So far we know for sure that the new A99 has a 24 Megapixel sensor and amazing 102 AF point. We also posted some more specs that we got from an early A99 prototype. Today I am going to post some specs from the final Sony approved A99 SLT camera. We got a user report I have rewritten in my own (poor) English words to hide the language style (enjoy typos and grammar errors!). Here it is:
“The final production A99 doesn’t have a built-in flash lamp (Editors note: some prototypes with built-in flash were tested). There is a new hot shoe for accys so a special link is delivered with this camera. The Autofocus is really fast. The A99 (with non final firmware) has an ISO range of 50-25600 (Editors note: Final firmware will probably have a +2 stop push in High ISO). Camera is bit lighter than the [shoplink 3032 ebay]A900 (973 g with battery)[/shoplink]. The A99 weights 827g with battery. The Battery is the [shoplink 12939 ebay]NP FM500H[/shoplink]. The camera has no CF slot! It comes with two slots for SD/MS and [shoplink 12940 ebay]SD cards[/shoplink]!
I Thank the Source for sending me this. May he can also share some general impression over the camera like image quality and camera response? No need to unveil detailed specs but we would like to know if Sony made a “mature” product like we hope it will be.
From the rumors we got until know I suppose this camera is optimized for speed, clean ISO and super video recording. And in these aspects it should beat the Canon 5DmarkIII (here are the specs) and the Nikon D800 (here are the specs)!
Reminder: Sony will announce a lot of new stuff in exactly one month. Be sure to bookmark SAR and follow us on Facebook (Click here). Do not miss any of the coming rumors! There will be some surprise 😉
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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!
175 Responses
sounds promising 🙂
2 crappy SD slots is not better than 1 super fast XQD slot!!!
+1
Sony seriously needs to be SHOT in the head!
How many times can they shoot themselves in the foot?
Twice per employee, so about 325,400 times.
sounds like my 2nd FF body
What’s your first?
in other words we know almost nothing new and nothing about IQ quality and ISO performance…..
one more thing…..”There is a new hot shoe for accys so a special link is delivered with this camera” – what accessories need an adapter I don’t get it…. some mic maybe?
accessories
I guess there could be things like a GPS unit, or a microphone or a wireless flash trigger unit or a video monitor or a wireless remote control or WiFi unit that could fit in there. Or all of the above if they could link them all via extender plug-in units. The possibilities are endless.
one sucky thing about the sony hotshoe is it is so FLIMSY. it is plastic and easy to break off, whereas the canon nikon and all other brand hotshoe is metal based. the sony show with a large speedlite attached is not secured, it wobbles on top of the camera, any sony model.
Makes more sense to have a new shoe and bring out an adapter for legacy instrumentation….
But then again… This is SONY we are talking about…
They set the standards to Royally F-ing things up!
I agree with you. It is time to change the hot shoe to something more common and just include an adapter for those that have old flashes.
Sony hotshoe is so much better than what canikon use.
No need to rotate a dial to lock/unlock.
Having a plastic hotshoe is better than metal bc when you drop your camera with a flash attached it will break and make less damage to the camera.
I hope Sony won’t change it, dont want to go back to 1913.
It’s propably a cold shoe.
I wonder why sony isn’t allowing the use of XQD cards. If the Camera has a high burst rate it would be really useful. Or the camera will have a really big buffer.
This was the first thing I wondered as well….
Seems like the opportunity to introduce XQD-cardslots on Sony-cameras?
My thoughts exactly
I totally agree. Why develop and introduce new writing media and not have it in your own flagship models? Maybe these specs aren’t complete. Possibly there may be other bodies being tested and these are specs from one of them. If Sony can beat Canikon in the high ISO war with the translucent mirror in place, imagine what a camera with an OVF may have been able to do. I always thought once the A77 was released that Sony would be tweaking and perfecting the Exmor R style of sensor for full frame and Aps-c application. In theory if they could have gotten that done then the loss of light may have been negligible as far as final image capture.
I’m pretty sure they’ll put in a XQD slot or two. They probably omitted these for the testing phase.
Probably deliberately omitted by Andrea. “SD/MS and SD cards” seems strange, “SD/MS and XQD” fits better. But who knows. It’s Sony afterall.
Do not forget… This is SONY we are talking about…
The company that sells their newer sensors to the competitors…
hmm, no CF could be an issue for some people. Fast SD cards, like the recently announced ones by Sony are too expensive, and I bet Sony will recommend them…
As a camera sales-dude I really wish people would understand just one more thing: there’s no such thing as good cheap memory for your camera. You’ll see a 16gb SDHC C10/UHS-1 card for $20 and you’ll see one for $70… there’s a huge difference in reliability, construction, and speed. Why people buy crap memory for their expensive cameras, I’ll never understand. Sandisk ain’t what they used to be: they’re our new brand of Kleenex. I wouldn’t touch PNY with YOUR camera… Transcend? Kingston? No and no. Hoodman, yes. Promaster AWXC, yes (the new red box variety, the older blue box versions were terrible, particularly in Canon), maybe Delkin Pro. If you’re dropping serious cash on your camera, don’t skimp on the components.
This is, to me, the same as those who buy a Zeiss/L/N level lens and put a piece of shit UV filter on the front because they want “cheap protection.” We fix more bad images weekly just by swapping out crap filters with good ones. If you must put a UV on there (and with some cameras in particular you really should cough*D800E*cough), make sure it’s one that helps, not hinders… and this takes good glass to do so. This rule only gets to be more important with Polarizers and ND filters, particularly Variable ND.
Sorry for the rant but good cards are worth it. Remember when 256mb cards sold for $800? Yeah, we should stop complaining.
Thank you for the candid and funny comment.
