Sony Tidbits…


Shooting Sports with The Sony A9 & Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sport, MC11

Sony A9 Real World Review For Wedding Photography (Albionrow)
Sony cameras at IBC (Personal View).
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master Review at ePhotozine.
Samyang AF 50mm f1.4 FE – Lens Review (Gippslandimages)
How to Pair a Microphone with a Sound Source (Explora).
Nei Valente: Street Photography With a Sony RX100 IV (ThePhoBlographer).

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Sony is testing three different possible “foveon” alike sensors

Sony published a brand new patent (JP-A-2017-174936) which describes three different “Foveon” alike sensors. This kind of sensor doesn’t use the classic RGB pixel layout.

Embodiment 1: It shows the Green layer on top (made of organic material), the blue layer below and the red at the bottom (both made of silicon)
Embodiment 4: It shows the Green layer on top (made of organic material), the blue layer below (also organic) and the red at the bottom (made of silicon)
Embodiment 6: This has a way more complex design. Yellow and Cyan are on top. Green below (made of organic material) and the Red and Magellan layer at the bottom (made of silicon).

What do we learn from that patent?

1) Sony is still experimenting with various options. This probably means we will not see such a sensor any time soon
2) Sony believes the mix of organic and silicon made pixels can improve the poor ISO performance of current Sigma developed Foveon sensors.

I really can’t wait to see this kind of sensor on a Sony Alpha camera. It would bring a quantum leap quality jump with superb sharpness and color accuracy.

via Hi Lows Note

Sony and Manfrotto announce special partnership to develop Products for Sony cameras and lenses


From the left: Mr. Hiroyuki Arai (Manfrotto Corporation) Kenji Tanaka (Sony Imaging Products) Marco Vidari (Manfrotto Distribution US). via DC.watch

Sony and Manfrotto announced a special agreement. Manfrotto will develop products for Sony cameras an lenses with focus on travel photographers. The first product will be a tripod and it will be shows at the Photoplus show in NYC.

Press text via Dpreview:

VITEC PHOTOGRAPHIC AND SONY ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION IN THE IMAGING MARKET

Market leaders will work together to produce a range of premium products targeted at the professional market

Tokyo, 28th September 2017Vitec Photographic, world leader in the photography and videography, imaging equipment and accessories industry has announced its collaboration with Sony, a leading manufacturer of audio, video, imaging, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. This agreement will consolidate both companies position as the innovation leaders in their respective sectors. The collaboration is announced on the occasion of Gitzo 100 years anniversary event in Tokyo, which represents the perfect moment for communicating the common values of innovation and premium quality.

“We are proud to announce the agreement with Sony”– states Marco Pezzana, CEO Vitec Group Photographic Division – “This collaboration sees our brands Manfrotto and Gitzo, leaders in the market of photo and video accessories, working side by side with the prestigious Sony brand, globally renowned for product excellence and superior technology, with the primary intent of collaborating to the development of even more innovative products for professional content creators, thus further increasing customer satisfaction and future business growth.”

The collaboration will begin with a brand new line of products developed for α, Sony’s interchangeable lens camera, that will be launched in 2018. First to be released will be a special version of the Manfrotto Befree tripod, a world class best seller in the traveller segment and the premium lightweight companion solution for compact system camera, unveiled at PhotoPlus in New York on 26th October.

The full range will include new Manfrotto and Gitzo tripods, plates, photo and video heads that are targeted at professionals who demand outmost quality and high performance. A customized version of Digital Director will complement the new range of products that will be showcased at events and tradeshows worldwide throughout 2018.

 

Sony Tidbits…


Liliput A7S FullHD IPS Camera Monitor

Sunny Italian Days with Julia (SonyAlphaForum).
Presenting the New Astra and Sola Light Fixtures, from Litepanels (Explora).
Gitzo unveils trio of premium “Traveler” camera bags to celebrate their centennial (Imaging Resource).
Zhiyun Crane 2! What’s New?! (Jason Vong).
SLR Magic 18mm f/2.8 cine lens hands-on (Newsshooter).
AIC does Alaska! Shot on the Sony a9 (Stan Moniz).

Michael:I did a quick unboxing of the Sony FE 16-35 G Master lens with some tests. https://youtu.be/DVx05bz0uGk

Sony releases new firmware update for the Sony A9. Fixes bug and also improves image quality.

Sony  just issued the new firmware update 1.10 for the Sony A9. You can download it at Sony Australia and within minutes at Sony Support. Those are the improvements:

  1. Supports “Eye AF” function for A-mount lenses via the LA-EA3 mount adapter (This function is only for A-mount lenses which can adapt to 8 or 10 fps (maximum) tracking AF-C shooting.
  2. Fixes an issue where RAW files may disappear when SDXC or microSDXC memory cards are used in certain smartphones (Raw data recorded by the ILCE-9 with firmware Ver. 1.00 or 1.01 could disappear. Please backup your raw data files, even if you’re updating the system software to Ver. 1.10.)
  3. Improves the image quality and overall stability of the camera

It’s not clear what “improves image quality” exactly means. Let us know your findings in our comment section!

Sony A9 at [shopcountry 60917], FocusCamera.

Novoflex launches the new Reverse Adapter for Sony E-Mount

Novoflex announced the new Reverse Adapter for Sony E-Mount. It will be available soon on Amazon. This is the press text:

For owners of Sony E-Mount lenses the NOVOFLEX RETRO-Adapters open up the world of extreme close-up photography with outstanding quality. The NOVOFLEX RETRO-Adapters lets you mount the lens in reverse position on the camera. The ring transfers all control functions.

The NOVOFLEX RETRO-Adapters are supplied standard with a 58 mm filter diameter. Stepping rings are available for other filter sizes.

Technical specifications:

Size: 75 mm (2.95”)
Weight: 160 g (0.35 lbs)
Maximum extension: 550 mm (21.65”)