DxO reviews the new Sony 90mm FE lens and says it has an “Outstanding optical performance”!

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90mmFE

UPDATE: For unkowns reasons DxO has removed the 90mm FE lens reviews from their site.

DxOmark (Click here) reviewed the new Sony FE 90mm macro lens. And the conclusion is:

With some innovative cameras in the range, Sony is beginning to fill out the E-mount system with some useful high-quality lenses, and the FE 90mm f2.8 macro is up there with the best in terms of optical quality. The only downside, perhaps, is that the lens is at odds with the perceived benefits for buying into mirrorless systems: sure, the bodies are smaller, but this lens is not significantly smaller nor lighter than rival options. Be that as it may, there’s little wrong with the optical quality of the Sony FE 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS, and if the size or weight isn’t an issue, then it can be easily recommended.

The lens even outperforms by one single point the $400 more expensive Zeiss 10mm macro lens! It will be hard for the new Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens to outperform the 90mm FE lens!

90mm links:
In USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, [shoplink 37938 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].
In Europe at [shoplink 37991 ebay]Fotomundus[/shoplink], Amazon Germany, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony FR, Sony IT, Sony ES, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony AT, Sony CH, Sony SE, Sony FI, Sony NO, Sony PT.
In Asia at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

Batis links:
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.

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Sony to work with Invisage on new quantum film stacked sensors?

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Invisage CEO Jess Lee stated that Sony is likely to become a Invisage partner to make the first mass production Quantum film stacked sensors in 2016. The sensors will be first used on smartphones because one of the main advantages of the new tech is the much thinner sensor. But the new tech could be used on larger Digital Camera sensors too because of the higher performance. Quantum Film sensor tech explained via Wikipedia:

QuantumFilm Technology involves the creation of a film to coat the image sensors used in a cellphone camera, allowing it to capture more light, improving the quality of the images taken.[9][10] A typical camera phone pixel sensor is made up of several layers, with a layer of colored plastic or glass acting as a color filter sitting on top of several layers of metal connecting silicon electronic transistors together, which is itself on top of a base layer of silicon used by the sensor’s electronic transistors and photodetectors. The light coming to the sensor has to pass through the layers of metal before reaching the silicon, a weak light absorber, so the sensor detects only about 25 percent of the light that makes up the image.[11] QuantumFilm Technology places a layer of semiconducting crystals – called quantum dots – on top of the chip, which allows the chip to absorb more light, place more pixels in a smaller space, and create sharper images.[12]
Using quantum dots is more efficient at capturing light than traditional silicon-based image sensor chips (capturing 90-95% of the light that hits it), giving the sensors higher sensitivity in low light as well as higher resolution.[3][13] And while traditional image sensors read an image from top to bottom (which can create a blurred image when the subject is moving), quantum dots detect the entire image at the same moment, reducing the chance for distortion.[14]
Invisage holds patents related to the development of QuantumFilm technology, as well as its applications toward optoelectronic devices.[15]

found via Image Sensor World.

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Sony A7rII to ship in mid August in Europe. Manual in different languages available!

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A7rII

Sony Europe changed the delivery date for the A7rII. If you preorder the camera now they will ship it to you in mid-August. European readers can also download that A7rII manual available in many different languages: http://pdf.crse.com/manuals/4576983411.pdf (Thanks Martin for spotting this).

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

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The cheap E-mount lenses are the best sellers at Amazon.

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Sony-e-mount-amazon

We had a lot of new (and expensive) FE lenses. But a short look at the Amazon Mirrorless Lens ranking (Click here) unveils how the low-cost APS-C E-mount lenses are the most sold in USA. It would certainly be nice if Sony and Sigma would in future release offer some low-cost FE lens. It’s something we really do miss on our FF lens lineup!

And what about the cameras? Well again, APS-C Sony E-mount cameras are on top of the ranking (Click here).

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A Sony A7s video goes viral: “The Drone” by Jordan Rubin.

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SAR reader Jordan Rubin realized that video gone viral on Youtube. He kindly explained me why he choose the Sony A7s to realize it:

As a huge Sony fan, we decided to shoot “The Drone ” at a friend’s house using my Sony A7s. It was a two day shoot and I was trying to accomplish the modern horror trailer look, with a very limited budget. Luckily my Zombeavers DP Jonathan Hall was available. He brought his set of Rokinon DS lenses which allowed us to pull focus legitimately. I love my Sony FE lenses, but the lack of geared focus and iris rings would have made it a nightmare for our 1st AC to properly follow the actors.

The A7s was great, obviously because it allowed us to shoot in low light conditions – plus, having been spoiled by shooting my first feature in ARRIRAW, it was exciting to be able to use the A7s picture profiles for more dynamic range and the RAW-like flexibility to accomplish legitimate color-timing in post. I didn’t want to limit my base ISO to 3200 (S-Log limitation on the A7s), so I chose these settings instead:

DAY SHOTS:
PP4
Gamma = cine 4
Color = s-gamut
Detail = 0 (default)

NIGHT SHOTS
PP2
gamma = cine 2
Color = s-gamut
Detail = 0 (default)

Some people recommend dialing down the detail and adding sharpening in post, but I prefer to keep it set at zero. We also rented a modest light kit and a speed rail slider to add some production value – and I colored the project with a combination of FCP, Premiere Pro and the FilmConvert plugin.

I was very happy with the result. I switched over to Sony from Canon about a year ago and I couldn’t be happier. I’m looking forward to getting an RX100M4 this week to experiment shooting 4k and super slow-motion with a pocket sized camera!

Jordan Rubin, Director

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].

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This week SAR readers photos selection.

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Alexandros Apostolopoulos‎
Sony A6000 and sel16f2.8 from Cyprus Aphrodite’s Rock – Paphos
(4 Horizontal shots)
https://flic.kr/p/w3rmuw

1) Submit your picture with a message and picture here: facebook.com/sonyalpharumors or on the SonyAlphaForum image section.
2) Like and comment the pictures from other readers here: facebook.com/sonyalpharumors/photos_stream?tab=photos and on SonyAlphaForum.
3) A selection of most liked pictures by the community and by me SAR admin will be posted weekly on SAR.

Note: When sending a pic feel free to also add a link to your site to promote yourself!

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