Finally the wait is over! We know when Sony will show the new A77 to the world! A trusted source confirmed the Sony A77 will be announced on July 7 (as some reader noticed that’s not a casual date 7/7 for the A77). It will be priced at $1099 including the kit lens! As I already told you the camera will be in Stock in late September/early October. Feel free to share that news on your blog or forum. But would be nice to link back to SonyAlphaRumors as we have been the first to post that! (Thanks to our special anonymous sources!!!).
The A77 will be Sony’s top APS-C model. And I am very surprised about the very good price. I don’t know if that is the price with the current [shoplink 6957]18-55mm zoom lens[/shoplink] or the rumored new high quality kit lens (that would make that price even more amazing) . Let’s compare it with the best APS-C models from the main competitors:
The Nikon 7000 costs $1,199.95 but you pay that for the body only! Check [shopcountry 6952].
The Canon 7D costs $1,860.00 (again body only!). Check [shopcountry 6954].
The very good Pentax K-5 costs $1,479.00 with kit lens. Check [shopcountry 6953].
Let’s assume the kit lens is the current 18-55mm zoom, and let’s assume the image quality is indeed top of the notch:
[poll id=”53″]
I am convinced the A77 will be the best APS-C camera on the market. It toke very long for Sony to develop the [shoplink 3228]A700[/shoplink] successor. But the reason behind that is that Sony wanted to make a perfect camera using the new SLT technology. It will fix most of the problems of the current first generation SLT cameras ([shoplink 3617]Sony A33/55[/shoplink]). Along that camera Sony will announce new accessories and new lenses. I have no 100% confirmation yet but also the NEX-7 should be announced on the same day.
Its’ going to be a big day on July 7! I hope you will be all here on SonyAlphaRumors to follow that event live! Don’t miss rumors, join us on Facebook and Twitter and follow our RSS-feed!
I toke a day off from my work to read all your comments. Ask me whatever you want and I will answer you! Thanks!
Those are the specs of the A77:
The A77 announcement on July 7.
Shipment start early October
Coming with new kit lens (A Sony 16-50mm zoom. Compared to the [shoplink 5586]Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5[/shoplink] it will have a constant aperture and probably have a bit higher price. Zeiss 16-80mm price check at [shopcountry 5586].)
24 Megapixels (The combination of the new sensor+new Zeiss lens delivers 62% more resolution than the [shoplink 3617]A55 16 Megapixel sensor[/shoplink].)
1080p/30fps, 720p/60fps and 720p/30fps high-definition video
AF fine-tuning capabilities. A source told us that it has an improved focusing system (quite fast and accurate).
3 Million dot OLED viewfinder (more than double of the resolution fo the current [shoplink 3617]Sony A55/33[/shoplink] viewfinder.)
magnesium alloy
It will take CF
No flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place
1.000 pictures with one battery
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!
231 Responses
16-50 rebadge from Tokina?
Sony and KM have yet only used Lenses from Tamron as re-brands.
Sony also holds shares of Tamron but not Tokina…
The optical formula behind Tokina ATX Pro 16-50mm f/2.8 is patented by Pentax who use it in their DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 SDM.
damn!! what do i do now!! A77 or Nex 7 …Sony is evil 😉
I’m almost worried that is too cheap and will be lacking features! I paid £1500 for my A700 +16-80!
I’m guessing it will be around £1000 over here, will it be a true semi-pro camera at that price? If so, amazing. If not, I might just get myself an A900 after all.
The date fits the camera number.
Yes that’s what I thought! 🙂
So the A77 and Nex7 will be launched on 7/7… Most approriate date. 😉
Admin,
Many thanks for the news.
Do you know some more about NEX7 ? Price ? Bundle ?
Confirmed specs ? EVF quality etc
Thanks
C
Working on it. Have some info but I am doublechecking them. Price should be good and there should be also a bunel with the Zeiss 24mm. But I am not sure yet! So take it with a grain of salt!
and i allready thought A77 and NEX 7 have the same price.. which still seems pretty good price considering the specs
how comes there is not a single leaked pic of the NEX 7 ??? 🙁 designwise i really hope they made something like a big brother of the NEX 5 and not something like a shrunken DSLR and METAL body please! 😉
With all due respects, this post is 99.9% about the A77, not the NEX-7.
Maybe the title should be modified?
Please don’t take this comment the wrong way, you do a great job!
ohhhhh no! That was a draft title. And I didn’t use the new title. Sorry, my mistake. No need for respect here, you are right!
Can’t believe it!
Countdown is on.
I was expecting the price to be a LOT more than that. Since I would get body only, that would be a very, very, tempting purchase.
I would need to resist the temptation to pre-order it and wait for reviews and other users to find the bugs first 😀
On April 21 you said the price of the NEX7 was $1300 including lens.
Seems strange it will be $200 more than A77
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-nex-7-a77-and-lens-rumors-summary/
:-/
I guess it depends from the kit lens. Maybe the A77 with new kit lens will be mroe expensive.
damn. i’m so worried the zeiss 16 50 would cost as much as the body. canikon is selling it at that price at it only makes sense for sony to match them. and i really hope the nex-7 would have a real hot shoe!
i beg for nex7 having an built in evf. With that zeiss 24mm f1.4 it can be a great “always have it with myself” camera and i want one of that so bad. hope for it. And the price of a77 is amazing if its true, and i like the date of release 7/7 😉
Should I upgrade from an A200 to the A77? … I think so 😀
You do have the advantage of knowing that the A77 would be better than the A200. Being a happy A700 user I’ll have to wait and see what the handling and EVF is like.
i mean f1.7 of course
great!!! this is the news that i’m waiting for!!!
any NEX news?
Not yet ready to publish…
$1300
Any news confirming/denying full manual video controls on the A77? 😀
I havew been told that there are plenty of manual controls…
I will most certainly buy the a77 along with the vertical grip when it get’s out but I will also keep my trusty a700. I have invested too much in the lenses to change the system, otherwise i would have done it years ago, maybe it’s good i didn’t 🙂
I don’t believe that this will be the price, it sounds too good to be true, how will they price the a580 that is 800 bucks right now?!
who will buy any other sony camera if they price they aps-c flagship model under $1000 (i will certainly not buy the kit)?!
