(SR4) UPDATED: There is no A600, and there will be no DSLR camera anymore…

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A fake A600 rendering via Photographic Central

One of my trusted sources just sent me a quick note saying that the A600 rumor posted by C.Garrard isn’t correct. According to that source the A600 rumor is fake and he goes also one step further saying that there is no plan within Sony to make a DSLR camera in future. This can of course change, but in the short and mid term you should not expect any new optical viewfinder in any Sony camera.

I want to highlight that while the source is usually very good in providing Sony insider news the rumor hasn’t been confirmed by other trusted sources yet. So please take it not as a definitive 100% news. As usual I hope more sources can confirm or deny this soon. I for myself hope the rumor is NOT true :)

UPDATE_2: Another TOP source just confirmed that he never heard about a new A600 model. And in defense of my friend Carl I want to add that maybe Sony developed the A600 but in the end decided to not launch it at all for some reason. I know from my experience as rumor-writer that this can happen.

P.S.: Crutchfield discontinued the A580, which will probably the last DSLR camera ever made by Sony.

Reminder: Be sure to be here on SAR on March 13th as there will be a major Sony announcement! It will become pretty busy here on SAR the next days :)

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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(SR5) There is definitely more stuff coming on March 13.

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Today Sony announced new compact cameras. The DSC-HX10V, DSC-HX20V, DSC-HX30V, DSC-HX200V, DSC-WX150, DSC-W690, DSC-TX66, DSC-TX20 and DSC-H90 (Click on the camera names to check the specs).

Nothing exciting but you should know that Sony is planning a big event on March 13th. I have been told by trusted sources that this is a major event that will not only launch the new A57 but also other new “stuff”. I am still not sure about the exact list of announced cameras. I heard about a new NEX-F3, new lenses and new NEX camcorders. Carl Garrard also got rumors about an A600 with optical viewfinder but my sources couldn’t confirm if the rumor is correct. There will be no new FF camera announcement but maybe Sony will show the A99 prototype too (that’s my speculation). And on March 29th Sony will announce the new [shoplink 8461]A77[/shoplink] and [shoplink 8459]A65[/shoplink] firmware too…

I kindly ask my sources if they can send me some more info about the March 13th event. It will help me to sort out the info I am getting now. Thanks!

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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Sony NEX-7 (and cameras shipping almost everywhere)

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Bermuda with the Cinestar and Sony Nex 7 from GravityShots.com on Vimeo.

Here is a short roundup of [shoplink 8454]NEX-7[/shoplink] related news readers sent me in these days:
New DxO Optics Pro v7.2.1 now supports the NEX-7
Battle of the tiny Titans: Sony NEX-5N vs Sony NEX-7 at Dearsusans (Click here).
New sexy fine Leather Half-Cases for the Sony NEX-7 (Echenique).
Sigma 30mm f/2.8 EX DN for Sony E (Nex) Digital Cameras is now available for preorder at Adorama (Click here).
Tamron 18-200mm VS the Sony 18-200mm Shoot-out at SonyAlphaLab (Click here).

What’s also worth to mention is that the NEX-7 body and NEX-7 18-55mm kit is now shipping in many countries. The following readers are now happy NEX-7 owners:
Viv, Adi, Thomas, JRL (Canada) Steve, Tom (USA) Chris (UK) Stefan (Germany) and Patrick (Australia).

In Europe the NEX-7 body and kit will ship within 2-3 weeks in their respective Sony Stores and some other known online store. in US the camera will ship by end of this week. Click on the store names to check for yourself: [shoplist 8454]

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Why do you think a Sony FF camera could be better than a Nikon or Canon FF?

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Last Friday I posted a low rated rumor from a Chinese source that unveiled a possible Sony 2012-2013 camera roadmap (Click here to read that article). I asked you which camera you would buy from the rumored list. The result is quite clear with Full Frame cameras beating every APS-C model:

Will you preorder the new Tamron FE lens?

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Of course there is a difference between a “wish” and a real “purchase” of a product. And it’s inevitable that Full Frame has a sort of magic attraction when compared with APS-C cameras. But recent Nikon D800 huge preorder numbers and the Canon 5dmarkIII expectations make me wonder WHY in your opinion Sony could appeal you compared to those two cameras.

So please let me and Sony know what aspects from a Sony FF you think are appealing you:

Do you like the new Sony RX100VI?

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If you have another reason I didn’t mention in the poll please comment this post and I will add it to the POLL. Thanks!

Reminder: The Chinese roadmap says that:
a99, 24 million pixels, 2012 (September)
a950 (a1), 36 million pixels, 2013 (February) -> The [shoplink 3032]A900 successor[/shoplink]
Fullframe NEX in late 2013.

