Sensor manufacturers are constantly working to increase the signal to noise performance, dynamic range and color reproduction quality. If you have more technical skills you may check out the two new Sony patents showing two ways to realign the single RGB pixels to increase the image quality: Patent one and patent two. In the past we saw other very “alternative” patents (like foveon alike pixel alignment and so on). From what I am hearing from my sources some of this paradigm changing sensors will see the light of day in a real camera by 2014.
You keep sending me your links to unboxing videos, reviews and stores having the A99 or NEX-6 in Stock. And here is the roundup of all I got the lats few hours:
A99:
I missed tonight’s first in Stock warning at BHphoto -> I was kindly sleeping and dreaming after a long day of work :) In Europe the A99 is right now in Stock at [shoplink 14986 ebay]APS Germany[/shoplink], [shoplink 14987 ebay]Heidi Germany[/shoplink], [shoplink 14988 ebay]Foto Erre Italy[/shoplink], [shoplink 14989 ebay]CameraCentre UK[/shoplink] and Jessops UK. European Sonystores ship the cameras in 2-3 weeks time: DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH (Click on country id to see the A99 page).
A900 vs A99 vs A77 image quality comparison at Sonysdf (translation here). Unboxing the A99 (vimeo). Unboxing the Sony HVL-F60M Flash (youtube).
Capture One Pro 7 has been released today – and supports most Sony Camera’s, specifically, it has the ICC Profile for the SLT-A77 as well as the SLT-A99 (Thanks Lewis for the link).
Apple Camera Raw now supports Sony Alpha NEX-F3 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100.
I am getting many emails from SAR readers getting their NEX-6 and A99 cameras. I wish you all a nice unboxing experience :) Here is a roundup of links I got from them:
A99:
Our friend Dulaney sent us this text: “The cover article in November’s issue of Popular Photography is titled, on the cover: “The Future of Camera Tech?: Hands-On Report: Sony’s New Alpha 99.” It is entirely unusual for a “hands-on report,” as opposed to a full review, to get cover treatment like this–especially when an important camera like the Canon 1DX is fully reviewed in the same issue. And Po Photo writes about the A99: “We think it is going to change the landscape for mid-priced camera bodies.” Some image samples can be seen at popphoto.com. A99 unboxing by Davide on Flickr and by Roderick at Rodkar. You even get a free T-shirt with the A99 (see facebook). In Stock now at Jessops.
NEX-6 and lenses:
A first surprise was that for a short moment Sonystore Canada had the NEX-6 with ancake zoom kit lens in Stock. NEX-6 image samples on Flickr. Unpacking in Amsterdam. NEX-5 vs NEX-6 AF comparison on youtube. Sony E 10-18mm f / 4 OSS, E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E 35mm f/1.8 OSS & E 30mm f/3.5 Macro – sample photos at Fotopolis. In Stock in UK at [shoplink 14970 ebay]Cardiffcenter eBay[/shoplink] (and [shoplink 14971 ebay]here with kit lens[/shoplink] -> via Slidoo.com).
Matt Ryan unveiled some details about the new Sony PL mount F55 camera:
“The New sony camera is the F5 ($22-$25,000 range)! They are skipping the 4 model number and going to 5…They are aiming for the C300/500/Scarlet market with this. Compression Schemes: 50 Mbps XDCam @ 422 80 Mbps XAVCHD @ 422 120 Mbps iframe compressed not XD Cam 220 Mbps “SR” @ 422 (only on new “SxS Raw+” Memory cards…. these are new!) You can only record the full 4k frame with the R5 SR Recorder, otherwise you will record windowed footage. 120 frames per second in HD (1080), codec: XAVCHD No on board 4K. Must use R5 recorder using a NEW type of memory card to record 4K and/or RAW. R5 Recorder Suggested Price at the moment is $19,000! Not to mention the recording media. May change before the release. There is also an F55 4K camera coming too, and that is what Sony is calling the direct competitor to the Epic. They think the Epic is way behind the F65…Seriously… They will also be announcing a new set of lenses much better than their previous ones and at a t2.0 (set of 6 made by a famous lens company exclusively for Sony)… That’s all the info I have for now…”
Chipworks (Click here) published a must read article with the title: “Nikon vs Sony“. They analyzed the sensor-relationship between the two camera makers. I hope people will now believe me when I say the Nikon D800 uses a Sony sensor. Of course Nikon may have tweaked the image quality with their Expeed processor and other tech details. But the RAW sensor is from Sony. As I told you before a new Sony FF SLT camera is expected to be launched in 2013. There are two prototypes now. One with 36MP (same D800s ensor) and one with 50+ MP sensor.
More A99 versus Nikon FF comparisons:
A99 versus Nikon D800 on dpreview forum. Another Nikon vs A99 comparison in China (actually very interesting). And Quesabesde updated their Nikon D600 and A99 comparison. The Nikon D600 still is a tiny bit sharper.
