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Sony to release full frame NEX body and new micro-four-thirds camera
  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    Recently I've spent some time with acquaintance of mine who allegedly has held in his hands prototype of the full frame nex body some months ago. He got this opportunity through the third person, who is very closely related to Sony. The same person has reported during this meeting that Sony also plans to enter soon into the MFT world. My source of information is reliable, I will not uncover any further information about that.

    Personally, I didn't care about the MFT information, it wouldn't surprize me at all if Sony would try to get piece of Panasonic's cake on the market. It was anyway just a rumor, unapproved information as my friend didn't see it.

    But I would say the news about the new FF sensor in the mirrorless NEX body is quite sensational. It sounds to me also as Sony's very logical next step: just recently Sony unveiled its FF camera with fixed lens (RX1) and also FF interchangeable lens body camcorder. Sony learns and produces already now FF and also APS-C sensors which belong to the best on the world (in Nikon D800 / NEX-7, respectively). As release date I heard "as soon as possible as Sony desperatly wants to be the first one (?)"

    Such a release would have many consequences. Sony's E-bayonet mount provides the possibility to use almost all lenses ever made, just like "our" beloved MFT cameras. The new FF NEX would ceirtanly not be cheap, but probably it would still cost considerably less than Leica M. So it will have enough customers. I belive that the prices for the venerable old good lenses would be pushed quite a bit upwards. By the way: my own experience about using old lenses on the newest high-end digital bodies is quite good: the most of my best old AiS Nikkors which were great on the 24×36mm film are also great on the D800. Nikon's recommendation to use only the newest expensive lenses is just a bull.... except the true that bad Nikkors still look just the same bad on the D800 like ever before :-)

    If this whole FF NEX comes true, my speculation is probably 24MP sensor for start model followed by 36MP in the next step etc. It wouldn't surprize me at all if Sony after having its fingers already deeply into the pockets of consumer and professional domains now attacks also into the semi-pro world. Orwell's "1984" is getting true in the world of eletronics......

  • 25 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    They already have interchangeable lens mirrorless camera with E-Mount - VG900 :-)

    Of course, they'll have smaller camera.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @VK Yes, I know - I've mentioned it. But it is a camcorder....

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    But it is a camcorder....

    It depends on how you look into this :-)

    Price is only slightly higher than A99.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @VK +1 Could NEX FF start a serious competition against 5Dmk3 and D800?

    Do you think it would be technically possible that Sony invents also capability of using AF and IS features of the lenses made by other major manufacturers on the NEX FF (and dares to....)?

  • nomadnomad

    A few thoughts: – Sony is making money with their sensors anyway, if they put them in their own bodies or if others use them. – The days of DSLRs are over, mirrorless is leaving behind it's drawbacks and has advantages in price and low-light situations. – Fullframe is superior in light-gathering vs. resolution performance, but APS-C or µFT is good enough for many.

    Draw you own conclusions…

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @nomad

    I agree, mirrorless are great! I don't agree DSLR are dead, most of us who shooted many years with film DSLR's won't leave it. Smaller sensors are not yet as good for the stills, especially not in the low-light.

    Yet, I also swear on mirrorless and find sensational the upcoming chance to use on the pocket-sized FF-NEX again whole image of my beloved old MF lenses (Canon FD, Minolta SR mount, soviet lenses etc) :-)

  • LPowellLPowell

    MFT cameras still haven't made the step up from 12-bit to 14-bit RAW sensors. Until they do, DSLR's will continue to have a perceptible advantage in banding and shadow detail. On the bright end of the scale, I'd love to see a hybrid sensor that captures illumination data directly via clear, unfiltered photocells, rather than reconstructing it from fragmented RGB data.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @LPowell

    yes....indeed we don't need to wait, we can shoot already since many years the stills in 20-bit quality and 100 mega pixel resolution: on Fuji Velvia

    :-)

  • disordinarydisordinary

    @tetakpatak would like to see a film DSLR - kind of pointless but a novelty none the less....

    I hope that more manufacturers move onto the Micro 4/3 boat, I want to make sure the money I am spending in Lenses is safe for at least three or four more generations of cameras.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @disordinary

    Both MFT and NEX mounts are great for keeping interest on old lenses alive. If NEX with FF gets released (I hope it will), it will rehabilitate the optical value of the really good old glass....by the way many of old lenses are not so great in the corners, FF sensor will also show the differences very clearly.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @disordinary

    "film DSLR - kind of pointless but a novelty none the less...."

    It is not pointless. Look at LPowells comment, he is right: the resolution and shadow details of todays high-end FF DLSR's lays still quite far behind the professional slide film. Yet, big space for the improvements is still there....

  • disordinarydisordinary

    Sorry, was just being facetious, DSLR doesn't have film because its digital, unless I'm mistaken I think you mean SLR, which is the film variant.

