Back in May 2011 Sigma displayed the first lens for the NEX system, the 30mm f/2.8 macro lens. Now you can see it again at the Paris show. Source: Flickr (Click here). The Sigma guys on the stand couldn’t unveil the price and availability of the lens. The question is how much sense it makes for Sigma to release a lens like that when there is the Sony 30mm f/3.5 macro lens which will be in Stock in October. Hm, I would have preferred to see something really new!
Click these links to check the availability of the Sony macro: [shoplink 7434]
One more Sigma news: There will be a new 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM lens for Alpha mount (Press release on Dpreview).
But there was no official news about the real cause of the delay. I guessed that reason is the current firmware issues. Apparently I was wrong. I got some news from one of our very good top Sony sources. The reason for the delay is the flood emergency in Thailand. According to Bloomberg: “Sony Corp.’s factory in Ayutthaya, which produces digital cameras and lenses, hasn’t suffered major damage from flooding and is operating as normal, Yasuhiro Okada, a Tokyo-based spokesman for the electronics maker, said earlier this week.” But our source told us that while it is true that the factory has not been damaged the transport system of the region is completely stocking and most of the workers can’t even reach the Sony factory.Please share the news to all people that is waiting for the A77 and A65. It’s important that they know that it is not Sony’s fault if they have to wait 2-3 weeks more before to get the camera.
All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461].
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
It was only a matter of time until digital sensor would equal or even surpass the film quality. And with the recent announcement of the Sony F65 camera Sony stated in the F65 brochure (Click here) that this time has now come: “Through all the decades, our design goal has always been to match the photographic quality of 35mm film. But now we’re setting our sights even higher: to surpass the limits of human vision. The F65 image sensor is the first of this new breed”.
The new sensor has a 14 stop dynamic range and a much wider color gamut than film. See the graph below:
I cannot wait to see first video samples shot with the F65. And I do hope that soon the Alpha mount cameras can catch up with B&W film too! I hope the A99 Sony press release will sound as amazing as that F65 brochure :)
P.S.: A behind the scenes video is available here: pro.sony.com
I just got very reliable info from my sources saying that Sony Japan decided to delay the shipment of the A77 until very end October /early November. The new exact shipment date has still to be notified. Meanwhile SonyStore.com (Click here) removed the preorder option! Sony Uk (Click here) says the camera is “temporary unavailable”. Sony Germany (Click here) and Sony France (Click here) say that shipment will start in mid-November. It’s easy to guess that the reason for the delay are the issues with the current firmware. Sony Japan wants to ship the new cameras with the newer 1.03 firmware version which will fix the various bugs.
It hink that’s a wise decision from Sony! Now let’s hope they do not repeat the same mistake with “my” [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink]!
All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461].
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].
Sad news today. Steve Jobs passed away. A visionary that had the talent to take tuff and revolutionary decisions. Not everything he has “invented” was successful or admirable but what I liked most about him was that he acted following paths that no others wanted to go.
Looking at the camera industry which is mostly driven by Asian companies I often see a very conservative and anti-risk inclined mentality. I am now guessing what Steve Jobs would have done now as chief of the Sony camera division. How would he develop the next camera? What would be the key features and innovations?
I am just guessing, but I suspect he would: 1) Introduce less cameras than Sony is doing right now. 2) Make camera usability easier and more intuitive. 3) Focus less on technical specs but more on real user needs (What the camera does…just works!). 4) The camera would have full connectivity to Internet and social medias 5) The camera an lenses would not be the center of the camera division, but just a medium of a whole system which has the (mass-)photographer in the center. He would probably create an APP store, accessories, make it easy for other companies to develop software and hardware for the Alpha system.
Those are just my ideas, but I am also honest enough to say that Jobs would probably go far beyond the points I have written here. What do you think?
Fact is I will miss Steve. No matter if you liked him or not, he definitely changed the computer industry.
UDPATE: Yes, Apple did once make a camera the [shoplink 9443 ebay]Quicktake (Click herer to see it on eBay)[/shoplink]. But it has been announced in 1994 before the comeback of Steve in 1996.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first read this! Fuji announced a new mirrorless system with interchangeable lens system that will use a very large sensor. Exact size of the sensor has not been unveiled but Fuji said it is the highest resolution and lowest noise sensor ever used and it will beat any current full frame sensor! That’s probably the first real competitor for the NEX system and probably also of the future full frame NEX camera! Amazing Fuji. You did what Nikon and Canon where not able to do for now!