Sony also announced the most affordable 4K camcorder on the market yet.
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First of all I have to stress those of you that forgot to read my previous rumors. The big new A and E-mount cameras will be announced the coming weeks and months. So don’t worry, the A5000 was just a little appetizer 🙂
That said the new A5000 doesn’t seem to sell well according to Amazon Mirrorless Popularity ranking (Click here). It’s a small nice camera but I guess what the Sony people is now waiting for is the new NEX-7, A77 and A99 successors!
But Sony also announced a lot more (non Alpha) consumer stuff. The Sony FDRAX100 for example is a “cheap” 4K camcorder. And I am pretty sure one of the next to be announced A-mount cameras will have 4K recording too. Anyway here is a list of all new Sony products…
Full new Sony stuff preorder links for USA:
Sony A5000 at Amazon US (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and at SonyStore US (Click here).
Sony LCS-EBB Body Case for the A5000 at BHphoto (Click here).
Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS Lens (Black) at Amazon US (Click here) and at BHphoto (Click here).
W830 compact camera at Amazon (Click here) and at BHphoto (Click here).
HDR-AS100-V action camera at Amazon (Click here).
The 4K Sony FDRAX100 at Amazon (Click here) and at BHphoto (Click here).
List of all new Sony camcorders at Amazon (Click here) and at BHphoto (Click here).
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This sure sounds like the RX2 internals with the 4K enabled. I bet they could easily enable it in the RX2. Too bad there is no Magic Lantern for Sony yet.
You mean the RX10? They lowered the MP on the sensor though.
The specs say 20mp stills.
The RX10, according to EOSHD, is able to do exactly what the AX100 does, full sensor readout at those speeds at 4K. I don’t doubt this is the same sensor as the RX10, which in turn it may be the same sensor as the RX100m2, but the rest of the internals may have something else in the AX100.
I am very tempted to get this. Not for the 4K, but to see the XAVCS codec work in 4k so I can then display great 1080 out of it without spending a fortune.
For $2k, getting the same lens as the RX10 (look at some of the promotional photos) on that package with that sensor… yes, please. Shame, I won’t be in the US by the time it gets released. I am betting it will be worth £2k in the UK and that is…well…a bit too much for this, I believe. £1800 is easier to swallow round here and same for Euros, no?
You are right. 20MP. It says 14MP for video, but I have no clue what that actually means.
Enable 4k is easy(maybe). The hard part is hardware(sorry!) – storage and processing.
A5000 not available anywhere in France for preorder yet…
You don’t care anyway 🙂 Where’s the NEX-7 successor?
This.
I don’t care about the form factor but I hope it’s got the A7 VF. I tested it side by side with a NEX 6 and it was just so much better. I toyed with the idea of getting the 6 as it has become super cheap in Japan but after seeing the new VF I decided to wait until that thing trickles down to the lower NEXes.
I don’t really care about the rest. Touch and swivel would be handy.
Funny, I received my A7r on Saturday. I did not get any of the Zeiss lenses so I tested it with the 35mm 1.8 OSS which I have for my NEX-6. Curiously I found that the NEX-6 view finder was much better than the A7r which had pixel artifacts. Why ? Is it normal ? Is it due to the E mount APS-C lens ? I was disappointed, if it is same once I get the Zeiss lens on it I’ll get rid of the A7r.
I guess that might really be due to the crop mode. I used both cameras with their respective kit lenses and the A7 finder offered a much better view.
I think that you’ll like the VF with a native lens more than the NEX 6 VF. For me it was better in every way possible.
Yes I do ! I want one AND the NEX7 successor 😉
🙂
I think most of us here don’t care. It’s a NEX-5 body with NEX-3 features. It’s for different market. Those here who are interested in this kind of camera might have already bought NEX-5x or NEX-3x.
…and it appears to have been removed from the US version of Amazon.com as well, I can’t find it on there anymore.
for france, see here: http://campaign.odw.sony-europe.com/wm/ilce/ILCE5000_fr_fr.html
Why would anyone want to buy this for 2x nex3n price, or the same or even more than better specified 5r/5t price. I just dont see the reason for this cam at this price.
It remains to be seen if the A5000 brings with it enough improvements vs older models to justify the expenditure or its existence… I am a bit confused with Sony’ strategy here but let’ see what comes next.
The A5000 looks like a minor upgrade.
The biggest difference is the name.
Right now if interested in low end E-mount I would buy the 3N on sale rather than the A5000 at intro price. The A5000 will do better when the 3Ns disappear and it gets a bit of a price drop. If I was in the market for a camcorder the AX100 would be interesting. Roughly similar innards to the RX10, with a slightly different lens, more camcorder features. Wonder how fast those cards are going to fill in 4K mode.
Poor sales? This can only mean one thing. E-mount is as dead as the MIS flash shoe.
Gimme’ mirrorless A the size of Maxxum 9000 film cam. Chunky cause’ we like it like dat.
It’s a shame that Sony did not put an 8MP sensor in the AX100 for full pixel readout and no downsampling. That would have been pretty hot.
A 8mp bayer sensor is actually 4mp green and 2mp each of r and b.
