Day after day I am receiving new tidbits of rumors about the Fullframe strategy. And I will soon have more news for those waiting for more NEX-7 and A77 info.

A new source told me one of the prototypes has a 36 megapixel sensor. At first Sony had problems with overheating in 40+C conditions but they managed it to solve them. A trusted source told me that all fullframe camera will have the same tilt-swivel solution you have seen on the A77 picture. Whenever I look at that pic I have to say that it looks like it could break very easily! Hope I am wrong :)

And as I already told you there will be more than one fullframe cameras announced in 2012. They will all be Translucent, have built-in GPS and be optimized for video. I have been told that the video quality will be lot better than the [shoplink 6340]Canon 5D markII (Click here to see that cam on Amazon)[/shoplink].

One more thing: I want to thank all the sources for sending me rumors. Please understand that I usually try to doublecheck rumors before to post them And if I can’t than I will publish them with low rumor ranking (SR2 or SR3). But I will keep your (fake) names in mind and if rumors turn out to be true you will automatically become a trusted source :) P.S.: Got some strange rumors about the NEX pro having a curious “mount solution”. If you have some info about that camera drop me a line. Thanks!

[shoplink 7471 ebay]

[/shoplink]
Image on top shows the [shoplink 7471 ebay]Nikon D3X[/shoplink] which could get competition from Sony!

As you know Nikon fullframe cameras do use sensors made by Sony. (UPDATE: Nikon says their FF sensors do have a custom design but the D3X sensor and [shoplink 3032]A900[/shoplink] sensor are very similar in specs). And we always had the feeling that Sony isn’t seriously competing against the famous partner. But this could change soon! According to our sources Sony is testing different fullframe prototypes. And we know for sure that at least two FF cameras will be announced in 2012. One of the tested prototypes is a high resolution camera with built-in grip aimed to compete against the [shoplink 7471 ebay]Nikon D3X[/shoplink] and [shoplink 7472 ebay]Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III[/shoplink]. Sounds like Sony is really planing to enter the (High) PRO market! One of our sources told us the prototype is based on the new Translucent technology and has a very high resolution sensor (Close to 40 megapixel!). Please keep in mind that we are talking about prototypes so specs are not 100% definitive yet. But I will keep you updated with all the news I can get.

P.S.: I also have a question for my sources, will Nikon still have a “priority” on the new generation of Sony sensors or will Sony don’t give any advantage to Nikon anymore? Thanks!

Linsk to the cameras mentioned in that post:
Nikon D3X at [shopcountry 7471]
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III at [shopcountry 7472]

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 5509 ebay][/shoplink]The image on top shows the last Sony camera with optical viewfinder. The [shoplink 5509 ebay]Sony A580 (Click here to see the cam[/shoplink]).

I finally recovered from my long trip on the dolomites. It has been an amazing experience but I don’t want to talk with you about that :)
Last week you saw the very first picture of the A77 and A65 production models. But there is also a rumor that is “work in progress”, something I am not sure yet but I want to share here anyway (with an SR3 value -> see rumor classification at the bottom of the post). A week ago a known source told me that Sony may changed the decision to release translucent cameras only. He said there could be an optical viewfinder DSRL announced along the A77 and A65. And yesterday another source told me that there should be a third Alpha camera announced along the A77 and A65.
Now, I don’t know if there is a correlation between the two rumors, please if you are an optical viewfinder fan don’t be to excited yet. Is till do believe there will be no new OVF camera. But I do hope that after reading this post my trusted sources will tell me more about that mysterious third Alpha camera.
Anyway, I know that most of our readers are still hoping that Sony will continue to release OVF cameras. But I do believe EVF are the future and solution like the hybrid viewfinder on the [shoplink 6075 ebay]Fuji X100 (Click here to see that cam)[/shoplink] are not the future. All depends from the EVF quality which has to be improved (current EVF quality is insufficient). And I think also Canon and Nikon will go this route sooner or later!

P.S.: Those are the links to the latest OVF cameras:
Last APS-C camera was the Sony A580 at [shopcountry 5509]
Last FF camera was the Sony A850 at [shopcountry 3028] (now discontinued)

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!

Today I have to climb a high mountain on the dolomites. Weather is wonderful and I am ready to enjoy that day. But as soon as I am back I will work on the Sony fullframe camera rumors I received today. It seems that Photographers are already testing various prototypes. Damn would I love to see them…I could help Sony to chose which one should go in mass production!

Anyway, wish you a nice Sunday with your friends and/or families. See you soon!

P.S.: I am going here: http://maps.google.it/maps ;)

When you reader asked me if the Sony A77 would have built-in GPS a source sent me a text saying that not only the A65 ad A77 would have built-inGPS, but also the future Fullframe cameras. And while the rumor about the A920 32 Megapixel fullframe camera posted by an external website is certainly NOT true I have been told that there will be some exciting fullframe news soon. The next fullframe cameras will be announced in 2012 but if all works fine I will get some details about those cameras soon! I repeat…”cameras” and not “camera” ;)

Let’s cross our fingers!

P.S.: The A850 has been discontinued (Check [shopcountry 3028]) and soon the A900 should see some price drops (Check [shopcountry 3032]).

