Top sources say Sony developing full frame A99 as hybrid GH2-like DSLR targeting professional filmmakers

[Xiong]

Sounds pretty amazing if true.

Wish list: 60fps, 4-2-2, Clean HDMI out, Mic/Headphone Jack, robust codec.

[Andrew Reid]

[quote name='mike_tee_vee' timestamp='1344545168' post='15232']
Why mess around with the Alpha Mount? Sticking with it is extremely limiting, and just another example of Sony's insistance on proprietary products. It's a legacy mount. Traditional DSLRs are at a saturation point, while the mirrorless market share is growing. I can easily see Sony placing the Alpha mount on the backburner much like Olympus and Panasonic have with the original Four Thirds mount.

In terms of workflow, many of the lenses used on the FS100 will not be usable on an A99.
[/quote]

Hmm it isn't really a proprietary thing, it is something they inherited from Konica Minolta. It is simply a short straw that's all. Because of all the mounts ONE has to be biggest doesn't it? As I said before, way for Sony to fix this is offer completely non-standard mirrorless full frame mount and create hot swappable mount which you can change. They already have the Alpha SLT mount hot swappable, you can use it on the NEX mount and FS100.

You will never see an E-Mount sensor size larger than APS-C. The sensor will not physically fit into that mount circumference and the flange distance is too short to get decent optical performance in the corners. The Leica M flange distance is larger than E-Mount for same reason...optical performance in the corners.

[Rungunshoot]

I think we'll get 1080/60fps but don't know about 4-2-2. My guess is it will compress like the FS100 to 4-2-0 at 24 and 28mbps, but it will probably offer clean HDMI out for external recording.

[Andrew Reid]

[quote name='Rungunshoot' timestamp='1344547920' post='15234']
How bout IBIS? It would be amazing if the camera offered sensor-shift stabilization with little or no crop factor.
[/quote]

Good point, that would be great on legacy M42 adapted lenses if it worked with non-Sony stuff like the Olympus IBIS does. I am sure we will see IBIS as Alpha lenses don't have optical image stabilisation as standard.

[Julian]

[quote name='sfrancis928' timestamp='1344534105' post='15216']
I'm not so sure about that. For one thing, all of Sony's E-Mount lenses are APS-C only.

I was watching a presentation on the NEX camera line and when asked about a full frame NEX the Sony official said there were currently no plans to make one, and he thought it was unlikely, mainly because the main point of those cameras is the compact design, and a huge full frame sensor would not really make sense.

It's a shame, but we're probably stuck dealing with the Alpha Mount for full frame cameras from Sony.
[/quote]

It would have to be some kind of hybrid design. E-mount lenses could work in crop mode, like DX on Nikon FX.
For full frame lenses an adapter would be needed:

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr4-sony-approves-the-launch-the-new-hyrbid-alphanex-mount-camera-sort-of-fullframe-nex-7/

It's rumours fow now, but Sony doesn't seem to be afraid to try new things.

[Rungunshoot]

[quote name='Rungunshoot' timestamp='1344547920' post='15234']
How bout IBIS? It would be amazing if the camera offered sensor-shift stabilization with little or no crop factor.
[/quote]

[quote name='EOSHD' timestamp='1344548573' post='15239']
Good point, that would be great on legacy M42 adapted lenses if it worked with non-Sony stuff like the Olympus IBIS does. I am sure we will see IBIS as Alpha lenses don't have optical image stabilisation as standard.
[/quote]

My only concern would be if they go for the electronic stabilization used in other Alpha cameras to reduce overheating. That 2x crop factor on APS-C sucks; it would probably be a .5x crop on full-frame.

[Simco123]

A load of BS marketing. I don't for one moment get taken in by the claims that videographers were involved in designing a new dSLR. Didn't we hear that before from Nikon and their D4/D800. Yes maybe input but that doesnt mean we will get a high end cinema camera. Over the last few years Sony have off loaded a bunch of video related features on their dSLRs all turned out to be gimmicks, its no different this time round. Blackmagic Design already gave us a clue about what can and cant in a $3k camera that means no thrills Super 16 size sensor video camera with great DR RAW, any larger sensor like a S35 will cost a lot more. Do you expect for one moment Sony will release a FF camera with video that rivals the big boys in DR, resolution, bitrates, etc and also a professional stills camera. Seriously take a chill pill, don't expect too much. These marketing hype we see often.

[RichST]

Very interesting, I wonder just how Sony will improve its video capture ability? Best case scenario is that they do a full sensor scan and downscale it. But I just don't think that's possible at that price point. A c300 type readout would also yield excellent results but again I think that's too high end. Perhaps they've figured out how Panasonic grabs the video capture from its GH sensors and will use something like that.

[KarimNassar]

definitively does sound very promising
what a crazy time we are living in, affordable high quality cameras just seem to keep coming one after the other.
Also with the release of creative cloud we get the full range of needed software for cheap.
I really feel lucky to have so much at my disposal to be creative
looking forward to read more about this camera

[Samuel H]

(nearly) definitive solution to "will my glass work on that camera" troubles: buy vintage Leitz glass for the Leica-R mount

It's not the cheapest vintage glass you can buy, but it's awesome glass indeed, and much cheaper than, say, Canon L glass. And it works on basically anything, including Sony A, Canon EF, Nikon F, and Pentax K: [url="http://www.similaar.com/foto/lensmount/lensmount.html"]http://www.similaar.com/foto/lensmount/lensmount.html[/url]

The only downside is that you'll have a hole in the wide angle of things... the widest I've gone is 35mm, the 28mm, 24mm, etc, are not as awesome as the others, but are much more expensive

But for a full frame camera, my set of Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8, Summilux 50mm f/1.4, Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8, Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 is just perfect: awesome image quality, sharp and with the best bokeh most people can buy, all for less than the price of a Canon 24-70 f/2.8L. Want to switch body brands? Spend $150 on a new set of adapters, and you're done.