To actually produce a 8mp color image without interpolation would require 24mp.
Interpolated sets of 4 pixels are combined from 4 different pixel locations so 4 sets of 6mp are combined to make a 24mp interpolated file from a sensor containing 24 monochromatic pixels.
This process is called demsaecing.
The 4k Canon c100 has an 8.29 megapixel sensor (effective):
“The 8.3 megapixel sensor and its fine pixel pitch permit greater sensitivity in low light while minimizing noise. The EOS C100 captures Red, Green, and Blue channels independently for Full HD 1920×1080 video. The resulting picture features the color and image quality of a three-chip camera with a single sensor. The optimized pixel count allows the camera to avoid additive processing as a result of skipping lines during capture; sensor sensitivity is maintained and aliasing or other degradation of the image is prevented.”
Source: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/cinema_eos_cameras/eos_c100#Features
Your comment refers to a 1080i video of about 2 mp therefore the aproximately 8mp sensor would match that resolution … You are correct.
4K however is. About 8mp therefore the comparable pixel count would be 8mp x4 or 32mp.
My initial math was incorrect…I should have said 32mp would be required..not 24mp.
Oopp..i got confused…
8Mp x 3 colrs is 24 mp…please go back to my first comment and ignore my second one.
This is done on some of the higher end camcorders, either from the use of three separate sensors or by using sensors with sub pixels. Generally these are expensive cameras, $50,000 range not $2000.
Do you think that putting in a lower resolution sensor is drastically more expensive than a higher resolution one? The higher end cameras tend to have an industrial-build quality, XLR inputs, broadcast quality outputs, time code generators, global shutters and other such bells & whistles for serious production needs beyond a sensor with a native 4k resolution. It may also be a bit of intentional crippling (so as to be good enough but not too good to cannibalize) & recycling of sensors for cost-savings.
I wouldn’t expect an entry-level A5000 to have much of a preorder trade. Its target market probably is not following CES. After it hits shelves expect some initial market confusion over Sony dropping the NEX brand name.
Why has Sony dropped the NEX name ? Anyone knows ? What’s the rational / strategy behind it ? Is it change for the sake of change ? Is the NEX name that old ? Or has it got a bad reputation ? It is indeed very confusing !
There are so many cameras now with X in their name, NX, XZ, LX, XS, SX etcetera that it is getting very confusing.
I think Sony wanted to concentrate on one name that is unique for Sony’s cameras only.
On the other hand, Sony released an A3000 giving us the impression that it would use the Axxxx naming for Nex cameras with DSLR body. Instead, now they release an A5000 which is neither an Nex successor neither a DSLR form factor…
It seems even Sony don’t know why and WHAT they’re doing.
“it’s neither an NEX 5 successor nor…”
Agree with you Neo. The naming is just doesn’t make any sense.
A3000 = APSC, DSLR body
A5000 = APSC, NEX body
A7 = FF, DSLR
What’s NEXt?
A is the 1st letter in ABC. NEX didn’t sell well.
“That said the new A5000 doesn’t seem to sell well according to Amazon Mirrorless Popularity ranking (Click here). It’s a small nice camera but I guess what the Sony people is now waiting for is the new NEX-7, A77 and A99 successors!”
i think that more correct statement is that A5000 is JUST the next meaningless sh1t… 🙂 good luck sony 🙂
The fact that the A5000 is listing at over double the A3000’s price, with the same sensor and lacking an EVF probably doesn’t help pre-orders
A3000 and A5000 seem like equivalent models to me with each offering benefits over the other: small size, tilting LCD and new processor on the A5000; EVF on the A3000
They should be priced similarly and exist in different product ranges. Pricing the A5000 at double that of the A3000 and using it to fill the slot that ought to be for a superior camera to the ‘A3000’ is very strange
Do Sony have a clear product strategy at the current time?
I do not understand Sony’ “strategy”
The only downside of the FDRAX100 is the aperture ramping of the 9.3-111.6 lens at f2.8-4.5. The RX10 is 8.8-73.3 with a constant aperture of f2.8. It seems odd to me that the front element of the FDRAX100 only mentions 2.8. It is the Sony specifications which mention the 2.8-4.5 numbers. Years ago Zeiss built an 11-110 T2.2 Super-16mm lens that weighed 3.75 pounds–so it is possible.
I don’t know who writes those specifications and description for Sony, but they are filled with errors on every new release. By my math lens should be 25mm at wide angle, not 29mm like in their description. So I don’t know should I trust lens markings or their own description.
25mm in still mode and 29mm in 16:9 video mode.
Doesn’t seem to sell well…. superb conclusion after a few hours of sale 🙂
My thought exactly. I mean what the hell? It’s not like there are die hard Sony fans waiting to pre-order it like the average Apple consumer. The a5000 will sell in retail stores after it’s actually hit the shelves.
lol! …my thoughts exactly. Besides, they’ve actually pulled it from Amazon.com for some reason. Hopefully it returns, better than ever 😉
3:16 EST, it appears the A5000 is not longer on Amazon.com, or at least is temporarily removed.
