A month ago I leaked the first image of the new Tokina 85mm f/1.8 FE lens. I said the lens will start  shipping out on February 7 and cost around $500+ (550 Euro).

Today Nokishita confirmed the lens announcement is imminent and the price in Japan will be 56,000 YEN. This will be Tokinas first FE autofocus lens of a larger range.

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It’s hard to make a decent size comparison as the image show the lens slightly tilted. But it looks like the lens will be bigger than the excellent Sony 85mm f/1.8 and about on par with the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8:

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Thanks Jose!

Time for a rumor recap:

Sony Cameras:
RUMOR: Sony will announce a new camera at the CP+ show (70% reliable –article here). Is it the A7IV???
RUMOR: Sony A7sIII might have 4k120p and a cooling vent (70% reliable – article here).
RUMOR: Sony 8k sensors and new codec specification (90% reliable – article here).
RUMOR: Quad Bayer FF sensors from Sony (90% reliable – article here).
RUMOR: FX6 camcorder will  be announced in early 2020. Basically an FX9 but with SDXC cards and XAVC-L only (90% reliable – article here).

Sony Lenses and accessories:
RUMOR: Sony will announce 6 new E-mount lenses in 2020. Most of them tele primes and tele zooms (70% reliable –article here).
RUMOR: Sony’s next announcement might give us a fast GM wide angle lens (80% reliable – article here).
FACT:  Sony’s GP-VPT2BT shooting grip with Bluetooth remote control function has been registered in Asia (article here).
FACT: Sony said f/1.2 FE lenses are a possibility (article here).
PATENT: Sony patented new 100mm f/1.4 and 500mm f/4.0 lenses (article here and article here).

Third party lenses:
RUMOR: Tokina 85mm f/1.8 FE lens will be announced soon (90% reliable – article here).
RUMOR: The six new Tamron FE lenses will all be unveiled in 2020. None of them is likely to be a fast prime (70% reliable – article here).
FACT: Tamron said they have SIX more FE Lenses on their roadmap (article here).
FACT: Rumiere APO 75mm f/0.95 FE lens coming (article here).
PATENT: Sigma also patented a new 50mm f/1.2 FE lens design (article here).

TWO more things:
PATENT: Sony patented a new drone camera (article here).

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We now heard from two reliable sources that Sony will definitely announce new E-mount gear “around” the CP+ show.  On of the sources said there will be at least a new camera and a new handle with Bluetooth “VCT”.

I got NO confirmation yet about WHAT camera we should expect but I bet high on the new Sony A7 IV. After all the A7III was announced at the CP+ show two years ago.

I have no info on lenses yet but there is surely a good chance we might get 1-2 new lenses too. Like I reported days ago Sony plans to announce a total of SIX new E-mount lenses in 2020.

Now let’s guess the possible A7IV specs:
It safe to think the A7IV will be an evolution and not a revolution. Something like the A7rIV with a 24MP sensor. I would appreciate Sony to surprises us and at least offer us not the same A7III sensor but a completely new version of it.
For the rest I expect the A7IV to have the same EVF, same AF system and same body design of the A7rIV.

And when the A7sIII?
After a very long waiting I am now confident the A7sIII is coming at the NABshow. The only reliable rumor I got said it would have 4k120p and a vent on the back to cool down the sensor.

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SUMMARY:

• 6 new E-mount lenses will be announced in 2020 (1 APS-C, some lenses are update of current lenses, many tele lenses and on new wide angle GM lens)
• 1 new camera will be announced around the CP+ show
• 1 new grip will be announced around the CP+ show
• Many more announcement expected from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina (85mm f/1.8 FE)…stay tuned on SAR for those rumors :)

This is a rumor from a very solid source. I  know this because he shared the 2019 lens roadmap I did NOT post on SAR because he was an anonymous first time source. Well his 2019 roadmap was right (it included for example the new 70-350mm lens). So I am confident this roadmap is realistic:

• Sony plans to launch six more E-mount lenses in 2020
• One of them will be APS-C
• Most lenses will be tele primes and tele zooms (but some of them might be updates of current lenses like 70-200mm G).

