If you are completely crazy about fast lenses that you should take a look on this. The Photographer Aldo Navoni used the [shoplink 6323 ebay]De Oude Delft 50mm f/0.75[/shoplink] (!) on the Sony NEX-5. It might be worth t take a look on his Flickr page (Click here). I don’t know if there is any faster lens on earth you can use on a NEX!!!

You can get the lens on [shoplink 6323 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. But damn expensive!!!!

Sony released a new press release with an update about the Status of Sony Group Manufacturing Operations Affected by the East Japan Earthquake.

PRESS RELEASE
(Tokyo, April 6, 2011) – Sony Corporation (“Sony” or the “Company”) today updated the status of Sony Group manufacturing operations affected by the March 11 East Japan earthquake, tsunami and related power outages, as of April 6, 2011.

As of March 14, 2011, operations at ten Sony Group sites and facilities had been suspended as a result of damage caused by the earthquake, tsunami and related power outages. As announced on March 22, 2011, manufacturing operations at three of these sites had since resumed or partially resumed. As of April 6, 2011, manufacturing operations at five other sites have also resumed or partially resumed.

Sony Manufacturing Systems Corporation, Kuki Plant (Saitama Prefecture) – Resumed on March 15, 2011.
Sony Chemical & Information Device Corporation, Kanuma Plant (Tochigi Prefecture) – Partially resumed on March 15, 2011. Further expanded operations on March 23, 2011.
Sony Energy Devices Corporation, Tochigi Plant (Tochigi Prefecture) – Partially resumed on March 22, 2011.
Sony Chemical & Information Device Corporation
Tome Plant (Miyagi Prefecture)
Nakada Site – Partially resumed on March 28, 2011.
Toyosato Site – Partially resumed on March 28, 2011.
Sony DADC Japan Inc., Ibaraki Facility (Ibaraki Prefecture) – Partially resumed on March 28, 2011.
Sony Energy Devices Corporation
Koriyama Plant (Fukushima Prefecture) – Partially resumed on April 1, 2011. (Coin batteries, etc.)
Motomiya Plant (Fukushima Prefecture) – Scheduled to gradually resume operations by the end of April 2011.
Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor Inc. (Miyagi Prefecture) – Partially resumed on April 6, 2011.
Sony Chemical & Information Device Corporation
Tagajyo Plant (Miyagi Prefecture) – Currently undergoing cleaning and damage inspection.

As also announced on March 22, 2011, manufacturing operations at certain manufacturing sites that were not directly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami have been adjusted in response to planned power outages and the availability of necessary raw materials and components. While the situation varies according to product, Sony is responding to fluctuations in material or component supply by adjusting production levels at the five sites announced on March 22, 2011, and also at certain other domestic and overseas manufacturing sites from time to time. However, as of April 6, 2011, none of those sites has been required to fully suspend operations.

Sony will continue to monitor the availability of raw materials and components, and endeavor to maintain supplies of any products affected by these adjustments by relying on existing inventory to the extent available. The Company also plans to take further measures as necessary, including reallocating available materials and components among Sony Group companies, using alternative components and expanding procurement channels in order to restore full production capacity as early as possible.

The Company is continuing to evaluate the full impact of the earthquake, tsunami and related power outages, including the impact of these production adjustments, on Sony’s businesses and consolidated financial results.

The video on top shows the very first video taken with a modified Voigtländer 25mm f/0.95 lens. What has been modified? The mount has been permanently changed from Micro Four Thirds to E-mount. You can get that modfied version on [shoplink 6262 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. You don’t have a lot of cheap options if you need ultrafast lenses. You can spend almost $1000 for the [shoplink 6287 ebay]Canon 50mm f/0.95[/shoplink] and $10.000 for the [shoplink 6286]Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95[/shoplink]. You need an adapter for both lenses!

Direct links to…
the Sony NEX-VG10 at [shopcountry 3058].
the Canon 50mm f/0.95 at [shoplink 3058]eBay[/shoplink].
the Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 at [shopcountry 6286].

Right before the possible A35 announcmenet the discontinued [shoplink 3620]A33[/shoplink] gets reviewed at Steve Digicam’s: “We were impressed with the A33’s usability, image quality and performance oriented features during our testing, especially when you consider its attractive price point, and we have little doubt that this camera will appeal to a wide variety of photographers.”

