First the Lunar and then this, the X- Vario Leica with APS-C sensor and very slow zoom. Exactly 20 hours ago I told you that Hasselblad would now sell one single camera they have for sale at Amazon US (Click here). And indeed all 8 cameras are still there. And today Leica priced their super unexciting camera at $2850 (here at BHphoto) which is exactly the same price range of the Sony RX1. I think both companies do seriously risk to devalue their brand value if they keep doing cameras like these.

And if the rumors I am working on are correct by end of 2014 Leica will have lost their uniqueness in the Full Frame Mirrorless market. Sony and Fuji will make equal (if not better) cameras for half of the price. Yep, watch out for Sony’s new FF mirrorless and RX cameras. There will be no reason to buy a $7000 Leica anymore!

Dear Leica fans…Stay tuned on SAR…were you will see some REAL innovation soon :)

The soon to be announced RX100 MKII has Hot Shoe, Wifi and swivel screen. I still have no info about the sensor but I guess it could use the same (or a slightly updated) version of the current 1 inch 20 megapixel sensor. The image you see here is a fake rendering but it gives you an idea of how the Hot Shoe could be placed :)

P.S.: Dear sources, could you also share the exact announcement date? Have to plan my vacation trip :)

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RX100 links roundup:
RX100 price search links: [shopcountry 13014].
Cases: [shoplink 13347 ebay]Official Sony LCJ-RXA case[/shoplink], [shoplink 13344 ebay]Gariz case[/shoplink], [shoplink 13345 ebay]more leather case[/shoplink].
Batteries: [shoplink 13346 ebay]NP-BX1 Battery[/shoplink].
Special stuff: [shoplink 13343 ebay]Multi-Coated LENS ARMOR UV[/shoplink]. Magfilter at Amazon (Click here). RX100 filter adapter on [shoplink 13486 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]

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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.

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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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Last week I wrote about a possible new SLT A-mount firmware release in early July. Now SAR reader Laszlo (Thanks) spotted that hint about a new 1.05 firmware update for the A57 on Sony UK’s website. So many times we were a bit disappointed about the Sony firmware update fixes because they didn’t actually improve the JPG engine. But if the rumor we posted last week is correct than we will finally get a noticeable improvement on the JPG engine. These could be the new fw updated:

1) Added Lens Correction
2) Updated Jpg Engine (based on the honami smartphone project).
3) Revisions to menu structure
4) Revisions to video capture rates

keep fingers crossed!

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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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I guess that after the Hasselblad Lunar we will soon get a second non-sense camera for rich people! What for a short moment appeared to may become the first Sony RX1 challenger turned out to be…a complete let down :)

The new highly teased (and leaked) Leica X Vario Type 107 camera will be announced on Tuesday and is a fixed lens APS-C camera with slow 28-70mm f/3.5-6.4. And guess what the price will be….2450 Euro! Almost the same price of the Sony RX1 Full Frame with superb 35mm f/2.0 Zeiss prime lens ([shoplink 18876 ebay]2566 Euro at Photodirect[/shoplink]).

P.S.: Don’t get me wrong, I would be glad to see some RX1 competition. Otherwise Sony will go lazy with price drops and new RX improvements!