Sony has second worse JPG quality according to TCSTV grouptest

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The folks over at TheCameraStoreTV posted their Great JPEG Shootout. They tested the Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, iPhone, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic cameras and found that Sony was the third worse after Pentax and the iPhone. Chris said the Sony colors are very natural but this is at the same time the downside as it doesn’t look “pleasing”.

 

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First A99II unboxing video and SAR readers tests

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The A99Ii is now shipping in Europe and above you can watch on of the first A99II unboxing videos. And an reader who prefers to remain anonymous sent me this:

“I just received my A99II this week. A wonderful piece of hardware so far !
The only disappointment is that I intend to use it mostly for wildlife photography with my Tamron 150-600G1 (A011 Version) and apparently this lens only supports the hybrid detection AF system and not both it and the focal plane phase detection AF module, meaning that I can only use the 79 Hybrid Phase Detection AF Points…
In the menu => Camera Settings1 => AF System => Auto / or Ddc Phase AF Only, when choosing „Auto“ on the Tamron 150-600, only the 79 AF Points of the dedicated phase detection AF sensor are usable.
I guess (hopefully) the G2 version will be able to use both sensors…”

Lars also got his A99II and writes:

“Well, I got my A99II today and I tried some of the AF modes:

  1. Hybrid phase detect AF works only with Sony lenses (the compatibility list was postet a few days ago). The Sony Zeiss 135mm/f1.8 works like a beauty and so does the Sony 500mm f4 with some real fast AF. For these lenses you can do the AF micro adjust for the center and for each corner. Comes in Handy, when you set your focuspoint into a corner.
  2. Minolta and all 3’rd party lenses I tested work only with the 79 phase detection AF of the dedicate phase detection sensor. Autofocus is quite fast even with an old Minolta 200mm/f2.8 or 600mm/f4. AF micro adjust works here only for the center. It is disappointing, that 3’rd party glass (even new ones) are not supported by the hybrid phase detect AF.
  3. Eye AF, center lock-on AF and Lock-on AF works so far with all AF-lenses I tested. Minolta and 3’rd party only within the above restriction (see 2.).”

Sony A99II preorders at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. PhotoPorst, Calumet Germany and WexUK.

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Sony Tidbits…

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Switching to the Sony A7R Mark II with Matt Kloskowski

Samyang 50mm F1.4 AF Lens Review (John Sison).
Shooting tethered using Sony’s Remote Camera Control software (Marc Galer).
2016 Roundup: $1200-2000 ILCs part 1 – Crop-Sensor (Dpreview).
How Low-Light Cameras Are Changing Television (Shutterstock).
Sony adds 4k to its brc series ptz camera lineup (Sony Blog).
Sony VS Canon: 24-70mm f2.8 Lens BATTLE ft. G Master (Jason Vong).
Announcing: Limited Edition Freddie Wong Vibrant Green ACE L System (Explora).

To write a guest post on SAR follow the instruction on that page.

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For 4K shooters and Megapixel freaks: Seagate releases highest capacity portable hard drive yet (5TB!)

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5tb

If you shoot a lot of 4K and High Res images you might be interested in this new toy: Seagate launched the worldwide highest capactity portable drive. You can preorder it now at Bhphoto (Click here). Seagate writes:

Consumers are creating more higher-resolution and higher volumes of content than ever before. From action cam enthusiasts to selfie lovers to doting parents who capture every milestone moment on their 4K smartphones, the need for even more space to store photos, movies, music and content—and take it on the go—is growing. While data storage demands are ever-increasing, so is the need to organize, centralize and back up that data.
With today’s launch of the Backup Plus Portable 5TB drive—the largest capacity mobile drive on the market—Seagate is helping its customers better manage their massive deluge of data. This new storage solution is made possible thanks to Seagate’s new BarraCuda internal drive, featuring its breakthrough 2.5-inch 1TB platter technology announced last month. The Backup Plus 5TB drive will be the first device to ship with the new BarraCuda 5TB drive and offers:

  • Unparalleled capacity for its size
  • Customizable backup options with Seagate Dashboard software for easy local, mobile, cloud and social media backup
  • Use on both PC and Mac® computers by installing the NTFS driver for Mac
  • Quick file transfers with USB 3.0 connectivity
  • Sleek 20.5mm form factor with aluminum cover making the drive as durable as it is efficient

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One more info:

Amazon US (Click here) has two Fotoasy adapters on Gold Box today:

fotoasy

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(SR4) More confirmations about larger FF E-mount cameras with dual card slot (pricing above A7rII)

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SonyA7rII
Image above shows the current A7rII

Back in Spring a first highly trusted source confirmed that Sony is working on a new High End E-mount camera that would have: New larger body, dual XQD card slot and unlimited RAW burst. He also said the camera would be placed above the current A7 line.

Well last week another trusted source confirmed this: Larger E-mount camera with dual card slots will be launched in 2017. But he added one more info: Sony did not confirm him if the camera would be named A9. What Sony did tell him is that Sony will keep selling the A7rII and the new camera will be priced above it. The source told me that while he is really not sure about it…he got the feeling the camera could also be named A7r mark III and not A9. Even if the A7r mark III will have a higher price tag and new larger body design they may stick to the A7 naming.

To me it sounds like it would make more sense to differentiate the portfolio: The A7 series should be for entry level models and the A9 series for the high end pro photographers. What do you think?

So what are your thoughts on this?

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Join the A9 group on Facebook (it will be renamed A7rIII if the camera turns out to have that name).

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Sony Tidbits…

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Fuji X-T2 vs A6300 Dynamic Range F-Log VS S-log 2 & 3

Samyang 135 F2 – Review (Andreas Elste).
Sony 50mm FE macro lens review by Phillip Reeve.
Sony RX100M5 vs RX100M4 — In Depth Review and Comparison (iPhonedo on Youtube).
Sony vs Canon 70-200mm f/4.0 test by DSphotoblog.
Video with the Sony A7 + Zeiss Batis 25mm and Sennheiser MKE 600 (Hikeventures).
Fuji XT2 vs. Fullframe (DSphotoblog).
Sony 50 1.8 Real World Test (Hunter Press on Youtube).
Hands-On Review: 3 Legged Thing Equinox Tripods (Explora).

To write a guest post on SAR follow the instruction on that page.

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