I will ask, what is better about the Hoodman/Promaster cards versus say a SanDisk ExtremePro 95MB/s SD card? I don’t see a hoodman card that does more than 30MB/s and the UltraMax doesn’t specify the speed. They are probably built better, I give you that, but my A77 isn’t built flimsy and the card lives in that body.
I’ve seen a marked difference between a ExtremePro and a regular ~25MB/s class 10 card when I am running in continuous burst or 12 FPS mode on my A77, especially when it comes to clearing the buffer. Is it really worth the build quality to lose the speed?
I definitely agree about the filter and I admit I am a convert. I used to be the guy who denounced filters on my Zeiss 85mm f/1.4. I used my hood for protection. Then I got a nice B+W with the Nano coating. One time in the rain and the filter pays for itself. My blower removed 100% of the droplets with no residue. The front of the filter is always clean with a blower and the lens stays clean.
so we should follow salesman’s advice…hmmm…
Yes. You should. If he or she is a good salesperson, they really are interested in helping you. I sell well because I’m an educator first and because 15 years of shooting ALL brands and playing with as many toys as I can get my hands on (admittedly the best part of my job) has given me hands on information and experience no website could match. Take that as you like it but all I’m trying to say is that a real salesperson knows that sales will happen eventually. In the meantime it’s simply a matter of human respect. I’d prefer talking to someone who knows their shit AND cares about my success as a photographer… I’m sure you would, as well.
Don’t buy Sandisk? You are talking absolute rubbish. Do you REALLY want to know the difference? The label. There are very few production facilities churning out memory.
Lol I have a crap card in my nex 7 shooting raw and video and its just as good as Anything else I have tried over the past decade. As long as the cards are the right class and aren’t flawed (never had a bad SD or CF). But you are right about filters.
An even number of AF points? Unlikely. Maybe they bought Nikon’s 51 point module and count cross-sensors as two.
Maybe the AF point coverage just isn’t equal in all directions. Or maybe, some of those points are “invisible” assist points hidden throughout the frame (and not evenly distributed).
I don’t think they’ll try to count a single cross point as two points – no manufacturer I know of has done that, and such labeling could be seen as deceptive.
More likely that the centre is a double cross-point, as with A900
That’s what has occurred to me as well.
The A900 has nine AF points, one of which (centre) is a double-cross. They don’t advertise it as having 10 AF points.
The layout of the AF points on the A99 may, of course, be different from all other layouts, but in general, all layouts have a centre AF point – and an even number of additional points around it.
yeah…this was already discussed in an earlier rumor thread…the gist is that 6 rows of 17 gives you 102AF points. whether that’s configuration or not remains to be seen and an even number of points isn’t an impossibility.
With six rows of 17 points, which is at the centre?
What, no XQD??? Weird…
Or made a bigger one around the original to support it.
That means the the development of this camera had already began long before the proposal of XQD.
A99 without XQD? Sounds kind of unbelievable …
SONY
MAKE.BELIEVE
Hehehehe… I should have figured it out sooner.
No XDR? No CF? Sony as usual, as always …. 🙁
No really important new information, IMHO.
I agree that the choice of memory seems strange.
no cf could be a deal breaker… wot sony thinking??
That Sony-branded SD cards have more margin?
Guess you are mixing XQD with SD.
They make SD as well, I believe.
I’d love to know more about the video quality. Will it give a clean, uncompressed output via HDMI so that an external recorder like an Atomos Ninja 2 can be used? The Nikon D800 and D4 do this but the Canon’s don’t.
It would be amazing if the A99 does but I fear that they’ll hobble this feature to protect the FS100 and FS700.
Dream on Ross. I would not lose any sleep on that feature for the a99. Ain’t going to happen!
Nikon put clean HDMI out on their bodies, because they do not have any video camera to sell.
Canon and Sony on the other hand….
Well, I hope they do have clean HDMI out. Otherwise, my next camera will be a Nikon D800, and I will sell most of my Minolta/Sony glass. (I’ll keep some as I do have a Nex)
Come on I want to buy it!!! 😀
it’s a NO NO for me. Sorry not interested.
I will wait for the authoritative reviews before passing judgement, but it’s not looking promising for us pro users.
That’s funny. I’m a “pro user” and I cannot wait to get my hands on this camera.
For interiors, the EVF, electronic levels and tilt-screen are going to be a godsend, same for low light concert work. 101 cross point, fast AF – yes please!
If executed properly, the A99 represents a real technical evolution in FF bodies. I’m super excited for the potential, hopeful that Sony gets it right in reality.
Same here, Pro user as well.
This camera will be as good as it can get, especially for the price.
May keep the a900 I have, but not so sure.
Let’s hope they will put tethered shooting on this one and do not make the joke of the a77,a65 bodies which they do not have that feature.
It is a must have for many Pros users.
So Doug, until you do not hear anything from me, you cannot buy it.
I’m an authority on the matter.
Doug, seeing as you are the spokesman for all pro users, perhaps you can elaborate on the reasons why it doesn’t look promising.
He won’t have a clue…
Looks who’s talking. If the inclusion of an image-degrading translucent mirror isn’t a dealbreaker for you, the lack of a CF or XQD slot should be. SD cards are fine, as long as they work. But they’re consumer technology and don’t stand up to hard use. If you were an actual pro, instead of pretending to be one, you’d know that. But you probably think that fast autofocus is the only thing a camera needs in order to be “pro” and are willing to forgive all the obvious shortcomings of this thing. I don’t and I’m not.
CF is on its way out and has gone about as far as it can in terms of technology advancement. A few years from now you will no longer find them in advanced cameras.
mmmm , , , Sounds like you’re passing judgment like you said you wouldn’t!
sound like…..no $ buy,hahaha !!!!
Why nobody here says nothing about the missing built in flashlight??
