EISA awarded four FE lenses and two Sony cameras. Here is what they had to say:
135mm GM (BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK):
The Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM is a truly remarkable lens. It’s extremely sharp from centre to corner, while at the same time its beautifully soft rendering of defocused backgrounds and bright highlights results in exceptional images. With dust-proof and splash-proof construction it’s built to perform under challenging weather conditions, while the traditional aperture ring provides easy and intuitive handling. It’s good for close-ups too, with a minimum focus distance of 70cm providing a 0.25x magnification ratio. Last but not least, the high-performance autofocus motors offer speedy, accurate and silent focusing on moving subjects.
17-28mm Tamron (BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Amazon DE, Calumet DE, WexUK, Park UK, Amazon IT, Amazon FR):
The Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD is an affordable large-aperture wide-angle zoom for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras. Designed to complement the firm’s 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, it features a similarly compact, lightweight design and weather-resistant construction. It’s a really strong performer in terms of image quality: resolution and contrast are excellent for its class, while the optical system assures outstanding colour accuracy with minimal chromatic aberration. The lens employs a silent and fast stepping motor for autofocus, making it very suitable for both stills and video recording.
24mm GM (Bhphoto. Adorama. Amazon, Amazon DE, Amazon UK):
The Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM is a top-quality prime lens that provides incredibly sharp images both in the centre and at the edges of the frame, even at the largest aperture of f/1.4. The optical design incorporates several special lens elements to ensure outstanding image quality, while the 11-bladed diaphragm produces a circular opening for beautifully blurred backgrounds. The high-power DD SSM motor ensures very fast, precise and silent focusing, while the 24cm minimum focus distance can be used for close-ups with spectacular perspectives. Impressively, it’s also the most compact and lightweight lens in its class and is extremely effective in supressing sagittal flare when shooting starscapes.
400mm GM (BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, Calumet.de, ParkCamera.):
Sony’s first large-aperture E-mount telephoto prime is one of the lightest in its class, thanks to an innovative optical design with three fluorite elements and the use of magnesium alloy components. Thanks to the reduced number of elements at the front of the barrel, the lens is perfectly balanced. It combines outstanding image quality with extraordinary focusing speed and precision, thanks to two high-speed XD Linear Motors. The 11-blade circular aperture produces beautifully blurred backgrounds. The FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS is also compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x E-mount tele-converters for even longer reach.
A6400 (BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, Calumet Germany, ParkCameras UK, Jessops):
For content creators who shoot as much video as stills photography, the α6400 packs an impressive array of tools into its compact, portable body. The highlight is undoubtedly Sony’s innovative Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF, that keeps your subject sharp and in-focus no matter how it moves around the scene. Other advanced video options include 4K high dynamic range recording, S-Log profiles for pro-level colour grading, a flip-up screen that can face forwards for vlogging and a microphone socket for high-quality sound recording. Meanwhile photographers will appreciate the excellent quality of its 24-megapixel image files.
RX100VI:
The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VI packs state-of-the-art photo technology into a very compact body that houses a retractable electronic viewfinder and an integrated flash. With a 24-200mm equivalent zoom lens it offers all the flexibility you need, especially when travelling. The 20.1-megapixel sensor delivers plenty of detail, while for action the camera offers a burst mode of 24fps. With a very fast and reliable eye autofocus, portraits are pin-sharp. The camera also offers impressive video features, including 4K recording and super-slow motion. With wireless technology like Bluetooth, NFC and Wi-Fi it partners seamlessly with your smartphone or tablet.
And the photo innovation of the year is Sony’s EYE-AF:
Sony’s latest real-time autofocus algorithms are a game-changer. The enhanced Real-time Eye AF focuses precisely on a person’s eyes – or even on a pet’s with the Real-time Animal Eye AF function. In continuous autofocus mode, Real-time Eye AF maintains focus on a moving subject even when part of their face is temporarily obscured or turned away from the camera. The AI-driven improvements also provide accurate and reliable tracking for moving subjects. The Real-time Tracking system recognises the whole body, and the focus area will seamlessly change between the face and the eyes. This means sports photographers can reliably track unpredictable movements, trusting the AF system to get every shot in focus.
