New Viltrox f/1.4 APS-C E-mount lenses in Stock at BHphoto. First review by Marc Alhadeff

The new Viltrox f/1.4 APS-C lenses are now in Stock at BHphoto.

And Marc Alhadeff from SonyAlphaBlog tested the 33mm lens and the 56mm lens (review here).

The Viltrox 33mm F1.4 STM (274 euros) is a very good prime lens for A6xxx. It delivery good to excellent sharpness across the whole frame , very soft background blur, good bokeh balls, very good color rendition, pleasant skin tones. It’s AF is good and efficient most of the time.
It will be an ideal lens for portrait and street photography. If you do a lot of video its clickless aperture ring is a pleasure to use, if not in A position on the ring, it will behave like a standard lens with aperture control via the body

DxOmark Sony A7C Sensor review: “Full-frame goodness in a compact body”

DxO tested the Sony A7c performance and unsurprisingly the results are about the same as the one of the A7III:

Featuring a rangefinder-style body, the Sony A7C is an intriguing step between the Sony A6xxx series and the DSLR-style A7xxx models. While targeting the hybrid stills and video market, the design means it’s likely to find favor with vloggers and others looking for a highly compact and portable full-frame camera, and it’s an attractive alternative to the larger A7 III and A9 models. At launch, the price is advantageous as well.

The BSI-CMOS in the Sony A7C performs well altogether. The results are practically identical to the sensors in the Sony A7 III and A9 II, and it produces a nice balance between maximum dynamic range at low ISOs and maintaining a usefully wide dynamic range at higher ISO settings. And the same can be said for color depth. All combined, the Sony A7C is an attractive option for landscape, travel, wedding, and portrait photographers, while the rangefinder-style body should also appeal to the traditional street photographer.

Sony A7c at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera. Calumet DE. Foto-erhardt DE. Fotokoch DE. Wex UK. Park UK.

First worldwide review of the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 for APSC by Marc Alhadeff

New Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 are now open at BHphoto, Adorama, Focuscamera.Calumet Germany and Wex UK.

Marc Alhadeff from Sonyalpha.blog tested the new

The Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 Di III A-VC RXD (900 euros) is a very good lens for all Sony APSC bodies and can produce high quality photos. It delivers very good to excellent sharpness, with a reliable AF, soft background blur, very good color rendering and optical stabilization that will be particularly useful in video.
Its only weaknesses are its shaprness wide open art 70mm (only good) and the Bokeh balls that exhibits strong onion rings

The choice between the Tamron and the Sony E 16-55mm F2.8 G (1300 euros) is not obvious. The Sony can now be found at 1170 euros and benefit often from 100 euros Sony cash back. So price will be quite close. Performances in term of sharpness , background blur, AF, color rendition are not a differentiating factor neither so the choice will be more in favor of the

  • Sony for its more compact form factor and better bokeh balls , specially if you have the A6500 or A6600 (with sensor stabilisation), better sunstars and flare resistance
  • Tamron if video is important for you and you have a body without sensor stabilisation like the A6000, 6100, 6300, 6400 and if the bokeh balls with onion rings do not matter to you

Highly recommended

The new Sigma 35mm and 65mm f/2.0 FE lenses tested by Marc Alhadeff

Marc Alhadeff from SonyAlpha.Blog tested both new lenses. About the Sigma 35mm f/2.0 FE he writes:

The Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN Contemporary (616 euros) is an excellent lens that is very well balanced : among the 35mm F1.8/F2 it is one of the sharpest, it has the softest background blur, best bokeh balls , best natural color rendition , best build quality. It has excellent AF and stays compact. So we will forgive its vignetting wide-open and its distorsion that can be easily be corrected if need be.

About the Sigma 65mm f/2.0 FE he writes:

The Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN (700 euros) is an excellent lens and the best of the 4 of the new I series from Sigma for me
Its unusual focal length between 50 and 85mm is very convenient to use for portrait photography
It delivers outstanding sharpness (part of the top 10 sharpest lens for Sony E mount) , super smooth background blur, good bokeh balls, very good skin rendering and color rendition, all that at a reasonable price
The AF is silent, quick, and efficient in photography (a little bit less efficient in video)
Performances are quite similar to the excellent Voigtländer 65mm F2 Macro Apo Lanthar (900 euros), this one is however a manual focus lens but it has some macro capabilities (31cm i.o 55cm min focusing distance) and a bit better color rendering/contrast . So the choice is more dictated by the type of photos you will take
Highly recommended

Preorders:
Sigma 24mm f/3.5 at BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera.
Sigma 35mm f/2.0 at BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera.
Sigma 65mm f/2.0 at BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera.