Well, almost two months ago when an anonymous source told me Sony would release a half a million ISO camera I didn’t believe him and missed to report about it on SAR. I guess I have to post more SR2 ranked rumors in future because as I learned some of them actually become truth 🙂
So here is one of these SR2 rumors I received in these days:
“I received some information directly from Sony that the RX2 with curved sensor will likely be released this summer”
As you know Sony patented such a sensor for a Full Frame camera and they also patented the 35mm f/1.8 lens designed specifically for a curved sensor camera:
So I guess this is more than just an “impossible” rumor. This would become the worldwide first consumer digital camera with such a sensor! The benefits are equal sharpness across the Full Frame. Something you don’t get with any lens yet. The lens ould be also become much more compact.
So question:
[poll id=”179″]
———
Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.
For readers: Subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here) in order to not miss any news!
——–
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!
0 Responses
Voted, YES! I would like a Compact Contax in digital! 🙂
(I hope it will come with a flash sync port.)
And a remote! And a tilting screen. And a grip.
Tilt only screen is very limiting (to landscape). A full swivel (like the Panasonic G1) is most useful. Grips are a dime a dozen. I do not like to see the overpriced OVF, thumbgrip and such they made for the RX1.
Agreed, swivel is way better ( the a77/99 implementation is great), I just don’t expect Sony to put one on a smaller camera.
And I meant a battery grip. Something properly done, which will extend battery life and provide more comfortable handling for the situations where those are needed.
Additional battery grip ( I won’t use it) is always welcome. I hope the swivel is not like the ones in A77/99 and is exactly like the one in Panasonic G1. Portrait snaps are not hindered by the LCD screen with that implementation. 🙂 Integrated EVF would be great as well, instead of an oversized, unwieldy and overpriced optional one that will not allow one to use a flash. It is not rocket science to figure these things out. Hope sony’s sensor division will think interms of usable cameras instead of patting themselves about their sensors.
Not following there. Why would portrait shots be hindered by the a77/99 implementation?
I am still on the fence between integrated and optional EVF. Although for the latter to be really appealing would mean more frequent updates with newer models, which isn’t happening anyway. Maybe they could make a slottable one?
If you have used the G1 for street you will understand what I am talking about. The A77/99 style lcd gets in the way of the hand/finger that will trip the shutter. The G1 LCD, in addition to the convenience being out of the way, offers better holding support. With such an LCD, the EVF could be optional (for the 10% use). 🙂 Even Nikon (!) are using this sort of swivel LCD in at least one of their cams!! It is time Sony gets up to speed.
Ah, ok, I see. Was curious 🙂
That swiveling implementation was done a decade ago by Canon on their P&S cameras, and probably earlier than that. It was, and remains, the best I have used.
Yes please! A swivel screen is long overdue on E-mount cameras. No one cares if the camera would become 2-3mm thicker while the benefit is tremendous. The Panasonic G series cameras (pre 6) were actually all smaller than the A7 and they still have a swivel screen. With touch.
From a usability perspective, Sony cameras are the WORST. Virtually all competitors have better physical/software UIs. And the UI elements that are actually great (like Tri-Navi) they throw away. Using my NEX 6 in A/S mode without EV comp on the dial annoys me every time (which is why I stay in M with that camera).
Swivel has swivel’s problem. Personally, I prefer tilt.
1. other than straight on back position, of all position, the swivel LCD is off axis.
2. To get LCD to other position, you need rotate LCD out from back, then tilt it, two steps compared to tilt LCD’s one step.
3. when swivel LCD is out, it hinders the operation of your left hand
Tilt offers the 90% need of the movable LCD, waist-level landscape, for that part, its better than swivel, that’s why I prefer tilt than swivel anytime.
It’s not just about the sensor and lens, personally I’d like Sony to improve on its firmware before doing any more stunts.
I hope not. Put a different focal length, no need for redundancy.
If it was a 50mm, possibly.