By the way would anyone knows why the A7r package box states that it is “for US customers only” whilst I got the camera from Singapore Changi Airport terminal 3′ Sony Shop ? Just in case you are passing through Singapore, the price was the best I found: S$2615.89 = $2057 = £1254 = €1511. With International “Tourist Guarantee”. Now I am looking for the Zeiss FE 55mm 1.8 to test the camera with it as they were out of stock in Singapore, any ideas ?
Admin, as we look at the A5000 numbers, lets do a little more in-depth analysis. Currently 14 of the top 100 positions are held by NEX cameras. With such good sales and excellent reputation, is this really the time to do away with the NEX name. The baby NEX-3 series comes in 3rd, 12th and 74th. With a #3 showing, did it need to be replaced? The NEX-5 series (including the ancient 5-N) comes in at 23, 55, 77, 85, and 86. The NEX-6 is 2nd, 10th, 66th, and 84th. Very strong numbers. Even the wheelchair-bound NEX-7 shows up at 25 and 54.
And then look at the A7 series. Guess what? The A7, which all of the camera reviewers love to ignore, comes in at 5th, 18th and 48th. The A7R is down in 39th place. Will the A7 be the camera the reviewers overlooked like the A65?
Overlooked, the A7 ?? You must be kidding, this camera is being pushed down our throats at every turn of every photographic board and place on the internet !! I had one (two actually), didn’t like it, returned it, now I’d be pleased if we could move on to rumors and/or specs of other cameras, I’m sort of just sick of this one !
Hi Claire -from Paris too 😉
Would be curious to know what/why you disliked in the A7 formula. Also why you bought two.
Apparently you are keen to purchase a pair of what you like ? 😉
Just curious….
Thanks madame
Cyrilo
Hey 🙂 Just had a screwed up WB module on the first unit, nasty amber/green cast in all modes. Amazon replaced it with a second, perfect unit. I’m a strict jpeg shooter (will use RAW + jpeg very occasionally) and found the jpeg engine very lousy. Plus I absolutely hate the central EVF. I’ll stick to APS-C until Sony makes a RF shaped FF.
OMG sounds we are bro and sis on gear expectations.
I have had a NEX5n 2 years ago, was in love of its seeing in the dark capability, but hated its overheating in video handicap !
Sold it for a NEX7, weaker low light performer but still nice beast though. Also the same overheating issue in my amateur video usage 🙁
I tried the NEX6 and was decently in love -but not passionate though. And then I heard about the NEX7 replacement coming.
That was one year ago or so…then I tried the RX1 FF and I was amazed by the IQ, portability and…price 🙁
So I waited and still waiting…
In the meantime I picked the Fuji x100s, direct competitor of RX1 and wow…unexpected ooc jpeg quality….
But a fixed lens. Compact but not cheap. Nice but still a bit quirky on AF side, compared to Olympus or even Sony mirrorless.
Then came the fuji x-e2. Not cheap but nice old fashioned, incredible set of prime lenses. Wonderful pics but poor video.
Now …Where should I go’..
First love with Sony, fixing bugs with new products -also introducing new quirks- or switching to Fuji.. Less sexy, less features, but firmware updates, customers attention culture, wonderful affordable prime lenses, and unbeatable jpeg engine rivalizing with FF monsters.
If it takes another couple of weeks, I will wait again for so called NEX7 successor, but what am I already prepared to be disappointed….
Oui, Claire, these cameras are being pushed down your throat a la foie gras! Vite, run to Fuji before Sony starts harvesting your liver.
Yes, exactly ! What is the Sony rationale for getting rid of the NEX name since these have a good reputation ? Seems rather weird.
Nice camera, but the Nex7 successor is exactly what I’m waiting for.
Doesn’t sell well? Surprise, surprise! Dropping the NEX name was a big mistake. Especially if you replace it with a borking name like “A5000”.
not only that, bumping up the price by $200 for not much more than the old Nex-3N dont help either.
At the same time, just changing the color of the 55-210mm zoom has Amazon saying they’ll be unable to fulfill all the orders.
The general consumer has no idea WTF is the A5000, why would they buy it?
Sony is confusing, they change their mind more often than not, there is no further explanation than that.
The average consumer goes through the shop looking for a new camera and holding them in the hand. If the color is nice and shiny (white body, tiny silver lens), it feels good in the hand (a5000 has nice grip), you can flip the screen to make selfies and is not as large as a DSLR, chances are good a woman or girl wanting to upgrade from a smartphone or compact or want something smaller to replace a heavy DSLR want’s to buy it.
This a5000 is not a camera for enthusiasts and not particularly targeted at men (imho), it’s a camera for people who want a small good looking camera that takes much better pictures than a compact or a smartphone. Some go for M43, some for the NEX, some for Samsung and more enthusiast people maybe for a Fuji or an A7.
Now I wonder if it’s possible to add XAVC recording codec via firmware update for the A7/r. Though I’ll be really surprised if Sony does any firmware update to improve the video quality of these 2 superb photo cams. Watch the Philip Bloom review regarding the A7/r when it comes to video, if Sony does what Philip asks for, I’m pretty sure they’ll make more sales from the camera.
Philip Bloom review
https://vimeo.com/83457177
Warning, it’s quite long!