Sony Alpha digital cameras

Hurry! Sony A7rII now in Stock at FocusCamera!

August 25, 2015
deals
21 Comments

The A7rII is in Stock at FocusCamera (Click here). The store told me they have 30 camera on inventory!

Moreover the Sony A7rII will be in Stock on August 27 at BHphoto (Click here). I guess also the other US stores like Amazon, Adorama, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto and son on will have it in Stock about the same time.

New A7rII test:

Long time Canon user Oliver sent me this:

“I’ve migrated from the Canon 5DII to the Sony Alpha 7RII. I’m mostly realise landscapes (at ISO 100) studio portraits (at 100 ISO) and sport (around ISO 6400). I only uses Zeiss ZE, all manual, for which I’ve bought the ring Metabones IV adaptor. I shoot exclusively in Raw and develop on Lightroom CC. My conclusions :
     + 7RII’s focus peaking is effective. I still prefer my microprism focusing screen that I added to my 5DII
     + The 7RII is significantly lighter
     + 7RII’s Dynamic Range really looks better on the field
     + 7RII’s sharpness is better
     + The crop capacity on 7RII’s files is excellent
     + The 7RII’s files at ISO 6400 are quite better
     / The slightest noise 7RII has strengths and weaknesses
     – Taking 7RII’s hand is worse: I ordered a grip (not yet received) for long sessions (studio and sport)
     – It takes twice the time to open the files in Lightroom
     – 7RII’s batteries autonomy is really low
     – The 7RII looks much less solid than the 5DII : 5DII looks like a kind weapon of war while the 7RII looks more like a toy
Regards,
Olivier DREAN
http://photo.drean.info“

Gordon from CameraLabs compared the A7rII and 5dsr noise performance:

The Canon EOS 5DSr is exhibiting slightly higher chroma noise than the Sony, along with what looks like a coarser grain. This becomes apparent around 3200 ISO and above and while both bodies are still recording similar degrees of real-life detail, you’d need to apply higher NR to the Canon files to achieve a similarly clean result. Since higher NR comes at the cost of lost detail, this gives the Sony A7r II a small edge over the Canon, although it may not be as significant as many hoped and the extended range up to 102400 ISO inevitably becomes very noisy when viewed up-close.

Full review at Photographic Wanderings:

On the one hand, the A7R II is just an awesome combo of resolution, IBIS and 4K video and worth every penny. On the other hand, it’s too much, esp. for photographers who don’t care for the video capabilities.
So, there’s the rational me calling it overkill. Then there’s the other side of my brain hurting as I wrap up the camera and put it back in the box. Because, despite my reservations, the Sony A7R II is one hell of a camera and if my wallet didn’t say ‘no’ for now, I’d rush into ordering one, overkill or not.

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

A7rII case:
Gariz leather case in [shoplink 39113 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39108 ebay]Camel (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39110 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39111 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39112 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Gariz Alcantara case in [shoplink 39094 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39095 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).
Lim’s case in [shoplink 39107 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39102 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39103 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39104 ebay]Yellow (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 39105 ebay]Navy Blue (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 39106 ebay]Khaki (Click here)[/shoplink]. Also available on Amazon US (Click here).

World’s first Nikon F to E-mount autofocus adapter will get full A7rII phase detection AF support!

August 25, 2015
news, rumors
54 Comments

I got great news from the developer of the world’s first Nikon G to Sony E-mount (Full Frame) electronic aperture and autofocus adapter. They are going to add full phase detection support on Sony A7rII cameras! He told me it will take some more time to develop that additional feature. So there is yet no official release date although I expect the adapter to be sold within 2015 and branded by Commlite. That company already makes plenty of adapters which you can find for sale on [shoplink 38429 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. This includes the electronic AF adapter for [shoplink 38430 ebay]Canon EF lenses on Sony E-mount (Click here)[/shoplink].

Here is a video showing the autofocus at work. But please keep in mind this video has been taken on an early prototype version without PDAF support. Autofocus will be much faster and much more accurate once the development is finished. I show this video only as a proof that the adapter is real :)

More pics:

Amazing: First Contax N lens to E-mount AF adapter! Autofocus with all N and 645 Contax-Zeiss lenses!

August 25, 2015
news
39 Comments

[shoplink 39621 ebay] fringer_eay [/shoplink]

Fringer launched the world’s first [shoplink 39621 ebay]Contax N lens to E-mount autofocus adapter[/shoplink]. This means you can now have full electronic aperture and focus control on the whole Contax N lens line up. You can get the adapter for $680 on [shoplink 39621 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. One of the lenses you can autofocus with use is that massive Tele-Apotessar T* 400/4:

[shoplink 39629 ebay][/shoplink]

Here are all the Contax N lenses you can make work with the Fringer autofocus adapter:
[shoplink 39622 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 17–35/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39623 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 24–85/3.5–4.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39624 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 28–80/3.5–5.6 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39625 ebay]Planar T* 50/1.4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39626 ebay]Vario Sonnar T* 70–300/4.0–5.6 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39627 ebay]Planar T* 85/1.4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39628 ebay]Makro-Sonnar T* 100/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39629 ebay]Tele-Apotessar T* 400/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

