Sony Tidbits…


Should You Buy the Sony alpha a6000, a6300, or a6500? Holiday 2017 Buying Guide

Best Sony Lenses of 2017 (Explora).
Lensbaby Trio 28mm F3.5 (SonyAlphaBlog).
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV Review (Photographyblog).
10 Camera Shots I Rely On When My Mind Goes _________! (Wolfcrow).
90mm macro FE review by Ken Rockwell.
The Sony A9. Will it fly as a wildlife camera? (DearSusans).

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BHphoto is shipping two A7rIII instead of one to its customers

Many SAR readers reported that they got not one but two A7rIII cameras shipped by BHphoto.

Alex Workman form our A7rIII Facebook group shared these pictures and writes:

Over the last 24 hours, I have been battling a HUGE moral dilemma…
Yesterday morning, I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning. After waiting 40 days since preordering my Sony a7Riii from B&H, it was waiting at the UPS depot for me to pick up. I was there at 8:00am sharp with a huge grin on my face.

I got home and sat down with the fam to experience the excitement of our new gear together. My wife, Chelsea, loves opening boxes, so I wanted to make sure she got to partake in the fun. As soon as she opened the box, my jaw dropped to the floor. There was not just one camera in the box, but two. Two brand new Sony a7Riii camera bodies.

Not going to lie, I didn’t “want” to do anything. I had dozens of justifications running through my head.
-They will never know
-They have insurance anyways
-I have ZERO legal obligation to contact them, let alone return it
-They will just write it off/shrink is a part of the retail life
-#christmasmiracle

After the nudging from Chels to call B&H and let them know what happened and after 30 min on hold, I spoke to a customer service staff who didn’t seem too phased about the fact that they made a $3200 mistake. After each exchange of the phone call, I kept justifying (or trying to justify) a reason to keep the camera (I mean, there is so much good I could do with that piece of gear). When I asked to speak to a manager, the customer service representative told me that managers were too busy and he would pass my message along (even another justification for me to keep the camera since a manager is too busy to talk with a customer about a mistake). The representative informed that they could probably send out a return label (Could probably‽ I mean “probably?” Yet another justification).

Then, I had a thought. When I was expecting to receive one camera body, I was content. When I opened the box to see two camera bodies, that contentment went out the window. I instantly wanted, and told myself I needed, more. Especially in this holiday season, it is so easy to get our contentment out of whack. I never want anyone to say that I do not (to the best of my ability) live out what I say I believe. We have hustled hard to build a business that champions everyone’s story and does so with integrity. Even though I don’t want to, the camera is going back to B&H. My integrity is worth more than $3200.

I hope B&H or Sony (or whomever made the mistake) will have grace on those individuals who made the error.

This season, let’s champion integrity. Do what is right and remember to keep our level of contentment in check.


Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Photo Porst Neuwied. Sony Netherland. Sony Australia. Sony Japan.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Amazon DE, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests.

Sony Tidbits…


Sony 50mm F1.8 OSS Review (2017) | Sony a6000 Image Samples

The Sweeter the Better with the Lensbaby Sweet 80 Optic (Explora).
Primoplan 75mm F1.9 by Meyer Optik Görlitz (SonyAlphaBlog).
Ikan Beholder DS2-A Gimbal (Personal View).
Trioplan 100mm FE review at ThePhoBlographer.
Sony 100-400 vs Nikon 80-400 at 100mm (Jim Kasson).
Sony A9 sport photography test at DC.watch.

Maarten:To show what the RX10IV can do in HFR mode: here is a video showing all HFR modes from 100FPS, 250FPS, to 500FPS and 1000FPS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxsKSK4bvyA
For more details on shooting HFR (High Frame Rate) slow motion with the RX10IV: here is a post explaining the big differences in shooting with the different modes, it includes videos and frame-grab examples to show the quality differences. http://www.maartentoner.net/filmmaking/summer-in-october-hfr-with-the-rx10iv/

We have our own Facebook camera groups and pages you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony A9 group and Sony A9 page.
Sony A7rIII group and Sony A7rIII page
Sony A7sIII group and Sony A7sIII page
Sony A7III group and Sony A7III page
Note: In groups you can post your own stuff like images, news and questions. While on pages you will read the specific camera news from SAR.

More informal and personal photos from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Meyer Optik Goerlitz launches the new generation Primoplan 75/1.9

Meyer Optik Goerlitz is developing the second generation of their Primoplan 75/1.9 lens. You can buy the lens Indiegogo. Here is their press text:

Meyer Optik Returns a Lost Treasure

New Primoplan 75 Sets Bar Even Higher for Versatility, Optical Performance

Meyer Optik Goerlitz announced today that it is developing the next generation of the Primoplan 75/1.9, its premier portrait lens known for its versatile bokeh that spans from dreamy and swirly to circular, along with melting colors and smooth transitions from sharpness to soft blurs.

The company is calling the new version of the Primoplan 75 the P75 II, and is launching a campaign for the lens today on Indiegogo. Backers can be the first in line to get the lens for as low as $629 during the first 24 hours of the campaign. The upcoming P75 II maintains the special character of the original Primoplan 75, but the new lens follows an innovative optical design making use of Schott and OHARA glass and coatings.

In its new P75 II, Meyer Optik has reduced the lens’ minimum focal distance by almost 30% to just 55cm or 1.8 ft. The company is also offering a specially designed achromat front lens as a possible add on by which the minimum focusing distance can be reduced to 25 cm or less than a foot. The designers have also enlarged the image or frame size so that image contrast and resolution in the P75 II are dramatically improved, making the lens idea for black and white photography, as well as the perfect tool for portrait and nature photography. Furthermore, the lens can now cover mirrorless medium format cameras, such as the Hasselblad XD 1 or Fuji’s GFX 50s

The new optical innovations for the P75 II are an advancement of the Primoplan 75, which had been last produced in the 1950s in East Germany. The lens was originally developed in the 1930s by legendary German designer Paul Schaefter for Meyer Optik Goerlitz.

To see the Indiegogo campaign, go to https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/return-the-lost-treasure-create-the-p-75-ii-f1-9-camera-photography#/

To see product and sample images, go to https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s25nuqmemkrwqnu/AABPMLgH7cQtlXRB2h1BTRYea?dl=0

Pat Nadolski says the Sony A7R III Weather Sealing is “much better than its predecessors”

Pat Nadolski from Kolarvision examinated the A7rIII weather sealing. These are his findings:

Sony A7R III Weather Sealing Examination

When we finished our teardown article for the A7R III last week, we didn’t anticipate just how badly people wanted to see the new camera body’s weather sealing. This may seem like a no brainer since weather sealing is something avid Sony mirrorless camera shooters like myself are pining for (not that it’s stopped my A6000 from weathering the occasional shower). But, the truth is that the A7R III is not sealed the same way as an underwater camera or the more extreme weatherproof DSLRs. If you open the new Sony up, you won’t find gaskets or air tight rubber seals on each individual button and screw like you might on a Pentax. Instead, Sony appears to have taken a subtler approach to protecting their latest full frame from the elements. A mix of some rubber, a tight fit, and rather large lips at the edge of each piece of the chassis seem to do the job when it comes to keeping the rain out of sensitive components.

The first thing we noticed was this long edge that the top cover attaches to the main body by.

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