The “old” Sony 2013 roadmap!

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I got an email from a very trusted source that show the now no more valid 2013 roadmap for the new Sony A-mount cameras and lenses. I repeat, it’s likely that the roadmap changed and the new SLT and the new SLT high resolution camera may not come at all:

A-mount Lenses
50mm f/1.4 Zeiss. Announced and available at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and SonyStore USA (via AlphaCameraDeals). In Europe at Wex UK and Amazon DE.
SAL 70-400F4-5.6G SSMII (announced and preorders up at Amazon and BHphoto).
SAL 400f28G SSM
SAL 70-200f28 ZA SSM
SAL 300F28G

All weather/dust sealed A-mount Cameras
SLT a88
FF-SLT a95
FF 36-38MP with integrated battery grip (on market 2014)

Why did the roadmap change? Usually companies plan years in advance and so did Sony. But the financial crisis now forced them to get rid of some camera developments and to focus on more sustainable investments. Two things has to be said clearly:

1) This is a roadmap posted on a rumor site and not an official Sony news. So don’t blame Sony for changing a roadmap they didn’t officially share. Always keep in mind that we are talking about rumors.

2) The A-mount will be kept alive fo a very long time.

Personal note: It’s very difficult to write reliable rumors when things are changing that quickly. I hope Sony will soon have the clear roadmap. That would be good for them and for us rumor fanatics :)

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Sony NEX-6 earns Silver Award at Dpreview.

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[shoplink 14167]

[/shoplink]
Dpreview (Click here) tested the NEX-6 and writes: “It performs as well or better than other mirrorless cameras on the market, and offers some unique features that are genuinely useful. The NEX-6 earns a very solid silver award and only just misses out on a gold. While some of our complaints could be resolved with a firmware update (such as the missing histogram in record mode and app speed), others, such as the lack of direct controls and location of the movie mode button, will have to wait for the revision of the NEX-6.”

basically the like the camera performance but not so the camera usability. And the probably strongest competitor is the NEX-7 which costs only $150 more and at the moment is selling better than the NEX-6 at Amazon (here is the ranking). There will be no NEX-6 successor any time soon, but what would you change on the NEX-6 successor to make it a great camera and to overcome some of the usability issues mentioned by Dpreview?

Sony NEX-6 price check at [shopcountry 14167].

NEX-6 deals in US:
NEX camera savings running until end of March at Amazon (Click here).
Special NEX-6 double lens kit bundle at Amazon (Click here).
Super accessorized kits for the same price as the kit only at [shoplink 17567 ebay]Focuscamera[/shoplink], [shoplink 17568 ebay]Willoughbyscamera[/shoplink], [shoplink 17569 ebay]BuyDig[/shoplink] and [shoplink 17571 ebay]Beachcamera[/shoplink].

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Double Sigma E-mount lens deals is back ($199).

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The $199 Double Sigma E-mount lens deal is back in Stock at BHphoto (Click here). I know Sigma announced new versions of these lenses but the optical design is the same, only the the exterior design changed!

US deals reminder:
Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) are offering a 6% Back In Reward on the A99!
500 savings on Sony Camera+Lens combos at BHphoto (Click here).
Up to $200 savings on NEX cameras at Amazon (Click here).

 

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(SR2) Sony announcement on April 3th?

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Las Vegas Nabshow: Conferences start on April 6 – 11, 2013 / Exhibits April 8 – 11

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An anonymous and new source just sent me an info about a possible Sony announcement date on April 3th. As you know the Las Vegas NAB show starts on April 8th and I expect Somy to announce a set of new camcorders. This may include the Full Frame Sony NXcam.

What about Alpha and NEX cameras and lenses? I have no rumors about an Alpha Camera or Lens release. And as I told you last week I fear the NEX-7n release may be delayed for 1-2 months. The new Zeiss prime lenses are almost certainly going to be announced.

Anyway, let’s hope I am wrong and some NEX or even RX camera is coming from Sony!

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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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SAR readers work roundup.

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Let me catch up with some of the SAR readers work links I got via mail:

Andreas “Just a photoblog for the RX1. I am extremely happy with the camera in terms of image quality but extremely unhappy with the autofocus … about 20% of pics are backfocused … so i pretty much use only manual nowadays which is a shame as i really was looking forward to a good autofocus with this camera. The camera would be perfect with phase detection AF. Very happy with ergonomics and menu. Very happy with durability … camera survived a trip to Kilimanjaro, Safaris and skiing in the alps without even the slightest scratch. A bit disappointed with video quality vs. GH2 hacked which i also own. Focusing in video mode is difficult, no preview, no peaking, not even a distance scale. Autofocusing and tracking is very slow … so no real solution found yet. Will have a video about my Kilimanjaro trip up shortly. Some photos can be seen already at andreasathome.com”

Oleg: “This clip is fully filmed on Sony NEX5N. Important what to film and not your equipment. https://vimeo.com/61831905”

Rock: “If your Sony 16-50 2.8 is stiff or sticky to zoom there is an easy solution! I just fixed both of ours and now they zoom like all of our other great lenses. Most of us paid somewhere between $600-$800 for this lens… would you believe that the problem is a 49 cent rubber zoom ring? If you take it off, turn it inside out, then put it back on your prize lens will zoom just as smooth as all of your other lenses. If you need it I have posted a tutorial on how to do this at the bottom of this page: http://www.abetterdj.net/SONY-16-50MM-2.8.html”

KeanHui: “Hi Sonyalpharumuor I would like to share with you some of my macro work done by the Sony Alpha Camera A77, A550 and Nex5N! Here is my link to my work http://photo.keanhui.com”

Enrique: “Tengo buenas noticias, mi video “The Maghreb” rodado con Sony ha sido elegido por Vimeo como video del día. Esto se traduce en un gran numero de visitas así como una presencia importante en la web, via foros, blogs, twitters, etc.  Al mismo tiempo, he lanzado un artículo que tenía preparado, explicando como lo he rodado, siempre con Sony, creo que puede ser interesante. Te paso los links para que los compartáis si queréis. Video: https://vimeo.com/60754449
Artículo: http://www.enriquepacheco.com/shooting-the-maghreb?lang=es”

Leonel: “I want to invite you to visit my blog, that it’s a sort of photographic journal for my tastes, my travels and my soul if you wish… the interesting part is that all my work in there is portrayed with my sony alpha 330 and some legacy lens like the famous “beercan” and the minolta 50 1,7, also I use a lot the sam DT 18-55, that for me it gives some nice results when you know it’s limitations… I’m looking forward to improve my kit some day (hopefully the a99 ), and for that your site it’s a great start in order to make a good choice … this is the address of my blog: http://fototrospecciones.blogspot.com/”

Thanks You All!

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