The only thing I can tell you via trusted sources is that the A99 rumor is correct, and that other FF cameras will be announced in 2013.

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Sony TidBits (Photoshop for iPad)

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A short film shot with the A77 by students in Manchester.

Sony NEX-5n review at Mansurovs (Click here): “While it is not comparable to a DSLR in terms of features, autofocus, speed and versatility, it certainly is comparable to some of the best APS-C DSLRs in terms of image quality.”

Also Reghardware (Click here) tested the NEX-5n: “this revamped NEX model is very much the business, improving on its predecessor in sensible and efficient ways“.

Sony Announces 18MP/24fps BSI Sensor, 1080p/30 CCD, 4K Super-Resolution Video Processor (image Sensor World).

Sony NEX 55-210mm F/4.5-6.3 OSS review at KurtMunger (Click here): “At the short end, the centers and mid-sections are sharp at all apertures, although the corners remain a little soft even stopped down.  Moving to 100mm, I see basically the same thing, mid-sections good, corners a little soft.  At the long end, I see a pretty sharp frame all the way from the center to the extreme corners, that’s pretty good performance for this type of lens.”

Sony 50mm f/1.8 test images by Björb Utpott (Click here).

Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition (Photographyblog).

Amateur Photographer Awards (Click here). Sony wins plenty of prices!

Photoshop launched the new App for the iPad (Click here to see it on iTunes).

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Lots of Sony 50mm for NEX reviews!

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[shoplink 8448]

[/shoplink]I particularly like cheap and good quality lenses. And the [shoplink 8448]Sony 50mm f/1.8[/shoplink] for NEX is certainly one of them. Too bad it’s not available in black as the silver color really doesn’t look nice on my [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink]. Anyway, here are a couple of test you have to read if you are currently considering to buy the lens:

Joseph Eckert (Click here) posted a new 5mm for NEX lens test: “The price is pretty good for a lens with this large an aperture, and combined with decent sharpness this can make a good portrait lens. But make sure you know exactly why you are buying this, otherwise it might end up sitting around in your bag.”

Also 3D-Kraft (Click here) is busy testing the lens. And actually he compared the lens with the 10 times more expensive Leica Summilux: “you still see an advantage for the (10 times more expensive) Summilux, which has about half a stop wider aperture and is able to render a perfectly creamy bokeh. But the E 1.8/50 OSS can make some points with autofocus and optical stabilization which helps a lot in more agile situations.”

And the Flemish website Nexblog (Click here to read the google translation) compared the 50mm F/1.8 E-mount vs. Minolta 50mm F/1.4 RS ([shoplink 11596 ebay]Click here to see the Minolta lens on eBay[/shoplink]).

One more thing: Readers from USA, Canada and Germany sent me emails to say that the lens is currently shipping in their countries. Here is the list of shops (click on names) I usually check to see when it’s in Stock. Good Luck!
[shoplist 8448]

 

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(SR5) Good news! A77/A65 firmware 1.05 coming on March 29!

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Here is the A77/A65 firmware info (Click on image to enlarge).

Finally some good news! The new A77/A65 firmware will arrive on March 29th. And here is the firmware update features list:

1) Expanded the number of automatic compensation compliant lenses (6 lens)
[shoplink 4419]24/2 ZA[/shoplink]　　[shoplink 6052]85/1.4 ZA[/shoplink]　　[shoplink 10337]135/1.8 ZA[/shoplink]
[shoplink 11583]70-300/4.5-5.6 G[/shoplink]　[shoplink 6422]DT35/1.8[/shoplink]　[shoplink 11584]DT50/1.8[/shoplink]

2) Improvement of response
・Improvement of response for Auto review
（Display of [Processing] will not appear）
・Shorten time lag between power SW operation and power off
・Improvement of response for front/rear dial and mode dial
・Improvement of response in play back mode

3) Improve AF response with 500mmF4 lens

4) Improvement of AF accuracy for low contrast objects

5) Improvement of compatibility of Minolta lens
[Konica Minolta] 1.4X TELE CONVERTER APO X [Konica Minolta] AF APO 300/2.8
[Konica Minolta] 2.0X TELE CONVERTER APO X [Konica Minolta] AF APO 300/2.8
[Konica Minolta] 1.4X TELE CONVERTER APO X [Konica Minolta] AF APO 600/4

The great news is the response improvement. There is no info about possible JPEG quality improvements.
—
Sony A77 at [shopcountry 8461].
Sony A65 at [shopcountry 8459].

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