Sony shares fall 10% today alone!

Today Sony shares dropped by 10%. Since the start of the “tariff war” Sony shared stropped by over 20%. We now have to see how this will also impact the Alpha camera and lens roadmap…

Announced: New Songraw 50mm f/1.2 autofocus FE lens

Songraw is displaying the new 50mm f/1.2 FE lens at the NABshow. This is the first ever lens from this new Chinese company. Here are the specs:

  • 13 aperture blades
  • 15 elements in 10 groups
  • 0,52m close focus
  • 72mm filter size
  • Click/Declick aperture ring
  • AF/MF switch
  • E/Z/L mount versions
  • Price around $1,000
  • Available end of April

Here is an image from 2nd focus:

Here is an interview by CineD:

Albert Dros launched the new “Lightroom for Landscapes” course

Sony Alpha Ambassador Albert Dros launched the new “Lightroom for Landscapes” course (Click here). For the first week you save 10% using the coupon code “INTRO”

This course includes:

  • 20+ lectures.
  • 18 RAW files to work on.
  • My most up to date editing techniques with Lightroom: from beginner to very advanced with complicated masking techniques.
  • Feedback from myself on your work in our private community.
  • High Quality Instructions like you’re used to from me.

More tariffs insights from Fstoppers, Northrup and TheVerge

In the video above from Fstoppers, you can clearly see the confusion over these tariffs. In fact, prices will go up on every item, including those made in the US, since everyone relies on parts and raw materials made in different countries. And no, the tariffs will not shift any significant amount of production to the US, as in most cases the tariffs would have to be many times higher to make local US production competitive.

And there are also three more problems:

  1. In most cases, there is no production network in the USA for goods that are currently manufactured in ASIA. And it would take many years to build such a network.
  2. Tariffs run on everything, finished products and also parts. This will make American goods more expensive and exports will go down, which is exactly the opposite of Trump’s goal
  3. I doubt that for you USA workers the ‘US dream’ is to get those ‘nice’ factory jobs from Vietnam, Bangladesh and other countries. Particularly when you already have a 4% unemployment rate…will you really go work in a sweater shop?

The Verge writes:

As for whether these tariffs could potentially encourage Big Tech to restart domestic manufacturing, it’s highly unlikely. Even with these tariffs in place, it’s still cheaper for these companies to manufacture devices like smartphones, laptops, and wearables overseas. And even if they did want to move some industry back home, that wouldn’t be possible overnight. The U.S. has lost a lot of its manufacturing capacity, particularly for consumer electronics, in the last few decades.

My MAGA readers pointed out that this is just part of a ‘super-smart’ negotiating tactic by Donald Trump. That may be, but still, a lot of damage has already been done by this super-smart tactic:

  • Your 401k is reduced by 20%. If you have to dip into your savings now, you’re going to feel the pain.
  • Since people’s savings have lost value, they will spend less to buy things, and that will slow down the economy.
  • The economy and businesses hate unpredictability. So product releases will slow down, investment will fall… and the likelihood of a recession will increase.
  • The rest of the world is annoyed by the US’s actions. They will try to turn their backs on the US.

Again, I know Trump’s arguments, and there are certainly some arguments in favor of tariffs (e.g. greater independence from China in certain important areas like semiconductors and other reasons). But I think global constructive co-operation is beneficial for everyone in the long run, for the US, for China and for the rest of the world, and yes… it will never be completely fair, that is an impossible task and it doesn’t have to be to grow the economy.

Again I would recommend ordering it today the cameras that will ship out in the next weeks…to avoid paying the tariffs later:

IMPORTANT POLITICAL NOTE: Please have a civilized discussion. I myself do not pretend to know what is perfectly right, and I am willing to change my mind if you do so with respect and rational argumentation. We need more love in this world :)

Save big on Lexar, Sandisk and WD storage and cards!

The big Lexar, Sandisk and WD storage deals are live on those pages at Amazon and BHphoto. Some examples:

  • 18% off on the WD 24TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive at Amazon and BHphoto.
  • 15% off on the 1TB Sandisk SD card at Amazon and BHphoto.
  • 16% off on the SanDisk 4TB Extreme PRO Portable SSD at Amazon and BHphoto.
  • 23% off on the SanDisk 512GB Extreme PRO V90 SD card at Amazon and BHphoto.
  • Up to 40% off on Lexar SD/CF cards and storage at Amazon and BHphoto.
  • Up to 37% off on Sandisk SD cards and storage at Amazon and BHphoto.

More deals:

Sony A1II will now ship out in June and Amazon canceled the A1II preorders!

Adorama updated the expected availability of the Sony A1II to “June“. This of course if you order the camera today. Readers have told me that cameras they ordered in January have now been delivered in the last few days.

And one of our readers (Thanks!) sent me this:

Today, Amazon USA canceled that order and if you check your links to Amazon for the a1 mark ii you can no longer order the camera from the them, the reason they sent was “Due to a lack of availability, we will not be able to obtain the following item from your order. We’ve canceled the item and apologize for the inconvenience.“

I think the new Sony A7V will indeed only be announced during the second half of the year to allow Sony to focus on the Sony A1II production

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Sony A1II at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama