ZV-E1 at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.

Also Inverse seems to really like the new ZV-E1. They reviewed it and concluded:

Vlogging as a one-person team is a massive challenge in itself and Sony wants to make that much more approachable. As someone who has historically shied away from shooting video, the ZV-E1 showed me that it can be fun and simple. Even with my lackluster videography skills, I kept the camera on the Intelligent Auto mode for the most part and the footage still came out great. The ZV-E1’s powerful specs and ease of use made me more willing to dabble in video.

If you have some experience as a content creator, I’m positive the ZV-E1 will slot into your vlogging kit nicely. It may not be ideal for someone just dipping their toes into vlogging, but if you’re looking to take vlogging more seriously, the ZV-E1 is worth the investment.

This is the first autofocus lens from Astrhori so it’s interesting to read at SonyAlphaBlog if this lens can keep up with the best:

The AstrHori (279$ / 319 euros) can provide very good results in term of sharpness and very nice portraits withy smooth background blur and very nice bokeh balls. But at this stage with V03 of the firmware the AF is not very reliable at f1.8 so you either take each photo 3 times or you better use it at F2.8

The ergonomics and build quality are also an issue : weight is huge and focusing ring much too stiff not allowing to manually focus

Many other cheap or marginally more expensive 85 F1.8 exist that all provide lighter weight and much reliable AF with as good optical performances globally

The conclusion is clear, this ain’t a good lens :(

As you know Tokina launched those three new APS-C E-mount Reflex lenses:

• Tokina 300mm lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.
• Tokina 600mm lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.
• Tokina 900mm lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.

SonyAlphaBlog tested all three of them (Click on the links to read the review):

• The 300mm F7.1 is the champion for the pocket size
• The 600mm f8 is maybe the one with the best sharpness and the best comprise in term of focal length
• The 900mm F11 is much bigger but its magnification (1350mm equivalent) is phenomenal. Unfortunately it is also the less sharp of the 3 , the one most sensitive to wind and difficult to focus

Sony 20-70mm at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, FocusCamera, FotoKoch, Fotoerhardt, Calumet, WexUK.

Opticalllimits reviewed the new Sony 20-70mm FE lens and concluded:

The Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G is one of the more exciting lenses released in recent years. It may be a new contender if we revisit the age-old question of which single lens to take on a remote island. However, this doesn’t mean that it is a perfect lens. It relies heavily on digital auto-correction to do the job, but there’s nothing wrong with this per se. However, Sony may have overdone – or, to be precise – underdone it a little when it comes to image distortions. In RAW images, the barrel distortions are nothing short of excessive at 20mm. Distortion correction is lossy, so auto-correction takes a toll on resolution. However, even so, the quality remains almost surprisingly high. The broader center quality is very good to excellent, and the outer image field is still good. As usual, the results are best in the broader middle zoom range. There’s a tiny drop at 70mm, but the results are still sharp. Auto-correction is doing a nice job of reducing the vignetting. Lateral CAs are also quite low. If we had to point to a single major weakness that is image-affecting from an end-user perspective, it’s the bokeh. However, you shouldn’t expect a great bokeh from an f/4 standard zoom lens anyway, but this doesn’t change the fact that the lens is worse than most in this respect. Returning to more positive aspects – as far as we can tell from sample images, the lens is pretty resistant to flare effects. And it can also produce pretty nice sun stars in night scenes.

The build quality of the FE 20-70mm f/4 G aligns with what you can expect from a modern G-class lens. It feels solid, and the used plastics are of high quality. The weather sealing may not have an IP rating, but it’s certainly reassuring. The zoom and focus control rings operate smoothly. Videographers will certainly appreciate the focus breathing compensation support (in certain Sony cameras) as well as the clickless aperture option. The AF motor is both very quick and noiseless.

Overall, the Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G is a winner unless you are into shallow depth-of-field photography. Especially outdoor enthusiasts will like the combination of image quality, compact size and low weight … and, of course, the 20mm setting, which is its standout feature.

Kitamura tested this unusual lens on the Sony A7rV. The soviet INDUSTAR 61 L/Z-MC 50mm f/2.8 lens can still be purchased on eBay. What’s unique with this lens is the star alike bokeh. See the image samples below:

I do own a lot of film rolls and this might come handy for me! With the Valoi Easy35 I can scan my films using my Sony camera!

Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 FE lens at BHphoto, Amazon US&EU and PerGear.

Phillip Reeve tested the new Viltrox lens and concluded:

in my opinion this Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF FE is a real gamechanger. It adds a competitive modern AF system and the most useful and advanced controls found on any E-mount lens (except for some of the high end tele lenses) highlighted by its flashy but also useful LCD display.

Points of criticism are scarce. The vignetting is high at f/1.8 to f/2.0, but this was probably a tradeoff necessary by avoiding a bulbous front element and allowing for easy use of standard filters.
Flare resistance could be better, but considering the competitors’ performances and the Viltrox’ more complex 15 elements design this might actually be asking too much here. And this isn’t a small lens by any means.

To me it was only a matter of time before the Chinese lens manufacturers start to outdo the Japanese ones and this lens might be where it begins. I don’t know how the people at Viltrox did it, but they got a lot of things right here.

Considering the lens is 1/3 the price of the Sony 14mm GM and the new Sigma 14mm FE…well I do believe we have a secret hidden gem here!

Get the Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 FE lens at BHphoto, Amazon US&EU and PerGear.