Today only: $100 off on the fast Lexar SD card sold by BH

Today only you save $100 on the fast Lexar SD cards sold by BHphoto. The same card is in Stock for $199 at Amazon.

Reminder: Those Sony rebates run this til June 2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama. Some special mentions:

 

Cameras:

Lenses:

Accessories:

Tamron:

  • Tamron 28-75mm III lens for $699 only at Amazon US, BHphoto and Adorama t This is the lowest price ever on an excellent and much beloved kit lens!

You save up to $300 on Sigma E-mount lenses sold by Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama.

 

Insider info: The new Fuji X-T50 is selling again like hotcakes! Sony take some notes!

Today Fujifilm announced the GFX100IIS (at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama) and the FujiFilm X-T50 (at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama).

Weeks ago I told you that Fuji’s X-T50 film simulation dial was a winning addition that would create instant hype and be loved by influencers and young people. This is the kind of ‘gimmick’ that cameras need to sell to this group. Some people said I would be a fool to think that, so I made an effort to contact some of the major shops in the US, Europe and Asia. They all told me the same thing: re-orders for this camera are very high! The highest ever for any X-Txx camera!
Granted, not as high as the FujiFilm X100VI, but still much higher than usual.

Let’s be honest, I’m a middle-aged classic photographer and I don’t need that dial. But I want companies to keep producing new cameras that focus on photography. And the only way they will do that is if they can make money on this kind of ‘different’ cameras as well. That way they can keep the whole business profitable. This is why the upcoming Sony ZV-E10II is so important. Not because we like it… but because it is the best-selling E-mount camera and is always at the top of Amazon’s ranking (click here). I still don’t know when the ZV-E10II will be announced…first rumored dates were late May but there might be a small delay of a couple of weeks….

 

Canon R1 development officially announced…and likely will be on market exactly when the new Sony A1II will be announced!

The multi-year long rumored Canon R1 has been finally announce…or more like pre-announced! From the press release it sounds likely this camera will be on market by early 2025 and that’s also when I heard that Sony might announce the new Sony A1II.

You can read the full press text on Explora but here are the key interesting aspects:

  • It’s going to use a new CMOS sensor (so no global shutter)
  • Uses the same “old” Digic X processor of the Canon R3. UPDATE: CanonRumors corrected me and this is not the “same” processor but a variation within a family of processor.
  • promises to have the best in class autofocus…beating the Sony A1 and Sony A9III AF system.
  • Will be field tested at the Olympics

So the key really is the Autofocus performance. I have a hard time believing they can beat the A9III but at the end we all have to hope they can pull this off. This will put some pressure on Sony to give us a stunning new Sony A1II ;)

Here are my thoughts:

Rumor was correct: Sony released a new A7sIII firmware update today! UDPATE: Also new A7IV firmware!

Sony A7sIII Firmware 3.01 has been officially released (Click here to download it).

Benefits and Improvements

  • Fixes the following issues with the ISO value:
    • The ISO value is displayed incorrectly when outputting a RAW video to a RAW-compatible device connected via an HDMI cable
    • The upper and lower limit setting ranges are incorrect when the ISO value is set to Auto
  • Fixes an issue where the camera may not be able to connect to the network
  • Improves the operational stability of the camera

UPDATE: Sony A7IV Firmware 3.01 has been officially released (Click here to download it).

Benefits and Improvements

  • Fixes an issue where the camera may not be able to connect to the network
  • Improves the operational stability of the camera

Wise announced their new VPG400 and super fast CFexpress Type A card!

Wise announced the new superfast Type A cards that should soon be available for reorder on Amazon and BHphoto. This is the press text:

Taipei, Taiwan – May 15, 2024 – Today, the 512GB Type A returned with reinforcements in 256GB and 1TB. All bear the VPG400 logo, compliant with Video Performance Guarantee established by the CompactFlash Association.
All Wise CFexpress 4.0 Type A Mk-II models unlock the full potential of Alpha cameras, supporting all video codecs including the slow-and-quick modes in finest HD / 4K in XAVC S-I format.
“Now that we are VPG certified and fully compliant with industry standards, Alpha users can make a choice,” said Wise Senior Product Manager, Frank Wang. “It’s about authenticity and reliability, right? There are options now.”
The Wise CFexpress 4.0 Type A Mk-II cards will be available early June, and will MSRP at US$219.99, US$359.99, and US$549.99 respectively. For more information contact your local dealers or visit our site.

In the past weeks we got a ton of new Type A cards and most of them are in Stock:

4.0 generation VPG400 cards:

4.0 generation VPG200 cards:

2.0 generation VPG 400 cards:

  • Nextorage 640GB for $749 at Amazon
  • Nextorage 320GB for $439 at Amazon
  • Nextorage 160GB for $229 at Amazon
  • Nextorage 80GB for $164 at Amazon
  • Nextorage 40GB for $89 Amazon (this one has max 550MB/s write and 600MB/s read)

2.0 generation VPG 200 cards:

  • Nextorage 1920GB for $899 at Amazon (lowest price of any 2TB Type A card)
  • Nextorage 960GB for $499 at Amazon
  • Nextorage 480GB for $199 at Amazon

4.0 generation Type A card reader:

ATTENTION: High risk card: new Airusan 256GB Type A card from Amazon US and EU (Click here) with officially NOT approved VG400 cards (as claimed by them).