My suspicion, if this ends up being in the shelves, is that this design is meant to circumvent high density sensors. So the potential next RX with a 36mp (or whatever) sensor could have not been successful with the current flat sensor and the current lens combo…? Plausible
This camera will have an exmor r sensor capable of much higher pixel density and better iso than the current exmor sensors.
I wish it were a 21mm lens
Plus one.
Sadly enough, Sony doesn’t seem to want to follow the Sigma DP series idea and offer a few RX1’s with different focal lengths. It would rather appear that middle management has just got stuck with the Fuji X100s and the Nikon and Leica APS-C cameras in their mind when they think of the scene where the RX1 sits. Instead, we would have all hoped that they would cover that scene and dominate a few others (50, 24, etc)
not really X100 though, there’s wide and telephoto converter for X100 which essentially turns your X100 to 28-35-50 f/2 camera
I know. What I meant is that the RX1 is provided as the premium 35mm FOV fixed lens camera option as opposed to the X100s, Nikon something and Leica something (don’t remember the models but I do remember f2.8)
However, the Sigmas are premium compact cameras and Sigma understands that there is more than 1 taste for field of view.
While 28mm is wider, it is still not THAT much different to 35mm. The difference is also less pronounced with the RX1 since the Sonnar is not a true 35mm lens, but closer to 32 or so. Also, the X100 becomes a 28mm 2.8, not f2 as the wide angle converted looses a stop or so of light. I don’t know about the teleconverter. I don’t know about the image quality after those converters are used, though.
Maybe Sony could do a teleconverter but would the performance of the legendary lens still remain near its original? Would people buy it if it did not? It would be easier to notice issues on 24mp more so than in the 16mp.
Wide converter doesn’t cause any loss of light, f/2 with and without it results in the same exposure. Also, 28 and 35 is quite a difference, at least for me it’s worth to have both. Teleconverter has been just introduced, there are quite a few reviews of wide converter -> no loss of optical performance.
Yep, I am waiting impatiently to see what these Quattros can do.
I agree! A curved sensor with a custom fixed 21mm Zeiss, sharp to the corners, would be the ultimate compact landscape camera.
If the VF is part of the camera I would consider it. Until then I will wait for Fuji’s FF version of X100
Admin: Don’t be shy to post SR2-SR3 rumors, we come for this site for that reason…
For me a curved sensor is a puzzle. Wouldn’t it introduce more distortion in the final image requiring more drastic correction compared to a flat sensor? If that’s the case then a variable curve sensor would be a nice tech (probably not achievable…).
Sony is rumored to develop lenses for this curved sensor so….this means we’ll have another lens lineup for full-frame 😀
http://photobyandrei.wordpress.com/
This tech is not official, so we can only guess how it works, but it should be the complete opposite of what you have said:
It’s a curved sensor with curved lens, so it’s basically the same as flat sensor with flat lens, with one exception: on the flat version the photons hit the sensor with sharp angles at the corners -> soft corners, the curved tech adresses this issue, so the lens requires less or even no correction -> sharper corners, lower manufacturing costs (‘cos heavily corrected lenses are expensive)
I’m not sure about the lower manufacturing costs. The lens might be cheaper, but the sensor will surely be more expensive than a flat one.
A lens with a curved focal plane is easy to make. Many of the elements in lenses are there just to make the focal plane flat to match the flat sensor. Notice that the new lens appears to have 4 elements, while the current RX1 has 8 elements.
Projecting a curved focal plane onto a curved sensor should cancel out the effects of both (in theory). One of the problems with a curved sensor is that the curve must be matched to each lens, making an interchangeable design impossible. Some special sensors can be flexed to produce different curvatures, but eventually wear out.
That would be true with flat field lens.
Lenses have a native curve to the field..except symetrical lenses which are naturall flat..lens makers put additional elements in the lens to correct this and make the field flat.
This lens is not crrected to be flat therefore of higher quality and simpler desighn, but will not work with a flat sensor.
The sensor has the same curve as the lens..therfore much higher quality than flat sensor with flat field lens.
