The following is a short test from Andreas Peters:

“Back in 2015 I did an ISO comparison of the Sony A77II vs Sony A7II . As I now have a brand new Sony A99II I did the same test with this camera. All photos can be found in my Flickr Album “ISO test Sony A77II, A7II, A99II” https://flic.kr/s/aHsk9dazjD Remark:
For the Sony A99II I used the Tamron 70-700mm F2.8 Di LD (IF) as I do not own any F2.8 lens with a focal length of 55mm.
The Tamron 70-200mm @70mm gives a similar field of view for this test (I could have used my Sigma 24-105mm @55mm but this is a F4 lens which would have resulted in completely different exposure times)”

Sony A99II preorders at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. PhotoPorst, Calumet Germany and WexUK.

Two SAR readers sent me their High ISO tests:

Mario:

I think these are among the first high ISO videos for the A99ii.  In the 2nd one there are links to JPEG and RAWs. Overall, A99ii it gains one full stop versus mark 1 but note of caution: shots out of camera with “fine@ setting, no renomate software ready yet to handle A99ii Raw.
1st video: A99ii High ISO in very low light – https://youtu.be/0lx3o9VWqX8
2nd video: A99ii High ISO test on still photos (+ link to RAW/JPEG)- https://youtu.be/Ag6-7UIyaD8

Manuel:

4 raw files, very high iso, free download:
ISO 12.800 http://www.vigevanosposi.it/A99II012800.ARW
ISO 25.600 http://www.vigevanosposi.it/A99II025600.ARW
ISO 51.200 http://www.vigevanosposi.it/A99II051200.ARW
ISO 102.400 http://www.vigevanosposi.it/A99II102400.ARW

Sony A99II preorders at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. PhotoPorst, Calumet Germany and WexUK.

DxOmark published the full 50mm f/2.8 FE macro lens test and concludes:

Shooting full-frame, a 50mm prime is a really handy option for general use and portrait photography, as well as a relatively lightweight and portable lens. Adding 1:1 macro focusing, the Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro offers greater functionality for Sony A7 series owners, making it an even more versatile optic at a sensible $499 price point. Sharpness is outstanding on the Sony A7R II, achieving 37 P-Mpix of the Sony A7R II’s total 42Mp resolution, and it’s the third-sharpest lens we’ve tested on this camera. It’s not as sharp as the Zeiss Sonnar T* 55mm f/1.8 and lets in half the amount of light using the maximum aperture, but it’s also half the cost of the $998 Zeiss and offers macro.

Sony FE 50mm macro lens is in Stock in USA at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon and in Europe at Amazon.de, Amazon UK.

Highlights

• Lightweight and portable
• 1:1 macro focusing
• ED (extra-low dispersion) element
• Dust- and moisture-resistant
• Outstanding sharpness from f/4 to f/8
• Well-controlled chromatic aberration

Drawbacks

• Some corner shading at all apertures
• Expensive compared to the Sony FE 50mm f/1.8

Video above: Sony A99II Settings for Sports/Action Photography by Patrick Murphy-Racey
Video below: Sony A99II Hands On with this Powerhouse Alpha Camera by Dan Watson

Sony A99II preorders at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. PhotoPorst, Calumet Germany and WexUK.

A6500 Review – Is it worth it, or wait for the next one? By Max Yuryev

More and more testers are publishing their A6500 previews. Here are the ones published the last 24 hours:

24 hours with Sony’s A6500 mirrorless camera (Engadget).
Sony A6500 review-in-progress at CameraLabs
Sony a6500 Sample Images / Early Review (Photorec).
Dan Watson images and ibis test.
Sony a6500 – Hands-on Review compared to the a6300, a7S II, Gh4 by Videomaker.
Woof! Sony a6500 sample images are here (Dpreview).

A6500 at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. In EU at Amazon.de, Fotomundus, Calumet.de. WexUK. PCHstore.

Althaugh the new A99II is shipping in Europe there are still no full reviews out there. All we got today is the interesting first Look Review by Max Yuryev.

Imaging Resource posted a A99II Image Gallery. And there is a German first impression review by Fotomieten.

Sony A99II preorders at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. PhotoPorst, Calumet Germany and WexUK.

We don’t know yet if the new Sony A6500 will be the first Sony E-mount camera suitable for serious sport photography. But in the meantime you can check out that video to learn how to set the right settings.

The A6500 is now also available for preorder in Amazon Europe stores:
A6500 at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. In EU at Amazon.de. Amazon.fr. Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.it. Calumet.de. WexUK. PCHstore.