Image courtesy: Tom Calton

The massive Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 lens (listed here at BH) was quite a popular “Clickbait” lens that made a lot of publicity for Sigma. This week Asobinet reported the lens has been officially discontinued.

UPDATE: Petapixel now reports that this lens has NOT been discontinued.

Now, if you absolutely want to own this lens you can still find a few lenses in Stock on eBay:

And here is the official spec sheet from Sigma:

And if you wanna see how good this lens performs Tom Calton once tested this lens on his Sony camera:

The latest update added the Generative Remove AI tool (see video on top). But it also added extended tethering support for Sony Alpha cameras and lens profile for the new Sigma 24-70mm II:

• Lens Blur, now generally available, seamlessly adds aesthetic blur effects to any part of a photograph in a single click and now includes all-new automatic presets;
• Expanded tethering support for new cameras including the latest Sony digital cameras – such as the Alpha 7 IV and Alpha 7R V – provides access to photos in Lightroom Classic in real-time, delivering time saving on everyday editing workflows and enabling better collaboration across teams;
• HDR Optimization, used already across tens of millions of images, enables anyone capturing photos to edit and export their photos with brighter highlights, deeper shadows and more vivid colors, as seen in real life;
• Instant access to photo libraries in Lightroom mobile and desktop apps empowers faster editing than ever before;
• Lightroom’s all-new mobile editing experience streamlines the mobile toolbar to prioritize the most popular features, while making it faster and more intuitive to edit.

The strange delays in camera launches: Canon did not announce new cameras for 12 months, Nikon for 8 months and Sony for 6 months! I do not know what the reason for this is. I can only speculate:

• some kind of component shortage
• The worldwide enthusiasm for compact cameras is creating new demand for some of the existing models (such as Sony A6700 and A7c series). This is forcing companies to postpone new releases
• New European AI regulations (or other regulations?) are forcing manufacturers to adapt their future releases.
• Fujifilm won and we are all forced to buy the X100VI from now on :)

What is your best guess?

Today Sigma Japan issued the following note:

Regarding the “SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II | Art for Sony E-mount” scheduled to be released on May 30, 2024 (Thursday), we received orders that exceeded our expectations and production has been delayed. We are unable to keep up with demand. Therefore, some customers may take some time to receive their products.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers and related parties who are waiting for the product, but we are currently working diligently to produce it, so we ask for your patience.
We appreciate your continued patronage of our company and our products.

Preorder at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, FotoErhardt, WexUK.

Two different retailers told me a curious story. The fact that the Fujifilm X100VI is extremely popular, but at the same time not in stock for the next few months, is forcing people to look at possible alternatives. That is why I have been told that the Sony A6700 and Sony A7cII have seen a significant increase in sales.

Fuji’s success is great news for the whole industry. It finally shows that there is some potential to increase camera sales. However, imagine how great it would have been if Sony had launched a new RX1RIII or even a cheaper APS-C RX!

To be honest, most of the companies are asleep on the wheel: Also Nikon and Canon don’t have a true X100VI competitor. I guess this will change soon…maybe even this autumn with new “vintage” or/and “compact” camera releases from the big three?

Image courtesy CameraSize

A reader sent me anonymously those two images of Annie Leibovitz latest work.

Source: Louis Vuitton

CineD visited the Sirui factory to see how the Sniper and Saturn are made.