Sony almost certainly has a new premium APS-C camera coming soon, and rumors of its specifications are spreading across the internet like wildfire, but we are particularly skeptical about their accuracy.
We can be pretty confident that there will be a new version soon of Sony's best-selling premium APS-C camera – the excellent Sony A6600, even if there is no consensus on what it will actually be called. Rumors have it down as either the Sony A6700 or Sony A7000 or in fact, these might end up being two separate cameras. Whatever its name ends up being, the newly leaked specifications sound a little too wild to be true.
According to a source for Sony Alpha Rumors (who have also debunked these specs), the new a7000 would feature an APS-C sensor, but a body shape similar to the Sony A7 IV, ditching the rangefinder-like design used for all the previous A6xxx cameras. We would suspect that this is very much not going to be the case, unless Sony is willing to confuse buyers and undo its marketing and design work to create distinct product families.
The Sony range is very well separated into product families, with SLR-style body cameras in the A7 range all featuring full-frame sensors, (Sony A7C excluded) and the APS-C cameras in the A6xxx range having a more compact rangefinder-style body. This small and compact body, perfect for traveling, hybrid video, and street photography is one of the key selling points for the A6600, so we would expect Sony to continue this trend.
Other rumored specifications include a 26.1MP APS-C sensor (as used in the Sony FX30), 4K/60p (6K oversampling), IBIS, a BIONZ XR and AI processing unit, and a mechanical shutter of 1/8000s. These specifications are more realistic, with most a natural evolution of the specifications of the A6600. Although if all are included, the new A6700/A7000 might well have an asking price significantly above the $1,400/£1,450 launch price for the prior Sony a6600.
Although not directly comparable, the newly announced Sony ZV-E1 is only the second camera to come with the new BIONZ XR and AI processing unit onboard, it has a full frame sensor but lacks IBIS or an EVF, however, has a price of $2,200/£2,350, which is a significant jump on the A6600. The BIONZ XR and AI processor might be the easiest thing for Sony to exclude to cut costs, and even without this, the A6700/A7000 still sounds like a very appealing upgrade.
We expect rumors to only get more prevalent the closer we get to the release of these cameras, so stay tuned!
Find out more about the latest coming from Sony in our Sony rumors hub. You can also see the best from Sony in our guides to the best Sony camera and the best Sony lenses.
