Astrhori 50mm f/1.4 Tilt Review by ThePhoBlographer

Astrhori lens at Amazon US&EU and BHphoto.

ThePhoBlographer reviewed this very unique lens and concluded:

Buy the Astrhori 50mm f1.4 Tilt if you need to break free from technically sterile images and want to do so with a slice of focus, fun flare, and an affordable price tag. The lens delivers some pretty great images with it’s tilt capabilities and wide aperture. The metal build also makes it a joy to shoot with.
Avoid the Astrhori 50mm f1.4 Tilt if chromatic aberration is one of your pet peeves, you want a lens that can go out in a drizzle, or you love pixel peeping. Beginners that haven’t yet mastered manual mode should also steer clear at least until some of those modes are mastered.

Sony ZV-E1 Review by Inverse: “The Perfect Vlogging Camera for a One-Person Show”

ZV-E1 at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.

Also Inverse seems to really like the new ZV-E1. They reviewed it and concluded:

Vlogging as a one-person team is a massive challenge in itself and Sony wants to make that much more approachable. As someone who has historically shied away from shooting video, the ZV-E1 showed me that it can be fun and simple. Even with my lackluster videography skills, I kept the camera on the Intelligent Auto mode for the most part and the footage still came out great. The ZV-E1’s powerful specs and ease of use made me more willing to dabble in video.

If you have some experience as a content creator, I’m positive the ZV-E1 will slot into your vlogging kit nicely. It may not be ideal for someone just dipping their toes into vlogging, but if you’re looking to take vlogging more seriously, the ZV-E1 is worth the investment.

AstrHori 85mm F1.8 STM review by SonyAlphaBlog: “not recommended”

This is the first autofocus lens from Astrhori so it’s interesting to read at SonyAlphaBlog if this lens can keep up with the best:

The AstrHori (279$ / 319 euros) can provide very good results in term of sharpness and very nice portraits withy smooth background blur and very nice bokeh balls. But at this stage with V03 of the firmware the AF is not very reliable at f1.8 so you either take each photo 3 times or you better use it at F2.8

The ergonomics and build quality are also an issue : weight is huge and focusing ring much too stiff not allowing to manually focus

Many other cheap or marginally more expensive 85 F1.8 exist that all provide lighter weight and much reliable AF with as good optical performances globally

The conclusion is clear, this ain’t a good lens :(

SonyAlphaBlog review of all three new Tokina Reflex lenses (300, 600, 900mm)

As you know Tokina launched those three new APS-C E-mount Reflex lenses:

SonyAlphaBlog tested all three of them (Click on the links to read the review):

  • The 300mm F7.1 is the champion for the pocket size
  • The 600mm f8 is maybe the one with the best sharpness and the best comprise in term of focal length
  • The 900mm F11 is much bigger but its magnification (1350mm equivalent) is phenomenal. Unfortunately it is also the less sharp of the 3 , the one most sensitive to wind and difficult to focus

Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G Review by Opticallimits: “a winner”

Sony 20-70mm at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, FocusCamera, FotoKoch, Fotoerhardt, Calumet, WexUK.

Opticalllimits reviewed the new Sony 20-70mm FE lens and concluded:

The Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G is one of the more exciting lenses released in recent years. It may be a new contender if we revisit the age-old question of which single lens to take on a remote island. However, this doesn’t mean that it is a perfect lens. It relies heavily on digital auto-correction to do the job, but there’s nothing wrong with this per se. However, Sony may have overdone – or, to be precise – underdone it a little when it comes to image distortions. In RAW images, the barrel distortions are nothing short of excessive at 20mm. Distortion correction is lossy, so auto-correction takes a toll on resolution. However, even so, the quality remains almost surprisingly high. The broader center quality is very good to excellent, and the outer image field is still good. As usual, the results are best in the broader middle zoom range. There’s a tiny drop at 70mm, but the results are still sharp. Auto-correction is doing a nice job of reducing the vignetting. Lateral CAs are also quite low. If we had to point to a single major weakness that is image-affecting from an end-user perspective, it’s the bokeh. However, you shouldn’t expect a great bokeh from an f/4 standard zoom lens anyway, but this doesn’t change the fact that the lens is worse than most in this respect. Returning to more positive aspects – as far as we can tell from sample images, the lens is pretty resistant to flare effects. And it can also produce pretty nice sun stars in night scenes.

The build quality of the FE 20-70mm f/4 G aligns with what you can expect from a modern G-class lens. It feels solid, and the used plastics are of high quality. The weather sealing may not have an IP rating, but it’s certainly reassuring. The zoom and focus control rings operate smoothly. Videographers will certainly appreciate the focus breathing compensation support (in certain Sony cameras) as well as the clickless aperture option. The AF motor is both very quick and noiseless.

Overall, the Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G is a winner unless you are into shallow depth-of-field photography. Especially outdoor enthusiasts will like the combination of image quality, compact size and low weight … and, of course, the 20mm setting, which is its standout feature.