New A7III books by David Busch and Gary Friedman

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You can now preorder the new A7III book from David Busch on Amazon US. And long time Sony guru Gary Friedman also released his A7III eBook. It’s available now here: http://friedmanarchives.com/A73/.He also posted these Youtube videos:

Sony A7III in USA at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, BestBuy, FocusCamera, BuyDig.
Sony a7III in Europe at Amazon DE, Calumet Germany, Amazon UK, ParkCameras UK, WexUK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

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Venus Optics 10-18mm FE lens preorders could open in September only

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Venus Optics told me that preorders for the new 10-18mm FE lens are scheduled to start in September (if all goes by plan).

This is the press text of the two FE lenses that we still cannot preorder yet:

Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom
This lens is currently the widest zoom lens available for Sony full frame E-mount cameras. Designed primarily for travel photography, Venus optics have managed to compress the size to smallest in its class, less than 10 inch (<10cm) and only 1.1 pounds (<500g). The 102° (18mm) to 130° (10mm) angle of view provides flexibility for photographers to compose landscape or architecture photos with ease. The lens houses with 14 elements in 10 groups with 2 aspherical elements & 1 extra-low dispersion element to deliver exceptional performance. It can focus as close as 15cm for some mini-macro shooting. A rear filter slot is included to fit with 37mm filter. Click/clickless aperture can be toggled by the switch on the lens barrel.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO
Followed by the success of the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro, the 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro is the 2nd member of Laowa 2:1 macro line-up. This new 100mm lens can cover full frame sensor size and focus from 2:1 magnification to infinity. The wide magnification range allows macro photographers to capture subject at any sizes. This 100mm portrait lens also features an apochromatic (APO) characteristic that no chromatic aberration can be found. The 12 elements in 10 groups optics design delivers a crystal sharpness image in both macro and tele distances. Canon EF / Nikon AI / Pentax K / Sony FE mounts are available.

All lenses will be available for trial at Venus Optics’ booth (T225) in Beijing P&E Imaging fair during 3rd-6th May 2019. They are expected to be shipped in mid/late 2018. Exact shipping date and pricing are to be confirmed.

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Sony Tidbits…

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Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master: First Look | 4K

Comparing the Best Ultra Wide Zoom Lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sony & Sigma (Lensrentals).
How Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” Came To Life (Alphauniverse).
Cat & Philip’s Wedding Film shot on Sony a7RIII a7R II a6500 (Jason Vong).
Turn It Up Over 1:1 with Ultra Macro Lenses (Explora).
German Samyang 35mm f/1.4 FE review at Wimair.at
Adobe introduces Project Rush a cross-device video editing app (Newsshooter).

ersonal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

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Sony Artisan Marc Galer:

Just thought you may be interested posting a link to this feature-length masterclass movie. http://www.markgaler.com/sony-alpha-focus-masterclass

FOCUS MASTERCLASS

This movie seminar covers everything you wanted to know about using the Autofocus settings and Manual Focus settings on your Sony Alpha camera.

This 90-minute presentation covers the following Autofocus Settings 

• Focus Mode
• Focus Area
• Lock-on AF
• Priority Settings
• Track Sensitivity
• Back-Button AF

Also covered is Hyperfocal Distance, Focus Peaking, Magnify View DMF, Eye-AF, CDAF, PDAF and ways to customise the camera to recall groups of Focus settings with the press of a single Custom Key.

http://www.markgaler.com/sony-alpha-focus-masterclass

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Skylum releases free Luminar 1.3.0 update (now fully supports Sony A7 III)

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Skylum released the new 1.3.0 free update. If you plan to buy Luminar use the coupon code “SAR” you will get $10 off. The new update fully supports the new Sony A7III.

Mac New & Improved Features:

  • IMPROVED Raw Develop. The Raw Develop filter has improved handling of the Lens and Transform effects. Effects are not shown on the left side (Before) when using the Compare option. The effects are also not blended with original when using the Filters Amount slider.
  • IMPROVED Sharpening. The Sharpening filter is more responsive and accurate. As you adjust the controls all changes are visible in high resolution with real-time feedback.
  • IMPROVED Batch Processing. You can now export to several file formats including new options for PDF and JPEG-2000.
  • IMPROVED LUT Mapping. You can now easily scroll through your LUTs in the LUT Mapping filter. Just hover your mouse over a LUT and it updates in real-time.
  • IMPROVED Language Support. Luminar offers eight Improved localizations: Chinese, Chinese Simplified, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish.
  • IMPROVED Image History. It is now possible to use the “Save History” option when saving a file with the “Windows Compatible” option. Additionally, White Balance presets are now displayed in an image’s history with the preset name when using the RAW Develop and Develop filters.
  • NEW Plugin Support. The following third-party plugins can now be used via the Plugins menu: Imagenomic Noiseware 5, Imagenomic Portraiture 3, Imagenomic Realgrain 2, and DxO FilmPack 5.
  • IMPROVED Filter Controls. To save you time, all filter checkboxes can be enabled or disabled by clicking on the control name or the checkbox. Additionally, be sure to try scrubbable number sliders. Just mouse over the value for a filter and then click and drag left or right to move the slider.
  • IMPROVED JPEG Controls. Take precise control over JPEG and JPEG-2000 compression. You can see a numeric value for the Quality slider. You can also click on the number and enter a precise value.

Windows New & Improved Features:

  • NEW Faster opening of RAW-files. You can now open raw files much faster thanks to improvements in our RAW engine.
  • NEW White Balance Tool. A new White Balance functionality and eyedropper tool have been added to the Raw Develop, Develop, and Color Temperature filters.
  • NEW Image History. It is now possible to use the “Save History” option when saving a file. Additionally, White Balance presets are now displayed in an image’s history with the preset name when using the RAW Develop, Develop and Color Temperature filters.
  • NEW Layer Renaming. For all new layers, you add to a document (except for the original image) you can choose to assign a custom name. Just double-click on a layer’s name to edit it. This is a great way to organize adjustment and image overlay layers in your project.
  • IMPROVED Filter Performance. You can now add or subtract filters more quickly to an image.
  • IMPROVED Blending Modes. When you choose a blending mode for an Adjustment or Image Layer, the experience is even easier. Just hover your mouse over a blending mode and it updates in real-time. This is an easy way to simply mouse-over the list to find the perfect blending mode.
  • IMPROVED LUT Mapping. You can now easily scroll through your LUTs in the LUT Mapping filter.
  • IMPROVED Language Support. Luminar offers seven improved localizations: Chinese, Chinese Simplified, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish.
  • NEW Canvas Color. You can now set the Canvas background color to White. Choose View > Background > White to set the working Canvas to White or choose from other shades of gray or black.
  • IMPROVED Sharpening. The Sharpening filter is more responsive and accurate. As you adjust the controls all changes are visible in high resolution with real-time feedback.
  • NEW DNG Camera Profiles (DCP). Are you looking for truly professional control over your raw files? Then give DNG Camera Profiles a try. Luminar recognizes the industry standard DCP files that you may already have on your computer (or have bought from third parties).
  • IMPROVED Batch Processing. Windows users gain the useful Batch Processing improvements. These include the ability to “Replace or Skip Files” when saving the file with the same name when Batch Processing. Additional options include the ability to create JPEG and TIFF files as well as improved reliability when renaming and numbering files on export.

Here are the instruction how to get it:

The next time you launch Luminar, it should prompt you to update the software. You can also manually check for the update.

  • Mac – Please choose Luminar 2018 > Check for updates.
  • Windows – Please choose Help > Check for updates.
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