Not another 35mm lens. :-/ I never got into that focal length, even on my first SLR three decades ago I preferred either 24mm or 50mm, while the 35mm stayed at home most of the time.
any news for the medium format camera with RX styled? 😉
really. who cares?!??? give us FE lenses!!!!!
What’s FE? Oh, that silly little toy camera system?
Speaking of SR2 rumors. Admin can’t tell me that less than 2 weeks before an alleged a77II announcement we don’t have more info. Even unreliable info. ;^)
Yes you need to report every rumor you receive and rank it accordingly. This is a rumor site, not a news site where you only report on the truth. It’s more fun when you are wrong sometimes.
I only shoot telephoto and macro therefore do not need a 35mm lens.
If I did use a 35mm lens I would definitely want this camera
Some things I don’t get. So admin runs a poll and a huge percentage of SAR claims they’d buy this camera. Really? Not beating up on SAR readers but how many of them are body collectors? Or do people just churn bodies buying them, using them for a little while, then dumping them on FleaBay? I can’t imagine a body with a fixed prime being anything but a specialty item. If it’s priced like a RX1 might as well get an a7R. Yeah, I get it’s takes good pics and is good in low light but the a7R’s IQ is unrivaled plus you get flexibility.
Like most of us you probable own more than one lens..and some of us carry more than one body to reduce the need for lens changes…
A camera like this would be used instead of your 35mm lens…this will be a small camera.
I get that but I paid $200 for my plastic fantastic lens 35mm. This camera will be over $2,500! ;^)
Okay, I’m talking ASP-C and the RX will be FF. It boasts of compactness and my a65 sends many SAR readers in a tizzy because its size makes their heads explode. That’s why I brought up the compact a7R which offers better IQ with its own fine 35mm FE at about the same price.
This camera will have a ff exmor r backlit sensor.
Althogh I gave no idea of what resolution they plan to make exmor r excels at small pixels .
Based on the resolution of the current 1/2.3 exmor r sensors this sensor could easily be 100-200mp.
The lens will be as sharp or sharper than any lens ever made, and will easily be able to resolve that resolution.
So this camera will do only one thing but do it very well.
Again I dont know if Sony plans to build a super high resolution camera but if they do..this could be it.
IMO the A7R is NOT compact, especially with any lens attached. It cannot be shoved into a small pocket. Similarly, the RX1 is also not compact, with that honking lens on it.
However, this RX2 might actually be able to be compact, with a FF sensor, not much larger than, say, the RX100. If it ends up being a truly pocketable high-quality 35mm FF, then it might be a very big hit, especially if the sensor resolves around 50mp.
I’d agree with this and rather than buy a RX1r I waited for the A7r… because of the interchangeable lens. But different people, different buys…
tilting screen, 50mm lens, fast autofocus (on-matrix phase autofocus), 4k and fullHD video with no line skipping and no need for external recorder to do 4k.
.
all these are options, which might bring be attractive compare to it’s much more versatile now A7* line.
about the curved sensor – who cares?
and for the video mode the in-camera electronic IS is the must
Sony I would love the Rx’s leaf shutter. A set of primes with leaf shutters syncing with flash to 1/2000sec would turn the 35mm industry on its head…And why not?.. its not like we have mirror boxes to get in the way on mirror-less cameras…Just a firmware update to keep the focal plane shutter open when using a leaf shutter lens..The connection with FE lenses are electronic anyway..
Admin
I realize that there will always be people on sar complainig, but many people would like to hear the further away less reliable rumors as well as the more reliable ones.
My suggestion is a regular post similar to sony tid bits for lower credibilty..sr1-sr3 rumors.
Give the post a recognizable name such as….SONY MAYBY? ..or some other name that implies these are less than certain rumors.
This would allow posting of far off rumors without any risk to your reputation for high reliability.
Yes there would still be some people that complain but there would be zero legitamacy to those complaints.
I think it would add value to sar.
Ps
The subtile could be
These are less reliable than regular rumors so if that disturbs you please do not read further
I’d also like to se something like this.
*see
That would be a good way to cause more hysteria. Because the hysterical nonsensical people wont be able to comprehend the fact that they’re reading lower reliability rumors.