    And your right the crop factor keeps the sweet spot of older lenses, I'm quite partial to OM Zuiko primes myself.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @disordinary achhhh, sorry- mistyped by habit. Thanks :-) of course, I meant SLR

  • disordinarydisordinary

    Yeah I thought so, as I said I was just being flippant, no harm done.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    News: interesting E-mount lenses to be released:

    http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/five-new-e-moutn-rokinonsamyang-lenses-released-and-preorders/

    And some more rumors:

    http://www.sonyalphamag.de/fototechnik/kameras/sony-alpha-news/vollformat-nex-erst-ende-2013,2819

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    New rumors:

    http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/22/rumor-sony-high-megapixel-full-frame-dslr-being-tested-in-the-wild/

    http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sonys-future-products-on-the-verge-of-a-big-change/

  • sshssh

    I have limited experience with mirrorless cameras: GH2, NEX5N, GF2 and a lot with SLR/DSLRs. At this point the main advantage of a DSLR is PDAF and OVF. CDAF/EVF combo suxxx for shooting moving subjects. There is no way any of the cameras mentioned above could compare to something like D700 in continuous focus speed, accuracy and tracking. Catching the right moment is essential in photography, and PDAF is still the king. Pros would not fall for FF NEX.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    @ssh

    Catching the right moment is essential in photography, and PDAF is still the king<

    There are so many kinds of photography besides shooting fast moving objects. For fast moving objects PDAF is really better, but CDAF has otherwise advantages like higher accuracy. OVF is in some situations advantage but it also depends. In difficult light conditions with many contrasts using EVF shows how the sensor perceives the light and shadows. OVF sucks there. For shift / tilt photography EVF is also often better solution.

    It really depends which system serves you better. I also love (and own) Nikon, but I leave it often home and go to shoot stills with the NEX-7, it is so much smaller and it also has overwhelming IQ.

  • sshssh

    @tetakpatak So yeah mirrorless shit is cripled - no proper subject tracking. DSLR's will die when a good PDAF will be implemented on a MILC along with CDAF.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    Few very new articles, Sony FF mirrorless seems to come end of 2013:

    http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-full-frame-mirrorless-from-sony-coming-in-almost-exactly-one-year-24-or-30-32-megapixel/

    http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/sony-to-release-full-frame-nex-in-2013-1120784

    http://www.petapixel.com/2012/12/21/disruptive-sony-to-launch-a-full-frame-mirrorless-nex-in-one-year/

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @tetakpatak

    Such long rumors usually are quite inaccurate. Anything can happen.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    Although I agree with Vitaliy that anything can happen, we have nothing but rumors on this stage, so I post here few new rumors.

    This one is interesting and getting bit into discussion about the features: http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/07/31/so-who-is-ready-for-that-full-frame-sony-nex/

    5-axis sensor IS invented by Olympus is mentioned here as well: http://thenewcamera.com/sony-full-frame-nex-rumor/http://thenewcamera.com/sony-full-frame-nex-rumor

    I like enjoy at reading all those rumors and it seems that Sony prepares this step very carefully, they seem to want really "big thing". Sony's cooperation with Olympus on the on-sensor image stabilizing and cooperation with Zeiss on the new line of lenses for E-mount (few great "Touit" lenses have already been released) don't come just like that, without some bigger plans.

    Speaking only for my own, all this makes me belive that the full-frame NEX could be a too hard kick for Canon's and Nikon's DSLR cameras. Many of the people here on this forum are more interested in video productions than for still photography. And everybody loves small size of mirrorless cameras.
    I indeed do a lot of still photography. I've been using Nikon SLRs since end of 80-ies for that and own big collection of Nikkor lenses, so the Nikon D800 was logically my last choice.
    But then, some day I decided to buy the Nex-7 body, initially only as reserve or even just for fun with many other vintage lenses. But guess what: the Nex-7 turned slowly into kind of my first camera. Not that I like less my D800 with its DR, amazing RAWs and -of course- its 36MP. I still love it. The little Nex-7 is damn close in terms of image quality and its 24MP sensor is also really mighty.... but besides all that, the Nex is just soooo small! It is even smaller than the GH1 or GH2 and it simply rocks (BTW, I like its video quality also and can't belive how few people here on this forum seem to be aware of it).

    I will gladly follow further the rumors until they get true and inform here. Meanwhile two more, meanwhile nearly too old rumors:

    http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/07/sony-nex-full-frame-camera-could-feature-sensor-image-stabilization-rumor/

    http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/three-full-frame-mirrorless-from-sony-to-come-in-2014/

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    All-right, so now (bit more than one year since this topic exists) it is finally official:
    Only its name is not NEX but A7

    http://personal-view.com/talks/discussion/8424/sony-a7-and-a7r-ff-gems-like-gh3-but-ff

    Son, now when the FF is there, I am curious if also a µFT will come... the A7 must run well as first now for Sony.

  • endotoxicendotoxic

    if Sony grabs MFT cake, would only improve Panasonic approach. Which is good thing.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    I must admit that I wish for Sony to gain a big success with the A7 and A7r

    I can't await to see high ISO performance of A7 for the stills. The A7 is more interesting for me as a photographer as I am fan of a bit lower pixel density, if the contrasts and low-light performance are better therefore.

    And all my FF vintage Minolta, Canon FD and russian lenses have been waiting for this moment!! A FULL FRAME MIRRORLESS IS THERE!!!! Yessssss!!

    :-D

    BTW: I think it is time to change this thread's name. Actually it is better if Vitaliy closes it.

    Vitaliy, if you read this on your own, please close. I don't wanna mention, you have much to do.

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