E-mount left was in body stabilization. But now that advantage is gone.

I am wondering how Sony wants to promote the A-mount system. It will be harder for Sony to justify the existence of an A-mount system unless Sony does “invent” something that cannot be done on E-mount (like Z-shift or other crazy features).

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

Excuses in advance: Sorry for my poor english. I speak German, Spanish and Italian and never properly learned English. On a longer text my poor English really shows my limitations :)

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Yesterday we got that game changing new A7M2 camera. I call it game changing because for the first time in the camera history Full Frame lenses like the [shoplink 30855 ebay]Leica M[/shoplink], [shoplink 30856 ebay]Zeiss ZM[/shoplink], [shoplink 30857 ebay]Konica Hexanon[/shoplink], [shoplink 30858 ebay]Olympus OM[/shoplink] and more get a full 4.5 stabilization. It’s also a unique feature that Nikon and Canon cannot offer. It could become a strong reason for Canon/Nikon owners to switch over to Sony.

And the best time is still ahead of us with the Sony A9 launch coming soon! Here are a couple of thoughts about why Sony is on the verge to possibly conquer some major market shares of the Canon/Nikon dominated Full Frame camera market:

1) The double Sony “Miracle”:
For the second time Sony did what on forums most people said to be “impossible”:
The first time:  Many said a Full Frame  sensor would not fit on the E-mount. And Sony made the “impossible” possible.
And then the A7m2: The past 12 months people said adding image stabilization on FF E-mount would be impossible because there is not enough space. Well with the Sony A7II we not only got the on sensor image stabilization, but actually the best possible 5axis image stabilization on market along the one used by the Olympus E-M1!

The point is: Sony has proven ey willing to explore any possible tech to succeed on the Full Frame market. Can Canon and Nikon keep up with that level of innovation? We on SAR already hinted that 8K and 50MP FF sensors are coming in a not so distant future. Particularly Nikon will have a hard time to fight back on the sensor and video features front…

2) 5 axis stabilization on ALL Sony and third party lenses.
The Sony A7m2 uses the worldwide first 5 axis stabilization on a Full Frame camera. And the camera “rumored” price is less than $1800. Now it will be possible to use all kind of possible third party lenses with in body image stabilization. Your Leica M lens is stabilized, your Konic Hexanon is stabilized…what a fantastic world for third party lens owners!

The point is: Canon and Nikon do not offer stabilization on their fast primes. While suddenly overnight Sony offers that stabilization on all lenses including fast primes. It’s the first time there is some sort of unique Sony advantage on the lens front. Now Sony has to bring ton of lenses as soon as they can to really satisfy the “basic” customers needs.

Sony A9 is going to be terrific:
The A7m2 has been launched 2 months after Photokina with a small announcement in Japan only. Sony sees that camera as a minor upgrade to the A7 although…honestly…the 5 axis stabilization addition is quite a MAJOR change in the industry! And Sony also proved they are listening to customers by adding XAVC-S, changing the shutter button location and making many subtle changes requested by A7 owners.
In two months from now we will get what will be the first real PRO Sony FE mount camera, the Sony A9. It will feature all the most advanced tech: Improved Sony A6000 hybrid autofocus, 4K recording (internally likely), 5 axis stabilization, from ground up newly designed sensor. I am not lying to you. I sold the A7r last week to a friend of mine and will buy the A9. It’s going to be a terrific camera!

SAR poll five year history record: It’s the first time a Sony camera gets over 95% of “likes” here on SAR:

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Tell me if you agree or not agree with my thoughts here. And stay tuned on SAR because the party just started :)

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Sony A7m2:
Worldwide only preorder is at Amazon Japan.
Full spec list and videos on SAR.
Full english A7m2 features list on SAR.
Image samples here on Sony.net.
Real life Images of the A7m2 on SAR.

Triple A-mount lens release:
70-300mm II official release not on SAR.
First images of the 24-70mm II and 16-35mm II A-mount lens son SAR.

