I got some emails from SAR readers with ongoing Sony deals in USA and Europe. Feel free to send me more of them! It’s Christmas time and our readers may can find the right present :)
Europe deals: 1) There is a£100 Cashback available on the SAL-70200G at Sony UK 2) For those living in Germany and Austria, the shop xp-tron.de is selling the NEX-5N body for 484 Euro ONLY: There is also a 5 Euro discount coupon code, so the price drops to 479 Euro. The coupon code is: “MGSCDXP-TRON”. This is the lowest price I’ve seen anywhere for a brand-new camera. 3) Kamerahuset.dk have these deals:
NEX-5 body only 1995 DKK ~268 €
NEX-5 with 18-200mm 5995 DKK ~805 €
NEX-VG20EH with 18-200mm and a NEX-5 body included: 15295 DKK ~2055 €
P.S.: You can also comment this post to add your deals!
The video on top is part of the full A77 review from David Dugdale (Click here to read it). He tested the camera with the old 1.03 firmware! So some of the issues he found have been fixed (like responsiveness and lagging). He likes the Canon more than the Sony, and I am curious to hear what you reader think about the review. I bet there will be a huge discussion! :)
David Kilpatrick from Photoclubalpha (Click here) says about the new 1.04 firmware: “No significant improvement can be detected so far in image quality despite the claims, at least with the 100 or so test shots we’ve taken at different ISOs using a Color Checker, and other spot checks for Low/Normal/High NR. But there are so many modes on the A77 including panoramas, multishot, DRO, that the improvement may well be specific functions which Sony will explain in more detail.”
There is a new spanish A77 review at pixel-depot (Click here to read the translation): “The image quality is, after upgrading the firmware of the camera, excellent, superior to that offered by other APS sensor DSLR models, but Sony can still improve the response to high ISO as ISO 4000 from the noise signal is appreciable.”
In Stock status:
There is not a lot to say. The A77 is out of Stock almost everywhere. You can still find som cameras on eBay. In USA at [shoplink 10487 ebay]Willoughbyscamera (but you pay $400 extra)[/shoplink], In Europe at Amazon Germany, [shoplink 10485 ebay]Foto Neuber Germany[/shoplink], in Italy at [shoplink 10486 ebay]Aggiudicato[/shoplink] and at Digitalrev (PAL version!). Check for more (pre-)orders at [shopcountry 8461].
SAR reader mails: Tony: “Hi Andrea: I have just don a long 3-part review of the 5n vs. A77 vs. NEX 7 on my website. You can access it here: http://www.thistonybridge.com/newsletter” Matt: “just wanted to share this video I made with the A77 w/ stock lens… I’m using it to film college basketball (VCU Rams) and this video really shows off its autofocus capabilities, which I think a lot of sports photographers are curious about… share if you wish! http://www.vcuramnation.com/2011/12/video-vcu-defeats-south-florida/” Ricky: “Hello Andrea, I took a lot of shots a couple of weeks ago at the Edgewood Texas Heritage Festival with my A77 and Tamron 18-250 and they came out great. Thought you might put a link to the page where I have them. There are three boxes on the page. The top box is from 2010 and was taken with my now sold SLT-A33 and 18-55 kit lens. The next two lower boxes are slideshows from two weeks ago with the A77. It was cloudy a lot of the day and many are shot with the ISO multishot feature that shoots up to six shot and puts them into one to reduce noise. All were shot JPEG and I reduced them down in FastStone Photo Resizer: http://razzledazzleart.com/EdgewoodFestival2010.aspx“
[shoplink 8452][/shoplink] Imaging Resource (Click here) posted a full [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink] review: “Sony NEX-5N is unquestionably a more feasible take-anywhere camera than pretty-much any SLR camera, and its combination of image quality and feature set make it fairly easy for me to look past the occasional wrinkle here or there. More often than not, I found myself grabbing the NEX-5N from our well-stocked shelf when I left the office for a little photographic R&R. That, in my book, is the mark of a camera worth owning, and for that reason the Sony NEX-5N earns a clear Dave’s Pick”
The NEX-5n is a terrific camera and you already know that I like it a lot. And I am not the only one. Every Amazon ranking shows how the NEX-5n is selling well. Click on the links to see the mirrorless chart for every country: Ranking in USA (Pos 4), Ranking in UK (Pos 3), Ranking in France (Pos 2), Ranking in Germany (Pos 1!).
And I guess the NEX-7 would have done even better if there wouldn’t be that delay! Looking forward to January-February when the camera will be finally in Stock!
One more thing: I heard that the Stock of NEX-5n cameras is limited. I hope it will not run out of Stock soon. Check the availability at [shopcountry 8452].
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I told you that we would see plenty of new lenses along the upcoming new A9x full-frame camera. We will have a new 50mm f/1.4 Zeiss SSM prime lens, a new high quality tele zoom, the long awaited 500mm f/4.0 tele lens and now we also heard from our trusted sources that there will be a high end wide angle zoom lens! The current only wide angle zoom is the [shoplink 3034]Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM[/shoplink] lens and I think the new zoom will be even wider. My guess (my speculation!) is that the specs will be close to the [shoplink 10471 ebay]Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8[/shoplink].
I hope to get more info soon. If you have some “rumor” to share contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com or use the anonymous contact form on the right sidebar. Thanks!
Some guy at Mobile01 (Click here) already posted the first unboxing pictures (you have to click on the green links to open the pictures). Cnet Asia (Click here) posted a full lens review: “It isn’t cheap for an E-mount lens–or an F1.8 prime lens for that matter–but the new Zeiss on the block definitely has the potential to gain a fan base among more demanding NEX users who can appreciate a fast and sharp prime.” There is also a NEX-7+Zeiss lens test at Fengniao.
And than Luminous Landscape (Click here) added a new Zeiss lens test on their NEX-7 rolling review. He made an image comparison with the ultra-expensive [shoplink 10462 ebay]Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink]. Conclusion: "Given all of the above, the 24mm Zeiss stands up to the Leica Summilux very well indeed. It bests it in some areas, holds its own in some, and falls slightly behind elsewhere. Overall this is a stunning performance. With the 24mm f/1.8 Zeiss Sonnar Sony has produced a lens which photographers will find more than exceeds expectations. At $1,000 it isn’t inexpensive, but then considering how well it holds up to the industry’s benchmark, costing almost 6X the price, it actually is a relative bargain.”
Yeah, that lens gets highly recommended and it will ship to you that week! Here are ALL(!) preorder links I do check to see when the lens will be online:
[shoplist 8450]
A new week started and I am glad that I can share two good news:
1) The first batch of A77 cameras produced in Japan arrived in Asia. You can see a picture of the package (Click here) and a picture of the camera (Click here). It says “Made in Japan” and no more “Made in Thailand“. Now let’s hope Sony will also send them soon in Europa and USA too. Amazon Japan (Click here) now says the A77 will be back in Stock in two weeks. Check the A77 in Stock status at [shopcountry 8461]. 2) Henrik sent me the screenshot you see on top to proof that Sony Denmark shipped his Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 for NEX lens! If you preordered the lens than you will might get it that week. Otherwise check the preorder info at [shopcountry 8450].
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