A fake Sony NEX-7 rendering with built-in EVF (Source: http://timberwolf.zenfolio.com/)
After yesterdays allergy sickness I toke some rest and it did help a lot. I am now again 100% fully recovered! Thanks for your kind words and moral support!!!
A double checked some info I received during the last month. If Sony didn’t change the plan because of the recent Japan Tusnami disaster the Sony A77 and NEX-7 should be announced in July and available in late September/early October. What I also told you is that both will feature the same 24 Megapixel sensor. Some of my sources already had the chance to play a little bit with those cameras. The first impression was extremely positive. Both cameras do have a lot of “mechanical” controls and superb build quality. Sony worked with many photographers to develop those camera so expect major changes in a positive direction. The sources also confirmed the price of the NEX-7 with kit lens (18-55mm). It will be around $1,300. The direct competitor, the [shoplink 4718]Panasonic GH2 + 14-140mm lens (Click here to see the camera specs and price on Amazon)[/shoplink] costs $1500 and $1000 with the 14-42mm lens. There is definitely an electronic OLED Viewfinder but the sources “forgot” to mention to me if the NEX-7 uses a built-in or external viewfinder. I hope that after reading this post they can send me the answer 🙂
I don’t know how the camera could look like. I would love it would have a design and body-quality a la [shoplink 6503 ebay]Zeiss Ikon ZM (Click here to see that camera on eBay)[/shoplink]. That’s just my very personal dream 🙂
There are a lot of rumors I am working on:
1) I am trying to find out when the delayed NEX-C3 and A35 will be announced
2) There should be a new NEX lens announcement in late May. I hope Sony will not delay that announcement too
3) I got many info about new Zeiss and Sony lenses. I am trying to understand if those rumors are real and when they will be announced.
As usual you can help me by sending the rumor using the anonymous contact form on the right sidebar. You can avoid to send me your name and email address (send me a fake name so that I can recognize you in future). It also doesn’t store your IP address. Please understand that I try to post rumors only after checking them with other sources. So it could take some time before you see it posted on this website. You can also create a fake gmail account to contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. That is the only way I can answer you.
[poll id=”45″]
Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
99 Responses
How can $1300 be a bit less than $1000?
For the price it must have a built-in EVF.
It won’t have in-body IS, though. Pity.
Actually, it would be more sensible to compare the NEX-7 + 18-55 kit with the GH2 + 14-42 kit. The latter costs 999 USD, so the new NEX is significantly more expensive. Let’s hope there is a good reason for that… 🙂
Exactly. The Panasonic 14-140mm is a $600 lens. I wouldn’y pay over $100 for the Sony 18-55mm.
24MP vs 16MP is the 1st
28Mbps vs 24Mbps in video compression is 2nd (speculate)
0.1sAF speed + AF tracking (video) vs 0.1sAF speed only is 3rd
OLED EVF 4th
3MB Display screen 5th
to pair with GH2, full manual control is a must. to attract rivals, 25p is a good option.
hopefully are correct 🙂
I’m actually hoping the NEX-7 is aimed more at photographers instead of videographers. I really don’t care at all about video specs. “Dummy mode” 720p is fine with me; so long as it’s out of sight hidden somewhere deep in the software so I don’t have to look at a video record button every time I look at my camera.
You are correct. I edited the post. Anyway, I don’t know if the kit lens will be the 18-55mm lens 😉
Nothing is written in stone about no in body IS, but seeing how it affects the sensor in terms of generating heat – I’m putting my guess on no in body IS.
I’ll probably be spending a couple of months after nex-7 and a77 is out to decide which direction to go. because they are both exiting.
Wow – this was the price I expected for the A77 – I pray that after all the waiting the A77 won’t become to expensive for me…
Same here…I suspect the a77 will be more expensive than the Nex? Maybe pushing $1500 now?
I am working on that. But it should have the same price of the NEX-7!
If Sony know how to to do pricing, nex-7 price can be higher than A77 because there is no competition for a interchangeable lens rangefinder with pro specs (APS-C sensor size and built-in hirez EVF).
I would price it higher, because market is giving it more “value” than to another pro DSLR type camera.
Price is not what it costs to make plus a margin, price is what market value a product.
Make it weather sealed and you can price it even higher (1500USD?) because you will get war journalists wanting one or two.
No competition for interchangeable lens Rangefinder?
Leica M9 + 50 ‘lux ASPH or 35 ‘lux ASPH II? NEX-7 is just a backup camera, that’s exactly what I will buy it for.
