Sony grows Imaging PRO Support Programme in Europe

Sony today announced the expansion of its Imaging Pro Support Programme which now covers seven European countries, responding to the increasing number of professional photographers, who are switching to Sony. From January 2018, professional photographers from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway will be able to apply for membership to make use of the Pro Support services offered, with a further expansion of the programme to France, Italy and Belgium scheduled for April 2018.

The Imaging Pro Support Programme offers support and advice on Sony equipment, including a special telephone helpdesk to assist professional photographers in the use of their α-camera equipment. Professionals also benefit from free collection and return services and complimentary replacement units while their equipment is repaired. Additionally, members are entitled to free image sensor cleaning and a firmware check-up, twice a year.

For eligible applicants[i], membership of the European Imaging PRO Support Program is currently free. It is accessible to professional photographers who have at least two Sony α camera bodies and three Sony α lenses from the list of valid devices. For a list of eligible products, please consult this list.

Imaging PRO Support is currently available in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, China, Russia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, and the United States.

[i] The program is intended for professional photographers. Anyone interested in becoming a member must therefore provide proof of income from photography work. Sony reserves the right to review individual cases.

Mitakon announces the new Nikon F to Sony Lens Turbo II adapter

Zhongyi just announced the new Nikon F Ai and G to Sony E Lens Turbo adapter. It should be in stock soon on Amazon and BHphoto (currently they only have the Ai version only).

The Nikon F Lens to Sony E-Mount Camera Lens Turbo Adapter Mark II from Mitakon allows Nikon F Ai and G lenses to be mounted on Sony E-Mount APS-C format cameras, increasing the angle of view by 0.726x and the maximum aperture of the lens by 1 f-stop. The second-generation Lens Turbo II series adopts a design in which the built-in lens protrudes backwards, and by being closer to the image sensor of the camera, image quality is greatly improved compared with the first lens turbo.

 

Sony A7rIII manual is now available for download

You can now download the new A7rIII manual at Sony Australia (PDF).

Personal note…I just bought this:
A7rIII: http://amzn.to/2yanY1u
12-24mm G: http://amzn.to/2znF9Ab
24-105mm G: http://amzn.to/2y7RDbz

I did own the A7rII (now sold to a friend of mine). And I had big trouble deciding if I should upgrade. But at the end the longer battery life (perfect for long tour hiking) was the main reason to upgrade. I am also curious to see the new “color” rendition from the Sony A7rIII. Wondering it will be a major improvement.

Preorders:
Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Photo-Porst.de. Sony Netherland. Sony Australia. Sony Japan.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests!

–

Thanks Martin for the manual tip!

Dear Sony….please bring back Playmemories APP support on the a9, A7rIII and RX10m4!


Image on top: Sony Digital Filter App.

All cameras announced in 2017 (A9, RX10m4 and A7rIII) have no Playmemories support. What bothers me is that they do not openly share why they are removing Playmemories support on all new cameras.

A few SAR readers asked Sony managers at the Photoplus show if they could explain why this is missing on the new A7rIII but they got no answer. The same happened to ThatCameraGuy:

We can only ask Sony to release a public statement on those issue. So let’s put some pressure on Sony managers by starting this POLL:

What should Sony do?

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The more people votes the more pressure they will feel!

Sony’s New Autonomous Car Camera Sees Road Signs at 160 Meters

This has yet nothing to do with the regular Alpha news. But it’s still interesting to see what Sony sensor can achieve nowadays. Technologyreview writes:

The new $90 IMX324 has an effective resolution of only 7.42 megapixels, which sounds small compared to your smartphone camera. But with about three times the vertical resolution of most car camera sensors, it packs a punch. It can see road signs from 160 meters away, has low-light sensitivity that allows it to see pedestrians in dark situations, and offers a trick that captures dark sections at high sensitivity but bright sections at high resolution in order to max out image recognition. 

Some of this new sensor tech may be used on future Sony cameras too.

Full Sony sensor press text here.

My Sony Sensor Trio by Rick Birt

My Sony Sensor Trio

Written for Sony Alpha Rumors by Rick Birt of www.romeobravophoto.com

First I want to express how grateful I am to Andea for running this site. I am amazed at his dedication, and the work he does for this community. THANK YOU!!!

The fact that both my wife and I are professional photographers, allows us to try – and own – a lot of cool gear. My current camera bag contains:

  1. Baby Bear – a Fujifilm X-Pro2 with a 24MP APS-C Sony sensor
  2. Mama Bear (she’s juuuust right) – Sony a9 with a 24MP Full-Frame Sony sensor
  3. Papa Bear – a Hasselblad X1D-50c with a 51MP Medium-Format Sony sensor

I don’t actually carry all of these in my bag at once – but I might if they would all fit ;) I tend to take whatever I feel is required for the job.

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