• International User manual for Sony A77II
• Sony A77II brochure in English
• Sony A77II User Manual in English

• A6000 User manual
• Manuel utilisateur Sony Alpha 6000 : indisponible pour le moment

Take advantage of this availability to discover all of its features.

And you can also check DPreview’s hands-on review of the Sony Alpha A6000.

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According to SonyAlhaRumors (the web site which collects the more rumors, if not the most critical), there are several clear items:

• There will be a successor to the Sony Alpha 77
• It will be named A77-II
• It will have ultra-fast autofocus
• It will come in May 2014

Let’s step back a little and review these:

• Existence: The question was really open, but it appears that Sony is not ready to leave the DSLR market yet, even without a real Reflex chamber, or even if featuring an EVF.
• Name: Don’t listen too much to things that can easily change in the offices of Sony Marketing Department (even if time starts runnig short for a last-minute change).
• The A77 was impressive for its speed. Sony marketing must have pushed this advantage and the A77-II will have an improved-again A6000 autofocus system (already the fastest on the market), an EVF with a slightly improved lag (maybe), maybe-improved continuous shooting (here, to go over 10 fps, you need to pay for special mechanics, and the cost may not be OK for the A77-II price range).
• Date: There is always some fuzzy difference between announcement and availibility dates, but May 2014 launch is possible, depending on the credibility of the sources…

Don’t look for more technical details. For the last years, Sony succeeded in managing its “leaks”. Obviously, in most case, it’s not information theft, but “organized leaks” handled within a self-promotion campaign exploiting the Internet and some Internet web sites. If Sony did not let anything go, either they prepare a thunderous announcement, or they have to wait for after Summer…

Sony does not go into great details, but says that they are working on a correction for the issue (I would not like to be one of the engineers tasked with this). In the mean time, the owners would better be using soemthing to mask this part of the camera: gaffer tape, a large elastic rubber band, or elastic hair ties (as shown on BTC).

• Improved response times (no more “processing” message while waiting for display of pictures, faster power-off, faster dial response times)
• Shading and aberration compensation now available on the following lenses:
  • SAL-24F20Z (Carl Zeiss)
  • SAL-85F14Z (Carl Zeiss)
  • SAL-135F18Z (Carl Zeiss)
  • SAL-70300G (G Lens)
  • SAL-35F18
  • SAL-50F18
• Faster and more precise AF

All details from Sony.

• A77 firmware (for PC)
• A77 firmware (for MAC)
• A65 firmware (for PC)
• A65 firmware (for MAC)

When Sony wants to replace a digital photo camera like the Sony Alpha 55, they may want to re-design everything from the ground up ou they can collect all the best from various (recent) sources and create a significant progress. That is the later that the Sony engineers chose when designing the all new Sony Alpha 57: You take most of the contents of a Alpha 55 to cram it into an Alpha 65 body. But they also chose to keep the best technologies to make it better than a rough composite product.

Here is how an Sony Alpha 57 is built:

• A 16.7 MP APS-C digital sensor seen on the Nex-5N
• A body directly drawn from the Sony Alpha 65
• The most recent BIONZ processor
• The autofocus system of the Sony Alpha 55 with some algorithmic improvements
• The EVF of the Alpha 55 (so, quite less impressive than the EVF of the Alpha 65 or the Alpha 77 but… much less expensive)
• The tiltable LCD display of the A55

The shutter is probably a good (complex) mix of technologies already known in Sony with several improvements (allowing 8 fps, or 10 fps if you use a fixed AF, or 12 fps with a reduced resolution).

Video (now compulsory on any new digital camera, SLR or not) allows AVCHD 2.0, and a mode automatically re-framing portraits to help apply the rule-of-thirds (not very software-intensive, but it could help photographers with short-attention span like me),

All the details are on the special page for the Sony Alpha 57.

We will find this Alpha 57 sold from April. Considering the US$700 price, it could well become a very serious contender in the competition to grab the attention of a lot of high-end amateurs or price-conscious experts.

Additonal videos

Press Release

SAN DIEGO, March 12, 2012 — A wider palette of creative options is now accessible to more shooters with the α57 camera, the newest addition to Sony’s popular line of A-mount cameras employing Translucent Mirror Technology.

The innovative Translucent Mirror design directs incoming light to the CMOS image sensor and the AF sensor at the same time, allowing full-time continuous AF during both still and video shooting. Users can also frame, focus and preview shots in real-time on the high-resolution Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder, which offers a wide viewing angle and 100% field of view. This allows photographers to capture exactly what they see on the screen.

