The Verge: The A7-A7r are just like the first iPhone! (Lens compensation app, and Apple RAW support update)


Video review by TheVerge

The team from The Verge tested the new A7 and A7r cameras and their conclusions are very…radical:

Just like the first iPhone that didn’t have copy and paste, the first Mustang that didn’t have basics such as reverse lights, and the first Converse All Stars that didn’t even have Chuck Taylor’s signature on them, the first full-frame interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras are by no means perfect. But they are so much more advanced in both design and performance than other cameras that they already belong in the conversation.
It might be a few years before we realize it, but when the DSLR is relegated to a niche status among specialty photographers and full-frame mirrorless cameras dominate the market, we’ll have the a7s to thank as the cameras that started it all.

Couldn’t agree more! The A7 and A7r are by no means perfect (slow af, slow FPS, ugly corner performance with many wide angle lenses and so on). But they are the milestone for a new path int he camera industry. And Sony is leading the way!

Important: The Lens Compensation APP has been updated for the A7-A7r. And Apple Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 5.02 adds support for the A7-A7r.

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PTWexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.

 

DxO: “RX10 is perhaps the most tempting bridge camera for a decade”

DxOmark tested the RX10 sensor. And as you see from the image on top the performance slightly surpasses the RX100MII:

As hoped for, the RX10 has the same high-quality, high performance sensor as the RX100 II. If the handling is good and Carl Zeiss 24-200mm f2.8 equivalent zoom performs as well as anticipated, then the RX10 may be the most versatile ‘walkabout’ model on the market and perhaps the most tempting bridge camera for a decade.

But the real highlight is that Open Box price of $937 at Adorama (Click here). makes you save $360 over the regular price. Grab it!

P.S.: Sony RX10 European links at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.

(part three) Sony A7-A7r legacy lens test from SAR readers (Josselin, Stefan, Ai, Marcus, Tamrong, Teh, Pedro, Kevin, Dierk, Edgar, Phil)

Sony A7/A7r Making from soulstory on Vimeo.

 

This is the next SAR readers legacy lens roundup. I hope you will find it very useful! Again thanks to all readers for sending their links to their tests. A fourth roundup will be posted soon. Keep sending your tests at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.

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Stefan: I tested a bunch of 50mm lenses on my a7r, have a look: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjN5kr12
I shoot mainly food, so this setup is a test for most problems I encounter in my work. I had to use a metabones mk1, because my mk3 stopped working, therefore the EF lenses vignette

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Josselin Cornou:

I had my A7r almost two week ago with Zeiss 35mm f2.8. Models tested so far (By preference):
1. Zeiss 35mm f2.8 (here on Amazon): Sharp at f2.8, autofocus. I have notice that the Zeiss is almost on par with a Sigma 35mm f1.4 @f2.8.
2. [shoplink 23449 ebay]Canon FD 50mm f1.8 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].: Big surprise. Big pros is the resolution (I am impressed to see such achievement for a 40 year old lens ! it easily beats the Minolta 50mm f1.7 wide open). Cons is chromatic aberration. While I noticed it a lot on a x2 crop factor sensor (GH3). On the A7r it’s only noticeable on really bright environment.
3. Samyang 85mm f1.4 (here on Amazon): Sharp, @1.4 actually sharper than the Canon 50mm @1.8. BUT the focus is way too hard to move. I would need to try the cine lens version. I love the image, but focusing make things really slow….
4. [shoplink 23461 ebay]Voigtlander 15mm f4.5 (here on eBay)[/shoplink]: Amazing piece of glass for the size (really small wide angle)… It’s a really good glass for travellers. From previous reviews I was expecting a lot of color shifting…. This is not really the case (and you can correct it easily ) ! Cons : it’s soft at f4.5 (way softer than a Samyang 14mm T3.1).
5. [shoplink 23462 ebay]Minolta 50mm f1.7 on LA-EA4 (here on eBay)[/shoplink]: Focuses quite fast… but the image is really soft wide angle. I used a lot the the Voigtlander 25mm f.95 (GH3) and I found this lens softer wide open (compared to the Voigtlander @f0.95).
Also : [shoplink 21602 ebay]Voigtlander 35mm f1.2 (here on eBay)[/shoplink]: Not sharp at f1.2… This lens is not for pixel peepers (Sorry I am used to the Sigma 35mm f1.4)…
This is a first overview.

