Sony Alpha 750

Sony: Alpha & NEX

When they presented the new Sony Alpha 560 and Sony Alpha 580, yesterday, Sony published a family photo for the two Alpha and NEX ranges. Nobody is missing.

But two products are obviously absent:

• The Sony Alpha 700 has been removed completely from the photo.
• There no longer is any 500mm f/8 mirror tele-lens (which was from the Minolta portfolio of AF lenses).

I would predict that this is disclosing what comes next…

Can you find some more absent friends?

If you listen to PhotoRumours.com ramblings, it is now clear that the next DSLR photo cameras from Sony will be APS-C cameras from the Alpha series:

• Alpha 33
• Alpha 55
• Alpha 560
• Alpha 580

The first two (Sony Alpha 33 and Alpha 55) would be entry-level cameras able to capture HD video and using the semi-transparent mirror already mentioned here and allowing to maintain autofocus in LiveView and HD video modes.

The next two (Sony Alpha 560 and Alpha 580) would be mid-range cameras announced by Sony in the middle of the beginning of the year. They are also able to grab AVCHD video but with a simpler architecture.

They share the two new CMOS photo sensors from Sony, a 14 MP sensor and a 16 MP sensor, at the heart of the rush for video started with the NEX-VG10 video camera, recently shown to the press (HD video based on the 14 MP sensor). They should all have a DOF preview button, continuous AF during video capture with 15-point AF, panorama stitching, 3D picture capacity, state-of-the-art ISO sensitivity (read “much better than A700″).

PR also tells us that the Alpha 560 has been spotted in Jakarta, but no pictures yet. So, it may still be a false lead.

But then, where is the successor to the Alpha 700? Has Sony decided to step back into the A5x0 range? Or will the A750 be a pre-announcement only?

The echoing sound of a conversation that I just transcribe here: The next Sony Alpha 750 (or at least, what will be the successor to the Alpha 700) will receive a new Sony EXMOR 16 mega-pixel digital sensor, able to also shoot 1080p videos at 30 frames/s.

Presentation in Photokina 2010, or a few days before in September.

2010 is decidedly a critical year for Sony: Nearly all the photography product portfolio is going to be renewed and many innovations are coming to sustain this. Even better, at the end of September, the Photokina fair in Köln, Germany, will allow Sony to announce and present several key products defining this rebirth, this jump ahead.

First, and this is very easy to predict, Sony is ready to add to its NEX range of photo cameras. Already noticed because of the originality of its concept (a very dense point-and-shoot-like body, very simple but able to hold not only the new lenses of the new NEX range, but also compatible with the existing Alpha lenses, to bring light onto an APS-C CMOS digital photo sensor brought in the Alpha SLR range). While NEX was received with an obvious interest, it still needs to prove that it fills the needs of a real public. And this may be easier when a few days before the Photokina show (in September) we will be able to see the new photo camera of the NEX range: The NEX-7, which should capture 1080p video up to 60 frames/s. This should bring it in direct competition with the Panasonic GH2 which is still the best digital video offer among the compact photo cameras.

On top of it, we already know that Sony just presented it NEX-VG10 video camera, which is the pure video solution in the NEX range (again with the same CMOS 14.2 MP digital sensor that Sony seems decided to apply to as many NEX and Alpha cameras as marketingly possible). Available in September (in parallel with the door opening of the Photokina), it will be sold around $2000 (probably a little less than 2000€ on the old E continent).

Of course, Sony will also present (and possibly make immediately available) some new NEX lenses. The one whose name is most often repeated, since the Yodobashi leak in May, is the Sony NEX 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 OSS.

Then, there is no need of a crystal ball to announce that Sony will speak a lot about 3D on the Photokina floor. All the company divisions (video games, movies, video, photography) have been committed to bring active product support to this technology defined as a key target for Sony.

But, will you say, where are the D-SLR here? I kept the finest morsel for this part of the meal I offer you. Sony is preparing a full overhaul of its Alpha range. The A290 and A390 are already here with a 14.2 MP sensor (but only in a-little-outdated CCD technology), here comes the flood. There’s no doubt that the successor of the Sony Alpha 700 is ready. It was nearly official in PMA 2010 (at the beginning of 2010):

I dream of having reliable information about its photo sensor, but it is nearly certain that it won’t be the ubiquitous 14MP CMOS sensor of NEX and A500 series. It will be an APS-C sensor capable of 1080p video capture at 30 fps (at least). Since Sony always repeated that they would never bring a photo camera with a half-thought video section (like some of the competition, they murmur), it will be worth looking into its detailed features. Moreover, I would bet a tidy sum that the camera will be named Alpha 750, even if it appears that A790 was a possibility during the design stage.

The Sony press photo for PMA2010 (above) also gave us an important bit of information: The Sony Alpha 750 will have a little brother also video capable (probably with a resolution limited to 14 MP). The rumor says –curiously enough– that it would be named Alpha 33, and I find this utterly surprising. We’ll see, but in the meantime, you could listen to what the Spanish DSLRmagazine has to say about its supposed semi-transparent mirror used to assist a good autofocus in LiveView mode (traduction française, English translation).

