Dpreview hands-on with the massive Mitakon 135mm f/1.4 E-mount lens!

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Bildschirmfoto 2015-12-10 um 11.26.18

The Mitakon 135mm f/1.4 FE lens is one of the kind of lenses you want to absolutely hold in your hands at least one time! And Dpreview had the lucky chance to test one:

The 135mm F1.4 is a massive piece of glass, and in its E-mount flavor, absolutely dwarfs Sony’s a7 bodies. With a 105mm thread, fully manual operation and a weight of over six pounds (about 2.7kg), it can be rather intimidating, and is near impossible to use hand-held. With the proper support in place though it isn’t difficult to use at all, and can reward patient use with dramatic, unique results.When viewing our samples, it’s worth bearing a couple of things in mind. Firstly, this lens is one-of-a-kind. Almost literally. So it has no direct competitors that we can shoot alongside. Also note what we said earlier – we were using an engineering prototype that was not cosmetically final, and may not be completely representative, optically, of the finished shipping lenses when they become available (although it’s likely to at least be extremely close).

Image samples can be seen here: dpreview.com/sample-galleries/8958190061/mitakon-speedmaster-135mm-f-1-4

Bildschirmfoto 2015-12-10 um 11.26.14

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Sony Tidbits…

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Sony FS5 vs Samsung NX1 in 4K and 1080p
from Tim Shoebridge on Vimeo.

Sony RX1r on Gold Box at Amazon Germany.
Canon new FD 2.8/35 Review by Phillip Reeve.
Great Yashica ML 28/2.8 shots on SonyAlphaForum.
Batis 25mm f/2 vs the Sony 28mm f/2 (iLoveHatePhoto).
Red river Cano Cristales, Colombia (SonyAlphaForum).
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens Review (SonyAlphaLab).
Sony A7R II Extensive Real World Review – Best Camera In The World? (Yannick Ciancianelli).

Matthias Kühle‎: I recorded this real time polar lights video with Sony Alpha 7s at ISO 25600 and more. This is a significantly compressed and resized version. For better quality watch it in HD at Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QFgxSillKE

Stan Moniz‎:https://youtu.be/Gd_hvvMBOh8 New video up now! A short film on water and light focusing on what the Sony A7rii can produce @120fps @720p in 35mm crop mode. Shot with AquaTech Elite a7 Series II water housing / Sony A7rii / Sony 28mm f2.0 and Hoya hd3 filter

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The Cameras of the year at BH by John R Harris.

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CameraofTheYear

On behalve of BH John R Harris selected the cameras of the year (full article here).

The A7rII got selected because:

“those who were clinging to their DSLRs until a “worthy” camera came along have been convinced to make the mirrorless move to this camera.”

The RX100m4 got selected because:

“the RX100 demonstrates how a well-designed compact camera will create much better images than your phone and will still fit easily in your pocket.”

All current Sony Christmas deals:

$200 gift card from Amazon US:
There is a new “hidden” Black Friday deal offer: You get $200 off on all major Sony cameras  if you click on that Amazon link (Click here) and use the code “CAMERAGIFT” at checkout. Here are the detailed Instructions: http://amzn.to/1lLDni1
Plenty of photo accessory Gold Box deals at Amazon US (Click here).

Sony A6000:
$50 gift card on the A6000 superbundle sold by FocusCamera (Click here).
Free extras and an additional $50 gift card for free with the A6000 double lens kit sold at Adorama (Click here).
$150 off on the Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Camera w/ 55-210mm Lens & Acc kit at BHphoto (Click here).
$230 off on the Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless l Camera w/ 16-50mm Lens & Acc Kit at BHphoto (Click here).
Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera – Body only Deluxe Bundle at Amazon US (Click here).

Sony A7rII, A7 and A7II:
Free $200 gift card and free Metabones Smart adapter with the A7rII sold by BHphoto (Click here).
Sony a7R II Full-Frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera, Body Only Deluxe Bundle at Amazon US (Click here).
2% reward and free extras with the A7II sold by BHphoto (Click here).
Sony A7 with free $100 gift card at BHphoto (Click here).

RX100m4:
Free $100 gift card with the RX100 IV at BHphoto (Click here).

Full Frame E-mount lenses:
$100 off on the 24-240mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Camera Hotlink deals at Adorama (Click here).
$80 off on the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 FE lens at BHphoto (Click here).

APS-C E-mount lenses:
$50 off on the 50mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the 35mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 10-18mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the lens 30mm macro at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$150 off on the 18-200mm PZ lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 18-200mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the 16-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$200 off on the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.

A-mount lenses:
$50 off on the 11-18mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the 16-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 16-105mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the Zeiss 24mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the 30mm macro lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the 35mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the 50mm DT lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the 70-300mm II lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$25 off on the 85mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$50 off on the 100mm macro lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
$100 off on the Zeiss 135mm lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.

