Today Metabones announced the new N-mount Speed Booster and Smart Adapter. With those you can use the rather excellent [shoplink 74785 ebay]Contax N lenses (see them here on eBay)[/shoplink].

Press text:

Metabones Launches Contax N-Mount Speed Booster ULTRA and Smart Adapter

Vancouver, Canada, September 10, 2018, Owners of legendary Carl Zeiss optics in Contax N-Mount have long demanded a trusted migration path to mirrorless cameras. With the advent of Metabones® Contax N-Mount to Sony E-Mount Speed Booster® ULTRA and Contax N-Mount to Sony E-Mount Smart Adapter, the longing is over.

Built upon the foundation of Metabones’ past success, phase-detection autofocus on A9, A7R Mark III, A7 Mark III, A7R Mark II, A7 Mark II, A6500 and A6300 not only offers pinpoint accuracy but also AF speed significantly surpassing the original Contax N series AF cameras. (Tailored to single-lens reflex cameras with a traditional phase-detection autofocus system, Contax N lenses are not compatible with contrast-detection autofocus mirrorless cameras such as A7S Mark II.)

Get a glimpse of the ergonomic experience of the original Contax N1 camera by using the lens’ own aperture ring in aperture priority and manual exposure modes on A9, A7 series, A6500 and A6300. Fully automatic exposure and shutter priority are also available.

A customizable button on the adapter can be assigned to more than 50 different functions on an A9, A7 series, A6500 or A6300 camera, including depth-of-field preview. Putting that button on the hand-grip side would have matched a genuine Contax N camera, but since that would have been next to Sony’s lens release button, we opted to place this customizable button on the other side of the adapter instead, right where the thumb of your left hand is.

The workmanship and attention to detail are evident from the signature Metabones design and the two electrical contacts carrying power, which are thicker in the same way as a genuine Contax N series autofocus camera. The inside of the adapter is flocked with felt to minimize internal reflection. A tripod foot compatible with Arca-Swiss style quick release is included.

Metabones has a proven track record of firmware stability and timely firmware support. Firmware is user-upgradable via the adapter’s micro USB port.

Metabones adapters relay distance information from the lens to the camera body to enable full 5-axis in-body image stabilization of the A9, A7 Mark III series, A7 Mark II series and A6500. (The Contax 645 Makro-Planar 4/120 lens does not report distance information and supports only 3-axis in-body image stabilization.)

Contax made history by offering the world’s first full-frame digital camera, Contax N-Digital, in 2002. All Contax products had been discontinued by 2005, leaving some of the finest autofocus optics ever made in search of a successor. None of these lenses feature optical image stabilization, and this is where the 5-axis in-body image stabilization (SteadyShot INSIDE) of Sony A9, A7 Mark III series, A7 Mark II series and A6500 comes in as a much-needed complement.

The heritage lives on, with the very same Carl Zeiss lenses from the dawn of full-frame digital photography now leveraging the latest and greatest mirrorless camera features and poised to benefit from further technological advances in the future.

Speed Booster® ULTRA

Speed Booster® ULTRA uses an advanced 5-element/4-group optical design by Caldwell Photographic Inc., incorporating ultra-high index tantalum-based optical glass to achieve extraordinary optical performance with improved corner sharpness, distortion and reduced vignetting. Speed Booster® ULTRA has a magnification of 0.71x, effectively reducing the crop factor of APS-C cameras from 1.5x to 1.07x. The Speed Booster® ULTRA design makes very effective use of exotic materials at the furthest limit of glassmaking technology, and as a result is well corrected for use with virtually all full-frame SLR lenses regardless of exit pupil distance. Thus, the Speed Booster ULTRA performs extremely well with professional-grade f/2.8 zoom lenses such as the Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*2,8/17-35. Similarly, high-speed fixed focal length lenses such as the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 and Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85 will be transformed into f/1.0 lenses with excellent contrast and resolution from the center all the way to the edges of the image. Like all Metabones Speed Boosters, the Speed Booster ULTRA is optimized to fully account for the camera’s filter stack located near the sensor surface. This is especially critical at the extremely large apertures made possible by Speed Booster technology. As a result of this careful optimization, the complete range of Contax N and Contax 645 lenses will function flawlessly when adapted to Sony E-mount APS-C format camera bodies. (Speed Booster ULTRA cannot be used to adapt a Contax 645 lens to a full-frame E-Mount camera such as the A9 and the A7 series.)

