One week left to join the 24-105mm FE lens giveaway!

Share

You have one week left to join the 24-105mm FE lens giveaway!

Here are the rules:

Dates: January 11th, 2018 – February 15th, 2018

How to Enter:

1.) Follow @andrea_pizzini_photographer on Instagram.
2.) Like my IG Giveaway Post below (Found below or via my IG Profile)
3.) Tag a friend in the comments on my Instagram Giveaway Post. 1 Tag = 1 entry. Tag as many people as you want to enter multiple times

Note: This is a worldwide contest (see exceptions list below). If the winner lives outside the USA he has to cover the tax and shipment costs of the lens that will be shipped by BHphoto.

Finally it’s here! Our very first Giveaway for a brand new Sony 24-105mm FE lens ($1,300 value). This is the must have lens for travel photographers and the most versatile zoom of the FE lens range. Special thanks to @colbybrownphotography and @bhphoto for helping me organizing this. – To Enter follow these rules: 1. Like this Post 2. Follow me @andrea_pizzini_photographer 3. Tag a friend in the comments below. Each tag is an entry. Enter as many times as you wish. – Optionally you can also can “Turn On Post Notifications” for my IG Profile, so that you can learn of additional chances to win. – The Winner will be chosen at random on February 15th, 2018 This giveaway is not sponsored by Instagram or Sony. No Purchase Necessary. Void where prohibited. All Giveaway/Sweepstakes Terms & Conditions can be found in the link in my IG Bio. – #sony #sonyalpha #sonyimages #sonygear

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Andrea Photographer-Explorer (@andrea_pizzini_photographer) am

Sponsored by Amonsul Ltd. (“Sponsor”). No purchase or obligation necessary.

Giveaway/Sweepstakes Details

Amonsul LTD (SonyAlpharumors.com) Sony 24-105mm Instagram Giveaway (the “Sweepstakes”)

Entry deadline: February 15th, 2018 at 11:59pm EST

How to participate: Follow Andrea Pizzini Photography on Instagram (@andrea_pizzini_photographer), Like my Instagram Post about the Giveaway, and tag as many friends in that post as you wish (each tag is an entry) between January 11th, 2018 at 11:00am EST and February 15th, 2018 at 11:59 pm EST.

Sweepstakes rules: Entrants must complete all steps above to be eligible to win. All entries must be received by February 15th, 2018 by 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be notified by Instagram direct message. There is no limit on the number of online entries per entrant during the entry period. You will receive one entry per individual you Tag on the Giveaway post via @andrea_pizzini_photographer, assuming you have completed the other necessary steps. This promotion isn’t sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram or Sony.

Prizes and odds: Total value of all prizes to be awarded is $1300. The odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received.

Eligibility: The Sweepstakes is open Worldwide as well as to legal residents of the U.S. for those that are age 18 or older. The Sweepstakes is however prohibited in Canada, France, Sweden, Taiwan and any other country that bans the practice of a “Sweepstakes”. Employees of Sponsor and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, their immediate family members and persons living in their same household, are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules.

Prize selection: All Contest name entries meeting the requirements of these Official Rules will be entered into a spreadsheet at the Amonsul Ltd. offices in Antwerpen (Belgium). The winner will be selected at random by Sponsor using the website www.random.org. Winners are solely responsible for any and all federal, state, provincial and local taxes that apply to prizes. No cash or other substitution of prizes is permitted. Prizes won by minors will be awarded to the parents or legal guardians, who must sign all required affidavits and releases. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen prizes.

Additional Conditions: Except where prohibited by law, by accepting any prize, Winner consents to the use of his/her name, photo and/or likeness, biographical information, and statements attributed to winner (if true) for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of prizes.

