Sony Tidbits…

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera vs Sony RX100 III – guess which is which from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

Sony RX100 III review (EosHD).
Review: Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 Mark III (Ming Thein).
Sony FE 24-70mm F/4 ZA review (PhotoJottings).
Sony RX100 Mark III : le test complet (Focus Numerique).
Sony A77II test at Optyczne.
DPR reviews Tamron 150-600mm.
Sony A3000 Review at Imaging Resource.
Sony A6000 Shooter’s Report Part III at Imaging Resource.
New Metz flash with multi-function hotshoe! Metz.de.

Jean:After a friends question about my 3 month experience with the A7, I decided to write a long article on it and on impressions with E-Mount and 3rd Party Lenses. The article is in French but can easily be translated by Google Translate. I includes many photo samples and photos of the A7 with lenses mounted and weight of the lenses.
Après des questions d’un ami sur mes 3 mois d’expérience avec le Sony A7, j’ai décidé d’écrire un long article avec mes impressions sur les objectifs en monture E et aussi des objectifs tiers. L’article est illustré de nombreuses photos exemples et de l’appareil avec les objectifs ainsi que leurs poids
http://www.jlrichter.fr/2014/06/28/photo-le-sony-a7-et-ses-objectifs/

Patrick:Another potential post for your site: https://vimeo.com/94010638
After a long still photography career of shooting only Canon and Nikon, the facial recognition AF of the Sony A99V drew me onto a new world of making large sensor video focus pulls easier than I ever dreamed possible.
Last week I did a shoot for a law school where I got pretty much free reign of the place to make eye candy type clips for a one-minute admissions video project. It’s great when a client engages you and then sets you free to do what you know is best for them, rather than attending endless meetings where they can tend to put you in a box and stifle your creativity.
As I packed up for this assignment, I realized the power of Sony’s entire lineup of cameras. I brought with me and used four different Sony products which included the A7, A6000, RX10, and the only strictly video camera was the Sony FS100. I also used a GoPro for some POV on my motorcycle but that footage doesn’t hold up to the Sony stuff.
The great thing about the variety of cameras they are producing right now for video use is that the three sensor sizes really make it easy to always have the correct look for the image you want to make. What do I mean by this?
If I need to tell the larger story of a scene in which there are a lot of people that are all important to the clip, I can choose the RX10 with its 1” chip. It will do a slightly better job at still showing the background, which helps establishing shots where the entire feel and scope of a place is needed.
For more intimate footage where you want to isolate a subject for an interview, the A7’s full frame sensor rocks the house, especially when paired up with fast primes to really knock the crap out of the background and go for the eyes only in terms of focus.
The A6000 makes the most of all of the great Sony glass with OSS, like the 10-18 which I use a lot, the 50mm f/1.8, and even the kit lens (18-55) which I have found to be very capable. The ability for the A6000 to just nail focus even in low light AS THE CAMERA AND SUBJECT ARE BOTH MOVING is astounding to me. I sometimes shoot something with the A6000, play it back, and just laugh. The AF is scary good on the A6000 and it is fast becoming a favorite of mine even though it just showed up recently.
In all honesty, this entire shoot could have been done exclusively with the RX10 as it offers the most flexibility, especially to anyone that is just getting into video and wants to enjoy success immediately with a minimum of work and learning curve. I always feel better having the RX10 close, as it is so versatile and capable. Having said that, the ability to jump up to the larger sensors offered in the A6000 and especially the A7 just give the Sony system a huge leg up on everyone else right now.
I love the 55mm f/1.8 but I wish it had OSS. I need more fast Zeiss glass, and soon, for the AF system to really help me. My dream lens list? I’m glad you asked. For full fame, I’m wanting a 135mm f/1.8 Zeiss, 35mm f/1.8 Zeiss, and a Sony G 100mm f/2.8 macro. On the APS-C sensor side of things, more fast lenses WITH OSS please. And the replacement for the RX10? 4K would be really nice, leave the lens alone, but give us the AF system in the A6000… please!

Sony is working on a Lytro alike camera (Patent).

The complex image on top shows you a new Sony Light Field sensor that has been patented by Sony (United States Application US20140071244). Basically it’s a Sony version of the famous new Lytro Illum (here on Amazon). As you know a Light field camera can take the entire light field instead of a pure 2D image. It means you can refocus in post production and even change the perspective. Try it out here:


Click to refocus. Click and drag for Perspective Shift. (Source: Pictures Lytro).

Well, the drawback of such cameras is that the resolution is very low. And that’s exactly what Sony claims to have fixed in this patent:

a camera system that have no useless pixel arrangement and are capable of suppressing decrease in resolution which may be caused by adopting stereo function.

The sensor tech is very complicated and we have to see how long it will take for Sony to get this into a real mass-produced camera. But now imagine for a second to have a Full Frame camera with such a sensor. Damn, that would be amazing …or not?

Metz flash units for “Sony Multi Interface” flash shoes

Metz announced the new flah unit for “Sony Multi Interface”.

Here is the official press release (Source: Metz.de):

The Sony versions of the two Metz flash units 44 AF-1 digital and 52 AF-1 digital now come equipped with new feet for cameras with “Sony Multi Interface” flash shoes. While the mecablitz 44 AF-1 digital is considered to be one of the most handy flash units available, the powerful mecablitz 52 AF-1 digital is particularly impressive thanks to its convenient touch display and nu-merous adjustment options. Since the middle of last year, Sony digital cameras now come with the “Sony Multi Interface” flash shoes, making it necessary to adapt the Metz Sony-compatible flash units accordingly. Therefore, now the Sony versions of our 44 AF-1 digital and 52 AF-1 digital flash units have been given new flash feet. This means a Sony flash shoe adapter is no longer necessary. A corresponding adapter is required if you wish to connect flash units with the conventional Sony/Minolta flash feet. These adapters may be included in the scope of delivery for some Sony camera models.

This week SAR readers photos selection.


Charlie Kaye‎
Sony A6000 with the Sony FE 70-200mm f/4.
At the Jazz Age Lawn Party on New York’s Governors Island.

To get on the SAR readers selection post you have to:
1) Submit your picture with a message and picture here: facebook.com/sonyalpharumors.
2) Like and comment the pictures from other readers here: facebook.com/sonyalpharumors/photos.
3) A selection of most liked pictures by the community and by me SAR admin will be posted weekly on SAR.

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Zeiss promises a fix for the Touit 50mm macro flash delay problem.

Our reader Jim noticed an issue with the new Zeiss Touit 50mm macro lens:

I have recently purchased the Touit 50 macro for my Sony a6000 and was delighted with the combination until I found that the lens is unusable with the camera when the flash is deployed. There is a 3 second delay from pressing the shutter button to the flash and shutter operating.

He contacted Zeiss to ask for a solution and that’s their answer:

Yes, this flash problem with the Sony cameras could be solved with a firmware update for the Touit lens. A new firmware is under development and is scheduled to be released during this summer.
When a new firmware update is available, we will inform you by email.

Competition news: Nikon D810 features Sony 36MP sensor.

This is likely one of the most unexciting camera updates ever. Nikon announced the new D810 (specs at Amazon) which features the Sony 36MP sensor and brings only very minor improvements over the D800 (electronic first curtain and so on). The news that matter for us are:

1) There is no new Sony FF sensor in use with the camera. This is the same A7r sensor. Don’t know if that means that Nikon has no exclusivity on new Sony sensors anymore…
2) This may be a chance for Sony to close the gap with their new A-mount FF that could be announced at Photokina in September.

It will be far more intersting to se what Canon is up with their new FF sensor tech. Going to be an exciting rumor summer :)