Availability

Metabones® Contax N-Mount to Sony E-Mount Smart Adapter and Contax N-Mount to Sony E-Mount Speed Booster ULTRA are available right now for USD 399 and USD 399 respectively, plus applicable tax(es), duties and shipping, from Metabones’ web store and its worldwide network of resellers.

Supported Lenses (edited by SAR with links)

The following Contax N mount lenses are supported and tested:
[shoplink 39622 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 17–35/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39623 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 24–85/3.5–4.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39624 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 28–80/3.5–5.6 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39625 ebay]Planar T* 50/1.4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39626 ebay]Vario Sonnar T* 70–300/4.0–5.6 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39627 ebay]Planar T* 85/1.4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39628 ebay]Makro-Sonnar T* 100/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39629 ebay]Tele-Apotessar T* 400/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

In addition, the following Contax 645 lenses, adapted to Contax N-mount by Contax NAM-1 adapter (not included), are supported and tested:
[shoplink 39632 ebay]Distagon T* 35/3.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39633 ebay]Distagon T* 45/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39634 ebay]Distagon T* 55/3.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39635 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 45–90/4.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39636 ebay]Planar T* 80/2 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39637 ebay]Sonnar T* 140/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39638 ebay]Sonnar T* 210/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39639 ebay]Tele-Apotessar T* 350/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

Specifications

Product name (Model Code):

Metabones Contax N Lens to Sony E-mount Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x (MB_SPCN-E-BT1)
Product page: http://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_SPCN-E-BT1
Dimension: 31.2 x 72.3 x 76.0mm

Weight: 207g
Retail Price: USD 649.00

Metabones Contax N Lens to Sony E-mount Smart Adapter (MB-CN-E-BT1)
Product Page: http://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_CN-E-BT1

Dimension: 35.4 x 72.3 x 76.0mm
Weight: 167g
Retail Price: USD 649.00
Color: Black Satin exterior; Black Matte interior

Electronic Features:
AF with Contact N mount lens (details refer to the above supported lenses list)
Enable full 5-axis in-body image stabilization of the A9, A7 Mark III series, A7 Mark II series and A6500.

Optical Features (for Speed Booster ULTRA version only * ):
Magnification: 0.71x wider *
Increase max aperture by 1 stop *
Advanced 5-element/4-group optical design incorporating ultra-high index tantalum-based optical glass by Caldwell Photographic in the USA (patent granted) *
Felt material flocked inside the opening to reduce internal reflections

Tripod Mount:
Detachable and compatible with Arca Swiss, Markins and Photo Clam ball heads

Sony issued a new firmware update for the Sony A9 with the following benefits:

• Support of “SEL400F28GM”
  Adds a [Silent priority] option to the [Aperture Drive in AF] setting in the menu.
  *Using the lens “SEL400F28GM”, when [Silent priority] is selected, the sound emitted by the aperture drive will be reduced. This is useful in shooting conditions where camera noise should be kept to a minimum. Note that Auto Focus may become slower when [Silent priority] is selected.
• Other improvements
  Improves the overall stability of the camera

Three Sigma Lenses for Your Sony a6000 (APS-C) | Initial Impressions

Comparison of the new Nikon Z cameras and the Sony A7riii and A7iii… pros, cons and recommendations (Enthusiastphotoblog).
New Data: Sony SLT-A57 Photographic Dynamic Range and Other Sensor Measurements (Photons to Photos).
Sony A9 – Speed matters (Ole C. Salomonsen).
The 4 Toughest Hard Drives for Your Next Adventure (Explora).
Sony 24-240mm F/3.5-6.3 Review (Enthusiastphotoblog).
Sony RX100 VI – Beginners Guide – How To Use The Camera (SonyAlphaLab).