This could be a big advantage over canon!! Nikon D800 have one. Very disappointing for me !!
What are you going to do with a 6 feet flash? you spend 2000 dollars on a ff camera and don’t have an external flash?
You really don’t know what you’d do with a BIF?
Fill-in?
Remote?
Those moments when you didn’t anticipate needing flash and don’t have one with you or don’t have time to fit one before the moment’s gone?
Man, I just don’t get the anti-BIF brigade. It’s borderline equipment snobbery.
It compromises the weather seal. But I do agree as I use a to put a little sb23 on my f5 at all times. I use the little baby flash on the nex 7 a lot of fill. Set it to -2 or -3 and it can be use full. As a trigger though that seems questionable. Radio is the only way to go for multi flash syncs.
Of course the flip-side is that you’ve spent 2000 USD on camera that DOESN’T have a BIF…I’d rather have it than not have it.
A real question is: why 2700 USD camera can be released without flash ?!
A built in flash could be used to trigger slave flashes. That’s one advantage the D700 had over rivals – you didn’t have to buy an extra flash for wireless flash control from the camera.
…indeed, some A900 owners have commentated on the lack of flash and how useful it would have had one on occasion.
I agree: very disappointing. Maybe even a no buy bcs of that.
They did not put CF cards on it, so you can bundle the ones you have, when you will ebay the old camera.
You get rid of the old stuff, clean up the wallet and move on. 😉
All I am interested is the ISO performance … since it’s a FF I expect the noise to be decreased enourmously (compared to the A77) or I’ll have to leave Sony! That’s the dealbreaker for me.
+1
+2
High ISO Performance +1
Low Light AF ability +1
Wide Dynamic Range +1
The responses I read suggest that people think a FF is a FF is a FF. What’s really new here? Not much on paper.
But! Looking at the other rumours it looks like Sony is going to release the ideal photojournalist camera. If they have properly cracked the problem of taking a full-resoulution (or at least a decent crop) still shot, while shooting 60p, without any interruption, then there’s a lot of pros out there who’d want that.
For those guys, HDMI streaming is much less important. The A99 may not be aimed at film makers. Sony can leave HDMI output as a pro feature for their FS cameras while still delivering a FF SLT that gets snapped up by a different set of pros.
IMHO this makes a lot of sense. Sony are thinking one move ahead here. It might not be obvious today why the A99 is aimed at journo pros rather than film maker pros. But it will be obvious with the next round of mid-range video cams coming from Sony and Canon.
The last set of FF DSLRs have proven you can have great quality video at a reasonable price. So next, all the vendors are going to start offering ‘proper’ video bodies (more like RED) at a sensible price. Think high-end NEX-VG and entry-level FS/FX cams. I’m sure film makers would rather have a small video camera body with decent ergonomics, mount points, LCD etc rather than rigging up a DSLR body.
That leaves video-in-DSLR-bodies for pros who need a carry-around-your-kneck body, i.e. journos.
No built in flash? That´s very sad for me. That means I still have to carry my big flash with me all the time. Please make it built in!
admin, do we know if body size is more like 5D or D800?
Just a tiny bit bigger than the A77!
Sure that it has dual SD card slots? Ore just dual card slots with XDQ.
I hope the source is reading your comments! I have no way to contact him…
When you say change the hotshoe design, does that mean change it physically, electronically, or both? Does that mean that current flash units won’t work with the new camera? Seems silly if that’s the case.
Noone said anything about change of hotshoe. What likely will happen is adding second, coldshoe so that you wouldn’t need to use bracket accessory with coldshoe for external mic or light. At least: I hope it’s what will happen. Sony called their cold shoes an “accessory shoe” making bit more possible.
Or they added an extra electrical connection to allow hotshoe mounted microphones to be used without additional cabling.
This would be a great solution too. As I wrote in other comment yesterday – they could also make new flash that would allow radio triggering with flashes power ratio control from camera body instead of HVL-50AM using a new pin in current hotshoe. I’d certainly make many ppl happy, not only studio shooters.
Any news on tethering?
I never use built-in flash, and cameras with it are not really pro cameras.
Dual card slot is very very important. I would prefer xqd but I have many sd cards but the important thing is to have the best technology, not necessarily the latest.
I am a pro and I use Sony for my jobs.
973g with battery? Does that not defeat the purpose of getting rid of the heavy pentaprism?
While I have no doubt the A99 will perform superbly, Sony needs to pay more attention to their lens line-up if they intend to entice more pros to join their camp. They are very poor in this department compared to Nikon and Canon.
It is missing on the specs, but the weight include the kit lens. 300mm f2.8.
I think less than a Kg for all this combo is a great acheivment.
Bravo Sony!
What kit lens? What combo? What has the 300mm f2.8 got to do with it? You won’t be able to attach that to an A99 and be less than a Kg!
Dumb, isn’t it?
973g was the weight of the a900. The author said it was less than that at 827g
Kool!
I have an A900 today and an A700 due for repair. Depending on the repair cost, I might repair the A700 and get a used A99 when it’s within my price range or not repair the A700 and get an A77 instead.
I don’t care about the high-ISO as I’m selling photos, not 100% crops.
However, I’d like to have all the dynamic range I could get (No Canon for me). I believe AF speed & accuracy is an important factor as well.
I’m not a pro so it sounds pretty good to me. Still, I’m more interested in the ‘new’ CZ glass which is due out that I can use on my A900. I’ll let the early adopters’ and Sony to work out the bugs.
I, for one will comfortably be one of the testers. I’m formulating my apology to my wife well in advance, and I am looking for crap to sell in my office in interim.
