The product presentation video by SGNL
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It is not usual to see so few image samples and test at a product launch. Luckily some small tests can be seen in Asia: The (Chinese?) site PCpop (google translation here) posted the first A3000 ISO test. Sony Japan posted some image samples with the Zeiss lens (Click here to see) and the PZ lens (Click here to see). If you can find more tests and image samples drop me a message at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!
Preorders in USA/Canada (Click on the store name to open the product page):
Full new NEX camera/lens presenatation page at Amazon (Click here).
$398 A3000 with lens at Amazon, SonyStore, BHphoto, Adorama and Sony Canada.
$548 NEX-5T body at Amazon, SonyStore, BHphoto and Adorama.
$698 NEX-5T +16-50mm at Amazon, SonyStore, BHphoto, Adorama and Sony Canada.
$998 Zeiss 16-70mm f/4.0 at Amazon, SonyStore, BHphoto, Adorama and Sony Canada.
$598 Sony E PZ 18-105G at Amazon, SonyStore, BHphoto and Adorama.
$298 Black 50mm lens at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama.
Soft Case at Amazon and BHphoto.
Preorders in Europe:.
ILC-3000 at Sony DE, Sony UK, Sony ES, Sony SE, Sony AT, Sony IT, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony FI, Sony CH.
NEX-5T + 16-50mm at Sony DE, Sony UK, Sony ES, Sony SE, Sony AT, Sony IT, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony FI, Sony CH.
NEX-5T double lens kit at Sony DE, Sony UK, Sony ES, Sony SE, Sony AT, Sony IT, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony FI, Sony CH.
Zeiss 16-70mm f/4.0 at Sony DE, Sony UK, Sony ES, Sony SE, Sony AT, Sony IT, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony FI, Sony CH.
Sony E PZ 18-105G at Sony DE, Sony UK, Sony ES, Sony SE, Sony AT, Sony IT, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony FI, Sony CH.
41 Responses
Ha! Menu is NEX-like
Maybe because it’s a NEX?
Much much quicker autofocus? Instant autofocus? Faster without phasedetection Pixels?
phase detection not necessary, human eye does very well without any phase detection
How lame it is for a camera to require a button press to switch between the LCD and viewfinder ? That’s what A3000 requires, it does not have an eye sensor. I can bet the eye sensor does not cost more than a dollar extra compared to the switch button. It’s just too basic for today’s standards, regardless of image quality.
That is also a reason why I liked the EVF attachment on the NEX-5. I like that I can use the button to swap to EVF or LCD. It’s annoying in dark environments where you take the eye off the EVF and the LCD light up the room.
No my NEX-6 the strip or my finger sometimes will trigger the EVF while I’m trying to look at the LCD. I wish the NEX-6 has a button to toggle EVF/LCD so I can manually swap it.
It is great that the A3000 has a button and without the eye sensor to keep the price down. Sony is trying to make a K1000 where students can afford it. It has a great sensor and AF (still yet to me seen) that is all anyone really needed. Everything else like Wifi, eye sensor for evf, nfc, 16,000+ iso is all fluff and luxury features that add to cost. I’m pretty sure Sony will release an A5000, A6000. A7000, and A9000 with more features and higher prices just to confuse their consumers with the next SLR alpha and the NEX. Too many cameras and options!!!
Per the manual, A3000 as Wifi and NFC ?
Sony got it right when they hired Olivia Esperanza (check out her website at http://www.oliviatech.com). She knows quite a bit about imaging. I do wish the A3000 had a control wheel (like the other Alphas).
Is that the Honami phone or one of the current Xperia?
Hi all
I find it strange Sony call it A3000, when it is a E mount
Why?
E-mount (NEX and this camera) is marketed everywhere as Alpha.
The Official Hierarchy goes:
Category: Alpha Interchangeable Lens Cameras
1) NEX E-Mount (Includes NEX, and Alpha ILC branded cameras)
2) DSLR A-Mount (Includes DSLR, SLT, and soon Alpha ILC)
Sony is marketing the A3000 under the NEX banner. See here: http://store.sony.com/c/Sony-Alpha-NEX-Cameras-Accessories/en/c/S_NEX?SR=nav:electronics:cameras_camcorders:Alpha_NEX_cameras:shop_compare:ss
wow ! what a massive improvement in presenter for signal by sony !!
For the price, IMHO the A3000 has a great chance to be a big winner. You have to put yourself in the shoes of a real beginner, that way you’ll find all you need for taking excellent shots with this camera. Nevertheless there are some glitches, like the VF window without a soft cushion ( very uncomfortable, toy-like ), and the EVF’s low resolution.
It’s going to be tough up against the Canon 1100D though.
Beginners EVF is like a77 or not! They only care about picture quality and the price, no?
I think, Sony has a winner here.
Beginners don’t care much
A3000, meh. We’ll see how it sells. Thoughts on the MTF charts and samples from the new lenses? The MTF on the G lens looks promising but the images seem way too mushy. Could Sony be purposefully over compressing them to make the Zeiss look better in comparison?
The samples that Sony provides for the G lens look somewhat uninsipring. Also the bokeh rendering looks a bit distracting. Maybe I’ll go for the Zeiss lens instead.
ISO 6400 looks good to me, but LCD monitor looks really low res.
