Dpreview says the A9 speed comes at the cost of over one stop dynamic range compared to the A7rIi

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Dpreview analyzed the dynamic range performance of the Sony a9 and concluded:

We suspect the higher readout speed is leading to greater noise. In other words, it appears this sensor was likely optimized for speed at the expense of low ISO dynamic range.
There is little to no difference in base ISO dynamic range in different drive modes. So the good news is that the drop to 12-bit in continuous drive comes at no cost. The bad news is that the 14-bit Raws aren’t any better than the 12-bit ones.

But it has to be noted that the “cost” is quite small. Still the article is interesting because it explains how to get the best quality out of the Sony A9:

This means that if you’re shooting in conditions demanding high ISO, for any given focal plane exposure you may wish to at least increase in-camera amplification to ISO 640 to get most tones above the noise floor, if your scene demands the extra amplification to get a usable image. Dropping below ISO 640 to preserve highlights, and then raising shadows afterwards, will come at a greater noise cost than, say, Sony’s own a7R II.
Interestingly, this means there’s little advantage to those large (47MB) uncompressed 14-bit Raw files, save for the lack of compression artifacts. In a perfect world, Sony would have offered a 12-bit Raw mode with a lossless compression curve (without that second stage of localized compression that leads to edge artifacts) for smaller file sizes with minimal loss in quality.

Overall, the A9 is a camera made for sports photographers and for those who seek speed. And 1 stop loss of dynamic range will hardly be noticeable or important to them. If Dynamic Range is what you need then buy the A7rII or have the patience to wait for the A7rIII :)

UPDATE: SteveGJ made an interesting comment on Dpreview findings:

There’s a lot of rubbish some people talk about 12 vs 14 bit RAW files. The fact is, by the time you get to about 800 ISO even the best FF cameras only have about 10 bits worth of dynamic range (at the pixel level) so 12 bits are ample as the bottom 2 will just be noise anyway. It will only be at very low ISOs where you might see some difference, and then only if the sensor has low read noise. Of course you get a bit more back when downsizing, but RAW files contain per-pixel data.
On an ISO-invariant sensor you lose one bit of resolution for every doubling of ISO speed anyway, so even 12 bits becomes irrelevant. Of course this camera is clearly not ISO invariant as it’s probably optimised for higher ISOs needed for action photography (the Canon & Nikon equivalents to the same), so it might be that the loss of (bit) resolution doesn’t follow that precise model, but it’s true in general.

Sony A9:
Sony A9 at BHphotoAdorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 with Grip Extension Kit at BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Note: US readers preordering the A9 at BHphoto or Adorama using our links (and our affiliated links only!) have a chance to win a Sony A9.

100-400mm GM:
Sony 100-400mm GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Calumet.de. Park UK. Wex UK. Jessops.

Sony A9 accessories:
Sony A9 battery grip at Adorama, Bhphoto, Amazon. Wex UK. Jessops.
Sony A9 Glass screen protector at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.
NP-FZ100 battery for the A9 at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Jessops.
GP-EX1 grip at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
FDA-EP18 eye cup at Adorama, BHphoto.
MQZ1 multi battery charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon. Wex UK.
BCQZ1 Z-series Battery Charger at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon.

Join our new Sony A9 Facebook group!

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Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM size comparison and unique new focus mechanism info

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image via CameraSize

This comparison shows the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 on the left (790g and $1,999), the new Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM in the center (680g and $2,199) and the Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 on the right (680g and $1,100). Note: there is no Nikon 16-35mm f/2.8 zoom.

The full specs, image samples and MTF graph of the new GM lens can be found at Sony.net. Helpful hands-on videos of this lens by Max Yuryev and Dan Watson.

A couple of interesting news about the lens:
– It is the first Sony lens with a new fly by wire mechanism. It allows reliable manual focusing! The info comes via Max Yuryev.
– Unusual for a wide angle zoom is that it has a 11-blade circular aperture which contributes to even greater bokeh quality
– The new GM lens weights only 160g more than the slower Zeiss 16-35mm f/4.0 lens. Good job Sony!

Preorders:
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 12-24mm f/4.0 at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.

Full specs and features of the lens can be read at sony.com/electronics/camera-lenses/sel1635gm/specifications#features

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Sony 16-35mm GM and 12-24mm G officially announced!

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Sony just announced the new 16-35mm GM and 12-24mm FE lenses. The full press text can be read on that page at SonyAlphaRumors. More info here:

Preorders:
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 12-24mm f/4.0 at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.

Official press pages:
16-35mm GM at Sony.net and 12-24mm at Sony.net.