I’d welcome any new glass you don’t have to take out a car loan to buy. I’m very comfortable with the $1500-$1600 price point the 85mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/1.8 used to be at and I’d be OK with a little more if the quality was better if that is even possible. I’m not interested in anything five digits in US dollars. I’d probably pay $2000-2500 for a new 85mm f/1.4 Z with SSM or a 85mm f/1.2. I will not pay what I imagine an updated 300mm f/2.8 would be.
Maybe I’ll feel different if I have to drop $2600 on a new body though. Maybe my 85mm f/1.4 Z is good enough for now.
You and me both!
A great CZ 50mm f1.4 (or f1.2) would be great.
I’ve never shot Full Frame and I shoot my 85mm f/1.4 on my A77 95% of the time. I’d almost need to go with the 135mm f/1.8 just to keep a similar frame. Either that or I need to get used to how wide 85mm is. I’d freak out at how wide 50mm really is. I don’t even want to think about something like a 24mm yet.
Whatever. I’m ready to throw money when Sony is ready to catch it. I hope they hurry the hell up.
I hope they will have a build in flash. In some situations the build in flash is very nice do have.
The two card slots i like. Hope the final version will have it!
CF/SD/XQD Performance Database:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007
everything sounds promising!! but that’s it, just promising. waiting for the final release of this camera and new stuff (hope we see a bunch of new lenses and accesories)
the interesting thing is…did the source forget about XQD card or really there’s no support for the newly introduced card format?
If card slots are as the ones in the a900, is all useless…
Never thought the day would come where my CF cards make an exit before the MSs… otherwise, yes, massively irritating to have dual slots and not be able to do anything other than manually switch between them *what were they thinking?*
Seeing as Andrea can’t make contact directly, I wonder if the source can comment on the DT crop mode on the A99 – specifically whether it uses the whole EVF/live view screen.
If the A99 upscales the cropped image to fill the full EVF, that would be a major advantage over competitors’ crop modes on their OVF cameras.
No built in flash, and then turn around and change the hot shoe design. Sounds like Sony plans to trap everyone into having to buy and use new design external flashes.
And probably no macro ringflash or twin macro flash in the new flashes either. And the older ones won’t work with that new hot shoe without some kind of awkward “adapter”
Don’t want tiny, easy to loose SD cards either. CF much easier to keep track of. SD cards cater to the beginner/P&S crowd, not the pros. What’s next, micro SD to cater to cell phone users?
Damit Walter!
I hate when someone brings up the reality of it all. Granted, if I had to do it over again I would have gone with Nikon and still may, unless this thing’ does something special that I can’t do now.
What stupid snobbish rubbish. I very much doubt professionals care which what cards they use, so long as they are fast and reliable. I always disliked CF cards because of all those silly bendable pins. CF cards may well be marginally quicker than SD, but they sure take longer to put in the camera because of the pins.
Twin SDCF would be fine, double CF, no thanks.
WaltKnapp is known to post stupid comments. He is amateur after all, not a pro. SD is superior than CF, but it is indeed strange that Sony didn’t make one of the slot to be XQD.
Nice remark (oh: I better explain to pro’s : this was meant as cynical). Pls prove the “Is known ..”.
If they can make the slot on the NEX-7 compatible with both SD and MS, then they can do the same on the A99. And if there’s room for a CF slot on the A900, then there’s probably room on the A99 for an XQD slot as well. That would give users a choice of three formats … so why complain?
P.S.: Remember this is a rumour site – so not everything you hear is necessarily true.
I’ve never once bent a pin and I’ve used my D200 daily since early 2007. I never keep my cards in cases. I throw them around. Cheap card readers may bend pins, but not proper ones. This talk of bent pins is either theoretical or down to poor hardware.
That said, whatever can be done to downsize a camera body while maintaining good viewfinder, I’m game. If ever a digital camera’s viewfinder can rival that of my Nikon FE, I’m game.
I lost an A100, albeit used A100, but A100 nonetheless due to bent pins. At the end of the day it was more cost effective to me to part it out than it was to fix it.
Walt, at no point has anybody said that A99 users would have to buy new flashes. Stop spreading FUD.
And stop with that condescending crap about SD cards and P&S. Technology moves on, unlike some of those who are stuck-in-the-past. You aren’t a pro either, so why should it bother you anyway?
Yep, well said. Noone said that A99 doesn’t have Minolta hotshoe. Read carefully.
I’ve owned 3 different Sony bodies A100, A390, A77 and I’ve never used the in-body flash, I just verified in EXIF on over 60,000 shots. I’ve either used el-cheapo F20AM or my bad ass Minolta 3600 HS I got used but in Mint condition for $50. After using the 3600, I’ve conceded I can only move up, no sense in downgrading. If not having an integrated flash keeps the price point 10 bucks lower, go right ahead. Just make sure I get one of those little slide things to protect the shoe.
I agree with you about the CF cards Walter. Not because they’re better. But my fat loppy fingers can’t get the knack for handling the tiny SD’s. I hate em. I hate em almost as much as I hate my clumsy fumbling digits.
i’m sure Sony now will be very concerned about CF handling….
Yes your confidence is reassuring lollo. Yet I fear their concern will come in the form of a disclaimer to “fat finger togs”.
Oh! Maybe they’ll put a skinny finger fix on the first firmware update! There’s hope!
There are a lot of wildly exaggerated negative assumptions in this statement, Walt.
with no XQD makes me think either this is not the final prototype or it will be implement into the 36mpix FF camera for next year?
All i am hoping is that from video part, full manual control can be use with continuous AF, i believe the A77 can only do manual control when not using AF, if using AF, the aperture is stuck at the widest aperture?
i want some video control flexibility like the 5n.
827g is light and good!
BUT WHY NOT XQD? It’s real NONSENSE.
and I hope Sony sell it from 1999USD.
2499 is too expensive for this rumored spec.
D600 market?