A natural successor to Sony’s acclaimed α55 camera, the α57 is positioned for a wide audience of DSLR users. It can shoot still images at up to 12 frames per second, full HD video at 60p, 60i or 24p frame rates and has a variety of creative modes including Auto Portrait Framing, a world’s first technology.

“Today’s DSLR consumer is looking for a higher level of control and flexibility in their camera,” said Mike Kahn, director of the Alpha camera business group for Sony Electronics. “With the introduction of the new α57, we’re bringing blazing fast response rates, enhanced artistic capabilities and other advanced features to the mainstream DSLR marketplace, offering professional-grade performance at affordable prices.”

With the α57 camera, shooting speeds of up to 12 frames per second are achieved in new Tele-zoom Continuous Advance Priority AE mode, maintaining continuous auto focus and auto exposure with fixed aperture. Magnifying the central portion of the sensor’s image by 1.4x, it’s perfect for capturing split-second action close-ups with a burst of sharply focused images, even when the subject is moving. In this shooting mode, aperture is fixed at either f/3.5 or the maximum aperture of lens in use (whichever is smaller) and image size of photos is about 8.4 megapixels.

Additionally, the α57 camera lets people create powerfully expressive Full HD movies. Responsive full-time continuous phase detection AF ensures that moving subjects stay sharply focused, just like with still shooting. Support for the AVCHD Ver. 2.0 (Progressive) format means that Full HD resolution movies can be captured with 60p frame rate: ideal for capturing smooth, blur-free action. Shooting in 24p is also available to give footage a rich, cinematic look. Movie-making options are enhanced further with full control over P/A/S/M shooting modes for virtually limitless creative expression.

The α57 model shares the α65’s 15-point AF system with three cross sensors delivering fast, accurate TTL phase detection autofocus. Newly enhanced Object Tracking AF keeps faces or other selected objects in sharp focus – even if a target is obscured momentarily by another passing object.

Even the novice photographers can now easily create pro-style portraits with the α57 thanks to new Auto Portrait Framing, a world’s first technology. Using face detection and the compositional ‘rule of thirds,’ the camera identifies a subject’s position, trimming the scene to create tightly framed, professional-looking pictures in portrait or landscape orientation while maintaining a copy of the original image. Saving both the original photo plus the adjusted version allows for easy comparison between the two images, offering photographers inspiration to refine their portrait skills.

To get closer to the subject, 2x Clear Image Zoom digital zoom technology doubles the effective magnification of your lens and is a highly practical alternative to travelling with a bigger, bulkier telephoto lens. The camera uses Sony’s “By Pixel Super Resolution Technology” to ensure that cropped and zoomed images retain full pixel resolution.

Additionally, the model’s range of popular in-camera Picture Effect modes includes 11 different effects and 15 total variations – offering a generous palette of ‘PC-free’ artistic treatments, including Pop Color, HDR Painting, Miniature Mode and much more. Results can be previewed directly in live view mode on the LCD screen or in the new Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder while shooting either Full HD video or stills.

Still and video shooting, framing, focusing and real-time preview of exposure adjustments are a pleasure with the new Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder. With ultra-detailed 1440k dot resolution and a 100% field of view, it rivals quality optical viewfinders. There’s a choice of selectable high-resolution information displays with a wide viewing-angle to help consumers shoot with confidence, including a digital level gauge and framing grid. Information can be displayed either directly in the viewfinder or on the angle-adjustable 7.5 cm (3.0-type) Xtra Fine LCD display.

Ensuring detail-packed images, the 16.1 effective megapixel Exmor® APS HD CMOS sensor is teamed with a latest-generation BIONZ® engine. Refined by Sony during the development of its flagship α77 and high-end α65 cameras, this powerful processor effortlessly handles large amounts of image data for flawless, low-noise images and Full HD video.

Thanks to the BIONZ processor, creative shooting opportunities are boosted by an outstanding sensitivity range of ISO 100-16,000. Users will experience consistently natural, low-noise images – whether shooting at fast shutter speeds to freeze dynamic action or handheld without flash in low light.

Pricing and Availability

The new α57 interchangeable lens camera will be available this April with an 18-55mm kit zoom lens for $800 (model SLT-A57K). It will also be offered as body-only for about $700 (model SLT-A57).

Sony will also be introducing a new battery-powered LED video light, model HVL-LE1, which broadens options for recording video indoors or in low light. This new accessory will be available this month for about $250.

This is not for everybody. This is heavy in all senses of the word.

Availability of the Sony 500 mm f/4 G SSM: end of March 2012.

It may help better understand the differences justifying the very large price gap between the two models (for the same digital sensor).