Sony Alpha 950?

But there is another possibility to take into account. According to Réponses Photo, the French magazine, “Sony give [us] a rendezvous in September for other SLR news, but this time in the expert and pro ranges…” (emphasis is mine). It looks a lot like a leak out of a magazine already informed but held tight by the signing of an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). It would seem very surprising that anybody knowledgeable would place the Sony Alpha 750 in the “pro” range, it is the “expert” announcement. But, the, here is the last event: A pro camera! The Sony Alpha 900 (and its little brother A850) would prepare itself for a new offspring in the use of an Alpha 950 (no certainty about the name, of course)! And that could be thunderous if they announced (availability in early 2011?) the new 32 MP Full Frame CMOS sensor in association with a new quad-core BIONZ processor (aka Quattro Bionz).

The other option in this part of the product lien would be the arrival of an Alpha 820 (this name is heard in several mouths right now) which would be a new effort to popularize the Alpha 900 after the sub-2000€ Alpha 850. Credibility: Very low in my (not so) humble opinion.

You will have noticed that I did not go heavy on the conditional tense despite the long list of news. Be prepraed to see a Sony showroom of enormous size and density in Köln, next September for the Photokina. Alpha, NEX, 3D, video, Sony is alive and kicking.

It’s clear that this time of the year, we are hearing a lot about Sony. But this is only the beginning and I will take some time to come back on the recent events and what is coming in the news for the manufacturer of the Alpha line of SLR photo cameras.

After the launch of the first point-and-shoot (APS-C sensor) cameras in the Nex range (is it Nex or Alpha Nex? I am no longer sure), we start hearing that there will soon be a high-end NEX at Fall (September 2010). Its name? A very predictable NEX-7. It would bring much richer video capture modes like the following:

• 1080p at 60 frames/s
• 1080p at 24 frames/s
• 720p at 120 frames/s
• 720p at 60 frames/s

Moreover, the user interface should be optimized for easier control by enthusiast photographers who waited for manual controls. Maybe this will be a new candidate for the title of pro photographer point-and-shoot solution…

Future Sony Alpha

While staying on the video playground, and remembering that the Sony management insists on maximum sharing of developments between the various branches (Howard Stringer, Sony CEO, interview in Wired 18:04/Apr 2010) we can draw the easy conclusion that some of these video modes will also appear on at least one of the new SLR photo cameras under development for a 2010 launch in the Sony Alpha range.

Indeed, everything (including free commentary read in the May 2010 issue of Chasseur d’Images) points to a full shuffling of the Alpha range in the coming months. What should be expected? They will shoot first at the value level. Within a few weeks at most, we will see the Alpha 290 and Alpha 390, if only because -despite a very obvious market success- the digital sensor of the Alpha 230 started to look dated.
(more…)

Sony just made a round of announcements that should attract a lot of attention in the photography market (but in relation with video).

First and foremost, here are the first samples of the new range of point-and-shoot photo cameras using an APS-C digital sensor. With the NEX3 and the NEX5, they intend to bring a top-quality photo digital sensor (as found in the digital SLR cameras) in a very compact form factor: LetsGoDigital noticed that the NEX5 is still smaller than an Olympus €-PL1 (even if it is based upon a smaller sensor) or the very recent Samsung NX10.

Watch the vidéo on the web site of Engadget.

At this point, it may even be useful to notice that this is the first (and long-promised) appearance of video capture technology (using AVCHD file format) exploiting an APS-C-size sensor at Sony. This will certainly open the opportunity to demonstrate the technology expected on the upcoming successor to the Alpha 700 (presented in February with another D-SLR camera from the Alpha range and expected to be at a lower price point).

This issue is going to be very interesting to track in the coming weeks (and do not draw conclusions like the Sony Alpha 750 would appear before the end of May).

But this is only the beginning here: Sony also just presented a video camcorder which is still in development, whose launch is expected this Fall. Let’s stop at some of the most striking characteristics:

• It has an APS-C digital sensor (again, like on most of the Digital SLR photo cameras of the Japanese brand)
• It grabs 1080p HD videos
• It receives interchangeable lenses taken from the Alpha series (of digital SLR cameras from Sony)

Didn’t we say that Sony had decided to break ground in video capture using a photo digital sensor?

You thought that Sony was preparing an SLR photo camera with video recording features? (as previously announced for the successor of the Sony Alpha 700, expected later this year)

Here is something else entirely: Sony just presented a video camera (not a photo camera) with a 35mm (or Full Frame) sensor. It will probably knock down RED and Panasonic. Let’s hope that this technology will be immediately applied in 2010 in a Sony Alpha 750.

Announced, but the availability is still not before the beginning of 2011…

Sony 35mm camera

Source : Engadget.