I’m also very worried about the 24mpx bulls**t, I mean what the hell, who needs that kind of resolution on aps-c, i don’t think that any of my lenses will work right. and a biiiiig issue is that digital OVF, I hope to god they make it excellent or I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown in the middle of the store 😉
Unless you are pixel peeping I very much doubt you’ll see a problem at 24mpix. What it will give you, is the chance to do larger crops.
I agree, the EVF has to be “excellent” or it will get universally criticised in reviews by the traditional biased Canon and Nikon users in the media.
The EVF …IS excellent!
to be perfectly honest, I don’t really give a crap about sony or how the a77 will get criticised….all I care is my business 🙂 …I’m currently working with a 2007 design camera because sony didn’t give anything else to buy, and that pisses me off. I’m not a fanboy of any brand, I couldn’t care less about the brand.
I use sony because I have plenty old and superb minolta glass and I also invested in their 70-400, 70-200….these babies aren’t cheap…FF is out of the question for me, a900 is too expensive form me considering less reach the sensor gives me and not a huge difference in IQ. so this freaking a77 is what I have been waiting for 2 years now. In the same time I’m so aggravated that I had to wait this long and happy as a 7 year old….
And I never thought I would say this but I need a great video capability….people in my line of business are continuously demanding video offers in duration of 5-15 minutes and dSLR is MADE FOR THAT….I use a33 for this, and a77 must be much better in every way to knock me off my feet.
today 19th May, 48 days to go!!! a77
today 19th May, 48 days to go!!! a77
today 19th May, 48 days to go!!! a77
hehehehe
lets a77 rock “pancanikonpus” 😀
+90 days for delivery
+3 months to reach the final price level.
Will it have a tilted LCD-screen?
I think that is a given on this class of camera. How it tilts is a different matter 😉
I hope it tilts out from the side rather than the bottom cause of the vertical grip and itll be much easier for mounting on a tripod
Yup me too!
Just ship in time when I visit Hongkong in November. Originally want to hold out for FF dSLT but the price will be hard to resist if it ship for around $899 body only.
These are some really good news! I usually buy second hand photo equipment to keep down the losses but this time I’ll order one as soon as I can.
Great work, admin! Keep us posted…
At 1100 USD it is a steal! Probably the pricing is so aggressive to gain market share while Nikon is hurting following the tsunami?
1. New technology at this level (advanced consumer-semi pro) and converts need to be generated.
2. Good OVF is expensive and not needed.
3. and your point=> undercut Canikon.
only 300 $ more than the a55. ich don´t belive in the price.
i cant wait a77 anymore big news today
Hi!
how is the a77 iso?
how many AF point will it have?
If high ISO and focus tracking is good I’ll buy two. Just in case the battery on the first one is empty too soon.
Have been waiting for this since a long long long time!! 😀 😀 😀
What is the size expected? Will it be a small cam like the A33/55 or mid-sized like the A580, or perhaps even larger.
Should be a bit larger than the A55!
If the clear mockup IS the camera, then it’s going to be more or less the same as the camera on the right of this pic:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4945657806_3be45d8cc0.jpg
It’s the same body that has been shown around since the beginning of the A700 replacement rumors. The camera on the left is the A33/A55 body.
I realize there’s a question about the lens. Perhaps the current 18-55. But wouldn’t that be insufficent to resolve detail on a 24mp sensor?
Didnt it state that there is a new 16-50 constant aperture kit lens?
yes.
paragraph two of the post wondered if the price was with the 18-55 or the new rumored 16-50. So, my question deals with why Sony would package the A77 with the 18-55 as I wondered if it was good enough to resolve detail on a 24mp sensor.
Ah yes, cost 😀
What about NEX-C5 or NEX-7? I’m very interested in one these two.
NEX-C5 should be here by end of the year. The NEX-7 in July. Same day as A77.
mhh if the evf is the main distinction between NEX 7 and NEX C5 then i`ll go with the A77 for now.
If the rumors are correct I wonder what’s under the hood of the Nex7 if the estimated price is 1300$, higher than the bigger brother A77..
Maybe it’s because of the fact that the NEX-7 has only one competitor which is the GH2. The A77 has to compete against mosnters like Nikon and Canon!
GH2 is around 1000 with the 14-42.
they must put something really special to make it cost double Nex-5
global shutter would be cool…
lol
wake up boy 😀
PANCANIKONPUS said “wake up boy :D”
Fully conscious but thank you laddy
🙂
Should we still expect the A35 announcement in early June?
Of course! June 3!
I know the price sounds too good to be true, but I belive it’ll be it.
They “said” it from the beginning toghether with the developpement of a new kit lens with constant aperture.
I don’t think body only will be cheaper though…
Many times when I chek the price of a camera (a55 or a33 f.e) they cost the same with or without kit lens and sometimes even cheaper with!… (…”jokes” of the market)
As I answered in the question above, I’d buy it even with the current 18-55, but what I’m expecting is: A77 + 16-50 f/const. for ~1100$ (my money is ready for it).
I also expect this is gonna be a real huge KICK in the market…. almost a new era!
will A77 have flip out, swiveling screen like Canon 60D? It is very valuable feature if camera has Live View and Video.
I’m mot sure I understand –
No flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place
Will the A77 have the articulating LCD like the A55?
I’m sorry if this is a bit off topic, but, do you know when is the 4.0 firmware for NEX going to be released? I use manual lenses and I’m really looking forward to it 🙂
Should be June 3!
Thank you for the reply, Andrea 😀
June 3 is going to be a big day for me, final maths exam and peaking! <3 hahaha
So what’s going to happen with the price of the a55 then? Right now B&H has it $1099 w/ lens and $749 w/o. I’m guessing this info is wrong and the a77 will be $1099 body only. Just can’t see it especially with the manufacturing woes in Japan right now.
