Photojottings (Click here) posted a very interesting JPEG and RAW comparison between the most requested Sony camera of the moment ([shoplink 8454]the NEX-7[/shoplink]) and the probably last full frame camera model with optical viewfinder ([shoplink 3032]the A900[/shoplink]). I am again surprised to see how well the NEX-7 holds up against a fullframe camera. You may would argue that the better JPEG performance has to do with the newer processor but looking at the RAW comparison at 6.400 ISO you easily can see the NEX-7 better color performance and only a slightly less resolution compared to the A900. I am sure the new 24 Megapixel sensor of the A99 will bring a quantum leap jump in terms of noise performance and per pixel resolution but APS-C sensors are always advantaged by the fact that they will get the newest technology advancements before FF. It’s on the low and mid level market where you make the big money, not in the pro market.

About the optical viewfinder and A900: The A900 is a great camera and I used it for some of my photographic works. While I am positively surprised by the NEX-7 electronic viewfinder I still miss that huge superb viewfinder of the A900. I know for sure that there will be no new OVF model any time soon from Sony but Fuji has shown us with the X PRO 1 that one technology doesn’t exclude the other. Don’t know if Sony engineers are reading me right now but they should take a look at Fuji’s approach :)

—
Sony A900 search links at [shopcountry 3032].
NEX-7 search links at [shopcountry 8454].
Fuji X PRo 1 at Amazon (Click here). news at Fujirumors (Click here)

With all those super positive reviews it’s good to hear a voice of someone that after a first hands-on isn’t really happy with the NEX-7. Read the first impressions by RiceHigh (Click here). Let me know what you think about his critics.

And one of my favorite little blogs 3Dkraft (Click here) toke a close look at the moire effect with the NEX-7. As you know the NEX-7 has a very weak Anti-Aliasing filter so you will notice the moire on fine textures. 3Dkraft made a “pioneering” work by testing the beta version of Lightroom 4. Watch the results on his website!

In Stock status:
Some USA readers sent me emails that their NEX-7 shipment has been delayed (again!). I am really sorry to hear that. All I know is that in February first batch of body only camera will arrive in your stores. Amazon (Click here) isn’t accepting preorders yet so get for Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) or any other store you like. There are some cameras on [shoplink 8454 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] but price is well over the $200 for the body only. For my European friends, I haven’t found any NEX-7 in Stock :(

My colleague Mike Kobal (Click here) is using the A77 for his professional work and made the video on top to compare the 5dMarkII and A77 quality. Also Philip Nash (Click here) made such a comparison on vimeo.

The Verge posted a double hands-on:
Sony NEX-FS100 and NEX-VG20 hands-on video at The Verge (Click here).
Sony Cybershot DSC-V3 Review at Photographicentral (Click here).

UPDATE: The new Zeiss for NEX is in Stock at Bhphoto (Click here).

La Parroquia from The Luminous Landscape on Vimeo.

Before to talk about the new NEX-7 reviews I have two things to say:
1) This weekend, I was very busy, but I can say with confidence that in short order, I will finally be able to organise third party NEX lens reviews.
2) As you may know, there are a load of new rumours thanks to Sony shifting their product release schedule forward. Get ready for a new wave of tempting morsels stating next week!

NEX-7 gets tons of appraisal.
Luminous Landscape (Click here) first posted a review about the NEX-7 video capabilities: “The scaling that Sony uses to go from 24MP down to about 2MP for video does produce some artifacts, but in many ways is better than the line skipping that Canon uses. There is definitely visible rolling shutter (you can see some examples in the above video), but it’s no worse really than some other video DSLRs.”
And again LL (Click here) finalized their long rolling review with that simple sentence: “The NEX-7 is the most exciting camera that I’ve had the pleasure of using in the past five years.”
As SAR editor I wanna thank our LL friends for their well done NEX-7 review!
Also Imaging Resource (Click here) conclusion has the same tone from LL: “The bottom line: Sony NEX-7 is one of the most exciting cameras of 2011, and a real breakthrough product in a number of key areas.”
One more thing: First picture of the NEX-7 Nauticam housing (Click here).

In Stock (or better out of Stock) status:
Digitalrev (Click here) is the first store that I see that has the NEX-7+Zeiss kit in Stock! But damn…for what a price :(
If you are European like me than look at Redcoon, Expansys and Jessops, they say they will ship your NEX-7 within 2-3 weeks: Jessops UK (Click here), Expansys UK (Click here), Redcoon Spain (Click here), Redcoon Italy (Click here), Redcoon Poland (Click here).
Of course there are some auctions on [shoplink 8454 ebay]eBay too (Click here)[/shoplink].
Good Luck guys!

Tamron 18-200mm
As you know Tamron released the first lens for the NEX system and Mike Kobal (Click here) tested the 18-200mm lens. Not that such a lens was really neede as we already have the Sony 18-200mm lens :(
Anyway, Mike also had that Sony lens but the Tamron is “a little smaller, lighter and has two additional lens elements. The built quality of both lenses is excellent“. Soem more image samples have been posted here on Flickr (Click here).

30mm macro
And the 30mm macro lens for NEX has been reviewed at SLRgear (Click here): “With good results for sharpness, corner shading and distortion, the only hesitation might be higher-than-desired results for chromatic aberration, but even that is treatable with post-processing.“.
SonyAlphaLab (Click here) tested the lens on the NEX-7:”The contrast and color are also decent from what I’ve taken so far. The lens Bokeh is not the prettiest I’ve seen, but it is nice and smooth which is still very pleasing to the eye. Based on these initial test shots only, I would have to highly recommend this lens.”
Click those links to check if the lens is in Stock: [shopcountry 10041].

REVIEW: Sony A77 from Caleb Pike on Vimeo.

As I told you a week ago Sony delayed the A99 fullframe camera release to September in order to have enough time to evaluate the A77 customer reaction. On the video on top Caleb Pike is highlighting some of the “limits” of the A77 the A99 should try to solve. I hope Sony will take notice of these because I really want my A99 to be as close to perfection as possible :)

What do you think about Caleb’s review?

The A77 is in Stock:
in USA/Canada at Sonystore US (within 2 weeks), Expansys USA (within 8 days), Expansys Canada (within 8 days),
in Europe at Jessops (within 10 days), Amazon Germany (Click here), Expansys UK (within 6 days), Amazon Italy (Click here),
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here), Amazon Cina (Click here),