Sony A7III is the camera of the year according to Dpreview

DPreview published the full list of their “DPReview Awards 2018”

The bets camera of the year is the Sony A7III ([shopcountry 77622]):

And the winning spot this year is taken by the Sony a7 III. Arguably the best-value full-frame ILC available right now, the a7 III is a superbly versatile camera for both stills and video imaging, at a great price. Other cameras in Sony’s lineup offer higher stills resolution and some nice extras, but the a7 III takes most of the essentials, and packages them inside an attractive, very usable and affordable body. As such, the a7 III is a worthy winner of our most important award – the best product of 2018.

The best compact camera is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VI ([shopcountry 77621]):

Another year, another Sony Cyber-shot RX100-series compact camera. What will it be this time – a faster lens? Better 4K video? Boosted continuous shooting? Well, in fact the RX100 VI offers none of those things compared to its predecessor the RX100 V/A, but instead adds a more versatile 24-200mm zoom to the lineup, which trades brightness (and a built-in ND filter) for extra telephoto reach.

The RX100 VI doesn’t replace the older RX100 V/A, but it does fill a gap in the established RX100-series lineup for a true ‘travel zoom’ camera, offering advanced video and stills features in a compact package, with a versatile zoom lens. Photographers have been asking Sony for a longer zoom in the RX100-series for a long time, and with the RX100 VI, Sony delivered, without compromising too much of what we love about the series as a whole. As such the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VI takes our award for best compact / fixed-lens camera of 2018.

The best zoom lens is the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD ([shopcountry 77620]):

At the other end of the scale from Canon’s behemoth is the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD. It might not be the widest or fastest (thanks to our runner-up), standard zoom of its kind, but it’s the smallest and lightest, and one of the best nonetheless.

The Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD has the distinction of being the first third-party zoom lens designed from scratch to be compatible with Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras. It has seriously impressed us with its optical quality, close-up ability, relatively fast (and silent) autofocus, pleasant handling and excellent value for money. A perfect companion to Sony’s a7 III, we hope that the 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD is the first of many future mirrorless-oriented lenses from Tamron, which has really impressed us in the past couple of years with its range of high-quality Di prime and zoom.

The best prime lens is the Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM ([shopcountry 77623]):

We’ve seen a lot of small, OK lenses this year, and a lot of very large, very good lenses, but it’s really nice when we see a manufacturer make a small excellent lens. The Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM is exactly that.

This medium-wide prime lens for Sony’s a7-series and a9 mirrorless cameras (it’s also a useful 36mm F2.1 equivalent on APS-C) is a great example of the lens-maker’s art. Superbly suited to landscape and astrophotography, the 24mm F1.4 is equally useful for low-light candid photography and portraiture. It’s uncannily sharp edge-to-edge wide open with little to no coma, bokeh is smooth, and longitudinal chromatic aberration – that purple and green fringing we loathe on many fast wide primes – is well controlled. Our decision this year was unanimous – the Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM takes the well-deserved top spot in our award for best prime lens of 2018.

This year I agree with all their choices!

BCNranking Full Frame japanese market analysis: Sony is crushing Canon and Nikon

I am a bit surprised to see this: Sony Full Frame camera sales in Japan did growth enormously in Japan. And the surprise is that Nikon Z7 camera didn’t manage to change Nikon’s fortune (UPDATE: Maybe the Z6 will change this). Sony still outsold the Nikon cameras by a huge margin. Only Canon managed to slightly beat the Sony sales in October. But if you consider the whole past year Sony really did beat them both by a huge margin.

The columns on the bottom show the change compared to the previous year. And as you can see Canon and Negative are in negative territory fot the past 8 months. All this despite Sony NOT having announced a single new Full Frame camera in the past 10 months after the A7III launch.

Note: BCNranking which collects the exact sales number from 2/3 of all Japanese stores.

This week SAR readers photos selection


Kam Sing
Sony A7R3 + FE 70-200 f4
#sonyalphagallery

1) You can submit one single picture per week only.
2) To submit your picture for the weekly readers roundup post you can choose one of the following three options:
Instagram: Follow @sonyalphagallery and tag us on your picture to give us the permission to repost your image on the instagram gallery and on SAR (we will credit you)
Facebook: Submit your picture on our group: facebook.com/groups/sonyalphacamera. Please add the hashtag “#sonyalphagallery ” to grant the permission for reposting on SAR. Without the hashtag we will not add your picture!
Forum: Submit your picture on the SonyAlphaForum image section and add the hashtag “#sonyalphagallery
3) Like and comment the pictures from other readers here: instagram.com/sonyalphagallery, facebook.com/groups/sonyalphacamera and on SonyAlphaForum.
4) A selection of most liked pictures by the community and by me SAR admin will be posted weekly on SAR.