My bet: They will lower the price of the A55.
what was the price on the a700 when it was discontinued? subtract the difference in price from the a850 to get an idea of what they’ll be selling the a88 for #holyagressive
If the A99 gets priced aggressively like that, I think I could overlook it having an EVF.
It was stated that the A77 would be a bit more than the 60D. I am not in the USA, but Amazon have the 60D BODY ONLY at $999. The A77 can’t be only £100 more WITH LENS.
Sorry $100 more! lol
A77 is *not* $1099 with new kit lens!
…and putting the current 18-55mm would be laughable! But it’s the only way I can see of achieving that price 😀
I’m mot sure I understand this as well like Clint–
No flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place
I would of priced it at USD 1077 🙂
Cheers, J
Why not $777?
hehehe
+777
Does anybody have any idea of the actual physical size of the body itself ? I have had a A550 and a A700 and like the larger size of them. The actual smaller size of the A55 is not to my liking anybody have any idea? MIKE/CANADA
Mike they had the Clear version and the Henry’s Digital Photography Show last weekend. It is the not like the smaller A55 but rather a more traditional size somewhere between your A550 and A700. It looks great.
Looking at the a-mount (constant dimension) and comparing grip size on both the a55 and the a77, it looks like there’ll be another finger width on the grip.
I would have bought an a55 except it was too small for my hands so I am really looking forward to this camera.
admin: i am pretty sure you can source the size of the new VG, and pretty sure from there, u can guess the size…. someone, who got the VG leaked info?
It would be wonderful if this body lives up to all of the dreams and desires of many who follow this group have for it…
Sony could have a real hit on its hands if it lives up to expectation, AND if everyone that posts on this site that claims to be ready and able to spend the cash does and buys it!
Personally, I’m up for what I see as the next big post fest; Sony’s replacement of the a850/a900 class of camera body’s.
I saw the mock-up at the show in Mississauga on Saturday past. It was nearly as big as the A700.
Holding my breath for the A77
Hi!
Two question for Admin.
Do u know anything about how many AF point it will have and the iso range?
Working on it. Got something from a nw source but I am trying to doublecheck it.
Absolutely no way $1099 will include the 16-50mm constant aperture lens, if it even exists. It will be the 18-55mm. I reckon you can add on at least $250 for the 16-50mm kit.
I agree The Lotus Eater…
It’s a no way for A77 + kitlens.
Agreed–no way that price includes the new lens, but I think adding the higher grade lens is going to cost a lot more.
If the 16-50 is a f/2.8 lens and is (as suspected) a higher price than the 16-80 (which is $750 at B&H for example), we’ll be looking at $900-$1000 for that lens alone.
16-80 is Carl Zeiss… anything that has that blue spot on the side has exelent quality and damn expensive prices.
Admin,
Not that I care about though.
How about the release date of A35 & NEX-C3?
I already wrote about that last week. It’s June 3!
great! thanks
AWESOMe!! btw, do you know anything about how many fp/s it will be able to shot?
Yes, that’s my next rumor 🙂
o0o cant wait for the next set of rumors =D im getting really excited for the a77.
Me too. But I think I will go for the NEX-7!
And my dream camera would be a Fullframe NEX!
then hurry with the next rumor 😀 i want to know it!! 😀
The momentum going to break over 100 comments! extremely hot!
Announcing a new camera but only delivering it 4 months later is recipe for marketing disaster: not only you canibalize possible sales of your existing products, but you provide your competitors with an early warning of what to expect in terms of features and price.
Now Canon and Nikon have time to raise funding for rebates on their existing products.
It can cannibalize sales of existing products, but that’s a good thing for us. It means that folks can get better deals on A33s and A55s if they so choose. Sony is not hurting for money.
A marketing disaster would be that the A77 was a complete disappointment in terms of performance and quality. This has been hyped for quite awhile so it better offer something that can really compete with the mid-line Canon and Nikon lines. Better glass would help in this regard as well.
Canon will not offer rebates on existing products. There appears to be supply shortages. And IF they did, so what? Canon raised their prices so any cheap rebate would be a gimmick lowering prices to where they were before.
Cannibalization: The A77 is targeted at High-end-amateurs, and is replacing the A700 which has the particular features those users are looking for. It’s Hard to Cannibalize sales on a product that was discontinued months ago….
I would imagine that Canon and Nikon have much better ideas of what Sony is doing than most of the rumor sites out there.
The reality is that the early release is Marketing of a camera that has been long-awaited by many, and by pre-announcing, Sony could possibly prevent defections from their system which is a worse fate than cannibalization.
Marketing Disaster – I suspect not.
And that annoying but highly relevant question again:
Will the shutter sound be almost minimal?
ImHo Sony would really give canonikon a hard time with much more modest shutter sound since wedding, corporate happening, theater and pet photography would benefit from it.
A quiet A580, 33, 55, 850/900 would blow canonikon out of the water!
My 2.000000000000000000001 cents!
Should be like the A55 which I played around with. It was very quiet as the mirror flip sound is removed. Still a shutter sound but am excited about no mirror vibrations on every shot. (Macro, Landscape)
I know most have mirror lockup but I don’t want to have to think about it when I’m composing a shot or it is a fleeting moment.
well, my nex has no mirror flip either and still features the loudest shutter i know.. even if it could be used for wildlife shooting it would scare anything away after the first shot.. not to mention the attention you get when doing a panorama 😀
Sounds to good to be true…. Dreaming!!!
I was in my local camera shop to look at the A55. To say the least, my fears were aleviated after a test drive. A55 was good, A77 will awesome!
Yes! A big clunky slr! With a small sensor somewhere in there! Eh what? Say again??
The Nex-7 sounds promising though..
Not everybody uses small lenses and has small hands 😉 My 400mm wouldn’t balance very well on a NEX 🙂
Well, not every large handed person prefer a larger camera, nor vice versa. Different strokes.
