The official Asian Samyang retailer posted the images of the new Rokinon 300mm f/6.3 lens on facebook. A real beast! Are you going to grab this one?

Sony Alpha 58 review by DigitalCameraWorld.

Dumping Nikon for Sony at Stuckincustoms.
SEL 35mm f/1.8 review at Danhawk.
Sony 50mm f/1.4 review by Ken Rockwell.
Sony a99+grip+flash kit and a65 are sold this week at nice prices (EUR 2900 and  499 respectively) in Finland at  rajalacamera.fi
Sony A58 review at Photographyblog.
The Sony RX100 at Dublin Zoo (DigitalPhotographySchool).
Sony HVL-F20AM Flash tested by Ken Rockwell.
The Olympus OM-D vs Sony NEX 7 – Is Mirrorless More, or Less?  Blogarithms
Sony SEL-20F28 review at KurtMunger.

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I am very busy working on the new A-mount camera roadmap. As you know new FF and APS-C cameras will be announced in Q1-Q2 of 2014 and they will be very “advanced”. It’s really a very exciting time for me and my sources. And I am not forgetting the E-mount system neither! There will be a new NEX-7 successor and plenty of new lenses (including a 85mm f/1.4). But while I am chatting with my source about all that new stuff I collected your “dream features” for the new 2014 generation A-mount cameras (yep, I read all your comments and put them in a poll). I am now curious to see what feature is the most requested and should be done to be really competitive in the DSLR market:

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Sony posted a sort of How To for the RX1. These are the shortest How To clips ever made :)  Here they are: https://www.youtube.com/user/Sony?feature=watch (scroll down to see the list).

What’s much more interesting than the videos is the rumor about a new Leica Mini M release on June 11. This could be the first real Sony RX1 competitor. A new Leica fixed lens FF camera? I don’t know it, but I bet it will be too expensive…

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RX1 links roundup:
RX1 at [shopcountry 15824].
RX1 Gariz accessories:
1) They made a new half leather case in Black and Brown ([shoplink 16437 ebay]Click here to see them on eBay[/shoplink]).
2) The new lens cap ([shoplink 16439 ebay]Click here to see them on eBay[/shoplink]).
3) The new entry is the anti loose button(!) ([shoplink 16438 ebay]Click here to see them on eBay[/shoplink]). Don’t know if that will be really useful for you RX1 owners. Someone has it and call it how it works? Thanks!
4) And this is the really first time I see that. A special Leather skin hood! ([shoplink 16441 ebay]Click here to see them on eBay[/shoplink]).

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Sony officially released a press text (Click here) describing the Key Strategies for the future. There is a section concerning the Imaging Division. In short they want:
1) to expand the image sensor business
2) focus on 4K-compatible cameras
3) expand sales in the mirrorless market by “introducing models that leverage Sony’s image sensor technologies to further enhance image quality“. Also size reduction and new higher-powered zooms are described as key tech for to the mirrorless success.

Note: A-mount will become mirrorless too. That’s why (I guess) they didn’t talk about the DSLR system cameras :)

Here is the full original Sony text regarding the Imaging Business:
“Placing image sensors, a particularly strong category for Sony, at its core, Sony is concentrating the focus of its imaging businesses on creating value-added products, while aggressively exploring new applications for its imaging technologies in both the consumer and professional markets. In terms of image sensors, the Company will continue to commercialize new sensor technologies capable of differentiating finished products, for use in a range of consumer and professional applications. The Company also plans to engage in aggressive capital investment in order to meet the robust demand for these components. At the same time, Sony is also developing technologies that further expand the range of sensor applications, including sensors capable of sensing beyond the visible light spectrum, and sensors capable of detecting and categorizing different types of information. For the professional market, Sony will continue to reinforce its professional camera lineup centering on 4K-compatible cameras, as well as cameras for cinematography. The Company will also target further business growth by extending the scope of its digital imaging technologies to new business areas such as security, sports and medical, and will reallocate resources accordingly. In the consumer market, where business conditions continue to shift rapidly, Sony aims to expand sales of value-added compact digital still cameras by introducing models that leverage Sony’s image sensor technologies to further enhance image quality, and also incorporate feature enhancements such as reduced size and weight, and higher-powered zoom. Sony will also seek to firmly maintain its number one global market share in the growing mirrorless lens camera category. Through these measures, Sony will target sales of 1.3 trillion yen and an operating profit margin of more than 10% across the image sensor, professional, and consumer categories by FY14.”

Photorumors spotted that video of a Hasselblad presentation in New York. Ready to buy it? :)

Zeiss had an official presentation in Japan and the image on top shows their strategy and planned activities (Source: DC.watch). As you can see they don’t think that compact cameras and classic DSLR are growing markets. Smartphones, mirrorless system cameras and the very high end cameras are the growing (or stable) markets. That’s why they want to focus on high quality lens productions for top DSLR and Mirrorless cameras. And they also anticipated a new line for the future. My guess is that this could be the new Full Frame Zeiss lenses for the NEX-FF system :)

As I told you months ago the new NEX-9 Full Frame camera is due for mid 2014. And there will be also a couple of primes coming along it. Yep, exciting and expensive :)

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Zeiss Touit preorder links:
12mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama and Uniquephoto. In Europe at [shoplink 18497 ebay]CameraCenter UK[/shoplink] and FotoMundus.
32mm f/1.8 at BHphoto, Adorama and Uniquephoto. In Europe at [shoplink 18498 ebay]CameraCenter UK[/shoplink] and FotoMundus.