Sony Tidbits…

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How we made a Video out of a series of pictures shot by SONY A9?

10 Great Tips for Shipping Your Valuable Camera Equipment (Explora).
Inside the black market for Instagram verification (Mashable).
In praise of the Voigtlander 65/2 apo lanthar (Dpreview Forum).
Nikon keeps all options open: Patents 24mm f/1.8 for new FF and new APS-C mirrorless system camera (Nikoneye).
Rotolight NEO 2 LED combines the best of both continuous and strobe lighting (Newsshooter).

Christoph: “Andreas Altendorfer and I produced the music video https://youtu.be/p4atyReF2Lw called “Breaking Bad” by the band “Elephants in Paradise”.
 All recordings were filmed with a Sony A7sII and Zeiss Loxia 21mm f2.8, Zeiss Loxia 35mm f2, Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2, Sony FE 90mm f2.8 Macro. We used an Atomos Ninja Flame to record the S-LOG 2 files in ProRes. For camera movements we used a CAME-TV Argo Gimbal and a Manfrotto Slider. We illuminated the scenes with 3 Litepanels Astra Bi-Color and 1 Litepanels Sola 6 Daylight LED Fresnel.
 It was my first production with this equipment. I was particularly enthusiastic about the A7sii in dark situations, where you can work with little extra light and an open aperture. For bright situations in the sunlight, I would prefer an e-mount adapter with an electronic ND filter, like the one built in on the FS5 or FS7ii, with the same functionality (Auto ND), from Sony. Andrea, please put in a good word to Sony for this! 😊
 I love the Zeiss Loxia lenses, especially the 35mm. The picture quality is simply super and the handiness is an advantage in many cases. For example, to balance the camera on the gimbal or when filming out of your hand. However, this advantage is also the only disadvantage. The aperture ring is so narrow and the lettering so small that it is very difficult for the camera assistant to adjust from the side in low light conditions.
 The Atomos Ninja Flame Recorder was an indispensable tool for exposure and focusing. The ProRes files were free of compression artifacts and banding. (… to end heavily compressed on YouTube 😉) During the shooting I noticed that the Ninja Flame can record 1080p, 120, but the A7sii can only play beyond hdmi up to 1080p, 60. Workflow with SSD hard disks is simple and fast. Larger batteries are recommended.
 When it comes to light, the Sola 6 is my favorite, which I mostly used as the main light source because of the natural shadows. Most of the time I used the astras with a softbox. The lamps can also be operated with rechargeable batteries, which is pleasant for outdoor shots. (Of course, the setup will soon reach its limits in sunlight due to the light intensity.)
 It was a low budget production and all actors were amateur actors who made it for fun and free. I hope you will enjoy the video still or even because of that.
Best regards“
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.
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Now $70 off on the Sony SF-G 128GB card

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You now save $70 on the Sony SF-G 128GB card sold by FocusCamera (Click here). That’s a $70 saving compared to the original price and $50 less than the best Amazon price. And you save $20 on the 64Gb card version too.

Reminder: Preorder the new Aurora HDR which comes for both Mac and Windows at Macphun (Click here).

Trade-in deals:
Up to $500 trade-in credit for the Sony A9-A7 at Adorama, Bhphoto, FocusCamera and BuyDig.

New Camera savings:
$200 off and free extras on the A7rII at Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon.
$200 off on the A7sII at Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon.
$100 off on the A7II at Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon.
$100 off on the A7 at Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon.

New Lens and accessory savings:
$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.
$50 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.
$100 off on the 70-200mm 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.
$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 ECM-CG60 at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.
$50 off on the Sony RX100 underwater housing at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto.

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Sony Tidbits…

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Samyang 12mm f/2 NCS CS lens review with samples

8 Lessons Learned When I Photographed a Total Solar Eclipse (Explora).
A week in switzerland (SonyAlphaForum).
photographing parkour with the Sony a9 (Dpreview).
Sony 16-35mm GM test at SonyAlphaLab.
Phillip Reeve rolling review of the Voigtlander 65mm FE lens.
How to Piss Off a Photographer (Lok)

Join the new Sony Alpha Camera Facebook group.
To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
To write a guest post on SAR follow the instruction on that page
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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Pre-order now: Aurora HDR 2018 for both Windows and Mac Versions!

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You can finally preorder the new Aurora HDR which comes for both Mac and Windows at Macphun (Click here). This is the first time you get the software for windows too. A big step towards Adobe independency :)

Here is the press text:

About Aurora HDR:

Aurora HDR is not just a tool for merging bracketed images, it also provides numerous tools and countless options to create perfect HDR photos for every taste – from one-click presets and advanced tone-mapping, to layers, noise reduction and powerful luminosity masking controls.

Offer Availability:

Aurora HDR 2018 will be availabe for pre-order on September 12, and released on September 28.

Pre-Order Pricing:

  • Current users of Aurora HDR may upgrade at a special pre-order price of $49 ($59 MSRP)
  • New users can purchase Aurora HDR 2018 at a special pre-order price of $89 ($99 MSRP)
  • A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase.

Pre-Order Bonuses:

  • Trey Ratcliff Deep Dive video
  • Travel Photography Tutorial by Matt Granger
  • Source Brackets
  • 3-month Zenfolio Pro website, including a complementary design consultation. $60 value.

What’s new in Aurora HDR 2018:

  • Next-generation Tone Mapping – A new smart Tone Mapping algorithm automatically reduces noise, and produces more realistic and natural initial results.
  • Mac and Windows versions – Aurora HDR 2018 is available both for Mac and PC users, enabling mixed-computer households to share the same product key.
  • Lens Correction Tool* – The new Lens Correction filter easily fixes all kinds of lens distortion, from barrel and pincushion to chromatic aberration and vignetting.
  • Transform Tool* – Easily scale, rotate and shift your image to better fit your vision.
  • Dodge & Burn Filter – Selectively lighten or darken specific areas of an image to artfully direct your viewer’s eye towards the key subject of your image, similar to a traditional darkroom technique.
  • HDR Enhance Filter – Adds details and clarity to an image, adjusting colors, details and contrast without creating artificial halos or other problems.
  • User Interface – A new, modern and responsive user interface brings a powerful, yet  joyful experience to HDR photo editing.
  • History Panel – An easy-to-reference list of edits made to your image, the History panel allows you to click on any editing step to revert the photo to an earlier stage of editing.
  • Touch Bar support for Mac – Aurora HDR 2018 adds Touch Bar support to give new MacBook Pro users fast access to key editing features and speed up their workflow.
  • Image Flip and Rotate* – Perfect for correcting photos with incorrect horizons or making creative compositions or other stylistic changes to an image.
  • IMPROVED:  New Structure Algorithm – The re-developed Structure tool allows you to adjust detail and clarity of an image to get a classic HDR effect with great detail or a smoother effect with less details.
  • IMPROVED: RAW handling – An improved RAW conversion brings out more details in shadows/highlights, displays colors more accurately and reduces noise in RAW files.
  • IMPROVED: Crop tool update – Now specify custom crop sizes for even more versatility.
  • IMPROVED: Speed – Faster merging and masking performance, improvement in RAW image processing.

* Lens Correction and Transform tools, as well as image flip and rotate will be available in the Mac version at launch, and arrive in the PC version with the first free update in the beginning of October. Other tools and features that are currently available for Mac only would be added to PC version by the end of the year.

Preorder now at Macphun (Click here).

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