But i do wish camera makers can start making FF cameras in the size of these larger sized APS-C bodies. This is why i believe the NEX-9 is going to be the next important camera from Sony.
This has me a little worried. Sony isn’t in the habit of cutting their margins by much. So at $1099, remove the throw-away $100 kit lens, and the body can be said to be $999. At this point, the features seem to be $200 more than the a55, but $600 less than the original a700. That does not seem to be the a700 killer and worthy successor that everyone is hoping for. It seems a silly way of doing comparisons, but in Sony’s defense, they remain consistent, and while the components of the original a700 have indeed fallen in price, keeping the most current components cancel that out and keep the levels consistent. So the a77 looks to be an a55 step-up, but not an a700 successor. But here’s to hope.
It has to be comparable in cost to a 60D and D7000.
“So the a77 looks to be an a55 step-up, but not an a700 successor. ”
A lot of people say the A55 outclasses the A700 in everything but build quality and ergonomics.
A77 having twice the resolution,twice+ the FPS, better ISO(hoping 2 stops)+ video +live view and same build quality of the A700 would be a more than worthy A700 successor to me.
Your mileage may vary.
🙂
Thanks to Sony pricing, I bet price will be 1099 EUR in EU.
Same for UK 1099 GBP 🙁 The Americans don’t know how lucky they are on consumer goods, even with sales tax. 🙂
Haha! Today, 1099 pounds is $1777. But if the information was misunderstood to be pounds, instead of dollars, then that probably puts it at around a $1699 retail price in the States. Now THAT would fall more in line as an a700 successor with a nice kit lens. And the next prosumer model of camera I want.
Yes I agree, also cameras as well as lenses are on average 20% more in Canada than they are in the USA, even with the Canadian dollar currently being worth more the the American peso! I will be taking a cross border trip to the US to purchase the A77. MIKE/Canada
I would make same, but trip to USA is worth around 560 USD here. 😀 Though it actually is worth it sometimes (when lens are expensive, or you want to buy Pentax 645D which is 70% cheaper in USA etc.).
Prices in New Zealand are about twice the US price, despite the NZ$ currently being a shade under 80c US. It happens like that over most of the world, unfortunately. And it doesn’t stop Americans complaining about things being overpriced.
*clap clap*
Thanks for the final blow.
Now at least I can look forward.
I hope they start shipping before summer ends.
It doesn’t sound like a constant aperture lens from the price, but I hope it’s better quality than my already nice 16-105, because I don’t use the 60-105 that much anyway. (Mainly because I take a lot of low lights)
And as Kaiser commented, I do hope it’s an a700 step up.
Either way, my a700’s staying with me.
That trend seems to have reversed recently. In Canada right now if I wanted to I can currently pick up the Nikon D7000 for $1129 and the Canon 7D for $1499 both much lower than the current the prices Admin has listed in this posting. Hopefully things well be the same when the a77 is released.
Mm… A99 coming out 9/9/12? :p
More like 9/9/99
Not sure where you get the “62% more resolution” number. Resolution is measured in LPPM. A “perfect” 24mp system versus a “perfect” 16mp system would have 22.7% more resolution. Unfortunately, diffraction makes 24mp less perfect than 16mp, so the actual number achieved is likely to be less (unless Sony takes the AA filter off, in which case then we moire issues in return for more resolution). In human testing, it generally takes at least a 15% resolution difference for someone to actually see it. So most people would see the difference, but it won’t be as dramatic as some think. Especially for anything less than huge prints.
While we all want “more and better,” let’s not over hype expected improvements.
I see clear difference between A55 and A900. Of course it is not huge. I think it all depend on lens IQ. Zeiss lens will give you much more difference than 18-55mm.
Ah some of that ole’ patented Thom Hogan hindsight revisionism. 15% to make a difference? You used to insist on a minimum of 20%
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1021&message=28654192
Not really revisionism, just a different tolerance factor. I qualified each statement slightly differently. The measured number out of labs (statistically significant difference between groups) is usually somewhere around the 14-15% mark. My dpreview comment was 20% because I was qualifying it as “most” seeing the difference. If you want to get anal, I’ll be happy to give you different confidence values for 15% and 20%, if that’ll help you understand.
But the point still remains the same: 22.7% is a lot different than the 62% claimed in the article, and 22.7% is awful close to the barrier of visibility. At 22.7%, some people will not see a difference. Most people will, but not all people.
See “clear differences” in resolution, or see “clear differences” in the image quality?
Different sensor sizes do create some differences that are visible, all else equal. But in terms of resolution measurements, the 12mp DX and 12mp FX Nikon sensors produce nearly identical resolution numbers, but I’d rather have the FX data any day. Add that to the 22.7% added resolution, and, yes, a majority of people should see a difference between an A55 and A900. I didn’t write that there would be no difference–I’m not trying to rag on Sony here, the same thing will apply to Nikon when they introduce a 24mp DX camera–I’m just trying to point out that the difference is more modest than the claim of 62% on the post claims.
I agree there will be about 20% difference. However, I expect A77 in field will be with more resolution than A900 because APS camera take benefit from sweet central spot of the lens. In addition A900 per pixel sharpness is not the best in class.
Another thing is high ISO. It is clearly shown that resolution decreases with increase of ISO. If Sony in new A77 will use some new tech, which will dramatically improve high ISO IQ, then at ISO 1600 or 3200 resolution difference could be 60%. Recently rumoured ISO “hundreds of thousands” disappeared from the list, but nevertheless I believe ISO will be improved.
I find my A900 handles significant cropping well, as least when I’m using good glass. That’s probably a more important advantage of more pixels than the straight resolution gain.
