Cine Gear interviewed the Zeiss US manager and here are some info spilled out:

– Batis is a “progression” of the [shoplink 37732 ebay]Touit lens series[/shoplink].
– A7 platform is “exploding” on the market. It’s a hot camera mount system and our job is to do lenses for it.
– Also women are interested in the A7 series
– Batis focusing is quick and silent
– Documentary shooters prefer autofocus lenses like the [shoplink 37734 ebay]Batis[/shoplink]
– Strategy with Batis lenses is not to compete with other lenses from Sony
– Difference between Sony-Zeiss lenses ([shoplink 37736 ebay]like 55mm FE[/shoplink]) and Zeiss lenses (like [shoplink 37735 ebay]Loxia[/shoplink] and [shoplink 37734 ebay]Batis[/shoplink]):  Sony follows Zeiss and design protocol but manufacturers and distributes the lens independently from Zeiss

Both Batis lenses are now available for preorder in USA and Europe (UK/Germany)
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
In Europe and Asia the Loxias can be found in Stock via [shoplink 36456 ebay]eBay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink] and Digitalrev (Click here).

The software maker DxO just made their very first hardware. And it’s a [shoplink 37764 ebay]Sony QX[/shoplink] competitor, a plugin photocamera! The “DxO One” uses the Sony 1 inch 20MP sensor in a very compact and portable device which unlike the QX cameras you simply plugin into your iPhone. I have not tested that jiggle yet but from the pictures it really looks like a more handy solution than the Sony QX. it’s more compact, it has a hardware connection (no Wifi or Bluetooth connection needed) and also from the ergonomic it looks more “balanced”.

There is a short video and many more info on their DxO website. What do you think about it?

There is some confusion about the shipping date of the new A7rII. Sony officially stated the camera will ship in August. But different stores give different dates:

USA:
July 28 at BHphoto (Click here)
August 30 at Amazon (Click here)
Europe:
August 7 at Cameta Germany (Click here).
August at Wexphotographic UK (Click here).
Asia:
Late July at CameraPro Australia (Click here).

Let’s see what store placed the correct “guess” on the date :)

More A7rII news:
Sony A7R II, RX10 II, RX100 IV Hands-on Photos (Photographyblog).
Sony A7R II: primeras impresiones (Quesabesde).
Hands-On with the Sony RX10 MKII and RX100 MK4 (Mirrorlessons).
Field test by Brian Smith.
Sony brings all its new tech to A7 line (Cnet Youtube)
SONY A7R II – toma de contacto y analisis (DSLRmagazine).
Sony Alpha 7R II, CyberShot RX10 II und RX100 IV: Revolutionäre Sensortechnologie? (Photoscala).

USA preorders:
A7rII at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Uniquephoto.

Europe preorders:
A7rII at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.
RX100m4 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.
RX100m2 at DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.