Lomo announced their first Full Frame Petzval E-mount lens. Here is the press text:

New Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 MKII Brass

Sporting a solid, satin-finished exterior, the Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 is sure to turn heads and keep them turned for years to come. Available with Sony E, Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts!

The First Petzval Designed for Mirrorless
We are introducing the first Petzval Art Lens built specifically for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Coming standard with mounts for Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E – the New Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 has been streamlined with a robust, modern build quality and requires no pesky adaptors.

Dual Aperture System
The brass edition features an 8-blade diaphragm aperture system regulated by a control knob, providing it with both authenticity and a vintage feel. On top it hosts a classic waterhouse aperture system allowing to tweak the bokeh with exceptional shapes.

Engineered Harmony
Featuring a new bokeh control ring, improved optic design and dual aperture system – you can manually manipulate your shots to achieve any desired style. The New Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 offers reliability and top-tier professional quality without sacrificing its vintage styling.

A Tribute to Joseph Petzval’s Legacy
Preserving the vintage quality and feel while boasting the uniformity and compatibility of present-day technology, we’ve combined the legendary 180 year old aesthetic with the dependability of today’s lenses.

Improved Bokeh Control – Deliciously Dreamy to Strikingly Sharp
Rather than changing the aperture to modify the bokeh effect, the New Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 includes a dedicated bokeh control ring – an improvement that gives this lens more flexibility than any other traditional lens.

Rest-assured with the New Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 brass edition, you will be in possession of an art lens of the highest quality. Known for their robustness and durability, brass lenses are sought-after for the classic aesthetic they embody. The Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 brass edition is no exception – sporting a solid, satin-finished exterior, it’s sure to turn heads and keep them turned for years to come.

Along with classic brass, the Petzval 55 mm f/1.7 comes in a brass coated with a sleek, painted-black finish, as well as the modern looking, black-anodized aluminum edition. All finishes are compatible with Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts, be sure to choose the option that fits your equipment.

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DN DC: First Look | 4K

Sony Alpha A6400 Review (ePhotozine).
A Fun Comparison between the Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, Canon C200, Panasonic EVA1, and Sony FS5 Mark II (Wolfcrow).
A Guide to On-Camera Flash (Explora).
Sony HXR-MC88 | NAB 2019 (ProAVTV).
Moza SlyPod – Hybrid of slider and monopod, nice for 360 VR guys (Personal View).
New favorite accessories for Sony a7III a7RIII for 2019 (Jason Vong).

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

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Fuji marks history with their new GFX100 (specs and price info on BHphoto, Amazon and Calumet DE). It’s the first medium format camera with IBIS, BSI sensor, PDAF using the new Sony 102 Megapixel sensor. A spec comparison between the Fuji GFX100 and Sony A7rIII can be seen here.

This might be the first “general purpose use” Medium Format camera ever released. You can shoot it handheld, and even do some actions with it thanks to the fast AF. The camera has one major flaw which is the $10,000 price tag. I don’t know if that Image Quality difference compared to Full Frame can justify the price.

And surely this camera isn’t easy to carry around if you compare it with the Sony A7rIII:

via CameraSize

Just a reminder: Sony once officially said their GM lenses can resolve 100MP FF sensors. One day the A7rIV or A7V will have a 100MP sensor too!

Fuji GFX100 with 102MP Sony sensor at BHphoto, Amazon and Calumet DE.

Creating a Custom White Balance setting for the Sony Alpha A6400 and A9 cameras

Photography Cheat Sheet: Manual Mode Camera Settings (Infographic by Skylum).
9.Solutions C-Pan Arm and Mini C-Pan Arm Sliders (Personal View).
Aputure Unveils Spotlight Mount Light Modifier (Explora).
The Future of Memory Cards – SD Association Interview (LensVid).
S1 vs Sony a7 III vs GH5 by Gerald Undone.
Back-Bone Gear Ribcage Modified Sony RX0 with Micro Four Thirds mount spotted on BHphoto.
CIPA March data reminds us once more the business is in big trouble (MirrorlessRumors).