I guess it makes sense for Sony to update some of their lenses (particularly some GM zooms) and to launch new tele lenses that can suite sport and wildlife shooters.

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Rumor ranking explained:
I now post only  two kind of rumors:

RUMOR: Marks rumors that  are somehow more solid and likely to be true
WILD RUMOR: Marks rumor that are from anonymous and first time sources. We post them just for the sake of fun and clickbait of course  :)

Note: Please hold me accountable for the “RUMOR” and not for “WILD RUMOR”  :)

Nikon and Canon aren’t yet done with DSLR announcements. In terms of specs the new D780 (UPDATE: now announced and available here) is the direct competitor of the Sony A7III. Here are the specs

D780
・The Nikon D780 is a high-performance full-frame DSLR aimed at both creative photographers and videographers.
・F-mount lenses. 24.5 MP full-frame CMOS sensor. EXPEED 6 image processor. The same 180K-pixel RGB sensor and Advanced Scene Recognition system as the D850.
・The 51-point Phase-Detection AF system is sensitive down to -3 EV. You get flagship tracking capabilities and quick switching between advanced AF modes.
・The 273-point Hybrid-AF system is sensitive down to -4 EV, or down to -6 EV in Low-Light AF.1 Eye-Detection AF is available when shooting stills.
・Shoot at up to 7 fps with AF/AE, or up to 12 fps in Silent Live View Photography mode. Users get full resolution images, even when shooting in RAW.
・The D780 boasts a wider ISO range than the acclaimed D850. Work with ISO 100–51200, extendable up to 204800 and down to ISO 50.
・Shoot ultra-high-resolution 4K/UHD footage at 30p/25p/24p with zero crop factor. Record in N-Log or capture rich Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) footage.
・The 0.70x optical viewfinder gives a wide field of view and 100% coverage. The tilting 2359k-dot LCD monitor offers touch shutter release and AF.
・In-camera time-lapse. 2 MP stills at a blazing 120 fps. In-camera digitising menu. And more.
・The camera’s high-speed data-transfer capabilities and wireless connectivity make it easy to get images out there. And SnapBridge lets users share JPEGs and RAW files with any smart device.

And here is the Canon 1DXIII (full specs here) which competes with the new Sony A9II:

EOS-1D X Mark III
・20.1 megapixel full-frame sensor with huge dynamic range and ISO sensitivity
・DIGIC X image processor For blazing speed and superb image quality
・Real-time, lag-free, no-delay. An optical viewfinder shows events as they happen
・Up to 20fps continuous shooting. Capture at 20fps in Live View mode and at 16fps when using the optical viewfinder
・Deep-learning autofocus. Programmed with real-world data from professional photographers.
・5.5K Raw video. Capture video footage with the ultimate in image quality
・Filmmaking at 4K/60p. Capture full-frame video at up to 4K resolution and 60 fps with Canon Log and H.265
・Smart controller. Adds fast intuitive control of AF point selection, even when wearing gloves.
・Dual Pixel CMOS AF. Focuses with lightning speed when shooting stills, and smoothly when capturing video
・Gigabit Ethernet and built-in Wi-Fi + Bluetooth. Let you get connected wherever you are, and get your pictures to the client first.

via Nokishita

Today at 5pm Las Vegas time Sony will have their CES press conference (live video will be posted soon on SAR). I do not expect any new Alpha Camera or lens announcement. But for sure we will get the ne Sony Xperia Plus with Time of Flight sensor. Here are the specs and images:

• Roughly 6.6-inch flat OLED display
• Dual front firing speakers
• 8MP selfie camera
• Triple rear camera + ToF
• Side mounted fingerprint sensor
• 3.5mm Jack on top frame
• Boxy metal frames
• Roughly 168.2 x 71.6 x 8.1mm (9.3mm including rear camera bump)

via Slashleaks

Reminder: Sony will have a CES press conference on January 6 at 5:00 pm PST time. I will try to embed the livestream on SAR. I do not expect any new Alpha gear.

But there is a good chance Zeiss might give us the final specs and pricing info about the new ZX1. About time we get this camera for real :)