Pictures coming from a partnership with Sébastien Ortega-Dubois who gives more detailed differences in a comparison of Sony SLT-A77, Sony SLT-A65 and Sony Alpha 55.

For the follwing new products, Sony just removed all forecast of availability.

• NEX-7
• NEX-5N
• NEX-C3
• Alpha 65

Source: Steve Huff.

More later.

The most recent release of Capture One (version 6.3) now supports the new RAW files grnerated by the most recent Sony products using the huge 24 MP sensor:

• Sony Alpha 77
• Sony Alpha 65
• Sony NEX-7
• Sony NEX-5n

We should also list the support for the most recent Olympus:

• Olympus E-P3
• Olympus E-PL3

Everything points at a sound produces inside the camera bod (it can be heard from the outside, but it is mostly audible in the recorded sound taken using the internal mike of the NEX-5N). But it’s already a known problem of the NEX-5. Some would like to think that this is the beginning of a PR nightmare for Sony. But the past experience of the Nex5 and the overheating sensor video issues seem to have always been handled by Sony without grave problems in front of customers who only marginally worry about these (these are acceptable issues, somehow).

What is an EVF?

EVF = Electronic View Finder.

Be ready to see this term used more and more, even for SLR cameras. Many a compact point-and-shoot photo camera already is equipped with an EVF, but it is most common in video cameras (and it has been for many years already). In the viewfinder, instead of looking at an image coming from a more or less complex optical system, your eye is pointed at a small LCD screen (or TFT, or OLED or whatever similar technology) reproducing the picture recorded by the CMOS imaging sensor of the camera.

After all, this is only what we already know well as the LiveView mode on the back LCD of nearly all the compact photo cameras (and many SLR too). But as a small picture in the viewfinder.

An LCD display + a viewing lens = an EVF.

In some case, you could add a small mirror for space reasons, but this is a minor variation to the original tune.

EVF and Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras

A Single Lens Reflex (SLR) photo camera is organized around a very mature technology in which a mirror reflects the image through an eyepiece via a pentaprism (or a penta-mirror) as in the drawing on the left.

Of course, as the film (film plane and focal plane shutter) is hidden by the mirror, this one must be drawn up to take the snapshot.

All this is greatly simplified when there is an electronic viewfinder.

Advantages and drawbacks

Advantages et gains from an electronic viewfinder

The first positive side is mechanical and optical: If you remove the mirror and the pentaprism, the architecture of the camera will be greatly streamlined, lightened and its manufacturing cost will go down. For three different reasons (at least):

• reduction of the number of parts
• reduction of the assembly complexity (or of the amount of human work needed)
• increased ease of calibration (alignment) of the optical parts (an LCD and an eyepiece, rather than a whole bunch of parts)

Even better, the disappearance of a huge articulated and mobile mechanical system brings several positive effects:

• increase of the continuous shooting speed/cadence (there’s so much less hardware to move around for a photo)
• reduction of shutter noise (in a traditional SLR camera, most of the noise actually comes from the mirror up-swing and the shutter operation; It’s worth removing one of them)
• a lighter mechanical structure through reduction of the quantity of parts and since the enclosure is lighter because it has less stress to sustain in all these shocks and moves

Also, the electronic viewfinder exactly reproduces what the sensor sees. A 100% optical coverage on a viewfinder of fully optical design has always been reserved to the most expensive SLR cameras. But when you get an EVF, 100% coverage is totally natural and effortless. Luxury comes to you in the clothes (and price) of entry level.

Then, having an LCD display brings the additional possibility of adding all the data you can think of. Many brands already experimented with this and brought us some Electronic Viewfinders with features like:

• Histogram
• Artificial Horizon
• Zoom on a part of the image
• Telltales and technical displays (aperture, speed, ISO, etc.)
• Active AF zones (including face detection)

As a matter of fact, there is no other limit than what a computer screen can display: Data, image, etc. It’s only a choice from the designer.

And it’s not even the end of it. The EVF also has a major advantage when light is low: As far as the sensor can see something, it’s only a matter of amplifying light signal (like for the ISO sensitivity selection) to make the picture readable. If the photo is possible (even barely possible), showing it is possible. Think about it! A nikon D3s digital sensor could display what it sees even in the darkest dawn it can manage. Since the digital noise is only a marginal issue on an LCD display (even at 3MP resolution), you can see what the sensor will be able to grab even in a room too dark for comfortable framing with an optical viewfinder.

If you compare it with the lowest-priced optical viewfinders of entry-level SLR cameras, the EVF is an easy winner in those low-light conditions: These simple viewfinders where already unpleasant and dark, the EVF bring a new life to cameras used indoors.

