Amazon Black Friday deals will start on November 17

Amazon announced that the Black Friday deals will start on November 17 and go on for 10 days. The Black Friday pages are already up and running here and some early deals can be found: Amazon US. Amazon CA. Amazon DE. Amazon UK. Amazon FR. Amazon ES. Amazon IT.

To grab the best deals before the others I advice you to become Prime members. You will get early access to Amazon Black Friday and the Cyber Monday 2017 deals. You can simply cancel your free trial after 30 days if you do not wish to become an official member. Subscribe PRIME here: Amazon US. Amazon CA. Amazon DE. Amazon UK. Amazon FR. Amazon ES. Amazon IT.

We don’t know yet what kind of Sony deals we can expect. But for sure there will be plenty of useful rebates on accessories and third-party lenses.

Serge Ramelli tests the Luminar 2018 and creates Autumn atmosphere and Sunrays out of nothing

Youtube star Serge Ramelli tested the Luminar 2018 software (purchase here). And he shows you how to create an autumn atmosphere from a boring picture.

I guess that’s the future of photography. Take a shitty pic and transform it in whatever you like. And you will not even have to own a good camera.. The German Max Planck institute has a special AI algorythm to create high resolution images from a low resolution original photo (PDF file here).

Samyang officially releases the new Lens Station for E-mount cameras

Samyang officially announced the new Lens Station for E-mount autofocus lenses. What itdoes is this:

– install firmware updates
– calibrate focus
– calibrate aperture
– calibrate MF sensibility

[Download User Manual]

Current Samyang/Rokinon AF E-mount lenses:
50mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
14mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
35mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
35mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

First A7rIII and 24-105mm lens shipped to Chinese buyers

The very first A7rIII has been shipped today to Chinese buyers (Source Xitek). Some time ago Sony stated that China was the number one Full Frame market in terms of volume. I guess that’s why the camera is shipping earlier than in USA and EU. And as you can see from these images below both the A7rIII and the new 24-105mm lens are made in China too.

Preorders:
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!

Download the new 650 pages long A7rIII Help Guide

Not only the manual but also the 650 pages long Help Guide is available for download. Once you are read it all you will get an engineering degree for free :)

Preorders:
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!

And note that at Photo-Porst.de you get 5 year warranty on the A7rIII…

Interesting: Panasonic launches a sort of “mini Sony A9” for $1,700

Today Panasonic announced its first “sports camera” named G9. I read the reviews and many are referring to this camera as a sort of Sony A9 competitor on a budget. They base these claims on a few similarities:

  • G9 has electronic shutter mode to shoot 20fps in continuous autofocus.
  • No EVF blackout just like the A9.
  • Very fast Autofocus (Panasonic also claims to have the fastest autofocus of all mirrorless system camera).

Of course it’s easier for Panasonic to achieve the same A9 speed having to deal with a smaller sensor.  The big trade-off might be Image Quality and mid and high iSO performance.

For me this isn’t a Sony A9 competitor. But the G9 might pushes Sony to release a new A6700 camera with the A9 features and priced below $2,000. I am sure many SAR readers would love to get this one right?

Sony grows Imaging PRO Support Programme in Europe

Sony today announced the expansion of its Imaging Pro Support Programme which now covers seven European countries, responding to the increasing number of professional photographers, who are switching to Sony. From January 2018, professional photographers from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway will be able to apply for membership to make use of the Pro Support services offered, with a further expansion of the programme to France, Italy and Belgium scheduled for April 2018.

The Imaging Pro Support Programme offers support and advice on Sony equipment, including a special telephone helpdesk to assist professional photographers in the use of their α-camera equipment. Professionals also benefit from free collection and return services and complimentary replacement units while their equipment is repaired. Additionally, members are entitled to free image sensor cleaning and a firmware check-up, twice a year.

For eligible applicants[i], membership of the European Imaging PRO Support Program is currently free. It is accessible to professional photographers who have at least two Sony α camera bodies and three Sony α lenses from the list of valid devices. For a list of eligible products, please consult this list.

Imaging PRO Support is currently available in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, China, Russia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, and the United States.

[i] The program is intended for professional photographers. Anyone interested in becoming a member must therefore provide proof of income from photography work. Sony reserves the right to review individual cases.