[Andrew Reid]

[quote name='RichST' timestamp='1344583553' post='15257']
Very interesting, I wonder just how Sony will improve its video capture ability? Best case scenario is that they do a full sensor scan and downscale it. But I just don't think that's possible at that price point. A c300 type readout would also yield excellent results but again I think that's too high end. Perhaps they've figured out how Panasonic grabs the video capture from its GH sensors and will use something like that.
[/quote]

My speculation:
They won't do a full sensor capture or C300 readout because the 24MP count is too high for stuff like that, instead I think they will do something similar to the GH2 which samples intelligently on the sensor, outputs something like 4MP, then downsamples that to 1080p on the image processor side.

Leica R:
Good tips Samuel I have some of the same glass and it's great. Prices are steadily going up but you can still get some bargains, mainly outside of eBay in 2nd hand stores along the high street.

[Bruno]

[quote name='Rungunshoot' timestamp='1344547920' post='15234']
It would be amazing if the camera offered sensor-shift stabilization with little or no crop factor.
[/quote]

Is that even possible? I'd think any kind of sensor stabilization requires cropping in order to cover what's missing in the borders.
Doing it in the lens would be different though.

[Caleb Genheimer]

Still so glad I don't have L glass. Don't get me wrong . . . it is great for stills on a Canon DSLR, but for video I've found that fly-by-wire focusing is near impossibly impractical for me personally.

A nice Sony video full frame DSLR would be awesome. I love their products, just waiting for the right one, really. I've shot with FS100 which is an awesome step-up from DSLR, and the NEX cameras give a big bang-for-buck. All they really need is a full frame mirorless FScam. I'd jump on that train right away. This could be the next best thing, though.

[cameraboy]

sony a99 sensor is about 18MP in 16x9 video mode so they can do 3x3 pixel binning and get perfect 1080p image without downsampling ....
about leica lens they are closest to pro cinema lens u can buy ( no breathing and long focus throw + superior leica image quality )...

[HurtinMinorKey]

it all comes down to this: Do they want to deliver the IQ of the F3, with the rest of the "pro" features nerfed? Otherwise the technology is a non-starter.

[quobetah]

Dont expect cinema quality features from this guys...Sony have already have the fsand cinealta series for that. They are great at product targeting, and this will be aimed specifically for the majority of the people who buys 5Ds...wedding videographers and journalists. At best Id the video improvements that will be invluded are :

1. Better sampling technique (As Andrew suggested)
2. 50mbps or more codec AVC ULTRA internal codec
3. A 120fps / 240fps burst mode
4. Massive dynamic range because of the new sensor
5. Focus micro control and rack focus speed control...they might almost perfect video autofocus that it might just be desirable to use it on majority of task for accuracy and ease, which is very convenient for eventfilmmakers and journalists.
6. Unlikely but who knows we might get surprised ( removable SLT assembly revealing an emount version underneath) and couple that with an apsc mode for video.

[Andrew Reid]

What you list is pretty amazing, when you have all that (inc. peaking, etc.) what 'cinema quality features' are you referring to that would improve a DSLR? Raw codec? We have Blackmagic for that. 10bit colour, etc.? It doesn't make a huge difference. I'd be very happy with that list alone.

[Germy1979]

If you jump down to what a DSLR is going to give you in terms of video features, i guess it could do anything a video specific camera would do.... Except video "specific" cameras utilize smaller megapixel sensors for better DR. Anything is possible these days though if you put enough horsepower behind the task. (processors)....

I think the days of Moire and Aliasing (exclude Canon) - are over... The no bullsh-t list basically narrows down to people that want to shoot an action scene in a closet with the lights out and not get any noise or rolling shutter. Lol..

[Andrew Reid]

Less megapixels don't equal more DR any more. Red confirmed this with the new Dragon sensor. 6K and 15 stops of DR!

That is a similar megapixel count to the 22MP of the 5D Mark III or 24MP of the A99.

It all comes down to pixel design not pixel count. And of course the way the data is read off the sensor and the way it is downscaled for video.

And nobody would claim raw stills from the 22MP 5D Mark III lack for dynamic range.

[Germy1979]

[quote name='EOSHD' timestamp='1344738158' post='15359']
Less megapixels don't equal more DR any more. Red confirmed this with the new Dragon sensor. 6K and 15 stops of DR!

That is a similar megapixel count to the 22MP of the 5D Mark III or 24MP of the A99.

It all comes down to pixel design not pixel count. And of course the way the data is read off the sensor and the way it is downscaled for video.

And nobody would claim raw stills from the 22MP 5D Mark III lack for dynamic range.
[/quote]

...you have to overlook me sometimes man. Rule of thumb generally tells you not to document a blackout with a D800. Then the F65 scans a 20 megapixel frame 24 times a second.