LCD has to be good on bodies without EVF because it’s only way then to review photos. Not really necessary on bodies with EVF. It’d make sense to leave EVF only to save space (in compact cameras)
The phoblographer doesn’t seem too impressed:
“We were handling a pre-production unit, but the focusing on this camera has to be the slowest amongst any of the mirrorless cameras from Sony that we’ve ever held. It felt even a bit slower than an offering from Fujifilm. And with that in mind, it didn’t feel like a Sony at all. However, we’re willing to blame it on the fact that we handled a prototype and that the lenses we had on hand were also prototypes.”
Of course, it’s pre-production, so take it with a grain of salt.
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/08/27/first-impressions-sony-a3000-featuring-some-new-nex-lenses/
From a business perspective, I think Sony has done brilliantly:
1. September availability – right before the holiday season
2. Low pricing – expect further discounts before the end of the year
3. Automatic functions – as you mentioned, for the first time user and costs less than the Canon 1100D, while having better video recording capability
4. E-mount profit margins – similar to musical instruments for kids, imagine how many disposable items from hobbies there are, if the user decides to upgrade the kit lens or a more professional body later down the track that is more $$$ for Sony and the consumer wins as they are not outlaying too much money if they decide not to take it up
5. Penetration into developing/low income nations – the TBA iPhone 5c is proof that the biggest revenues will come not from a small base where DSLR owners are considering a smaller camera, but those who have yet to pull the trigger because they are satisfied with their smartphone/instagram or because the current entry level DSLRs are still a luxury
6. The QX100 is a similar extension of this – a higher end product for those that would not normally consider going beyond their smartphone
Sony is thinking two steps into the future where smartphones like the Sony Xperia Z, Honami (TBA), HTC One, iPhone, Nokia Lumia etc show phenomenal image quality. Point and shoot sales are nose diving. This is the first of many cameras to bring back consumers back into the high profit margin consumer camera gear and the emerging middle classes of developing nations.
Well done Sony!
Sony never beat Canon. This feels like a hedge fund camera copying other camera makers successes. Lame sony.
Nowhere was it stated that Sony beat Canon.
Canon has the similar priced/more expensive 1100D and the not so successful EOS-M which lags behind in video capability but has the better brand cachet and EF/EF-S compatibility. Entry-level consumers would not understand the compatibility however I would expect Canon to respond. The EOS-M is rumoured to be replaced before Christmas season and the 1100D is getting old both compared to the lifespan of the 1000D and considering since entry-level DSLRs have a shorter model lifespan in the market.
Nikon has already made announcements that they are fast tracking development of an entry-level camera. The 1-series has not been the success they want to be and the cheap and cheerful Nikon D3200, body only, is still a lot more expensive when comparing price, though like Canon they have amazing brand cachet.
I would not be surprised if both Canon and Nikon replace/release their own new camera models in the same price bracket; with different mounts but the same features/compromises.
I noticed he called it a alpha 3000 so I guess nex cameras are also considered Alpha.
Always have been. Just look at any official Sony website, and navigate through the menu.
I’m sick of A3000 news.
Body like Panasonic GX7 with tiltable EVF would be better.
Or interchangeable camera shells around core.
Or QX-NEX. Why not??
Damn… That looks pretty good! Really! Nice first look, would love an in-depth review!!…… I’m of course talking about Olivia Esperanza
Only thing worth watching on that video was the girl, she’s hot. Apart from that big snore all around.
So any word on if it will be able to adapt A-mount lenses via that LA-EA adapters?
It’s E-mount, so it’s compatible.
The moment of black screen between shots appears to be shorter, but it’s still there.
It always will be with EVF. The sensor has to clear, and that will always show an interruption. No way around it with current designs.
read the preview of the ILC-3000 at dpreview.com. Well, it does seem history repeats itself as this is basically the Minolta 3000i being reborn as a digital camera. The 3000i was horrible (I have one) from an enthusiast perspective and the same seems to go for this.
I do hope they speed up the process for the 7 and 9 series updates for both A and E mounts to take care of whatever issues were mentioned in reviews.
I found some more samples from A3000 with 18-55 lens: https://picasaweb.google.com/102423606899805747607/A3000Samples
Unfortunately the kit lens is quite bad, or it’s just the Sony color processing. Color-wise, pictures look like they have been taken with a smartphone. The Zeiss 16-70 pictures looked amazing, so it must be the lens.
This SGNL clip shows that Sony has no clue on how to market their cameras. OLED VF – no, tilt able LCD – no. Talks about instant AF, but never mentions that there 1-touch video recording. Then they have a Canon rebel sitting next to it, but no comparison. Then he says to get the Nex-5t for wifi making it again seem like the a3000 is gimped.
Is it now 100% sure this camera have in body IS?
Sony once said its impossible to do in-body IS with E-Mount but back then only NEX Existed.
I Just looked it up, it have _no_ Image Stabilisation
Crap. Even in Video it have no Sensor Shift Stabilisation.
So i need to buy OSS Lenses + get back the noisy OSS in Quiet Videos 😀 awesome!
Thats really a step backward
I am an Alpha 350 user and I am waiting for the new sony cameras in order to update mine, if they are not very appealing I’ll go for the A77 which nowadays is cheaper than previously. I hope that Sony will do their best.
Anyway, in the video appears another camera bigger than A3000 and it seems to me it has no similarity with any other camera, on the left of the viewfinder there Re two bottons Menu and another one I can’t distinguish. A higher model about to come? Can SAR tell anything about it?