Note: When sending a pic feel free to also add a link to your site to promote yourself! And please do share one single picture per week only. Do not spam :)

 

Read more

Sony Tidbits…


Shooting at Speed – by motorsport photographer Alejandro Ceresuela

Mitakon 20mm f2 X4.5 super macro lens review (Sonyalpha.blog).
Fix a Sony A7/A7R/A7S screen that is scuffed or scratched (PDN).
Z7 vs A7R III by Mirrorlesscomparison.
Sony Lenses: The Year in Review, 2018 (Explora).
Cosina 12mm FE lens test at DC.watch.
Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD review at Mf-photography.

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

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

Sony Tidbits…


Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art vs Sony 35mm f/1.4 for Sony A7III, A7RIII, A7SIII. Short Review

Sony Cyber-shot HX99 Review (Photographyblog).
I Pre-Ordered the Sigma 56mm F1.4? Should You? (Jason Vong).
Traveling to Colorado with only the Sony A7III (Julia Trotti).
Sony A7iii Tip – Get 3x more zoom with your Full Frame Lenses! (Chris Brockhurst).
Accessories for Making Better Family Portraits (Explora).
This russian camera is capable of capturing video in the darkness of a moonless night (MirrorlessRumors).

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

Capture One 12 released: You get 10% off with our code ;)

Today Capture One 12 got officially released. It adds a ton of new features and if you want to buy it (Click here) you get additional 10% off using our code “AMBSAR“.

Here is the official Press release:

Phase One releases Capture One 12
Redesigned and reimagined for the needs of today’s creatives, expanding for tomorrow’s solutions

COPENHAGEN, November 29, 2018: Phase One, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end digital camera systems, today released Capture One 12, the next major milestone in the evolution of the industry’s premier RAW conversion, image editing, and asset management software. This release takes a top-down approach to streamline, modernizing, and improving the user interface to continue the program’s tradition of providing powerful features in a customizable, uniquely- configurable interface.
New masking tools and improved workflow features continue Capture One’s tradition of providing the most powerful image editing tools available, while a new plug-in ecosystem will allow third-party developers to connect their services and applications to Capture One.
Capture One 12 furthers Phase One’s commitment to providing unparalleled RAW editing, with unmatched tethering, color handling and precise editing on images captured with any of more than 500 different camera models.
Capture One 11.3 introduced support for all Fujifilm cameras and their unique sensors. Capture One 12 now enhances that support with the ability to correctly read and interpret Fujifilm’s legendary Film Simulations.

Capture One has long been recognized as the industry standard for RAW image editing and image management,” says Jan Hyldebrandt-Larsen, VP Software Business at Phase One. “With this update, we focused on creative control — updating and improving the user interface, adding powerful new masking tools, and extending the Capture One ecosystem through plug-in support. These updates further our commitment to ensuring that Capture One continues to be the industry’s recognized leader in accuracy, performance, and customizability.

Download Capture One 12, as well as find resources and tutorials at:
www.captureone.com/12

– > New features and tools in Capture One 12

Powerful, refined interface
Capture One 12 introduces a newly re-designed, contemporary interface, designed to make Capture One easier to use during long editing sessions and to make discovery, experimentation, and customizability easier than ever. New iconography better conveys tool functionality, and the new slider design, the spacing of the tools, and font size increase improves both the look and the usability of the program.
The result is a new environment that feels more welcoming for new users while being more customizable for power-users.

Revamped menu system
Every menu item in Capture One 12 has been evaluated, categorized, and organized according to its logical function and grouped along with associated tasks, which makes it easier to find the desired controls and settings, and brings the Mac and Windows menu options into alignment.

Luminosity masking
One of a trio of new masking tools, Luma Range allows users to quickly create masks based on the brightness of pixels in an image and is the most powerful luminance masking tool of its kind.
This masking technique is particularly powerful in landscapes and high-key portraits, as it allows for nearly-instantaneous masks in complex scenes based on brightness—eliminating the need to tediously paint complex masks. Once a luminance range is created and adjusted using the precision mask-adjustment tools, nearly any editing tool can be applied to the mask.
The masks created with the Luma Range tool are dynamic and can easily be tweaked and modified at any point in the workflow. Unlike a hand-drawn mask, Luma Range adjustments can be applied from one image to another, and the effect will be based on the luminance of each image. This functionality is a huge time- saver as it eliminates the need to create precision masks for each frame in a shoot.
The new Luma Range selection masks open up an incredible range of editing possibilities, from selective noise reduction to precise color grading.

Linear Gradient Mask
Capture One 12 takes gradient masks to the next level, allowing for editable, moveable, rotatable—and best of all—asymmetric gradient masks. Using a brand- new Parametric Masking Engine, Capture One allows for adjustments in the size, shape, and symmetry of the masks with simple mouse clicks and key presses, truly redefining the possibilities of linear gradients in Capture One. Rotate, feather and adjust a mask with a precision never before possible.

Radial Gradient Mask
The new Radial Gradient mask tool enables quick, flexible radial masks, useful for vignette and other adjustments with a desired falloff effect. Using the same Parametric Masking Engine as the Linear Gradient mask tool, radial masks can be adjusted, rotated and moved after creation for extreme control over desired effects.