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

Join the new Sony Alpha Camera Facebook group.
To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
I kindly invite you all to follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

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#Canon 50mm f/0,95 FD lens on the Sony⁣ -⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #mirrorlesscamera #mirrorlessgeeks #cameragear #camerageek #mirrorlessgeeks #camerasetup #camera⁣ #sonyimages #sonyalphasclub #sonyalpha #sonyphotography #sonyphotogallery #sonyalpharumors #sonyalphagear #SonyPhotoGallery #SonyAlphasClub #SonyMirrorless #sonyalphaphotos #sony #sonyalphauniverse #sonyalphaclub ⁣ ⁣

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Sony also released a detailed overview of the semiconductor business (PDF file here). Over 80% of the sensors is produced for the mobile and automotive business. “Classic” Imaging business plays a small role here. But the good news for us is that the mobile/autotomitive business is a BI driver of innovation that could be implemented on Sony Alpha Cameras too.

One major goal for Sony is to integrate AI processing directly intom the sensor hardware. It’s not clear yet what benefits it will bring to us Alpha users. My guess is that object recognition and autofocus trackin can improve with that approach. Maybe the Sony A9II will be the first camera using those kind of new “AI sensors”???

This is what Sony had to say about their semiconductor business:

Semiconductors

• We expect to leverage the superior technology Sony has developed in this business to maintain our industry-leading position going forward.
  • Approximately 80% of CMOS sensor sales are to smartphones. Although this market has matured, demand for sensors continues to grow due to adoption of multiple sensors and larger sized sensors in smartphones. Demand for Time-of-Flight sensors in smartphones is also expected to increase.
  • Although investment in greater production capacity over the next few years is necessary, CMOS sensor production capacity does not become obsolete, resulting in high return on investment in the long term.
• Initiatives in long-term growth prospects such as automotive sensors and Edge AI.
  • Expand business through fields such as distance measurement and automotive. Sony’s automotive sensors are receiving positive external feedback.
  • Stacked CMOS image sensors to be made more intelligent by embedding AI functionality to the logic layer.
  • Sony will also actively pursue alliances with partner companies. Recently announced an MOU with Microsoft to collaborate in the area of AI.

It’s rare to see real revolution in tripo design. Well today we got one: Peak design has just launched a compltely new kind of Tripod on Kickstarter (Click here – preorders open). Here is just a small part of what this tripod can do:

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Traditional travel tripods have a critical flaw: tons of wasted space. The result is a tool that is inherently difficult to carry with you into the field. We fixed that, and more.

We spent 4 years redesigning the tripod from the ground up to eliminate dead space and minimize packed-down size.

But we didn’t stop at space savings.

We made a tool that deploys and packs down rapidly—nearly twice as fast as a traditional tripod. We made it intuitive and delightful to use. We engineered professional-quality stability and performance. And we added thoughtful features to help you get the shot— with any gear, in any environment, from any point of view.

Some more reviews:

But there is really MUCH MORE to ssee if you jump over on their Kickstarter page (Click here).

Today Sony had a 5-hour meeting with analysts and investors:
Sony IR Day 2019 (IR = Investor Relations). Sony.net…
The portion of the presentation dedicated inter alia to cameras and lenses: Sony.net…
The same document from last year’s meeting (22 May 2018): Sony.net…

In both cases the most interesting slide is the last one, dedicated to market shares and market ranks:

Between FY2017 (April 2017 – March 2018) and FY2018 (April 2018 – March 2019):

• The still camera market went down from ¥1,400bn to ¥1,300bn i.e. a decrease of 7.1%. This is coherent with CIPA shipment figures (cameras + lenses), which lead to a 8.3% decrease.
• Sony’s share in the still camera market went up, from 20% to 24%.
• Sony’s share in the ILC + interchangeable lens market went up, from 19% to 23%.
• Sony is now #2 on this market (#3 in FY2017), behind Canon but ahead of Nikon.
• Sony’s share in the compact camera market went up, from 26% to 29%.
• Sony is now #1 on this market (#2 in FY2017).
• (it could be a typo, the data is surprising) the video camera market went down from ¥390bn to ¥300bn i.e. a decrease of 23%.
• Sony’s share in this market remained stable: 29%.

Time to sound the bugle!

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Thanks Mistral for finding the links.