As I told you this week Sony is on the verge of big decisions. And they are testing many FF prototypes some of them are quite different from what we have seen on the market the last years. All I can anticipate with a certain reliability is that Sony will definitely introduce plenty of new APS-C SLT and NEX cameras the first half of 2013. And I am almost certain no new Full Frame SLT or NEX camera will be announced during that time. The High END FF prototype and the other FF prototypes I heard of are still being evaluated and tested and Sony still has to take the final decision about their possible release time and final specs.

In short, Sony has to decide if they want to take a more revolutionary path or a more evolutionary approach. My suggestion to Sony, do that what will really set a difference from Canon and Nikon. No more half heart games.

P.S.: I am 100% sure there will be no more optical viewfinder FF cameras. So don’t keep asking me that anymore :) P.S: One A900 demo (new condition) A900 for sale on eBay (via Slidoo).

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Stay tuned on SAR, subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here)!

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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!

DxOmark (Click here) published the full NEX-6 sensor test and it’s probably even not worth it to click on the link to read their article :)
This because the NEX-6 has exactly the same performance of the NEX-5r and the NEX-5n.

And here are two more NEX reviews: NEX-6 at Camerahoarders and NEX-5r at Photographyblog. And two NEX-6 demo ktis are for sale on eBay US (via Slidoo).

Working on rumors never has been easy. But now it’s getting even more difficult to predict Sony’s roadmap. As I have learned from my sources Sony is on the verge of major changes in their camera business strategy. The financial crisis forces them to re-think the products roadmap (and as I will tell you later this is actually a good news). Usually companies do plan 2-3 years in advance. But from what I am hearing Sony is about to decide to speed up the transition to a “full mirrorless roadmap“. In concrete this means that some of the cameras and lenses that have been planed for a 2013 release may will NOT introduced. And some that have been planed for a 2014 release may come earlier.

Confused? Don’t worry. This is just to say that it will be difficult for us to be reliable on rumors about cameras coming in 6-12 months because the management is currently discussing the release (or not release) of some of these products.

I am now working (and waiting) to get some reliable details about the changing roadmap. But one thing I can tell. This is a good news! Sony definitely wants to challenge Nikon and Canon…that’s their plan! But to do so they have to clearly focus on producing unique products that are unmatched or not even available in the Canon and Nikon palette. And do not make any mistake, both E and A mount lines will be developed and reinforced. But if the roadmap change will come the reinforcement will be more “revolutionary” than “evolutionary”.

Stay tuned on SAR! Meantime join out Facebook SAR comunity and Twitter stream.

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P.S.: Sorry for my English. It’s difficult to express sensible information in a non native language. Would love to explain such difficult stuff in German :)
P.S.: Would like if you would join our little new Slidoo.com project. it’s a fats eBay search and notification tool. Still in Beta but we are improving it daily. And we will add Amazon products within the next 3-4 weeks. Thanks :)

Sony NEX-VG900 Sample Movie from soul_vid on Vimeo.

EosHD posted that shootout comparing many cameras cameras including the Sony NEX VG-900. But he is very harsh about the Sony: “The reason people like full frame sensors is for the image quality not the spec sheet. I really do feel it is full frame for the sake of it here with no real advantages for video especially when the image from the 5D Mark III, Nikon D800 and much cheaper D600 is so much better. What is bizarre is that the Nikon’s have Sony sensors and yet do better video than Sony’s own cameras.”

And SAR reader Francesco shows in a video the difference between the two LA-EA2 and LA-EA3 adapters (here on youtube). The LA-EA2 gives you full electronic support but doesn’t cover the full 35mm image circle. The LA-EA3 covers the full Full frame area but it doesn’t support autofocus with SIGMA lenses (and face detection also doesn’t work of course).

Guys…what do you think about these findings?

The D800 with AA filter on left and the D800E without AA filter on right.

Many didn’t notice that Pentax new K-5 IIs camera (available here on Amazon) not only features the well known Sony 16 Megapixel sensor. It also doesn’t use any Anti Aliasing filter. This will increase the per pixel sharpness although you will have to deal with moirè issues. And here comes the next rumor: I heard from a couple of sources that Sony’s next FF high megapixel number camera that will be announced next year is very likely going rid of the AA filter too! It will become a sort of Nikon D800E alike camera. I am still working to get more details about the camera. So stay tuned on SAR, subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here)!

P.S.:Photoclubalpha also posted an article about possible future Sony cameras having no Anti Aliasing Filter.

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Black Friday hourly deals: Amazon (cameras), Amazon (all stuff), Adorama, Bhphoto, J&R, TigerDirect, Bestbuy and eBay. And last New A900 for sale on eBay (via Slidoo).

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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!

Two quick RX1 news first:
SAR reader Futile sent me this message: “Amazon USA has notified me that my estimated shipping date for the Sony RX1 is: Monday November 26, 2012 by 8:00pm. I preordered on September 11, 2012.” Sounds promising! At the same time also the new RX1 EVF is now available for preorder (Click here).

RX1 test:
Steve Huff posted the first part of his RX1 review. Steve writes that “No longer am I upset that they did not release full frame NEX system camera. It would have been a big fat mess with lack of lenses just like we all went through with the 1st year and a half of the standard E mount lenses. There would have also been a question of lens quality. If there were a full frame NEX the lenses would have probably been in the $500 range and very good but not having a true “WOW” factor.”
I don’t agree. They could have released just the 35mm f/2.0 lens as E-mount. In fact I would have been more incline to spend $2000 or more for the camera knowing that I can buy more lenses in the future. The reasons why I like the current  RX1 are others 1) optimized sensor and lens setting 2) leaf shutter 3) extreme downsizing advantage over an interchangeable camera.
Focus Numerique (translation here) compared the RX1 RAW and JPG’s, tested the lens quality and color fidelity: “Overall, the torque sensor / lens is rather successful, but we prefer to shoot in RAW to exploit the capabilities of the case”

Shipment date and price:
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

It’s getting again very busy on the rumor front and I am daily working with my anonymous sources. What I can anticipate today is that I know heard about three different Sony Full Frame prototype cameras. And I mean really completely different! Not three version of the same concept. I am still working on the details of these cameras but I can anticipate that one of these is the High End A1x (not the definitive name) High Megapixel camera. That is due for a 2013 release. And photographers are already testing it on the field!

In short, stay tuned on SAR. Trying to give you all I can as soon as I can. Meantime join out Facebook SAR comunity and Twitter stream. It’s the best place to get even more info and to chat with me directly :)