Well, after the [shoplink 22672 ebay]Hasselblad Lunar (on eBay here)[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 22673 ebay]Hasselblad Stellar (on eBay here)[/shoplink] we have the first Hasselblad luxury version of a Sony A-mount camera!

Today Hasselblad announced the new Full Frame A-mount “Hasselblad HV” camera. All info can be read at http://www.hasselblad-hv.com/. The tech specs are the same of the Sony A99. What changes are the weight and the material used to change the style of the camera. You can buy the camera only in a special “High Performance Case” package which includes two batteries and the 24-70mm f/2.8 Zeiss. The full package will cost you $11,500 or 8500 Euro!

Here are the key differences between the Hasselblad HV and the Sony A99:

1) Unlike the Sony A99 this camera has a “Machined high-grade aluminium” chassis. Hasselblad writes:

Even though the trend in the camera industry is to manufacture camera bodies in cast magnesium for lightness, the fact is, ‘old-school’ aluminium has far more qualities. It is resistant to corrosion, more durable and much tougher than magnesium – especially when machined from a solid block of top quality alloy.

2) And it has a “PVD – the best coating treatment available today”. Haselblad writes:

We certainly don’t intend to bore you with the details of high temperature vacuum evaporation and plasma sputter bombardment processes, but suffice it to say that PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) is serious cutting edge coating technology. It was originally developed as a specialist hardening treatment for high speed cutting tools but has evolved into an outstanding finishing process solution. Its hardness is second only to that of diamond.

3) The High Performance case details:

THE HIGH QUALITY, PROTECTIVE CASE OFFERS safe transportation for your equipment and is the choice of professionals. All beautifully presented, the case is functional with considered design features to make using your equipment practical and safe. Particular attention has been given to the weight, to the aesthetic and the bespoke foam centre.
THE HV HIGH PERFORMANCE CASE IS MADE FROM RESIN called TTX01 which makes it more robust and protective against external agents yet lighter than any other case on the market. It also guarantees extra protection from dust, water, impacts, shocks and chemical agents and is able to resist extreme weather conditions and temperature changes from -40° C up to 80°C.

More pictures:

Ice Caves at the Apostle Islands National Lakesore, Wisconsin, USA. a7 and fe28-70 by Vince Padilla. More at http://on.vncpd.us/1aCUwE6.

These are the most liked pictures of the week on the SonyAlphaRumors Faceook Image wall (Click here to see them all). As usual feel free to share your pictures and like the pictures posted by others. It’s a great way to see what can be done with our cameras. And you can interact with the photographers too!

And special congratulations t Kürşad for his newborn! Picture below:

New born baby feet | A99 CZ85 1.4 | ISO640, 1/125 / f1.7 by Kürşad Sezgin

All other pictures can be seen here:

Image courtesy: Imaging Resource.

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The recent decision from Sony to drop the “NEX” brand dramatically increased the confusion on their camera and lens lineup. And apparently the recent mess on text and description at Sony EU sites supports this statement :)
That’s why Imaging Resource tried to get through the labyrinth created by Sony to explain how we should “understand” the new Sony strategy. IR does a good job explaining Sony’s plan but the problem is that the mass is likely not going to understand Sony’s marketing anyway :)

Sony announced the new firmware for the QX10 and QX100. Download links: Firmware for Mac (Click here) and for Windows (Click here).

Improvements after firmware upgrade

• ISO Setting added
• Movie Recording size changed: MP4 1440 x 1080(30p) to MP4 1920 x 1080(30p)
• Shutter Speed Priority Shooting mode added (DSC-QX100 only)

Here are all direct links to QX in USA/Canada:
QX100: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX100 at Amazon (Click here).
Black QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyCA (Click here).
White QX10: Amazon (Click here), SonyUS (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Soft Carrying Case for DSC-QX10 Amazon (Click here).
Xperia Z case with QX mount on Amazon (Click here).

Here are all direct links to the QX in Europe:
Black QX100 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Black QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
White QX10 at SonyDE, Amazon.de (via DealsRunner), Amazon France (via DL), SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.
Xperia Z1 at SonyDE, SonyUK, SonyES, SonyIT, SonyNL, SonyBE, SonyAT, SonyCH, SonySE, SonyFI, SonyNo.