There will always be some people too stupid to read and too stupid to stop teading where it says if yhese lower credibility rumors distub you plaese do not read any further.
SAR should however be geared to those of us with a little more intelligence than that who are both capable of reading and understanding, and do want to hear these rumors
My response to that type of complaint would be
Your complaint has less credibilty than the low credibility rumor you are complaining about.
sony… please more cameras and less lenses …
LOL
Would this be a fixed lens or yet another type of lens mount?
fixed
Please do post more SR2 rumors and just make sure you emphasize that it is SR2 and what SR2 means. I think many have been asking for that for some time 🙂
The rumor rating is shown under every post, but people would still complain.
However, I agree, more rumors, more fun.
I lost my RX1R last week, so definitely look forward to this!
Ouch, that’s a painful loss right there.
How do you lose a $2k camera like that? … or do you mean lost on poker or some other bet 🙂
Easy, you get distracted and leave it on a taxi like I did with my NEX-5… Its value does not change anything…
I was in a rush and left my 1 week old NEX 6 on the roof of the car and drove off 🙁
was kissing a girl I just met in 3 days in a park, the camera was in my bag which I put right next to me.
I lost my 500 F4 lens about a month ago. I just misplaced the darn thing! Cant find it anywhere!
That’s funny. I found a 500 F4 lens the other day in my pantry. Do you want it back?
And I lost a Kepler telescope a few years back. Turns out NASA stole it and sent it into space.
Thiefs!!!
I lost a nuclear sub the other day somewhere along the shores of Scotland. Went there for a few drinks and couldn’t for the life of me find where I parked the next day. If you find it don’t press the red flashing buttons on the left of the control panel, or you’ll have to delete Netherlands off the map after that 🙂
Good news.. only problem the price of Sony products 🙁
This would cost 3000$ … 🙁
It should not. Since the bulky Zeiss lens will not be there. It should cost 1/2X of the RX1.
If the RX2 costs 999$ and if it has a xavc 4k… it will be a must buy.
I would not mind if video (any K) is made optional and an additional doodah is sold for a few thousand Euros to record it. 🙂
If there is a clean (full clean 4:2:2 HDMI output) is must must buy 🙂
Higher production cost for the sensor, cost of research, and a feature the competition doesn’t have. Maybe higher design cost for the lens since the design software probably is tailored towards lenses for flat sensors. Even with lower production cost for the lens, I doubt that it will cost less than RX1, at least not for a while. (Assuming of course that this SR2 is true 🙂
This would be sick! Based on the patent illustration shown above, it seems this camera will have a 35mm 1.8 pancake lens with dimensions reminiscent of the old Olympus Infinity Stylus from the 90s. My guess is that this will be the ultimate portable fixed focal length camera, similar to the X100s, but with higher resolution, better high ISO and better bokeh
Does sick mean good?! Another case of using a bad word to mean a good thing? I am not american. To us it sounds like you’re saying this would be really really bad.
Yes, Sick for americans is like saying dog balls for british. To us dog balls sounds like something nasty. So its all a matter of perspective 😉
brosef, it’ll be the bees knees.
Please Sony add an integrated EVF! (And a RX1II with EVF would be also very welcomed!)
obviously it depends if I can afford it or not, but for a olympus xa sized camera with ff sensor and 35/1.8 I would pay something… if it also will be seriously ruggedized and weather sealed, I might rob a bank if I have to!
A curved sensor would not be backwards compatible with Apo lenses designed for planar surfaces. And it would be inconsistent with CA, field curvature and other lens specific issues.
As far as I am concerned it’s a fly in the ointment solution.
If it’s a fixed lens camera how does lens backwards compatibility factor in?
Even worse – single trick pony excuse to make a cheaper non corrected lens. Just a gimmick to lower costs and increase profits. Add to that that Sony hasn’t got quality control down to produce half of their equipment with collimated and aligned sensor to flange adjustments.
You can probably purchase an expensive field corrector adapter for some lenses, however it may be cheaper to just purchase the lenses. Anyway, anytime you use a lens adapter with glass in it, you lose quality.
