Great news! Sony A7 and A7r firmware update coming on March 19!

Share

Sony Japan officially announced a new A7 and A7r firmware release for March 19! And these are the improvements (translated from Japanese):

– support for the focus hold button of the new SEL 70-200G lens
– Start up time reduction
– Image quality improvement
– Adds Live view grading and smooth reflection application. Improves “Time Laps” APP.

I am now wondering what they mean with “Improved Image quality”!

—

Specs and Store Links in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Store Links in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Share

Zeiss 24-70mm FE lens gest DxOmarked!

Share

The new Zeiss 24-70mm F/4.0 is finally in Stock and shipping in many stores: In USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. And in Europe at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT (Click on country name to see the lens site).

But how good is the lens?

Well DxOmark (Click here) just posted the full lab test results and writes:

Performance of the Zeiss Vario-Tessar is good overall but it’s not without some idiosyncrasies. On the one hand it has very good uniformity, barring a dip wide-open at 24mm, it’s sharp right out to the corners.
Control of other aberrations at the wide end – chromatic aberration, distortion and vignetting isn’t quite what we would expect, but at all other focal lengths the lens performs well. Given the not unreasonable price of the lens (and the camera body for that matter), Sony has managed to deliver a balance of performance and value, while at the same time offering something different to the mainstream options. There’s little doubt it’s an attractive combination, but it’s not quite the resounding success we believed it would be.

And here are more recent tests:

Zeiss 24-70mm lens test by Tim Ashley and this is what he thinks about it in very short:

It’s not perfect but I think it is the single most useful lens in the world right now. I really do. And it is a whole barrel load of fun.

And Leica Boss writes:

flexible zoom with a lot of very impressive qualities that will probably never dazzle me… but will certainly get the job done well.

Unboxing video by TheDigitalDigest:

Share

The fall of the camera industry: What should Sony do?

Share

Just click on the image on top to see a larger size version (Courtesy of Lensvid).

Our friends from Lensvid analyzed the CIPA data and put on graphs the facts that we already knew: The camera industry is facing a deep crisis.  DSLR, Mirrorless and compact camera market are shrinking. And it’s possible that the this will be the trend for the future too with the mass market focusing on using devices like Smartphones, Tablets, Google Glasses to take their pictures and videos.

I am pretty sure there will be always a market for large sensor cameras but it’s likely to become pretty “marginal”. We are on the verge of a big paradigm search in the world of photography where aspects like connectivity and creativity (in form of APPS) become more important than use of system cameras. Considering these aspects what would you suggest Sony to do?

One small thought: Unlike so many other analysts I see a bright future for Sony. Nikon and Canon depend more from the “pure” system camera market than Sony. Sony did a great job to focus on one aspect that will certainly survive: Image sensor production. They are number one and still growing. No matter if people are going to use a DSLR or Smartphone or other new kind of devices. Sony will be the one company making the sensors for it!

—

More info at Lensvid and a youtube video made by them:

Share

Sony US deals reminder: A99, A7r and A7, RX10 and RX100.

Share

We hade quite many new Sony US deals this week! Here is the roundup in case you missed some of them:

Sony A99:
A99 with a free(!) grip for $2299 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Sony Store (Click bere).
Buy.com (now Rakuten) is selling the Sony A99 for $1,899.99 only. The offer runs out of time within the next couple of hours.

Sony A7 and A7r:
A7-A7r up to $650 savings are still running at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Sony Store (Click bere).
You can trade it any camera you have (also a $10 cheap used compact) and get a $300 credit for the A7 or A7r purchase at Focuscamera (Click here) or BHphoto (Click here).

Sony RX10 and RX100II:
Save $240 on Select Accessories with the Purchase of the Sony RX10 Digital Camera at Amazon and SonyStore.
Save up to $550 on Select Sony Accessories with Sony RX1 Series Camera Purchase at Amazon.

“Old” NEX series:
NEX-3n with kit lens is again back in Stock for $299 only at Amazon US (Click here).
NEX-6 with kit lens sells for $599 at Amazon too (Click here).

Share

Sony Tidbits…(Worldpressphoto winners)

Share


Sony 70-400mm review by John Sison.

If you want to see some great pics watch the winner list of the latest Worldpressphoto 2014 edition.
Sony in negotiations to supply iPhone front camera modules (Electronista).
RCCDroid: The FIRST Android App for tethering of Sony Alpha SLT-A58.
JPEG Standard 9.1 Will Bring 12-Bit Color, Lossless Compression (Popphoto).
Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* Lens – A serious days shooting (Soundimagesplus).
Zeiss 35mm FE lab test at Dpreview.
Sony 4K sensor for security cams (Image Sensor World).
A5000 review at Digitalversus.
Zeiss FE 24-70mm F4 On Sony A7 Impressions at Fratkinphoto.
porridge to the Sony a7r (Ohm-Image).
Mini review and comparison of 50mm ZA vs 55mm FE (SonyAlphaImages).
Haselblad HV hands-on at DSLRmagazine.
Zeiss 24-70mm lens test at DC.fever.
Model Shooting with the Zeiss FE 55mm lens by Mike Kobal.
A7 video review by Digital Digest at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSoQnD5vzE
Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 review on the Sony A7r at Coolframe (Click here).

 

Share

Today only: Sony A99 for $1,899.99 !

Share

Buy.com (now Rakuten) is selling the Sony A99 for $1,899.99 only! The offer runs today only!

Reminder of current Sony deals at Amazon US:
Save up to $550 on Select Sony Accessories with Sony RX1 Series Camera Purchase
Buy a Qualifying Sony A7 Series Camera and Save on Select Lenses and Accessories
Save $240 on Select Accessories with the Purchase of the Sony RX10 Digital Camera
Free Case with Sony RX100 Series Digital Camera Purchase

Share

The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens should be shipping in May.

Share

The new Sigma 50mm ART lens is supposed to give a very close Zeiss Otus performance. But we still don’t know yet what the price will be. But according to Photorumors we can expect Sigma to ship the lens in May. This is what Sigma stuff present at the Photography show in NEC (Birmingham) told to a Photorumors readers.

Sigma already confirmed the lens will come in A-mount too (article here). And a first quality comparison with other 50mm lenses has been posted last week (article here).

Share