Drawbacks and limitations of the electronic viewfinder

But all is not pink and shiny. EVF have the same problems as most point-and-shoot cameras find on the rear-side LCD displays used for LiveView.

To start with, even if the electronic viewfinder (EVF) is intrinsically better protected against sunlight, it is still very sensitive to bright light issues. If there was only one thing that the EVF-sensor pair does not like, this would be high lights and bright sun (sic!) highlights are easily washed white and overblown. You will find more white flat areas than nice clear zones. The worst comes when you add high contrast to the picture. The EVF has a very small dynamic range (this is not HDR!) and the designer must choose between high-lights and dark areas.

We tend to forget it, but the human eye is amazingly sensitive and adaptable. Behind a prism and a mirror, in the brightest mid-day sun light, it can marvelously adapt to over-exposure situations that totally saturate the purely digital EVF system.

Best (or worse), the eye is extraordinarily able to switch within a few hundredth of seconds from the darkest night to the most violent lighting without even thinking about the marvelous brain processes involved. On the contrary, the EVF system uses a gain correction which will change at any time the apparent brightness to track the actual scene brightness. What is clearly an advantage in a dark room, forces the system to include an auto-adaptation feature which will change the brightness of the EVF several times per second. According to what you point the camera to, the electronic viewfinder will change from lighter to darker display. Not really a problem, but this asks for some tolerance to a process which is not natural to our human eyes. You have to get used to it.

Additionally, but this is all very sensitive to the user (you!), watching a computer screen may be more or less comfortable in the long run. As a matter of fact, if you use the EVF for long hours (this is the case for the professional photographer waiting in front of the Cannes Festival stairs, for the photo safari amateur or for the intensive tourist photographer willing to bring everything on a memory card – don’t laugh, I’m sure you shoot it as much as I do), you may come back with a serious headache. This is certainly not an issue for everybody (and you’re not supposed to keep the camera to your eye if you want to immerse yourself in your subject), but this may become a real limitation to some people. At the strict minimum, you must take very seriously the setting up of the dioptric correction of the eyepiece (much more seriously than on your current camera) to limit the impact to a tolerable level. Unfortunately, the eye seems to get more prone to this issue when the photographers gets older… Our eyes are not equal in front of photo gear. Too bad, but true.

Last but not least, even if the electronic viewfinders improve in time (and Sony has shaken the market with a 2.3-million-pixel EVF in the Sony SLT-A65 and in the Sony SLT-A77 which has raised the bar to a whole new level for all the competition), the fine quality of a focusing screen in a common optical viewfinder stays incomparably better than what the best EVF can display today. Far better! This is the reason why they generally include an additional Zoom feature allowing to better judge focus through enlarging an area (On the opposite, a company like Zacuto proposes an enhanced edge sharpening to make the focus analysis easier or more natural).

If you let your camera focus for you, honestly, you shouldn’t care much about this. If you like to fine-focus your pictures (all the more if you use a USM, SSM or similar lens which allows easy manual focus correction), if you use wide-aperture lenses (which call for a very attentive selection of the focus location or AF area), you will be in a living hell playing with buttons to merely focus while you were used to just looking at the image in your old optical viewfinder. Interestingly, Sony keeping in its technological portfolio the marvelous AcuteMate focusing glass surface (bought from Minolta and still widely considered as the absolute best here), is the first to jump to the next technology.

While we talking about AF, we must stop and remind ourselves that the disappearance of the reflex mirror means that focusing is now done from the data directly available on the image sensor. Where the traditional SLR camera focuses just before the exposure, using phase difference sensors (high precision, high speed, and not very complicated), the EVF viewfinder seems to enforce the use of automatic focusing using the measurement of a contrast difference directly on the image (very consuming in terms of processor power, intrinsically less reactive). Sony, once again at the forefront, chose to insert a semi-transparent mirror to keep the fast phase detection sensors. But they are quite alone in this decision – for now.

(Temporary?) conclusion

The electronic viewfinder is no panacea. But it brings good answers to tough questions asked by the old reflex technology, starting with price reduction for the digital photo cameras which is always a major issue for the manufacturers.

The camera owners already used to the optical viewfinder of entry-level cameras will immediately recognize the many advantages and all the more if they are occasional photographers or if they come from the compact point-and-shoot camera world.

Expert users (not even pros) will certainly have more mixed feelings, even if the most advanced electronic viewfinders like the recent Sony ones progressed in great strides. As I read in one of the recent articles about these new photo cameras, Sony brought enormous (not incremental) progress but this is still an electronic viewfinder. Not perfect, but with enough advantages to balance the drawbacks.

