Our reader James spotted this new Sony Full Frame sensor which has quite some unique features. James writes:

Here’s the new Sony Semiconductor Exmor R full frame sensor. It has 160 million sub-pixels, can output 40 Megapixels Bayer image for normal ISP, and the 10 Megapixels or 2.5 Megapixels Omnibalance RGB image by using in-pixel binning readout for the ISP without demosaic. All output modes have a high precision 14Bit output. Therefore, it is well suited for use on large format surveillance or broadcast grade cameras.
I don’t know if Sony Electronics will use it. At least I don’t think there should be a new Alpha camera that needs to use this sensor. It will be in mass production in Q1 2022. Perhaps there are other companies that use this sensor for their professional products.

BCNranking collects about 40% of the real camera sales data from Japanese retailers. The graph above show the updated APRIL info of the mirrorless market share. Canon is once more a step closer to Sony. About time to get the new APS-C E-mount camera and the A7IV!

Skylum launched the new update on Luminar. And for the next 6 days you save $30 in total if you with our code “SAR”). Press text:

LuminarAI is getting better and better — just for you. Today we are offering Update 3. Discover a whole lot of room for your newfound creativity.

• Enjoy realistic water reflections when replacing skies
• Finely control the placement of your new Sky and its reflection
• Add ripples on the water for a subtle blur effect
• Have fun placing Sky Objects that you can see and easily select in the dropdown menu
• On top of that, an amazing bokeh effect will soon be coming to LuminarAI so look out for more updates!

An overview of all new features can be found on that Luminar page.

Sigma President Kazuto Yamaki has been interviewed by PHILEWEB. The interview is in Japanese and here is the google translated text from the summary made by Digicameinfo. Kazuto says:

By this time last year, I was prepared to halve the sales compared to the previous year, but in reality, I was a little relieved without falling that much.
Even after the corona converges, online activities should be firmly established and expanded as one solid flow, and new activities will be carried out with a strong awareness of how to promote the appeal of products and how to enjoy photography through online. I’m starting.

Since the camera body is miniaturized by mirrorless, the lens must of course be the size that matches the body. Moreover, as the number of pixels increases, of course, quality is not compromised.
In advancing the mirrorless exclusive design, the first thing we worked on was improving the resolution. Know-how will be accumulated by continuing to pursue it, and after a certain stage, there will be room to make it compact at the same time. Furthermore, it is not enough to just make it compact, but it will be possible to pay attention to the finish of the photograph, such as how to suppress axial chromatic aberration and coma.

F1.8 to 2 class compact single focus lenses are generally made of plastic, and the cheap impression cannot be wiped out. I can’t find anything that meets the needs of a compact product with a good texture. The “I series” meets such needs. The operability and texture that cannot be achieved by mass production are points that cannot be imitated anywhere else.
In the I series, the original schedule was overturned in various places, and in order to create a solid structure to give a texture, parts that are not always necessary are added, which costs a lot of extra. .. I think that this kind of “selfishness” is one of the strengths of an unlisted company.

I dare to put out something that major manufacturers can never put out. Even if you take some risk, put it out with something different. That is what our company is essentially required to do. In the end, I believe that it will contribute to the revitalization of the industry in no small measure.
We will continue to develop unique lenses that cannot be imitated by other companies. I want you to look forward to Sigma in the future.

You can preorder it now on Indiegogo. There is also a hands-on review on Dpreview.