• 24.3MP CMOS Full-frame Sensor
• Unique dual AF system – phase detection on sensor
• Improved BIONZ processor
• ISO 100-12800, with options for ISO 50 and 25600 with boost.
• Six frames per second at full resolution, 10fps in cropped mode
• AVCHD video at Full HD 1080 60/24p
• Video features include external mic and headphone sockets, clean HDMI output
• Magnesium alloy body with weather sealing
• Same XGA OLED viewfinder as A77
• Design and layout very similar to A77.
• New accessories: Battery Grip, Wireless Remote, HVL-F60M Flash, HVL-F60M Ring LIght, XLR Audio Adapter kit , Hot Shoe Adapter, Screen Protector.
• New 300mm f2.8 Telephoto Lens

New Sony A99

The full specs will be:

• 24.3MP full frame sensor
• ISO range: 100-25,600 (ISO-low 50 is also available)
• 14 bit RAW output
• 1/8000 maximum shutter speed
• 10 fps
• Shutter life: 200,000 shots
• 102 points AF system
• 2360k dots XGA OLED viewfinder
• 3″ tiltable 921k dots LCD screen
• Full HD video recording at 1920×1080/60p
• HDMI output
• Built-in stereo mic
• Built-in flash with guide number of 12
• Two memory slots: SD and SD+MS cards
• Weight: 730 g.
• Price: around $2,800

A full announcement is expected on September 12. Latest updates are at Sony A99 News.

Although you might not want to have this on all the time, it’s a useful feature to have when manual focus is critical. What’s interesting is that none of the makers who have gone for ‘retro’ or ‘rangefinder’ styled cameras have copied this feature, even though some of these cameras have become popular for use with legacy manual-focus lenses. It must be be a really useful feature with manual focus lenses on the Sony NEX-7, which also has it, along with most of the other bells and whistles of the A77.

Major topics covered include:- Automatic and Manual settings – Shutter speed – Aperture – ISO – Megapixel – Composition – Metering – RAW vs. JPEG – and many more.

There are a couple of (very mixed!) customer reviews. It looks like it might appeal to people who really prefer watching a DVD to reading.

I’ve also noticed another A77 book – The Sony SLT-A77: The Unofficial Quintessential Guide, not yet released but available for pre-order. I guess this won’t be the last A77 book to be written…

•  How to select the best autofocus mode, shutter speed, f/stop, and flash capability to take great pictures under any conditions.
•  Troubleshooting and prevention tips to keep your camera and media operating smoothly.
• The basics of good photography as you master your camera’s operation.

David Busch also has a Sony Alpha SLT-A77/A65 Compact Field Guide which is spiral-bound and intended to be easier to take with you when you’re out shooting.
And the well-known ‘Dummies’ series also has Sony Alpha SLT-A65/A77 For Dummies, if you like their particular style.

The A77 is a complex camera and the manual is written in the typical style of Japanese camera companies – technically correct, but not always easy to understand. Having some books gives us good alternatives.

Amazon US has a few of the Sony A77 Kit With 16-50mm F2.8 lens
and Body only. Both are backordered at Adorama – Sony A77 Kit and Sony A77 Body.

Amazon UK has the Sony A77 Kit with 16-50mm Lens but no bodies. Likewise, WEX have the kit but the body is backordered. In Hong Kong, DigitalRev have both the kit and body as backordered.

Sony Alpha A77

Some of the most interesting for the A77 include the 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8 and 85mm f2.8 primes, and 70-200 f2.8 and 70-300 f4.5-5.6 G telezooms. All would complement the 16-50 kit lens by offering a different focal length and aperture combination.

Sony 70-200 f2.8

Buyers who don’t fancy these prices and who can’t wait until Sony gets production and stock flowing again have a few other options: DigitalRev in Hong Kong are listing the A77 body as available, although delivery in 1-2 weeks, and have the A65 as shipping within 24 hours. In the UK WEX Photographic have the Body, though not the kit.

This can’t be an entirely happy time for Sony, who clearly intended to take market share from Canon and Nikon with the A77, and now find themselves unable to meet demand due to circumstances beyond their control. Let’s hope they are back to full capacity soon.

Vertical Grip For A77 - Available Now, Unlike Everything Else

Sony say that the firmware offers the following improvements:

1. Expanded the number of automatic compensation compliant lenses: Sony SAL-1680Z 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Zeiss Vario-Sonnar and Sony SAL16105 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6
2. Functional improvements:
   • Improvement of responses
   • Improvement of picture quality
   • Improvement of usability

Although we’d all like a slightly faster, more useable camera with better picture quality, my experience with firmware upgrades is that it’s usually best to wait for a few days to allow any problems to be ironed out. I won’t be upgrading until I’ve seen people posting that it all works and makes noticeable improvements.

Worldwide, stocks of the A77 are difficult to find. DigitalRev in Hong Kong and WEX in the UK have the A77 body-only in stock, but no kits. A few used A77s are selling – at a premium – on Amazon US.

And Techradar has a new, full review of the A77. They conclude that although the A77 has a few niggles, “when weighing these up against a superb level of image quality when shooting in most conditions, great handling, good build quality, industry-leading EVF, quick full-time phase detection AF system and a comprehensive set of exposure modes, we have little trouble with recommending this excellent camera.”