On the cameras:

Pros :
– Light,
– Sharp image… Legacy lenses react surprisingly well !
– Focuses fast in good light (not as fast as a GH3 with 17mm f1.. I do not do a lot of flash photography but I didn’t noticed a lot of lag with the Canon 430 EX 2
– Haven’t notice any shutter lag.

Cons :
– Using manual lenses of the LA-EA4 I cannot always magnify the files (right after taking a picture (i.e in the next 5-10mins) I may receive a message “cannot magnify”. Not sure if this is due to the fact that this camera is taking time to proxy raw images. Please Sony, fix this !
-(on LA-EA4) : Tamron 28-300mm didn’t focus. I am not sure if this is a defect on the lens.
-(on LA-EA4) : Selection of lenses (at a reasonable price) available is not big. For the price of a Sony-Zeiss lens, it might be better to use a Leica-Zeiss-Voigtlander (leica mount).
I don’t usually use flickr, but I have uploaded a set of RAWs for you : http://www.flickr.com/photos/64670832@N03/sets/72157638313070485/

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Ai: “I know A7R tests are old news now but in case you are planning another roundup I had a go with the A7R and the [shoplink 23463 ebay]Zuiko 24mm f2.8 OM (one Bay)[/shoplink] here: http://xexets.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/a-test-for-cold-a7r-with-zuiko-om-24mm.html

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Marcus: “Here is my feed with some pictures from the A7 with different Contax lenses.: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrosth/with/11233707966

Hologon 16mm; 1:8 on [shoplink 16235 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Biogon T* 21 mm; 1:2,8 on [shoplink 16236 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Biogon T* 28 mm; 1:2,8 on [shoplink 16237 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Planar T* 35 mm; 1:2,0 on [shoplink 16238 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Planar T* 45 mm; 1:2,0 on [shoplink 16239 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Sonnar T* 90 mm; 1:2,8 on [shoplink 16240 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Vario-Sonnar T* 35 – 70 mm; 1:3,5-5,6 on [shoplink 16241 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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Tamrong:
A7R + [shoplink 21603 ebay]Leica 21mm (one Bay)[/shoplink] super angulon results: https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/q71/s720x720/1456762_10200205535139324_269880900_n.jpg
picture posted on FullFrame Mirrorless Camera Thailand: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200205535139324&set=gm.457530824357457&type=1&theater

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Teh: “You may want to share with SAR some photos taken with Sony A7 with Konica [shoplink 23464 ebay]Hexanon AR 40/f1.8 (one Bay)[/shoplink] pancake lens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vibranze/tags/sonyilce7/

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Pedro: “I have posted new Sony A7r tests with Leica 50mm summicron, 35mm Elmarit and 90mm Elmarit vs Nikon D800e with Nikon 50mm f1.8G, 35mm f2D and Nikon 85mm f1.4D on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lastingimages/sets”

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Sony A7r + Voigtlander 20mm f/3.5 Color Skopar SL II (Soundimagesplus).

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Kevin:

I’ve got my A7r 4 weeks ago, and I’ve done a thorough Contax G lens test. G21 and G28 has heavy color shift and vignette, even worse than my nex-6 and 5n, so basically useless. G35, G45, G90 are perfect on A7r, except a very minor vignette when wide open. I also tested 2 Voigtlander for Leica M lenses (CV 15 4.5 II and CV 35 1.2 II). Same as above G lenses, CV 15 II has heavy color shift and vignette, useless for A7r. CV 35 1.2 II has minor vignette below F2.0.

I also three old DKL lenses, all perfect on A7r – Schneider 50 F1.9, Schneider 28 F4, and Voigtlander 134 F4. I think DKL lenses are really good cheap manual lenses perfect for A7r, and they are all genuine German lenses with great color and image quality.

Please find all tests at http://www.flickr.com/photos/51092680@N04/sets/72157638081323126/

Best regards,

Kevin Town

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Canon 17mm TS-E tilt/shift, Nikon Macro 85mm tilt/shift, Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm by Dierk Topp.
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Edgar: Not a rumor but a post, using the a7r in the desert with the Canon 24-70 II (edgarcardenas.tumblr.com)

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Review with A7r and ZM C Sonnar 50mm at Jkspepper.

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Phil: Here is the Link to my gallery of HongKong pictures trying out my new Sony A7R with Leica M lenses (Summicron 35, CV 21 f1.8, Summicron 50)…
I love this camera and it works great with my Leica lenses. Pictures processed in LR5.3RC to correct minor color casting and vignetting when required. I use Flat Field DNG plug-in external corrections after creating a generic profile for those lenses (an easy process even forme;-D)

http://philbreyne.smugmug.com/Place/Places

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Part four of the legacy lens test roundup will be posted in a couple of days!