Previews and Hands-on:
Techradar, Dpreview. CameraLabs (12-24mm). CameraLabs (16-35mm) Photorec. Imaging Resource (16-35mm). Imaging Resource (12-24mm). ThePhoBlographer (16-35mm). ThePhoBlographer (12-24mm).

Early curiosities and findings:
– New 16-35mm GM lens has a new fly by wire focus ring mechanism. Optimized for manual focusing!
– 12-24mm is surprisingly resistant to flare (unusual for such a wide angle zoom)
– 12-24mm lens weights half compared to the Sigma 12-24mm and Canon 11-24mm lens competition

Image samples:
16-35mm at Sony.net. Dan Watson. Dpreview.
12-24mm at Sony.net. Dan Watson. Dpreview.

Press text:
Photolari (Spanish). Photoscala (German).

Interview with Mark Weir:

Videos:

12-24 F4 Review by Max Yuryev:

16-35 2.8 GM Review by Max Yuryev:

Lens hands-on by Dan Watson:

Interview at BH:

MTF chart (Click on it to enlarge)

16-35mm:

12-24mm:

Product Images:

Poll:

What lens will you buy?

View Results

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Press text: Sony Introduces Two New Wide-Angle Full-Frame E-Mount Lenses

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Preorders:
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 12-24mm f/4.0 at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.

Sony Introduces Two New Wide-Angle Full-Frame E-Mount Lenses

New 16-35mm F2.8 GM Completes the E-mount F2.8 G Master “trinity”; 12-24mm F4 G covers widest angle among all full-frame E-mount lenses

SAN DIEGO, May 17, 2017 – Sony Electronics, a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has today announced two new additions to their growing lineup of full-frame E-mount lenses.

The new lenses include the FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM large aperture wide-angle zoom lens (model SEL1635GM) and the FE 12-24mm F4 G ultra wide-angle zoom lens (model SEL1224G). The FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens brings the incredible high-resolution and beautiful bokeh of Sony’s flagship G Master series to a wide 16-35mm focal length for exceptional landscapes, cityscapes, portraits and more, while the 12-24mm F4 G, Sony’s widest full-frame E-mount lens to date, offers a dynamic new perspective for all Sony E-mount shooters. In total, Sony’s full-frame E-mount lens lineup now covers from ultra-wide 12mm to super-telephoto 800mm (with teleconverter) focal length range.

New FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

The new FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM wide-angle zoom joins the acclaimed FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM and FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS to round out Sony’s lineup of F2.8 large aperture zoom lenses. Equipped with a variety of Sony’s most advanced lens technologies, it’s the first wide-angle G Master model, making it ideal for an extensive variety of shooting situations – landscapes, architecture, close up portraits, sports, action and much more. It’s also exceptionally lightweight and compact, maximizing portability and usability.

The new lens features exceptional corner-to-corner sharpness, with an optical design that includes five aspherical elements, two of which are Sony’s original XA (extreme aspherical) elements that reduce aberration and delivers the ultimate resolution throughout the entire zoom and aperture range. The front XA element on the FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM is the largest XA element ever produced, ensuring optimum quality. Additionally, two ED (Extra-low-Dispersion) glass elements keep chromatic aberration to a minimum while maximizing resolution, and Sony’s original Nano AR coating suppresses internal reflections to ensure excellent image contrast and clarity.

The lens features a near circular aperture shape at all settings, and the combination of the aforementioned XA element with its 11 blade aperture design produces images with sharply focused subjects and beautifully defocused backgrounds or “bokeh”. It also has two DDSSMs (Direct Drive SSM) that compose a floating focusing system and ensure that AF acquisition is speedy and quiet, making it an ideal choice for shooting still images as well as movies.
The FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM is also dust and moisture resistant1, has a fluorine coating on the front lens that helps to both prevent dust or grease marks and remove them easily if they do become a trouble. There’s also a customizable focus hold button and a hood release button.

New FE 12-24mm F4 G Ultra-Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

A uniquely designed ultra wide-angle zoom lens, the new FE 12-24mm F4 G lens produces outstanding image quality in a compact, lightweight design, weighing in at approximately 20 oz. Sony’s widest full-frame E-mount lens, it offers a dynamic perspective for landscape, architecture and interior photography, and is well-suited for both stills and video shooting.

The lens features an innovative optical design with four aspherical elements that ensure excellent corner to corner sharpness and resolution. Additionally, the lens has three ED glass elements and one Super ED glass element that minimize chromatic aberration throughout the entire image, and also includes Sony’s original Nano AR coating.