Now, you may have to read the post again to choose which ones are the most important for you. But there is a big problem left: We usually choose our photo camera inside a relatively dark shop (perfect, ideal conditions to demonstrate an EVF) and we use it mostly during our Summer holidays (the worst conditions to use an EVF). Some people may be unpleasantly surprised if they do not think twice before choosing a camera.

But this is a very difficult exercise. All the more difficult because nobody has final production cameras to test and review (they will only exist at the end of September and won’t be sold before next October). Imaging Resource demonstrates this with good test pictures (or is it sample images?) shot in very good conditions (As a matter of fact, others like Luminous Landscape, chose not to show any image) but they create some doubt about the exact quality that can be expected from these photo cameras (The Alpha 77 is tested, but everybody understands that the Alpha 65 will certainly provide nearly identical images from the same digital sensor).

I want to believe that today’s tests will be done again by the same bloggers with production cameras (and mostly with the final firmware). Nevertheless, the owners of the early Alpha 700 will probably remember that Sony is sometimes capable of waiting months after the start of production to provide “the right firmware” for a DSLR photo camera.

Sources:

• FotoMagazin: Good quality images showing the great pixel resolution, nice ISO 400 pics, well balanced ISO 800 pics, ISO 1600 are cleaned soft and then accentuated too much to compensate, ISO 3200 pics are astonishingly good for this level of sensitivity even if they should be rated medium/OK only.
• Imaging Resource: Nice resolution, a bit too accentuated up to 400 ISO (ISO 800 JPEG files are not too bad, though), JPEG files are seriously deteriorated by too much smoothing at ISO 1600 (viewed at 100% it looks a bit cartoon-like), violent smoothing a ISO 3200; ISO 6400 files are really too far out to be used as anything other than “holiday souvenirs” in low resolution (smoothed, accentuated, with too many artifacts to be pleasantly viewable at 100%).
• ePhotozine: Pictures hinting at too much accentuation at ISO 1600, but the shooting was not good enough to judge anything seriously.
• QueSabesDe.com: Nice pictures from Sony not allowing quality judgments (more spectacular splash than test fodder)

See also sony sample pictures:

• for the Sony Alpha SLT-A77
• for the Sony Alpha SLT-A65

Features of the NEX-7:

• 24.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• 10fps continuous shooting
• Full-HD 1080p video recording (at 24-25-50-60fps)
• XGA (2,359k dot) OLED electronic viewfinder
• Built-in flash
• External flash hot-shoe

Features of the NEX-5n:

• 16.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• ISO 100-25600
• 10fps continuous shooting
• Full-HD 1080p video recording (at 24-25-50-60fps)
• 3-inch 921,600 dot capacitive touchscreen

• Sony Alpha SLT-A77
• Sony Alpha SLT-A65

Important notice: The comparison table (with the competing Canon and Nikon products) has been updated.

The good news:

• The digital sensor is 24.3 Mega-pixel
• Sensitivity hit a new high for this price range (ISO 100-16000 plus extensions)
• Exposure/metering is controlled by a new 1200-zone sensor, as expected
• Video capture takes off up to 60 frames/s in Full HD (1080p)!
• Fast continuous AF is maintained at all shooting speeds (12fps for the SLT-A77 and 10fps for the SLT-A65) and during video grabbing, thanks to the semi-transparent mirror
• The Alpha 77 has AF micro-corrections (like the Nikon D7000, D300S or Canon EOS 7D)
• The pop-up flash is really 12m at 100 ISO (initially, we heard less than that)
• The Alpha 77 body is all-weather, dust- and moisture-protected, not only in magnesium allow. This will be a tough guy.
• The Alpha 77 shutter is guaranteed for more the 150,000 operations, which is nearly in the full-pro quality level in terms of reliability
• The Alpha 65 is only 622g (thanks to a lot of polycarbonate)

The less good news:

• The rumor told that the Electronic Viewfinder would be 3 mega-pixel resolution OLED. But it will have only 2.3 MP, which is still clearly in the high-end of the EVF quality.
• The Alpha 77 still is heavy at 732g

This announcement is coupled with the launch of a new zoom lens for expert customers: The Sony DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM will be the natural complement to these new SLR cameras (they will be sold in kit together).

Prices are damn-good for the A65 quite-nice for the A77:

• Sony Alpha SLT-A77 at $1400/1250€ for the body only and at $2000/1800€ with a 16-50mm f/2.8
• Sony Alpha SLT-A65 at $900/850€ for the body only and at $1000/900€ with a 18-55mm
• DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM zoom lens: $700 or 850€

But, those of us who are impatient will learn a lesson (as expected): Nothing will be available before October 2011.

