Image of the 20mm pancake

Sony just announced the new 20mm f/2.8 pancake for NEX and released the 18-200 Powerzoom lens as standalone. Preorder is already up at BHphoto (Click here for 20mm pancake) and for the powerzoom (Click here).

Editor’s note. I knew about that 20mm lens since over two weeks but didn’t know the exact announcement date. Damn, missed to post the rumor earlier. Sorry :) I have been told by my sources that this lens has a much more acceptable image quality than the 16mm pancake.

Here is the press release:

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 22, 2013 – Sony is expanding its popular E-mount camera system with the addition of two new lenses compatible with all α E-Mount Cameras and semi-professional camcorders.

New 20mm F2.8 ‘pancake’ wide angle lens (model SEL20F28)
When mounted on any Sony α E-Mountcamera, the sharp new SEL20F28 ”pancake” lens creates an exceptionally versatile, portable package ideal for a broad range of everyday shooting opportunities ranging from interiors to landscapes, street photography, casual snapshots and more.
The new lens features an ultra-slim design approximately 20mm from lens front to back, and with its wide angle of view (30mm on 35mm equivalent) and bright F2.8 aperture, it produces excellent contrast, resolution and clarity across the frame for both still image and full HD video shooting.

New 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Powered Telephoto Zoom Lens (model SELP18200)
Originally offered only as a kit lens for the new NEX-VG30 camcorder introduced this past fall, the new SELP18200 powered telephoto zoom lens will now be available for purchase as a stand-alone lens.
Designed for serious videographers, the high-quality lens offers a generous 11x magnification range and whisper-quiet power zoom mechanics, focusing and aperture operation. This allows for smooth cinematic transitions when adjusting zoom level or manual settings during shooting.  It features a comfortably positioned zoom lever that works with a switch on the lens barrel, allowing zoom speed to be selected in three different steps – from slow, beautiful shifts in perspective to dramatic crash-zoom effects.  Zoom can also be controlled directly from compatible NEX-VG900, NEX-VG30 and NEX-FS700 (requires firmware update) video cameras.
The new lens also has built-in Optical SteadyShot™, which cuts the effects of camera shake and minimizes camera blur while shooting handheld at slower shutter speeds.  Additionally, Active Mode further enhances stabilization at the wide end of the 11x zoom range ensuring smooth, stable footage even if the shooter is in motion.
While the new SELP18200 lens is optimized for video, it’s also a flexible choice for shooting still photography – from expansive landscapes to high impact close-ups of wildlife or athletes – with Sony’s α E-Mountrange of interchangeable lens still cameras.

Sony α E-mount lens family expansion
These new models expand the Sony E-mount family to 13 native E-mount lenses plus two converters, covering virtually any shooting situation for photographers and videographers alike.
Spanning ultra-wide angle, powerful telezoom, macro and fast, bright primes, the range includes premium optics by Sony and Carl Zeiss, and offers refined performance and easy handling throughout the line.

Pricing and Availability
The new E 20mm F2.8 (SEL20F28) wide-angle prime lens will be available this April for about $350.
The new E PZ18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS (SELP18200) motorized telezoom lens will be available this March for about $1200.
The Sony α family of cameras, camcorders, lenses and accessories can be purchased at Sony retail stores, online at www.store.sony.comand at all other authorized retailers throughout the Sony dealer network.

I had quite busy talks with sources in these days about the long term strategy from Sony. And I also got some bits about the Sony-Zeiss collaboration. First of all it is confirmed that the next three Zeiss primes (2.8/12, 1.8/32 and 2.8/50 macro) for the NEX system will cover APS-C only.  But at the same time Sony and Zeiss made an agreement on FF E-mount lenses. And it works like that: Zeiss will now design at least three new E-mount Full Frame prime lenses. They will have to possibility to test the lenses on a non final prototype. Zeiss has scheduled the official release of the lenses for June 2014! Sources didn’t unveil me the detailed lens specs yet also because nothing is final yet. But one thing they told me…the lenses will be expensive to buy! And certainly more expensive than their [shoplink 15174 ebay]current FF ZM series[/shoplink] :(

Anyway, this rumor comes via top top and top sources. So it’s marked as SR5 but of course it’s a long way to go and the June date may change depending on how things will work out. Meantime feel free to share your expectation. I may do a poll with your suggested Zeiss FF NEX lenses to show Zeiss what it’s needed according to our SAR fellowship. Of course be aware that everything will come at a high cost. So dream the lens you can actually afford :)

Take some inspiration from the superb Zeiss ZM list:
[shoplink 10875 ebay]Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9803 ebay]Distagon T* 4/18 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9804 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9804 ebay]C Biogon T* 4,5/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9805 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9806 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/28 ZM  (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9808 ebay]Biogon T* 2/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9808 ebay]C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9809 ebay]C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM  (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9809 ebay]Planar T* 2/50 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9810 ebay]Sonnar T* 2/85 ZM  (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9810 ebay]Tele-Tessar T* 4/85 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].

