Zeiss 16-35mm FE gets DxOmarked: Best f/4.0 wide angle zoom on market. French reviewer says “est impressionnant” :)

Bildschirmfoto 2014-11-07 um 10.18.31

The new Zeiss 16-35mm FE lens got tested at DxOmark (Click here). And it scored the best result among the three f/4.0 wide angle zoom tested by DxOmark. It beats by a hair the Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 lens. The only real “cons” of the lens is that it’s also the slightly more expensive of the three. But we can live with that or not? As long as results are that good!

Also Focus Numerique (translation here) tested the lens and said “Le 16-35 mm f/4 de Sony est impressionnant“. I think it’s clear for everyone what it means :)

One more thing: Worldwide shipment officially started today at Sony Canada and Amazon Japan. Check the full shipment date info here:
USA/Canada  at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony Store US, Sony Canada.
Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Australia and Asia at Sony AUS, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

Zeiss 16-35mm FE to ship from tomorrow. New full review by Colby Brown.

fe16-35mm
Image courtesy: Cengiz

According to Sony Canada and Amazon Japan the new Zeiss 16-35mm FE lens will start to ship from tomorrow. And SAR reader Cengiz sent us that 16-35mm FE Stock image from a Hong Kong Store. You can check the shipping dates here:
USA/Canada  at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony Store US, Sony Canada.
Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Australia and Asia at Sony AUS, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

There is also a new full review written by Colby Brown:

Not only was Sony and Zeiss able to engineer a small and lightweight ultra wide angle lens, they were able to do so without sacrificing image quality. I was impressed with the corner to corner sharpness (although it doesn’t de-thrown the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8) as well as how it handles sun stars and can be used hand held with its built in OSS (optical stabilization), especially with the a7s.

Feel free to post your 16-35mm FE unboxing and test pics/videos on our SonyAlphaForum!

New great Sony A7s reviews and work roundup!


Cool 4k timelapse videos and photos from Alpha user in Iceland and Guatemala  (part one and part two). Shot on A7r and A7s and pictures can be found on Flickr.

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Sony A7s store links: Sony A7s in USA/CA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony USA, Sony Canada. Sony A7s in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PL. And Wex UK.
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It’s time for the next great A7s reviews and work roundup! And til now I didn’t find one single reviewer hating the A7s. Quite the opposite…all do love the cam!

Josh McLeod did a full model shooting with the A7s:

Lately I seem to be shooting more and more with the Sony cameras, and the more I shoot with them the more I like them (both the A7 and A7s). I love pretty much everything about them, and for my shooting style they are pretty close to the perfect tool.

EosHD posted the second part of the A7s review:

The Sony A7S is the first camera to really beat the Canon 5D Mark III across the board at almost every level for both stills and video, especially the latter. The A7R did not have the video quality to rival the Canon, but the A7S is a different proposition altogether and raises the bar to another level, possibly signalling the end of DSLR domination in this area at the same time. I can think of no reason to shoot on stock Canon 5D Mark III video settings when you can shoot XAVC-S on the A7S.

Imaging Resource posted the second part of their A7s shooter report:

I love the shoot-anywhere-in-any-lighting capabilities with the A7S’ insane high ISO sensitivity, and the smaller 12MP images are a breeze to work with on most any computer and save a ton of space on hard drives and memory cards. Plus, the solid build and cool design make it easy and comfortable to use, and the completely silent shooting mode makes the Sony A7S great for candid street, travel and event photography.

Slow motion and low light test at Westcoastvisualfx:

Overall, I feel this camera meets and exceeds my needs allowing me to shoot in greater variety of situations more efficiently and quickly. I love the menu system, and do not mind the record button being on the right. You have to be careful with the rolling shutter, which when shooting cinematically is not a problem. The low light is so fun to play with, and I am very impressed with the slow motion. There are so many benefits to this camera over the Mark III and even the 7d Mark II (Not even release yet). I was able to switch without a problem. Oh, and it takes a pretty great photo too.

Great Chinese fireflies video shot on the Sony A7s (Youku.com with english subtitles).