Booyeah… Finally…. The long wait is over… I hope it really delivers in term of image quality… I have been tempted several times to change my system… with the current offering from C**on and N**on even Pent** sony should indeed do something about their lineup if they want to keep up in the DSLR business… I really wish the price is correct, if it is paired with the new kit lens it will be awesome.. Lets just see what sony will bring to us at 7/7 =)
Seriously, if it is coming in at $1099 for a kit, that’s pretty amazing. Got $$ at the ready to take ownership. Though I’m also just as quick to RMA the unit if it turns out to have a high suck factor.
W.
Soooo,
Why would Sony not offer a 1080p 24fps video solution? This looks like a great, option-packed deal. And I realize you can’t please everyone, but that’s a huge miss that the frontrunners on this space have been including for at least two versions! You’ve got to have 1080p/24. A huge miss!
Any news on the launch date of the A55 replacement?
This price is awesome!!
I think that Sony is doing some really great stuff for the consumer and ‘prosumer’ niche markets. This A77 would fit in the prosumer market. To be honest, I’m not worried anymore about Sony competing with the pro Canon and Nikon models. It seems that there is more money to be made from the consumer and prosumer markets (as evidenced from their very strong sales in Russia and Asia).
My only real concern is the noise generated from a 24MB image on an APS-C sensor… but it anyone can do it it will be Sony. Ironically, it seems to be Nikon (and Nik Software) who maximize the full potential in the Sony sensors rather than Sony (which is frustrating and perplexing!).
I plan to get an A77 and sell my A550 (and hold on to my A55 which I love using). To be honest, I still use my A200 from time to time and it produces great images when the light quality is good/great.
Lastly, I am a fax of Sony Zeiss lenses now… the quality of image that they produce is simply breath taking in terms of colour and sharpness! Here’s hoping that we see a Sony Zeiss f2.8/70-200mm in the future at some point!
Yeah, agree with you about Nikon. I do prefer Nikon images over Canon. Not like I’m letting my Sony babies go, but it’s a shame that they could do better with Sony sensors than Sony themselves, who should know their own inner workings.
If the Sony SAM 28-75mm f/2.8 is $800, then there is no way that $1099 would include any constant aperature lens. That price sounds like it would be for the body only.
maybe constant 4 or 5.6 🙂
5.6? No please.. No…
I will buy it no doubt 🙂
I can’t wait to get this camera! The price doesn’t seem to make sense for a kit. I think that must be for the body only but it’s still less expensive than I thought it would be. If it is indeed a kit price I think I’ll get the kit, the 16-50mm seems like a good lens to have.
Hi there. Do you have any ideia if the A77 will offer full manual control for video? And what about 24fps video mode?
Thanks!
Just curious Andrea… are you located in the US? I’m never sure what kind of accent I should be reading your posts with 🙂
Not located in US, I am in Europe. The problem with my language is that I do speak three languages (none of them is english). So it’s difficoult to find an accent!
I do not think this will be the price for the camera with the 16-50 f2.8 but if it is the price with the 16-50 Sony will make some serious waves. If they could sell this camera with a 16-50 2.8 for $1,099 it would pose the biggest threat yet to Canon/Nikon. I don’t think the 16-50 is gonna be a Zeiss lens. Tamron has a 17-50 f2.8 for around $400 new. The Sony lens will not cost a fortune to produce. If they include a lens like that as the kit lens- wow. People are gonna sit up and take notice.
16-50/2.8 under $500 itself is going to make people sit up.
Yeah, I’m betting it’s not 2.8. I’ll join the wagon of wishful thinkers though.
Maybe Sony has finally gotten serious about competing on price when it comes to their DSLRs? I think it’s the only way they’ll significant numbers of people away from Canon and Nikon. Well, they have to make a good camera as well.
The one thing I really want to know is how the hell does that flip out screen work.
All the pictures I’ve seen have confused me.
Does it fold down like the A55 or fold out like th A580.
It can’t do both !
And yet the pictures Ive seen make it look as if it has both systems !
Any info from your sources Andrea ?
flash X-sync????
$1099 for body only, and add $77 for 16-50 F2.8 Kit
Does the screen flip out? If so, is it from the side (like Nikon D5100) or from the bottom (like A33/A55)?
Like if it will be from the bottom you’ll skip a77, lol.
I’m excited. That’s my birthday! Maybe that means I get one for free?
Any idea on what kind of battery is being used in the A77? Same as what is in the A33/55 or will my good ‘ol NP-FM500H battery fit in the A77?
Great news. I hope the evf delivers.
The price seem to leave some gap in the $1300-$1800 range. I’m interested to see how FF versions of NEX, SLT, and A850 successor will play out.
A99 body for 1400-1500 and I’m there.
Second that. If I am not seduced by A77 first.
What will make people want to buy the a77?
I shoot a lot of macro, wildlife, and portraits. Is it good to wait for the a77 or am I wasting my time. I have a nex 5 but I’m ready for a dslt or dslr
Whether waiting for a77 is wasting your time is relative.
My A700 delivers what I need, except high ISO performance.
Otherwise, a77 must be a step up for me else I can’t let go of my A700.
Hopefully waiting for the A77 won’t be a waste of time. I hope it is a real improvement, not just fancy specs, but sharper, cleaner and quicker pics.
For technology, I believe that it never really hurts to wait. At some point you have to draw a line, but a couple of months may be worth the wait.
Can we expect A99 on 9th of September??? may be not 2011 🙂
Unfortunately we missed 5th of May for A55 and NEX-5 updates.
Zeiss 24/2.8 – how does this match a date? 24th of February 2018?
Sounds like priced to sell. So many of us will want to buy it at this price that I hope they can manage the production demands.
Any idea what the flash sync will be? 160 won’t cut it…
Great news! And while I’m looking forward to it, I’m hoping (and I believe others have spoken about this today) that part of the delay has been due to Sony’s scientists being in the lab, working on their algorithms for making the pictures look better.
But regardless, I’ll be ordering this camera as soon as it’s available.
ive been running around in circles with my hands in the air..what about you?
Hmmm this is tough, i was just about to buy a Nikon d7000, now i’m not so sure.
