Sony NEX-7 versus NEX-5n image quality test at LL.

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Luminous Landscape (Click here) updated their NEX-7 rolling review with a new image comparison: “the NEX-7 gives the photographer the choice of higher resolution and larger prints, or comparable resolution and comparable noise characteristics when compared to the NEX-5n, and both are presented at the same size. I should add parenthetically then in real-world photography, when shooting raw and doing a bit of NR in Lightroom, all ISOs up to and including 3200 are completely usable for most any purpose.”

And I agree withtheir lats editorial comment: “If you’ll allow, I’ll also make a small editorial comment on the whole question of high ISO noise. In my opinion too many people on brand discussion forums make too big a deal about high ISO noise. I suppose that it’s one of those things that lends itself to easy visual comparison, while topics such as dynamic range, colour gamut and fidelity are more complex, and less easily quantified outside of a lab.”

+1!!! ;)

P.S.: Here are the NEX shop links:

Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

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(UPDATED) Sony A77 and A65 firmware 1.04 is finally out!

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The firmware has been released by Sony Asia (Click here).

SLT-A65 Firmware Upgrade
Ver.1.04 (Microsoft Windows)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/478855
Ver.1.04 (Apple Macintosh)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/478884

SLT-A77V Firmware Upgrade
Ver.1.04 (Microsoft Windows)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/478891
Ver.1.04 (Apple Macintosh)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/478893

Here is the improvement list:
1) Added support for auto-correction lens: Vario-Sonnar T * DT 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 ZA (SAL1680Z) and DT 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 (SAL16105)
2) Improved usability
3) Improved Quality
4) Improvement Response

If you have some time to test the new firmware let us know if you see some some REAL improvement! Thanks!

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Cyber Monday USA deals roundup (16-50mm back in Stock)

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There are so many ongoing deals that it’s really imposisble to link you to all of them. You can find a large overview by just clicking these direct links: Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Cameta (Click here) and J&R (Click here).

And here is a short list of NEW(!) Sony deals:
1) $150 reabate on the HX5V compact camera at Amazon (Click here).
2) $269 rebate on the Sony NEX-5 (not 5n!) super bundle at BHphoto (Click here).
3) You can see a full overview of the Sony deals at SonyStore USA (Click here).

And here is a list of ongoing deals that will end soon (most deals will end tomorrow):
1) There is a $80 up to $160 rebate on some camera+lens bundle. Click here to see the Amazon Sony deal page. And a similar bundle action is ongoing at BHphoto (Click here).
2) $160 off Sony 28-75mm f/2.8 (Click here) Smooth Autofocus Motor (SAM) Full Frame Lens. Enter code YP4OXXWQ at checkout.
3) $80 off Sony 55-200mm f/4-5.6 SAM DT (Click here) Telephoto Zoom Lens. Enter code P37FG9UD at checkout.
4) $80 off Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 (Click here) Compact Super Telephoto Zoom Lens. Enter code LEL8CPUO at checkout.
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One more news: The 16-50mm f/2.8 lens is back in Stock at Amazon (Click here).

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Good news from Sony: “The effect of the floods wasn’t as bad as we estimated three weeks go”

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If you are on the waiting list for a new A77 or NEX-7 camera than we have some good news folks! Bloomberg reports: “After floods in Thailand halted image-sensor output at factories in the country, production will be shifted to a plant in Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, in the beginning of next year, spokesman Hiroshi Okubo said. The effect of the floods “wasn’t as bad” as the company estimated three weeks ago, Yoshioka said.”

I hope this is not only a too optimistic statement to assure the markets and shareholders. Anyway I have been told that Sony will soon release a new press release. Let’s hope they can now give us a more precise idea of when the new cameras will be in Stock. My latest info I got days ago said that the A77 will be back in Stock in January and the NEX-7 will start worldwide shipment in February.

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P.S.: I made a quick shop checks and it looks like our UK readers are the luckiest guys out there. They have the A77 body in Stock at Warehouseexpress (Click here) and the 16-50 kit version in Stock at Jessops (Click here). And there are also two refurbished A77 bodies in Stock at [shoplink 10311 ebay]Cameracenter on eBay UK (Click here)[/shoplink].

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A hybrid mount idea via Contax

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End of last week I told you that Sony is developing a camera which has a sort of a hybrid mount. I don’t know how it works but our smart readers found a camera that has a kind of hybrid mount (thanks!). The original [shoplink 10295 ebay]Contax rangefinder[/shoplink] made from the 1930ies to the 50ies had two bayonets! [shoplink 10295 ebay](Click here to see them on eBay)[/shoplink].  Camerapedia explains how this works: “This mount is in fact the combination of two bayonets. There is a focusing helical built in the body and the standard lenses mount directly in that focusing ramp via an internal bayonet. So the standard lenses have no focusing ring of their own. The other lenses mount on an external bayonet and have their own focusing ring, only the rangefinder coupling is done via the body’s focusing ramp.”

You can see a nice image that shows the two different type of mounts here: http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/display/16753502. Now imagine a Full Frame camera with an inner mount for NEX lenses and an outer mount for Alpha lenses. Could it work? Does it make sense at all? I hope my sources can soon give me the answer how this should work for real! ;)

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P:S.: Zeiss Ikon Contax I, II and III can still be found [shoplink 10295 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink].

 

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Rolling NEX-7 review at LL. A65 review by ePhotozine.

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And Luminous Landscape (Click here) is writing a NEX-7 “rolling review”. It’s a very detailed and incredible useful ongoing test. An absolute MUST-READ!

One more NEX-7 news. I don’t know how reliable this info is but the Expensys website says the NEX-7 will be “Due Thursday 15th December”.

You can read a new complete A65 review at ePhotozine (Click here): “The camera has good battery life, and although there is no optical viewfinder with SLT cameras, the new OLED EVF is simply stunning and makes the view through the camera look excellent. Although it is difficult to show on the web, it would be well worth viewing for yourself if you still have doubts about switching from an optical viewfinder to an electronic viewfinder. Highly Recommended“.

Photographytalk (Click here) explains why the A77 was worty to wait. And there is an interesting “A77 myths and truth – diffraction test” post at Dpreview forum.

 

All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461] A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

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(SR5) The third mysterious Sony FF camera will be something completely new (Hybrid mount)

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For one month now I am collecting the info about a third still very “mysterious” full frame camera. The first two Full Frame cameras that will come in 2012 are the A9x SLT camera with 24 Mega-pixel sensor (80% the rumor is true) and a 36 Mega-pixel SLT camera with built-in vertical grip (65% the rumor is true). The third camera I heard about is still an early prototype only and could be unveiled at Photokina (September 2012) at earliest. It is not a neither a pure NEX camera nor a pure SLT camera. It’s a new kind of camera, with a hybrid mount! Don’t ask me what that “Hybrid mount” camera is because I really didn’t figure it out yet. I even searched on google and [shoplink 10260 ebay]here on ebay[/shoplink] to see if there is something similar in the camera history. No way :(
I am asking my sources to help me a bit on that. Thanks!

P.S.: And do not forget that you can join the SonyAlphaRumors fanpage on facebook (Click here). There are many discussions and news on that website too!

US deals: Here are the direct links to the Black Friday deals homepage at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Cameta (Click here) and J&R (Click here).

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