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Sarah Tew/CNET
To squeeze in a spot for the new version of its A7 full-frame interchangeable-lens camera, the A7 II , Sony’s permanently dropping the prices on several of the existing models just in time for Black Friday 2014. (These are US and UK-only; I’ll fill in the new prices from Australia once they’re available.)
At the bottom, the body-only version of the A7 falls to $1,300 or £1,099 — not the lowest price for a full-frame camera, but probably the lowest official price for a current model — and the kit with the 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens drops to $1,600 or £1,299.
The A7R doesn’t get as much of a cut, and it’s still over $2,000 for the body: $2,100, to be precise. It’s £1,699 in the UK.
In addition to the price drops, Sony revealed some details on the update to its 70-300mm A-mount lens. The 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G SSMII has been enhanced for faster AF tracking and an improved coating, plus closer focus (1.2 meters) and better weatherproofing. The price: $1,150. It’s slated to ship in late February 2015, with availabililty in the UK and Australia yet to be announced.
These announcements join last week’s development plans for updates to two Zeiss A-mount staples, the 24-70mm f2.8 ZA SSM II and the 16-35mm f2.8 ZA SSM II. Both will reportedly gain many of the same upgrades as the 70-300. And while it’s barely been on the market for long, the A77 II will receive new firmware by the end of December to add XAVC-S encoding and improved autofocus.
