Imaging Resource had a chat with Sony manager Kimio Maki and Takashi Kondo. And those are the take-aways written by Imaging Resource:

1. He (Kimio Maki) did indicate that we’d likely see the LSI in future cameras, including mirrorless models.
2. I found it particularly interesting that Sony doesn’t appear to view the A99 II so much a tool for convincing people to switch to Sony from Canon or Nikon (or Fuji or Olympus) as it is about delivering new technology to long-time A-mount loyalists, some of whom have been using the platform for decades.
3. the sense we got was that Sony isn’t currently planning on launching an equivalent to its G Master lenses for the A-mount. Instead, he noted that A-mount shooters should be able to get the maximum image quality from their existing A-mount glass by simply stopping down slightly when paired with the A99 II body

All new Sony stuff on preorder:
Sony A99II at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Calumet Germany and WexUK.
Loxia 85mm f/2.4 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Tamron 150-600mm G2 A-mount lens at Bhphoto.Rokinon 35mm f/1.2 APS-C E-mount lens at BHphoto.
Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 autofocus FE lens at Amazon and BHphoto.

WexPhotographic compared the size of the new Fuji GFX medium format camera versus the Sony A7rII. The GFX sensor has a 60% larger area. Not sure that’s enough to not a “real” image quality difference. By comparison the Full Frame area is 130% bigger than APS-C.

Sony A99II preorder links:
In USA at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
In Europe at Calumet Germany and WexUK.

A99II image by Michał Wiatrowski (fotopapiery.pl)

SAR reader Michał Wiatrowski (fotopapiery.pl) managed to save and share a few full size A99II image samples.  Michael writes: “It’s a fantastic camera. And in my opinion it’s very good in iso/noise. It’s fast, got a lot of details and this will be my next camera”

UPDATE: Sony asked Michal to remove the RAW files because they were not representative of the final image quality because shot on a preproduction camera. SAR therefore removed the links. Instead you can see full size JPG images at Sony.net.

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You can now preorder the new Sony A99II:
In USA at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
In Europe at Calumet Germany and WexUK.

Tokina FíRIN 20mm f/2 FE MF, Wide Angle Manual Lens Dedicated to E-Mount from cinema5D on Vimeo.

And this is the size comparison between the Tokina 20mm f/2.0 lens and the Batis 18mm f/2.8 lens:

Image via Camerasize

I got the impression the new Loxia 85mm lens didn’t get a love here on the SAR community. And I guess the main issue is the high price ($1,399 at BHphoto and Adorama). That said the lens promises to deliver a stellar performance. Diglloyd writes:

The Zeiss Loxia 85mm f/2.4 Sonnar delivers performance that beats out the best Leica M APO lenses, according to its (measured) MTF chart provided by Zeiss (Leica MTF charts are theoretical computed, not measured).
The Loxia 85/2.4 is a an exciting lens for Sony shooters because it is close to Otus-grade performance, yet native-mount for Sony in a relatively compact package. With a 2 or 3 frame focus stack, I’d bet that many outdoor images can be made that will be jaw dropping in detail—I’m sure looking forward to a 70 megapixel Sony of some sort.

And here you have the first Photokina hands-on video with the new Loxia lens:

A99II image via Digitalrev

Digitalrev published their Sony A99II first impression review:

It is indeed smaller than the first A99 (8% to be exact), and so close in size to the a77 II that Sony can even use the same battery grip for both cameras.
The autofocus is worthy of all the Sony mirrorless cameras, and in Live View, it can focus at -4 EV – similar to the 5D Mark IV and far better than the D810, which only can focus at -2 EV.
In its current reincarnation, the A99 II is better than either mirrorless models from Sony, but that must surely be a sign that the A9-series is imminent. I think it’s pretty clear the A-mount is secondary to Sony’s thoughts, especially since the a99 II has nothing particularly new.

Nevertheless Digitalrev keeps being pessimistic about the A-mount future. It’s understandable but I happen to disagree on that point. Despite the Mirrorless system camera rise the DSLR market is many times bigger and shows no sign of reduction in terms of sales volume. It would not be wise for Sony to step out from it to play a role in the much smaller mirrorless market only.

Few more A99II hands-on:
A99II first impressions at ThePhoBlographer.
Spanish A99II hands-on at DSLRmagazine.

You can now preorder the new Sony A99II:
In USA at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
In Europe at Calumet Germany and WexUK.