As you know Sony is keeping the announcement dates are very secret with no one outside Japan being informed about when they will announce new stuff. But something is going on folks as I received three different reports from three independent sources (who shared correct info in the past) that Sony will soon announce new FE lenses.

Two of the sources said that they cannot be 100% sure yet but they heard about a possible announcement today or the coming few days. But they stressed to say that they still got no 100% confirmation and will come back to me as soon as they can confirm this.

What all the info I get have in common is that they all talk about new FE lenses while there is yet no info about new FE cameras….

So stay tuned the coming hours and days as we might get some surprise!

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To sources: Drop me a message at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com or use the contact form you see on the right top of this site!

UPDATE: So let me start by reminding you that the info that Sony will announce some new lenses this week is still unconfirmed. Two sources heard there will be an announcement this week while other have heard nothing. So let’s take this with a grain of salt for now…
That said we will not have to wait much longer anyway to see new stuff from Sony and I hope I can give you some SR5 ranked rumor about that soon. Now it’s important to sum up what we can expect to get by Sony:

Highly reliable rumors (90% chance these are true):
1) Just like 2016 also 2017 will be the “year of lenses”. This is the main focus of Sony right now. But of course we can expect one or even two new FF E-mount cameras too!
2) 16-35mm f/2.8 GM. This lens is coming soon. It was even “hinted” by Sony Artisans :)
3) Budget 85mm FE
4) New telephoto FE primes (maybe a 400mm FE?)
5) Sony is working on new dual card slots E-mount FF cameras
6) High End E-mount FF camera priced above the current A7rII is coming too. But the exact release time is still unclear.
7) Sigma will announce their first FE lenses this year

Medium reliable rumors (60% chance these are true):
1) The next A-mount camera should be the A77III. But if it gets released in 2017 is yet unconfirmed.
2) A7markIII is rumored to ship this summer

Low reliable rumors (30% chance these are true):
1) RX5 APS-C camera

Just me dreaming:
1) Sony RX medium format camera with the 55x41mm sensor

And now let’s talk about the possible timing of the next Sony announcements: The big CP+ show takes place in late February. But we know Sony likes to announce new stuff off these events. Last year they had an announcement two weeks AFTER the CP+ show. I expect Sony to announce new FE lenses first. New camcorders will be announced in April and probably new cameras in May-June. But that’s just a guess for now…

image above shows the current A77II

Zhang Qianli is China’s most famous Sony Artisan (375K followers). He tested the Sony A99 prototype back in August 2012. And last year two weeks before Photokina he said “you need two kidneys for Photokina this year” when teasing the new A99II camera launch (Source: Weibo).

And now he is teasing another camera launch and writes at Weibo:

“A new camera with very fast burst rate and AF speed, at least one telephoto lens, not the A7 series, not on CP+”

Because he is an A-mount shooter he might be talking about the new A77III. But also the new A9 or so… Let’s hope he will spill out some more info soon!

I just got the following note:

Being told by two friends who shoot for Sony that next week will be a few new product announcements. Hinting at pro E mount announcement. Hoping this is true!

Now as usual Sony is very hush hush and no other source has yet confirmed the rumor. That’s why I give it yet 50% chance only. But if there is an announcement I think it’s highly likely we will get new FE lenses. This is what we could get:

Very likely:
16-35mm f/2.8 GM
New budget 85mm FE lens

Uncertain:
A7 mark III (it is rumored to ship this summer but announcement date is unclear)
A77 mark III (A-mount with 24MP sensor)
New High End PRO E-mount camera
400mm f/4.0 FE

But I repeat…so far I got no 100% reliable confirmation from trusted sources! I hope Sony sources can confirm the announcement and spill out some details by contacting me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Or if you prefer use this anonymous contact box:

Error: Contact form not found.

Thanks!

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Something new: Join our brand new official Sony Alpha Camera fabeook group!

To get an idea of the possible size of this lens: Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens vs Sony 70-400mm lens (via CameraSize).

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The following rumor has been shared to me by the same source who gave me the correct A99II specs back in August:

“400mm f/4.0 FE lens announcement in Q2 2017 with the new A7 mark III”

I hope the source is right on this one! Of course this is going to be an expensive niche lens so…

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Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!

[shoplink 54449][/shoplink]

Sony Australia officially confirmed this:

“The [shoplink 54449]Sony SAL135F18Z camera lens[/shoplink] has been discontinued and will no longer be in production as of this week. The website may still show that it is in back-order, but the information on the website will be updated anytime from now.”

I don’t know if that means that Sony will no more sell that lens in Australia or if a new version II is about to be released. What our sources told us is that Sony will update some of the current A-mount lenses to improve the autofocus performance.

Thanks Yubin!

Store links to the 135mm Zeiss: [shopcountry 54449].

UPDATE: The camera is now listed at Amazon US (Click here).

One of my trusted sources just sent me these two images of the new Pentax KP.
Why should we care about this camera? Because it’s rumored that this model has a new 24 Megapixel APS-C Sony sensor with incredible low light performance. The KP can go up to top 819200 ISO!

It might be that Sony will use that sensor on future own 24MP sensor cameras like the A77II successor or the A6700 which arrives in march…just joking again :)