Sony FE 24-240mm OSS Lens Review – Real World, Lab and More…

For German readers: At 9:00 Gold Box deal on the Sony A99 (Click here). Discounted price will be online from 9:00 only!
4K Battle: Sony FDR X1000V Vs. GoPro Hero 4 Silver (ActioncameraRumors).
Movcam’s cable adapter to turn Sony’s a7S (Newsshooter).
Wedding in Almyrida Crete (SonyAlphaForum).
Price drop on the A6000 at Amazon Spain.

Kasper: “It is with great pleasure I can announce my Youtube channel Alpha Lens is on air. On the channel you can see various Sony Alpha cameras with different lenses. If you are looking for a new lens and would like to know how it looks on you camera then visit my new channel. The channel already has over 25 different videos, primarily Zeiss and G-lenses. The site will regularly be updated with more videos so you can benefit from subscribing to the channel or like the facebook page.
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6_sVaIfmj8WLClNE01P8g
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/alphalens”

Anonymous: “Hi there, I just wanted to share a new music video that we just published today, shot entirely on the Sony A7S. It showcases the slow motion capabilities of the Sony A7S shooting in 60fps mode (particularly in the 2nd half of the clip). The song is called ‘Waiting’, and it is by Queensland rock band ‘Collins Class’. Hopefully your readers will be interested. Thankyou. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gml9Yk2ppzg“

BHphoto posted two new articles about the Sony camera history:
1) Infographic: Inventive Camera Designs from Sony (Click here).
2) Innovative Journey in Camera Design and Technology (Click here).

Sony has still some things to learn from classic photographer companies (read Fuji) but they certainly are second to none when it comes to innovate and reinvent the wheel!

Sony is the crazy horse of the camera industry. They keep turning things up side down to succeed in the digital camera market. Unlike Nikon and Canon they at least bring to us some excitement at almost every camera release :)

A7rII and RX camera preorder list:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX10m2 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.

Venus optics announced the  World’s Widest 1:1 Macro Lens. It’s a 15mm f/4.0 which comes for both Sony A and E-mount. Image samples can be seen here:
http://www.venuslens.net/images/15F/A1.jpg
http://www.venuslens.net/images/15F/A2.jpg
http://www.venuslens.net/images/15F/A3.jpg
http://www.venuslens.net/images/15F/A4.jpg
http://www.venuslens.net/images/15F/A5.jpg
http://www.venuslens.net/images/15F/A6.jpg

Here is a short video:

Press text:

Anhui China, Jun 12, 2015 – Venus Optics, the Chinese camera lenses manufacturer who had launched the world’s first 2:1 Macro Lens in last Sept, has just released the world’s widest Macro lens for full frame cameras, Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide-Angled 1:1 Macro Lens.

The new Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro lens is the first lens in the market which posseses a ultra wide angle of view and 1:1 Macro ability. This allows photographers from around the world to start experiencing the rather undeveloped field of ‘Wide Angle Macro Photography’ without using an extension tube. Macro Lenses currently in the market tends to have a mid to long focal length and it limits users to take very close-up shots on the insect or flowers, without showing much of the background details like its habitat or environment.

The new Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro lens features an ultra wide angle of view of 110 degrees with 1:1 maximum magnification. Photographers can focus very close to the subject and let the foreground dominates in the photo but at the same time, have the background telling viewers about where and how the subject lives. You picture will immdiately become very informative and intriguing.

The lens can also serve as an excellent ultra-wide angle lenses with infinity focus for cameras with full frame sensors. A shift mechanism is added at the rear end of the lens with a maximum adjustment of +/- 6mm, which is extremely useful for landscape/architecture photography for distortion correction.

The lens houses with 12 elements in 9 groups with 3 pieces of High Refractive elements and 1 piece of Extra-low dispersion elements to deliver crystal sharpness both in the center and the edge. Barrel Distortion was also carefully controlled. 14 pieces of aperture blades form a close-to-circular aperture, capable of creating creamy shallow depth of view. The enclosure of the lens is made of metal to strengthen its durability. Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha, Sony FE and Pentax K mounts are available.

Sample photos and videos can be found in our English website (http://www.venuslens.net)

Pricing and Availability
The Laowa 15mm f/4 wide-angle macro lens is currently available at authorized resellers and at the English official website (http://www.venuslens.net). The recommended retail price is at USD 479. Free shipping will be provided during the

REFUGE // A Moonlit Short Film from Sam Shapson on Vimeo.

Sam Shapson sent me this mail to share his first narrative film shoot in moonlight with the Sony A7s:

My name is Sam Shapson, and I’m a young director with a new project I’m really excited to share online this Tuesday. I saw your article for Carbon Studios “Moonlight” on your website, and I’m thinking my project might just be up your alley.
Its a short film called Refuge, and its the first narrative film ever to be exclusively lit by moonlight.
My team and I shot it over two nights deep in the mountains in the dead of night. With the Sony A7s set to 51,200 ISO, I was able to capture a 6 minute Scifi Thriller set against the ethereal misty mountains of the Angeles National Forest.
I was blown away by what the guys at Carbon Studios pulled off with their “Moonlight | Sony A7s” video and I felt compelled to apply what they’d accomplished to narrative. Working with my good friend and AFI Grad, Derek Stuckert, we developed a story that called for a visceral, otherworldly experience that I believe made the most of the technology. Meanwhile my DP — Barry Elmore, a fellow Columbia College Chicago alumn — went out with me for test after test to see how far the technology could be pushed while staying pure to our goal. After concluding that we would bring no lights, we found that large bounce cards would be absolutely key. This allowed us to literally bounce moonlight to fill in the deep shadows cast on the talents faces.
So then, after tracking the moon and weather for several months, it finally came time for production. Lemme just say that while producing a low-budget, two night shoot in a remote location is one thing, doing so without allowing ANY light spill whatsoever is something completely different. Miraculously, my team and I managed to get everything we needed while avoiding any light from astronomical twilight, city spill, or our flashlights — which we generally discouraged using to keep our eyes dilated. It was seriously an incredibly thrilling experience that I’ll never forget.
I’m hitting you up because I’m looking for journalists whose reader base might dig this kind of thing. If you’re at all curious, I’d be willing to share a private pre-release link with you to take a look for yourself!
Let me know what you think. And either way, I appreciate your time!

Sony A7s store links:
Sony A7s in USA/CA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony USA, Sony Canada.
Sony A7s in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PL. And Wex UK.
A7s Gariz leather case in [shoplink 27569 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27570 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27571 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 27572 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink].