Sony new microlens design could dramatically improve phase detection autofocus performance.

Share

Bildschirmfoto 2015-09-23 um 10.31.17

Egami spotted a new Sony patent that could dramatically improve the autofocus performance on future Sony cameras. Imaging Resource writes:

Sony’s patent publication (which means it has been filed and acknowledged, but not yet denied or approved), lays out the groundwork for being able to create unique microlenses with different profiles (shapes), so that the microlenses over the phase-detection pixels could direct light coming only from the desired direction onto the surface of the pixel, without requiring shading. This technology is significant and unique for the fact that the patent implies this would be done on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
This change would give the pixels and overall system much more information to work with in low-light situations.

We are slowly getting there…catching up with Nikon and Canon AF performance!

Share

You can win 6x Sony A6000 cameras at Amazon Germany photo contest.

Share

Bildschirmfoto 2015-09-28 um 14.41.48

German folks can join the photo contest organized by Amazon Germany (details here) to win one of the six A6000 or…one Vespa :)

And from now till October 11th Amazon Germany (Click here) runs daily deals on camera stuff. Among them today we have a Gold Box on the A77II and WX500 Sony cameras. All EU folks can actually buy from Amazon Germany if you understand the language to hit the right buttons :)

Two Amazon.de Gold Box on SD cards and two on cameras:
32GB at 10:00 (Click here).
64GB at 11:30 (Click here).
A77II at 18:00 (Click here).
WX500 at 18:00 (Click here).

Two Amazon UK card deals:
44% off on the Lexar 8GB SD card (Click here).
26% off on the Transcend 32GB SD card (Click here).

Share

Sony Tidbits…

Share


35mm Full Frame, APS-C, and 1.0-Type Sensor Depth of Field Comparison

Rokinon 135mm f/2.0, Manual Focus Lens – Product Review at Adorama Blog.
Pictures taken with Sony Alfa Cameras and Contax Zeiss lenses (SonyAlphaForum).
Gorgeous pictures taken with the A7II by Albert Dros at SonyAlphaForum.
FE 28mm review at MoveToMirrorless.
Sony’s RX10 II is a powerful superzoom camera with some quirks (Engadget)
Sony RX100 IV Field Test: Plenty of power in your pocket (Imaging Resource).
Sony Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 ZA lens (Neilvn.com).
Build Your Composition, Then Wait For The Light (Alphauniverse).

Kevin: “I did a 4k test video on the RX100IV with Nebula 4000 lite on S-Log2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBAxiD4mpCQ”

Paul: “A7ii + outex housing at 500px.”

Boon: “I managed to use the Sony A6000 + FE 70-200/4 lens for shooting some waterskiing at Cotswold Country Park. http://myphotojourney.co.uk/watersports-cotswold-country-park/“

Share

Up to $250 Trade-in bonus is now back and running again at Amazon and Adorama.

Share

Bildschirmfoto 2015-09-28 um 15.32.22

You can trade-in your camera to get an up to $250 bonus when purchasing Sony cameras. The full details about how it works can be read on those special pages at Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).

New list of  Open Box, refurbished and grey imported Sony deals:
$170 off on the  [shoplink 40799 ebay]Open Box Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 Distagon FE lens at Samys eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Refurbished Sony A7r for $1,299 on [shoplink 40699 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Refurbished Sony A5100 with two(!) lenses for $469 on [shoplink 40700 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Refurbished Sony A6000 with two(!) lenses for $629 on [shoplink 40701 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Grey Imported Sony A7s for $1,699 on [shoplink 40698 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Grey imported Zeiss 16-35mm FE lens for $1,19 on [shoplink 40702 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Grey imported Sony FE 70-200mm lens for $1,144 on [shoplink 40703 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Grey imported Zeiss 24-70mm FE lens for $899 on [shoplink 40704 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Share

Ken Rockwell A7rII review: Says it’s great for hobbyist and bad for photographers.

Share

A7rII_Gariz_alcantara
A7rII Alcantara case in [shoplink 38168 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 38169 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink].

Ken Rockwell posted his full A7rII review and I didn’t expect anything else than a highly polarizing review.
In Short he says the A7rII is a great camera but not as good as same priced DSLR. The only area where the A7rII beats them is in ” classical concert photography” because of its silent shutter…LOL :)

He made a very clear statement about why this camera will be loved by hobbyist and not by photographers:

A photo hobbyist is someone who loves talking about pixels, software, apps, bit depths and especially loves playing with a zillion different brands of lenses on adapters. That’s why hobbyists and gizmo fans love this camera so much.

Hobbyists are completely different from photographers, photographic artists or pro shooters. The problem with the A7R II for use by a photographic artist like myself is that while A7R II images look great, its colors never look as great in real-world shots as I get directly from my Canons and Nikons. Most people are hobbyists and won’t notice the subtle things I do, and therefore I certainly recommend the A7R II, but for serious work, the Sony isn’t there yet.

As I said, he is very black and white in his judgements. And it really depends a lot on Ken’s personal tastes if he likes a camera or not. So take it easy when commenting this :)

A7rII store list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Wex UK and ParkCameras.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

Share

(SR5) New Zeiss Otus is a 28mm lens!

Share

Zeiss OTUS 1.4/85 on Sony A7R with Metabones Mark IV
Image on top shows the current 85mm Otus. Image and review by Dierk Topp on SAR.

Around mid October Zeiss will have a major new product announcement. And finally we are going to get a brand new Otus lens. But unlike rumors posted by other sites it is not going to be a 24mm lens. We have been told by bulletproof solid sources this will be a 28mm fast prime lens. And it’s going to be a VERY big lens. While the sources didn’t share the aperture info I just guess it’s again a f/1.4 lens and it will be available in Canon and Nikon mount. Of course being this a manual lens a Sony A7 camera will probably be a better choice for manual focusing because of the many aid the mirrorless camera gives you and a DSLR can not (like peaking, EVF magnification and so on).

Still not SR5 but highly likely is also the Zeiss Loxia wide angle announcement. Something Zeiss teased us already a couple of times this year. Let’s just hope Zeiss will be able to increase the production on both the Batis and that new Loxia lens. We really need them in our bag as soon as it gets!

–

To not miss any rumor quickly subscribe our social network:
RSS feed: http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/feed/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonyalpharumors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SonyAlphaRumors
GooglePlus: https://plus.google.com/104216500156717934391/posts

And if you have some “rumor” to share just send me an anonymous messages here:

Error: Contact form not found.

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!

 

Share