The new Zeiss Distagon shipping at Fotohanskeuzekamp.

Time for a new reviews roundup about the new Sony FE lenses:
Pics with Zeiss Distagon FE 35mm f/1.4 (SonyAlphaForum).
Sony FE 35 Match-up: Is More, More? (Lensrentals).
Some pics of Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA Lens (Meng Keat)
The new Zeiss 35 1.4 Zm Distagon on the Sony A7s by Sean Cook (Steve Huff).
Unboxing Zeiss Distagon T* 35MM F1.4 ZA Lens (SonyMirrorlessPro).
Sony 28mm f/2.0 lens gallery by Mark Galer.
FE 28 + 21mm converter quick test (SonyAlphaForum).
FE 24-240mm OSS sampel gallery at Imaging Resource.
Some pictures with the new Sony 24-240mm lens + A7s (SonyAlphaForum).
Testbericht: Sony FE 24-240 mm 3.5-6.3 OSS (Digitalkamera.de).
Hands-on with the new FE-lenses (Sony community UK).

All new FE lens preorder links:
In USA at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony Fisheye Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Fisheye Converter for E 16mm F/2.8 and E 20mm F/2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Converter for E 16mm F2.8 and E 20mm F2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide Angle converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
In Asia/Australia at:
Sony 24-240mm FE lens at Digitalrev, CameraPRO, Sony Australia.
Sony 28mm FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Sony 90mm FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

A7II with Torii Koubou case.

Dpreview posted the full Sony A7II review and the camera earned a Silver Award:

The Alpha 7 II continues to push Sony’s full frame mirrorless line of cameras into ground-breaking territory. It is the only full frame mirrorless camera to offer in-body image stabilization systems and its performance is excellent. The body is comfortable to shoot with and offers a broad set of features that should appeal to both still and video shooters. Unfortunately the a7 II’s high ISO image quality is not as good as other full framers. Raw files are also less malleable than the competition and JPEGs tend to suffer from aggressive noise reduction.

Fstoppers writes:

The Sony a7II delivers a barrage of awesome features and terrific well-rounded performance that amateur and professional photographers will appreciate. Having image stabilization in conjunction with a full-frame sensor is something that excites you every time you go shoot because it gets to be used universally across your lens arsenal.

Tyson Robichaud writes:

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I could buy a Full Frame camera with in body image stabilization, WiFi for remote control and WFT, weather sealing, a top notch 24mp sensor that could quite literally fit in my pocket for $1700, I’d probably have said you were crazy, then maybe slapped you because you were nuts.

A7II links:
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore and Sony Store Canada.
Sony Alpha a7II (Body Only) for 1.799 Euro at Sony Germany, Sony UK, Jessops UK, Sony France, Sony Italy, Sony Spain, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Netherland, Sony Belgium, Sony Portugal, Sony Sweden, Sony Finland, Sony Norway.
Sony A7II at Sony Store Australia, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
A7II Gariz cases sold in [shoplink 32354 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 32396 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink],  [shoplink 32355 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 32356 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink].

The 16-70mm lens image by phillipreeve

The very negative conclusions drawn by Photozone created quite a buzz here on SAR. Our reader Victor pointed out that most of the reviewers out there actually gave a high score to the 16-70mm Zeiss lens: Sonyalphalab, ePhotozine, Photographyblog, Imaging-resource, Admiringlight, Kurtmunger, Stevehuffphoto, Phillipreeve.

I am pretty confident Photozone is a serious review site and so are most of the reviewers I linked to now. This just proofs that reviews are not an exact science and depend on various factors like, personal preferences, lab test quality, scoring system and quality of the tested lens samples.

Zeiss 16-70mm deal: You save $150 on the lens if you buy it refurbished on [shoplink 35043 ebay]Secondipity eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink]

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A funny note: Some readers keep saying I am just a Sony fanboy. After yesterdays negative post about the Sony APS-C strategy some of them said that I am bashing on Sony. Just to be clear. I am a free-thinker and I take no side based on non rational arguments. I love to openly discuss positives and negatives about Sony. Because I think that at the end no company is perfect and that critics can (sometimes) help to improve the company behavior.

[shoplink 35017 ebay]

[/shoplink]
The German friends from Photozone tested the [shoplink 35017 ebay]16-70mm E-mount Zeiss lens[/shoplink] and the conclusion is very negative:

Sony/Zeiss did many things right – range, build quality, image stabilization but optical quality is not part of the list. Yes, the center quality is outstanding but the corners are often mediocre or even dismal.
It is worth to mention AGAIN that we also send the lens to the Sony service in order to let them verify that our sample was within specs – TWICE and we let them know who we are and that there’ll be a review. So we have to take their word.

SAR thoughts: Overall Sony really needs to take care of the APS-C E-mount customers again. They launched the very successful NEX system and then suddenly changed name and stopped to make lenses for the system. I understand the FE system is popular and needs a lot of new lenses. But if I would be on charge at Sony I would also release a Sony APS-C E-mount lens roadmap with a few nice primes and zooms. This would really help to create confidence around the system. The A6000 is such a great camera it’s pity you are let down by the limited lens range!

Peter Kylberg tested the Samyang 135mm f/2.0 Emount lens on the A7r and A6000:

135mm is a very interesting focal length, for its perspective and creative possibilities. The Samyang is affordable, not too heavy and the image quality is better than Sony 70-200/4. I like it a lot.
Ergonomic it is a mixed bag: Nice to hold and handle on both A7R and A6000, but the grip on the aperture ring is too slippery in relation to its firmness.
Compared to the 70-200 it is of course not very versatile. The zoom has OSS, the 135 has 2.0
Using enlargement on the EVF it is rather easy to nail sharpness – essential on a tele. Color peaking is not accurate enough. Above image is free hand but at 1/2000 sec.
Another thing of interest for A7R owners: No problem at all with shutter vibration loss of sharpness! I can’t say that about the 70-200 which can have that problem (also on tripod) 1/40 to 1/250sec.
Color: Sony(Zeiss) lenses on A7R tends to go towards yellow. (create color profiule with colorchecker passport i my solution). The 135/2 tends to go in the opposite direction, to be a bit cool.
Finally: I really like this lens! Planing to go to the mountains as soon as midnight sun sets in I will probably chose the 135 over the 70-200. Despite versatility, despite OSS.
Want to check out more test shots?
http://perkylberg.smugmug.com/

Both lenses also got tested on a Canon camera at:

Photozine (Click here) tested the Samyang 135mm T/2.2 ED UMC Cine version:

The image quality is almost stunning with very good results at T2.2 and an excellent if not outstanding quality at medium aperture settings and across the image frame. A very low amount of lateral CAs also helps to increase the sharpness perception. Distortions are absent whereas the vignetting is quite typical for a full format lens in this class.

ePhotozine (Click here) posted the Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC Lens Review:

Those interested in a fast 135mm, who are either on a budget or don’t need autofocus for their work, should certainly consider this lens. It’s more than capable of delivering sharpness on a par with high-end lenses, but at a fraction of the cost. This, coupled with the excellent build quality and smooth manual focus action make this lens an excellent buy overall.

You can get the lens at BHphoto:
135mm f/2.0 for Sony A-mount (Click here) and Sony E-mount (Click here).
135mm t/2.2 Cine for Sony A-mount (Click here) and Sony E-mount (Click here).
And via Korean sellers on eBay:
[shoplink 33060 ebay]Samyang 135mm E-mount (here n eBay)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 33061 ebay]Samyang 135mm A-mount (here n eBay)[/shoplink]

Image courtesy: DSLRmagazine

The new Voigtlander Heliar 15mm III lens is an exciting little jewel that my will find its way in my bag soon :) And if you want to see how good the lens works on Sony A7 cameras check out the image samples and test posted by Mopswerk on SonyAlphaForum. His 1st impressions are:

#1 The purple edges of the old lens versions are gone
#2 Some purple fringes at the edges
#3 quite a heavy vignette / light fall off

#2 and #3 probably can be fixed in post (#1 with the old lenses could only be fixed with additional efforts). It’s still a tiny lens (the 1st images showing the lens implied a bigger size) and I like the metal finish of the Voigtlanders.
Distorion is very low.

The lens is now in Stock via [shoplink 34831 ebay]Asian sellers on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and shipping soon at Fotomundus Germany (Click here).

Size comparison by Camerasize.

Today Canon started the preorder action on the Canon 5ds which costs $3699 at BHphoto. We will have to wait a couple of months to see both the Canon 5ds and (a bit later) the “rumored” Sony 50MP cam shipping to customers. But in the meantime let’s check out how the Canon 50MP sensor compares to the Sony 36Mp sensor used by the Nikon D810 camera which is the same sensor used by the Sony A7r. Imaging Resource posted the very first comparison of that kind:

So as expected the jump from 36 to 50MP isn’t that big deal.