The new Sony RX100VA is in Stock for the first time in the USA via Adorama and BHphoto

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The new RX100VA is in Stock at Adorama and BHphoto.

Preorders:
Voigtlander 110mm FE lens at BHphoto and Adorama.
Tamron 28-75mm FE lens at BHphoto, Amazon, BuyDig, FocusCamera and Adorama. In Europe at Amazon DE and WexUK.
Sony A7III in USA at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, BestBuy, FocusCamera, BuyDig.
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 for $1,599 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 105mm f/1.4 for $1,599 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for $1,399 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.

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Canon and Nikon competition: What Sony has to do to beat them…

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The market share in the system camera market (2017)

This is a perfect time for Sony to think about their future 5 year strategy within the camera business. And let’s start with a negative note:

Sony was the only Full Frame mirrorless system (except the expensive Leica system) in the market. But even with that unique distinctive character Sony did not manager to get much closer to Canon and Nikon in terms of market share. In Japan it’s Canon that is leading the mirrorless market (big surprise). And worldwide Canon has 49%, Nikon 25% and Sony only the 13% of the system camera share.

Now that the distinctive “mirrorless” advantage argument is gone Sony has to move on and lead on other aspects. I am summing up some of the ideas I got from SAR readers comments:

Be always one year ahead with sensor tech
Sony has to take fill advantage of their class leading sensor development. It means that as soon as a new sensor is available they should release a camera with it.

Fix the usual quirks
Internet is a bitch. If you claim to have a weather sealed camera and in fact it’s not…it quickly gets debunked and you get embarrassed. I understand no camera is 100% weather sealed but at least be on par with the competition. Also other issue like star eating have to be fixed ASAP.
Improve menu, ergonomics based on photographers feedback and don’t be afraid to make a major revolution (see Hasselblads X1D cool menu).
And don’t cripple on features: Touchscreen should not have just basic functions, if you use two SD slot don’t cripple the speed on one of the two slot. It simply makes you look “cheap”.

Think Social (APP store)
Older people tend to stick with the classic Nikon and Canon brand. Better to focus on the new social generation. Please let the cameras have a built-in APP store. Let people give a chance to be creative with your camera by developing special filters app and so on. It also would allow to have a ton of practical features. Example: On the fly image backup on google drive.
Hardware should be social too: This means selfie screen on all cameras!

Product diversification
I understand that you save costs by having the same body design on all A7-A9 series cameras. But I think it’s time to give people a palette of choice. Fuji does it: They offer rangefinder styled camera, classic and more modern designed cameras. It would love to have a [shoplink 23713 ebay]Zeiss Ikon digital E-mount camera[/shoplink]! I know this wouldn’t sell much but it would attract some attention and maybe bring other people on board that otherwise wouldn’t join.

Convince Olympus-Panasonic-Pentax to join E-mount
Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax are struggling with their systems. Invite them to join E-mount. This would lead to new innovation and diversification. I would love that to happen!

More products and more announcements
Create constant interest on E-mount. Like Fuji you should have an announcement nearly every month (products or major firmware update). Also create teaser for it to attract interest!

Do SAR readers have more ideas to share in our comment system?

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Sony FE 70-200mm GM review at Opticalllimits: “is an impressive piece of equipment”

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Opticallimits (former Photozone) tested the Sony FE 70-200mm GM. The conclusion:

The Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS is an impressive piece of equipment. The broader center-zone is especially outstanding when keeping in mind that the lens has been tested on a 42mp sensor. The far corners could be better at 70mm f/2.8 and 200mm f/2.8 but that’s usually not an issue in real life. Lateral CAs are low. Image distortions as well as vignetting are well auto-corrected. The native distortion characteristic is somewhat worse compared to what we’ve seen with similar DSLR lenses though. The quality of the bokeh is pretty nice for a lens in this class. The amount of bokeh fringing is about average.

The build quality is perfectly aligned to professional standards. It feels super-sturdy and the weather sealing certainly helps when the going gets tough outdoors. Sony also paid attention to details such as a retractable window in the lens hood for using a polarizer and a bunch of focus stop buttons. The built-in image stabilizer is good enough for about 3 f-stops. If there’s one aspect that didn’t really convince us, it’s the auto-focus. Things may be different on the A9 but on the A7R II, the speed wasn’t all that great (compared to DSLR lenses) and we even experienced a few bugs which we haven’t seen in other Sony lenses so far.

If you want to achieve shallow depth-of-field with a zoom lens, the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS is certainly a go-to lens in the Sony system – albeit a pricey one.

Sony 70-200mm GM lens at [shopcountry 70053].

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Sony Tidbits…

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Sony 2x and 1.4x Teleconverters – How Good Are They!

Silkypix added support for the new Sony RX100VA
Sigma 105mm f1.4 Art review so far (CameraLabs).
Sony RX100 VI Review (Photographyblog).
5 Pieces of Lighting Equipment to Bring on your Next Adventure (Explora).
Canon nFD 50 f1.4 – Maybe the best bang for your buck (Theweekendlens).

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

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

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The new Nikon mount teaser: Why the 43.8×32.9mm sensor size makes little sense

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Nikon image teaser compared with Sony E-mount (Thanks Jmar – see video here).

Now, before I argue why this sensor makes little sense and people start to scream how fanboy I am I will say this:

1) I am happy Nikon and Canon will join the mirrorless world. This will finally put some pressure on Sony.
2) Nikon and Canon new mirrorless offering will likely be better than Sony cameras when it comes to ergonomic, menu, weather sealing and other important aspects Sony has still to catch up with.

I know there is a lot of people saying the larger mount will help to improve the IQ of fast lenses. Something we have to see and test to see if it’s true. And even if it’s true I doubt people will join the system to buy very expensive f/0.9 lenses…

Nikon says this is a Full Frame sensor camera. But it is also speculated on the web that Nikon did adopt a 65mm mount size diameter in order to eventually fit the larger 43.8×32.9mm sensor. And this (rumor) makes little sense to me:

1) This sensor is only 1.5 larger in terms of area over Full Frame. But the production costs are much higher.
2) In no way this sensor seems to be visibly better than the best Full Frame sensors (Check DxOmark scores or anythe Dpreview X1D review conclusion)
3) Lenses are really much heavier, costlier to produce and slower.
4) The medium format sensor market is totally dominated by Sony. There is no competition here and few sensor to choose from. All of them will be used by all manufacturers. Unless Nikon found a way to get sensors from somewhere else (Towerjazz?)

That said I will repeat myself once more: I hope that if Sony will ever join the medium format world they will go for the larger 54x40mm sensor. It would become a mirrorles system for ultimate quality. Something no other manufacturer could ever match.

P.s.: Canon where are you?

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Good news from the Sony Q1 financial report: 6% sales increase and 2% forecast increase in the Imaging segment

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Sony publsihed their Q1 financial report including the Q2 forecast. And there are only good news to report within the Imaging Segment:

  1. Sales and Operating income increased.
  2. The forecast for the whole year has been revised upwards

Sony writes:

FY18 Q1 sales increased 6% year-on-year to 164.2 billion yen and operating income increased 2.9 billion yen to 26.1 billion yen. The increase in sales and operating income was primarily due to an increase in sales of high value-added products, primarily interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras and lenses themselves. The FY18 forecast was revised upward to 670 billion yen for sales and 78 billion yen for operating income primarily due to the revision in foreign exchange rate assumptions.
On June 28, we announced the world’s lightest, large aperture super-telephoto lens with a 400 mm focal length and maximum large aperture of F2.8, which is designed for the 35 mm format. Aside from the high-quality images that this G master lens can render, its light weight and maneuverability meets the high-level demands of professional photographers not only when shooting sports and the news, but also when capturing wildlife. Once we start selling this product, we will have 29 full-frame interchangeable E-mount lenses. We will continue to expand our lens lineup in order to meet the diverse needs of professionals, and we will work to solidify our position in the full-frame mirrorless camera market.

via Sony.net

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