For a list of winners contact:

Amonsul Ltd.
sonyalpharumors@gmail.com

Share

Sony Tidbits…

Share


Zeiss 25mm F1.4 Milvus Lens Review | John Sison

Sony IEDM Presentation on 3-Layer Stacking Process Flow (Image Sensor World).
Sony A7R III Review Conclusion: Easily one of the best cameras of 2017 (Imaging Resource).
Programming instant reaction button on the Sony A7riii and A9 (Photoenthusiastblog).
The Fastest Glass Money Can Buy (Explora).
Fashion and Myths : Portraits de femmes mythiques façon mode (shot with Sony) at Kisskissbankbank.com

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

Heikki: Here’s a video I created in Mallorca spain. Shot entirely with sony rx100 IV. Hope you like it! https://youtu.be/NdQuF8fHvkw

Share

(SR5) Leaked images of the new Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4

Share

We got these new images from the Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4 that will be announced within the next days!

Some specs (via Nokishita):

  • Shortest shooting distance: 0.25 m
  • Maximum magnification: 1: 6.4
  • Filter diameter: 52 mm
  • Size: φ 62.0 × 74.5 mm
  • Weight: 393 g
  • Overseas price: 1299 dollars, 1299 euros, 1189 pounds
  • It will cost $1,299 and preorders will be open on February 14

 

Share

Sony Europe drops the price on the A7, A7II, A7sII and A7rII

Share

The Sony Europe cachback is over and instead we got new permanent price drops:

Around 100 Euro off on the Sony A7 at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
Around 100 Euro off on the Sony A7II at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
Around 100 Euro off on the Sony A7rII at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
Around 100 Euro off on the Sony A7sII at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

Reminder: The past weeks we launched two special deals ofr our SAR readers:

1) We partnered with Phase One and we can now offer a 10% discount on Capture One 11 (Click here) and Capture One 11 for Sony (Click here). Use the coupon code “AMBSAR“.

2) You have the chance to win a new 24-105mm FE lens (read the article here).

Share

Sony Tidbits…

Share


Sony A7RIII eye autofocus with Sigma Art series lenses. Is it as good as the Metabones?

Trey Ratcliff switches from Hasselblad back to Sony…(Stuckincustoms).
LanParte RF Remote For Sony Cameras (Lenstip).
YI Horizon VR180 Camera from YI Technologies (Personal View).
Announcement: Peak Design Updates its Camera Straps and Clips (Explora).
Samyang 135mm F2 (Marc Alhadeff).

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

Darrell:Wanted to point out that a number of us have found our samples of the Sony FE 24-105 G exhibit focus shift which results in consistent focus errors with the lens. It is a great zoom, but this is rendering the lens unusable for the copies exhibiting focus shift.
You can see a bunch of documentation of the problem at in a couple of threads over at Fredmiranda.com in the Sony Forum (take a look at this thread, this particular page http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1517297/31. Earlier in the thread are some other examples with photos documenting focus shift).
In brief, my testing on the A7RIII showed the following behavior and resulting AF errors… similar errors were exhibited at other focal lengths but it seems worst at the long end at 105mm.

In AF-S, the A7RIII and FE 24-105 G focus wide open at f/4, then stop down to working aperture at time of exposure. Shots at f/4 are consistently in focus, and get progressively worse at f/5.6 and f/8. This is independent of live view settings (On or Off).
In AF-C, the same combination focuses just fine with live view settings on, as the lens is stopped down to working aperture (though it doesn’t seem to stop down to working apertures smaller than f/8 or so until the actual exposure is taken, so perhaps there could be focus shift errors after f/8).
In MF, with live view settings Off, the aperture stays wide open and you get focus shift errors as you stop down the working aperture. With live view settings ON, the aperture stops down to working aperture and you get sharp, in focus images as long as you refocus after each aperture change.
The focus shift has been confirmed by several others (by manually focusing, then stopping down to working apertures below f/4). Others have confirmed their copies don’t exhibit this behavior, so strangely, it seems the focus shift is copy dependent.
It would be useful to confirm if this is as common a problem as it seems to be based on the first cohort of buyers on Fredmiranda.com.
I’ll be returning my lens instead of waiting to see if it is something Sony can address via firmware.

