(UPDATED) Hasselblad announces new 5.000 Euro E-mount camera and partnership with Sony!


Hands-on picture by Engadget. More pics at SystemKameraForum.

Wow, if you ever had the question how to make an APS-C sensor camera as expensive as possible than Hasselblad finally gave you the answer. They just announced a 24 Megapixel APS-C sensor mirrorless camera with Sony E-mount! The camera uses the same [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink] sensor and costs…5.000 Euro! It will be available in black, silver or titanium colors and four types of wood grip (beech, olive, pear or mahogany). I can already see the long store lines of people to buy this….Saudi Arabians, Rich Golf Players, Hedge Fonds managers, Mitt Romney… :)

The good news is:
1) We finally have a second camera maker on board of the E-Mount system (Although the first camera is nothing else than a NEX-7 with a lot of expensive materials around it). Hasselblad said that there will be: “new products for DSLR and compact camera segments
2) That’s the most intriguing point. Hasselblad leads the medium format market. And this could be a key partnership to develop FF or MF DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. Imagine a [shoplink 14302 ebay]Hasselblad XPAN (here on eBay)[/shoplink] alike mirrorless camera! That yes would make me grab a credit card…until I realize that I will never have the money to buy this.

And here is the official partnership press release (Source: Sony Press Center):

Hasselblad and Sony usher in a ‘new dawn’ with a long-term partnership that will enable the high-end medium format camera manufacturer to diversify for the first time into new market segments.

The Swedish company Hasselblad, pioneer and developer of the H System, the world’s most advanced medium format digital camera system – used by top professional photographers all over the world – has decided to work with Sony Corporation to cultivate new markets for photo enthusiasts and consumer digital imaging products. Hasselblad is keen to expand and develop its product portfolio to include a new range of advanced mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (a.k.a. compact system camera), which will be followed by new products for DSLR and compact camera segments.

Hasselblad and Sony have agreed further on plans for the two organisations to work together in efforts to achieve technical and engineering breakthroughs in various photographic technology challenges.

Said Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman and CEO: “Following talks with Sony – the key player in the serious photographer and enthusiast market spaces – we are delighted to announce the emergence of a new dawn for Hasselblad. This partnership will enable us to access an area of the photographic sector, which we have never reached out to before, by tapping on Sony’s excellent state of the art technology and spirit of ground breaking innovation. Owning a Hasselblad, made in Sweden, will no longer be just a dream for many photographic enthusiasts.

Shigeki Ishizuka, President, Sony Digital Imaging Business Group, added: “This is a very exciting partnership because Hasselblad’s loyal customers with deep attachment to this prestigious photography brand get familiarised with Sony’s industry-leading camera technologies. We believe that we can further enhance our digital imaging development and manufacturing expertise through this partnership, so that we will be able to offer increasingly attractive products to our customers for years to come.

 

More pics: Courtesy of SystemKameraForum.

HOT news!!! Zeiss announces the 2.8/12, 1.8/32 and 2.8/50 macro for NEX!!!

Wow! What a good day for NEX useres! Zeiss announced that they will release three new NEX lenses in mid 2013 (Source: Zeiss.)! All priced at around 1.000 Euro! Finally this system is going to have high quality prime lenses!!! The first three lenses are the 12mm f/2.8, 32mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/2.8. Zeiss also said that “Zoom lenses are an option that is still being considered“. These are autofocus lenses(!) with support for all camera functions. The lenses are designed to cover the APS-C circle and not the for FF NEX cameras like the [shoplink 14178]Sony NEX-VG900[/shoplink].

I think this is one of the greatest Photokina news along the nice [shoplink 14167]Sony NEX-6[/shoplink] announcement!

A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.
RX1 Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 Amazon, BHphoto, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 Adorama, Amazon, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 Amazon, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH.

Sigma announced three new lenses for A.mount. Including a nice 35mm f/1.4 lens!

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens

Sony itself did announce two new A-mount lenses “only”. But other companies are announcing many new A.mount lenses! Yesterday we had four new Schneider lenses. And now Sigma announced three new lenses! Here is the official description:

17-70mm F2.8-4 DC OS MACRO– This new Contemporary lens is designed for cameras with an APS-c sensor and covers a range equivalent to 25.5 to 105mm on a 35mm camera. An upgrade to its predecessor, which was released in December 2009, this general purpose lens offers a new design and a more compact build.

35mm F1.4 DG HSM– This Art lens provides photographers with a state-of-the-art alternative to the more conventional 50mm. This lens’ axial chromatic aberration is minimized, which renders a cool and smooth out-of-focus image. At low apertures, it can perform like a wide-angle lens; when opened up to F1.4, it will provide background bokeh and make the subject pop like a mid-range telephoto lens.

120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM – With redesigned mechanics and performance, this Sports lens is an update from its predecessor released in February 2011. This high-performance lens eases difficult shooting conditions by offering a maximum focal length of 300mm and a wide-open aperture of F2.8. This lens, like the other Sports category lenses to come, is dust and moisture resistant, and allows users to adjust the focus speed and the focus limiter via a button on the lens.

 

Source: dpreview.

Four new Schneider lenses for Sony! Zeiss lens announcement soon…

Good news folks! We have four new (expensive) A-mount lenses from Schneider Kreuznach! These are the new lenses:
85 mm/2.4 Makro-Symmar
28 mm/4.5 Super-Angulon Aspheric
35 mm/1.4 Xenon
50 mm/1.4 Xenon

There is no info about price and availability yet. We already have two Schneider lenses for Sony (here at BHphoto) and they are pretty expensive but maybe because they are T/S. Checked the [shoplink 14252 ebay]Xenon lenses on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] but they are too old to get an idea about the price of the modern lenses. Anyway, I am pretty exited about the two 35mm and 50mm fast lenses! I am sure they are top quality!