And here we are! On top of the post you can see the world first picture showing the upcoming new Sony A77 and A65 translucent models! Sony original plan was to announce those cameras in July but the announcement has been delayed to late August because of the recent production issues that external suppliers had after the Tsunami-Fukushima disaster. The Sony A77 will be Sony’s new top APS-C model and replace the now very old [shoplink 3228 ebay]Sony A700 (Click here to see that camera)[/shoplink]. It has a newly developed 24 Megapixel sensor which we have been told will deliver a crazy ISO performance. Specs are not 100% finalized yet but it looks like the ISO range goes from 100 up to 102.400 ISO. The A77 uses a new double Bionz processor and a newly developed 3 million dot OLED EVF. It takes more than 10 frames per seconds and has 11 cross AF points. Of course it can record videos at FullHD. It has a new USB 3.0 connection (with transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbit/s). Both cameras (the A77 and A65) will use the new translucent technology (there will be no optical viewfinder Sony camera anymore!). That allows Sony to reduce the production costs and we expect the A77 body only price to be around $1.000 only! That’s much less than the competition:
Check Canon 7D price at [shopcountry 6954].
Check Nikon D7000 price at price at [shopcountry 6952].

UPDATE: A source noticed that many of you asked about the GPS. He sent me a text saying that both cameras will have built-in GPS! -> Thanks source ;)

First user that tested the camera told us the AF is very fast and accurate. The OLED viewfinder has almost no noticeable lag or flickering. We will post more A77 user reports during the next weeks! If you don’t want to miss any future rumor be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe our RSS-feed!
And what do we know about the A65? The A65 will replace the current [shoplink 3617 ebay]Sony A55 (Click here to see that camera)[/shoplink]. It has very similar A77 specs. The main difference is that the A65 has no magnesium alloy and no top LCD (as you can see that from the picture).

One more thing: But there will be many more new Sony cameras and lenses this summer. There will be new NEX Pro that will feature the same A77 sensor, a new [shoplink 3058]Sony NEX-VG10[/shoplink] successor, new lenses (Zeiss and Sony) for both Alpha and E-mount systems.

Those are the detailed A77 specs (some minor aspects could be subject to change until the final announcement):
The A77 announcement on late August.
Shipment start early October
Coming with new kit lens (A Sony 16-50mm zoom. Compared to the [shoplink 5586 ebay]Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5[/shoplink] it will have a constant aperture and probably have a bit higher price. Zeiss 16-80mm price check at [shopcountry 5586].)
24 Megapixels (The combination of the new sensor+new Zeiss lens delivers 62% more resolution than the [shoplink 3617 ebay]A55 16 Megapixel sensor[/shoplink].)
1080p/30fps, 720p/60fps and 720p/30fps high-definition video
AF fine-tuning capabilities. A source told us that it has an improved focusing system (quite fast and accurate).
11 cross points
over 10fps
3 Million dot OLED viewfinder (more than double of the resolution fo the current [shoplink 3617]Sony A55/33[/shoplink] viewfinder.)
magnesium alloy
It will take CF+SD+MS cards
No flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place
1.000 pictures with one battery
Price body only = $1000.

Support this site: I am having a lot of fun to work on SAR. I don’t use dozens of banners and I don’t get paid by any company to do what I do. All the work you see here is made by me during my free time. If you want to help me to cover the monthly server costs there is an easy way: Click on affiliate links you see on that website like [shopcountry 3028] to buy whatever product you want (it doesn’t have to be a camera) and I will earn a small commission from it. You don’t pay any penny more on the items you buy and at the same time you support SonyAlphaRumors without me having to put 100 banners on my website. Cool or not? Thanks :)

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!

Many trusted sources informed me that Sony decided to delay the A77 and NEX-7 announcement from July 7th to late August. Reason for that delay are production problems. To be more detailed it looks like that there is a production issue with minor components of the cameras. The cameras will be in Stock in late September/early October.

I know that’s bad news, after the Tsunami disaster I received info about production problems from Sony but I also had been told that Sony would not delay the A77 announcement and deliver the camera a couple of months later than expected. This has changed (and we certainly cannot blame Sony for that).

Oh, and before you start to think that this rumor might not be true there are a couple of things you have to keep in mind:
1) Also the NEX-C3 and A35 were supposed to be announced in early April but than the announcement have been delayed to early June. Some of you didn’t believe me and it wos good for me that Sony itself leaked the images and manual on their websites in April (it proved that my sources were correct).
2) I got the info about the A77 delay from many trusted sources. The same sources that gave me correct info in the past.
3) If I am correct than there should be already product images of the A77 (like it was for the NEX-C3 and A35 in April). And the good news is that I have one of those pictures ;)

Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12:00 GMT (London Time) I will post the very first picture of the A77 (+ little surprise). If you are wondering why I didn’t post the picture last week the answer is that the source told me to wait until a certain date (the reason will be unknown forever). So sorry for the pre-announcement suffering ;)

See you tomorrow!

P.S.: As usual, if you have a “rumor” to share use the contact form on the right sidebar. Avoid to send me your name and email address but it would be nice if you could use some kind of fake name so that I can recognize you in future. Oh, and the contact form doesn’t store any hidden info like the IP-address.