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Sony's $9,000 drone for its Alpha cameras is available for pre-order
The Airpeak S1 will ship on December 24th.
Sony's A7 IV camera arrives with a 33-megapixel sensor and 4K 60p video
Sony has finally revealed its mainstream $2,500 Alpha A7 IV full-frame mirrorless camera and it looks to have been worth the wait.
Sony's Airpeak S1 drone for Alpha cameras will cost $10,000 this September
Sony has officially launched the Airpeak S1 drone, which was designed to work with its Alpha mirrorless cameras.
Sony A7S III review: The best mirrorless camera for video, and almost everything else
Sony’s 12.1-megapixel A7S III was worth the five-year wait. It has the same incredible low-light capability of its predecessors, but adds much-needed features like improved stabilization, a flip-out touch display and 4K video at up to 120 fps.
Sony will reveal its long-awaited A7s III on July 28th
At the time, Kenji Tanaka, Senior General Manager of Sony’s Digital Imaging Group, told the publication that the company had embarked on a "complete redesign of the whole system, including the image sensor." Unfortunately, Tanaka's conversation was a little light on the technical detail. In the meantime, Sony Alpha Rumors has been dutifully chronicling new spces and features passed along by sources who claim to have been the camera's early testers.
'Flight Simulator 2020' closed beta starts on July 30th
Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020, which blew our minds with hyper-detailed graphics and real-life weather and traffic conditions, is about to take a big step. The development team has announced (via Windows Central) that the closed beta is set to arrive on July 30th, meaning it’ll move from bug-smashing to a refinement operation.
Sony lets anyone create remote controls for its cameras
Sony's mirrorless cameras are usually well-regarded, but their support for remote control? Not so much. You've usually had to rely on Sony's own software, making the cameras non-starters for portrait and sports photographers who may need (or just prefer) third-party options to capture images from afar. The company is loosening up, at least. It just released a toolkit, the Camera Remote SDK, that allows any developer to create remote controls for Sony's Alpha camera line. The kit is limited to handling still shots, but should let software and hardware display live previews, change settings and of course take pictures.
Xbox One test offers 'surprise' suggestions for what to play
If you've ever struggled to decide what to play on your console, you can relax -- the Xbox One might choose for you. Microsoft has rolled out an Alpha Skip-Ahead preview for the Xbox One with a "surprise me" button in the My Games & Apps section that can help you decide what to play next. It's not clear if this is completely random or guided by your habits, but it could make things easy if you're unsure whether you should play Call of Duty or a charming indie title.
Sony's A9 II mirrorless camera has faster, smarter autofocus
Most photographers loved the speed of Sony's full-frame A9, but were less fond of the handling and durability. With today's launch of the Alpha A9 II full-frame mirrorless camera, Sony has addressed a lot of those issues. It has the same unbeatable shooting speeds as before, but is more rugged and weatherproof thanks to a new, anti-shock shutter and better seals and covers. At the same time, a redesigned grip makes it easier to handle, especially if you're shooting for hours with a long telephoto lens.
Xiaomi's Mi Mix Alpha has a '180-percent' screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi has revealed a new phone that may have come from its efforts to develop a foldable prototype. It's called the Mi Mix Alpha, and it's one-upping the first Mi Mix by having a "Surround Screen" that literally wraps around its body. The Beijing-based tech company says its screen-to-body ratio is 180.6 percent, and the parts not covered by a display -- the top and the bottom of the phone, in other words -- are made of aero-grade titanium that's apparently lighter than stainless steel. Video Presenter: Cherlynn Low Script: Cherlynn Low Script Editor: Terrence O'Brien Editor: Chris Schodt Producer/Camera: Michael Morris
Microsoft invites more people to test very rough Xbox features
You've had to be part of a very exclusive club to try Xbox One features in their rawest form -- so exclusive the criteria has been "closely guarded," Microsoft said. Now, though, the company is loosening its restrictions ever so slightly. The Xbox Insider unit is inviting more people to join the Alpha Skip Ahead ring so that it can expand testing for key updates. If you see this before September 23rd at 2:59AM Eastern (11:59PM on September 22nd), you can use the "report a problem" feature in the power menu, choose "add new problem," pick "future build" and then make a case for why you should be included in the Alpha Skip Ahead program.
A first look at Sony’s A6600 flagship APS-C mirrorless camera
Canon isn't the only one introducing new cameras today. At an event in New York City, Sony has revealed its A6600 and A6100 shooters, the latest additions to its APS-C mirrorless lineup. Of the two, the flagship model is the A6600, which features a 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor, an AI-powered Z-Bionz image processor, 425 phase-detection autofocus points and a ridiculously fast 0.02-second AF speed -- which Sony calls the "world's fastest." The A6100, meanwhile, comes with the same autofocus speed, 11-frames-per-second continuous shooting mode and 24.2-megapixel sensor as as the A6500, with the main differences being that it has a smaller battery and lacks a headphone port.
