Sony A77/NEX7/VG20 to have 1080p60, full manual controls, AVCHD 2.0

It all looks very interesting. I believe the accuracy of these leaks because they have been supported with later information and photos. This is the difference between genuine leaks and made up rumours. You've also got to wonder how many of these "leaks" are actually publicity from Sony, because there are quite a few leaks, which I suspect come from the company themselves, as it builds up a big buzz and interest in the product. The one thing I'm not too sure about from the info on the SonyAlphaRumors site is whether these new Sony's will actually support all the frame rates AVCHD 2.0 supports at the maximum bit rate or if this is just an assumption. I've no reason to doubt the info about AVCHD 2.0 and full manual control being right, because these rumour sites have multiple sources and this is how they can rate their rumours. But it doesn't necessarily follow that just because AVCHD 2.0 supports all these frame rates and bit rates, that they will be implemented on the cameras themselves. Currently Sony have been a lot more conservative than Canon with their video options. It would be a change in strategy for them to implement everything, although possibly a clever strategy if they are aggressively going to take on Canon and Nikon. As still cameras go the A77 could be very important for Sony, as it would be the first camera they have had in this important sector, which could be really competitive with the Canon 7D, 60D, Nikon D300s and their successors. The previous A700 was never specced enough to take on the Canon and Nikons in this sector of the still camera market, but the A77 might be. So Sony might change strategy and stop limiting the video functions and go all out for a bigger share of the market that Canon and Nikon currently have. It will be interesting to see. I don't like switching systems from the stills point of view and a lot of how much I consider this will be the strategy Sony take. The indications are that Sony are really racing ahead in the sensor department, and this is why I'm looking at them. Canon will certainly come back at them, and the Digic 5 processor will probably be a jump forward. But because Sony supply sensors to so many of the other camera manufacturers it is looking like they are going to take the lead in sensors, because the volumes of sensors they produce will fund more R&D than Canon can manage.
 
There will surely be some head scratching if Sony's new high-end cameras have an inferior codec to the $350 HV9X, which uses 28mbs 60p.
 
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