A-mount A77M2 firmware:
Coming in December with two great new features (here on SAR).

Breaking news: Pic of Canon and Nikon managers after the Sony A7m2 launch… http://t.co/fat3Je4aRg Thx Roland ;) pic.twitter.com/6XVPpGYGB4

— SonyAlphaRumors (@SonyAlphaRumors) November 20, 2014

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

Sorry for the fun tweet on top but Sony really has shown they can make the impossible possible by adding 5 axis stabilization on the FE cameras. I am wondering how Canon and Nikon managers will feel now :)

Time to extend our Sony A7m2 roundup post. Here is all the news that matters!
Worldwide only preorder is at Amazon Japan.
Full spec list and videos on SAR.
Full english A7m2 features list on SAR.
Image samples here on Sony.net.
Real life Images of the A7m2 on SAR.
A7II press and images at Sony Japan.
Image samples here at Sony Japan.
A7m2 discussion on SonyAlphaForum.
Sony Japan Unveils the a7II Mirrorless Camera, 70-300mm G SSM II A-Mount Lens (BHphoto).
Sony Announces A7 II – Nail in Coffin for Nikon and Canon? (JorgeTorralba).
Thoughts on the A7m2 by TheDigitalDigest.

The main things you need to know about the A7m2:
1) Camera will be released in Japan on December 5 and cost 190,000 yen. It will ship in Europe in January for 1.799 Euro (no US price info yet).
2) It has an amazing 5axis on sensor stabilization. It works both in stills and video mode with up to 4,5 stop stabilization (CIPA standard).
3) The 5 axis stabilization is a world’s first on a FF camera and is also a Sony proprietary tech (not borrowed from the Olympus OMD). Source: SonyAlphaForum.
4) 5 axis stabilization works with all third party lenses (Source: SonyAlphaForum).
5) Sensor is the “almost” the same as the one used by the A7. But autofocus speed is 30% faster
6) The A7m2 has the shutter button on top of the grip and a new grip and texture on the A7 body.
7) It has a robust mount ring. No need to replace it with the Fotodiox solution
8) A7m2 has XAVC-s and X-Log2
9) Picture of Nikon and Canon managers after the A7m2 launch (SAR twitter)

Sony A7m2 vs Sony A7 perfect size comparison via CameraSize:

The official Sony.net A7m2 presentation site doesn’t say if the Sony sensor stabilization works with third party (non Sony lenses) too. And there is only a footnote for third party adapters used on the A7 with the stabilization system. It says:

When using a third-party mount adapter, performance, functionality and operation are not guaranteed and Sony will take no responsibility if a malfunction occurs.

So it sounds like it actually works for all third party lens and adapter solutions! And here is an interesting image posted on Sonyalphaforum (via DC.watch) which shows how you can manually set the 5 axis stabilization for any focal length!

So is the new A7m2 is the holy grail for all manual lens owners?  If that is correct it means for the first time in history owners of lenses like the [shoplink 30855 ebay]Leica M[/shoplink], [shoplink 30856 ebay]Zeiss ZM[/shoplink], [shoplink 30857 ebay]Konica Hexanon[/shoplink], [shoplink 30858 ebay]Olympus OM[/shoplink] series (and so on and so on) will get fully stabilized lens on a Full Frame camera!

Sony also stated that this 5 axis stabilization is not(!) borrowed from another company (aka Olympus OMD) but is fully proprietary (Source: Digitalcamera). And you gain up to 4.5 stops…CIPA certified(!). Sony said they wanted to include this feature on a “budget FE” camera first to make it quickly available for the mass. We can be 100% sure this is coming on the Sony A9 too (to be announced in January). The stabilization system also works for both stills and video mode! There is a first not so “professional” A7m2 5 axis stabilization test video on youtube. And here is the official Sony video which explains how the 5 axis stabilization actually works:

Sony A7m2:
Worldwide only preorder is at Amazon Japan.
Full spec list and videos on SAR.
Full english A7m2 features list on SAR.
Image samples here on Sony.net.
Real life Images of the A7m2 on SAR.