As you remember Sony announced new NEX camcorders at Photokina. And they came with a new version for the 18-200mm E-mount lens that features Powerzoom (See image on top of the Sony NEX-VG30 with that lens). This is not really a big news but Sony will soon offer the lens as standalone products you can buy to use on your NEX-3/5-6/7 camera. Exciting? Of course not but some filmmakers may be happy to grab a lens like that :)

So let’s start this week with the forecast about the next Sony camera releases. I am getting many mails about the soon to come new Sony stuff. While I am not sure about the announcement date I am almost sure this is what you can expect to come soon:

The new Sony NEX-3n, the new Sony A38 and after that the new Sony A58. All three come with the “new” standard ISO Hot Shoe. And at least the A58 has a very new sensor too!

As I have told you before Sony will go from bottom to top within the next 12-16 months. First the entry level NEX and SLT, than the more advanced NEX (7n?) and A78(?), and than by end of this year or early next year the new Full Frame mirrorless and maybe another “Flagship” camera I heard about for the first time last week.

The [shoplink 16520 ebay]Canon EOS-5 A2(E) had Eye Tracking AF[/shoplink].

Yesterday I told you about the new three layer technology that will may appear in 2014. And so will the new Full Frame Mirrorless. The next key tech that may appear in this crucial year is Eye Tracking AF:

Sony is considering to implement that feature on their upcoming Flagship in 2014. They call it “Eye controlled Focus System”. This feature of the camera will track objects using some infrared sensors in the viewfinder following the eye movement. The advantage is the rapid change/move of focus points (e.g. from the middle to the border). The biggest disadvantage is that You will have to calibrate Your eye for this to work properly. Also this will only work using the viewfinder, it will not work using LiveView on the display. The feature can be enabled/disabled and will have a memory (calibration data) for 3 users. If or when this really comes in the final product, is uncertain. It will depend on the further development in 2013, but will be the absolute burner. Tests are promising, but the implementation might be to expensive for midrange products. We’ll see.

Note: this is not a new feature. It was in a real product from Canon – the [shoplink 16520 ebay]EOS-5 A2(E) – built until 2000 (here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Can You see the similarities to the SLT technology?!? ;-))  Maybe Sony will be able to solve all problems and flaws and make this feature available for the “digital” photographic world.

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Special Thanks to the anonymous source for this! Hope to hear more from you in future :)

One more thing: What is the “Flagship 2014”? :)

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It is my believe that the next image quality jump on the sensor technology front will come with the arrival of Sony’s 3 layer technology. The Sigma similar foveon sensors already have proven that at LOW ISO the sensor…rocks! But from ISO 400 towards the sensor has plenty of issues, like weird color reproducibility and incredible bad noise handling. And the Sony patent itself says that the 3 layer tech “has been difficult to reproduce correct colors when the color temperature of incident light changes, for example.” And the patent describes in every single detail how Sony wants to solve the issue. You may read it for yourself at Freepatentsonline (Click here).

The earliest we can hope to see a Sony camera with that sensor is 2014. And damn would I love it to see it within my next Full Frame NEX-FF…don’t you? :)

I am still collecting and sorting out the rumors about the next new Sony cameras and lenses. For now it looks like Sony is going to introduce entry level SLT and NEX cameras within the next few months. One may be the A58 coming as successor of the A57. I didn’t get any double confirmation on that yet so it’s rated with “SR2” only.

One more thing. While I know some details about the lenses (4 new A mount lenses and the Zeiss E-Mount zoom) I am still not sure if those lenses will be announced yet at the CP+ show or 1-2 months after it. I ask my sources to clearly specify if the month info you send me is the actual announcement period or the  period when the camera will be shipping. Sometimes this confused me :) Thanks!

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Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!