Upt to $300 off on Sigma A-mount lenses:
$250 off on the 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$250 off on the 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$300 off on the 105mm F2.8 DG OS Macro HSM at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
$250 Instant rebate on the 17-50mm F2.8 DC /OS at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
50mm f/1.4 ART for $849 at Amazon and Bhphoto.
Save $370 on the Tamron 150-600mm A-mount lens sold by [shoplink 42888 ebay]BuyDig on eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink]. Add the $120 mail in rebate and you pay $699 only.

Hasselblad:
Huge savings on the Hasselblad Lunar and Stellar Sony camera clones at BHphoto (Click here).

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Tutorial: SD memory card numbers explained.

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SD_cards

As you know SD cards to display many information on their front side. But what do they actually mean? Explora (Click here) posted a detailed tutorial where you can learn how to understand the info on SD cards.

In very short:

  1. Name: some card manufacturers identify their card by the targeted user; in this case, the Lexar Professional series is aimed at photographers and videographers.
  2. Read Speed: the speed at which data is read from the card.
  3. Type: as mentioned above, this will either be SD, SDHC or SDXC. Differences in capacity or speed are shown elsewhere on the card.
  4. Another speed rating, which can be calculated into MB/s with this formula: x rating/6.6666 = MB/s. 1000 ÷ 6.666 = 150 MB/s
  5. Class rating: this is the minimum sustained data writing speed, and class 10 is the highest right now, capable of 10 MB/s. The slowest rating is Class 2, which has sustained data writing speeds of 2 MB/s.
  6. UHS Rating: The UHS rating and the Class rating are closely intertwined. UHS rating of 1 means that the minimum sustained data writing speed is 10 MB/s, and UHS 3 is 30 MB/s. However, the UHS rating is more important for shooting 4K video, as the minimum data rate must be higher so frames are not dropped. For photographers, a UHS 1 and a Speed Class 10 is basically the same thing; however, the UHS cards are more effective in a device that supports UHS bus architecture, and not all devices do. So conceivably, you could have a Speed Class of 10 and a UHS 3 rating, but without a UHS device, it defaults to the speed class rating of 10.
  7. This number shows what UHS standard this card conforms to—I or II. There are four bus speeds for memory cards: Normal, High, UHS I (Ultra High Speed), and UHS II. This number shows what the bus architecture of the card is. These classifications were designed for theoretical jumps in speed, and added as the cards got bigger. There is no difference to the end user between a UHS I or UHS II card.

Now you know what card you need for the Sony A7rII :)

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Back in Stock: Perfect Sony A7r/A7rII/A7II model replicas!

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[shoplink 43101 ebay]A7rII[/shoplink]
The image above doesn’t show a giant hand with the A7rII. It’s a tiny A7rIi replica USB flash drive! And you get now get them on eBay in different models
[shoplink 43101 ebay]A7rII replica 16GB USB flash drive (Click here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 43092 ebay]A7r replica 16GB USB flash drive (Click here)[/shoplink].

And as you can see you can really mount the USB-lens on the camera:

[shoplink 43092 ebay]A7rIIlens[/shoplink]

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Could the new High End Camera be the first with Full Frame curved sensor?

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The first picture of  Sony’s curved sensor via Spectrum.

A source sent me this:

I am not sure if this applies to the new secret high end camera, but seems possibly even more so likely:
Sony has been churning out the new curved sensors in full frame for the last couple of months.
According to their required market reports they increased their yield from 800 sensors to 1200 per month (raising it to ~80% yield).
The benefits are astounding. Increased sensitivity and higher sharpness towards the edges. The underlying sensor design is independent of this process but necessary a back side illuminated. My hopes and best guess is the A7RII sensor is used as a base, but Sony will surprise us again and do with a completely new sensor design…

Also in the patent
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20150077619.pdf
They describe a couple of new lenses specifically designed for the curved sensor, most notably a 35mm f1.8  
These lenses will need a new mounting system.
Also the additional slightly risky step to produce a sensor will increase the cost of it significantly (50-70% increased sensor cost)
Both in combination could only pushed to the consumer in the very high-end market.  Also a curved sensor really would be a revolution on it’s own, because all films until now have been more or less flat.

 

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New Nocturnus 35mm f/0.95 APS-C E-mount lens is now in Stock and shipping

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[shoplink 42362 ebay]nocturnus-0.95-35mm1-600x519[/shoplink]

The new (and very expensive) Meyer Görlitz Nocturnus 35mm f/0.95 E-mount lens is in Stock for the very first time on [shoplink 42362 ebay]eBay Germany (Click here)[/shoplink]. These are the lens specs:

Technical information:
Light intensity & focal length: f0,95; 35 mm
Optical design: 10 elements in 7 assembly units
Number of aperture blades: 10
Minimum focusing distance: 0,3 m
Angle of view: 46° (APS-C)
Gewicht: 680g
Optimised for APS-C sensors

Characteristics:

  • Exceptional light intensity
  • Ideal for low-key situations and shooting with available light
  • Minimal chromatic aberration
  • Well-balanced bokeh
  • Near-silent aperture and focus adjustment
  • Also ideal for video use
  • Precise, high-quality workmanship
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