New Sony A57 reviews roundup (release delayed to fix the firmware)

Sony Japan announced that it will dleay the release of the new Sony A57 because of firmware issues that have to be fixed before the official shipment. There is no info about the new shipment date. Meantime you can check some new reviews about the A57:

ePhotozine (Click here) posted a full Sony A57 review: “The Sony A57 is an excellent camera, capable of taking great photos, with low noise and bright saturated colour, however it just seems that the camera it replaces (the A55) was just as good, if not better?

Sony A57 preview and image samples at Techradar (Click here). Another hands-on in japanese at Ascii (Click here for the google translation).

New NEX-FS700 video and test roundup.

Adam Wilt (Click here) is right now testing the camera. He shot the 240 fps test video on top and writes: “you’ll see increased noise in the 480 and 960 fps clips as a result, though Sony cautions me that the multi-layer circuit boards still need to be optimized to reduce crosstalk: this camera is a “fairly good, stable, underperforming engineering sample”, and shipping versions may well yield cleaner images.
Andy Shipsides shot this 480 fps you can see on vimeo (Click here).
Hangman shot another 200fps mode @1080p video you can see on vimeo (Click here).
First Look at the Sony NEX-FS700 by Sardo on vimeo (Click here).
EosHD (Click here) posted the content of a Q&A session with Sony.
According to BHphoto (Click here) the camera will ship on June 30th.

New NEX-7 reviews roundup!

[shoplink 8454][/shoplink]

USAtoday (Click here) wrote an article about the NEX-7: “In terms of all-around performance, though, the NEX-7 is the best mirrorless camera we’ve tested. It features a combination of control, image quality, and responsiveness that most other cameras in this segment can’t match.

Mike Kobal (Click here) is again using the NEX-7 for fashion photography: “I noticed the unintimidating effect the Nex7 had on my subjects. The photographer is just testing the light, this can’t be the session yet, the big camera is sitting over there on the tripod, those or similar thoughts where probably crossing their minds and it helped establish a relaxed atmosphere right from the beginning.

The just redesigned blog Soundimagesplus (Click here) tried to answer the big question, is the NEX-7 or Fuji X PRO 1….which one is the best? The answer in short: “I would choose the NEX-7. Its a much better handling and performing camera with 50% more pixels, its cheaper, it has more lenses available and its definitely more “quirk-free” than the X-Pro 1. In terms of image quality the extra size has to be balanced out by the superior definition of the Fuji, its vastly superior high ISO performance and its seriously good jpgs.

The NEX-7 keeps being a top seller at t Amazon US (place 1), Amazon Germany (place 2), Amazon France (place 3) and is doing “bad” at Amazon UK (place 34???) only.

Click those direct search links to check price and in Stock status of the NEX-7:
[shoplist 8454]

LEA2 and LEA1 adapter reviews!

David sent me the email with the link to the video you can see here on top: “I’ve just done a thorough review of the LA-EA2 adapter. I know the adapter has been out for a while, but I don’t think anyone has done a full video review yet. The review includes AF speed, options, adapter size compared to NEX 5N and kit zoom lens, etc. I hope it’s useful to your readers. Thanks again!

And if you want to see a review of the “older” LEA1 adapter Jason from SonyAlphaLab (Click here) did a super job testing the Sony 70-400 f/4-5.6 G SSM Lens + LA-EA1 on the Nex-5n!

LEA2 adapter shop search links at [shopcountry 12160].
LEA1 adapter shop search links at [shopcountry 12161].

Zeiss 24mm tested at DSLRmagazine. Nothing stops the NEX-7!

For USA readers: Seven NEX-7 with kit lens in Stock at Amazon (Click here).

Klaus from Photozone tested many NEX lenses on the NEX-7 and discovered that most lenses are still not good enough for the NEX-7. He still has to post the most important lens test, the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8. But there is another test made y the equally good reviewer Valentin Sama at DSLRmagazine (Click here to read the google translation). He says that the lens is worth every penny and the NEX-7 de facto deserves nothing less than a lens like that to express all the potential. The lens has almost no flaws, a bit of vignetting wide open that’s it. Even the bokeh is spectacular! Usually bokeh isn’t a key feature for a wide angle lens but it’s nice that Zeiss archived the perfection even in that aspect.

In Stock status
The lens is still not available everywhere (completely out of Stock in USA for example). Check these links to see if there one: [shopcountry 8450].
And the NEX-7 remains an impressive top seller. It surpassed the Fuji X PRO 1 at Amazon US (Click here to see the full ranking). And it remains on top positions at Amazon Germany (place 3 and 4), Amazon France (place 1) and Amazon UK.

Sony FF: Remove or not remove the Anti Aliasing filter?

On left the Nikon D800. On right the Nikon D800E without the Anti Aliasing filter (Click on the image to enlarge)

Let’s not talk about the usual stuff like AF speed or high ISO tests. There are some other aspects the camera manufacturers are now competing for. Example, In the mirrorless segment we already saw the “miniaturization battle“. When it comes to video quality you often read about the “Rolling Shutter jello effect reduction“. But there is also another pretty recent evolution: The removal of the AA (Anti Aliasing) filter that usually protects you from the effect called “Moire”. Within 2012 we already had two new cameras getting rid of the AA filter: The Fuji X PRO 1 (Click here) and Nikon D800E (Click here). Here is a list of links you can check to learn more about it:

Aliasing explanation at Wikipedia (Click here).
Nikon D800 versus Nikon D800 image quality comparison at Pocket Lint (Click here).
Canon 5DmarkIII versus a modified markIII without AA filter at CanonWatch (Click here).
Fuji X PRO 1 versus the “older” Canon 5DmarkII at DSL-check (Click here).

From what I have seen so far the Sony 36 Megapixel sensor really gets a jump of resolution when there is no AA filter. But the Moire effect is really annoying in pictures with patterns. And this cannot be removed in post-production. So for me the Nikon D800E is a no way to go for normal use photography. But the Fuji X PRO 1 tells us another story. By modifying the RGB pattern on the sensor you can almost completely remove the moire issue. And I think that would a way to go for Sony. So here is my question for you:

Choose the ONE lens Sony should ABSOLUTELY makes as next...

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Links to the mentioned cameras:
Nikon D800E at Amazon (Click here).
Fuji X PRO 1 at Amazon (Click here).
The Nikon D800 remains on top of the Amazon ranking (Click here).
While the NEX-7 surpassed the Fuji X PRO 1 (Click here to see the ranking).

First NEX-FS700 test video and new Carl Zeiss 15mm T/2.9 and 135 T/2.1 for E-mount!

FS700 480 FPS Test from Andy Shipsides on Vimeo.

If you were wondering what kind of lenses to use on the super new NEX-FS700 E-mount camcorder than I have good news for you! Carl Zeiss just announced two new CP.2 15mm T/2.9 and CP.2 135mm T/2.1. They will be available in late 2012 for $5,700 or €4,200 (VAT excluded!). What makes the CP.2 lenses so expensive is that they are perfectly color-matched to allow consistency in footage. On [shoplink 12143 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] you can find many CP.2 lenses and there is no one that you can get for a low price!

Meantime we can finally watch some nice video made with the FS700. On top of this post you can see the 480 fps test video by Andy Shipsides and below you can find an official introduction from Sony! Looks great or not?

Sony Professional: Introducing the Sony NEX-FS700 from Sony Professional on Vimeo.