24mpx seems so pointless… low light and dynamic range will suffer… as, i’m sure, will video (not that sony seem to care too much about that in the consumer field).
Not pointless for cropping, low-light and DR don’t suffer on the 16mpix A580/D7000 sensor. If they give me a 24mpix sensor that performs as well as the A580/D7000, I’ll be very happy.
You loose shallow DOF capacity (see Luminous-Landscape and DXO mark for proof).
And for protraits that is not a good thing: having a F2.8 lens working as a F5.6 instead of F4 on an APS-C sensor.
You said “NEX-3C” again. This camera already exists. You meant “NEX-C3”.
Sorry! Fixed! Thanks for your help.
Resolution is not really matter. But I extremely hope that the flash hot shoe should be same as alpha series but not the unique NEX type. Otherwise, I still have to say good bye to it. I can’t stand the perfect setup without a seriously designed flash support. That’s not making sense!
I also hope for built in EVF, so external flash can be used together with it.
Regular hot shoe also is desired.
I just hope that Sony will succeed with these cameras (NEX-7 and A77). So far, it looks really good.
To have or not to have 24MP ?
Question is near pointless, quite old study now, have compared film to a900 sensors.
The study shown that 24MP is the nearest film resolution today, we want that resolution in our pocket, that’s it.
Love the idea of 24MP in my pocket, with C mount lenses !!!…
Hmm, well I’d sooner hear that they’ve gotten the E-Mount lens range into action.
Assuming the NEX-C3 turns up soon, they’ll be in the rather silly position of having a camera system for which they’ve released more bodies than lenses! (counting the VG10)
Bodies are all well and good, but I’ve already got one… what I could really do with is some choice in what I attach to it!
I believe I heard Andrea say that NEX lenses will be coming in May.
Wow, they’re really going to put that 18-55mm lens on the 24mp NEX-7? That’s a bold move. That lens is neither sharp enough, fast enough, or built well enough for an enthusiast camera. Heck, I barely even used it on my NEX-3. Sony better bring some quality lenses along with the NEX7. A high quality sensor doesn’t do any good without sharp glass in front of it.
Keeps the cost down. A good lens increases the cost by 50%.
I think the target market for a $1000+ enthusiasts compact camera *should* be wise enough to realize there is no way that 18-55mm lens can handle 24 megapixels of resolution. By using that lens on a sensor like that you’re doing nothing but wasting hard drive space. Knowing what I know about that lens I would just buy the NEX7 body-only unless they bundle a kit with that new Zeiss prime. My adapted 30 year old manual focus Pentax primes produced better results on my NEX3 then that 18-55mm did.
I eventually sold my NEX3 and went back to m4/3’s because of the lack of NEX glass. Hopefully Sony will address that issue with the release of the NEX7.
Looks that the NEX-7 will be more expensive than the A77 🙂
I’m glad the NEX-7 will be around $1,300. It makes me glad that I went ahead and ordered an NEX-5!
Have you heard if the prices for Sony cameras is going to go up due to the disaster in Japan?
Yes! Price will be increased, not y Sony but the dealers will higher there margin to compensate the loss in quantity 🙁
And to reposition pricing because it was being eroded due to previous heavy competition.
At the end it would be a good thing because on a second phase brands will increase their prices to get part of that extra customer is willing to pay.
And that extra will help brands to overcome earthquake impacts.
whew, NEX-7 is going to be wayyy out of my “amateur” budget! Looks like I’m going back to finding A33 and NEX-5 deals.
Andrea,
Thank you for the great rumor! and welcome back on duty, excellent recover :)the rumor just make me fast digest my dinner 😀
Hope Nex7 with 1300 will worth with it. Hope the street rice will be lower too.
The vote should have 2 items:
I prefer A-mount 🙂
I’m waiting for A77
But observed the sony lenses roadmap, feel that E mount have very strong push. even from many lens manufacturers.
Who cares what you prefer? This is Nex-7 thread, not a thread on your preferences.
Guys, what is your vote actually? 🙂 i voted don;t know yet…
I just wish one of these manufacturers would make a digital CLE with 3 to 4 really nice primes. Why is that so hard for them to understand? People have been screaming for a compact with built-in EVF ever since the E-P1.
Yeah .. im going to buy … either A77 or Nex-7
I just begin to like SOny.
