Sony organized some major meetings with journalists by end of May. Usually when Sony puts that kind of effort there is some related product announcement. But the chances are now increasing that we might get NOTHING at all. Just like at the Kando 2.0 trip in California Sony seems to focus more on creating connections and discussions with the media and artisans.

On the other hand we have to report that Sony registered a new camera code “WW771132” in Asia which means that at leat one new model should be announced within 1-2 months. Nokishita believes that this might be an RX camera:

Historically June is a month where Sony did announce new RX cameras (Source Dpreview):

Let’s see, I hope I am wrong and the A6700 or A7sIII will be announced soon with the new RX!

Note: I also got that info from another source. I am not sure if it’s accurate but the info he shares makes sense:

The kando event was planned to announce the a7siii, but the a7iii got so many preorders and is selling way above sony expectations that they delay the a7siii to make more a7iii, one advantage of having exact same body is that sony can shift easily the manufactering from one model to another depending on demand

Max writes:

With the imminent A7s III around the corner, here are 5 features the A7s3 BETTER have!

We know Sony registered a new camera code which means we should soon see a new camera. But I am uncertain if that’s going to be the A6700 or A7sIII or a new RX camera. But two German authors are sure it’s the A7sIII as they are already selling this book at Amazon Germany :)

The 400mm FE shown yesterday at the Kando trip start. Image courtesy DigitalPhotoPro

Yesterday the big Kando 2.0 event in California kicked off. Despite Mike Fasulo being present at the event and unlike the past year we had no new lens announcement. Quite strange also because there were many Artisans and people participating to this (watch High Brownstone video).  Sony did show once again the new 400mm FE behind the glass but did not release any info about the pricing yet.

I talked to some more sources and they do confirm Sony is organizing some major meetings by end May. This is yet not a 100% guarantee that there will be a new camera. But a source reminded me that only once in the past three years Sony did NOT announce something new in such events.

So let’s be clear: I have yet NOT received any confirmation that there will be new products. All I know is that Sony is making a big press event. But there is a chance that just like the Kando 2.0 trip in the USA they might NOT announce anything.

To recap the little we know so far on future products:

SR5: We know from highly trusted source that a new 24mm f/1.4 GM lens should be announced this year
SR5: We know from highly trusted sources a new High end APS-C will also be announced this year
SR5: A7sIII with 4K60p coming too
SR4: 200-600mm FE on the roadmap
SR3: 400mm f/2.8 GM price to be unveiled within 1-.2 months
SR3: 135mm FE GM coming too

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Nokishita reports  preorders for the new Sigma 70mm f/2.8 macro FE lens will open on May 11. The “rumored” price is 90000JPY.

This is the Sigma 70mm f/2.8 vs the Sony 90mm f/2.8 macro comparison (via CameraSize)

Sigma FE lens preorder links:
All lenses listed on one page at BHphoto (Click here). In detail:
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 for $1,599 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 for $849 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 for $949 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 for $1,199 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for $1,399 at BHphoto and Adorama.

SAR reader Eric sent us the link to a Lithuanian Store that listed the new Sigma 105mm f/1.4 lens for 1.999 Euro. I don’t know if that’s really the final price. If it is I would expect the US price to be around $1,999 too (it’s listed at BHphoto now with no pricing).

UPDATE The new Sigma 70mm macro ART lens is listed with a price tag of 999 Euro.

Other Sigma FE lenses on preorder:
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 for $1,599 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 for $849 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 for $949 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 for $1,199 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for $1,399 at BHphoto and Adorama.

The lenses are now also available for preorder at WexUK.

Sony reps confirmed to Dave Dugdale that the Sony A7sIII will have the color science of the Venice and FS5III camcorders. This was to be expected but it’s also the first time Sony officially confirms the A7sIII is coming.

The Sony A7sIII will be released within the next 3-6 months. Also expected is a new A6700 and a new 24mm f/1.4 GM lens.

Image on top shows a lens from the famous Pentax limited Full Frame pancake series

I just got this rumor that made me jump off the chair. The source writes that Zeiss is going to launch a new pancake lens series:

They are preparing to announce a new compact lens series with astonishing image quality at smaller lens size. Think premium pancake lens.
The first lens of the new series will be an 35mm f1.8 with a total length of under 4cm…..
has developed a lens where several elements are made out of Aluminium oxynitride (ALON for short)

This Material has a diffractive index of 1.79 that is high compared to normal glass (1.4-1.5)
Also it is highly scratch resistant having a MOS hardness of 9
Because of the difficulty in manufacturing it will only be used in the front element and two highly diffractive elements.

And now you wonder…what is ALON? Surmet writes:

ALON® or Aluminum Oxynitride is an amazing and unique transparent advanced ceramic that is polycrystalline (made from powder) with a cubic spinel crystal structure. In the popular media and in the Star Trek community, it is commonly referred to as Transparent Aluminum.

These are the advantages of using ALON elements:

– far less weight and thickness than normal glass
– High optical transmission (>85%) near-UV to mid-IR wavelengths (0.25 to 4.0 μm)
– Excellent clarity and no inherent birefringence
– Outstanding hardness, scratch resistance and high strength
– Excellent Refractive index homogeneity over large areas

My opinion on this …WOW! That’s exactly what’s needed in the FE system: Fast and compact primes. The big question is if those lenses will have autofocus or not…

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Andreas imperfect pictures (@andrea_pizzini_photographer) am Mai 2, 2018 um 5:35 PDT