Triple A-mount lens release:
70-300mm II official release not on SAR.
First images of the 24-70mm II and 16-35mm II A-mount lens son SAR.

A-mount A77M2 firmware:
Coming in December with two great new features (here on SAR).

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One more thing:
Sony RX100 now sells for ridiculously low $329 at [shoplink 30670 ebay]BigValue on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] Full Black Friday deals can be seen on at that Amazon US page (Click here to see the long list).

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

Today Sony announced the A7M2 (in Japan only!), three new (updated) A-mount lenses and the A-mount A77M2 firmware update (great stuff!). Here is the perfect overview to learn everything about the new products:)

Sony A7m2:
Worldwide only preorder is at Amazon Japan.
Full spec list and videos on SAR.
Full english A7m2 features list on SAR.
Image samples here on Sony.net.
Real life Images of the A7m2 on SAR.

Triple A-mount lens release:
70-300mm II official release not on SAR.
First images of the 24-70mm II and 16-35mm II A-mount lens son SAR.

A-mount A77M2 firmware:
Coming in December with two great new features (here on SAR).

The main things you need to know about the A7m2:
1) Camera will be released in Japan on December 5 and cost 190,000 yen. It will ship in Europe in January for 1.799 Euro (no US price info yet).
2) It has an amazing 5axis on sensor stabilization. It works both in stills and video mode with up to 4,5 stop stabilization (CIPA standard).
3) The 5 axis stabilization is a world’s first on a FF camera and is also a Sony proprietary tech (not borrowed from the Olympus OMD). Source: SonyAlphaForum.
4) 5 axis stabilization works with all third party lenses (Source: SonyAlphaForum).
5) Sensor is the “almost” the same as the one used by the A7. But autofocus speed is 30% faster
6) The A7m2 has the shutter button on top of the grip and a new grip and texture on the A7 body.
7) It has a robust mount ring. No need to replace it with the Fotodiox solution :)
8) A7m2 has XAVC-s and X-Log2
9) Picture of Nikon and Canon managers after the A7m2 launch (SAR twitter) ;)

This is a really impressive camera for the money! All your lenses from Sony and third party lenses from every rangefinder/Mirrorless/DSLR system are now “miraculously” stabilized!

And SAR readers seem to really love this new camera:

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Images (Click on them to enlarge):

Videos:

α7Ⅱ from Sony: Official Video Release

α7 Ⅱ 5-axis SteadyShot INSIDE from Sony: Official Video Release

Image on top shows the new 75-300mmII A-mount lens on the new A7mII.

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

Neither Sony US (Click here) nor Sony Europe (Click here) do yet list the new Sony A7m2. But at least I got the pricing info for Europe (via SonyAlphaForum):

A7m2 body will cost 1.799 Euro
A7M2 with 28-70mm lens will cost 2.099 Euro
Both will ship from January

The new SAL-70300G2 will cost 1.199 Euro and ship by end of March.

Reminder:

Sony A7m2:
Worldwide only preorder is at Amazon Japan.
Full spec list and videos on SAR.
Full english A7m2 features list on SAR.
Image samples here on Sony.net.
Real life Images of the A7m2 on SAR.

Triple A-mount lens release:
70-300mm II official release not on SAR.
First images of the 24-70mm II and 16-35mm II A-mount lens son SAR.

A-mount A77M2 firmware:
Coming in December with two great new features (here on SAR).

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

DC.watch posted that set of “real life” A7m2 pictures from the presentation in Tokyo. The image on tops shows the A7m more protruding grip (camera below) compared to the current A7. This makes it possible to put the shutter button on the way more comfortable top of the grip. it will also make it easier to hold the camera with larger lenses attached.

All you need to know about the new A7m2 can be found here:
Worldwide only preorder is at Amazon Japan.
Full spec list and videos on SAR.
Full english A7m features list on SAR.
Image samples here on Sony.net.

Click on the images to see the large version: