Sony A77 Movie Test from lraphael on Vimeo.

Our reader Simon read an interesting [shoplink 8461]Sony A77[/shoplink] 1.02 versus 1.03 firmware comparison test on one of the HK popular magazine PC Magazine. And here is the list of the improvements:
1. Response time
Turn on 3.2s 2.8s
Turn off 7.3s 6.3s
EVF/LCD 0.8s 0.6s
Format SD 11.4s 7.6s
2. Continuous shot, no. of photos record within 10 seconds
Sandisk SDHC Extreme Pro 8G
# of pic 30 46
3. Noise
Although the magazine comments the noise level is the same, but from their print out, I found that v1.03 preserve much more details, especially starting from ISO 6400.

Our reader Mark found the new A77 review published on the latest Amateur Photographer magazine (it is not online, it is on paper only):”Just thought you might be interested that the A77 scored 90 out of 100 in this weeks AP. Some text from the Verdict:
The specification is backed up by solid performance in colour rendition, resolution detail at lower sensitives, a wide dynamic range and a responsive and accurate AF system. The only real downside to speak of regarding the use of a fixed translucent mirror is that doing so comprises the camera’s ability to handle noise levels in low light.
Hope this is of use to you and keep up the good work!”

A77 firmware 1.03 image samples are on Flickr (Click here).

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].

Zach Daniels shot this very first NEX-5n anamorphic test: “I love the Sony NEX-5n so I decided to throw on my old Nikon mount 135mm f2.8 with a [shoplink 9487 ebay]Schneider 2X anamorphic lens….(one of the cheap ones from eBay)[/shoplink]”.

Joseph Eckert Photography (Click here) posted a new NEX-5n review: “If Sony can fix the video clicking issues, and can start putting out more NEX lenses (including some higher quality prime pancakes [at a reasonable price please]), this will be a tremendous camera.”

Gravity Shots Takes the NEX-5N Flying (SonyAlphaNex).

And now see this:

It is a 5D Mark II & NEX-5N Comparison from Marlon Torres. He writes: “Conclusion: 5D has better overall image quality but Cinestyle preset is much noisier and much more susceptible to banding. 5N is a bit more saturated and a tad sharper. Both cameras produce a nice image.”

Sony NEX-5n shop links: [shopcountry 8452].

[shoplink 9083 ebay][/shoplink]Sony, it’s possible! The picture on top shows you the [shoplink 9083 ebay]Pentax DA limited 40mm[/shoplink] full frame lens (!) for the Pentax DSLR system(!) with top notch quality and relatively fast aperture (f/2.8). Why I am writing this? I am a proud owner of the [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink] but I need very tiny lenses for the camera. And I want to debunk the myth saying that unlike MicroFourThirds Sony cannot make ultra-small lenses on the larger APS-C sensor. The pancake from Pentax covers a fullframe sensor and it’s small although it is designed for a DSLR system! In theory such a lens could be even smaller if designed for a mirrorless system! I would be very happy if Sony would make some sort of special edition of pancakes with manual focusing only. So why am I NOT going to buy the Pentax lens for my NEX? Easy, because the [shoplink 9085 ebay]K to NEX mount adapter[/shoplink] alone is twice as large as the lens itself and as a result the pancake size advantage disappears. I didn’t find any picture of that lens mounted on the NEX. I only found one single image samples of the NEX-5 with the Pentax lens on Flickr (Click here).

Sony do it! And if you can’t…buy Pentax :)

Links:
Review at Photozone.
Pentax DA 40mm limited lens on [shoplink 9083 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].
K to E-mount adapter on [shoplink 9085 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].

SAR readers sent me more useful info. As you know Sony Europe and Sony US are no more accepting preorders. Some of our readers told us that most Asian countries like Malaysia (Click here to see a shop full of A77), Hong Kong and Singapore are shipping the camera with the new 1.03 firmware. I can’t wait to see first user reports with that firmware! Let me know if you find something! Sony Korea confirmed at inews24 that the 1.03 firmware will solve the current A77 issues. And here are some more things to read:

Sony A77
Dpreview (Click here) updated the Sony SLT-A77 studio comparison samples with ACR 6.5. And Carl Garrard now had plenty enough time to test the A77 and wrote on Alphamountworld: “In the end I think the A77 is a great camera up to ISO 4000, after that, things get dicey on raw files unless you shoot in optimal circumstances and want to take a lot more time fine tuning them in post processing. I’ve seen some 14mp sensors perform much more poorly than the 24mp sensor of the A77, so with all that added resolution and smaller pixels of the sensor, that’s a good achievement.”
And the first four user reviews are now up on Amazon (Click here to read them). The only negative review has been written bu a user that doesn’t actually own the camera :)

Sony A65
Sony A65 image samples on Flickr (Click here) by Yannick and first impression by Paul 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].