Upcoming Sony Cameras: Round Up and Overview

Hey, I'm Duruthu and I'm camera geek who has a deep interest in all things photography. For my work I use a Sony A6000 paired with a mixture of Sony, Canon and Nikon glass, and my primary interests are in event, portraiture and creative photography.

So, Sony has always delivered new camera bodies at a fast pace, and now with 2017 having arrived we can expect a brand new sweep of them. This article focuses on the latest leaks, rumors and expectations from mirrorless shooters and photography enthusiasts.

Sony is expected to come out with the following bodies in 2017:

• ·        Highly Likely: Sony A7 III
•       Highly Likely: Sony A7R III or A9
• ·        Sony A7S III
• ·        Sony A77 III
• ·        Sony RX5

             Sony A7 III

The A7 lineup is the Entry level Full Frame mirrorless from Sony, so we can expect some things to stay similar like the resolution to keep their lower price. Like its predecessor the A7 MkIII will come with a new 24MP sensor, along with improved AF possibly giving a bump to the number of AF points this time unlike in the A7II where it stayed the same to the first generation. This of course means better low light and higher ISO performance, other additions may be the inclusion of dual SD cards hopefully.

While rather unlikely since it is the entry level of the full frame series a back-illuminated sensor may be included which would further push its low light capabilities, but more likely than not it’ll instead show up in the A7r series again.

The A7ii

            Sony A7R III or A9

In 2016 Sony Japan Managers hinted that the New Flagship A7R was in the works saying;

   A7RIII the new sensor will be between 70 – 80 Megapixels. They are working on improved IBIS as well. Although officially the new lenses per the 24-70 F2.8 GM and the others have been tested for QC at 60+ Megapixels and 6K+ Video they achieve even better results than that.

                                                    

                                                           

However the Flagship of the A7 series may be no more as there is a possibility that Sony will introduce it as the Sony A9 for its high resolution Full Frame series. As hinted this new camera will feature a new higher resolution 35mm FF Sensor (70-80MP) to its predecessor which came in at 42MP. Improvements to the AF is to be expected with it likely receiving a bump in AF points from 399 phase detection points on the A7RII to 425 Phase-Detection AF points, following the standard set by the new A6500, Sony’s Flagship APS-C Sensor camera.

Here’s hoping that the A7RIII (or A9) will also follow in adding a touchscreen to the back also like the A6500. The sensor like its spiritual predecessor will definitely be back-illuminated, meaning the camera will have both high resolution and high speed, along with increased low light performance.

Other rumors suggest the body will be bigger than A7RII and possibly more similar in design to a DSLR than the previous more compact design of the A7 series. Featuring a bigger grip, hopefully this means a bigger battery, since although battery life isn’t horrible, they still don’t match up to DSLRs.

Other inclusions may be support for dual SD or even XQD cards hopefully, along with the ability to shoot unlimited RAW files in continuous burst, 4K video will of course be included as the A7R II already had it.

          Sony A7S III

 Recently, shortly after Sony revealed the new A6500, an image wasp published by CameraBeta in what they claim is a leak of the forthcoming A7SIII, and granted if we can go by this leak, reveals the specs of the coming flagship.

Specs

– 15.4MP BSI-CMOS with LSI
– Variable IR Filter can be used as variable electronic ND filter
– Native ISO: 100-102400
– Maximum ISO: 409600
– 3” 1.23million dot articulating LCD screen
– 4:2:2 8bit 4K recording support

                                 

As the leaked images shows Sony might finally upgrade the resolution of their A7S series from 12.2MP to 15.4MP as well as the sensor itself being new, as the leak suggests it’ll be BSI-CMOS (Back-Illuminated) further adding to the already insane low light performance in the A7S series.

On another note there is a low rated rumor going about that Sony might be developing a RGBW sensor for its A7S line, which in short is an RGB sensor that carries an extra white pixels inside it which increases brightness in images by 32% and decreases color noise by 78% when compared to the normal  CMOS sensor, this means it would make sense for Sony  to fit a RGBW sensor in its high sensitivity cameras for much improved low light performance.

         Sony A77 III

Sony announced the A77 II in the spring of 2014, we can expect an update to their APS-C fixed-mirror DSLR lineup. Latest news about the upcoming A77 III suggest it will support 4K video and have built-image stabilization.

                                                     

                                                       

We can probably expect to see a new sensor sporting the same resolution at 24.3MP although this might change have and an improved AF, as the A77 is marketed for its high speed shooting capabilities. Besides this there isn’t much to say about the expected A77 III other than speculations.

         Sony RX5

According to newest rumors the RX5 is expected to be a cross between the A6500 and the RX1R II, and to come with the same sensor found on the recently released A6500 meaning it will feature a 24.2MP sensor which means it will feature the same AF system of the A6500, that being 4D Focus with 425 Phase-Detection Points. However it is also expected to come with a fixed 23mm F/1.8 lens.

                                           

AF points on the A6500

   

The body is expected to house 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization and be a similar body to that of the Sony RX1R II along with the same XGA OLED Tru-Finder EVF. While an exact announcement date is unknown it is expected to show in the CP+ show in February this year.

So that’s all the information I could round up for now, thanks for reading! I hope you'll enjoy reading my posts and I'll do my best to keep them coming for all the photographers and camera enthusiasts out there. I look forward to seeing you around in future posts!

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