No. D600 will be Nikon’s A850: a good cheap fullframe camera. It will certainly not be competition for the A99, which will destroy the D600 in total speed and capability.
I do like how other rumor sites keep calling the D600 the first budget value FF DSLR. So, so misleading and uninformed …
That seems to be conventional wisdom here (that the a99 will outdo the D600 in terms of speed and capability). It will almost certainly do so with headline specs, but IMO, failing to see the D600 as a significant competitor isn’t a good idea.
The D600 will likely have longer battery life, better responsiveness with an optical viewfinder, slightly better image quality, and a very comprehensive feature set (Nikon doesn’t cut out firmware features like Sony). At the same time, the D600 will still retain very good build quality, have a pretty decent framerate, and a very good autofocus system.
Outside of max fps (usability potentially hindered by the EVF and no manual exposure) and better video capability, it looks like the new D600 is capable of doing pretty much everything the a99 can. If Nikon offers it for a lower price, it could end up being far more popular.
Good to get this update. Thanks SAR!
Though I wish it had a flash, and tethering, and CF, and full sync electronic shutter, and manual audio, and video remote… I’ll just be happy if it has that lovely little “baby butt” curve on the bottom of the hand grip (like the a900). Can’t get the “baby butt” on anything else.
If it doesn’t support the XQD format, I’d be very surprised if the FF camera that supposedly will be announced in spring, doesn’t have it. More MP, more card speed required to make high FPS (one of the key SLT strengths) usable, probably a higher price for the body. Don’t forget that the XQD cards are still considered top end, even the D800 doesn’t support it. And the price of the cards is still a bit steep to underline that.
So Disappointing to see these tidbits:
1. No on-board flash means no way to trigger off camera flash without buying another expensive flash just to dedicate to this function. I don’t get it. Even the Nikon D700/D800 have flashes and so did the Pro Maxxum 9. And with the prism gone, there should be much more space to put in a flash. But yet there is none. What is up with this? And the excuse of “new flash hotshoe connector” is just an excuse because even with internal pop-up flash, the hotshoe is still present on camera models like the D700/D800 and Maxxum 9.
2. SD/MS cards? Come on! Who even uses MS cards. I have them and they suck as I can’t get anything to read the small cards. My laptops will not read them and the small cards will get stuck in the card reader without the big MS card adapter. Same thing with my older SONY TV. Even my four year old A700 had dual MS/CF card inputs. So what is new here? Why doesn’t SONY’s own flagship support its new XQD memory format? This is very strange. SONY convinced Nikon to put in XQD card reader into its Nikon D4 Camera but couldn’t convince itself to do the same for its own flagship and choose instead to use the most consumer rated MS and SD cards?
3. Weight! The weight savings are nothing to write home about. Saving 70-80 grams is not enough when the camera lacks the heavy swinging mirrors and optical prisms. Look at the weight of the NEX-7 with most of the features of the A77 and the same 24mpx resolution of the A99. If you can miniaturize all that to tiny NEX-7 proportions I don’t see why they couldn’t make the A99 weight just slightly more than A77.
I just hope that the A99 that is being described is short of the flagship and will be priced very competitively with the new upcoming affordable full frames from Nikon and Canon. $2,000 tops.
Who would have thought, Photonut being disappointed. It would be news if it wasn’t the case. 😀
I’m almost as shocked as you are. Especially after reading the last paragraph and overall approach “rumor==fact what future camera will have”.
I’d prefer weather-seal to pop-up flash.
Using internal flash to trigger remote flashes are not reliable, I’d hope Sony can fit a Phottix ODIN type controller into the verticle grip and use 2.4G wireless instead.
iISO hotshoe is ok, I can unmount it with just one hand. I just wish there is another one on the handgrip. The swinging head of F58 works, but it would even be better if I can mount the flash on the grip when shoot vertically.
Flash sync speed needs to be improved, push it up to over 1/1600s to beat the Phase One LS Schneider lenses).
Dual MS/SD + SD slot is fine but also give me USB3 and WiFi (802.11n or above) tethering with iPAD, C1Pro and LR4 on Mac and PC please!
Clean high ISO is one of the most important thing, if it can produce IQ similar to D3s at ISO 6400, I’ll get one right away!
Cosidering the weight – it’s almost certainly weather sealed 🙂
Why they did not put a slot to fit a roll of film?
Damn it! I have a fridge full of Kodak Portra, that i could not use in the A900.
Is Sony listening their customers?
Now that’s a feature I would use. Sony; make it so.
Overall I am still looking forward to the A99.
I certainly hope the AF is as good as it sounds. This will be great for low-light event shooting, well ,anything really.
No built-in flash- this doesn’t personally bug me. The built in flash is a weak point for weather sealed bodies, it is why it is always omitted on the D4 and 1D series bodies. As for using it to trigger off-camera flashes, sure you can do that- but its a bitch out in bright sunlight. Your flashes need line of sight for this to work- bottomline, there will always be situations where radio triggers will be needed, or simply make more sense- so what’s all the fuss? I have also never been in a situation where I’ve wished I’ve had one. I’ve had enough foresight to always have a speedlight, or I’m shooting with ambient light. As for casual use, I think I will probably not use a $2700 FF for that, and stick with a cheap p&s anyway. Just me.
Why did Sony omit XQD? That indeed seems stupid to me. I almost don’t believe it- and hope that it is wrong. I am not as familiar with SD as I am with CF, but I sure hope they are quick enough to process 12fps 24mp raws and 60fps 1080p video for longer than 1 second. I also hope the dual card slots are optimized, and not like on the a900 (one or the other, can’t use both simultaneously- whats the damn point)- would love to be able to use both to maximize buffer or record jpegs to one and raws to the other for instant image delivery to clients.
