The image above shows the optical design of a lens that has never existed before: Sigma’s patented 15mm f/1.2 full-frame lens.

For now, this is just a patent, with no guarantee Sigma will ever bring it to market. According to the patent, the lens would measure 16.3 cm in length — only about half a centimeter longer than Sigma’s current 15mm f/1.4 fisheye. But unlike the fisheye, this new f/1.2 would be a standard rectilinear ultra-wide, which makes it all the more remarkable.

Would you consider buying such a lens? And what would you use it for? Given Sigma’s track record, they just might make this a reality!

Sony has announced the new PXW-Z300 camcorder today (specs available at BHphoto). What’s notable for us Alpha shooters is that this is already the second camera Sony has unveiled this month, following the RX1R III. Earlier in May/June, Sony registered three new camera codes — which means there’s still one more camera yet to be announced.

Press text:

Sony launches 4K 3-CMOS sensor flagship handheld XDCAM camcorder with enhanced operational efficiency for newsgathering and production
The new model, PXW-Z300, supports digital signature technology for video authentication, advanced networking capabilities, and AI-powered subject recognition

Sony today announced the launch of the PXW-Z300, a flagship handheld XDCAM® camcorder featuring 1/2-inch 4K 3-CMOS Exmor R® sensors, the latest BIONZ XR™ image processing engine, and a dedicated AI-processing unit. This model comes equipped with a professional lens system that includes three independent manual control rings. Ideal for a wide range of applications including news, sports, corporate, events, documentary, live programming, and reality programmes, the new camcorder is planned to be available in fall 2025.

The PXW-Z300 combines exceptional image quality, a 17x optical zoom lens, and Electronic Variable ND filter, with versatile operational capabilities. In addition to high-quality 4K 60p recording, it features AI-powered subject recognition for precise autofocus performance. The camera introduces a new articulating Flexible LCD Arm for adaptable capturing styles and a Side V-Mount that allows smartphones or data transmitters to be securely attached.

The PXW-Z300 is the world’s first camcorder¹ to embed digital signatures directly into video files, enabling content authentication² to address the evolving needs of the content creation industry, including the growing demand for content authenticity.

The PXW-Z300’s network functionality has been enhanced through improved communication device integration, which supports modern production workflows that utilize 5G and cloud technologies. This enables live streaming from shooting locations and efficient file transfer over networks.

“This latest camcorder has new enhancements, including content authenticity capabilities, that will be very beneficial for those in the news and production industry, whether they’re capturing action-packed content, breaking stories, or producing educational documentaries,” said Pavel Skabrout, Product Manager, Sony Europe.

Superb imaging performance and versatile operational capabilities

The camcorder features 1/2-inch back-illuminated 4K 3-CMOS Exmor R sensors and the BIONZ XR image processing engine, enabling excellent colour separation, F12³ sensitivity, and 4K 60p recording.

It incorporates a 17x optical zoom lens with F1.9 constant maximum aperture and three independent manual control rings for traditional camera operation.

By utilizing the digital extender function, individuals can achieve 1.5x zoom in 4K mode and up to 4x zoom in HD mode with minimal degradation, making the camera suitable for a wide range of capturing scenarios, including news gathering and event documentation.

Additionally, the camera is equipped with an Electronic Variable ND filter that seamlessly adjusts transmission from 1/4 to 1/128, along with optical image stabilization. This allows for smooth brightness adjustment and stable capture when moving between locations with varying light conditions, such as from bright outdoor areas to dim interior spaces.

The PXW-Z300 incorporates a dedicated AI-processing unit in addition to its image processing engine. This enables high-precision subject (human) recognition based on face, eye, skeletal structure, and posture information. The system can maintain autofocus on subjects even when they are facing away from the camera or wearing facial coverings. It also features an auto-framing function that automatically adjusts composition to keep human subjects centered in the frame.