Full Spanish A7s review at Quesabesde and said it’s the new “reina de la noche”…Queen of the night :)

Jeffrey sent me this: “I recently competed in Pittsburgh PA’s first ever 48 Hour Horror Film Project. It’s a film festival in which you are given certain elements to put into a film and you have 48 hours to write a script, shoot it, and edit a short movie, and my film, “RUNNER”, took the runner up prize in the festival. The reason I am telling you this is because the film was shot entirely on an a7s in a dimly lit basement and a dark park. Most of the shots in the basement were filmed with only one or two 60 watt lightbulbs to light the whole scene, and the images look great.
I would be flattered if you would be interested in sharing it on your site if you need some Halloween type content for the 31st. I’m very proud of the film, even with the few flaws it has — remember it was written, shot and edited in just two days. Also, if you do decide to use it, be sure to mention that it is a horror film, so it may not be safe for work, or for small children. Here it is: http://youtu.be/aTC9wd47ZQo

Andy:My team and I made a part time lapse/part urban exploration video of Miami shot with the Sony A7S, filmed entirely with just moonlight and street lights as light sources. The middle portion of the video was shot on Miami Beach under a full moon at 2 am (you can see the sequence of shots begin at the 1:06 mark of the video), and we were really stunned and satisfied with the results. Everything came out surreal, almost as if there were a green screen or dreamy backdrop against the ocean. Almost CGI like, but much more natural than CGI. I’ve included a link to view the video below. We’d really appreciate your feedback, and if you like the video, please feel free to post on your site! We’d truly be flattered! Thanks again for being such a great site! Link to video: https://vimeo.com/109654084

Sony A7s store links:
Sony A7s in USA/CA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony USA, Sony Canada.
Sony A7s in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PL. And Wex UK.
A7s Gariz leather case in [shoplink 27569 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27570 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27571 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 27572 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink].

Sony 70-200mm FE lens reviewed at CameraLabs and StuckinCustoms.


Image sourtesy: Photozone.de.

The Sony FE 70-200mm f4G OSS has been reviewed at CameraLabs:

 I think you’ve got the message by now: if you want a decent 70-200mm in the native FE-mount, this is your only choice, so thank goodness it’s a decent one. Highly recommended.

StuckinCustoms also tested the lens and writes:

This lens is supa-dupa-light! It doesn’t have all that heft and size of its Nikon counterpart. It’s just amazing, really. I gave it to all my DSLR-carrying friends and they just look at me with a bitter expression. I love it.

Sony 70-200mm FE at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), SonyStore (Click here). In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, AT, NL, BE, CH, FI, SE, PT

Fotodiox mount review by Fstoppers: “Tough E-Mount is a winner”!

fotodiox

The Fotodiox Tough full metal E-mount replacement is now on back order at Amazon (Click here to preorder) and BHphoto (Click here to preorder).

Fstopper tested the new Fotodiox mount and writes:

For me, the Tough E-Mount is a winner. I was easily able to fix a bothersome wiggle at home in less that five minutes. If the all-metal mount really does increase strength over Sony’s mount as Fotodiox claims, all the better; but not the reason that many are buying it for.

Installing the #Fotodiox Tough E-Mount

Ein von Ryan Mense (@ryanmense) gepostetes Video am


This is a must have item I am going to buy too :) Get it at Amazon (Click here to preorder) and BHphoto (Click here to preorder).

Does the Sony FS7 kill the Canon C300? Oh yes says Newshooter!

fs7-c300-600x336
Image courtesy: Newsshooter

Newsshooter (Click here) posted the Sony FS7 4K E-mount camcorder field test impressions:

So has this camera won me over from the C300? Well actually yes, so far – with the exception of the waveform/histogram issue which I assume Sony will solve. I need to test more but at this point I’m confident that it will replace the C300 (and possibly my F5 too) as a daily workhorse. Ergonomically it bests the C300 and it suits my style of shooting. It has the 4K option but, just as important for me, it has all the flavours of HD that I need including good old MPEG. Slow motion is a big deal too. I still prefer Canon colours out of the box – but the FS7 produces some nice looking images that I’m pretty happy with.

But Canon lens owners ready to jump on the FS7 should be aware of that:

Don’t rush to buy this camera expecting it to work flawlessly with the Metabones Speedbooster Ultra or EF to E-mount adapters – it doesn’t for now at least. Hopefully there may be a fix from Metabones but this isn’t a combo I recommending at the moment.

An interesting thing I didn’t notice before is that the FS7 is the first E-mount camera that has an “Alpha Mount” mark on the mount. And not the usual “E-mount” as seen on current E-mount photocameras:

fs7-sensor-412x600

Image courtesy: Newsshooter

Camcorder preorders:
Sony PXW-FS7 body only at BHphoto (Click here).
Sony PXW-FS7 with 28-135mm lens at BHphoto (Click here).
Sony VCT-FS7 Lightweight Rod Support System for PXW-FS7 at BHphoto (Click here).
28-135mm at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
28-135mm powerzoom in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Sony 128GB XQD Memory Card G Series 400MB/s at Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Sony 64GB XQD Memory Card G Series 400MB/s at Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Sony 32GB XQD Memory Card G Series 400MB/s at Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).