Hisham Awadh posted this report on our Sony A1 Facebook group:

😢 I was too excited i forgot to lock the lens foot on a tripod and it fell down and broke in two pieces !!!! I guess i don’t need the firmware update anymore because i can’t afford another one ! Am on my way home now . What is the next step from here ? Thanks in advance for your support .

On Weibo I spotted new images of the Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 FE lens with built-in LCD screen. There is also a Chinese written report about this lens that I Google translated here:

VILTROX’s upcoming AF 16mm F1.8 Sony E-mount full-frame ultra-wide-angle lens package has a small LCD screen that can display parameters such as focusing distance. This lens has a non-bulb head and can be used with a 77mm circular filter, which can meet the needs of shooting various subjects such as starry sky, scenery, and vlog. It is expected to be officially released in May

In addition, Viltrox will release several new lenses, including full-frame AF 28mm F1.8 E-mount, and two APS-C lenses: 75mm F1.2 E-mount and 27mm F1.2 X-mount.

Sony created a new processed material named “Sorplas” that used recycled plastic for the Sony Alpha camera production.

More videos posted by Sony:

Dpreview is still publishing new content and there are rumors that “somebody” is going to buy Dpreview to keep it running.

$700 discount on the fast, reliable and for us photographers very useful portable Sandisk 4Tb hard disk sold by Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

More deals:

Tamron rebates: Tamron launched massive rebates on their E-mount lenses at BHphoto, Amazon and Adorama. Just adding my tip now: The 28-200mm FE is the best travel zoom I ever owned! I always carry it with me on my hiking tours and love it!

Sony rebates: You save up to $600 on Sony cameras and lenses at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. Some special mentions: $100 off on the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. $200 off on the Sony A7c at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.

Amazon deals: Save up to 34% on Amazon Basics Electronics gear. And you still have those great savings on Samsung storage.

More Kickstarter projects:
There is a 45% discount on the Flex Bolt sold on Indiegogo. The FLEX Bolt makes it easy to capture stunning lightning shots effortlessly.
Spinn launched the brand new version of their famous Fully self-adhesive protective gear wrapper on Kickstarter (Click here).

SAR readers Greg Watermann shot this new Pitbull video with the Sony A7sIII and the Zeiss Batis 40mm lens. If you have any questions for him comment this post and I am sure he will answer ;)

I got some very wild hints that something might be “moving” at Sony (watch video on top). And to be fair I also want to give you a different opinion:

TheDigitalDigest (vide below) is sort of “defending” Sony’s firmware policy by basically saying that:

• Sony has not promised to add features on their Sony A1 (or any other) camera. So we should stop asking for things Sony didn’t say they would deliver
• He says it’s perfectly normal in the digital industry to not add new features via software. You have to buy new gear if you want new features.

My simple answer to that is the following:

Of course the A1 is till a superb camera! But Sony doesn’t live in a bubble. There are competitors out there like Fuji and Nikon that indeed are going the opposite way and often do ADD new features via firmware update that they didn’t anticipate or promise ahead of their camera launch. So the problem is that customers will think twice in future if they should buy a Nikon Z8 or Sony A7rV or Fuji X-T5 knowing that with Nikon and Fuji they will likely get new features on future updates.