The camera also features a 3.5-inch high-brightness LCD monitor with approximately 2.76 million dots. It provides excellent visibility even in bright conditions and is significantly brighter than its predecessor, the PXW-Z280. It incorporates the newly developed Flexible LCD Arm with three-axis movement, which allows flexibility in adjusting the monitor’s position and angle. This enables the camera to accommodate various shooting styles. Operators can adjust the viewing distance when capturing content with the camera on their shoulder, position the LCD monitor at the camera’s optical center for stable waist-level capture, or flip it forward for self-recording.

Enhanced network functions for immediate and efficient video production workflow

The camera supports new workflows utilizing 5G and cloud technologies, allowing immediate transfer of recorded material from shooting locations and live streaming through smartphone or Wi-Fi/wired LAN connections. Recorded content can be transferred via network to cloud-based media sharing services or on-premises storage in high-quality, efficient formats. For proxy material transmission at lower resolutions, the camera newly supports the HEVC codec⁴, enabling higher quality and compression rates. Additionally, it can transfer clips in chunk format (segmented recording) during shooting. This eliminates the need to remove media and transfer material after shooting, allowing editing to begin as material arrives.

The camera supports common video streaming protocols including RTMP/RTMPS and SRT, enabling live broadcasting from remote locations. By attaching Sony’s PDT-FP1 Portable Data Transmitter (sold separately) to the Side V-Mount and connecting it to the camera, users can simplify integration and achieve a more stable transmission of video material.

Furthermore, the PXW-Z300 utilizes cloud services such as the cloud material transfer service “C3 Portal” and Sony’s “Ci Media Cloud”, a cloud-based solution for media collaboration. This allows the camera to support more immediate and efficient video production workflows which includes integration with news file-based systems, material sharing and collaboration among project members, and live streaming with multiple cameras when combined with Sony’s M2 Live Cloud Switcher.

Support for various recording formats and looks for diverse content production

The PXW-Z300 supports various recording formats designed for a wide range of video production applications, including news footage and documentaries. It offers standard support for MXF file recording in formats adopted by the XDCAM series, such as MPEG HD422, XAVC Intra (4K/HD 4:2:2 10bit), and XAVC Long (4K 4:2:0 8bit/HD 4:2:2 10bit), as well as MP4 proxy recording in HEVC.

The camera also accommodates diverse looks. In addition to S-Cinetone, ITU709, and 709tone available in Sony’s Cinema Line series, XDCAM, and HDC series, it supports HLG Live, HLG Mild, HLG Natural, and user 3D LUTs. Users can import custom 3D LUTs (.cube files) from memory cards.

The camera is compatible with Sony’s mobile application “Monitor & Control,” which supports multi-camera shooting by allowing angle confirmation, camera settings adjustment, and remote operation from smartphones or tablet devices.

Additionally, the camcorder enables the recording of up to four channels of audio – including shotgun microphones and Sony’s UWP-series of wireless microphones – via XLR inputs and the Multi Interface shoe. Future support will provide proxy 4-channel audio recording.

World’s first camcorder to support recording of authenticity information in video

The camera supports the C2PA⁵ standard for recording authenticity information. It is the world’s first camcorder capable of recording video with embedded digital signatures¹. By expanding authenticity initiatives from still images to video, Sony contributes to the growing need for improved content reliability demanded by news organizations in recent years.

The PXW-Z300 is scheduled to be exhibited at the Beijing International Radio, TV & Film Exhibition 2025 (BIRTV), in Beijing, China, starting Tuesday, July 22, 2025. For more information, please visit https://pro.sony/products/handheld-camcorders/pxw-z300.

This new autofocus APS-C E-mount lens is now available for preorder at BHphoto, Amazon.

Sony RX1rIII preorders at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Fotoerhardt, Calumet, WexUK.

In general reviewers have mixed feelings about the Sony RX1r III. I think the camera will prove ot be more popular than they might think. But let’s digg into the reactions of some testers:

Antonio Benedetto from TheVerge writes:

Here are Tony Northrup and Terry Warfield sharign their thoughts:

Some more discussions:

Sony’s new $5,000+ compact camera (Engadget).
Let’s Talk About the Sony RX1R III (DPReview Discussions)
Sony RX1rIII thoughts by CineD on Youtube (from minute 17)

Sony RX1rIII preorders at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Fotoerhardt, Calumet, WexUK.