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Roger Cicala about the A7r: “I do think it has the potential to change some things”

shooting video on location with the Sony A7: first impression review (Mike Kobal)

Roger Cicala from Lensrentals (Click here) tested the Sony A7r and the Zeiss 35mm FE lens. This is what he thinks about the camera:

If I were to make a quick summary:

  • The A7R delivers amazing resolution. At least as good as a Nikon D800e.
  • The two Sony-Zeiss prime lenses (the 35mm we tested, and the 55mm tested by SLRgear.com) are excellent. Hopefully other native-mount lenses will also be excellent.
  • Other-brand, standard-range (35mm and up) shot on a well-matched adapter give superb center resolution, better than you would get on the native mount camera, unless that camera is a D800e. Corner resolution is very good, although less than amazing.
  • Given past experience, and several early reports, shooting lenses wider than 35mm on an adapter is going to be a bit more challenging. I doubt we’ll be able to make too many generalizations. Rather each lens will have to be evaluated on the A7R to see how it performs.

A7r review at ThePhoBlographer.

Sony is receiving the Editor’s Choice award out of the pure innovation that was put into this product; but we need to warn you again about the autofocusing. If you’re adapting all of your legacy glass over to it, you won’t need to worry about that problem at all. The image quality, more than anything else, is what also makes us smitten for the A7r.

Low Light Test with Sony A7r at Eruditephotography.
First wooden grip for the A7r (Xitek).
Official English translated review of the A7 at SLRclub (Click here).
Sony A7R – full frame T0.95 with the SLR Magic HyperPrime (and special guest, Leica Noctilux 50mm F0.95) at EosHD.
Sony bedroht Leica (Die Welt).
Sony a7 WiFi Smart Remote Control App Update (Youtube).
A really great A7 with non-FF lens test at Per Analogia (google translation here).

Thodiris:last night I did a nice concert with the sony a7 and the following lenses:
carl zeiss fe 35mm/f2.8
carl zeiss 16-35mm/f2.8 & la-ea4
minolta 85mm/f1.4 & la-ea4
I was very impressed with the focusing of the carl zeiss fe 35mm/f2.8 lens, it never missed focus or “hunted”.
you can see the images (all ISO 6400) here, with a footnote under each image: http://thodorismarkou.com/blog/2013/12/morcheeba-athens-gagarin-sony-a7-high-iso/

Carl:A7 with SEL18-55mm. I sold my Nex-5R but before I made some tests with the sel18-55mm mounted on the A7 (it gave me 10Mpx cropped RAWs)… I’m waiting for a better lens to experience the full quality of this camera. You can check the results (edited) here http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlbphoto/sets/72157638687019276/

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PTWexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Zeiss 35mm FE review by TPB: “Glorious Bokeh”. And an “unusual” Bikini test :)

Image courtesy: ThePhoBlographer

Chris Gampat from ThePhoBlographer (Click here) tested the Zeiss 35mm FE lens and writes:

This lens is sharp, not too contrasty, has magnificent bokeh, and is very devoid of any flaws. In fact, it’s tough to find any 35mm mirrorless lens on the market that can beat this lens right now.

And the most unusual test with the Zeiss 35mm FE has been posted on Flickr (Click here). It’s a “Bikini” test:

New Sony A7R Test Photos of Bikini Swimsuit Model Goddess! Carl Zeiss Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA Lens finished in Lightroom 5.3 ! Was using the B+W 49mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer MRC Filter on bright, sunny day. Check out the low glare off the rocks and water and the bright blue sky! Super sharp images and crystal-clear pictures!

I hope for our women followers that someone will do the sampe test with sexy firemans :)

UPDATE: Handheld lowlight testing I did last night with the Sony A7r with 35 Zeiss FE lens at Eruditephotography

I (Andrea) own this lens since two weeks and now I found the time to start testing it. From the first samples I shot I can easily say I am very happy with the image quality in all his aspects. But for my kind of shooting (low light and interior) I really would love to have at leats 1 stop more (f/2.0 or even f/1.8). Hope Sony will do a faster (althaugh bigger) 35mm lens. Oh, yes, it’s a bit too expensive lens too.

