Sony 16-50mm OSS lens review at ePhotozine.

Today ePhotozine posted the Sony 16-50mm OSS E-mount lens review. The size of the lens is amazing but does it deliver a good image quality? According to the reviewers: “At 16mm, sharpness is already excellent in the centre of the frame at maximum aperture. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the clarity delivered towards the edges of the frame at maximum aperture for this focal length. Zooming to 28mm results in a slight drop in sharpness in the centre of the frame, but improvements are made towards the edges. Finally, at 50mm overall sharpness is reduced further, as is common with many zoom lenses.

The lens gets marked as “Recommended” while yesterday tested lens, the 35mm f/1.8 got the “Highly Recommended mark“.

Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Sony NEX-6 tested for video (not good enough for video says Behiri)

How does this make you feel?- Sony NEX-6 test from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.

The NEX-6 is a great camera but according to Johnnie Behiri: “Spending the day with the NEX-6 left me with a very clear opinion. If you are looking for a photo camera that can shoot video: look elsewhere!” The reasons are:

Severe Moire
Severe aliasing
No clean HDMI output
No mic input
REC button in occurred position (to my opinion).
Single region only (PAL or NTSC)

Another NEX-6 test at Nexforum Poland (translation here).

Sony NEX-6 in Stock status check: [shopcountry 14167].

A99 RAW comparison with other FF cameras (220 Euro less for the A99 in UK?)

Screenshot via Dpreview.

Dpreview (Click here) updated the Studio scene comparison and included the A99 RAW files. As you see from the image on top there are very small differences between the single cameras when comapring the RAW files. The A99 holds up well with the rest of the class. What do you think?

One more thing for EU readers: As you know the A99 price in Europe is 2800 Euro (like here at Wex De). A couple of readers linked me to a store where you can save 220 Euro. It’s [shoplink 15344 ebay]UKbnsuk on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. This is a Top rated seller but I ask you if you had an buyer experience on that store. I would always try to be careful before to grab one of these kind of superdeals…(deal found via Slidoo).


The RX1 can be pre ordered at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Dpreview: “D600 sensor is similar (if not mechanically identical) to the one used in the A99 and RX1”

Dpreview posted the full Nikon D600 review. They repeat that “the D600’s sensor is built by Sony, and similar (if not mechanically identical) to the one used in the A99 and RX1 but Nikon insists that it is built to its (Nikon’s) own specifications.

They also say the: “Nikon significantly undercuts the price of Sony’s recent full-frame offerings – the SLT-A99 and Cyber-shot RX1.” While on paper this is correct we also have to add that:
1) The RX1 price already includes a high quality fixed Zeiss lens! The Nikon D600 is priced at $2100 body only. And beside that the RX1 is a completely different kind of camera…
2) …And so is the Sony A99 that focuses on hybrid still/video performance (and has a weather-sealed body).

Don’t know yet if Sony will ever release a sort of A8x camera with less features to play in the same Nikon D600 and Canon 6D league. Both are selling well according to Amazon (here is the ranking).


The RX1 can be pre ordered at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.

Some more bits: Nigel Barker at Discovery Sony. A size comparison with other Alpha cameras by Skygon.

First 35mm f/1.8 lens review at ePhotozine!

Image courtesy: ePhotozine.

ePhotozine is the first website posting the full 35mmf /1.8 E-Mount lens review. The lens gets marked as “Highly Recommended” for the following reasons: “Sharpness is very good from maximum aperture, and can even be considered as outstanding as the lens is stopped down.Other optical anomalies, such as CAs, falloff and distortion are also kept well in check, plus the light weight and compact dimensions of the lens should make this an ideal addition to any serious NEX camera owners kit bag. The addition of optical stabilisation can only enhance the appeal of this lens.

This is an ideal lens for most of the kind of photos I will ever take. But when is Sony going to ship it? There seems a bit of confusion. European Sonystores like DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH still do say the lens will ship in Mid-November. But US and Japanese stores write that they will ship in late December only (See Amazon Japan and BHphoto).

Here is a list of stores accepting preorders:
USA: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sonystore,
Europe: Amazon DE, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH, Wex UK.

P.S::Sigma just released the new 35mm f/1.4 lens! It costs $899 at BHphoto (click to preorder)

 

The next great Sony A99 test roundup! Frank Doorhof impressed with A99’s dynamic range.


A99 hands-on video by videolifestyle

Looks like many SAR readers were testing their brand new A99 cameras and they sent me some very interesting links to their tests. Here they are:

Frank Doorhof posted some new A99 portrait pics and likes the A99 so much that he just ordered a complete Alpha set! He is particularly impressed by the Dynamic Range. Note…he usually uses the Canon 5DmarkIII.
Sony A99 blog and test by Amit Zinman.
An A99 wedding video on youtube.
A99 video performance test by Fredrik on youtube.
Sony A99 tested for sports by Martin Gamper.
A99 vs. A900 vs. A77 by Stealthmodephoto.

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A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, eBay, Sonystore DEUKFRITESNLSEFICH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.