Press Release

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 24, 2011 – Blazing speed, enhanced image quality, high resolution and incredible performance are just some of the features advanced amateurs and photo enthusiasts will find in Sony’s newest alpha cameras, models SLT-A77 (α77) and SLT-A65 (α65).

Sony’s latest refinements to its Translucent Mirror Technology make these new cameras the fastest, most responsive interchangeable lens cameras in their class, as well as set new performance benchmarks that even professional DSLRs have yet to achieve. The α77 and α65 both feature a newly developed Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor with 24.3 effective megapixel resolution, as well as the world’s first XGA OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder. The sensor teams with the next generation of Sony’s BIONZ® image processing engine to handle huge amounts of high speed data from the camera sensor, enabling unprecedented response times and flawless image quality with ultra-low noise when shooting still images or Full HD video.

“We feel that these cameras are not only a significant evolution of our breakthrough Translucent Mirror Technology,” said Mike Kahn, director of the alpha camera business group for Sony Electronics. “They’re also a revolution in terms of redefining how this unique technology can be put to use by enthusiasts.”
The much anticipated successor to Sony’s acclaimed α700 DSLR, the α77 boasts the world’s fastest continuous autofocus (AF) shooting performance (among DSLRs in Aug 2011), capturing a burst of full resolution, 24 megapixel images at 12 frames per second with full-time phase-detection AF. The α65 achieves a similarly impressive 10fps shooting speed.

Precision AF tracking of moving subjects is more precise with the α77 due to a new 19-point autofocus system with 11 cross sensors. The α65 boasts 15-point AF with three cross sensors. Tracking Focus maintains accurate focus lock on a moving subject – even if the target is momentarily obscured. Additionally, a new electronic front shutter curtain achieves a minimum release time lag of approximately 50 milliseconds, comparable to much more expensive professional-class DSLRs.

The α77 and α65 further refine Sony’s acclaimed Fast Continuous AF Full HD Movie shooting, already featured on previous Sony Translucent Mirror cameras. Phase Detection maintains accurate focus during video shooting of portrait subjects, even when they’re moving at fast speeds.

Unprecedented image quality and creative options
A broad sensitivity range of ISO 100-16000 expands (α77 only) down to ISO 50. At the highest sensitivities, both cameras can freeze fast action or capture atmospheric low-noise shots without flash. Low ISO settings are ideal when used with a long exposure to create expressive shots, such as splashing water.

Both cameras showcase a remarkably crisp OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder, the world’s first of its kind. With a 2359k dot (XGA) resolution, this precision electronic viewfinder offers a bright, highly detailed, high contrast image with 100 percent frame coverage and a wide field of view comparable to the most advanced class optical viewfinders.

However, unlike optical viewfinders, users have expansive customization capabilities through the XGA OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder and can preview the effects of adjusting exposure, white balance and other settings in real-time. Photographers can also make fine focus adjustments via a zoomed-in portion of the image.

The Smart Teleconverter displays an enlarged central portion of the image sensor, allowing compositions to be displayed clearly on the OLED viewfinder and captured as 12 megapixel images with a digital zoom factor of 1.4x or 2x.

In another first for DSLR cameras, both new models can capture Full HD video at 60p (progressive) frame rates – incorporating the recently introduced AVCHD Progressive (Ver. 2.0) format. Also, 24p shooting is available for capturing beautiful cinematic video footage. Manual focusing and P/A/S/M exposure modes, familiar to creative filmmakers, also can provide enhanced control during video shooting.
Shooters can compose and review stills and video on the adjustable-angle three-inch Xtra Fine LCD display that offers high resolution (921k dot) and TruBlack technology for superb detail and contrast. As an extra refinement, the α77 introduces the world’s first three-way adjustable screen that tilts and pivots freely for effortless framing at any angle (α65: two-way adjust LCD).

Revised ergonomics on both cameras include a comfortably contoured new grip design and tactile new button layout for ‘eyes off’ operation while viewing via the high-resolution XGA OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder.

The α77 adds front and rear control dials for intuitive fingertip operation and a separate top-mounted LCD data display. The durable body features magnesium alloy panels for strength and lightness. Key controls are sealed against the effects of dust and moisture, complementing similar levels of protection offered by the new SAL1650 lens, VG-C77AM Vertical Grip for α77 and HVL-F43AM flash unit.
A new shutter unit on the α77 is tested up to 150,000 cycles and supports an ultra-fast minimum 1/8000 sec shutter speed (1/250 sec flash sync). On-board GPS allows automatic geo-tagging of photos and video clips with location data.

New DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM zoom lens and accessories
The growing range of compatible A-mount lenses for both cameras now includes the quiet, bright DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM standard zoom with 16mm wide angle coverage that’s ideal for both portrait and everyday shooting.

The high-performance lens features a dust- and moisture-resistant design, and offers a zoom range of approximately 3x range at constant wide F2.8 aperture. Optical performance is assured by aspherical glass and three ED (Extra Low Dispersion) lens elements to minimize aberration at all focal lengths. An internal Super Sonic wave Motor (SSM) drive enables fast, quiet autofocus.

An optional dust- and moisture-resistant VG-C77AM Vertical Grip for α77 assures comfortable handling in vertical shooting positions. It can house up to two NP-FM500H InfoLITHIUM® batteries, doubling shooting stamina up to approximately 1060 shots (via LCD monitor)/940 shots (via Tru-Finder viewfinder) when using Memory Stick PRO Duo media. Other new A-mount system accessories include a back pack (LCS-BP2), soft carrying cases (LCS-SC21 and LCS-SC8), LCD protectors and eyepiece cups.

Pricing and Availability
The new α77 Translucent Mirror interchangeable lens camera will be available in a kit with the new SAL1650 f2.8 lens for about $2000, and offered as body-only for about $1400. The SAL1650 lens will also be sold separately for about $700.

The new VG-C77AM vertical grip, designed for the α77 camera, will be available in October for about $300.

The new α65 Translucent Mirror interchangeable lens camera will be available in a kit with a standard 18-55mm lens (SAL1855) for about $1000, and offered as body-only for about $900.
Both the α77 and α65 cameras kits and the new SAL1650 lens will be available this October at Sony retail stores (www.store.sony.com) as well as other authorized retailers throughout the Sony dealer network.

For “sneak peak” videos of the new products, please visit www.sony.com/cameravideos.

Since a lot of information reached our ears already through a number of different leaks, it is now possible to make a few educated guesses and to attempt a comparison with the older Sony Alpha 700 (many of its owners are impatiently waiting for its successor(s)) and the direct competition in the Nikon and Canon ranges.

Legend: Green means “best in class”, Red means “worst in class”.

Let’s not forget that this comparison is still based upon rumors (which will or will not be confirmed in the coming hours).

Visibly, Sony is organizing the flood in order to drown any other announcement from another brand (Nikon) arriving at the same time this week.

Source: DChome.

Source: http://www.d-slt.de/sony-a77/

It disappeared quickly but I found it still available on a slightly more distant web site:

This is the Sony A77 indeed. Most probably, this is something coming straight from Sony. Possibly, as some others commented before, this is a scheduled leak part of the marketing campaign along with the official announcement in a few days (August 24th?) of both the Sony A77 and Sony A65.

All the features of the new Sony SLR cameras:

• Sony Alpha 65
• Sony Alpha 77

• The image shutter will be “lighter” on the Alpha 65 (shorter guaranteed life span, lower frame rate -10 fps instead of 12- and slower max speed -1/4000s instead of 1/8000s).
• Simpler AF system: the A65 will have only 15-zone AF with 3 cross sensors (instead of 19-zone AF and 11 crosses on the A77).
• Somewhat limited extended features on the Alpha 65: No ISO 50 mode as on the A77.
• Lighter mechanical design: Magnesium alloy will only appear on the A77 (explaining a large part of the price difference); Weather-sealing/protection is much better on the Alpha 77 (fully dust-proof and moisture-proof thanks to the many toroidal seals).
• Luxurious User Interface for the high-end: A77 with an additional top LCD for the essential function controls (ISO, speed, aperture, white balance, etc.)
• Back LCD with vertical tilt on the A65, but fully tilt-and-swivel on the A77.

This is more or less what sony did with the Alpha 900 and its little brother the Alpha 850. But they were not launched at the same time. Here, they will collect as many of the customers as possible from the initial announcement.

While they are still unannounced, the Sony Alpha 77 and Sony Alpha 65 are relatively well known from the amount of leaks, rumors and informations available in the recent months.

We know that they will be announced at the end of August. But without waiting any more, I decided to open the description page of these cameras: Sony Alpha 77 features and Sony Alpha 65 features.