The A35 will bring only marginal improvements and the A33 is currently discounted here and there. So you might take a look at [shopcountry 3620] (Click on shop name) to get the A33 camera for cheap!

P.S.: If you want to see something strange look at the Sony NEX-5 with Sirene 135 Large Format Camera on SonyAlphaNex.

Kurtmunger (Click here) tested the Vivitar 85mm f/1.4 lens: “The inexpensive [shoplink 6161]Vivitar 85mm F/1.4[/shoplink] turned in a darn good performance, making an medium telephoto 85mm F/1.4 accessible to cost-conscious people, as this wonderful lens is priced $1000 less than the [shoplink 6052]Sony CZ 85/1.4 planar[/shoplink]! How does the Vivitar stand up to the CZ, or [shoplink 5979]Sony 85mm F/2.8 SAM[/shoplink]? I don’t have the CZ 85mm with me, but if memory serves me correctly(!), I think the CZ is sharper with better contrast at F/1.4, although I’m not sure about the mid-sections and corners, other differences can be culled from the Sony CZ 85mm F/1.4 review. The Sony 85mm F/2.8 SAM is very similar to the Vivitar in sharpness“.
Check out price and availability of the Vivitar lens at [shopcountry 6161].

Thisweekinphoto (Click here) tested the Sony NEX-5: “Back to the one question I have not answered, does the NEX-5 replace my Alpha 850 as an everyday camera. Since I shoot so little with flash or in a studio these days  it really does, in fact I have let go of my A850 to a more deserving home already. I am not saying I wont own another DSLR or even the new Translucent Mirror Sony due out later this year, but I really like having a camera that is small and almost always on hand.”
Check out price and availability of the NEX-5 at [shopcountry 3003].

ThePhoBlographer (Click here) posted the complete Sony A580 review: “The a580 has performed masterfully in a variety of situations. It handled the hot, hot heat of Thailand and the confusing lighting of a concert in Brooklyn. It did well with sweaty hands and it recorded a number of videos in radically different locations with ease. The a580 is a prime choice, especially if you’ve got a bevy of great Minolta glass and if you’re not quite partial to the two SLTs, the a33 or a55.”
Check out price and availability of the A850 at [shopcountry 4617].

Image courtesy: Photozone.

Last year Photozone tested the Zeiss 24-70mm on the APS-C A700 camera and the results were impressive. Today Photozone (Click here) tested the same lens on the Fullframe A900 camera and results are by far LESS impressive! The conclusion: “The [shoplink 6050]Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA SSM[/shoplink] produced outstanding performance figures in our APS-C test but it’s not quite as good when used within its native full format scope. It is, of course, still able of delivering an outstanding center resolution but the corner quality disappoints at 24mm when using large to medium aperture settings. You may argue that the quality is fine at mainstream settings here (f/8-f/11) but for this amount of money you simply expect better results here. The lens is certainly very sharp at 40mm and still pretty good at 70mm. Lateral CAs may be visible at times in wide-angle images but it’s a non-issue in the middle to upper zoom range. A rather sour aspect of the lens is the quality of the bokeh (character of the out-of-focus blur) which could be better @ 70mm f/2.8 – this may cause headaches for some users. Bokeh fringing is very well controlled though. The lens is somewhat prone to flare.”

I am a bit surprised and you?

Check out the current price of the Zeiss lens at [shopcountry 6050].
The fullframe A900 at [shopcountry 3032].

And there it is the next review at Kurtmunger. Kurt never rests :)
That time he tested a third party lens, the Vivitar 7mm F/3.5 fisheye lens on the Sony A700: “Optically, this fisheye lens is quite good, and I’d recommend it for people that have APS-C cameras. It’s pretty sharp stopped down, and control of color fringing, light fall-off and ghosting is above average. The Vivitar 7mm APS-C fisheye performs well stopped down, although it isn’t as sharp as the Sony 16mm fisheye in the centers with a wide aperture. However, the Vivitar corners seem to be sharper with more contrast at smaller apertures. Don’t use the Sony 16mm F/2.8 fish-eye (review) on an APS-C camera, as the distortive effects are diminished by the crop factor, that’s why it doesn’t make any sense to directly compare them.”

Check out price and availability of the Vivitar lens at [shopcountry 6025].
Check out price and availability of the Sony 16mm lens at [shopcountry 6026].