Sony 36 Megapixel sensor for Nikon and Sony (Nikon leaked). Is it too much?

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Our friends over at Nikonrumors leaked the first picture of the Nikon D800. And why should we care about it? Because it uses the new 36 megapixel Sony sensor that we first reported here on SAR almost a year ago. The leaked picture confirm that the rumor is 99% true. Before to talk about the megapixel madness(?) I want to remind you that unlike Nikon Sony will first release a 24 megapixel FF camera in early Spring and a couple of months later the much more expensive 36 Megapixel FF camera which will probably have a built-in vertical grip. Both camera will be SLT (no optical viewfinder).

The good news here is that unlike Nikon Sony will offer us both, a low resolution and high resolution choice. But the question is, do we really need so many megapixels? Carl Garrard writes on Photographic Central: “I think the average consumer is starting to realize that megapixels isn’t all that important anymore, and the term itself at least in the US is becoming increasingly less popular in conversations I have with everyone. In other words, most people don’t give a crap about megapixels as much as they used too.

I believe there is no problem if Sony is going to release a camera with 36 megapixels as long as we they also offer the low resolution option (24 Megapixels). Carl also hopes that Sony will offer an optical viewfinder version. But I already know that this is not going to happen. There will be a new generation of OLED viewfinders which is even better than the currently very good [shoplink 8461]Sony A77[/shoplink] viewfinder.

Now let’s hope Sony will release the Sony A9x sooner than expected. I know many are pushing to announce the camera before the planned Spring release!

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New Phottix wireless flash trigger

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Phottix (Click here) announced the Strato II Multi 5-in-1 Wireless Flash Trigger for Sony. Here is the press release:

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Quick Overview

Making a classic trigger better! The Phottix Strato II Multi 5-in-1 Wireless Trigger System gives photographers incredible control over their flashes and studio lights. Four channels and four groups provide unparalleled control in the studio or on location.

Product Description

Making a classic trigger better! The Phottix Strato II Multi 5-in-1 Wireless Trigger System gives
photographers incredible control over their flashes and studio lights. Four channels and four groups
provide unparalleled control in the studio or on location. The Strato II Multi can be used as a wired or
wireless shutter release. The 2.4 GHz. transmitter and receivers offer ranges of more than 150 meters
and sync at speeds of 1/250 second .*
Transmitters feature an innovative TTL pass-through hot shoe – allowing full TTL mode to be used with a
camera mounted flash. Receivers offer flash wake-up functions.*
It’s fast, sexy, and powerful – perfect for your studio or location work.

Features:

– 4 groups: A,B,C,D
– 4 Channels
– 150+ m range
– 1/250 sec. sync speed*
– Flash wake-up functions*
– Hot shoe / PC Flash triggering
– Studio strobe triggering
– Wired and wireless shutter release functions
– Pass-through hot shoe on transmitter allows on camera flash to use TTL functions
– 2.4 GHz. frequency
– uses AAA batteries
– Compatible with Phottix Strato 4-in-1 Wireless Triggers

Sony Version includes shutter cables for:
S6: α900/ α700/ α580/ α560/ α550/ α500/ α450/ α350/ α300/ α200/ α100/ α55/ α35

* On compatible flashes and cameras

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I don’t know yet when the product (and where) will be available. Some Phottix first generation remote controllers for Sony are avaialble on [shoplink 10160 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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Sony NEX-7 review by Pocket Lint

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I guess you already know what’s to like or not to like on the new Sony NEX-7. So this is not a review that will reveal something new. The British Pocket-Lint website (Click here) like other reviewers fell in love with the NEX-7. While the “electronic viewfinder isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes” but “Sony’s 2.4m-dot OLED viewfinder blows those out the water“. Nerveless it’s still not perfect and there is still some “ghosting“. And than there is that huge 24 million Megapixel resolution squeezed on the APS-C sensor: “It’s testament to the Sony engineering team that this doesn’t become an issue, however, as the NEX-7’s image quality is superb.”

The only real limit of the camera is the auto focus speed and precision. It’s not on par with the competition. The only two “downsides” are the high price and the limited NEX lens range. That’s why the camera doesn’t receive the full score and gets 4 of 5 stars.

Most stores are not accepting NEX-7 preorders yet. Check for yourself: [shopcountry 8454].

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Sony A77 news roundup (+ ebay availability)

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Foggy And Hazy – Sony a77 Extreme Low Light from Heikki Kivijärvi on Vimeo.

There is a new A77 review at DC.watch (google translated), at Slashcam.de (google translated) and at Colorfoto.de (google translated).
Sony A700 versus Sony A77 at jimmartinphotoblog (Click here)
Sony Alpha 77, test complet #2 : bruit numérique et erreurs de protocole (Alpha Numerique).
A new A77 Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/alpha77/pool/with/6223530148/
My new A77 with my old Minolta 75-300mm lens (dpreview forum)
Popular Photography magazine wrote a full A77 review (you can buy it here).
Sony A77 RAW samples thoughts (SonyAlphaLab).
One more A65 test at Colorfoto (german).

USA:
A77 body with 18-55mm lens and 29 accessories at [shoplink 2097 ebay]Arphotovideo (Click here)[/shoplink]
A77 body with 18-55mm and 75-300mm and 36 accessories at [shoplink 2098 ebay]Arphotovideo (Click here)[/shoplink]
A77 body with Secret Handshake Minolta 28-135mm [shoplink 2099 ebay]Yibum (Click here)[/shoplink]
A77 body with 16-105mm lens at [shoplink 2100 ebay]Yibum (Click here)[/shoplink]
A77 body with Carl Zeiss 16-80mm[shoplink 2101 ebay]Yibum (Click here)[/shoplink]
A77 body with 8 lenses(!) for $5999 at [shoplink 2102 ebay]Yibum (Click here)[/shoplink]

Europe:
A77 body at [shoplink 2103 ebay]fotoheibel (Click here)[/shoplink] – Germany
A77 body at [shoplink 2104 ebay]qf-foto (Click here)[/shoplink] – Germany
A77 body at [shoplink 2105 ebay]cameracentre1315 (Click here)[/shoplink] – UK
A77 body at [shoplink 2106 ebay]0123aggiudicato (Click here)[/shoplink] – Italy
A77 body at [shoplink 2106 ebay]0123aggiudicato (Click here)[/shoplink] – Italy
A77 body with 18-55mm lens at [shoplink 2107 ebay]badblock_group (Click here)[/shoplink] – Estland

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(SR3) Sony A77 1.04 firmware update being tested now. Not coming this week :(

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Asian sources told me today that the new 1.04 firmware update has been released to Sony related photographers and reviewers. They are now currently testing it to check for issues. The firmware is not going to be published this week. Sorry, there has been a communication mistake between the sources. They first told me that Sony would release the firmware this week but only now they understood that it is just an “internal” release.

Please understand that this is a rumors website, it’s hard to get every time 100% reliable and super correct info. Anyway, the update should be very soon available for us normal customers too!

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Sony A77 in Stock at Bedfords (and Cameta and Amazon with $150 extra charge)

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The A77 body only is in Stock at Bedfords (Click here) and with 16-50mm again at Bedfords (Click here). But I guess it will be sold out soon. And if you cannot wait until…January? than you have to pay than you have to take the chance and pay the extra $200:
The A77 body is in Stock at Amazon (Click here) and Cameta (Click here).
The A77 with 16-50mm is also in Stock at Amazon (Click here) and Cameta (Click here).

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