Sony announced today the launch of a new camera with a brand new image sensor: the full-frame CMOS A9, alongside the G Master FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6, a super-telephoto full-frame lens.

The heart of this announcement is the A9’s image sensor, the world’s first 35mm full-frame stacked CMOS, offering 20x faster data speeds than Sony’s previous full-frame mirrorless cameras. In addition, the A9 is equipped with 24.2MP, high-speed, blackout-free continuous shooting at up to 20fps, 60 AF/AE tracking calculations per second 10, a maximum shutter speed of up to 1/32,000 second and much more.

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via Sony

“This camera breaks through all barriers and limitations of today’s professional digital cameras, with an overall feature set that simply cannot be matched considering the restrictions of mechanical SLR cameras,” said Neal Manowitz in a press release.

Preorders for the Alpha 9 begin next month. The camera is priced at $4,500 and will begin shipping in May. The lens will be available for $2,500 and begin shipping in July.

This announcement comes just days after Sony revealed that their continued growth has vaulted them into the number two overall position in the U.S. full-frame interchangeable lens camera market.

Resource is currently attending the Sony launch event for this gear, and will update this post with more information.