Source: Photoscala (translation here).

One more surprise could arrive soon from Zeiss. As you know they will show new lenses for mirrorless system soon…fingers crossed guys!

 

Low price FullFrame price battle reloaded (Canon 6D announced).

So, here we are with now two cheap Full Frame models from the competition that need to be fought with a future A95 model! Today Canon announced the new 6D (Specs and price here). Along the Nikon D600 (specs and price here) this is the second entry level FF camera priced at $2100. This is just to say that Sony may not only have to bring a High pixel camera like the D800, but maybe also a new entry level FF. At least according to SAR readers vote this should be done by Sony:

Would it make sense for you to merge the A7sIII and A9II features into one camera?

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I am 90% sure we will have a High End model with High Resolution (30+ Mega-pixel) sensor in 2013. I am not so sure about the cheap FF entry level model. Hope sources are reading this and may send me some info about it.

A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Paul Genge quits from Sony and starts new website. Sony A99 developer team interview at Sony Japan.


Sony Japan (Translation here) posted an interview with the Sony A99 engineers. There isn’t really interesting stuff to read. They just repeat how the goal was ultimately to have a high image quality and a “three-dimensional sense of resolution

And you remember Paul Genge from Sony UK? He doens’t work for Sony anymore and started a new website called CameraDiner.com. I wish him good luck!!!

Some more Sony news:
Sony A99 ISO test by ThePictureDesk. On Picasaweb you can find a new A99 versus A900 image comparison. Many testing videos on Mobile01. RX1 at Quesabesde. Sony Declines to Comment on Report of Tie-Up Talks With Olympus (Bloomberg). Sony NEX-6 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Comparison (ePhotozine).

SLRmagic announces new 35mm f/1.4 and 23mm f/1.7 E-Mount lenses.

And here are two new manual focusing but fast E-mount lenses from SLRmagic. Read the press release to learn more about it:

PRESS RELEASE:

Hong Kong, September 15th, 2012.
During Photokina 2012 in Cologne, Germany (September 18-23), SLR Magic will present attractive new CINE products as well as its Toy Lenses, all of the highest technical quality. Among them, will be a new SLR Magic CINE 35mm T1.4 lens in stores by the end of 2012. SLR Magic would like to invite all participants of Photokina fair held in Cologne to visit our stand in Hall 3.1 B059. SLR Magic will present its entire range of camera lenses, cine lenses, spotting scopes, and camera accessories during Photokina.

A major attraction is a high-performance mirrorless format cine lens with manual focus. With a focal length of 35mm and aperture of T1.4, this lens joins the family of cine lenses designed for demanding users. The reason why the 35mm T1.4 lens is not in the HyperPrime series is because T1.4 is not the fastest speed we can design for this 35mm lens.
Ever since the release of the HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 lens, cinematographers have been requesting for a set of HyperPrime CINE lenses. In addition to our new CINE 35mm T1.4 lens, we will also showcase our 25mm T0.95 (MSRP: US $649) in mFT and 35mm T0.95 (MSRP: US $1,249) in mFT, X-mount and E-mount concept lenses that are based on the optical design of the HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 lens.

Due to difficulty to source a particular material to manufacture the HyperPrime 23mm F1.7 for E-mount announced on December 8th 2011 it was discontinued within 3 months of launch. During this time, we have re-designed the lens, increasing image quality across the frame yet keeping the lens size and price similar to the original. The new design also supports mFT and X mount cameras.

All details concerning the optical type and physical size of the lens will be published at a later date. The SLR Magic CINE 35mm T1.4 lens in mFT, X-mount and E-mount (MSRP: US $279) will be introduced for sale in December 2012. The SLR Magic HyperPrime 23mm F1.7 (MSRP: US $399) in mFT, X-mount and E-mount will be introduced for sale in February 2013.

SLR Magic CINE 35mm f/1.4

Mount : mFT mount / E mount / X mount /
Black Magic Cinema Camera mFT mount
Focal Length (35mm equivalent)    : 70mm[mFT]   52mm[E]   52mm[X]
80mm[Black Magic mFT]
Minimum Focus Distance    : 0.3m
Maximum Aperture    : T1.4
Minimum Aperture:     :T16
Optical Design            : 8 elements, 8 groups (4 x Tantalum)
Lens Length           : 70.3mm
Lens Weight            : 370g
Filter Thread Diameter: 52mm

SLR Magic HyperPrime 23mm F1.7

Mount : mFT mount / E mount / X mount /
Black Magic Cinema Camera mFT mount
Focal Length (35mm equivalent)    : 46mm[mFT]   35mm[E]   35mm[X]
52mm[Black Magic mFT]
Maximum Aperture    : F1.7
Minimum Aperture     : F22
Optical Design            : 9 elements, 8 groups (4 x Tantalum)
Lens Length            : 61.3 mm
Lens Weight           : 265g
Filter Thread Diameter: 49mm

 

P.S. Current SLRmagic lenses for the E-mount system:
[shoplink 11187 ebay]SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 MC (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 11186 ebay]SLR Magic Toy Lens 28mm Bokehmorphic lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 11185 ebay]SLR Magic HyperPrime 50mm f/0.95 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 11186 ebay]SLR Magic 28mm f/2.8 lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink].