One week left to join the 24-105mm FE lens giveaway!

You have one week left to join the 24-105mm FE lens giveaway!

Here are the rules:

Dates: January 11th, 2018 – February 15th, 2018

How to Enter:

1.) Follow @andrea_pizzini_photographer on Instagram.
2.) Like my IG Giveaway Post below (Found below or via my IG Profile)
3.) Tag a friend in the comments on my Instagram Giveaway Post. 1 Tag = 1 entry. Tag as many people as you want to enter multiple times

Note: This is a worldwide contest (see exceptions list below). If the winner lives outside the USA he has to cover the tax and shipment costs of the lens that will be shipped by BHphoto.

Finally it’s here! Our very first Giveaway for a brand new Sony 24-105mm FE lens ($1,300 value). This is the must have lens for travel photographers and the most versatile zoom of the FE lens range. Special thanks to @colbybrownphotography and @bhphoto for helping me organizing this. – To Enter follow these rules: 1. Like this Post 2. Follow me @andrea_pizzini_photographer 3. Tag a friend in the comments below. Each tag is an entry. Enter as many times as you wish. – Optionally you can also can “Turn On Post Notifications” for my IG Profile, so that you can learn of additional chances to win. – The Winner will be chosen at random on February 15th, 2018 This giveaway is not sponsored by Instagram or Sony. No Purchase Necessary. Void where prohibited. All Giveaway/Sweepstakes Terms & Conditions can be found in the link in my IG Bio. – #sony #sonyalpha #sonyimages #sonygear

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Andrea Photographer-Explorer (@andrea_pizzini_photographer) am

Sponsored by Amonsul Ltd. (“Sponsor”). No purchase or obligation necessary.

Giveaway/Sweepstakes Details

Amonsul LTD (SonyAlpharumors.com) Sony 24-105mm Instagram Giveaway (the “Sweepstakes”)

Entry deadline: February 15th, 2018 at 11:59pm EST

How to participate: Follow Andrea Pizzini Photography on Instagram (@andrea_pizzini_photographer), Like my Instagram Post about the Giveaway, and tag as many friends in that post as you wish (each tag is an entry) between January 11th, 2018 at 11:00am EST and February 15th, 2018 at 11:59 pm EST.

Sweepstakes rules: Entrants must complete all steps above to be eligible to win. All entries must be received by February 15th, 2018 by 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be notified by Instagram direct message. There is no limit on the number of online entries per entrant during the entry period. You will receive one entry per individual you Tag on the Giveaway post via @andrea_pizzini_photographer, assuming you have completed the other necessary steps. This promotion isn’t sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram or Sony.

Prizes and odds: Total value of all prizes to be awarded is $1300. The odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received.

Eligibility: The Sweepstakes is open Worldwide as well as to legal residents of the U.S. for those that are age 18 or older. The Sweepstakes is however prohibited in Canada, France, Sweden, Taiwan and any other country that bans the practice of a “Sweepstakes”. Employees of Sponsor and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, their immediate family members and persons living in their same household, are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules.

Prize selection: All Contest name entries meeting the requirements of these Official Rules will be entered into a spreadsheet at the Amonsul Ltd. offices in Antwerpen (Belgium). The winner will be selected at random by Sponsor using the website www.random.org. Winners are solely responsible for any and all federal, state, provincial and local taxes that apply to prizes. No cash or other substitution of prizes is permitted. Prizes won by minors will be awarded to the parents or legal guardians, who must sign all required affidavits and releases. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen prizes.

Additional Conditions: Except where prohibited by law, by accepting any prize, Winner consents to the use of his/her name, photo and/or likeness, biographical information, and statements attributed to winner (if true) for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of prizes.

For a list of winners contact:

Amonsul Ltd.
sonyalpharumors@gmail.com

Sony Tidbits…


Zeiss 25mm F1.4 Milvus Lens Review | John Sison

Sony IEDM Presentation on 3-Layer Stacking Process Flow (Image Sensor World).
Sony A7R III Review Conclusion: Easily one of the best cameras of 2017 (Imaging Resource).
Programming instant reaction button on the Sony A7riii and A9 (Photoenthusiastblog).
The Fastest Glass Money Can Buy (Explora).
Fashion and Myths : Portraits de femmes mythiques façon mode (shot with Sony) at Kisskissbankbank.com

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

Heikki: Here’s a video I created in Mallorca spain. Shot entirely with sony rx100 IV. Hope you like it! https://youtu.be/NdQuF8fHvkw

Sony Tidbits…


Sony A7RIII eye autofocus with Sigma Art series lenses. Is it as good as the Metabones?

Trey Ratcliff switches from Hasselblad back to Sony…(Stuckincustoms).
LanParte RF Remote For Sony Cameras (Lenstip).
YI Horizon VR180 Camera from YI Technologies (Personal View).
Announcement: Peak Design Updates its Camera Straps and Clips (Explora).
Samyang 135mm F2 (Marc Alhadeff).

