Couple of news: Sony revises down earning forecast in Camera Devices Segment . Apple adds A6300/A68 support.

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Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-22 um 07.51.31
Yesterday Sony issues a press release to report this:

Due to a decrease in projected future demand, Sony has revised its Mid-Range Plan for the camera module business in the Devices segment from the period beginning with the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.

In a second press release issued today Sony reports:

The survey of damage to the Kumamoto Technology Center conducted so far has revealed damage to certain parts of the building, clean rooms and production equipment. The timeframe for resuming operations has yet to be determined. The Kumamoto Technology Center is the primary manufacturing site for image sensors for digital cameras and security cameras as well as for micro-display devices.

But still the good news is that the company as a whole is doing better than expected:

The forecast for net income attributable to Sony Corporation’s stockholders is expected to increase from the January forecast despite the above mentioned downward revision in income before income taxes, primarily due to a reversal of valuation allowances on deferred tax assets for local taxes by a subsidiary in Japan.
One mroe news: Apple added A6300/A68 RAW support (info here).
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15mm Voigtlander Heliar FE unboxing pics

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A photographer who wishes to remain anonymous just received his 15mm E mount Voigtlander Heliar. He shared those images and writes:

“Jesus it’s small…I never had the old one so I can’t comment but obviously there’s no longer the need for an adapter.  Turning the focus ring activates the in-viewfinder magnification. Falloff seems minimal, little distortion, no purple corners, very sharp in center, and very good at edges. Will need to do some real testing to comment authoritatively, but so far it’s all I hoped and expected it to be.  It’s TINY.  Did I say it’s very very small?”

The Heliar 15mm II for Sony E is in Stock at [shoplink 47157 ebay]FotoMundus (Worldwide shipment)[/shoplink] and will be in Stock soon at CameraQuest and Bhphoto.

04 03-1 01 02

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85mm GM in Stock at BH. Voigtlander 15mm FE to ship on April 27.

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GM85mb

The mighty superbokeh 85mm GM lens is back in Stock at BHphoto (Click here).
The Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III FE lens will sbip on April 27 at CameraQuest (Click here).

The big NAB deals (Click here to see them) are ending tonight. So check them out!

The great savings on grey imported Sony E-mount items has now been extended to three products:
$170 off on the Sony FE 24-240mm at [shoplink 47118 ebay]eBay US (3 year US seller warranty)[/shoplink].
$700 off on the Sony A7rII at [shoplink 47061 ebay]eBay US (1 year US seller warranty)[/shoplink].
$200 off on the Sony FE 55mm at [shoplink 47062 ebay]eBay US (3 year US seller warranty)[/shoplink]

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Craft shows us how you could make a Sony E and A-mount hybrid camera!

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Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-19 um 15.42.21

If you ever wondered how a hypothetical Sony hybrid A and E-mount hybrid mount camera could work look here:
Craft Camera just announced a camera where you can swap between PL, EF and MFT mount by a push of a lever. The image above shows a MFT mount on the left and the EF mount on the right. It’s a different concept than using adapters as in the Craft Camera there is no fixed basic lens mount. Just watch the video to see how this works:

Could be a solution for the perfect Sony A-E mount camera or not?

A bit of history: The “hybrid” mount concpet isn’t anything new. The [shoplink 47137 ebay]Contax IIA (here on eBay)[/shoplink] has such a kind of mount too!

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Diglloyd reports GM lenses do have a major focusing bug

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85GM

The 85mm GM lens is in Stock at BHphoto (Click here).

Diglloyd seems to have spotted another bug:

With both the Sony GM lenses (85/1.4 GM and 24-70/2.8 GM), Sony A7R II does NOT open the lens diaphragm to focus, at least not under reasonably bright to somewhat dim conditions (checked over 3 different days). Setting Effect = On or Off has no effect on the behavior.

I guess this is something that can be fixed by Sony via firmware upgrade.

DearSusans started his ongoing 85mm GM lens review:

Wide open, there is a modest loss of apparent sharpness due to a very slight loss of contrast. But first it is very slight, then it clears up not only by f:2.0, but already by f:1.6 (the aperture range moves in 1/3 stops). From f:1.7 on down, the lens hardly improves, but its rendering becomes just a tad less warm and more neutral. So, in effect, you have a portrait lens wide open, where many prefer not to show too much detail and sharpness (I happpen to disagree), and lovely, romantic colours, then a lens for close-up and street from f:1.6 to, say, f:4.0, then a landscape lens from f:4.0 onwards.

GM lens store links:
85mm f/1.4 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuyAmazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.
24-70mm f/2.8 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuyAmazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.

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Sony brings PRO support program to UK

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Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-21 um 13.18.50
Sony had a press announcement today during the World Photo Award: They are expanding their PRO support program to the UK.

This is the press text:

Sony today announced the expansion of its Imaging PRO Support programme to include the UK. The programme is scheduled to start in the UK in September 2016 and continues to gain momentum as an increasing amount of professional photographers are switching to Sony cameras.
Imaging PRO Support offers advice and help to members including a dedicated telephone help desk offering professional photographers support in using their α camera equipment. There’s a free collection and return service for units requiring repairs, plus a free back-up loan unit to keep professional photographers up and running. In addition, members can benefit from a free twice-yearly image sensor cleaning service with filter glass replacement if necessary and firmware check-up to keep their cameras in top condition.
There’s no membership fee for the service that’s offered to professional photographers[i] who own at least two Sony α camera bodies and three Sony α lenses from the qualifying list detailed beneath.
The Sony Imaging PRO support programme is now live in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the United States. Rollout in other European countries is currently under consideration.

Source: Sony Eu.

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