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PTWexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

 

Need for speed for the A7-A7r: The radioactive(!) Canon FD 55mm f/1.2 aspherical.


The three FD 55mm versions. Image source: Olypedia.de. The asperical and latest FD 55mm1.2 lens is on the left.

Sony stated many times that they will not go after crazy speed on FE lenses. What matters is having top quality in a “not to big” sized lens. That’s ok for me, but what if some A7-A7r owners absolutely needs the extra speed? There are plenty of options out. Today I am going to tell you a bit about one of the lenses I just purchased to make it work on my A7r. It’s the [shoplink 22839 ebay]Canon FD 55mm f/1.2 Asperical lens (to find here on eBay only)[/shoplink]. I will receive the lens soon. Meantime here is a bit of history:

The lens has been announced in 1971 and was Canon’s answer to the Leica Noctilux. There are three versions of it. The first two non-aspherical (and very cheap on [shoplink 22851 ebay]eBay[/shoplink]) and the last aspherical version. That one is the lens I am interested in:

Erwin Puts writes about the aspherical FD 55mm 1.2 lens:

“Some commentators called the Canon FD 1.2 aspherical the best standard lens in the world. It is hard to disagree.”
“In 1971, when the Noctilux was still being produced and sold, Canon introduces their own version of an 1.2 design with aspherics. Presumably they could not stand the humiliation of being defeated by the Leitz construction, at least wide open.
With this lens Canon pulled all stops. See my report on the Canon design here. The Canon aspherical is wide open clearly better than the Noct 1.2. Especially in the outer zones the Canon is much improved and in the center of the image the Canon has an impressive performance, that surpasses the one you get from the Noct. Stopped down the Canon wins easily. Wide open at 1.2 you will note a difference in approach of correcting aberrations. The Canon has a very good image quality ove the whole picture frame, where the Noct concentrates on the center part of the image. Whatever the approach, the Canon design gives the better imagery, aperture for aperture.”

Mir writes:

Despite its large aperture, it is highly reputed for its high contrast and stabilized image definition at full aperture opening. Because of its fast f/1.2 speed, it provides high image quality in low light level photography.
Additionally, this lens incorporates the Floating System which enables aberration-free shooting at close subject distance. Thus, a sharp image is obtained through the entire focusing range. Therefore, the focused image through the viewfinder can be reproduced just as it is.

The crazy news on that lens is that the lens is actually lightly…ehmmm….radioactive! But there is nothing to worry about: Olypedia writes:

“If this lens worries you, DO NOT EXPOSE YOURSELF TO THE SUN! It’s much more dangerous to you and your film…”

Few more images and test can be read here: Comparison with other f/1.2 lenses at Nifty50.nl. Presentation page at Mir.com.my. Image samples on Flickr.

Conclusion:
After reading all these articles and watching many image samples I got mine [shoplink 22839 ebay]Canon FD 55mm f/1.2 Asperical lens on eBay (all cutions are here)[/shoplink]. I can’t wait to test it on the A7r and compare the results with the Zeiss FE 5mm f/1.8 lens which I will get within the next days (yes Sony Europe is shipping mine!). Get yours here at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.

P.S.: Feel free to contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com if you have tests to share (or if you want to write a full article).

A7r in Stock at BHphoto. And the big Sony A7 and A7r reviews roundup (They are cameras of the year at ePhotozine and Imaging Resource).


Moisture resistance Sony ILC-E A7

For US readers: The A7r is in Stock for the first time at BHphoto (Click here). And it is also in Stock at Samys (Click here), Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), [shoplink 23364 ebay]Adorama eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 23363 ebay]Bestbuy eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Big A7-A7r news roundup: I have to catch up with links to many new A7-A7r tests and many SAR readers mails. Enjoy!

The A7r is Imaging Resources camera of the year.
Sony A7 is the camera of the year at ePhotozine.
Some images taken with the a7r. Two are stitched using a Rhinocam on 4×5 Arca Swiss (edgarcardenas.tumblr.com).
Image circle: removing the rear plastic shield on your Sony 35mm f1.8 OSS e-mount lens (Mike Kobal).
Sony A7 VS Sony Nex-6 – Raw Quality High ISO Lab Testing w/ 100% Crops (SonyAlphaLab).
Even Ken Rockwell likes the A7!
Sony A7, the new Leica CL? (Chad Wadsworth).
Sony LA-EA4 tested by Ken Rockwell.

