First batch of Batis lenses ships out from BHphoto and in Germany! New Zeiss Batis lens tests.

Batis85mm

I just got this from two SAR readers:

Reader_1: Just received notification that the Batis 85mm lens that I ordered from B&H shipped today on UPS. My card was charged. I ordered the lens in the first hour after I read of its preorder status on this sight. Thank you!

Reader_2: Just letting you know the Batis 25mm lens is shipping from B&H – mine shipped yesterday and is arriving on Thursday. It’s seems to be more of a limited supply.

At last! And also first German stores have the [shoplink 38631 ebay]Batis in Stock (on eBay here)[/shoplink]. And if you want the Loxia lenses than know their are in Stock at KenmoreCamera: [shoplink 38621 ebay]35mm Loxia (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 38622 ebay]50mm Loxia (Click here)[/shoplink].

And here are some more Batis lens tests and image samples:

Zeiss Batis 25mm first impressions at ThePhoBlographer:

So far, we’re very impressed with the image quality from the Zeiss Batis 25mm f2 lens. Then again, we didn’t have any doubts. What will be the deciding factor is how it is in manual use and how the display rendering works out in the long run. For news videographers, it may be a nice option, but otherwise it’s a very new concept that is a bit alien to us.

Mirrorlessons tested the 85mm Batis and writes:

The optical quality is what you’d expect: excellent sharpness, beautiful bokeh, and a fast and silent autofocus mechanism.

Eggry:

I’d like to share you some sample and test shot of Batis 85.8 from Korea. In Korea, Zeiss Batis 85.8 is already released, it would be useful information for westerners: http://eggy.egloos.com/4090510. This is my blog posting of Batis 85.8 test against Samyang/Rokinon 85.4. DOF, Close range resolution, near infinity range resolution, Distortion tested.
I think distortion is the most interesting part because it has really huge distortion for 85. Lense profile is not supported in Lightroom yet, so you need to endure it if you shoot RAW.
I took some sample photos too. followings are some samples from others.
http://www.popco.net=31807
http://www.popco.net=31761
http://www.popco.net=31758
http://www.popco.net=31834
http://www.popco.net=31732

Photos taken with the Zeiss Batis 2/25 and the Sony A7R & A7S on Flickr.

Zeiss Batis store links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.

DxO reviews the new Sony 90mm FE lens and says it has an “Outstanding optical performance”!

90mmFE

UPDATE: For unkowns reasons DxO has removed the 90mm FE lens reviews from their site.

DxOmark (Click here) reviewed the new Sony FE 90mm macro lens. And the conclusion is:

With some innovative cameras in the range, Sony is beginning to fill out the E-mount system with some useful high-quality lenses, and the FE 90mm f2.8 macro is up there with the best in terms of optical quality. The only downside, perhaps, is that the lens is at odds with the perceived benefits for buying into mirrorless systems: sure, the bodies are smaller, but this lens is not significantly smaller nor lighter than rival options. Be that as it may, there’s little wrong with the optical quality of the Sony FE 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS, and if the size or weight isn’t an issue, then it can be easily recommended.

The lens even outperforms by one single point the $400 more expensive Zeiss 10mm macro lens! It will be hard for the new Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens to outperform the 90mm FE lens!

90mm links:
In USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, [shoplink 37938 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].
In Europe at [shoplink 37991 ebay]Fotomundus[/shoplink], Amazon Germany, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony FR, Sony IT, Sony ES, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony AT, Sony CH, Sony SE, Sony FI, Sony NO, Sony PT.
In Asia at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

Batis links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.

New Batis lenses now shipping in Hong Kong! And new full size image samples.

Zeiss_Batis_PC_08_AA
Image courtesy: DSLRmagazine

The very first batch of the new Batis FE lenses shipped yesterday in Hong Kong! You can see first user image samples from Samlee at SonyAlphaForum (Click here). He writes:

I got the Zeiss Batis 85mm F1.8 Yesterday at Hong Kong. The price around 0.9 x1199 USD with Free B+W filter. Light, Very Very Fast AF, Sharp Sharp Sharp, nice Broken

Also the spanish site DSLRmagazine (google transltion) posted the Batis hands-on review:

This new Zeiss Batis series meets all expectations. The Batis optics are specially designed for those who want to exploit every ounce of your sensor without sacrificing good design and a completely intuitive.

Zeiss Batis store links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.

New 90mm FE macro lens reviews at LL and Mirrorlessons.

