Finally! The Sony A99 FF camera will be the first Sony camera to have full 14bit RAW file recording! It is something Nikon cameras (like the D800) have since a long time now so it was about time fro Sony to use it too. But will it really bring some noticeable improvement?

The administrator of Cambridgeincolour wrote: “It is usually image noise — not the 12/14-bit A/D dynamic range — that ultimately limits the photo’s visible dynamic range. A 14-bit linear A/D converter has a dynamic range of 14 f-stops, for example, but this is far beyond what is visible because of image noise (5-10 f-stops at the very most).
Further, A/D converters and CCD/CMOS sensors are not always linear; in which case the image bit precision/depth does not necessarily correlate with A/D dynamic range. Take a look at the last two sections on bit depth and tonal curve in the dynamic range tutorial. There’s a lot more on this there, although be warned that this concept can be quite confusing.
At present the only tangible use I can think of for the extended 14-bit precision is more shadow tonality in a RAW photo which has undergone extreme shadow recovery. If this is true, then 14-bit is worth it in exchange for the marginally larger file sizes. However, I have no evidence of this in practice. ”

More 12 vs 14 bit tests: here and here.

I have been told the JPEG engine has been improved too. But we have to wait for real test to see if Sony’s wake point has been finally straight out too!

Stay tuned on SAR: Here is our RSS feed and Twitter stream and the Facebook comunity!

Three new lenses with OSS:
One of the SAR readers main question was if the new lenses would have OSS (in lens stabilization). The answer is the best I can give you…all three lenses will have OSS! So we will get a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS pancake (retractable) powerzoom. A 10-18mm f/4.0 OSS (non pancake). And a 35mm 1.8 OSS prime lens.
What I don’t know yet is the price of the lenses and if they are going to be announced this week along the NEX-5R or in September along the NEX-6. For now the announcement of the NEX-5R is scheduled for this Wednesday (European time). There may be some changes in last minute.

Current NEX lenses with OSS:
18-200mm at [shopcountry 3060].
50mm at [shopcountry 8448] (my favorite NEX lens!)
18-55mm at [shopcountry 2996].
55-210mm at [shopcountry 8444].
at [shopcountry 3060].

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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!

Sometimes I really find crazy stuff in my mailbox. A trusted source sent me a real(!) sketch of the Sony A99 back designed by him. What you see is what you will get with the A99!Basically the almost exactly same back of the Sony A77 (image here). I don’t know how much work he put on this but we all would be glad to receive the sketches from the top and front too…Thanks :)

Stay tuned on SAR: Here is our RSS feed and Twitter stream and the Facebook comunity!

I can now confirm that two new Alpha Lenses will be announced along the A99. These are the new 300mm f/2.8 G SSM II and the already announced new 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zooms. More lenses like the 50mm prime and 70-200m zooms will be unveiled the next winter (2012-2013).

P.S.: Sonystore US marked the 300mm lens as “No Longer Available”. Some lenses are still in Stock at Amazon (Click here).

A NEX-6 rendering based on the leaked images by KTFturbo.

Remote control
The NEX-5R and NEX-6 can be controlled in remote via Phone. There should be an APP for Android phones (so for example for these Sony Xperia phones) that will give you full remote control of the NEX cameras.  I don’t know yet if there will be an iPhone app too.

I also have two more news about the NEX-6:
1) the camera has a new 2359k dot image on viewfinder.
2) The Hot shoe is the same of the A99.

Announcement:
There was a bit of a confusion on the announcement date. This depends from the time zone. I know “think” the announcement will be made on August 29th in Japan. Hope to get a reliable hour soon. The NEX-5R only will be announced. The A99, NEX-6 and E-mount FF camcorder will be announced in mid September. Subscribe our RSS feed and Twitter stream and the Facebook comunity to not miss any hot news!

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Support: I know some guys do not like the support message. But I am putting all my free time on SAR and if you want to support costs and the time I am putting into this you can help me to earn some small commission when doing purchase through those affiliate links: [shopcountry 8450]. Once clicked on them you can purchase whatever you want I will earn a small commission through it. Of course you don’t pay any penny more on the products price. Thanks!

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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!

The image on top shows the just announced Sony NEX-EA50UH Camcorder with 18-200mm Servo Zoom Lens. The Full Frame NEX-VG900 costs less!
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I know I am going to be crucifixed for posting this rumor. But I am sure that the rumor will turn out to be true within the next few weeks. So please cheaters…just have a bit of patience before to attack SAR :)

The new NEX VG-900
We just got an unexpected news via trusted sources. Until now I thought Sony is working on a High End and expensive E-mount FF camcorder only but after talking with multiple sources I can unveil this:
Sony will announce the new NEX-VG900 at around mid September. It is a Full Frame E-mount camcorder (Full Frame in photographic terms!). And it costs just a bit over 3.000 Euro! It records 1080p60 in AVCHD format (24Mbps/s). A FF camcorder for 3.xxx Euro is something almost unbelievable. Of course as usual, this alone will not make the camcorder successful. I am working to get the details of the camcorder and hope to post them soon.

E-mount FF
I repeat it again. Current E-mount lenses like the super [shoplink 8450]Zeiss 24mm f/1.8[/shoplink] will work in crop mode only. And you will have a “special adapter” to make [shoplink 13431 ebay]Alpha lenses[/shoplink] work on the cameras. There will be no E-mount FF lenses yet. For those of you that take more about photography than stills…a “photocamera” with FF E-mount is scheduled for a 2013 release.

Reminder: There is an announcement scheduled for August 29th (NEX-5R) while the E-mount FF camcorder, the NEX-6 and the A99 will be announced two weeks later! Stay tuned on SAR, subscribe our RSS feed and Twitter stream and the Facebook comunity to not miss any hot news!

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Support: I know some guys do not like the support message. But I am putting all my free time on SAR and if you want to support costs and the time I am putting into this you can help me to earn some small commission when doing purchase through those affiliate links: [shopcountry 8450]. Once clicked on them you can purchase whatever you want I will earn a small commission through it. Of course you don’t pay any penny more on the products price. Thanks!

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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!

Quick update about the announcement date. It looks like Sony is going to have an announcement of the NEX-5R only(!) on August 29th in the afternoon (European time). The A99, NEX-6, NEX and Alpha lenses and the E-mount FF surprise are going to be announced in mid September. P.S.: August 29th is next Wednesday.

Something terrific: I am now writing my next rumor. It is a must read rumor for all film makers and it concerns the new E-mount FF camcorder(s). I just got a surprising info (rated SR5)…it is so surprising that I bet that film makers on different forums will write that I invented the rumor. I expect many personal attacks and SAR denigration. I ask all these guys to just wait until mid September before to kill me…ok? :)