Moonlight | Sony A7s ISO test from Carbon Studios on Vimeo.

The Sony A7s is one of those few cameras that can expand your creativity. Here is just an example of a video shot in moonlight only! Carbon Studios writes:

“The first scene was shot at 1/25th, f/1.4, 25,600 ISO, The second scene was shot at 1/25th, f/1.4, 32,000 ISO. We did not add any color grading, noise reduction, or sharpness.  All of the clips are straight out of the camera shot in the PP2 setting. You will notice some purple fringing around the left side, The Metabones adapter that we rented had a light leak issue from what it looks like. Sony has done an amazing job in creating this camera especially after seeing the quality that has come out of this camera. Gear used:
Sony A7s
Metabones EF to NEX Smart Adapter II
Zeiss 55mm 1.4 Otus
Zeiss 28mm 2.0“

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].

And here is the Carbon Studio team on the location:

Sony 28-135mm Cine Lens – Exclusive Hands-On Interview from cinema5D on Vimeo.

Cinema5D posted that Video Interview with Mr.Ueda from Sony. The talk is about the new 28-135mm FE powerzoom lens. Cinema5D also had the chance to test the lens:

The aperture F/4.0 seems to go all the way through, unlike Canon’s own and frequently used Canon 24-105mm that gets darker at the far end. The images appear very sharp and clear and we couldn’t see any obvious chromatic aberration or softening at F/4.0. We were told it is made for 4K applications. Overall the lens feels very well manufactured and strong.

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New Sony stuff preorders:
Zeiss 16-35mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony Store US.
Zeiss 16-35mm FE in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
28-135mm powerzoom in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Sony FS7 4K camcorder at Adorama.
HVL-F32M Flash at Adorama, BHphoto.
HVL-F32M Flash in Europe at Sony DE, IT,
Sony RMT-VP1K Wireless Remote Commander & Receiver Kit at Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony XLR-K2M XLR Adaptor Kit (with microphone) at Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony LCS-PSC7 System Bag (Black) at BHphoto.

Loxia at BHphoto:
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 Biogon T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here).
Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2 Planar T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here)

If you want to see what kind of pictures you can take with the new Zeiss 16-35mm f/4.0 lens jump over at Mark Galer’s Flickr page (Click here). Not that only the pictures on top have been taken with the new Zeiss!

UPDATE: Also Sony Japan (Click here) posted some image samples.

New Sony stuff preorders:
Zeiss 16-35mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony Store US.
Zeiss 16-35mm FE in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
28-135mm powerzoom in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Sony FS7 4K camcorder at Adorama.
HVL-F32M Flash at Adorama, BHphoto.
HVL-F32M Flash in Europe at Sony DE, IT,
Sony RMT-VP1K Wireless Remote Commander & Receiver Kit at Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony XLR-K2M XLR Adaptor Kit (with microphone) at Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony LCS-PSC7 System Bag (Black) at BHphoto.

Loxia at BHphoto:
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 Biogon T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here).
Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2 Planar T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here)

A7s with Otus 85mm. Image courtesy: Jorge Torralba

Otus 85mm Preorders:
BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
Adorama with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
In Australia at CameraPro.

Jorge Torralba (Click here) posted a review of the Zeiss Otus 85mm used on the Sony A7s. It’s very interesting to read the part concerning the handling of the Otus on such a small camera:

As stated earlier, although the lens is large and heavy, it did not feel too bad on the A7S. In fact, it was a pleasure to use. It is only slightly larger than the Zeiss 135mm 1.8 ZA which I currently own and have no problems with whatsoever on an A7.  It feels well balanced and if you don’t need the lens hood, its even more friendly. My only concerns regarding the weight of this lens on the A7S with the adapter were really how secure and solid the adapter was and whether the lens would come off crashing to the ground leaving me with a very expensive bill and ruining the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Let me just say, I use the Fotodiox adapter and am thinking of upgrading to something more substantial. I did find myself holding on to the camera by the lens rather than letting it dangle from my neck on the camera strap as I walked the streets of Portland taking pictures. I think this is a valid concern for people if they throw this on a small body camera. I could be over reacting but better safe than sorry.

But does it actually work fine?

Throw in the focus peak feature and EVF of the Sony Alpha cameras like the A7S and you are golden on the intended focus area. A little side note. Amazing lens and camera! By the time Nikon or Canon start using mirror less technology like Sony or Fuji, they will have been left in the shadows. One cannot deny that the future is in this technology and EVF’s.  Sony is on a steam roller.

Read the rest fo his very long review at Jorge Torralba’s website.

DxOmark tested the Otus 85mm lens performance and it actually shows once again how great…the FE 55mm lens is :) Just check the graph comparison below:

Preorders:
BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
Adorama with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
In Australia at CameraPro.

More Otus test on the Nikon D800 at ThePhoBlographer. and at BHphoto.

Image courtesy: 3D-Kraft.

The first test of the new Zeiss Otus 85mm lens on the Sony A7r has been published at 3D-Kraft (Click here). In eery short this is why in the reviewers mind this combo makes a lot of sense:

The Otus line was designed with full-frame DSLRs in mind and so you can get them in two versions: ZE model for Canon EF-mount and ZF.2 model for Nikon F-mount. Thinking of all the features supporting precise and comfortable manual focusing on Sony’s mirror less A7R with its exceptional 36 MP sensor, great EVF magnification, focus peaking etc., for me this combination makes even more sense…this is the perfect match and simply the best lens you can currently get in this focal length range. I saw several posts complaining about the price tag (about 4000 EUR including VAT), but if you compare it to a Leica Apo Summicron 50/2 ASPH or medium format lenses – and this is the league where it compares best – it looks like a bargain.

And seeing that Sony will release 50 Megapixel FF cameras in early 2015 this may be one of the few lenses that can get the most out of the new sensor.

Preorders:
BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
Adorama with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.

Matt Granger posted that great Zeiss Otus 85mm video review you can watch on top. And plenty of image samples including RAW files can be downloaded on his page: mattgranger.com/otus85mm.
Ming Thein alss posted his Zeiss review and indirectly explains also why this lens is best used on the Sony A7 cameras. He tested the lens on the Nikon D800 and focusing is a real challenge:

I think this is going to be the biggest hurdle for most users: even with my custom focusing screens, calibrated mirror and finder magnifier, it’s extremely challenging to consistently hit critical focus wide open. The viewfinder system is simply inadequate. The only optical finder-based method I’ve found that can nail focus involves racking it slowly while shooting a burst – disastrous for critical timing, but just fine for static subjects. Live view and a tripod is of course highly advisable

And if you read my previous post about the high resolution cameras from Sony this may be one of the few lenses capable of resolving a 50MP resolution on a Full Frame E-mount camera. But well, it comes at a high cost :(

Preorders:
BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
Adorama with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.

Diglloyd posted his first impressions about the new Zeiss Otus 85mm lens:

The Otus 85/1.4 APO-Planar delivers the most transparently beautiful imagery I have ever seen on a DSLR…Including medium format Leica S, and the best Pentax medium format lens, the 90/2.8 macro. The Otus 85mm /1.4 APO-Planar sets a new standard all its own.

The Swedish site Fotosidan (google translation here) posted a short comparison with the Nikon 85mm lens:

Some bright lenses are deliberately drawing a soft at maximum aperture to get nice and soft background blur (bokeh). Zeiss has managed to combine high clarity with nice bokeh, see example image.

The lens can be preorderd at BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.

UPDATE: RAW image samples can be downloaded at Mattgranger.com/otus85mm