90mmFE

Luminous Landscape says:

The 90mm Macro that just started shipping is nothing short of exceptional.  Yes, some folks may claim it is too big and some may even claim too expensive at $1098 USD.  But for the price you get a solid really well designed lens that is dust and moisture resistant.

Mirrorlessons says:

As Yasuyuki Nagata (Sony General Manager – Lens and Peripheral Business) stated in an interview with us at Photokina, consumers are looking for three things from their lenses – compactness, quality and a good price – and with a full-frame sensor, it isn’t easy to deliver on all three fronts. In the case of the 90mm, Sony has prioritised optical quality and performance above all, and it shows in the resulting images.

Now the question is, should I buy the 90mm Sony macro or the 85mm Batis lens? Damn it…

90mm links:
In USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, [shoplink 37938 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].
In Europe at [shoplink 37991 ebay]Fotomundus[/shoplink], Amazon Germany, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony FR, Sony IT, Sony ES, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony AT, Sony CH, Sony SE, Sony FI, Sony NO, Sony PT.
In Asia at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

Preorder links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
In Europe and Asia the Loxias can be found in Stock via [shoplink 36456 ebay]eBay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink] and Digitalrev (Click here).

Matt Granger: How effective is the Sony In Body Image Stabilisation? Diglloyd: Where is pixel shift on the A7rII?

Is the new Sony 5 axis image stabilization really a deal breaker? Just watch Matt Granger’s video above to hear his opinion on it!

And Diggloyd is asking Sony why the new Sony A7R II has no Pixel Shift:

Conspicuously missing from the Sony A7R II feature set is Olympus-style pixel shift, which in my testing can deliver roughly a 32-megapixel image from a 16-megapixel sensor. On the 42-megapixel Sony A7R II sensor, a similar technology would deliver ~63 megapixels, or maybe more like ~80 megapixels using a Zeiss Otus.
It’s a pity that Sony is not offering pixel shift, since it has Olympus-style sensor stabilization. Perhaps it will appear in a firmware update, but that seems dubious, since it is a terrific feature to brag about at a product release (and would be a first for a full frame camera).

A7rII and RX camera preorder list:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, AdoramaSonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, AdoramaFocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, AdoramaFocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DEUK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DEUK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX10m2 at DEUK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
A7rII at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

Otus vs Batis 85mm comparison by Matt Granger. Batis vs 90mm FE at ML.

Matt Granger (Click here) compared the Batis vs Otus 85mm lenses. Of course the [shoplink 38439 ebay]four times more expensive Otus lens[/shoplink] is a better lens. But how close does the new Batis get to it? Check it out on the video below:

And Mirrorlessons made a Batis 85mm vs 90mm macro vs 55mm f/1.8 comparison:

You will notice that the Zeiss Batis has a smoother bokeh and produces less of a “swirl” effect than the 90mm. But the latter looks good in terms of bokeh rendering too. Both are really sharp. The 55mm on the a6000 does a good job as well. It is slightly less sharp but this is also due to the lower resolution of the a6000. The bokeh is less smooth than the other two lenses but I like its rendering and it remains a more than valid choice for portraits.

Preorder links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
In Europe and Asia the Loxias can be found in Stock via [shoplink 36456 ebay]eBay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink] and Digitalrev (Click here).

Triple RX100 IV test by Dpreview, Philip Bloom and Ken Rockwell.

Dpreview posted their first impression review:

The RX100 IV fits pretty well in your hands, though those with large hands might find controls to be on the small side. The camera can be operated with one hand, though you’ll need your other hand for rotating the control ring around the lens.

Philip Bloom tested both new RX cameras and writes:

The 250fps (240 in NTSC) is excellent when in “quality mode” although just 2 second buffer and a 20 second write to card time. The 500fps (480 in NTSC) is passable on certain things, avoid hard lines if you can as it will moire and alias like crazy! 1000 fps (960 in NTSC) is ugly as hell but I still managed to get away with it in my test film. In the real world I can’t see me using past 250 fps very often. The modes where you can record twice as long are much poorer quality so I avoid them.

Ken Rockwell also tested the new RX100m4 and writes:

The RX100 Mk IV is a fantastic point-and-shoot camera that quickly and easily makes great photos in any light, and its larger-than-most point-and-shoots sensor giving sharper, cleaner images than cell phones or most other pocket cameras.


Call the Cleaner! Sony RX100 IV 250fps, 500fps & 1000fps
from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

A7rII and RX camera preorder list:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, AdoramaSonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, AdoramaFocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, AdoramaFocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DEUK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DEUK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX10m2 at DEUK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
A7rII at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.