Sony is working on 12 new lenses for its Alpha mirrorless cameras
Now that Canon and Nikon are eager to get a piece of the mirrorless camera market, Sony is letting it be known that it isn't slowing down its efforts in the space anytime soon. The company announced at Photokina 2018 that it has 12 new E-Mount lenses in its roadmap, which will increase the number of native glass for its Alpha shooters from 48 to 60. Just last week, Sony introduced the FE 24mm f/1.4 GM, a full-frame format lens priced at $1,400.
Snapchat's much-needed Android overhaul is hiding in plain sight
Snap promised a sorely needed redesign for Snapchat's sluggish Android app back in November, and it's now clear what that tune-up will entail. Jane Manchun Wong has discovered (with additional detail from Kieron Quinn) that Snapchat's Android app hides a rough alpha version of the revamp with an experience more on par with the iOS version. The new interface is slightly tidier, but the most noticeable change is performance -- gone is the choppiness that you usually have to endure on Android. As a rule, the new app should be smooth as silk on reasonably powerful devices.
Xbox One 'Skip Ahead' ring tests features months before release
The Insider program on Xbox One is a few years old now and just keeps rolling out new features for testing by early adopters. Now Microsoft has announced that it's giving participants a chance to try features that are even further away from their scheduled release date with a new "Alpha - Skip Ahead" ring of testers. There's no word on exactly which features people will be able to test, but there's traditionally one or two new items coming in a Winter-window update, and isn't there some kind of event just around the corner where Microsoft might make such an announcement? If you value life on the bleeding edge over stability -- or just have multiple consoles and can afford to have one that's running far-future test builds -- you will see the option to enroll "in the coming weeks" if you're an Alpha tester already, and later by invitation for others.
Next Xbox One update finally saves multiple WiFi passwords
Microsoft continues to chip away at software concerns with the Xbox One (work in progress indeed -- can you even recognize the launch UI shown above?), and its latest Alpha test addresses two pain points that have existed practically from the start. One option upgrades the system's Pins options with Groups. It's similar to the way gamers can organize items on the PS4 ribbon, popping games and apps into sets for easier access, instead of just having a single group of Pins on the home screen or in the mini guide.
Sony's $2,000 A7 III camera adds 4K video
Following the recently refreshed A7R III, tonight Sony announced its "basic" model update with the A7 III mirrorless camera. This time around it's packing a 24.2 MP sensor, internal 4K HDR video capability (downscaled from 6K) and what Sony says is the longest rated battery life of any mirrorless camera thanks to its Z series battery. It will cost $2,000/£2,000 for the body alone when it goes on sale in Europe in March and in the US this April, or as a kit with FE 28‑70 mm F3.5‑5.6 lens for $2,200/£2,200.
See battle royale brawler 'The Darwin Project' in action this weekend
Scavengers Studio's The Darwin Project garnered a lot of buzz at E3, and for good reason: it combined the trendy battle royale action of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite with the crafting elements from survival games like Don't Starve. And now, you'll have a chance at seeing how far the title has come since June. Scavengers is running a closed alpha test on PCs through November 12th, and you should see the title in action live both through the company's own Twitch channel (on the 12th from 3PM to 5PM Eastern) as well as from other livestreamers who are part of the test.
Physicists learn how to measure antimatter
As you might guess, measuring antimatter is rather tricky: it's destroyed the moment it comes into contact with regular matter, so conventional approaches just aren't going to cut it. Give credit to CERN, then, as its Alpha group just measured antimatter for the first time. The team stuffed positrons (positively charged electrons) and antiprotons (protons with a negative charge) into a vacuum tube to create antihydrogen, with a "magnetic trap" keeping a small number of the anti-atoms in existence for long enough to measure them. The team then blasted the antimatter with a laser to study its positrons as they shifted energy levels, producing a spectral line.
Sony's A99 II promises fast focus in a full-frame camera
It's been four years since Sony last introduced a flagship-class full-frame camera, but it's finally back with more. Sony is launching the A99 II, a 42.4-megapixel pro cam that incorporates many of the upgrades you've seen in recent Alpha DSLRs and mirrorless models... and then some. To start, it promises to be an autofocusing champ. This is the first full-frame Alpha to use 4D Focus tech, delivering a hybrid autofocusing system that melds 79 dedicated phase detection points with 399 focal plane phase detection points. Between this and the lack of a moving mirror, Sony is promising "full-time" autofocus that can track fast-moving objects -- important when you can shoot up to a brisk 12 frames per second (8FPS in live view).