Of course, they are more the result of a statistical approach to the posts seen over the international web of photo-related sites than a precise set of features. So, I will keep updating them according to the new data available. And of course, they will be updated to final specification on 23 and 24 August, when they are made official.

http://www.sonycenter.lu/190-sony-nex-photo-reflex

• Translucent mirror
• 36.9 Megapixel 3MOS Exmor sensor
• (No Bayer filter)
• ISO 100-102400 extendable to 204800 and 409600
• 12 frames per second
• No infrared or anti-alias filters
• Digital infrared filtering with three modes NO IR,WITH IR,ONLY IR
• In camera moire remove
• 89 cross-type points AF
• Metering direct from sensor
• 60/1-1/24000sec, time, bulb shutter (focal plane)
• Flash synchronization up to 1/500sec and high-speed sync up to 1/24000sec
• Built-In GPS and Wi-Fi plus Thunderbolt
• Two CompactFlash card slots
• Price around €3000

The author did not even take time to copy this information to their other web site SonyAlphaRumors.com ; It says it all…

• Sony Alpha 77 + 16-50mm18-70mm f/2.8 SAM = 1800€
• Sony Alpha 77 nu = 1050€
• Sony Alpha 65 + 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM = 1000€
• Sony Alpha 65 nu = 900€

Suggested prices (to be reduced in the actual shops).

As a matter of fact, the information is present at the bottom of page 36 in Réponses Photo, second photo magazine in France which is organizing an amateur photo competition with a large quantity of prizes in real photo gear from all major brands (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony). Curiously, they did not make precise announcements of the Sony-based prizes, but they give a good indication:

We can read:

• An expert SLR (A700 replacement) + quality lens (APS-S) (approx. value 1800€)
• An expert SLR (future model) + 18-55mm (approx. value 1000€)

From this, knowing that the Alpha 700 will come with a small brother under the name of Sony A65 and tying to be normally able in the art of divination, it becomes possible to deduce the price of these cameras.

since the details of the photo competition will only be known in the next special edition (n° 12), it is quite possible to understand that the indicated availability date (“the 2nd and 3rd prizes from Sony […] will be known in Fall”) confirms the possibility of an official launch during the first half of September 2011 (the news people of Réponses Photo quite certainly already have the cameras under test and are invited to the official launch ceremony to be organized by Sony France).

This is still a rumor coming from a leaked image, but it looks like one of the most accurate information up to now. This is the confirmation of the tilt-and-swivel mechanism holding a large LCD screen. It was rumored, but the mechanism seems quite clear and precise. Good news for this new camera (expected in July 2011).

It’s quite certain that this is not a pre-series or a prototype but a model (enlarging the function/feature rotating button shows what is probably only a rough prototype of this part). But who cares?

As is quite obvious on the photo, there is a second camera and it appears that it could be named Alpha 65 or A65. This is the real surprise since -visually- this is a simplified A77 (the LCD seems to be tilt only and the rest looks very similar except the viewfinder/flash gap line) as Sony has been already used to in the past, but the name is breaking the few Sony conventions for cameras in a similar range since they started using two figures (A33, A35, A55, etc.) for the Alpha series. It may not mean anything specific; maybe just a glitch in the Naming Group of the Marketing Department…

The main questions are:

1. Is the Alpha 65 going to use the Alpha 77 big 24 MP CMOS sensor? The naming would point to a somewhat smaller sensor, but it’s still pure guessing.
2. Most certainly, the A65 will have a reduced sensitivity range (probably not reaching the ISO 102,400 that everybody is hoping to see on the Alpha 77, if they keep the same sensor).
3. Will they use the same viewfinder AMOLED viewfinder LCD? I would bet on “yes, the same” according to my sources who suggest that the current viewfinder will be obsolete for Sony in July (Don’t read me wrong: Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) is a 101% certainty for these two cameras).

The presence of two cameras also raises questions about pricing. We all know that the EVF is helping Sony reduce costs, increase continuous shooting speeds and ease fast AF even in video modes; But Sony may be trying to keep a relatively large margin on the Alpha 77 by giving it a little brother which would be shooting for rock bottom prices. At first, Sony may have the possibility of keeping high prices (high margins, big revenues) on the A77 with bargain prices on the A65. When Nikon presents a competing product (the Nikon D400 in September? or October?), Sony will be ready to reduce margins (and prices) kicking Nikon where it’s most painful: Price.

If I’m right, the Sony Alpha 65 will be the camera to buy this Summer and the top-performance Alpha 77 reaching its real price potential only at the end of the year (but expect a tremendously deep price fall, then: Both will fly below 1000€).

By Jove! Things are going to be interesting. The next meeting points will be:

• Sony official release of the Alpha 77 and Alpha 65 in early July
• Nikon counter-attack in September: Nikon D400