Small CES updates


I didn’t receive any new rumor about the “mysterious” NEX camera. The only thing we know for sure is that there will be at least one new NEX camera (prototype?). Another source told us that Sony will also show again a Sony A77 prototype. I really hope it’s not the same prototype shown at the Photokina (see the picture on top) as this is definitely NOT the real A77. Anyway I hope to have more reliable and detailed info soon. And if not, than the Sony live conference (scheduled for Wednesday 5pm Las Vegas time) will give us the final answer.

Rumor correction: A few Sony compact cameras will be announced in February and not at the CES. That includes the rumored compact camera with 1080p60 recording. We will post a new article about that soon.

(SR4) NEX-4 (prototype?) to be shown at CES

We all know Sony has a maniacal love for prototypes. Now according to one of our very good sources Sony will show a prototype of a new NEX camera at the CES show. But before you start to blame Sony I have a good news for you. According to a second trusted source that camera will be on market within 2-3 months so unlike the A77 prototype we don’t have to wait that much to buy it!

It has been very difficult for me to get some info about that camera. It’s a prototype that only a few people have seen (it has been shipped from Japan to US without informing the press about his existence). That is what I got from different sources:

Trusted source 1: The new model is called NEX-4. But this could be the temporary name ony (for the prototype). I was told that this is not the NEX-7 which is supposed to become the [shoplink 4718]GH2 competitor[/shoplink].
Trusted source 2: It’s a compact NEX with slightly bigger body than the current [shoplink 3003]Sony NEX-5[/shoplink]. It has advanced button controls like the [shoplink 4321]Panasonic GF1[/shoplink].
New source 3: I suspect Sony will come out the new nex mirrorless version of [shoplink 3617]a55[/shoplink] during CES next week. (Don’t know if the source wanted to say that it uses the same 16Megapixel sensor).

I was told Sony will also show the A77 prototype and maybe something else (Lenses?). If you have some rumors to share feel free to contact me using the contact form on the right sidebar or write me (Andrea) at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.

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P.S.: There will be a lot of new compact camera announcements:
DSC-W510: 12MP, 2.7 in. screen, sweep panorama function
Cybershot DSC-W530: upgrades to a 14MP sensor
Cybershot DSC-W560: adds SteadyShot and 720p HD video
Cybershot DSC-W570: adds 16MP, 5x zoom (25mm on the wide side)
Cybershot DSC-WX9: high end model, 16MP Exmor R CMOS, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video, 3D, 10fps, background defocus feature, HDMI
Cybershot DSC-WX10: top of the line, f/2.4 lens, manual WB, very high speed AF
Cybershot DSC-H70: 16MP CCD sensor, 3 in. LCD, 720p HD video, sweep panorama
Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R CMOS sensor, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video 3D, HDR, 10 fps
Cybershot DSC-T110, DSC-TX10 – very small point and shoot camera, no other details available

(SR4) A new NEX camera to be announced within the next 2-3 months.

According to one of my very best sources Sony’s next camera will be a new NEX model. The Sony A77 translucent camera will be launched 3-4 months after that model. I am currently investigating the details I received with the rumor. It sounds like this is an unexpected camera which means we never have talked about that camera before on SonyAlphaRumors. So please help me if you can :) If you know more about the next NEX camera (or other Sony cameras) feel free to contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. You can also use the contact form on the right sidebar. To keep yourself anonymous avoid to give me your real name and email address. But it would be nice if you could use some kind of nickname so that I can recognize you in future. Thanks!

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(SR1) Impossible A700 successor rumor from chinese source

I received that rumor from a new asian source:

Perhaps sony will announce new DSLT(s) in CES   6,jan,2011
Similar level with Alpha 700 (DSLR)
and it have more powerful performance than A55 , A33
But pixels is similar with a55

Pixels – Similar with A55
Burst – more than 12fps
Movie – Same with A55
AF System – 25point AF System
Battery performance is more powerful than A55
Same EVF , but it can use at studi
o”

I bet this rumor is fake! I post it here because the rumor is floating around the web and many were asking me what I think about it. Now you know it :)

(SR5) Sony to announce new compact cameras at CES with 1080p60(!) recording and ultra-fast autofocus!

CES is getting closer (it starts on January 6th) so why not take a look on what’s coming from Sony? According to our sources Sony will launch a huge ammount of new compact cameras (no Alpha and no [shoplink 3003]NEX[/shoplink]). We received that small image leak that shows some f the new cameras. One camera should be the Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 successor. We were told that there will be new Bloggie cameras (with bigger screen), new 2D and 3D videocameras. They will feature some of the features Sony introduced in NEX and Alpha cameras during 2010. Sweep panorama, 3D, AVCHD recording. But there are two new features which would be very nice they would include inside the future NEX-7 and A77 cameras:

1) Those will be the very first cameras that can record 1080p60 in AVCHD!!!
2) The contrast autofocus is claimed to as fast as the autofocus from the [shoplink 4718]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink]. It can focus in 0.1 seconds!

Now that sounds very promising! Keep following SonyAlphaRumors, connect on Facebook, Twitter and follow our RSS-feed!

It’s X-mas!

Good morning!

As you have noticed I didn’t post anything new on SonyAlphaRumors. Like many of you I have been busy trying to find a few nice presents for my family and for my friends :)

Today it’s time to thank all SonyAlphaRumors readers for the time I spent together with you, for the help you gave me in catching Sony news and rumors. I wish you and your family a quiet, nice and happy Christmas!

Kisses,
Andrea

P.S.: Regular work on SonyAlphaRumors with new news/rumors will restart tomorrow!

(Patent) Sony is playing with the idea to make a compact translucent camera! + new type of translucent mirror

Sony just filed a new patent which discloses a new translucent camera design. It looks like Sony wants to create a sort of [shoplink 3003]NEX[/shoplink]-Translucent hybrid camera ;)
UPDATE: The patent clearly shows a A-mount camera (not a NEX E-mount).
Sony wants to get rid of the electronic viewfinder to reduce the size of the new SLT camera. The new camera looks like a NEX camera although it will be certainly be much thicker because of the semitransparent mirror.

Let’s read the official patent description:

In recent single-lens reflex digital cameras, a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is disposed on the back of a camera body such that an image inputted to an image pickup device can be viewed using the display. For example, there has been proposed a single-lens reflex digital camera, having no optical viewfinder, that allows a user to take photographs while the user checks an image using a display disposed on the back of a camera body. In such a structure, an autofocus detecting device is disposed at an upper position in the camera body and light reflected by a light-beam splitting mirror can be guided to the autofocus detecting device. However, when light-beam splitting mirrors disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are used, the light quantity of transmitted light guided to an image sensor is increased compared with that of reflected light to improve the quality of photographed images. As a result, the light quantity of photographing light guided to an autofocus detecting device becomes insufficient.“….”The present invention can provide a light-weight small-size digital camera.”

And there is one more interesting news. Depending on the light wavelength the mirror reflects more or less light: “A sufficient quantity of subject light can be guided to an autofocus detecting device by adjusting the reflectivity to light with a wavelength to which the autofocus detecting device has high sensitivity to 25% or more and 35% or less, which can solve a problem in that light quantity becomes insufficient for autofocus detecting“…”When autofocus auxiliary light is used to perform photographing on a subject having a low contrast or in a dark place, the returned light out of the autofocus auxiliary light can be reflected at a reflectivity higher than that of light having a different wavelength and guided to the autofocus detecting device“.

As usual keep in mind that patents are not real products (for now)!