The D7000 is a great camera and will probably meet and exceed all your needs, but it’s also $1500 with the kit lens. Only you can decide if the $400 extra is worth it, but more importantly, you’ll miss out on the whole summer of picture taking opportunities by waiting for the A77 to be available.
I don’t think the package comes with the new lens.
Admin has already mentioned before that it will the last apsc Zeiss lens produced for Sony. Below $500…? Dream hard guys. 😛
I do not think it will be a Zeiss lens. Sony is making a mistake if it is. Sony could bundle this camera with the new lens and still make a profit- and steal a ton of business from Nikon and Canon. They have to do something dramatic and make a big splash to cut into the Canikon dominance. This could be it.
A 15-85 f3.5-f4 MIGHT be possible though for that price.
For that price it won’t have manual video controls. So when will a55 get an update and have 60fps?
I don’t think it will have manual video controls because Sony does not want it competing with their high end video equipment.
By the way, if it can’t compete with the GH2 in terms of video I won’t be interested in it- even if it is bundled with the new 16-50. I suspect Sony will cripple the video capabilities but perhaps they will surprise me.
For that price I would seriously consider buying two one for my better half as well. can’t wait for the A77.
I’m going on a trip in july and I have to get a sony dslr. Should I get an a55 or a580. I hate that the a77 wont ship til sept. 🙁
What a joke. The A77 with 16-50mm f/constant kit is 1099USD? I think we’re wrong its actually 1099EU, OR 1099USD Body only. I’m hoping for the latter.
Now got to find me better lenses to compensate the massive 24MP, and hopefully my existing Sigma lenses would be compatible with my future A77.
go for a580 now before it’s out of the market. this might be the last OVF release by Sony.
today 20th May, 47 days to go!!! a77
today 20th May, 47 days to go!!! a77
today 20th May, 47 days to go!!! a77
*Long comment alert*
One angle that no-one has discussed is the possibility that the “extreme” price point on this camera is so low because of a potential corporate subsidy. In a similar model to their Blu-Ray players, Playstation gaming systems, etc, the main unit is often times sold at a loss, or minimal profit, and the Accessories and peripherals are the major money makers(think cost of blu-ray discs or Games). Economically it makes sense, I have no knowledge of production costs for a 24 MP, Magnesium body, translucent camera, but I do know that the economic benefit to Sony of having such a product crush the market and garner attention would be lucrative. Think accessories: lenses, flashes, straps, Vertical grips, Memory cards, bags, etc, etc.
True, many of the great readers on this website already have a large backlog of accessories, so this A77 may ultimately not be targeting us. As everyone likes to crtically highlight, Sony is after the bottom line with it’s consumer/not-pro models: the Large Consumer Camera market. Your average Joe is going to stroll into his neighborhood electronics store and plunk down the Currency of choice for a Camera. Eventually that individual is going to realize he needs other bits and pieces to “complete” his purchase. Look at Canon, minor gripe alert coming, but my brother, sad to say, is a T2i owner. In my search to purchase the Canon 50mm 1.4 in celebration of the birth of his Twin sons, I shockingly found that the Lens hood and pleather case were SEPARATE purchases that had to be made. $30 here and $20 there for a $2 accessory to manufacture adds up quickly, that is in profits for the company (and costs for the gift-giver). I’m not saying that Sony is going to reap BILLIONS from accessory/peripherals (lens, flashes, VGs), but the cash to be made is definitely out there, even if by a 3rd party licensee that pays for the rights to manufacture that “Tamron” Alpha-mount Lens hood.
Bottom line for my rambling post is that this price may very well be true, thanks completely to Andrea and her source(s). In the same way that gaming systems are subsidized at a loss ($60 discs for the game itself is where the money is at), Sony may be subsidizing this, and future bodies to garner a larger chunk of the market share from Canikon. If this is true, it only means great things for us established Sony users. I for one, an extremely happy A700 (50/1.4, 24-70CZ/2.8, 70-200/2.8, 100/2.8 Macro) user, would welcome this body with eager hands. Sony hooked me with the Basic A200 package 3 years ago and look at the snowball effect it had on me. If they can pull just half a million new users into the Sony camp, this lowered price A77 will have done an outstanding job of “hooking” a future legion of loyal Sony buyers.
@NWolf: If there’s any ‘like’ button, I would certain like your comment.
>> thanks completely to Andrea and her source(s).
Andrea is a he i think?
I just hope it really delivers in term of performance, I would justify a higher price point for excellent image quality, fast and accurate AF, etc… Can’t wait for the launch.. =)
I wonder if they would sell a clear body sony a77 like the one pictured above… I would buy one for my collection… It looks awesome =p
I agree it looks cool, but I fear it’d have a light leak.
Still, I wish cameras came in colours other than black. It’s like they’re stuck in a Model T Ford mentality. I’d be quite keen if the A99 came in blue or green or even yellow.
+1 Carl, a lighter color than Black also might aid in a slight dispersement of heat on the body in direct Sunlight. Maybe the optional colors could aid in keeping the constant autofocus overheating problem (in video) in check!
An opaque white or Silver body would be distinctive and give that same automatic “first impression” that swinging a large White lens to your face has.
Not “iPod White”, though. That would just make me look like a hipster.
Anodised chrome or champagne silver would have a cool retro look to it. Something reminiscent of the Minolta 9Ti, maybe.
Something Silver-ish like the 70-400G Lens finish? Could be spiffy. AND many reviews of that lens commented that the color finish aided in reducing surface temperatures on the barrel.
AF fine-tuning capabilities. – FINALLY, i have 3 sigmas that are just slightly frontfocused on one a700, on the other they’re fine….if the af tracking is more than just good (withe lets say 8fps, but the real thing, not ae locked crap) and if it has USABLE ISO3200 who will complain about the EVF (considering the price).