 

Join the new Sony Alpha Camera Facebook group.
To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
I kindly invite you all to follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

Share

The super deal I missed to highlight: $500 off and free extras on the A7II

Share

On Sunday Sony launched the big new savings. But I missed to highlight what’s probably the best deal of all of them:

The Sony A7II with free extras for $1,098 at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and Focuscamera. It’s highly likely the new A7III will be announced this spring but expect the price to be close to the $2,000 mark. The A7II for $1,098 is a steal if you don’t need the larger battery coming with the A7III and the new A9 alike autofocus system.

Big new Sony US deals today:

1) up to $900 off on Sony camera sand lenses. See full special page at BHphoto, Adorama, Buydig.
2) Up to $500 trade-in bonus to buy a Sony cameras. See special page at BHphoto, Adorama, Buydig, FocusCamera.

In detail:

Sony Cameras:
$500 off on the Sony A7rII at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$200 off on the Sony A7sII with free extras at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$500 off on the Sony A7II at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$200 off on the Sony A7 at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and FocusCamera.
$200 off on the Sony A6500 at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$100 off on the Sony 6300 at Buydig, Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$50 off on the Sony 6000 at Buydig, Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$50 off on the Sony 5100 at Buydig, Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$250 off on the A6000 dual kit at Buydig, Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and Focuscamera.
FF E-mount lenses:
$100 off on the 12-24mm f/4.0 lens at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Focus and Amazon.
$100 off on the 16-35mm f/4.0 Zeiss lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$100 off on the 24-70mm f/4.0 Zeiss lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$100 off on the 24-240mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the Sony 28mm FE lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$25 off on the Sony 28-70mm FE lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$100 off on the 28-135mm PZ lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto
$100 off on the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$100 off on the Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the Zeiss 5omm f/1.4 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$50 off on the Sony 50mm FE f/1.8 lens at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, Focuscamera.
$50 off on the Sony 50mm macro at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
$100 off on the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the Sony 85mm f/1.8 FE at Buydig, BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama and Focuscamera.
$100 off on the 70-200mm f/4.0 G lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 70-300mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 90mm macro lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$50 off on the Sony Fisheye Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$50 off on the Sony Ultra-Wide Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
APS-C E-mount lenses:
$100 off on the 10-18mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the 16-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 16-70mm Zeiss lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
$50 off on the 18-105mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the Sony E PZ 18-110mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto
$100 off on the 18-200mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 18-200mm PZ lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the 20mm f/2.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the Sony 30mm macro at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the 35mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the 50mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Accessories:
$50 off on the LA-EA3 A-mount adapter at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the LA-EA3 A-mount adapter at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the HVL-F43M at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$100 off on the HVL-F60M at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the Sony VGC1EM Vertical Grip at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the Sony VGC2EM Vertical Grip at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the Sony VGC3EM Vertical Grip at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the Sony ECM-CG60 at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the Sony RX100 underwater housing at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.

Share

New patent: Sony says they can achieve “leap in image quality” with new organic sensor

Share

We found a brand new published Sony patent describing a sensor that has two interesting features:

1) It’s a sort of Foveon alike sensor with R-G-B pixels stacked vertically. This allows every pixel to capture the full color information. At the same time the pixels can be larger compared to a classic RGB sensor.

2) The sensor uses organic material.

Classic RGB sensor getting more and more “stressed” by the pixel size reduction. But this kind of patented sensor is one way out to achieve much higher resolution and color fidelity. Within the patent description Sony uses impressive words: (google translated from japanese):

“the inventor succeeds in improving image quality and reliability by leaps and bounds to a surprising thing, and came to complete this technology.”

With patents you never know how much you have to wait to see these kind of sensors on mass produced Sony cameras. Still, what’s unusual with Sony patents is that they actually shared some pics of the sensor:

Those pics may be a sign that Sony’s new sensor may not just be a distant dream…

Share