First full size image samples taken with the new Zeiss Batis 85mm and 25mm lenses!

zeiss_batis_85mm_Image3_small

The very first full size image samples taken with the new 85mm and 25mm Batis lenses have been posted on Flickr by Zeiss:
Full set of 85mm f/1.8 Batis image samples (Click here)
Full set of 25mm f/2.0 Batis image samples (Click here)

Would like to know what you think about the quality delivered by those new lenses!

Both lenses are now available for preorder at BH and Adorama:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Lens shade for 85mm at Adorama, Bhphoto.
Lens shade for 25mm at Adorama, Bhphoto.

New Sony A7s tests (Vice News shoots with the A7s in the dark).

a7svice
A7s at [shopcountry 35949]

Vice News shot a series about Boko Haram and used the Sony A7s to record in complete dark scenes. You can see the full video on Youtube (Click here). That kind of reportage would be almost impossible to make without the A7s.

3Dkraft (article here):

The video from the “Carnival of Venice 2015” is now public. It was recorded with Sony A7S, Atomos Shogun, Zeiss FE 16-35/4 OSS and Zeiss FE 1.8/55. The wideangle clips shot from tripod show the real potential of this combination. Unfortunately, the handheld portrait shots moving around the masks show the loss of quality due to the lack of stabilization of the A7S and the FE 1.8/55 even after digital stabilization (warp) in post processing. Scenes like that require a glidecam, brushless gimbal and additional OSS for professional demands. Irrespective of these little technical imperfections, this video shows the art and beauty of the masks and the scenery in Venice Carnival. Beside that, the article shows some zoomable images taken out as single frames from the video showing the quality of the 4K recording (still in process..).
YouTube (4K/2160p): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1sTOu1e6wk
Vimeo (Download of the original 4K file for Vimeo members): https://vimeo.com/124041563

Sony A7s Supercut Review by Stronzvanderploeg:

Overall the Sony A7s an incredibly specced camera especially considering the relatively low price point. If you need low-light or mirrorless full frame, it’s definitely the camera for you but just know, you’ll have to deal with a lot of workarounds and you’ll have to learn and adjust to some of the backwards design decisions.

Mark:

I’m a long time reader of Sony Alpha Rumors (I’ve been using Sony since the A900), and would like to pass on my recent experiments with combining the A7s with a Microsoft Kinect for a mixture of 2D video and 3D animation. I put together a blog article and some example videos showing how to combine the two devices using DepthKit software, and thought it might be interesting for your readers:
DepthKit with Microsoft Kinect + Sony A7s
http://idezo.ch/depthkit-with-microsoft-kinect-sony-a7s/
DepthKit – NASA Space Sounds Experiment
https://vimeo.com/124230332
idezo Labs: DepthKit with Microsoft Kinect + Sony A7s
https://vimeo.com/124167201

Kay Burn:

“My name is Kay Burn and I shoot photos and video underwater (and aerial work too).  
I recently housed my A7s with a Metabones adapter and the Canon 100mm f2.8 IS L in a Nauticam housing and used a prototype port and focus gear to shoot some macro video in the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. I thought you might be interested to see how it performs;
https://vimeo.com/124127993
More details are available on the vimeo page itself.

Sony A7s store links:
Sony A7s in USA/CA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony USA, Sony Canada.
Sony A7s in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PL. And Wex UK.
A7s Gariz leather case in [shoplink 27569 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27570 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27571 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 27572 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink].

Samyang 135mm f/2 first impressions and samples (Guest post by Tomasz Kałużny).

Bildschirmfoto 2015-01-12 um 10.33.08

This is a Guest post from Tomasz Kałużny. The text and images are copyrighted and have been reposted on SAR from the orginal authors site Darkshape.

Samyang 135mm f/2 first impressions and samples
by Tomasz Kałużny

Today I had a rare pleasure to lay my hands on an extraordinary lens: Samyang 135mm f/2. Thanks to the guys at infoto.pl who made this possible. It’s one of the latest releases from Samyang and I have been waiting for this for quite some time since the lens had a pretty good word of mouth right from the moment it was announced.

Read more

Sony A77II gets tested at Dpreview.

Dpreview (Click here) posted the full Sony A77II review. The camera earned the Silver Award for the following reason:

The Sony a77 II is the perfect choice for those seeking pro-grade shooting and AF speeds for well-under pro-grade prices. No moving mirror means the a77 II can successfully use continuous AF during both 12fps bursts and video capture, a major advantage over many of its DSLR competitors. And in-body image stabilization helps to keep both stills and video a bit more stable than the competition. Subject tracking, one of the a77 II’s most anticipated features, is unfortunately, not very reliable. And high ISO images have a tendency to be fairly noisy. Build quality and ergonomics, however, are very good. Overall, the a77 II offers a lot of camera, for a very reasonable price.

The A77II got announced exactly one year ago at the Sony World Photography Award. And today Sony will indeed announce new cameras again…but no A-mount today?

LOL: Naked guy says RX100m3 is radioactive :)

A paranoic-vegan naked guy (let me have some fun describing him) made that very (un)scientific test to claim the [shoplink 35573 ebay]RX100m3[/shoplink] is a dangerous radioactive camera. And he used a $34 ghost hunting Gauss Master (here on Amazon) to measure the radiation (LOL!).
I saw the video posted on some forums and thought it would be good the debunk the myth also with the little help of Marc Morris. He commented the video and said:

Remarkable paranoia. I’m impressed with your commitment but remain thoroughly UNswayed. All communicative products have screens of various properties and have EMR output that is negligible at best. Your HDTV makes the camera look like a piker, your cellphone is ALWAYS on and and is either on or near your person: no lead carrier blocks the radiation you’re so frightened of. It’s unavoidable. Most Gaussmeters of the cost effective variety will give seriously false readings when placed too closely to portable electronics like a cell phone or a camera: you are using a device that is not built to measure portable electronics accurately. What that thing is saying is that this RX100M3 is putting out a reading that meets the average reading of a hair dryer at normal usage distances, or that of standing underneath a transmission line outside a home (http://www.arpansa.gov.au/radiationprotection/factsheets/is_magfields.cfm). Asinine. The camera in its most nuclear phase could not do so. Prolonged exposure would mean hours set aside, of days and days on end of looking through the viewfinder without blinking, when in fact it is for mere seconds at a time and it would take months of work to have looked through the viewfinder for an hour in total. The premise and the good will are noted and lauded. The lack of thorough education is, on the other hand, absolutely not.

So please don’t be scared by the video. Just don’t use your RX100m3 while drying your hair and you will be fine :)

Disclosure:
Dear vegan readers, I am not anti Vegan and I only tried to make some fun. So please take it easy.

New Sony 30x camera hands-on roundup. And interesting Sony marketing forecast.

WX500
Image courtesy: ePhotozine

The new Sony 30x zoom compact cameras got a hands-on by many reviewers:
HX90V Hands-On Photos at ePhotozine, Amateur Photographer and Photographyblog.
WX500 Hands-On Photos at ePhotozine , Amateur Photographer and Photographyblog.

And the preorder ars up at:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V for $428 at BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500 Digital Camera for $328 at BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).

The interetsing part is that I received a document disclosing why those 30x zoom cameras are important for Sony:

fixed-lens

I am yet not sure but the graph is likely to show the market in Canada. Sony expects that 45% of the compact camera market will be “owned” by High Zoom cameras.