For this price point, the a77 will sell like hotcakes assuming it’s the camera we all expect, it will attract a lot of people to the sony camp, and that is what sony needs to do right now, build up a user base big enough to sustain any camera/lens release. The a850/900 were amazing cameras for the price, but since the user base was small they didn’t really sell how sony expected, if nikon or canon made a camera like that (canon came close with the 5dmarkII, but compared to a850 it was overpriced) they would have been sold like hot cakes.
You’re right, as a photography tool the 5D MkII might not be as good as the A850/900. But Canon did sell them like hot cakes. The MkII not only appeal to those getting into a photography business of their own, but also to the student/hobbyist film makers out there. Canon have affordable and good performing 50mm and 85mm fast primes. Not image stabilized, but cost of entry of camera + lenses is lower than Sony’s.
Hi All,
First time poster here. Looking forward to the A77. Glad to find this site.
Here’s what I have to say, SONY is looking to be a dominant player in the DSLR world. They have their traditional DSLR Axxx series and SLT A33/55 ‘translucents’.
The A33/55 were major/radical technolgical DSLR improvements but the BIG thing is gonna be the A700 replacement – the A77. Sony is looking to convert alot of Canikon users to the A77 through price and technology.
I think if the $999 body only, $1099 with old kit lens pricing were true… As long as the A77 is a major improvement over the Sony A55, Nikon D7000, Canon EOS 60D, Sony might pull it off. And I think they’re gonna do it with the A77. Price, performance, features and technology will sure to draw alot of converts including me.
Myself, I’m a Nikon D90 with 3 lens user looking to upgrade. I was impressed with the Sony A55. I’m waiting for the A77 instead of getting the Nikon D7000.
Earlier this year Sony’s Masashi ‘Tiger’ Imamura, President of Sony Personal Imaging & Sound Business Group gave a personal interview to dpreview. Focus what he says about the A700(A77) replacement….
‘We really can change the world’ says Masashi ‘Tiger’ Imamura, President of Personal Imaging & Sound Business Group in an exclusive interview with dpreview.com. The company will try to bring together all its technologies to produce a worthy successor to the A700, he told us in a talk that also touched on the future expansion of the NEX system and the company’s position on ‘full frame’ models.
‘After the merger [with Konica Minolta] our system was very similar to a traditional DSLR – very similar to Canon and Nikon. They have more heritage than us: traditional DSLRs are a mixture of optics, mechanics as well as electronics. We’re coming from the AV industry so we have a lot of unique technologies we can put into our cameras. Now we have merged our resources into one place (Tokyo), we can bring our knowledge from Alpha, NEX, Cyber-Shot and camcorders.’
‘There has been a lot of discussion about what an Alpha DSLR should be. We’ve been focusing for some time on utilizing our unique technologies. The translucent mirror is one and it performs very well. We want the A700 replacement to be in line with that kind of step forward, we want it to be superior to its competitors, that’s why we couldn’t make it sooner,’ he said. But, he assured us, the results will be worth waiting for: ‘With the A33 and 55 we tried to look at the problem and get rid of some of the old hassles – the A700 successor should be like that.’
Meanwhile, the NEX concept will expand in several directions, he said: ‘The concept of the NEX 3 and 5 were for people who already have a compact stills camera and want to take a step up, but see a traditional DSLR as big, heavy and hard to use. We think these models are a very good fit to those customers. But also there are customers using NEX in addition to their DSLR, so we’re planning to expand NEX in a more easy way, a lighter way, but we’ll also expand to make models that have more manual control and more DSLR-like capability.’
Imamura repeated the enthusiasm he expressed at Photokina for the use of legacy lenses on the NEX system: ‘with lens adapters, people can combine their valued, heritage lenses with a very advanced digital body. We didn’t expect that kind of usage. There are lots of interesting things we can do for those types of customer.’ The wait for these models may not be too long – at a formal dinner after our interview he told the assembled journalists that: ‘the successors to the NEX-3 and NEX-5 are on the horizon.’
But the company’s ambition doesn’t end there, he said: ‘As well as the easy-to-use and DSLR capabilities, we’re also thinking about the camcorder style shooters and technologies. The NEX VG10 is one example of that. The barriers between compacts, DSLRs and camcorders will merge – not necessarily in a single device but with technologies and capabilities being shared between them. Our mission is to create new markets – we don’t want to make the same products as everyone else and just cannibalise each other in the existing market.’
When asked about full-frame, he said Sony was still committed: ‘When we started in DSLR we said that if we have DSLRs, a full-frame camera must be there. But we are working on a lot of products and there is a limit to our engineering capacity. The time will come when I can give more detail. When we announce a full-frame camera we want it to be a big step forward – another technological development might be needed so I say to people: Please stay tuned.’
I’m excited.
Maroot
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1101/11011110sonyinterview.asp
I don’t know if the A77 will be a ‘big improvement’ over the D7000/K-5. But it should be a noticable improvement over A55.
The new 24mp sensor should be a step forward to match if not beat the D7000/K-5/A580 low light performance. Add to this possibly the best evf ever made, mag alloy body, in body IS, fast shooting speed, no mirror slap … well you get the idea. It’s going to be the best value proposition in the $900-$1400 range.
3 things i laugh at D7000:
i) that lcd screen – incredible awesome design
ii)full time AF – incredible awesome design
iii) sensor – so cheap, as world no2 but do not own owned made sensor
My biggest concern is the AF, I doubt Sony has improved it for that price. Also the build quality might not be what I was hoping for…
Innocent till proven guilty.
We’ll just have to wait and see what the A77 actully brings.
Personally, I think AF and build quality is on par with Canikon equals. Now if the A77 comes with some Magnesium in its body, it’s atleast equal to Nikon D700 and up.
Yeah, we have to wait. I just doubt Sony will offer 39 or even 51 AF points. Of course not everybody needs that anyway. I guess we can be happy when they are able to offer more than 11.
The build quality on the a700 in awesome. I anticipate the a77 will be built even better. I don’t what you are expecting but short of bulletproof I don’t know what else they can do.
Relatively low price seems understandable: camera is not that good to pay more for it.
