Click on the image to see the full size version!

After Samyang, Sigma and Tamron also Yasuhara announced a new lens for the NEX system. It is the Madoka 180, a fisheye lens with 180 degrees. Yasuhara is a small japanese company that has a long history of making Leica clones ([shoplink 11556 ebay]click here to see the Yasuhara Type 1 M-mount camera[/shoplink]). What follows is the official press release text (via Yasuhara.eu)

“Yasuhara announced a new fisheye lens for Mirrorless cameras Sony, Olympus and Panasonic with Sony NEX (E-mount) and micro 4/3 mount. It will be called “Madoka 180” (180 degrees). Links below direct to two image samples you can find on Yasuhara.eu page in full size version.
Madoka 180 image sample No. 1
Madoka 180 image sample No. 2

Here are the basic specs of the Sony E-mount version:

• The lens will have f/4 aperture
• Compact  size
• Length: about 40mm
• Diameter: about 60mm
• Weight: about 200g

The first Yasuhara Madoka will be released for Sony E mount this spring. Madoka will be available for sale on Yasuhara.eu page at the end of March – begining of April 2012. The company is planning to release also a special software for the images taken with Madoka lenses.“

Image of the Nikon D800 (and Sony produced) 36 megapixel sensor

Our good friend from Nikonrumors found an interesting news at Bernama (Click here): “Nikon is targeting to produce 30,000 units of D800 and 5,000 units of D4 camera models, the company’s latest, per month at its factory here.“. There are two interesting aspects:
1) This means that Sony has to produce 30.000 36 megapixels sensor per month for Nikon D800 (and Nikon D800E).
2) It also means that the factories in the form the flood affected area have now been fully restored.

While this is certainly a good business for Sony I am still wondering if Sony will ever have the courage to risk more. It’s ok for me to give the exclusivity for the 36 Megapixel sensor to Nikon. But they should at the same time try to strengthen their FF business. While it’s true that you make most of the money with the smaller APS-C sensor system cameras I am pretty confident there is a huge potential in the full frame market. A 24 Megapixel A99 camera is certainly something appealing but if Sony would have launched a full frame mirrorless system along the current NEX system I am pretty sure many would have bought into that system too! My concern is that Sony is acting a bit too conservative. They risk to loose the momentum they got with thee SLT and NEX launch. NEX lenses are still missing and others like Fuji are catching up (Click here to follow Fujirumors). And I expect Canon to launch their system at Photokina. New Alpha lenses are also needed (some fast primes for example). It’s a time of change now, where new technologies and paradigms are building a new world in the digital camera market. It’s the right time to dethrone the Canon/Nikon world domination!

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P.S: If you want to see some images samples of the new 36 megapixel sensor check at Nikon (Click here) or Jim Brandenburg (Click here).
Price check and preorders at Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), J&R (Click here), Amazon Germany (Click here) and Jessops UK (Click here).

Click on picture to enlarge

The taiwanese company Ownuser just published the first NEX-7 battery grip pictures on Facebook (Click here). As you can see form the pictures there is  even a remote trigger. To read the specs and features of the grip just click on the images below. The battery grip cannont be preordered yet and will be avaialble in a couple of months. Ownuser is already known for making remote controllers and battery grips for Sony DSLR/SLT and NEX cameras. You can buy them on [shoplink 11424 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

P.S. NEX-7 in Stock status check:
[shoplist 8454]

This is the new Sony lens roadmap. Click on the image to see the large version! According to the roadmap there will be four new lenses this year and four new lenses in 2013. My guess based on rpevious rumors is that some of the 2013 lenses will be actually announced within 2012. If you read from top the lenses are:

Sony Europe (Click here) and Sony Japan (Click here) announced the new rugged 500mm f/4.0 lens. And that beast is yours for no less than 13.000 Euro!!! It will be in Stock by April. Those are the key features of the lens:

HOT: The last few hours rumors are coming in like raindrops. Soon Sony will announce new SLT stuff. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile I got more than twenty emails from USA readers saying that their NEX-7 body preorder from August/October/November/December and January(!) have been shipped by Amazon or Bhphoto! The screenshot on top shows a shipped January BHphoto order.

Teh Sony NEX-7 body is already in Stock in european stores like Amazon Germany (Click here), Sony Germany (Click here), Sony France (Click here), Sony Italy (Click here), Sony Netherland (Click here), Sony Sweden (Click here), Sony Switzerland (Click here).

Nikon finally announced the Nikon D800 which uses the new Sony 36 megapixel sensor. Interesting, there is even a Nikon D800″E” version that has not Anti Aliasing filter! There is no official info about who made the sensor. But I already knew since almost a year that Nikon would use a Sony produced 36 megapixel sensor this and I wrote it on SAR many times :) Sony will very likely use the same sensor inside the full-frame camera that will be launched in early 2013. The Nikon D800 costs $3000 at Amazon (Click here). The D800E costs around $3.300 at Amazon (Click here) and Bhphoto (Click here).

So let’s take a short look on the part of the press release were Nikon talks about the sensor:

“The new Nikon developed 36.3-megapixel FX-format (35.9 x 24mm) CMOS sensor realizes Nikon’s highest resolution yet, and is ideal for demanding applications such as weddings, studio portraiture and landscape, where there is no compromise to exceptional high fidelity and dynamic range.

The D800 features a wide native ISO range of 100-6400, expandable to 50 (Lo-1)-25,600 (Hi-2). Nikon engineers have created innovative ways to manipulate light transmission to the sensor’s photodiodes, giving users the ability to shoot with confidence in challenging lighting conditions.  Internal sensor design, an enhanced optical low pass filter (OLPF) and 14 bit A/D conversion with a high signal to noise ratio all contribute to a sensor capable of excellent low light ability despite the extreme resolution.  Every aspect of this new FX-format sensor is engineered to deliver amazing low noise images through the ISO range and help create astounding tonal gradation and true colors, whether shooting JPEG or RAW.

The optimized CMOS sensor reads image data at astoundingly fast rates, which results in less instances of rolling shutter distortion.”

So, do you like it? 14bit, no anti aliasing filter, fast readout for less rolling sutter. That’s all stuff Sony has to offer on their cameras too!