The big comparison: Zeiss Loxia 2.8/21 vs Otus 1.4/28 vs Sigma Art 20/1.4 at 3Dkraft

25194209973_dc255382ea_b

3Dkraft (Click here) posted a detailed comparison between the Zeiss Loxia 2.8/21 vs Otus 1.4/28 vs Sigma Art 20/1.4 bs Zeiss 16-35mm FE vs Color Scopar 21/4 vs Ultron 21./1.8. And he writes:

The Zeiss Loxia 2.8/21 is propably the best compromise between size, weight, low light capability and optical performance. It is a perfect fit for the A7-series, has excellent edge and border performance right from open aperture, rich colors and contrast, excellent back and stray light resistance due its perfect coating and it has a weather sealing. Some users critisize that there is only a small part of the barrel that you can grab when you mount it to the camera body. In the near range, it also provides nice options to play with a shallow depth of field. This little gem seems to be worth every cent you pay for it, if you like the 21mm viewing angle.

Loxia 21mm store links: [shopcountry 46456]

Tony Northup reviews the 85mm GM: “One of the best portrait lenses I ever used”

Tony Northup tested the new 85mm f/1.4 GM lens and at the end of the video review he says he has absolutely nothing negative to say about the lens. It’s one of the best portrait lenses he ever used.

Gm lens and A6300 store links:
85mm f/1.4 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuyAmazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.
24-70mm f/2.8 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuyAmazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.
A6300 body at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumetphoto.de. Amazon.de. WexUK. Jessops. Amazon.fr.
A6300 with kit lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumetphoto.de. Amazon.de. WexUK. Jessops.

You can now place your preorder on the newly announced Sony FE lenses and the RX10m3:
FE 50mm f/1.8 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. FocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. Jessops.
FE 70-300mm at BHphoto. Amazon. AdoramaFocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. Jessops.
RX10m3 at BHphoto. Amazon. AdoramaFocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. Jessops.

EBU tech guru Alan Roberts tests the A6300 video quality and says: “is not suitable for use in general broadcasting”

Bildschirmfoto 2016-03-31 um 12.14.11
A6300 tested with the [shoplink 46359 ebay]Zeiss 100mm f2.8 macro[/shoplink] (image courtesy: Newsshooter)

Newsshooter posted an interesting article about the new Sony A6300. They sent a camera to EBU lab tester Alan Roberts. he test various cameras for broadcasters. To meet the Tier 1 or Tier 2 standard the camera must meet high expectations in image quality (HD or UHD). He tested the A6300 Resolution, Aliasing, Colour Performance, Dynamic Range, Noise and Rolling Shutter. And came to the conclusion:

This camera is not suitable for use in general broadcasting, apart from Special Purposes where its physical size or shape makes it uniquely suited to a particular type of shot.

Newsshooter writes:

Although the camera is a great feat of miniaturization, the results aren’t great if you want to use the a6300 for broadcast. The principal barriers are the high levels of aliasing, rolling shutter and noise (at 50% grey).

Well, it is not a good news but also no deal breaker. The A6300 camera wasn’t made for professional broadcast use. And I guess 99,99% of the A6300 owners certainly didn’t plan to shoot 45min BBC documentaries with it :)

Note: Just for fun. Luke Miller sent us this new heavy rolling shutter A6300 image ;)

Bildschirmfoto 2016-03-31 um 12.42.46

A6300 body at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumetphoto.de. Amazon.de. WexUK. Jessops. Amazon.fr.
A6300 with kit lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumetphoto.de. Amazon.de. WexUK. Jessops.

RX10m3 first look with Sony manager Mike Bubolo

Bildschirmfoto 2016-03-30 um 09.07.02

The RX10m3 highlight is certainly that massive 24-600mm zoom lens. One lens to rule them all! Below you can find an interview with Sony manager Mike Bubolo.

More RX10mIII tests:
Hands-on pics have been posted by Dpreview too.
Image samples at Imaging Resource.
Cyber-shooting: Sony Cyber-shot RX10 III video overview (Dpreview).

Store links:
FE 50mm f/1.8 at BHphoto. Adorama.
FE 70-300mm at BHphoto. Adorama.
RX10m3 at BHphoto. Adorama.

Bildschirmfoto 2016-03-30 um 09.12.25 Bildschirmfoto 2016-03-30 um 09.11.46

via Sony.net

The 70-300mm vs the 70-200mm size comparison

telezooms

How much smaller is the new FE 70-300mm compared to the other FE tele zooms? The comparison at Camerasize shows us the new lens close to the two 70-200mm zooms. Tomorrow you will be able to preorder the new lens in US and Europe stores. And within the next few weeks Sony will announce the 70-200mm GM lens pricing too.

Store links:
FE 50mm f/1.8 at BHphoto. Adorama.
FE 70-300mm at BHphoto. Adorama.
RX10m3 at BHphoto. Adorama.

Sony 50mm FE versus Nikon and Canon lenses!

It’s a good day for the Sony E-mount FF system. We finally got our first really affordable prime lens. The 50mm f/1.8 FE costs $249 at BHphoto. So let’s compare it against the other lenses of its class:

1) The [shoplink 46307 ebay]Nikon 50mm f/1.8G[/shoplink] costs around $50 less than the Sony and very similar size and weight. It has a more “complex” 7 elements in 6 groups lens design.

2) The [shoplink 46308 ebay]Canon 50mm f/1.8 II costs less (around $100 on eBay)[/shoplink] and is smaller. But it has a more “simple” 5 rounded blade construction and has no aspherical lens. And it’s really made of very cheap plastic to keep production costs down.

At the end it all comes down to image quality. If it beats the Nikon lens I would certainly call it a winner!

Some more news: Hands-on pictures at Dpreview

Store links:
FE 50mm f/1.8 at BHphoto. Adorama.
FE 70-300mm at BHphoto. Adorama.
RX10m3 at BHphoto. Adorama.

World’s first test: Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 on the new Sony 101 Megapixel Medium format sensor!

1966932594a

SAR reader Egmont is the first that tried to use the Superb Otus 85mm lens on the Alpa and new Phase One back with Sony 101 Megapixel sensor. This is what he wrote to me:

“Since you guys seem to be big fans of both the Zeiss Otus 85/1.4 and the new Phase One 100MP digital back, I thought I would share this with you. A few days ago we tested the Otus 85/1.4 on an ALPA 12 FPS with Canon adapter and Phase One’s new 100MP digital back.


Full Size image sample can be downloaded via Wetransfer (Click here)

As you can see by the attached image shot at f1.4 of a good friend of mine, it seems to me that besides the vignetting at the corners due to the massive dimensions of the new Sony sensor, the Otus is more than ready for the 100MP+ sensors of the future! I was blown away by the revolving power of the Otus 85mm even at its biggest aperture….”

And if you wonder if the Otus can cover the full medium format sensor size area when you stop down the aperture. He says: “The vignetting is much more controlled at f4 and then almost all gone at f8.

You can download the massive full size image samples via Wetransfer (Click here). Be aware that it contains more than 1GB images!!!

273016881