It has noisy multi-megapixel sensor, and the SLT design assures some additional sensitivity degrade compare to the DSLR or mirrorless cams.
It has no moveable screen as A55 have, which is inacceptable for the active photo and video shooters.
It has no 1080p/i video with 50-60fps, but 25-30. This is in par with competition and less then required for quality video.
Recent Sony sensors have very low noise levels. While it’s conceivable that Sony completely dropped the ball with their new 24MP APS sensor, I’d hardly say it’s likely.
The A55, with its pellicle mirror in the light path, has lower noise than the sensor in my A900 does, despite smaller photosites.
I think you are misunderstanding something – the LCD will be a rotatable screen just like the A55.
There have been some mention of “No flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place” which refers to the Translucent glass. It is not a reference (as some others have said) to the LCD preview screen.
As others say – wait for the results. It’s easy to say images will be noisy, just keep in mind the technical improvements that exist as part of the Sensor process. Also – this is not a video camera. Sony sells lots of those, and for people who need 1080p/60 – they can pay for it.
Where will the a77 be made? China, Thailand or even Japan?
Here’s a question that maybe some of the more knowledgeable photographers could answer for me.
I have a relatively successful local blog which generates 17-24,000 viewers a day. My blog is mostly a photography and video blog in which I post photos which are 640 pixels wide and if clicked upon i like them to be viewable full screen on a 21 inch monitor.
Does having a much higher megapixel camera do anything for me beside make larger photos for which I obviously need to resize?
Because if that were the case, then a camera like the a35 might be more useful to me than the a77, no?
More megapixels = enough detail to enlarge crops.
Well, higher DR and color depth is nice to have, but it’s not as important as good lighting. But if you can afford it, why not? Right?
If your final medium is the web, then almost any dslr is more than good enough.
But again, there’s other features that a new camera like the A77 provides that older/cheaper cameras might lack. AF speed, AF adjustment, build quality, possibly tethered shooting, larger viewfinder, larger lcd, faster continous shooting, better grip … etc.
The A33/A55 is in no way bad, but there’s certain features that the A700 user expect in a replacement camera that is not satisfied by the A33/A55 cameras.
Even as a Nikon user, I love what Sony is doing. Keep up the good work and keep the pressure on! This looks like one heck of a camera. Can’t wait to see actual specs and image samples.
As a Nikon user you should be jumping for joy. It seems Sony provides Nikon with intel, Nikon markets it a Sony sits back and sees if its something they want to build on. Doesn’t Nikon use Sony sensors already? I believe so. Remeber Nikon is better known in the dslr market so it makes sense for Sony to “share” intel with Nikon.
Your right, I’m looking forward to seeing this in the D7100! Just give Sony/Nikon some time to make some more tweaks to the sensor. The cameras out there now are capable of some great images, but it will be interesting in the next few months to see what this baby can do!
I´m really excitid. I have been using A200 (great camera) for 3 years and I really think it´s time to take a step forward. I know what I want and if the A77 isn´t THE camera I will be waiting for the next A850/A900.
the a55 turned out to be a lemon…….the a77 uses the same tech…..the viewfinder on the a55 was a big disappointment..the odd reflections from the mirror ruins many shots, specially night shots…work good for macro if you flip up the mirror and use the screen..
as for video..the lack of full control made that a bust…
The sales figures for the A55 clearly show the A55 not to be a lemon.
You are exaggerating the ghosting issue, reviews have consistency stated that it is very rare and very difficult to reproduce. None of the A33/55 shooters I know have ever had it, they love the A33/55.
As for video, consumers don’t care about manual controls on video, they will probably never take it off auto for stills or they use one of the shooting modes.
You don’t actually own one, it’s clear from what you wrote that you are just repeating the same old crap off the Internet that other people who don’t use one are saying.
You are just baiting of course – go back to your Nikon/Canon forum and live in ignorant bliss 🙂
Hello all. Actually I make my photos with a Minolta 7d and, of course, I’m waiting for the A77. I’m very nosy what the years of developement between those cameras will have changed. My friend has a A550 and is very disappointed. It’s surely not because of the quality of the pictures, but because the camera is a kind of vacuum cleaner. There is allways dust on the sensor. He avoids to change the objectives and uses an all-in-one glass. I change the optics yery often and, from time to time, have to clean the sensor (I know, thats not direct the sensor ..), but I can’t say that this is such a massive invasion of dirt. I hope that the metal body of the A77 avoids that ammount of electrostatic charging that the A550 seems to have. The further question is whether the fixed mirror is as well sealed that no dust reaches the sensor and what happens, instead of that, on the mirror itself. Any experience from the actual SLT’s?
Admin,
How about the overheating sensor issue is that being addressed?
thanks.
I heard they worked on that and it should be fixed (for both new cameras, the A35 and A77).
Great!
I wonder what will be a77’s battery? Will it be the same as a55’s?
I have delayed my purchase of my next camera for months in anticipation of the A77’s release. So far, it looks like my choice has been a wise one, but only time will tell if the rumors pan out. I am normally a Canon user in my personal life, and mostly have used Nikon professionally, so I would be very impressed with Sony if they can trumph the current competition from these two camera makers. If the A77 doesn’t live up to the hype I will probably just end up getting the 60D. It has most of the options I would like to see in my new camera other than the usual sluggish live view AF. I do a great deal of macro work at odd angles which has made me an immense fan of articulated LCDs in conjuction with live view. I end up missing the opportunity to get about 15% of my shots with cameras that lack these features which just isn’t acceptable to me. I hope the A77 turns out to be the perfect solution for me.
Too bad it did not happen. Is it going to be 18 or 24 megapixels.
Perhaps it was the release of the A35 that was for July and that this will come out next month. Sony hardly ever releases one camera or even 2 at a time. as the NEX C3 came out too. With the demise of Pentax I hope Sony puts out something like the A77 or A800 soon.
Well… looks like July has almost come and gone and no a77. I cannot wait for this camera to come out, it shall be mine. IT SHALL BE MINE!