And you can also attach the [shoplink 39631 ebay]Contax NAM-1 adapter (here on eBay)[/shoplink] on the Fringer adapter. This will allow you to use all 645 medium format Contax lenses with autofocus!!! See the image here:

[shoplink 39636 ebay][/shoplink]
[shoplink 39636 ebay]645 medium format lens Planar T* 80/2 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

Those are all 645 medium format lenses you can now use with autofocus support:
[shoplink 39632 ebay]Distagon T* 35/3.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39633 ebay]Distagon T* 45/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39634 ebay]Distagon T* 55/3.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39635 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 45–90/4.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39636 ebay]Planar T* 80/2 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39637 ebay]Sonnar T* 140/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39638 ebay]Sonnar T* 210/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 39639 ebay]Tele-Apotessar T* 350/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

Here is a video showing the autofocus at work with the [shoplink 39626 ebay]Vario Sonnar T* 70–300/4.0–5.6[/shoplink]:

Image samples can be found on Xitek. And here are more images of the Contax N lenses on the Sony A7:

[shoplink 39622 ebay][/shoplink]
[shoplink 39622 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 17–35/2.8 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

[shoplink 39623 ebay][/shoplink]
[shoplink 39623 ebay]Vario-Sonnar T* 24–85/3.5–4.5 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

[shoplink 39629 ebay][/shoplink]
[shoplink 39629 ebay]Tele-Apotessar T* 400/4 (ebay search link here)[/shoplink].

Sony A7rII will be in Stock on August 27 at BHphoto.

August 25, 2015
deals
3 Comments

The Sony A7rII will be in Stock on August 27 at BHphoto (Click here). I guess also the other US stores like Amazon, Adorama, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto and son on will have it in Stock about the same time.

New Sony Double Cashback deal in UK. Sandisk Gold Box in Germany.

August 25, 2015
deals
3 Comments

That’s a cool deal for UK readers: You get up to £400 cashback on almost all(!) Sony cameras sold at Amazon UK (Click here).

And there are two Sandisk SD Gold Box deals running at Amazon Germany (Check the horizontal bar).

New Nissin Di700A Flash Kit for Sony in Stock at BHphoto and Amazon Europe.

August 24, 2015
deals
18 Comments

The new Nissin Di700A Flash is in Stock for the first time at BHphoto (Click here). And it is also in Stock in Europe via Amazon Germany and Amazon UK. Sar reader Alastair writes: “I’ve done an unboxing and quick look at the Di700A and Air 1 Commander: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AntR86uawDY“

BIG Sony US lens savings ongoing!

Dpreview: “A7rII has posterization artifacts in certain conditions”.

August 24, 2015
reviews
184 Comments

Note: The A7rII waiting list is getting shorter. If you order the A7rII now at Amazon (Click here) you will have to wait 2-5 weeks to get it.

–

Dpreview just posted an article about the ISO behaviour of the A7rII. While the state that the A7rII has a very high dynamic range they also complain about the lossy Raw files showing some posterization artifacts in certain conditions:

With the a7R II, Sony continues the tradition of lossy Raw files, with no option for lossless 14-bit Raw. This isn’t going to affect all your photographs, but it can rear its unsightly head at high contrast boundaries of pushed files. The area around the sign in the ISO 100 + 6EV and ISO 200 + 5EV shots have artifacts not present in the higher ISO shots. These posterization artifacts are due to Sony’s lossy compression, which you can read more about in Iliah Borg’s excellent study here.
We think this Raw compression is particularly a shame, especially when you consider how ISO-invariant this camera is otherwise. As you saw above, the pushed ISO 200 shot has very little additional noise compared to the ISO 6400 shot. This is because of the high dynamic range, and ISO-invariance, of the camera, which means that realistically you can save much of your image brightening for post-processing as opposed to increasing your ISO setting in-camera. However, you’ll be limited in your ability to do so because of Raw compression, essentially meaning the camera isn’t as ISO-invariant as it could be.

I am 100% sure Sony will release a firmware update to allow current A7 owners to shoot real 14 bit RAW. The pressure on Sony is too high to not bring this feature.

One more interesting note: DearSusans actually claims the Sony RAW files on the A7rII are “tweaked”. They shoot stars with the A7r and A7rII and noticed a clear improvement on the A7rIi files:

Doing so with files from the A7r produces square artifacts around stars, as seen above. The same intermediate processing on A7rII files did nothing of the kind. Now, this is not to say lossy compression is ideal or perfect. And, if it adds significantly to the already improved image quality, we’re all for lossless RAW compression, here at DS. But something already has changed and, apparently, in the right direction.

Give us 14 bit Sony, we on SAR want to get the best out of our great Sony sensors! P.S.: My personal request…add 64 ISO too :)