The new FE 12-24mm F4 G lens includes a DDSSM (Direct Drive SSM) for fast, quiet and precise AF performance, plus a customizable focus hold button and focus mode switch. It’s also dust and moisture resistant.

Pricing & Availability

The new FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens will ship this August and will be sold for about $2,200 US and $3,000 CA.

The new FE 12-24mm F4 G Ultra Wide-angle Zoom Lens will ship this July sold for about $1,700 US and $2,300 CA.

A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with these new lenses and other Sony α products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com (https://alphauniverse.com), Sony’s community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of the Sony α brand.

Content is also available at the global Sony Photo Gallery (https://www.sony.net/Products/di_photo-gallery/) and the Sony Camera Channel on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL06nPE7_lzPhzIhPzzmEIAA0YPWqR7KN). Detailed information pages within Sony.com for the new products can be found at:

(US) – FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM (http://www.sony.com/electronics/camera-lenses/sel1635gm)
(US) – FE 12-24mm F4 G (http://www.sony.com/electronics/camera-lenses/sel1224g)

 

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(SR5) 16-35mm GM and 12-24mm FE will be announced today!!! Stay tuned on SAR!

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16-35mm GM image via Techradar

UPDATE: The lenses got announced!

Preorders:
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.
Sony 12-24mm f/4.0 at Bhphoto, Adorama, BestBuy and Amazon. In EU at Calumet DE, WexUK, Jessops.

I just got a 100% proof of two new FE lenses that will be announced today at 5pm (17:00) London time. There will be two new lenses:

1) The long rumored 16-35mm f/2.8 GM. The filter thread is 82mm and the close focusing distance 0,28m. Price unknown but I guess it will be the same (or a bit pricier) than the 24-70mm GM.
2) And a 12-24mm f/4.0 FE lens will be announced too (Source: Chiphell.). It will be more “affordable” than the GM. A good news is that I have been told this lens has half the size of the Sigma 12-24mm lens!

UPDATE: Some info got leaked via Techradar:

Sony has followed a pattern of launching a new G-Master lens alongside a more affordable, lesser-specced lens that’s still an attractive option, and it’s the same story with its two latest wide-angle zooms.

Despite not having the best specs of Sony’s latest wide-angle lenses, the FE 12-24mm f/4 G offers a serious ultra-wide field of view, whereas Sony’s new 16-35mm f/2.8 GM lens is a little less extreme, but still ultra-wide.

The FE 12-24mm f/4 G is comprised of 17 elements including four aspherical, one super and three extra-low dispersion elements, and one piece of Super ED glass. These all work together to minimize chromatic aberration, flare and ghosting, and seven aperture blades should deliver smooth bokeh in out-of-focus areas.

The new Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM, meanwhile, promises to deliver some of the best image quality we’ve seen from a wide-angle zoom. Sony claims its latest G-Master lens offers better sharpness and smoother bokeh across the frame than the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L USM III.

This is thanks to the 16-35mm f/2.8 GM’s 16-element construction, the highlights of which are its two extreme aspherical elements, which have been cut to high degree of surface precision that’s uniform across the glass. What’s more, the lens includes an 11-bladed aperture that should produce luscious bokeh.

Other specs include a Nano AR Coating to reduce flare and ghosting, ED glass with multi-coating to minimize chromatic aberration, and two Direct Drive SSM (DDSSM) motors for silent, precision focusing.

If you’ve been waiting for a wide-zoom lens to complete your trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses, alongside the FE 24-70 f/2.8 GM and 70-200mm f/2.8 OSS, it’s finally here.

The Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G will be available this July for $1,700 (about £1,320, AU$2,290) while the FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM is set to release at the end of August and will retail for $2,200 (about £1,700, AU$2,970).

12-24mm FE lens via Techradar

 

Readers should really follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss any news!

Reminder: As reported in previous rumors the 135mm FE and possibly a new 400mm FE will be announced later this year (we hope to get the exact announcement date soon).

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Competition rumor: Canon FF mirrorless coming in September 2018 and has EF mount

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Canon 6D vs Sony A9 via CameraSize

If you were wondering when Canon will start to fight back Sony on the mirrorless front well the answer may surprises you:

First of all: As rumored before on CanonWatch Canon will stick to EF mount on their upcoming mirrorless cameras. This is a surprising conservative move. It will of course allow them to NOT have to launch a whole set of new lenses with a new mount. Probably by now Canon would have a hard time to catch up with the Sony FE lens system anyway.

Second: The first Canon Full Frame Mirroless EF mount camera is rumored to be launched in late 2018 only.

Really don’t know what to think about this….

via Mirrorlessrumors

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