News one:
Glas glas and again more glas! That’s the new 75mm f/1,25 lens announced by Leica. You could actually mount this beast on your E-mount camera too using one of the many available adapters. But first you have to rob a bank to pay the 11.900€ needed to preorder this beast. I wish one day Sony will find the time to make some “exotic” lens like Leica does. a 85mm f/1.2 or 50mm f/1.2 would be on top of my wishlist.
More info on the Leica at Mirrorlessrumors

News two:
Casey Neistat is testing a new Panasonic GH5s camera. This is basically Panasonic answer to the Sony A7s line. No specs are known but it will use a new video and low light optimized sensor fitted inside the current GH5 body. The good news is that this will put even more pressure on Sony and hopefully they will announce the A7sIII soon.
More info at 43rumors

Today only: $700 off on the G-Technology 16 Terabyte disk at BHphoto. Should be good to store some zillions of pictures :)

And Gold Box on the Meike 35mm f/1.7 E-mount lens at Amazon.

A SAR reader sent me this screenshot which shows that Capture One PRO 11 is about to be released. Hopefully they will add Pixel Shift support for the A7rIII?

And Macphun released a new update for Luminar 2018 (buy it here and use “SAR” code at checkout to get $10 off).

Luminar 2018 version 1.0.1 for MAC:
Fixed crash on saving to .PSD format
Fixed bug when Adobe Photoshop Elements is unavailable.
Fixed bug with Luminosity Mask preview on filter
Fixed “Image Cannot be saved” issue with Adobe Lightroom
Fixed RAW Develop\Develop issue when converting Panasonic files
Added support for more Adobe Photoshop plugins, including Topaz Labs plugins
Improved RAW processing on opening file
Improved Windows preset preview
Improved accuracy of the filter collapse/expand triangle control
Improved application and Batch processing UI
Fixed RAW Develop/Develop issue with DNG files
Plus other performance improvements and fixes to the reported issues.

Luminar 2018 version 1.0.1 for Windows:
Workspaces
Luminosity Mask
Image Resize & Sharpen on Export
Improved Hotkeys support
Improved RAW opening & processing
RAW support for more cameras, including Nikon D850
Fixed bug when launching Photoshop with a blank image
PLUS; Improved performance and fixes for a number of reported bugs, including the fixed issue with LowRes image preview on layers with masks; Fixed progress bar for opening images.

This special Photographer’s projects Collection contains the most popular products of the FRANZIS projects software series: sharpening, denoising, HDR and retouching – now only available for selected newsletter subscriber SAR readers, limited to 300 download packages. Get this $276 value package for $29.00 only if you preorder through this link (Click here). Full info about the single packages can be read here: projects-software.com

LCE Camera Show Lighting and Portraits with Sony A9

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Mark IV Review (ePhotozine).
How to Create Your Own Portrait Light without Breaking the Budget (Explora).
Video clip by Sony UHC-8300 8K System Camera for 8K HDR pictures (behind the scenes)
TCSTV Live: Mirrorless Photojournalism and Sports with Rob Galbraith
Gudsen Moza Air Gimbal (Personal View).

Maarten: “To show what the RX10IV can do in HFR mode: here is a video showing all HFR modes from 100FPS, 250FPS, to 500FPS and 1000FPS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxsKSK4bvyA
For more details on shooting HFR (High Frame Rate) slow motion with the RX10IV: here is a post explaining the big differences in shooting with the different modes, it includes videos and frame-grab examples to show the quality differences.
http://www.maartentoner.net/filmmaking/summer-in-october-hfr-with-the-rx10iv/”

We have our own Facebook camera groups and pages you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony A9 group and Sony A9 page.
Sony A7rIII group and Sony A7rIII page
Sony A7sIII group and Sony A7sIII page
Sony A7III group and Sony A7III page
Note: In groups you can post your own stuff like images, news and questions. While on pages you will read the specific camera news from SAR.

The Sony medium format sensor roadmap

Two SAR readers had a chat with Sony managers at Salon De La Photo in Paris

R. told me this:

“I don’t have a big news for you, but just a feeling. I talk a lot with a Sony product chef, about the possibility to Sony to lunch a medium format camera.
She told me that it’s a question of time, and Sony will certainly lunch a medium format one day. And the most interesting thing is, that she think it will be with the RX1 form factor.”

M. told me this:

I heard yesterday on the sony stage at “salon de la photo” in paris that Sony employees were reading your blog for two reasons :
– 1 to know the news before they are officially told
– 2 check the opinion about sony product. For example i have been told that the star eater petition has been taken much more seriously on your site than anywhere else.

Of course this is just general chatter. But it’s always interesting to see what Sony managers to talk about on shows.

My short comment on this:

First: I hope it’s true that we might have a small influence on Sony. Let’s see if they will fix the star eater issues.
Second: I wonder if someone would spend $5,000+ on a fixed lens RX MF camera…

Today Sony announced a new line of fats CFast cards. If there ever will be a larger A9r E-mount camera it might use these kind of cards as well:

Sony completes Pro memory card line-up with new CFast range
Ultra-fast G Series CFast memory cards with up to 510MB/s write speed for photographers and videographers

(ASIA PACIFIC, 28 November 2017) – Sony today announced the launch of a range of high performance CFast memory cards designed to meet the needs of professional photographers and videographers. The new G Series CFast responds to the ever increasing capabilities of high-end DSLR and 4K cinema-grade broadcast cameras, offering lightning-fast write speeds of up to 510MB/s and read speeds of up to 530MB/s1. Joining an established range that includes Professional internal SSDs, XQD and SxS cards, as well as the world’s fastest SD card2, the new CFast models strengthen Sony’s position as a leader in professional memory solutions.
Step up to industry-leading write speeds

Professional photographers demand faster speed for continuous burst shooting of higher resolution images like RAW. With up to 510MB/s write speed, far outperforming the capabilities of existing CFast cards, G Series supports high-speed burst shooting of high resolution RAW, maximizing the capability of high-end DSLR cameras like the Canon 1DX Mark 2.
Reliable 4K video recording with VPG130 support

As well as ultra-fast write speed, the new CFast cards support VPG1303 for reliable recording of Cinema-grade or high-bitrate 4K video. A minimum sustained write speed of 130MB/s is guaranteed, making the new media ideal for stable recording of professional grade 4K video such as Cinema RAW light mode with Canon C200 video cameras.
Super-fast read speed for ultra-effective workflow

Efficient workflow is essential for professional photographers and videographers working in challenging environments to tight deadlines. With a blazing fast read speed of 530MB/s, G Series CFast dramatically reduces the time it takes to transfer RAW files, long 4K video footage and high-resolution images to a PC.
Designed for strength and reliability

The new CFast cards have passed a variety of stringent drop, vibration, shock and rigidity tests, making them perfect for shooting in many different locations. They work reliably across a wide range of temperatures and are highly resistant to static. With a hard case and Sony File Rescue software4 included for recovering accidentally deleted photos such as RAW images and videos, professionals can shoot with confidence in the toughest conditions.

The new G Series CFast 2.0 memory cards will be available in 32GB (CAT-G32), 64GB (CAT- G64) and 128GB (CAT-G128) capacities in selected Asia Pacific countries in the 1st quarter of 2018. Please check with the authorized dealers for pricing and availability.

For more information on Sony’s CFast card, please visit www.sony-asia.com/b2b