Mathieu: “here is my new video : 5 Creative ideas for amazing Portraits. Shot on A7III. https://youtu.be/iK36LLiy_Cw I hope you like the result”

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So while we should get the A6xxx (or A7xxx) and A7sIII soon let us know what Sony should absolutely “copy and paste” from the new Canon-Nikon cameras:

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This is really big news. The flyer we leaked months ago about a new APS-C Global Shutter was indeed real! Sony just updated their sensor page and included a whole bunch of new Global Shutter sensor in nearly all possible formats. This includes an exciting APS-C and MFT global shutter sensor.

The one interesting new sensor is this 31MP APS-C sensor that actually uses a 4:3 format! I am really not sure if that sensor will be used by a Sony APS-C E-mount camera as I cannot see the company using a 4:3 format on an E-mount camera. Still what matters is that Sony has officially announced an APS-C Global Shutter sensor and a variation of this can be used by a future E-mount camera!

So let’s take a look at the specs of this “IMX342LQA” APS-C sensor:

Description
The IMX342LQA is a diagonal 27.9 mm (APS-C) CMOS active pixel type solid-state image sensor with a square pixel
array and 31.49 M effective pixels. This chip features a global shutter with variable charge-integration time. This chip
operates with analog 3.3 V, digital 1.2 V, and interface 1.8 V triple power supply, and has low power consumption.
High sensitivity, low dark current and low PLS characteristics are achieved.
(Applications: FA cameras, ITS cameras)

Features
◆ CMOS active pixel type dots
◆ Built-in timing adjustment circuit, H/V driver and serial communication circuit
◆ Global shutter function
◆ Input frequency
37.125 MHz / 74.25 MHz / 54 MHz
◆ Number of recommended recording pixels: 6464 (H) × 4852 (V) approx. 31.36 M pixels
Readout mode
All-pixel scan mode
Vertical / Horizontal 1 / 2 Subsampling mode
ROI mode
Vertical / Horizontal‐Normal / Inverted readout mode
◆ Readout rate
Maximum frame rate in
All-pixel scan mode: 8 bit 35.4 frame/s, 10 bit: 35.4 frame/s, 12 bit: 25.8 frame/s
◆ 8-bit / 10-bit / 12-bit A/D converter
◆ CDS / PGA function
0 dB to 24 dB: Analog Gain (0.1 dB step)
24.1 dB to 48 dB: Analog Gain: 24 dB + Digital Gain: 0.1 dB to 24 dB (0.1 dB step)
◆ I/O interface
SLVS (2 ch / 4 ch / 8 ch switching) output (594 / 297 Mbps per ch)
SLVS – EC (1 Lane / 2 Lane / 4 Lane / 8 Lane) output (2.376 / 1.188 Gbps per Lane)
◆ Recommended lens F number: 2.8 or more (Close side)
◆ Recommended exit pupil distance: –100 mm to –∞

* Pregius is a trademark of Sony Corporation. The Pregius is global shutter pixel technology for active pixel-type CMOS image sensors that use
Sony’s low-noise CCD structure, and realizes high picture quality.

Sony reserves the right to change products and specifications without prior notice.
Sony logo is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.

This is cutting edge tech folks! Give me a Global Shutter on the A7000 and A7sIII and people will forget Nikon and Canon’s mirrorless launch :)

Marcell Faber‎
My favourite shot from last weekend.
A7III + Samyang 35mm 1.4
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You can get it here on Kickstarter. They write:

ExperimentalOptics is back. The geeks from Berlin that brought you the fastest lens in the world, the 50mm f/0.75, are back to bring you something even bigger…
…well, not actually bigger.
Actually it’s the smallest lens in the world! A super flat, super sturdy, super fast and super high image quality pancake lens.

The onyl small caveat…you have to pledge 1199 Euro!!!!!!!!!!!