The Chinese rumor site Xjrumo claims to know via their sources that Sony will also announce the new NEX-7 successor in October. I cannot confirm or deny the rumors yet. And I don’t know how much we can trust this site yet.

Sony seems to be very focused on the NEX-FF launch. I really haven’t heard anything about a NEX-7n lately :(

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Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.

For readers: Subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here) in order to not miss any news!

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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!

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Yesterday I got a total of three messages from SAR readers that are in contacts with Sony representatives. In short, what they all told me is that Sony is no more hiding the NEX-FF announcement in October. Sony people are now free to talk about the fact that the NEX-FF is coming. Here are the three messages I got yesterday:

Message 1:

Apparently they are not even hiding the fact that’s new FF cameras are coming (NEX FF included). My source told me that apparently more details will be shared next week. He usually don’t share this kind of informations, but here it was so obvious that he couldn’t even hide it :)

Message 2:

I work in the bicycle industry and sony has a huge booth at the yearly trade show next to go pro. Sony representatives told me that I was going to get an action cam to demo soon and that I was going to be blown away by the new full frame mirror less that is on the way. He said that the FF mount will be announced but he thinks the ff a mount will make a mark.  

Message 3 (translated by me):

Sony representative told me two FF E-mount cameras are coming. One like the NEX-7 and one like the RX1.

In short dear SAR readers…keep your eyes open! If you find something interesting to share to the SAR community drop me a message! Thanks!

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Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.

For readers: Subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here) in order to not miss any news!

——–

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!

QX10 video review at Popphoto:

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Currently websites are reviewing the QX10 lensCamera which is also the less interetsing module (The QX100 is based on the RX100MII). I expect much more positive feedbacks as soon as they test the higher quality LensCamera.

QX10 review at Photographyblog:

Ultimately the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 just falls a little short, regardless of whether you’re a smartphone or compact shooter. It doesn’t quite come up to scratch in terms of performance, feature-set or image quality, and is also a little over-priced too, perhaps inevitable given that it’s a first-generation product. At the moment we’d choose a smartphone and wi-fi enabled compact to quickly share images, though that solution has its own challenges. Still, hats off to Sony for trying something new as smartphones cannabilise the entry-level compact camera market – it may well be that we’ll all be using something like the Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 sooner rather than later…

QX10 test at heise (German).

Lachlan Tsang sent me the following text:
In the current pairing arrangement, the phone connects to a WiFi network set up by the lens camera. I do not know how this works in Android, but this has a few consequences which I know from using similar setups on Sony NEX and Actioncam cameras. The default behaviour of iOS is to attempt to use any WiFi network to get mobile data. Obviously the lens camera does not connect to the internet, so that means that an iPhone will not be able to connect to the internet while connected to the lens camera. This means that it will NOT be possible to take a photo on iOS and immediately upload it without first switching off the lens camera. It will not be possible to use the QX lens camera to do any live streaming. It also means that all incoming data and notifications will be unavailable while the lens is connected.

UPDATE: Our reader Tobi (Thanks!) noted that the “fix” is allready here: ios7. Apple implemented multipath tcp connections into ios7 allowing wifi and cellular network connections at the same time (Source: 9to5mac).

And Kerry Sun sent me the official press release of the first APP supporting the new QX cameras:
Camera360, one of the world’s most popular smartphone photography apps, has teamed up with multinational technology giant Sony to include their range of photography software on both the Sony DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 lens-style camera when they launch later this month.
Camera360 will become the first photography software to be customised especially for the new smartphones that look to significantly improve the mobile photography experience without the need to incorporate a giant lens into a smartphone. The DSC-QX100 has a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/1.8 lens that is able to capture images at 20.2MP while the DSC-QX10 has a Sony G Lens and 1/2.3″-inch CMOS sensor that allows the smartphone to capture images at 18.9MP and also has a 10x optical zoom.
The lenses connect to a smartphone via Wi-Fi or NFC, and Camera360 has incorporated this into the updated app via the “Sony Camera” mode. This feature will allow smartphone users to search and connect to a Sony Wi-Fi network manually so that users can save their images on a microSD card in the lens-style camera.
“Through working with Sony DSC-QX100 and DSC-QX10 cameras, we’re making it easier for mobile photographers to capture high quality pictures with the most popular and professional filters. We’re making continuous improvements to provide a better photography experience for global smartphone users,” said Gary Gu, Marketing Director of Camera360.
The new Sony lens-style cameras are expected to go on sale worldwide later this month and the V4.8 update for Camera360 apps including the “Sony Camera” mode will be available to download at around the same time.
More news at Prnewswire.com.

Here are all direct links to preorders in USA/Canada:
QX100: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX100 at Amazon (Click here).
Black QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
White QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX10 Amazon (Click here).
Xperia Z case with QX mount on Amazon (Click here).

Here are all direct links to preorders in Europe:
Black QX100 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Black QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
White QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Xperia Z1 at SonyDE, SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.

A bit earlier than expected SAR readers are now receiving their preorders from Amazon US (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and European Sony Stores (estimated shipping date was Sept 22). Check these direct preorder links if you want to grab the lens:
USA/Canada: Amazon, SonyStore, BHphoto, Adorama and Sony Canada.
Europe: Sony DE, Sony UK, Sony ES, Sony SE, Sony AT, Sony IT, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony FI, Sony CH.

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There are now dozens of image samples on Flickr (Click here), a videoreview by a SAR reader on youtube. Image samples on Systemkameraforum. And a first review has been posted by the Korean site Naver.com (google translation here). In short this is their pro and cons list:

pros:
-Very good optical performance
-OSS
-Splendid color rendering

Cons:
-boring (a bit of sarcasm maybe)
-Vignetting at 70mm but disappears at f8.0
– at 16mm the quality in the edges is a bit weak.

The current A-mount (!) version of the Zeiss 24-70mm lens

The image on top shows you the 24-70mm A-mount lens. And many on SAR would like to see a lens like that being made for the new NEX-FF system. And guess what…it’s coming for real! Zeiss will launch a new 24-70mm FE (“F”ull Frame “E”-mount) lens along the first NEX-FF photocamera that is coming in mid October. The very trusted source didn’t share the aperture info. I am not sure yet if it’s f/2.8 or f/4.0 like the new 16-70mm Zeiss.

These are the SR5 ranked NEX-FF lens info: Zeiss 35mm f/2.8, Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 and Zeiss 24-70mm. A nice start!

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Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.

For readers: Subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here) in order to not miss any news!

——–

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!