Sony made a “small” price correction on the Sony RX1rII and now you have to pay…$500 more to buy it! What a bummer! I really hope they do not “secretly plan” to increase the price on other Sony cameras too…
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Thanks Fred Miranda for spotting this!
It’s official. Here we have the new Loxia 85mm f/2.4 Sonnar lens! You can now preorder the new Zeiss Loxia 85mm FE lens at BHphoto (Click here).
Press text via Lenspire:
The Loxia 2.4/85 is the youngest member of our manual focus lens family for Sony α7 series cameras. So the already available three focal lengths of the lens family – Loxia 2.8/21, Loxia 2/35 and Loxia 2/50 – are supplemented with a lens in the tele range. Specially designed for mirrorless full-frame cameras with E mount, the compact ZEISS Loxia lenses are the ideal choice for travel and street photographers who value light and compact camera equipment. “In terms of its technology and the feel of its surface, the Loxia 2.4/85 fits perfectly with the existing focal lengths, and is particularly well suited for portrait photography,” says Christophe Casenave, product manager with ZEISS Camera Lenses. The Loxia 2.4/85 will be available in stores starting December 2016.
Optimized ZEISS Sonnar® design
The new Loxia 2.4/85 with its seven lens elements in seven groups has been designed for digital sensors and is based on an optimized ZEISS Sonnar design.
“With the ZEISS Loxia 2.4/85, we have managed to develop a well-rounded and new interpretation of the original ZEISS Sonnar optical design that meets all the requirements of digital photography and videography.”
Christophe Casenave, product manager, ZEISS Camera Lenses
The lens has a minimum object distance of 0.80 meters. The manual focus ring has a rotation angle of 220 degrees and enables the subtlest variations of focusing. The large aperture of f/2.4 combined with the high-quality optical design ensures an appealing bokeh. The electronic interface transfers lens data (EXIF) as well as focus movements. Additionally, if desired by the user, this activates the camera’s loupe function. “Precise manual focusing with hard stop and the mechanical setting of the aperture (working aperture priority mode) provide sophisticated photographers who don’t want to leave everything to the camera abundant possibilities for composition,” Casenave adds.
Videographers also don’t come off badly with the new Loxia. Again the well-known de-click function is on board. This allows for mechanically deactivating the click stops on the aperture ring — a condition for silent and infinite adjustments of the aperture. As a result, the ZEISS Loxia 2.4/85 is also an attractive lens for video cameras that have an E mount, such as the Sony PXW-FS7 and PXW-FS5. The overall package comprises a robust metal barrel, the filter diameter of M52 (which is identical across all focal lengths) and protection against penetration of dust and spray onto the lens mount. In addition, the external diameter, which is uniform across all ZEISS Loxia lenses, simplifies film shoots.
In combination with our ZEISS Lens Gears, our Loxia lenses can also be used ideally with a follow focus system. The Lens Gears are made of high-quality aluminum with a hardened surface coating. Through simple mounting they can be attached to the focus ring of the lens. To do so, they are simply slid over the lens and then fixed by turning two rings that each go in the opposite direction. Therefore, precise focusing is possible and the lenses become endowed with similar features as a full-scale cine lens. The Lens Gear Rings in the sizes mini (62 – 69mm, 60 – 67mm with GumGum) fit the Loxia lenses.
Global delivery of the ZEISS Loxia 2.4/85 will begin at the beginning of December 2016. The lens shade is included with delivery. The recommended retail sales price is 1,399 euros (including 19% VAT in Germany) or 1,399 US$.
More information about the ZEISS Loxia lenses:
Atomos CEO Jeromy Young on Canon, the 5D Mark IV, and the Entire Camera Industry from Dan Chung on Vimeo.
Newsshooter interviewed Atomos CEO Jeromy Young. And this is what he had to say about Sony and Canon:
Sony’s giving everything they can inside their cameras, I truly believe it’s their best play.
It’s Canon that I think is really holding back to this market. I think they believe the photography market is a better market for them…It may very well be a bigger market for them, but I think they’re going to lose traction, they’re going to lose that, I guess, the prowess and the market share that they gained with the 5D series early on.
Usually COE’s are very “politically correct” when talking about other companies. So it’s a bit of a surprise to hear such harsh words from Jeremy!
At 11:00 Berlin time the new Loxia 85mm f/2.4 Sonnar FE lens will be officially announced. UPDATE: You can now preorder the new Zeiss Loxia 85mm FE lens at BHphoto (Click here).
So far there doesn’t seem to be a lot of excitement around this lens. Check out our poll results:
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Both the Sony A7rII and A7II will ship in 1-2 months only according to Amazon US. Also other US stores don’t have them in Stock (or in very limited supply). That news matters also because whatever new camera will be announced by Sony it doesn’t look like it will ship soon neither :(
Above you can see the new Tokina 20mm f/2.0 FE Firin lens on the Sony A7II. And as noted by our reader Mistral the lens will cost 920 Euro in France:
Venus Optics announced the new Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D FE lens! The lens will ship in early 2017 for a yet to be determined price. This is the press text:
Featuring a 110° Angle of View, Ultra-fast f/2 aperture and 72mm filter thread, LAOWA 15mm f/2 becomes another member in their ‘Close-to-Zero Distortion’ lineup.
Anhui China, Sept 14, 2016 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of quality lenses with ‘World’s First’ specifications, is proud to unveil two premium lenses with extreme specifications and impressive performance, the Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D & the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT.
Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D
Laowa 15mm f/2 FE is currently the World’s Fastest 15mm rectilinear lens for Full Frame cameras. It features a close-to-zero optical distortion, allowing photographers to take landscape or architecture shots with straight lines retained.
Dedicated to fulfill the need of photographers, Venus Optics have managed to add a 72mm filter thread onto the 15mm f/2 lens. Photographers can easily install standard screw-in filters without paying for an expensive yet bulky filter holder system.
Designed specially for the Sony Full Frame Mirrorless cameras, Venus Optics has successfully controlled the size and weight of the lens to the minimal. Weighing less than 1.1 pounds (500g) and 82mm in length, the portability and compactness of the Sony E- mount Mirrorless cameras can be maintained when used with the Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Lens.
Featuring the fastest f/2 aperture ever built with a 15mm lens, the new Full Frame E- mount lens is engineered for professionals to shoot impressive landscape, architecture and primary astro photos with great details. This is an every-day and must-buy lens that every Sony Full Frame Mirrorless camera user should have one in his bag.
