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Photographybay (Click here) tested the Sony A55: “The A55 gives the novice user plenty of room to grow in both the photo and video realms. The biggest limitations I found were the image buffer when shooting RAW files at high frame rate bursts and the unnatural feel of the fast AF in video recording. For an entry-level DSLR though, the Sony A55 will go toe-to-toe with just about any other comparably-priced camera out there.”

A reminder: The A55 like other Sony cameras is currently discounted in US:
And here is the summary of all US deals:
-$50 on the A580 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H and J&R.
-$50 on the A55 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the A33 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the NEX-5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
-$50 on the NEX-3 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.

We are all waitng Sony, Sigma, Tamron and Zeiss to release new high quality lenses for our NEX camera. But in the meanwhile we can only report about new lenses made by chinese companies.
The latest addition is the new 28mm f/2.8 Mitakon lens for NEX. You can see image of the lens on Flickr (Click here) and image samples at Xitek (Click here).
I don’t know where you can buy the lens. I searched on [shoplink 6533 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] where I could find Mitakon lenses but not for the NEX.

The other chinese lenses with NEX mount are the SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 you can already buy on [shoplink 3514 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and the soon to come fast prime 23mm (again from SLRmagic).
There are also a few reseller that do rework the mount so that it can fit on a NEX camera without the need for an adapter. An example: The Kowa 50mm f/1.0 you can find on [shoplink 6534 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].

What is the best 12Megapixel APS-C sensor in the world? Drumming…….it’s a Sony sensor on a Fuji camera :)
The new [shoplink 6075]Fuji X100[/shoplink] got tested by DxOmark and received an Overall Score of 73 points. No current 12 Megapixel APS-C camera can beat it. By the way, did you knwo the Fuji uses the same [shoplink 3228]Sony A700[/shoplink] sensor? Let’s hope the A77 and all other future cameras will be optimized to squeeze out the full Sony sensor potential!

P.S.: The Fuji X100 with the hybrid viewfinder concepts sells for almost the double original price on [shoplink 6075 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Sony should take a look into that technology…

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Kurtmunger (Click here) posted a new Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens review: “I used three lenses for this review, and all three seemed about the same in image quality, so I’m thinking the quality control for this lens is ok.“…”The Sigma 70-200mm OS build quality is good, (but not as good as the Sony), and it offers the same type of fast, almost silent focusing system that Sony uses (SSM). Unfortunately, there are a couple of things missing on the lens that should be included at this price range; like some focus hold buttons and a focus limiter option to speed up focusing in certain situations.”…”Overall, I think the Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 HSM telephoto zoom lens with optical stabilization is not all that impressive considering the price tag is in the neighborhood of the excellent Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 G.”

Direct Links to the Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 EX lens: [shopcountry 6455]
Direct Links to the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 lens: [shopcountry 6369]

Kurt also sent me the following info: “Just thought I’d relay some info on the new flash (HVL-F43AM) from Sony. I noticed it has a 15mm diffuser, which means Sony may be coming out with a 15mm lens at some point in the future, or it could be just a typo.  I put a specs chart on my homepage, and my thoughts on it.”

Let’s hope he is right ;)

[shoplink 6433 ebay][/shoplink]
If you need fast lenses for your NEX than you have to look for interesting third party lenses. As you know weeks ago I posted a news about the possibility to use the Micro Four Thirds Nokton 25mm on a Sony NEX. But he lens doesn’t fully cover the larger APS-C sensor and it’s a bit questionable if it makes sense to use that lens on your NEX camera. Some of our readers sent me possible alternative lenses which do cover the full image circle. One of the most interesting lenses is certainly the [shoplink 6433 ebay]50mm f/0.95[/shoplink] from Canon. Here is a list of links on Flickr:
– An image of the NEX-5 with the lens attached (by Eldech on Flickr)
– A second image of the lens on the NEX (by Nico on Flickr)
– Image samples (by Nico on Flickr) There are many nice images!

See the current Canon 50mm f/0.95 on [shoplink 6433 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The lens costs more or less like the [shoplink 5973 ebay]Nokton 25mm for NEX[/shoplink].

If you have more images to show feel free to share them on SonyAlphaRumors! Thanks!

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Kurtmunger (Click here) tested the [shoplink 6369]Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 II APO EX DG Macro HSM[/shoplink] lens for Sony: “Final thoughts; Sigma’s quality control is awful, I used three lenses for this review, the third lens they sent me was a winner.  If you want to try your luck, and are patient, you might wind up getting a good one, at which point you’ll be hard pressed to tell the differences between the Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 HSM II and the [shoplink 6370]Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 G[/shoplink], in both sharpness, focusing accuracy and speed.  At the time of this review the Sigma is about half the price of the Sony, which makes it a great bargain…..only if you get a good one!”

Compare the price of the two lenses:
Sigma 70-200mm at [shopcountry 6369].
Sony 70-200mm at [shopcountry 6370].

One more thing: Tamron officially announced that the new 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II PZD lens will start worldwide shipment on April 15. It costs $649.00 and is already available for preorder in some stores. Check those direct links: [shopcountry 6373].

To bad Sony had to delete the NEX-C3 and A35 announcements. But at least we got a very nice NEC camcorder! I am going to post a few interesting videos I found on vimeo. The video on top is a “funny” self-interview about the NEX-FS100. It’s a very informative preview!

Alexander Schrott made a unique test. The video shows images of the NEX-FS100 taken with the excellent [shoplink 6331]Canon FD lenses (Click here to see those lenses on eBay)[/shoplink].

SONY NEX FS-100 launch promo video.

Mar Forman tested the camera in NYC. I am not allowed to embed the video so please click the link: http://vimeo.com/21783226

Noise test at +30DB: http://vimeo.com/21969472

The camera should hit the stores in July (Source: BHphoto).