About those rumors: I have no idea who sent them and 90% of the times they turn out to be wrong. But, it happened in the past that a couple of those were right. So I will post them today, and we all together can eventually keep track of this. If one of the sources turns out to be right than we will know we can trust it a bit more!

Source 1:

A7Siv and FX3ii (fx4) do not use a global shutter or partial stacked sensor.
They use a fully stacked sensor that also has 2-Layer Transistor Pixel technology that dramatically improve both dynamic range and low light performance.
This information and rumor is public for a long time now.
The 2-Layer Transistor Pixel sensor is a stacked CMOS image sensor.
Not sure it is exactly 24 MP it could be just 21 MP for 6k60p oversampled and 4k120p.

Source 2:

Sony has notified our company that they want to release the successor to the FX9 this year, but surprisingly, the product is named FX8 instead of FX9II because it using a removable external audio recording module to reduce the size.
The FX8 features a more powerful cooling system, 8.5/7.0-step c/p IBIS and variable eND, which makes the body longer. But unfortunately, FX8 doesn’t support X-OCN recording.
The highlight of the FX8 is its newly developed 16 stop latitude full-frame 12K sensor (approx. 81M effective pixels, effective area 35.8mm x 20.1mm) designed for video, with an optical LPF.
When shooting in 16:9, FX8 no longer needs to crop 6% of the width horizontally in full frame.
Something noteworthy is that the FX8 features Dual Base ISO 500/2000 and an Enhanced ISO 8000. As for why ISO 8000 isn’t designated as Base ISO, the reason may be that during 8K recording, the latitude distribution of Enhanced ISO 8000 can’t be same as Base ISO 500/2000.

Like the BURANO and FX9, the FX8 offers multiple scan modes: FF 12K at up to 30fps, FF 6K (binning) at up to 60fps, FFc 3.8K (binning, 1.04x cropped) at up to 120fps, and S35 8K at up to 60fps.
The maximum frame rate & resolution: 8K 17:9 / 16:9 30p in FF 12K / S35 8K scan, 4K 17:9 / 16:9 60p in FF 6K / S35 8K scan, and 4K 16:9 120p in FFc 3.8K scan. All scan modes can be oversampled to lower resolution XAVC.
Although the FX8 supports anamorphic de-squeezing, it doesn’t have S35 4:3. Okay, nothing beats BURANO’s record format.
But FX8 simulated PTZ camera function is very interesting.
FX8 can simultaneously record uncropped images and two AI-tracked cropped images, and supports manual adjustment and program settings. Three steaming angles, making single-camera interviews less boring.

Source 3:

I saw someone holding a new Sony E-mount camera with a sticker on it in Wuxi, a city in Jiangsu Province, China. He was not an employee of the Sony factory in Wuxi, but an ordinary social media influencer not for digital product.

The appearance of this new camera is quite interesting. It has almost the same design as the A1 II, with a large and deep handle. Its EVF looks a little smaller than that of the A1 II, and it lacks the dial on the left side.  From what I saw of the screen, this camera displays 33M. The menu options have changed, but the image flashed by so quickly that I couldn’t see it clearly.

Looking back, it might be a bit disappointing. This unreleased new model is clearly not part of the A7R/A7S series, as its EVF has been reduced in size. Considering the recently released A1 II and FX2, I can’t help but wonder if this is an A1 II-style update for the A7 series?

Source 4:

Sony rep was telling them that a new camera was coming soon. They could not remember the exact name, but they said it was another Italian name like Venice or Burano. They said that they believe that the Sony rep said it was going to be full frame 6K, to compete with Canon C400. That is all they remember. This person is not a “gear head” like me, but they wanted to share this info.  No more specs. A full frame 6K camera would make sense now that the FX9 is discontinued, and not to compete with 8K Burano.