Topaz released the new new Photo Ai 3.1.0 update (Click here). This release of Photo AI includes:

• New Autopilot Suggestions. You can now take full control of Autopilot by opting in to provided suggestions. Autopilot will also now continue to suggest new enhancements to your image.
• Smart Preview Rendering. Ever noticed Photo AI rendering when it didn’t need to, such as when zooming in or when adjusting a slider? No more of that! By intelligently rendering the preview only when required, this version of Photo AI feels snappier than ever before.
• Huge Preview & Masking Optimizations. Optimizations under the hood make rendering, masking, and selection all much faster. You can now mask to your heart’s delight with performance that keeps up with your cursor. It’s so good that you’re going to want to try the Superpixel brush again.
• Major Preserve Text quality improvements. You’re now going to get better text recovery results than before when upscaling – now even rivaling Gigapixel’s Text & Shapes model.
• Major Face Recovery quality improvements. Dramatically improved results for face recovery when combined with other filters such as Adjust Lighting or Balance Color.

Dpreview had a chat with two Sony managers. Here are the most interesting notes:

The general market is doing ok:

“We’d thought the total market volume would shrink, but in fact it’s been very stable,” he says: “and we assume the market volume will continue to be stable in 2024. We believe the total market for mirrorless and full-frame will increase.”

About the AI tech implementation:

“We have to utilize AI power, whether in the body or cloud-side” For instance, he says: “More complicated lens correction can be realized on the cloud side. In the camera body, complex processes are difficult because of the machine power, but the cloud can realize more complex compensation.”

About the global shutter strategy:

“Before thinking about the big future, we have to focus on how to broaden the a9 III’s global shutter benefit into the market. So starting with the professionals, that’s the key,” he says: “[for] now we are focusing on how to broaden our global shutter benefit in the professional market.”

It’s available here: sony.co.uk/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-7-series/ilce-7m4/software/00288927

Benefits and Improvements:

• Fixes an issue where the recording for a movie shooting session may be interrupted

Dpreview had a chat with Tamron manager Kota Misawa. A couple of take always:

Misawa provides an optimistic overview: “The number of cameras sold last year was 101% compared to the previous year and 104% in value,” Misawa tells us. “And the number of lenses sold was 99% compared to the previous year and 107% in value. So we think we have hit the bottom and we predict the market to remain at the same level as last year.”

Hybrid lenses: “We believe the driving force will be intermediate and above level users who not only take photos but also videos. We think they want to be able to switch smoothly between stills and video. That’s the key point for our next models.”

Entry level market: “Judging from recent trends, we feel that we are not taking sufficient care of entry-level users, so we would like to continue to develop lenses for these users with good cost and performance.”

AI tech: “We’re already using AI technology to improve the performance of vibration compensation when shooting videos.”

Sony A7CII 10+ Best Features Unlocked!

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
Best Sony Lenses for Your APS-C Camera (Explora).
Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 AF Review | The Best of the Snipers? (Dustin Abbott).
Sony ZV-E10 II Hands-On Review: there’s a better option (Julia Trotti).
What Are Practical Lights in Videography and How Do You Use Them? (42West).
Protect Your Gear with Ruggard (Explora).

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BCN reported the mirrorless market share for the month of June:

• Sony 33%
• Canon 25.7%
• Nikon 17.4%
• Fujifilm 10.7%
• Others 12.9%

Sony took the top spot with 33.3% of the manufacturer’s market share, overtaking Canon to regain the top spot. Fujifilm came in fourth with a 10.7% share. This was the first time the company had been in the top four in 24 years. The release of the “FUJIFILM X-T50” boosted its market share.

The top 10 o the best selling cameras is:

1. Sony ZV-E10
2. Canon EOS R50
3. Canon EOS R10
4. Sony A6400
5. Nikon Z30
6. FujiFilm X-T50
7. Sony α7C II
8. Nikon Zfc
9. Lumix G100D
10. Nikon Z50

Sony’s “VLOGCAM ZV-E10” took the top spot in the mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera series sales ranking for June 2024. We look back on the mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera market in June 2024 from the “BCN Ranking,” which compiles actual sales data from electronics retailers and online stores.
Following the No. 1 VLOGCAM ZV-E10 is the Canon EOS R50, which has maintained second place since January 2012. The company also has the EOS R10 in third place, meaning that two of its products are ranked in the top three. The top three products have remained unchanged for three consecutive months since April 2012.
New to the top ten is Fujifilm’s FUJIFILM X-T50. This new product features an appearance reminiscent of a classic film camera, and it got off to a good start in sixth place since its release month.
Sony’s α7C II is the only full-frame camera to make it into the top ten. It dropped one rank from sixth place last month to seventh place.

Asobinet spotted two brand new Tamron patents that disclose two unique telephoto zoom lenses with Fresnel design:

• Tamron 400-1000mm f/10-11.5
• Tamron 250-700mm f/6.5-13

The Fresnel design allows those lenses to be more compact than “classic” lenses. The downside is that you loose a bit of Image Quality and Speed. An example of such a lens is the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens.

Considering the crazy focal lenght I think this is a wise choice from Tamron to use that desing to keep them more compact.