Today Zeiss launched the new 50mm f/2.8 macro Touit lens for Sony E-mount APS-C cameras. You can already preorder the lens for $999 at BHphoto (Click here).

This is the official Press Text:

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 30.01.2014 – More and more photographers are taking advantage of the growing possibilities afforded by compact system cameras with APS-C sensors. With the Touit 2.8/12 and Touit 1.8/32, ZEISS already offers two lenses with E- and X-mount that suffice in meeting the demands of ambitious photographers. Now, the new ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M expands the Touit family to include longer focal lengths as well as close-up coverage. 

The Touit 2.8/50M offers a magnification power of 1:1. As a result, the photographed object appears on the camera sensor in its original size. Details that cannot be seen with the naked eye become impressively visible at short shooting distances. This new Touit is therefore following in very large footsteps: ZEISS macro lenses with a magnification power of 1:2, such as the Makro-Planar T* 2/100 and Makro-Planar T* 2/50, have already established themselves as top macro lenses among SLR lenses.

Thanks to its moderate telephoto focal length, the Touit 2.8/50M is also perfect as a portrait lens. When allowing for a crop factor of 1.5, the angular field corresponds to a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 75 mm. Here, too, the lens’s enormous versatility pays off. The lens covers distances from infinity to a magnification power of 1:1. The Touit 2.8/50M is a versatile lens that harmonizes very well with the flexible application of compact APS-C system cameras. Its imaging power makes it an ideal choice for close-ups and portraits.

The Touit 2.8/50M also employs the floating elements design from ZEISS. This enables the lens to achieve a consistently high imaging performance, including up to the minimum object distance (MOD). The exceptional image quality remains consistent, independent of the focus setting. Two aspheres – lens elements number three and four – deliver an important contribution to the high image quality. Two additional lens elements with low dispersion – lens elements number two and nine – help ensure that the lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberrations are kept to a minimum.

A round iris with a total of nine blades gives areas of the motif outside the focus a soft and very natural-looking character. Focused objects before a blurry background are clearly accentuated, creating a harmonious and balanced bokeh. Excellent sharpness along all f-stops rounds off the performance spectrum of the Touit 2.8/50M.

“The new Touit 2.8/50M is for photographers who already use our other two Touit lenses; it’s the ideal complement to their portfolio. Owners of APS-C system cameras with Sony E- or Fujifilm X-mounts who are looking for a new high-end lens will also want to use the Touit 2.8/50M. Whether a photographer has an eye for the smallest details or likes sharp portraits and pleasing bokeh, our new all-around Touit will definitely be at the top of their wish list,” says Dr. Michael Pollmann, Product and Program Manager from ZEISS Camera Lenses.

The Touit 2.8/50M with E and X mount will be available worldwide in March 2014. The recommended sales price will be about EUR 755 (excl. VAT.)* or US$ 999 (excl. VAT)*.

One of the few areas where Sony is doing really well is imaging sensor production. And today Sony announced the acquisition of the Tsuruoka fab from Nintendo! The fab used to make chips for Nintendo game console (Source: Image Sensor World). Sony reports:

This planned investment forms part of Sony’s mid- to long-term plan to increase its total production capacity for image sensors from the current capacity of approximately 60,000 wafers per month to approximately 75,000 wafers per month.Following the acquisition, Sony intends to convert part of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment that Sony is scheduled to acquire from Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor to CMOS image sensor manufacturing equipment, and also to install new manufacturing equipment for CMOS image sensors in Yamagata TEC. Yamagata TEC will primarily engage in the manufacture of photodiodes and wiring processes for stacked CMOS image sensors.

Now what we need from Sony is an increased lens production capability too and some really great new camera to put Nikon and Canon in the shadow.

Source: Camerasize.

We are all eagerly waiting to see how the new NEX-6/7 successor will be. And as Sony’s High End APS-C model it will have to compete against the just announced new Fuji X-T1 (specs and images at Amazon).

Well, the camera has a couple of features that some future A7000 or A9000 owners (whatever name it will have) could like to have on their Sony too. Like the “world’s fastest AF of 0.08 seconds”, freezeproof body or the huge 0.77x and 2,36m dot viewfinder.

Now, let me know what’s the new X-T1 feature the Sony NEX-6/7 successor should absolutely have:

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P.S.: Full Fuji coverage at MirrorlessRumors.com.