Diglloyd reports GM lenses do have a major focusing bug

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85GM

The 85mm GM lens is in Stock at BHphoto (Click here).

Diglloyd seems to have spotted another bug:

With both the Sony GM lenses (85/1.4 GM and 24-70/2.8 GM), Sony A7R II does NOT open the lens diaphragm to focus, at least not under reasonably bright to somewhat dim conditions (checked over 3 different days). Setting Effect = On or Off has no effect on the behavior.

I guess this is something that can be fixed by Sony via firmware upgrade.

DearSusans started his ongoing 85mm GM lens review:

Wide open, there is a modest loss of apparent sharpness due to a very slight loss of contrast. But first it is very slight, then it clears up not only by f:2.0, but already by f:1.6 (the aperture range moves in 1/3 stops). From f:1.7 on down, the lens hardly improves, but its rendering becomes just a tad less warm and more neutral. So, in effect, you have a portrait lens wide open, where many prefer not to show too much detail and sharpness (I happpen to disagree), and lovely, romantic colours, then a lens for close-up and street from f:1.6 to, say, f:4.0, then a landscape lens from f:4.0 onwards.

GM lens store links:
85mm f/1.4 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Amazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.
24-70mm f/2.8 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Amazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.

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Sony brings PRO support program to UK

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Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-21 um 13.18.50
Sony had a press announcement today during the World Photo Award: They are expanding their PRO support program to the UK.

This is the press text:

Sony today announced the expansion of its Imaging PRO Support programme to include the UK. The programme is scheduled to start in the UK in September 2016 and continues to gain momentum as an increasing amount of professional photographers are switching to Sony cameras.
Imaging PRO Support offers advice and help to members including a dedicated telephone help desk offering professional photographers support in using their α camera equipment. There’s a free collection and return service for units requiring repairs, plus a free back-up loan unit to keep professional photographers up and running. In addition, members can benefit from a free twice-yearly image sensor cleaning service with filter glass replacement if necessary and firmware check-up to keep their cameras in top condition.
There’s no membership fee for the service that’s offered to professional photographers[i] who own at least two Sony α camera bodies and three Sony α lenses from the qualifying list detailed beneath.
The Sony Imaging PRO support programme is now live in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the United States. Rollout in other European countries is currently under consideration.

Source: Sony Eu.

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Sony Tidbits…

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Metabones T Smart IV vs Fotodiox Canon EF adapter on the Sony A6300

Magic Lantern and Sony (SonyAlphaForum).
Sony a6300 Review at RonMartBlog.
German lego advertisement shot on the Sony A7 (Welt).
Sony A68 image samples at Optyczne.
Sony A68 review at Techradar.
Sony A7II Fimware Update 3.10 review (Dsphotoblog)

Christian: “My friend Alessandro Della Bella and I just released a project that might be interesting for you. „Zurich by Night“ features some quite fancy aerial nighttime images and consists of interactive panoramic images and a short hyperlapse movie. The images are put together of 42 single photographs shot with a Sony a7RII and have a size of more than 800MP (4GB Tiff).
Check out this: http://www.helvetiabynight.com/panos/en-index.html
Some of this aerial night shots are also part of our new movie: vimeo.com/161820611“

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24 hours left to grab the NAB deals. $175 off on the Sony 24-240mm FE lens.

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[shoplink 47118 ebay]Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-20 um 18.01.15[/shoplink]
The great savings on grey imported Sony E-mount items has now been extended to three products:
$170 off on the Sony FE 24-240mm at [shoplink 47118 ebay]eBay US (3 year US seller warranty)[/shoplink].
$700 off on the Sony A7rII at [shoplink 47061 ebay]eBay US (1 year US seller warranty)[/shoplink].
$200 off on the Sony FE 55mm at [shoplink 47062 ebay]eBay US (3 year US seller warranty)[/shoplink]

And BHphoto has a super long list of special NAB deals (Click here to see them). This runs out in less than 24 hours!

Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-18 um 17.59.38

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Sony interview: Megapixel will keep increasing. Medium format is a possibility if there is a demand for it.

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[shoplink 25383 ebay][/shoplink]

Image of a [shoplink 25383 ebay]Mamiya 7 (here on eBay)[/shoplink] from Roma Nikolaev.

The Russian magazine Prophotos interviewed Sony engineers. I mention a couple of points:

  1. Sony says Megapixel number will keep increasing on future cameras.
  2. The Sony A6300 has no IBIS because Sony preferred to keep the size as compact as it gets.
  3. Sony confirms the plan to keep the A-mount well alive
  4. About going medium format: “It is a matter of the future. It is difficult to say now. We analyze the demand.“

Over a year ago there were some first wild rumors about Sony considering making a [shoplink 25383 ebay]Mamiya 7 alike[/shoplink] digital mirrorless system camera. But I think Sony’s priority now is on FF E-mount. And I hope they will find the resources to bring some excitement on the A-mount system before to move on any other possible medium format project…

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Tomorrow (April 21) Sony has a press presentation. They may announce the GM 70-200mm pricing

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Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-08 um 09.27.11

Sony has a big event in London because of the Sony World Press Awards. And Sony invited the press for a product presentation at 10.45 London time. They will display their new FE lenses. And I hope Sony will also finally announce the FE 70-200mm GM lens pricing. The lens is supposed to start shipping in May already.

Let’s hope the GM price isn’t much higher than the [shoplink 46652 ebay]Nikon 70-200mm[/shoplink] and [shoplink 46653 ebay]Canon 70-200mm[/shoplink] competition!

via MirrorlessRumors.

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Status of Sony Group Manufacturing Operations Affected by 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

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Sony-Image-Sensor-Fabs1

As you know Japan got hit twice by a very strong earthquake. Sony issued the following press release:

(Tokyo, April 18, 2016) Sony Corporation (“Sony”) extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by the earthquakes in Kumamoto.

Due to the earthquake of April 14 and subsequent earthquakes in the Kumamoto region, the following Sony Group manufacturing sites have been affected:

Operations at Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s Kumamoto Technology Center (located in Kikuchi Gun, Kumamoto Prefecture), which primarily manufactures image sensors for digital cameras and security cameras as well as micro-display devices, were halted after the earthquake on April 14, and currently remain suspended. Damage to the site’s building and manufacturing lines is currently being evaluated, and with aftershocks continuing, the timeframe for resuming operations has yet to be determined.

Although some of the manufacturing equipment at Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s Nagasaki Technology Center (located in Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture), which is Sony’s main facility for smartphone image sensor production, and Oita Technology Center (located in Oita City, Oita Prefecture), which commenced operations as a wholly-owned facility of Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation on April 1, had been temporarily halted, the affected equipment has been sequentially restarted from April 17, and production has resumed. Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s Kagoshima Technology Center (located in Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture) has continued its production operations after the earthquakes, and there have been no major effects on its operations.

Sony has confirmed the safety of all of its and its group companies’ employees in the region affected by the earthquakes.

The impact of these events on Sony’s consolidated results is currently being evaluated.

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