Pascal:I tested low and high iso noise & noise reduction with long exposures. Also vibrations and a sidenote on coma (largely absent) in the Sonnar Lens. http://dearsusans.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/186-low-light-long-exposures-with-the-sony-a7r/” And: “there is a reflection problem with the A7r / Sonnar 35/2.8 ZA that produces spots around bright lights. It isn’t the bullseye colour shift reported by Leica Boss but something else. I wrote a quick piece here about it : http://dearsusans.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/spotty-flaw-in-zeiss-fe-35-28-za-sony-a7r-combo/

Alik:I ran a few more tests on the Sony Zeiss Sonnar 35mm lens. I’ve noticed the vignetting is pretty bad at f2.8 and gets better by 5.6 but never fully clears up, even at f/11. I also ran a color test to see if I could get the same color shifts that Leica Boss was getting. I did, but mine wasn’t as bad as his. I am using LR3 RC which possibly could have something to do with it.The reality? I cannot see my lens giving me color shifts unless I blast both saturation and vibrance to the max. Which nobody does. This lens is great, well worth the $800 USD and is razor sharp. Not sure why I see so many complaints about it.
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/dec/10/zeiss-sonnar-fe-35mm-f28-vignetting-and-color-test

Mark:When the rumor that Sony was going to come out with a FF mirrorless inter-changeable lens system, i was sold from day one. I got my A7 about a week ago and I absolutely love it! My style of shooting is much more deliberate and considered so the fact that the camera’s AF didn’t perform like a pro sports DSLR did not bother me at all. Also, contrary to what some others have said, I love the hearty sound of the shutter – again, it suits my shooting tastes.
On a recent rainy day, I took it out for a ‘test drive.’ I used the FE 35mm f/2.8 Zeiss and shot in jpegs only. Any vignetting was put in later in post processing.
Here are my test shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mluvr/sets/72157638457552974/

Alex:I have been testing the camera with canon TSE lens and controlling the camera from an iPad mini in the sony remote software. Works very well. here are some test photos from NYC
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kroke/sets/72157638476968315

Horshack:A user on dpreview posted samples from his A7R and Canon 70-200mm image-stabilized lens which shows a pronounced blur issue when IS is enabled for certain shutter speeds. He also showed images from the same lens on his NEX-7 which does not show the issue. I tried the test myself and reproduced his results unfortunately.
His post and images can be found here: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52630531
And my results in the same thread: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52671220
To work around this issue I think Sony will need to implement an anti-shock delay function on the camera, similar to what the MFT cameras have done (they have the same issue of no electronic first shutter curtain causing vibration feeding into the IS system). This delay would be applied after closing the curtain before the start of an exposure. I’m hoping you can post these results as a story on your site to give it visibility to others and Sony.

Anonymous:just saw an interesting article in a Chinese forum (mobile01.com), lots of good pictures from Las Vegas taken with A7R and many Canon lenses (14, ts-e17…) converted with Metabones plus some reviews – http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=254&t=3682934&p=1

E.J.:The big weakness of the A7/A7R is the short battery life. Sony doesn’t supply a stand alone charge, just a small charger that you plug the battery into. At least here in the USA, that charge only has a 0.5A charge current which results in the battery taking about 4 hours to fully charge. however the NP-FW50 battery has a charge current spec of 1.02A so it could be charged in half the time. If you have an iPhone, the small iPhone charger is 1.0A – you just plug the Sony micro-USB cable that came with the camera into the iPhone charger. Many other Micro-USB chargers are also 1.0 amp (you have to read the fine print on the Output current). However you can not use an iPad charger as this charger supplies ore than 2A. I just wanted to let you know that you can cut the charge time in half safely. Please feel free to let the readership know.
I am an Electrical Engineer by training and spent 27 years in the semiconductor industry.

Anonymous:Note that Really Right Stuff is now taking pre-orders for Sony A7/A7R mounting plates and L plates:
http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=BA7-L-Set&type=3&eq=&desc=BA7-L-Set%3a-Includes-Base-%2b-L-component&key=it
http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=BA7&type=3&eq=&desc=BA7%3a-Plate-for-Alpha-a7%2fa7R

Steve:Im a Canon User vor over 20 Years, but these pics from the Sony A7 are the best ife seen in my life. Outstanding, Amazing! I´m breathles. See the sheeps on bottom of page 2 AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.dslr-forum.de/showthread.php?t=1352979

William:This is not my site!  But this guy has some very nice images done with the A7r and some commentary: http://xexets.blogspot.co.uk/

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.