No information on upgraded viewfinder? I am satisfied with the finder on the A77 but I was still looking forwarded to a massive improvement, something to really sell me over the a900 ovf. I do appreciate the advantages of the EVF for professional work however and am looking forward to it.
I hope it has a tilting LCD and steadyshot icon in the VF. Anything lighter than the A900 is great news- that mother is heavy, particularly with BG, 24-70 and Speedlight.
I hope the hotshoe is metal- the A900 plastic hotshoe is weak, and I’m having mine sent in for repair (intermittent flash connection and yes I tried cleaning the contacts)- I’d like that whole assembly to be beefed up, and in my opinion another potential reason why omitting a built in flash is not a bad idea.
I’m satisfied with the noise performance of the A900 so I’m sure I will be very happy with the extended range and performance of the A99.
Just bring it out already.
I see the same trend from A700 to A77. Not raising the bar that high. We should keep our expectation low. I really hope its a new sensor and not a modified A900 sensor in a SLT body.
I was willing to invest $300 or more into XQD system. I have lots of Lexar 600X SD cards, But if Sony doesn’t want my money, oh well.
Funny, Sony needs extra cash, esp after the last couple quarter reports.
Wifi support would be nice. I hope they don’t leave this out.
Important, what will the picture quality on SLT FF sensor?? Low-iso? AF speed in low light? The amount of noise in the RAW vs. JPG? Correction AF or lenses setup? …
These are things I’m interested …..
CF or SD card does not bother me, no internal flash – I do not need money but I want good picture quality!
Firmware is not ready ….. Probably it will be hot again with software FW. I hope that Sony will get the maximum potential of the sensor as Nikon can.
I will say this. I am not a pro. I make good money doing something else and I travel a lot and this is my hobby. I have made a little pocket money here and there with photography but we’re talking gas money. I’ve also had work published in a coffee table book sold for charity. I am not a pro, not do I claim to be one. I am more of a scientist. I try stuff out in my spare time. Sometimes it works, sometimes I get approached to sell my shots, sometimes people ask me to shoot their wedding and usually I’ll decline and refer a real pro and one time they insisted and I screwed it up in my mind but still charged them what a pro would because I didn’t want to feel like I undercut a real pro. They were happy, at least they acted like they were. I was not. I insisted they take their money back, at least the difference in gas. They donated it to charity.
As a person who makes good money and this is my hobby, maybe something more when I retire which could be in 20-30 years at this rate, I am definitely more interested in this body than I would be in Nikon in the D800 or Canon in the 5D3. And it is not because of the investment I’ve already made, either. Let’s face it, I could sell my A77, my 85mm and other APS-C lenses and buy a D800 and an OK lens and start over with Nikon. I could even get a D600 and be cost-negligible.
The A77 does *almost* everything I want it to do on it’s own. It is blazing fast, it is as good as anything in daylight. It does long exposure shots better than any body I’ve owned. It is 100% usable in full resolution to ISO 400 and croppable to ISO 1600 with some post-processing. I’ve used the video 2-3 times, and both times the results were amazing. If I had a microphone, I would say it was near perfect for what I needed it for. And I wouldn’t trade focus peaking for an OVF. Ever. The A77 EVF is great 90-95% of the time and I am OK with the other 5-10%.
That being said, I am not a pro. I don’t rely on my camera for income. I currently bill by the hour. For me, time is money. If I spent too much time in Lightroom, CS4, Aperture, or whatever I would be upset I wasn’t shooting. Lightroom is therapy to me. It’s what I use to relax. That and dark beer or maybe a good liquor.
I am a highly technical person and the rumored specs of this FF camera are a dream come true and fulfill any remaining things I would want above and beyond the A77. Do I think I could shoot professionally with it? Remains to be seen. Could I shoot professionally with the A77? Maybe, but not comfortably knowing I was always on the clock. I’d have to spend a lot of time making sure I shot only on sunny days or I’d need to make sure I allocated enough time to post-process shots and just overshoot to make sure I get the ones I want.
I will be selling my A77 and APS-C lenses to recover costs for this body. I’ll put my 85mm 1.4 Z on it day one and I won’t look back. I could see how a pro may or may not want this, but I’m not a pro. Sony will get my money at the end of the day. Not Canon, not Nikon.
I have a feeling there’s more of me out there than there are so-called pro’s who don’t want this body because of some naggy feature. Regardless of that, I can’t blame them for nagging. Time is money.
admin have you thought of having a SAR app
Yes! But I have no money for it now. Requested a price for it. it was 6,000 Euro 🙁
I’m sure some readers would donate it. I would donate iPad version 🙂 😉
So Sony did everything to bring down production costs. From EVF instead of OVF (“no expensive prism”), no flash, mostly re-using an existing body (A77), no CF/XQD reader, re-using existing battery tech, etc.
I am not saying these were bad design decisions. Although, some of them make more sense than others.
Ultimately, as a consumer, I want to benefit from these cost saving measures by a low product price.
You can’t promise an Audi, build a Volkswagen instead, but keep charging the price of an Audi.
And if it still cost $2799?
Then the profit margin will be high and the market will show if the price is adequate or not.
I finally understand how this works: the more hype this site tries to whip up through prior announcements (“something big is coming”) the less interesting the final news really is. The really good stuff comes unannounced.
If you think so…
Want to see you here in late August 😉
Things that matter to me the most:
1) Picture quality, espacialy at higher iso’s.
2) Acurate! and fast autofocus.
3) My old flashes need to work (adaptor?).
4) Full manual controle over video, audio gain controle and
a headphone jack.
I do not get the trend of copying Nikon top wide monochromatic display and power on/off button style. The old Minolta style on/off button was great and the design of the trigger did not have to be compromised. I don’t have direct comparison – it might work better in some ways? Or is it just to appeal switchers without much practical purpose?