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

Darrell:Wanted to point out that a number of us have found our samples of the Sony FE 24-105 G exhibit focus shift which results in consistent focus errors with the lens. It is a great zoom, but this is rendering the lens unusable for the copies exhibiting focus shift.
You can see a bunch of documentation of the problem at in a couple of threads over at Fredmiranda.com in the Sony Forum (take a look at this thread, this particular page http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1517297/31. Earlier in the thread are some other examples with photos documenting focus shift).
In brief, my testing on the A7RIII showed the following behavior and resulting AF errors… similar errors were exhibited at other focal lengths but it seems worst at the long end at 105mm.

In AF-S, the A7RIII and FE 24-105 G focus wide open at f/4, then stop down to working aperture at time of exposure. Shots at f/4 are consistently in focus, and get progressively worse at f/5.6 and f/8. This is independent of live view settings (On or Off).
In AF-C, the same combination focuses just fine with live view settings on, as the lens is stopped down to working aperture (though it doesn’t seem to stop down to working apertures smaller than f/8 or so until the actual exposure is taken, so perhaps there could be focus shift errors after f/8).
In MF, with live view settings Off, the aperture stays wide open and you get focus shift errors as you stop down the working aperture. With live view settings ON, the aperture stops down to working aperture and you get sharp, in focus images as long as you refocus after each aperture change.
The focus shift has been confirmed by several others (by manually focusing, then stopping down to working apertures below f/4). Others have confirmed their copies don’t exhibit this behavior, so strangely, it seems the focus shift is copy dependent.
It would be useful to confirm if this is as common a problem as it seems to be based on the first cohort of buyers on Fredmiranda.com.
I’ll be returning my lens instead of waiting to see if it is something Sony can address via firmware.

 

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

Sony Tidbits…


Sony A7RIII 120fps low-light slow-mo!

Sigma MC-11 Mount Converter | SnapShot (Wex UK).
How to Copyright Your Photography and Make Money on Copyright Infringements (Fstoppers).
Samyang 35mm F1.4 AF vs Zeiss 35mm F1.4 (Marc Alhadeff).
Instagrammers are sucking the life and soul out of travel (TheGuardian).
Insta360 Nano S 360 VR Camera for iPhone (Personal View).
10 Innovative Photographic Accessories for Your Favorite Image Maker (Explora).

More informal and personal photos from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

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

We have our own Facebook camera groups and pages you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony A9 group and Sony A9 page.
Sony A7rIII group and Sony A7rIII page
Sony A7sIII group and Sony A7sIII page
Sony A7III group and Sony A7III page
Note: In groups you can post your own stuff like images, news and questions. While on pages you will read the specific camera news from SAR.

2017 annual CIPA report: Camera market value did increase by 4% compared to 2016

CIPA released the 2017 camera shipment numbers based on actual Japanese companies data. MirrorlessRumors analysis:

1) For the first time in many years the last year wasn’t worse than the year before. The market sales value increased by exactly 4%. Honestly, I wouldn’t be too much happy about it because in 2016 we had the massive sensor shortage because of the Kumamoto Sony factory damage (caused by the earthquake).

2) DSLR sales decreased by 10% compared to 2016 but Mirrorless sales went up 40%. And I guess that in 2018 with Nikon and Canon going “serious” with mirrorless this marks the beginning of the end for the DSLR market.

So while the numbers are good on paper they are still way underwhelming. Hard to see the camera market going any better in 2018.

Luminar and Aurora 2018 updates released

Skylum (former Macphun) released updates for the Luminar 2018 (Click here) and Aurora HDR (Click here) software. If you are going to buy them keep in mind you save additional $10 on checkout using the code “SAR“.

Luminar 2018 1.1.1 version for Windows:
Added shift + scroll hotkey for brush size adjustment
Curves filter improved
Merge layers feature released
Saving cropped image to document issue fixed
Fixed several issues with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom plugins usage
Sidebar UX improvements

Luminar 2018 version 1.1.1 for MAC:
Fixed issues with Photos Extension
RAW Develop support improved, added Leica Monochrome .DNG , HEIC formats, fixed support for Hasselblad and several other cameras.
Fixed several issues with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom plugins usage
Fixed issue with Dodge & Burn mask from documents created on windows

Aurora HDR 2018 1.1.3 version for Windows:
Improved sliders: You can now directly enter values into a slider with the keyboard.
Improved presets: Applying multiple presets is now handled correctly.
Cropping improvements: The cropped state of an image is now correctly captured in the native Aurora HDR file.

Aurora HDR 2018 1.1.3 version for MAC:
Batch process faster: We’ve fine-tuned our bracket-detecting algorithm to speed up batch processing.
Align brackets better: We’ve updated our alignment algorithm to improve hand-held HDR photography.
Adobe plug-in improvements: The plugins for Adobe products have been performance tuned.
Improved cross-platform files: We’ve fixed issue with cropped photos created on Windows.
Improved user experience: We’ve refined the software to make it easier to use based on user feedback and testing.

Again…don’t forget you get $10 off using our code “SAR” when buying Luminar or Aurora 2018.