What I think would be interesting would be if the a77 and NEX-7 were the same camera. What if Sony were to create an adapter module that could fit over an E-mount camera that included a translucent mirror assembly with phase-detect sensor (and possibly motor drive). Since the a77 is going to have an EVF anyway, it would be a single camera that would have the advantages of both systems.
Wishful thinking, I know, but I like the idea.
loving the idea! translucent mirror for fast af to shoot sports etc, and without mirror for light weight and best iq for landscapes. i really doubt this will happen though..
Glad you’re feeling better!
I’d like to hear some Sony/Zeiss rumours, even if they’re SR2!
I am working on it!!!
1300 is pretty steep…
The only way I can justify this is if the NEX7 has a built-in EVF, a swivel screen like the NEX5, 24MP, extremely good build quality, and most importantly, in body IS.
Btw, will it be offered a body only option?
Everything you just said plus full video controls would make this perfect… well, weather seal would make it perfect but let’s not get crazy here
I don’t really care for video functionalities… but yeah, wheather seal would be fantastic.
I think you should be much more realistic. This is the GH2 price point and the GH2 has a 16M Pixel sensor and relies on optical IS. I think we can pretty much assume the NEX-7 will have an EVF if it is priced at this level. So, I don’t think this is steep and frankly weather sealing would put it in a different category. It is worth remembering that even the Lieca M8 and M9 don’t offer this at over USD 7,000.
SR5 is pretty bold. I mean, a35 and NEX-c3 announcements were canceled and we’ve seen 2 mocks of the a77 with a somewhat detailed spec list. We’ve seen nothing in the way of a Nex-7 design or specs. Sorry, but I call BS on this one. I think $1300 is for the a77 with a new a-mount kit.
I’m not certain, but I think that nothing that Andrea has rated an SR5 has not happened, although a couple of them have been delayed for good reason. So this isn’t BS. Take it to the bank. The only thing that might happen is that it will be delayed–but on this one I think they’ll announce it even though it takes longer than usual to get to market.
I’m thinking $1200 to $1300 for the A77 body only; in fact I believe that has been apparent for months now. The NEX-7 is likely to be less.
Who need 24 MP on a APS sensor??? $1300. with the kit lens…WOW! What is the price of the A580 or the A55 with their kit lenses?
You could ask who needs 16mpix too. Don’t know about you, but I want 24mpix for cropping. It’s called progress.
Progress in MPX count does not mean progress in per pixel sharpness, dr, noise control.
Anyway I’m wondering why they don’t make 12-16mpx version when they developed so fast AF which would be great for sports and concerts.. where we need high iso performance. resolution almost is useless… look at D3
btw: how many ppl will be doing A2+ prints? I bet less than 10% owners
Cmn, A900 per pixel sharpness is much less than A580 and it is 12 vs 16 Mpix on APS. I agree, it is new tech, which overcome noise and sharpness problems. Think, sweet spot of Zeiss lenses is tremendous on APS. A77 will beat A900 in a minute.
yeah, super sharp corners:]
It’s very personal , I just wanted some device capable of noiseless videos and photos of gigs and venues of me and my friends where we can’t use lights and need to keep intimate atmosphere, I am afraid A77 will not be enough.
But for nature and portrait 24mpx sounds great!
Milos, I am sympathetic with your low-light-capture issues. but there NEVER will be no noise, just less. I take low-light images with my A700, and have to battle noise in the upper reaches of the camera’s ISO settings, mainly at ISO 6400. Even that may be well-controlled today using PS CS5.
However, a Sony official (not a ru,or) said in January that the priority objective for the A77 was to have extremely strong low-light noise performance, and that the camera would have-ISO settings “in the hundreds of thousands.” If he was right, the A77 & the NEX-7 will have high-ISO pergormance that is equal to or better than the best dslrs out there.
We’ll still find ways, however, to push the cameras beyond their limits, so noise issues will still be with us.
I am more interested in lowering the noise at currently available ISO levels rather than enabling ISOs in “hundreds of thousands” range. Cleaner than before ISO 1600/ 3200 will have much more direct usefulness for me then having an ISO 102400 mode which looks good in the spec sheet but hardly relevant for most practical uses. As long as the new sensor delivers that, I will be a happy person.
Guys,
Having 24MP on APS-C sensor is not only noise (and lower DR) that gets in.
As Luminous-Landscape and DXO mark proved, the smaller the photosite the bigger “tunnel” effect and this reduce shallow DOF effects – out of focus areas get more “in focus” (because photosite receives less not direct light – lower angle – what causes out of focus).