But the top monochromatic display is near to useless. What is worse – it takes space for useful buttons layout! The way the a900 went was at least inobtrusive. Now we are where Nikon is and I do not like it. Having detailed information on main back display is more lucid in all light conditions, quicker to read, navigate and all. And you do not have pull camera down just to read the settings (on very basic display), just bend the camera little. I undestand that for usage on smaller tripods the top display makes some sense, but it makes like 0,x % of use case scenarios. I find silly to compromise buttons layout for this percentage, moreover when I find settings information on main display much better and practical idea.
Maybe this will be a pro-enthusiastic FF camera and leave for the next year a full pro 36Mpx model.
Obviously this sound a kind of dumb because it will compete against the A77 in this area, but for the specs we already know i don’t think this will be a totally pro camera, but can become a pretty good multimedia camera better than the Canon 5D MKIII and Nikon D800 in video modes.
Don’t misunderstand me, i like the idea 😉
dual SD ? it means very slow writing speed to memory card…
we need at least 5-8 second burst shoot without any delay as A77..
Very ashamed model due to XQD technology has been introduced only to Nikon professional body !
Don’t care about this slt. Curious to see how the $1500 Nikon D600 with sony sensor will pwn crappy canon 6d with crappy 5d mk iii sensor.
No XQD? Oh thats no good, Nikon has timed monopoly on that?
sony dont want to sell more cards? dont make much sense!
taking the flash away is either to cut cost or to make it more ‘pro’
It should be an enlarged A77 with XQD and good sensor.
Doesn’t sound logical to me, final production model could be with XQD card slot.
Only a month to go and everybody is still calling it the A99!!!… So next year the rumored 36MP camera will be the A88?… I can’t take any of this seriously any more… I’ve already sold my A77… keeping my NEX-7… I certainly won’t be buying whatever this FF camera is called… I’ll wait until next year!
New accessory port ?
If that implies changing the flash connector, it can be interesting…
It could be done to support video better: Mic, light etc. it could also mean a new flash protocol that resolves some issues of today.
But changing flash connector will cause some frustration 🙂
Everybody!!!!! Take a chill pill and calm down for crying out loud!!!!
Everyone is whining “OMG No Flash”, “OMG No QDX!!”
This was an SR4 ***RUMOR***. How does this guy absolutely KNOW that he was using the final prototype? QXD cards have a very similar form factor as SD cards. I was under the impression that they USED THE SAME KIND OF SLOT as SD and MS cards, too. In other words….. STOP WHINING about the lack of QXD until the darn thing is announced!!!!!!!!
For a couple of years now, Sony has been using a SINGLE SLOT for SD and MS cards. It it REASONABLE to assume that since the QXD card is simiar in form to the SD card, maybe they now have a TRIPLE slot????? Maybe the tester only THOUGHT it took only SD cards. WE JUST DON’T KNOW YET!!!!!!
Everybody pull up their big girl panites and CALM DOWN!!!!!
I wonder if will have a back illuminated EXMOR-R model sensor. I don’t think Sony has tried that in large sensors yet.
Thank God its a 24mp and not 36mp
I hope they adopt the new hot shoe design for all other future Alpha APS DSLR.
That’s the last thing we need. iISO hotshoes are nearly perfect. No reason to break them and downgrade to common hotshoe crap.
If anything – expand flash system with build-in radio triggering and flash ratio control from the level of camera. That should be perfectly doable by simple extension of current standard (most it’d require is additional data-streaming pin on hotshoe, similarly to what Nikon did for CLS on standard hotshoe).
Other then this – maki g current flashes incompatibile with future cameras is definietly on top of the “dumbest ideas ever” list.
IF it is a new a new hotshoe, it should be in for the long run, and not like the one on the first NEX…
But, I agree that an added serial pin or two would be a much better way forward.
I don’t know if it will beat Canon 7D or 5D MkIII, but i’m a Canon user (7D) and I’m ready to swith to Sony sysem if this SLT is a good product.
I love my 7D, I’ve tried a 5D MkIII, very good but too expensive for me…
If this A99 has as good ISOs than 5DIII, and as good AF that my 7D, so may be this A99 will be mine one day !
I don’t know if I will like the EVF, but I will try it. Hope it will be good for dance shows.
I hope that there are people who work for Sony and are in-the-know that read this site.
What a hoot 😉
I bet there rolling on the floor in laughter in Tokyo after reading some of this stuff
So all the folks here think that the statement, and I quote from above, “There is a new hot shoe for accys so a special link is delivered with this camera.” Means there will be two hot shoes on the camera!!! I doubt it, unless this reported rumor is FUD the hot shoe will be changed. And it’s the hot shoe that runs the only way you get flash on this camera. “The final production A99 doesn’t have a built-in flash lamp” That brings up the same problem that the a900 had controlling a external wireless flash, you had to buy two flashes, one to put on the camera to do it.
And if this rumor site or anyone else can point where Sony is developing new macro flash I’ll be happy to read it. They never replaced the macro ringflash, and have some time ago discontinued the twin macro flash. It is my OPINION that they will not be providing macro flash of any kind with this new hot shoe fitting and the new protocols implied in new flash fittings mean there is a good chance the old Minolta protocols won’t work either. They will only minimally support macro at all. Two standard macro lenses, end of story.
I’m reading what’s been provided at this rumor site as written and what it potentially means. Sorry if others want to read into that all kinds of positive stuff not provided. And no, I don’t get paid for my photography, so I’m not a pro, period. That means I can work on any part of photography I choose, not just what a pro can sell.
Walt, the statement that there will be a new hot shoe so as to deliver “a special link . . . with this camera” certainly does not preclude backwards compatibility, whatever your opinion may be. And it is a simple misstatement that “all of the folks here” believe that this rumor implies that there will be two hot shoes on the camera. Several in fact have suggested that it might mean additional contacts or “changing the flash connector,” as one poster put it. That’s more in line with the statement that the new hot shoe will “deliver a special link . . . with this camera.”