Its a fixed lens camera, what in the world are you guys talking about. Fixed means non-ILC. Why are we even worried about other lenses? There will be only one lens that will matter, its the one that is mounted on the camera. And it will always be the 35/1.8 no matter how you spin it.
I think this is a great solution for a dedicated camera that would cover a great many photographic situations. I don’t know what the sweetest FL is, but whatever it is, it is a compromise. I would like to see it maybe a bit wider, with a super-high-res sensor that could be crop-zoomed if needed, and a mount for a telephoto conversion lens if it is absolutely required. This would presumably also reduce the need for IS, as the native FL is kept short.
This may seem strange, but for me, the main competitor to this type of camera would be the RX100II–and given the price difference, I might just go for the 100.
A question: what do people think the bokeh would be like from this type of system?
Really really beautiful. Harsh bokeh often comes from APO lens correction required for flat sensors.
Horseshit. Bad bokeh comes from a host of things but APO corrected lens (like the Zeiss 135 APO and 55mm Otus have flawless bokeh) all around.
You sir, are wrong.
Ahh, dissent. I still would like to know if this new sensor/lens configuration necessarily adds its own character to bokeh, and if so, whether that character is desirable or not.
Idiots must be like gravity. The dumber they are the greater they attract one another. http://i62.tinypic.com/2167gk.jpg
No, he is right. The compromises made for APO correction often drive nervous bokeh! Keep your mental horseshit to yourself.
Actually….the Zeiss has very mild APO correction. The Bokeh would be better if it did not have APO lenses, but then the lens would be softer and more CA around the edges.
Remains to be seen. The curved sensor changes any expectations based on this design.
support compact full frame camera with 35mm 1.8 lens……..if sharp wide open with beautiful bokeh, i will buy it!!!!
Curved medium format with a 35mm, and leaf shutter? That’d be cool.
Andrea, you **promised** a medium format RX2. What went wrong? 😉 😉 😉
I’m disappointed. I hope that RX2 will have 28mm lens.
“I’m disappointed”
Of course you are….
Sony needs to work on battery life too. 250 shots is unacceptable. also it needs to be shock-dust-water and temperature proof. and screen should be tougher than fragile Nex cameras lcds that break from heavy breathing on them.
No camera will be Russian proof 😉
Nothing is Russian-proof, even Russians themselve. We are damaging ourselves constantly. )
I think you’re looking for a camera made by Kalashnikov himself. Unfortunately he isn’t with us anymore to design such a contraption. We all would have to deal with what we have 😉
The OMD EM1, M5 are both weather sealed and dust and shock proof. Its not too much to ask that a $2799 non interchangeable lens camera have at least some sealing and some durability.
My Canon Eos 1Ds Mark 2 can handle everything in any condition. Just as tough as a tank. But if Sony could do the same tough Spartan machine out of RX2… Mmm Who would need anything else?
My old film camera only had 36 shots. I had no problem with that. 250 before I have to pop a spare battery in is no big deal
your old tv was black and white tube and big with few channels, according to you you don’t need modern civilization to evolutionize further.
Sony, include an EVF and weather seal it and I’m all in! PS: Keep it at 24mp or less and give me clean high ISO.
The curved sensor should be shared between all manufacturers! nowdays we got bilions of pixels on sensors which are never totally exploited by the glass/lens’ technologies (dxomark is proovin it over and over again), because its physical limits/ light distortion, glass quality, etc. I’m really happy if sensors’ manufacturers can move 1 step closer to lenses’ producers.
I’d say each manufacturer should have its own R & D. The best wins ! This competition would drive more innovation than sharing. Each on their own is best.
No way! Then they won’t have any competition and will charge whatever ludicrous price they want for the camera
If someone other manufacturer wants it, they can purchase it (like Nikon/Pentax/Fuji) already do now
RX2 needs a built-in EVF.
hmmm.. add an EVF, weather sealed, and I will strongly consider getting one as a backup to my a7r…
yes!