To all our US readers: Happy 4th of July!

To celebrate the occasion, don’t miss out on the special deals available on the dedicated B&H Photo 4th of July Deals page (click here).

More deals:

• Lowest price ever on the Crucial X9 4TB Portable SSD drive.
• Lowest price ever on the Lexar 1TB SSD disk.
• Prime Day Travel Deals are already online!

From July 8 to July 11, Amazon will run a massive Prime Day sale (Click here). Ahead of the event, you can earn a $15 credit to spend on those deals by uploading your first photos with Amazon Photos (Click here).

Chris Niccolls tested the new Sirui 85mm lens. Here is what he think about this lens:

• Versatile Lens Choice: Chris praises the 85mm focal length for portraits and street photography. The lens is compatible with Sony E, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, and L-mount, unlike the Viltrox which is Sony-only.
• Surprisingly Lightweight: Weighs only 540g—lighter than the Sony G Master and Viltrox equivalents—making it a great walkaround option.
• Feature-Rich Build: Offers AF/MF switch, customizable button, de-clickable aperture ring, and full weather sealing—all at an affordable price (~$600 or less).
• Mixed Autofocus Performance: Uses a stepping motor—decent but slower than Viltrox Pro and Sony G Master.
• Beautiful Bokeh & Sharpness: 15-blade aperture delivers smooth, clean bokeh similar to G Master. Sharp wide open, even in corners. Minor chromatic aberration, minimal vignetting.
• Flare & Breathing Weaknesses: Struggles with flare and ghosting wide open. Noticeable focus breathing—less ideal for video.
• Studio Portrait Test: Great wide-open performance for portraits at f/2 using off-camera flash outdoors. Smooth transitions and catchlight quality praised.
• Exceptional Value: Performs well across mounts, rivals more expensive lenses optically, though autofocus and flare are its key weaknesses.

You can preorder it now at Amazon US, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon FR, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

Sigma 17-40mm vs 18-50mm | APS-C Zoom Battle

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
Sigma Announces Another f/1.8 Zoom Lens, the 17-40mm for APS-C (Explora)
Understanding Frame Rates: When to Use 24, 30, or 60 FPS (42West)
Pergear 25mm f/1.7 (APS-C) lens review (Christopher Frost).
New Perovskite Sensor Triples Resolution and Light Gathering by Stacking Pixels (PetaPixel).
Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 PRO FE Review (Opticallimits).
Don’t Toss That Camera: Why & How to Reuse, Refresh, and Reimagine Used Equipment (42West)
Profoto Announces Powerful B20 and B30 Flashes with Continuous LEDs (Explora)

Follow our new Youtube channel.
Join our SonyAlphaForum.
I kindly invite you all to follow our Discord channel, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

We have our own Facebook camera groups you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony Alpha group. Sony A1 group. Sony A9 series group. Sony A7r series group. Sony A7s series group. Sony A7 series group

A Japanese reader told me this:

I’ve noticed the A7IV is eligible for Sony Japan’s “cashback” program. Essentially, all purchases of Sony A7IVs directly from Sony are discounted by up to 60,000YEN (or roughly $400) from the original list price.
Offers like this are typically made only when a new camera is around the corner. The offer stands till the end of July.

While cashback promotions for the A7IV are fairly common in the EU and the US, this is the first time we’ve seen something like this in Japan. According to my sources the Sony A7V launch is expected to happen sometimes in late 2025. But hopefully I can get a final launch date soon.

You can now preorder the new 35mm f/1.8 PRO autofocus FE lens at Meike Global (Click here).

And the new 24mm f/1.4 FE will be available for preorder in late July ( 600 grams, minimum focus 0,27cm and 72mm filter thread, for E/Z/L mount)

Loving the LK Samyang 14-24mm f2.8 Schneider-Kreuznach — So Much Fun

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
World Backup Day (Explora)
Dynamic vs. Condenser Mics: How to Choose the Right Microphone for Podcasting (42West)
This Week in Camera News with DPReview: Adobe Camera App, OM5-II and the Sigma 17-40mm F1.8
Sony Is Nervous!! – Nikon Z5 II First Impressions… (Jason Hermann).
Premium für die Massen?! | Viltrox 85mm F1.4 Pro im Test (ValueTech).
Top 10 Photography Spots to Visit This Spring (42West)
The Best Epson Printers for All of Your Printing Needs (Explora)

Follow our new Youtube channel.
Join our SonyAlphaForum.
I kindly invite you all to follow our Discord channel, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

We have our own Facebook camera groups you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony Alpha group. Sony A1 group. Sony A9 series group. Sony A7r series group. Sony A7s series group. Sony A7 series group

From July 8 to July 11, Amazon will run a massive Prime Day sale (Click here). They alreayd have some storage deals running like:

• Lowest price ever on the Crucial X9 4TB Portable SSD drive.
• Lowest price ever on the Lexar 1TB SSD disk.