Redesigned Keyboard Shortcut manager
Capture One is known for its ability to custom-assign and custom-configure virtually every task to a keyboard shortcut. With more than 500 individually- assignable and customizable commands, it’s essential to be able to find the exact shortcut, without having to hunt through hundreds of choices.
Users can now search by the specific menu command, or by the assigned keyboard shortcut, making it easy to find and manage shortcuts. To unify the interface between the Mac and Windows versions the new menu system has been moved to the same location on both platforms, making it easier for workgroups to stay in sync.

New plug-in ecosystem
To address the needs of photographers and creatives looking to share, edit and collaborate on their images, the new Capture One plug-in ecosystem will allow for powerful third-party extensions. The new Capture One SDK will allow any developer to create custom solutions to expand Capture One, and to transform Capture One into an open ecosystem.
Users of Capture One will be able to extend the platform with the upcoming addition of plug-ins that allow for sharing, editing, and that can connect Capture One to a variety of specialized editing tools.
For developers, the Capture One Plugin SDK—available as a free download—will provide access to the broad base of passionate professional and enthusiast photographers that use Capture One. Developers are now able to create solutions that leverage the image-editing and organizational prowess of Capture One, and the added capabilities of third-party resources.
The initial Capture One Plugin SDK allows for plugin development, and can be leveraged for common tasks like sharing, sending files to external editors, and allowing images to be opened in other applications, and more.

Fujifilm Film Simulation support
Fujifilm X-Series and GFX-series cameras feature Film Simulations, which are in- camera tonal adjustments that faithfully reproduce the color and tonality of classic Fujifilm photographic films. Sixteen Film Simulations are available, ranging from color stocks like Provia and Velvia to black and white film like Acros. These simulations give Fujifilm users the ability to digitally capture images with the feel of beloved photographic films.

Thanks to the collaboration between Capture One and Fujifilm, photographer’s using Fujifilm’s renowned X-Series and GFX-series cameras will be able to edit photos complete with Fujifilm Film Simulations. These in-camera settings have been faithfully reproduced in Capture One, to provide an identical experience when working with files, resulting in images that appear the same as if the Film Simulation picture profiles were applied in-camera.

Extended AppleScript support
Users of Capture One on Mac OS can take advantage of extended AppleScript support for automation and workflow streamlining. More than a dozen of Capture One 12’s areas and properties can now be directly modified with AppleScript, adding to the existing, robust AppleScript support in previous versions of Capture One.

-> New camera and lens support
Capture One provides users with the most accurate and powerful image editing available, and the wide-ranging support of cameras and lenses is a hallmark of the software. For enthusiasts and professionals alike, Capture One continually evolves to handle the newest cameras and lenses.
Phase One carefully evaluates and interprets each camera’s RAW formats, allowing Capture One to present images with the utmost fidelity, often bringing out nuances that other programs can’t even perceive.
In addition to the RAW support for more than 500 cameras, Capture One also provides profiling and image correction support for more than 500 lenses. Like with the RAW file interpretation, Phase One carefully measures the optical characteristics of each supported lens and builds correction algorithms that compensate for the various optical imperfections of various designs. As a result, Capture One can correct for numerous common optical issues such as vignette, and chromatic aberration as needed for each of the supported lenses.

New camera support:
• Nikon Z7
• Nikon Z6
• Canon EOS R
• Canon EOS M50

For a complete list of supported cameras, please go to:
www.phaseone.com/supported-cameras

Availability and pricing
Capture One is available in several versions. Capture One Pro 12 supports more than 500 cameras from all major camera brands, while Capture One Pro Sony 12 and Capture One Pro Fujifilm 12 supports cameras from those brands, respectively.
Phase One is committed to providing customers a choice when it comes to how they acquire their software, so Capture One Pro 12 is available for purchase, or via subscription. The perpetual license for Capture One Pro 12 is available for $299, with upgrade pricing from previous versions starting at $149. Capture One Pro Sony and Capture One Pro Fujifilm are available for $219
For those that prefer subscription models, Capture One Pro 12 is available for plans as low as $15 per month, and Capture One Pro Sony and Capture One Pro Fujifilm subscription plans start at $14 a month.
For a complete list of all products and licensing options, please visit: www.phaseone.com/store to learn more.
A 30-day fully-featured free trial of Capture One 12 is available. Download the trial here: www.captureone.com/download

 

Get additional 10% off using our code “AMBSAR” when buying Capture One 12.

Sony Tidbits…


Fall Photoshoot using the Sony A7RIII | Behind the scenes

First impressions of the Viltrox 20mm f/1.8 FE lens at ThePhoblographer.
Unterwegs mit dem Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM (Photoscala).
DMF or Direct Manual Focus techniques for Sony Alpha Cameras (Marc Galer).
Manfrotto Announces New RedBee and ProLight Reloader Collection (Explora).
Nikon interview at Dpreview: “Our goal is to become number one in the full-frame market” (MirrorlessRumors).
Meike 85mm F2.8 Macro review (Sonyalpha.blog).

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