In other words it means less bokeh effects.
And of course image size. 24MP for a low light street photo is… a litle big.
And lens play an important role here. How may lens can render the 24MP? Leica? Zeiss? Voigtlander? Schneider-Kreuznach? Will everyone mount these lenses on this camera?
For some photos it is needed (a nice good light landscape pic or macro), but everyone should think how many of his/her pictures (in percentage) need 24MP.
To heavy crop it may be useful but cropped pixel detail would be lower than proper framed picture at 12MP. Maybe more practice replace heavy crop need.
It would be better a Foveon type sensor with 12MP.
I don’t know if I would buy it but I would like to play with nex-7.
BR
Would be interesting to see how the 16mm pancake performs on the 24MP APS-C sensor 🙂 Even the 18-55mm despite all positive reviews is not really a lens designed for those users who need the ultra-high resolutions like 24MP. Sony better introduce a bunch of high-quality lenses to go with such a camera. Lets keep our fingers crossed!
Well Greyhat I share your hopes but not your arguments. From what I understand the whole point of the Exmoor sensor is that the light is captured on the other side from the sensor doping and tracking so if the tunnel effect is caused by this then it should be less of a problem with the Exmoor sensors. You should read elsewhere about the limitations of Foveon sensors which I would expect to have a deeper pixel architecture to boot.
sony never hinted anything related to Nex7 (publicly) or a mock up, still very skeptic bout it.
It’s coming.
CZ 50mm 1.4 SSM please and thank you.
I agree that $1300 seems overpriced for an NEX. This sounds more like the pricing for A77 with Sony equivalent of Tamron 18-270 PZ…heheee
Update on my A580: Other than the annoying control dial erratically adjusting during use, the photos are amazing. I will try and send it into Sony for adjustment/cleaning.
Why? Maybe Nex-7 would have incredible video capability tooand would be a replacement for VG10 along with build quality and IQ (probably better than A77 due to no light lost).
My A580 does that too, it’s quite annoying. It also seems to have a backfocus problem. I’m thinking of sending it in for repair…
+1 😉
Just stick the A900 imaging in the body of that Zeiss Ikon ZM. Even if the camera cost as much as the A900 and the Zeiss Ikon ZM put together it would still be half the cost of an M9.
Monster, erratic dials have been an issue with my A100, A700 and A900. Just give a burst of air with a rocket blower (and maybe take out the battery,) and it should be ok for a bit. You could also try electrical contact cleaner at your own risk. This is a Sony flaw that will probably reoccur even if you send the camera in.
This image is actually fake, designed by some Chinese!
I don’t think that Andrea said it was real.
Nice, now waiting for information about A77. Very very..
Andrea, do you know anything yet about the price of the A77? It would be strange to have a camera like the nex-7 priced at 1300$ and something more enthusiastic for a lower price.
It should be around $1300. But I will know the exact price soon!
Sounds like it is priced to compete against the Fuji X100.
They would be aimed at a similar level of photographers, not beginners.
Wasn’t the A77 supposed be priced like 60D as per the original rumor?
I believe that the 60D was $1200 when it was released,
And on this one you can mount Leica glass. That’s why price makes sense: it would be poor mans Leica.
Only APS crop factor would prevent it to be M9 cheaper alternative.
But M8 is dead after this one.
i’m waiting for e-mount lenses like the cz 24 mm and dreaming before 2nd half of this year …
My biggest hope is that it has a body like the Canon G10, or Leica M9, Or the Nokton Rangefinder, I really like the Nex-5 but a rangefinder-esque body really suits my shooting preference. Last I really hope it has the EVF of the A55 at least, I hate staring at a on body screen in MF and trying to get the shot.
$1300 is rather steep but honestly it was expected that the new model would be significantly more expensive. Sony has mostly maintained this strategy where they have two distinct target groups. They attract the entry-level users through low prices, but for the more advanced users they tend to produce expensive products with the belief that those users will be willing to pay the premium. This can be seen in the DSLR lenses where they mostly produce either pretty cheap lenses or the really expensive Zeiss ones with not much in between. Similarly with the DSLRs for a long while they either had the really cheap A200 type cameras or the flagship A700 with nothing in between until they finally realized the need for the middle A5xx category. Looks like they are doing the same with the NEX line now.
Bought a NEX-5 body yesterday. :))
This is about [sony] Nex7 versus X100 [fuji]. Price wise sony is 300 more expensive. But gives you interchangeable lens body camera, High FPS, High video capability, HighAF speed, High MP, Compact, HighIQ & HIgh Performance.
In reality, sony might potentially to delete and cancelled all announcement on June/July in last minute. We have experienced it on APR 😀
X100 is not really a direct competitor for the mirror-less cameras. It is a niche camera and its price reflects the fact that it is a relatively low-volume specialized camera. Also X100 price includes its excellent lens. Add the cost of a similar lens to this NEX (if Sony ever releases such a lens) and the cost different would be significantly more.
i wouldn’t really call that lens “excellent”…
Well excellent or not, a reasonably good quality 24mm f2 lens from sony is likely to cost quite a lot considering the price of the rather average 16mm 2.8 lens. So that price has to be factored in when comparing with the X100. But in any case X100 is not a camera which most people in the mainstream would buy so its not really a direct competitor for NEX
And btw NEX plus the X100-equivalent lens are likely to be less compact than the X100.
DSLR Global Marketshare 2010
1.Canon 44.5%
2.Nikon 29.8%
3.Sony 11.9 %
*Sony need more effort to kick Canon & Nikon
But in FY 2011, ending March 31, Sony was at 15%.
Admin,
would you like to recap the main information known as SR4 or SR5 for the NEX7 please.
I am aware of 24 MP. What else ?
Many thanks
C
Hi Captain! Yes I wil do that soon!
I’m holding off on getting a mirrorless camera, hoping that someone will make a full frame one that can fit in a pocket. That’ll make for the perfect take-anywhere street shooter.
I finally found a question which is also an answer:
Why should sony aim for SEMIPRO and PRO when there are so many RICH consumers 🙂
The major pool always is the entry and mid level. Is the same question, why those pro not go buy medium format and keep seek for new FF 😀
Because medium format camera and back manufacturers keep selling stratospherically priced five-year-old technology.
If there was a 54x40mm sensored digital back with the same per-pixel resolution, high ISO and dynamic range as the A580/K-5/D7000 do, and a matching body with AF speed and frames per second matching the best high-speed DSLRs, and they priced it realistically, demanding pros would be falling over themselves to get one.
Honestly, I think the estimated price is a little low, if the spec is true. I’d expect it closer to $1999, although I’m unsure if they’ll get many consumer purchases.. probably more enthusiasts.
I’d still go for it.. My conditions are that the noise must be equal to or better than the A700/A900 which I feel are good. With 24MP and decent noise control. NEX Video caperbility, I see little reason why this camera wont become a cult classic (regardless of price).
YES. For a middle-to-high end body, it wouldn’t be wrong to expect to pay more. 1300 actually is less than the price I expect for most flagship APS-C bodies, certainly less than I paid for my Pentax K-5, and I imagine the Canon 7D wasn’t much cheaper. I’m not going to endorse it cost more either, but if you expect less then I’m going to start wondering if they cut corners or if the other companies are making more money from their models than suggested.
And yes, I wouldn’t mind the 24mp, and even if the tunnel effect mentioned above comes around, that actually would mean these newer Sony models would make excellent landscape cameras as a potential “poor man’s” medium format.
I know this is wishful thinking, but I would really really love it if instead of a single 24MP sensor we have a 3x8MP 3-CMOS configuration. Such a configuration is probably not going to fit in a NEX-style compact body and the cost is going to be high as well but I just like the many advantages that will come with it: High detail without the need for ultra-high resolution, less stress on the lenses, great high-iso performance as we use all the light instead of throwing away 2/3rds of it
I don’t know what the fuss always is about “superior build quality”.
It’s not like the Nex-5, or even Nex-3, lacks some build quality so that it will break if you hold it too hard or if you drop it. The Nex-5 could have been made with titanium carbide and it would still break if you dropped it hard enough, either the LCD or LCD hinge would break, or some internals would break from shock.
To me, the important thing is to have weather sealing. Without weather sealing, it cannot be “superior build quality”.
I’m interested in Nex-7 also. But I more concern is whether this coming Nex-7 will featured the build-in flash or not as the Nex5 with external flash is troublesome…LOL
Progress in MPX count does not mean progress in per pixel sharpness, dr, noise control.
Anyway
I’m wondering why they don’t make 12-16mpx version when they developed
so fast AF which would be great for sports and concerts.. where we need
high iso performance. resolution almost is useless… look at D3
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