Image source: Alphaniacs

There is a good chance that Sony will launch new A-mount lenses the first months of 2013. One of the lens will be the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 SSM. The second lens is the new version of the current 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom. I don’t know yet if there will be a third A-mount lens. I told you before that Sony is facing some lens production problems. The demand of lenses is higher than expected and this makes them change the roadmap every couple of months. One more thing: New SLT cameras are also on the way in early 2013 but I am not sure yet which one is coming first (by the way…all APS-C!).

If you have a rumor to share just drop me an anonymous message by using the contact form on the right sidebar. Or contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

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P.S.: I don’t know the price of the lens but we have many Zeiss 50mm lenses for different mounts and I thought it would be nice to give you an overview:
[shoplink 14186 ebay]Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* for Canon (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14187 ebay]Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* for Nikon (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14188 ebay]Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 50mm f/1.4 50/1.4 LTM (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14190 ebay]Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.4 for Contax (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 14189 ebay]Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 ZF 50mm F1.4 Nikon Ai-S (see auctions on eBay)[/shoplink]

As you see the price range is soemwhere between $500 and $800. Of course these are all manual focusing lenses and do have a different design. But I hope the price will be a bit below the $1.000 mark.

SAR reader Daddybit (thanks!) spotted a statement made by Ned Namura, President of Sony Hawaii (on Hawainewsnow). He said that “We’re going to be making some major announcements at the upcoming Winter Consumer Electronics Show. We will be showing a lot of other technologies, not just the Bravia Television, but advancements with the Play Station, also in Sony Pictures, and also in the Alpha Series cameras.”

The CES show starts on January 8th. Don’t worry guys, I am already working on the next bunch of rumors! Stay tuned!

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Meantime try our little beta Slidoo eBay website (Click here). This is the link to the RX1 stuff. Sign in with facebook or twitter to change the search settings. It’s funny believe me!

Digicaminfo found that picture showing a brand new A99 with 24-70mm lens package. The mark clearly says A99 and “SAL2470Z” which stays for the [shoplink 6050 ebay]24-70mm f/2.8 Zeiss[/shoplink]. The good news here is that we can expect to save some bucks on that combo. There are already some A99 and 24-70mm combos for sale on [shoplink 15428 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] but these are two separated packages and you don’t save a penny on them.

UPDATE: As noticed by our reader JVS the package is sold by Sony Australia!

A99 store links at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

We haven’t forgotten that Hasselblad joined the E-mount system…have we? And today we have some news from the Swedish company:

Our reader Aliaume (Thanks!) spotted a surprising statement made by Peter Stig-Nielsen, responsible of Hasselblad professional products at Lesnumeriques (tranlsation here). Hasselblad want to develop their own software enhancements on E-mount lenses. But they are also considering to produce their own E-mount lenses with quality manufacturer…maybe with Fujinon.

As usual with these interview made with Managers…be aware that many things can  be interpreted wrong by the interviewers. I would be damn surprised if Fuji would produce E-mount lenses. I think there is only a very low chance this will happen. On the other side I confess I would be very happy to see some Fuji-Hasselblad quality glass. And they already worked together on the X Pan lenses ([shoplink 15310 ebay]some of them you can find here on eBay[/shoplink]).

By the way, I am really curious to see if there will be a serious partnership on the medium format front. You still dreaming of a Sony square sensor camera? :)

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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!

Image courtesy: Quesabesde.

It doesn’t happen very often but some camera rumors I do receive fall in the category “Mystery cam“. These are cameras having unique and yet unseen features. The Sony RX1 is one of these cameras. According to a trusted source Sony is working on a new “Mystery cam” that yet we haven’t seen realized by any other manufacturer. The source was so cruel (LOL) to not unveil me any bit of info about it. He only said that it is scheduled for a 2013 release. He is a top source, that’s why I post it now on SAR.

Anyway, I let you guess what this may be…

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The RX1 can be pre ordered at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

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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!

Our reader Lewis wrote on facebook SAR that:  “Nissin Digital have informed me via email that the Nissin Di866 Mark II Pro firmware upgrade for Sony Alpha 77 will be released in November.”

What kind of improvements we can expect is unkwnown yet.

The VG-900. The first E-mount FF

Two trusted sources confirmed that Sony is working on a Full Frame NEX-7 alike system. And they said the camera prototype is almost “ready”. But the real issue is the lens system. They told me that Sony has not enough resources yet to design and produce lenses for a new Full Frame mirrorless system. Currently the priorities are those:
1) Develop and produce new E-mount lenses for the current cameras
2) Develop and produce (and redesign some of the existing) A-mount lenses

The sources said that for that reason we don’t have to expect a new FF mirrorless lens system to be ready before the very end of 2013! But nothing has been decided yet. The priority for the first half of 2013 are the new A and E-mount lenses plus the new NEX-7 update and new SLT cameras.

A litte more info: Expect these lenses to be larger than current known FF lenses like the [shoplink 15173 ebay]Leica M (here on eBay)[/shoplink] or [shoplink 15174 ebay]Zeiss ZM lenses (here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Lens design for digital sensors requires a bit a different approach than the design for film cameras (for example AF parts have to be included).

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Just a note. Zeiss made many FF ZM lenses and quite some of them would be interesting for a new Sony FF mirrorless system:
[shoplink 10875 ebay]Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9803 ebay]Distagon T* 4/18 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9804 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9804 ebay]C Biogon T* 4,5/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9805 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9806 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/28 ZM  (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9808 ebay]Biogon T* 2/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9808 ebay]C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9809 ebay]C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM  (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9809 ebay]Planar T* 2/50 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9810 ebay]Sonnar T* 2/85 ZM  (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9810 ebay]Tele-Tessar T* 4/85 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].

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Reminder to all sources: You can send me anonymous messages through the use of the contact form you can find on top of the right sidebar. Or send me an email by using a fake gmail account at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

FF mirrorless: Currently only Sony and Leica are offering FF mirrorless systems. Sony has the VG900. While Leica has three new offerings, the Leica ME. Leica M and Leica Monochrome.

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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!