Finally, Sony told us some about the future of the Alpha line of D-SLR cameras. Unfortunately, it does not mean that we will see new cameras soon. The discontinued Alpha 700 will receive a replacement (who is surprised, really?) and it will come with a wide-angle lens Zeiss Distagon T* 24 mm f/2 ZA SSM and a big 500 mm f/4 G. And notice the prominent HD marking on the top of the mock-ups: HD video is coming now.

There also will be a new ultra-compact camera with interchangeable lenses. The presented mock-ups are quite small indeed:

We are waiting impatiently for the launch of new SLR photo cameras from Sony, but here is the weirdest rumour seen in China about this.

Improbable : Sony Alpha 707 & Sony Alpha 900SH

A Sony Alpha 707 with HD video capture and ISO 12.800 sensitivity and a Sony Alpha 900SH with HD video.

Seriously! I can’t believe it for a moment… It’s so strange that I will not even create the Sony Alpha 7007 and Sony Alpha 900SH categories for the YLovePhoto menus.

Thanks to Mash for the link to PR. These guys are ready for any kind of rumour…

The PMA in Las Vegas is now arriving fast. After a long time of little rumors, here comes the moment for big rumors, but not the actual revelations yet.

• Nikon has been telling the world that they intended to have a great year 2010. It seems that they will bring a new DSLR (it could be the Nikon D700x, Nikon D700s, or Nikon D800 according to the rumor mill). It would be confirmed according to the banner visible on LetsGoDigital. But this is apparently a fake built from press material from the older Nikon D3 (via NR).
• Yesterday’s press conference did not bring a single SLR though (Coolpix S8000, Coolpix S6000, Coolpix S4000, Coolpix S3000, Coolpix P100, Coolpix L110, Coolpix L22, Coolpix L21, nothing less!)
• Plenty of people expect to see the Canon EOS 60D arriving now, but it’s still uncertain. NL/DPR predicts a set of features: CMOS 18MPs, 6.3fps, HD 24 and 36fps, Digic IV.
• According to CR, Canon is preparing a new Rebel/EOS camera whose name should be Rebel T2i (the European name could be 550D or EOS 600D), with video, fixed LCD of improved resolution.
• At last, Canon would present the very pro Canon EOS 1Ds Mk IV
• Samsung should extend its new NX line, possibly with some lenses (waiting a little more for a new NX camera body).
• Olympus and Fuji should bring only P&S cameras.
• The Sony rumour line is totally silent, which could be indicator that either they are efficient at keeping a lid on the new Alpha 750 or there is nothing in preparation.

So, let’s wait a little more.

Sony Alpha 700

From all sides, we hear that the Sony Alpha 700 is now reaching the end of its commercial life. Several web sites (including Sony UK and e-tailers like Adorama) indicated it as such.

The question, asked over and over here and there, is still: What camera will follow in its footesteps? For the time being, it’s all speculative. But it seems that the successor is really in the last mile before the official announcement (my own sources now have gone completely silent on this issue). Some tell that the CES show in Las Vegas (7th to 10th January 2010) will be the launch pad for this successor; It would be adequate, but I still think that it may take longer than that.

When we told you that it was going to happen! Here is LetsGoDigital finding a leaked shadow of a future SLR photo camera from Sony, the Sony Alpha 750 which will most certainly will be the successor to the Sony Alpha 700 awaited for the beginning of next year.

Sony Alpha 750

But we will have to wait a little more to know its characteristics and features. We can merely speculate that Sony will push the resolution up and the price down.

Photo-Rumors reveals what could well be the Sony roadmap for the year 2010. You were expecting a pause, you will be disappointed. Competition will still be intense:

• 7-10 January 2010 (CES, Las Vegas) : announcement of Sony A950, 32 MP FF, still no video, high ISO).
• January-April : tele-lens 600mm.
• 10-15 April (NAB, Las Vegas) : Sony A1000, hybrid SLR photo+video.
• A Sony A150 at bottom price (no AF motor).
• 8-10 September 2010 (Fotokina) : Sony A820, small body 32 MP SLR, SD cards, video, in-camera flash, low-cost viewfinder.

but AmateurPhotographer goes as far as asserting that Sony is going to develop a new intermediate range of cameras with 4/3 sensors and an electronic viewfinder (EVF).

Did you spot what is missing? Do you really believe that the Sony Alpha 700, which is rumored to be leaving the warehouses and ready for a replacement, will be waiting all 2010 letting Full Frames take all the light from the spot lights? Would you really believe that the new AF sub-system recently presented here will be left with no application. I’ve been told that this roadmap is essentially “too short”.

There is a bizarre rush for visibility in the online shops all around the web. I start to feel that most of them are actual fakes. Let’s check this:

• Several (accidental?) leaks from Sony web sites, showing Sony Alpha 500, 550, 850 (and possibly Alpha 750, but this one may be a counter-fire).
• A German site showing the Alpha 850, with price.
• An Andorra web site showing a supposed Alpha 800, no price.
• The Canon EOS 7D spotted in Best Buy internal catalog system.

I will not fully judge their credibility, but I feel that the order I used goes from most possible to mere rumor.