The Taiwanese site Mobile01 (google translation here) is the first website publishing a full review of the new Sony 50mm f/1.8 FE lens. They say the lens has a “surprisingly competent performance” on the very demanding high megapixel Sony A7rII. Here are some of their PROS and CONS:

• Bokeh in the center is good but deteriorates on the corners.
• It’s not tack sharp wide open but it’s a good performance for the money.
• It’s prone to purple fringing, flare and ghost
• fast enough autofocus

The FE 50mm f/1.8 is probably the best bang for the buck FE lens. And it’s set to ship next week at Amazon. BHphoto. Adorama. FocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. Jessops!

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New FE lens store links:
FE 50mm f/1.8 at Amazon. BHphoto. Adorama. FocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. Jessops.
FE 70-300mm at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. FocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. Jessops.

Sigma MC-11 vs Commlite adapter with Sony A7II and Canon 70-200F4L IS

The new Sigma MC-11 electronic adapter is now shipping through many stores (Check at [shopcountry 47259]). And there is a good news to report. Canon lenses seem to work just fine with it as you can see from those videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-yrwV-zfjk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0dXaSGRdzM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-dRWx6NJWA (a6000 with mc11)

Review of Sigma MC-11 with Sigma 120-300 Art (Track&Field)

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Thanks Del!

Both Nikon F and Leica M lens owners can finally get autofocus E-mount adapter for their lenses. And here are two new videos about those. On top you can watch the [shoplink 44693 ebay]Commlite Nikon G to Sony FE AF adapter[/shoplink] Open box. And at Weixin you can see the Leica M autofocus adatper in action. A more detailed video test can be seen on that SAR post.

The Commlite can be bought for $349 on [shoplink 44693 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The Leica M autofocus adapter will be for sale in a few weeks from now.

Above you can see the new Lim Metal-leather hybrid case made for the RX1rII. You can buy those on [shoplink 45232 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and Amazon (Click here).

Photographyblog posted their Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II Review:

Images are quite frankly superb directly from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II. The amount of detail resolved is pretty much unparalleled, with gorgeous colours and decent low-light performance.
Last year the Leica Q emerged to take the crown from Sony in the full-frame fixed lens market. Now however, Sony has hit back with something which competes extremely well. There are benefits to both the systems, so it’s difficult to call an outright winner, but Sony has produced something very, very capable in the new Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II.

Imaging Resource writes:

The image quality, at both low and high ISOs, is just as impressive, if not more so, thanks to the big resolution increase. Plus, the nifty variable low-pass filter technology adds flexibility and convenience by combining what used to require two separate cameras into one device. The autofocus system gets a major upgrade, and now the RX1R II is a much more capable camera in a wider variety of situations. And although its fixed 35mm lens and a $3,300 price tag can be a limiting factor or a big strain on the wallet — or both — it’s nevertheless an excellent camera and a stunning feat of engineering. As our pick for the Best Enthusiast Fixed-lens Camera of 2015 in our Camera of Year Awards, there’s no question that the Sony RX1R II is a solid choice for a Dave’s Pick.

The RX1rII also won the Red Dot Award (Sony Japan).

New RX1rII hot shoe cover from [shoplink 45227 ebay]Gariz on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

TP Original RX1rII case at Rakuten.

A photographer who wishes to remain anonymous just received his 15mm E mount Voigtlander Heliar. He shared those images and writes:

“Jesus it’s small…I never had the old one so I can’t comment but obviously there’s no longer the need for an adapter.  Turning the focus ring activates the in-viewfinder magnification. Falloff seems minimal, little distortion, no purple corners, very sharp in center, and very good at edges. Will need to do some real testing to comment authoritatively, but so far it’s all I hoped and expected it to be.  It’s TINY.  Did I say it’s very very small?”

The Heliar 15mm II for Sony E is in Stock at [shoplink 47157 ebay]FotoMundus (Worldwide shipment)[/shoplink] and will be in Stock soon at CameraQuest and Bhphoto.

The 85mm GM lens is in Stock at BHphoto (Click here).

Diglloyd seems to have spotted another bug:

With both the Sony GM lenses (85/1.4 GM and 24-70/2.8 GM), Sony A7R II does NOT open the lens diaphragm to focus, at least not under reasonably bright to somewhat dim conditions (checked over 3 different days). Setting Effect = On or Off has no effect on the behavior.

I guess this is something that can be fixed by Sony via firmware upgrade.

DearSusans started his ongoing 85mm GM lens review:

Wide open, there is a modest loss of apparent sharpness due to a very slight loss of contrast. But first it is very slight, then it clears up not only by f:2.0, but already by f:1.6 (the aperture range moves in 1/3 stops). From f:1.7 on down, the lens hardly improves, but its rendering becomes just a tad less warm and more neutral. So, in effect, you have a portrait lens wide open, where many prefer not to show too much detail and sharpness (I happpen to disagree), and lovely, romantic colours, then a lens for close-up and street from f:1.6 to, say, f:4.0, then a landscape lens from f:4.0 onwards.

GM lens store links:
85mm f/1.4 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Amazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.
24-70mm f/2.8 GM FE at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy. Amazon Germany. Calumetphoto.de. WexUK. Jessops.

As with any new product there are always some reports about annoyances and possible issues. The 85mm GM lens first was “under suspicion” for a possible mechanical issue causing scratches inside the autotofus ring. But it turned out that what you see is just the lubricant (article here). Now we got another possible autofocus issue we have to investigate. Diglloyd claims:

“Right away with the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM, I noticed a disturbing tendency for Sony A7R II autofocus to be off enough to seriously degrade results at f/1.4, enough to call it a “2 stop error” in some cases, meaning at least f/2.8 would be needed to obtain the quality that ought to have been captured wide open at f/1.4. Or put another way, an error that turns a 42 megapixel camera into a ~12 megapixel camera. Or something akin to that.”

Let’s see if that will turn out to be a real issue on all lenses…

More 85mm GM news:
Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM Lens Hands-on Quick Look at Digitalrev.
Test shots by Dylan Nguyen
Sony GM 24-70mm First look by Ricky Ban
Sony 85mm f/1.4 G-Master First Look (movetomirrorless)

GM lens store links:
85mm GM at [shopcountry 47000].
24-70mm GM at [shopcountry 47001].
70-200mm GM at [shopcountry 47002].