I got a rumor from a source saying that the new Batis 18mm lens is scheduled to ship in May. It’s likely the lens will be announced this week on April 14.
Still even if the rumor is correct I wonder how Zeiss will manage to ship the lens that quickly. They still struggle to make enough of the current two lenses. They are out of Stock in most stores:
Batis 85mm in Stock status at [shopcountry 45791].
Batis 25mm in Stock status at [shopcountry 45790].
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Stay tuned on SAR and subscribe the newsletter to get info when it matters:
If you have some “rumor” to share just send me an anonymous messages here: at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com or use the contact form you see on the right top of this site.
Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor): SR1=probably fake rumor SR2=rumor from unknown sources SR3=50% chance it is correct SR4=rumor from known sources SR5=almost certainly correct!
Sony GM 85mm f1/4 FE Focus Noise: AF-S, Manual, AF-C not touching button
Owners of the 85mm GM lens reported about a strange autofocus noise issue (Read reports at SonyAlphaForum, Fredmiranda and Dpreview). In at least a few cases this seems to have caused some scratches inside the lens. This is a picture from Enrico Heller:
It’s always good to get a comparison to get a real feeling of how bad this is. So look at that video from Chris Peterson where he compares the Sony 85mm GM vs Sigma 50mm Art
Roger Cicala posted that useful information at Dpreview:
OK, this is preliminary, but it’s what I have at the moment and all I’ll have until we can tear one down which won’t be until tomorrow probably.
1: All (40) of them make a noise when focusing if you listen. Some are louder than others. I think it’s Piezo motor noise but I can see where some people consider that a scraping sound. 2: Most (over half) have some markings in the inner barrel when you retract the focusing element all the way toward the mount. These vary in location around the lens and whether they are full length of the barrel or simply part way. To me it looks like lube, but it could also be scrapings in the plastic (I don’t think that inner barrel is metal). 2a: In those where the barrel marks only go part way I listened carefully to focus noise throughout the full range. There was no difference. There was also no difference in noise in lenses with, or without, markings on the inner barrel. So again, I don’t think the noise is from scraping, I think it’s from the motor. But, hey, I’m wrong sometimes. 3: I have not seen any lube streaks on inner elements, but that’s fairly common in many lenses so I suspect reports of those are real. 4: Like every wide aperture 85mm I’ve ever seen, all of these have some specs of dust inside if you look with a bright enough light. The glass in an 85 wise aperture really magnifies dust. I don’t see this as any different than what I see in new Canon, Nikon, or Zeiss lenses. Yes, I’m sure your whatever is dust free — if that’s the case I’ve just got brighter lights than you. 5: Just looking I don’t see any dust particles that look like they reflect light like metal shavings would. And again, pending disassembly, the inner barrel doesn’t look like metal to me. 6: I did take one, and only one, lens and focused it back and forth 500 times. I didn’t note a change in noise. That doesn’t mean it might not happen, just didn’t happen on the one I did. And no, I’ve got more to do than another 500 focuses.
Quite a few readers sent back their lens to Sony. But they still did not get any answer from Sony Service (it’s normal as they need some time to evaluate this). Note that this happens with the 85mm GM lens only. The 24-70mm GM lens has no issue at all.
Sharpest 85mm legacy lens (SonyAlphaForum).
Ausprobiert: Sony RX1R II im praktischen Einsatz (Photoscala).
Sony Low Cost Security Sensor for Less than $3 (Image Sensor World).
The 70-200mm f/4 Comparison (Lensrentals).
Cheap and Affordable Lenses- Why they are NECESSARY for photographers by Jason Lanier FE 16-35mm review at Spuelbeck.net.
Nikon 50 vs Zeiss and Sony and D5 (Jorge Torralba).
Ankur: “Hello. Here’s a film I shot on Sony RX100 IV…. https://youtu.be/ToGLnuvZWic Would be glad if you include it in your weekly Sony showcase”
The grey imported Zeiss 55mm FE lens sells for $699 on [shoplink 46724 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink]. There is a 1 year US seller warranty on it.
The image above from photographer Firat Bagdu is the first image you see that is shot with the upcoming new Meyer Optik Görlitz prime lens with native Sony mount (not clear if A or E). The lens will be announced on April 14 at 11am London time (yeah same time as the Zeiss announcement!).
The lens is a mid range prime with “near-macro” capability. The look of the lens is historic but the internal lens design is new. This will be Meyer’s most technologically advanced lens. I have been told the specs are the same of one of their historic lenses. You take the guess which one it could be:
[shoplink 46792 ebay]Primoplan 25mm f/1.9[/shoplink]
[shoplink 46793 ebay]Lydith 30mm f/3.5[/shoplink]
[shoplink 46789 ebay]Primagon 35mm f/4.5[/shoplink]
[shoplink 46791 ebay]Trioplan 50mm f/2.5[/shoplink]
[shoplink 46791 ebay]Primoplan 58mm f/1.9[/shoplink]
[shoplink 46790 ebay]Telefogar 90mm f/4.5[/shoplink]
P.S.: The lens will also be available for Canon-Nikon-MFT-Fuji-Leica mount…