Nor does the rumor imply anything at all about macro flash. I too would like to see Sony re-introduce a professional macro flash system. Maybe the new hot shoe will make this more possible. Certainly there is nothing in this rumor that implies that the company will not do this.
Weight and dual SD card says it all. This will be Sony’s enthusiast full frame camera much like D600 for Nikon and “6D”(?) for Canon.
Before someone scream and claim that A99 will be far superior to those cameras I must remind that the class a camera belongs to have always (well, at least since about 35 years), for (D)SLRs, been defined not only about its functions but also about its size, weight and build. It’s quite obvious as better, stronger built generally means bigger size and more weight.
A77 therefore belongs to and should be compared to the same group of enthusiast cameras which also includes Nikon D7000 and Canon 60D, and also Pentax K5. Price is/or was at introduction about the same, give or take a couple of hundred dollar/Euros.
Canon 7D and Nikon D300s as well as their full frame siblings Canon 5D Mark II/III and Nikon D700, D800(E) on the other hand clearly are more Semi-Pro cameras just as Sony’s A900 and A850.
According to the reasoning above an A99 using a modified A77 body will therefore not be the true successor to A900. It will be Sony’s version of Nikons D600, maybe even using a version of the same Sony sensor. Because D600 is what the leaked pictures show a modernized D7000 (Will we see a D7100 DX-camera looking almost the same?) with a FX sensor. Not much is yet known about Canon’s cheaper FX-camera except it will be lighter, smaller and have more plastic body than 5D III, which speaks for a modernized 60D (like a new 70D with APS-C sensor?) with a full frame sensor.
For those having hard to accept this will not be Sony’s new flagship camera I can just say: calm down and wait. According to rumors presented here we already “know” Sony will present their true top of the line (A900 successor) full frame camera next year with the same 36 MP sensor (in Sony version) as in Nikon D800. My guess it will use at least one XQD card to be able to use high fps despite 36 MP.
And price? Between the two big Canon is still the market leader. Nikon wanting to increase their share of the DSLR market usually undercut Canon on prize for comparable cameras and several lenses. With the D7000 selling a bit cheaper than 60D, while A77 is clearly more expensive the rumored prices for D600, $1500 (to $1800?), “6D”, $1999(?) and A99, $2499(?) are logical.
Some may claim the higher price is because the Sony cameras offer more and better functions and therefore have a higher value. Surely the built in stabilisation, high fps of SLT-cameras, the available high class Zeiss lenses and other things are plus marks for Sony. I would however point out the A850 experiment that showed for Sony a low price could not increase the sales of a premium product. Sony learned the lesson. As they don’t have the production volume of CaNikon except on lower end cameras they can’t compete with price. Instead they must be innovative and offer functions some are willing to pay more for to get as well as attracting non-mainstream people who don’t want to do like everybody else and choose CaNikon.
I think you will find that the Sony FF camera coming in August (Andrea said “exactly one month from now”) will be superior to the cheap new Canon & Nikon FF cameras (if they are indeed introduced) in virtually every way.
“every” way is pricing. (will cost DOUBLE)
We don’t know that, Matgay. In fact, that hasn’t even been rumored. The widest gap that has been rumored, is between the D600 at $1600 and the A99 at $2800, or 85% more. Most of the numbers rumored bring the difference to 25-33% more.
Dissapointing in so many ways.
The video feature on 5DMkii made it a hit, nikon d700 high iso results, sony lost that battle. I love a850 and it find a better photographic tool than the 5D mk2. Now with the a99 sony has a chance again, a77 shows great results – a99 i supposed to seal the deal and deliver the absolute best. Time will show.
Double SD slots don’t bother me, UHS-1 cards are fast enough and affordable too.
No built in Flash????
No remote,
No chance for a fast shot without fiddling the ´big´ one on the body,
always look like the `super-pro user` with a mounted big monster flashlight on the camera…
…not for me, sorry SONY
Why not put in four XQD slots and we can set up RAID-5 with the cards? It would be $1000 to make sure you were fully striped with parity.
Why not have quad-HD built in? I mean, we’re looking at 6000+ x 4000+, what harm would recording 3840×2160 be? I mean it is really almost half. Shit, the Canon 1DC will have 4096×2160. Why not make it 4097×2161! There’s enough room on the sensor!
While we’re at it, why not have a radon-refrigerated removable back? We can record at full quad HD+ 1 pixel for hours, or as long as we have space on our array.
The Nikon D600 is rumored to be $1200, why not make this one $1194? Why not $1195? Because WalMart already thought of that.
Why not name it something else, like the A1-A (Beachfront Avenue)? or A10 Thunderbolt because it will be fast and have a cool flash?
WHAT!!!! it won’t have raid 5 or quad-HD?!?!?!?
DEAL BREAKER!
I’m a litte sceptical about this one. I like the spec’s in general but my big dislikes are the new flash hot shoe and the dual SD slots. My biggest frustrations with my A100 & A700 has been inconsistent flash exposure. I hope the new system is more consistent.
I also wonder how it will stack up price/feature wise vs the new entry level FF’s from Canikon. It would be a big mistake to overprice this thing.
FUK YOU WHALE!!!!!
and
FUK YOU DOLPHIN!!!!!
No CF???? Are you kidding me?
No built in Flash will be a problem for me. I have often used the built in flash in situations where something obscures the light coming from the external flash. I am an engineer and take a lot of photos inside machinery and the low profile of the built in flash comes in handy. At times it would have been impossible to take some of my required photos without it.
It is also useful in situations where you just don’t have enough time of attach the external flash