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The new Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III lens is now on preorder in Germany (Here on Fotomundus) and Hong Kong (Here on Shenikon) It costs 749 Euro or $899 and will ship on March 10. The lens has been redesigned by Voigtländer to improve the corner performance on the Sony A7 FF cameras. This means we can finally get a relative compact wide angle lens for decent money.

One year after the announcement the A7s review just got posted at Dpreview (Click here). And it earns a Gold Award:

The more you delve into the a7S, the more it becomes apparent that it was designed primarily for video. And it’s superlative in that context: producing clean, detailed video from its large sensor, even in low light. It’s less compelling as a stills camera, and its ergonomics aren’t a great match for videography, but if you’re serious about video, it’s seriously impressive.

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 Black (Click here), Brown (Click here), Red (Click here) and Orange (Click here).

BHphoto launched their impressive list WPPI specials and there are many Sony (or thrid party company) deals. Certain specials are valid only by using this unique promo code during checkout: “194517320679478786163“. Click on the box to open the deals page:

German photo market: DSLR sales in RED. Mirrorless sales in Grey (Unit sold in tausend).

The last few years Sony launched an impressive amount of cameras. But something changed lately. The last six months Soy did announce only one new camera, the Sony A7II. No other E-mount or A-mount or RX camera got announced. I guess Sony just like all other companies is now aware that the camera market is shrinking and it’s time to refocus the strategy.

An interesting and extremely detailed analysis of the German market has been posted on MirrorlessRumors. In very short it shows that:
– The DSLR market is shrinking
– Lens sales are dropping too
– Mirrorless system camera market is slowly growing
– Action camera market is booming

It’s not that people is stopping to take pictures..actually quite the opposite! It’s just that the tools used to take pictures and videos are becoming different and more differentiated. People nowadays uses Smartphones, Actioncameras and Wearables too. And most of the times the new tools are very user-friendly (APP support) and made to fulfill very special needs. According to the German GFK organisation the “classic” System Camera market is expected to shrink further in 2015. Sony just like all other companies now have to try to understand what’s needed to attract new buyers with their A and E-mount system.

On Wednesday March 4 at 5-6 am London time Sony will announce all four new FE lenses. You can follow the live blogging here on SAR where I will link to all incoming reviews, tests and preorder options.

And those are the full lens specs and images:

Zeiss FE 35mm f/1.4 lens:
– Focal length: 35mm
– Max. Aperture: f/1.4
– Minimum aperture: f/16
– Filter size: 72mm
– Number of diaphragm blades: 9
– Field of view on APS-C: 52.5mm
– Minimum focus distance: 30 centimeter
– Weight: 630 gram
– 1699 Euro

Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 OSS macro:
– Focal length: 90mm
– Max. Aperture: f/2.8
– APS-C equivalent: 135mm
– Minimum aperture: f/22
– Magnification 1:1
– Filter size: 62mm
– Image stabilization: Yes
– Minimum focusing distance: 28 cm.
– Number of diaphragm blades: 9
– Weight: 602 gram
– Price 1149 Euro

Sony FE 24-240mm OSS lens:
– Focal length: 24-240mm
– Aperture: f/3.5-6.3
– Minimum aperture: f / 22
– Filter size: 72mm
– Number of diaphragm blades: 9
– Focus on APS-C: 36mm to 360mm
– Minimum focus distance: 50centimeter
– Optica Steady Shot
– Weight: 780gram
– Price 999 Euro

Sony FE 28mm f/2.0 lens:
– Focal length: 28mm
– Max Aperture: f/2.0
– Minimum aperture: f / 22
– Filter size: 49mm
– Number of diaphragm blades: 9
– Focus on APS-C: 42mm
– Minimum focus distance: 29centimeter
– Weight: 200gram
– Price 449 Euro