Nikon just announced the new D850 (specs here). And I believe this is a really nice serious and well-rounded camera. It’s not a revolutionary camera but a well thought evolution and will probably the best kind of camera in it’s class. And by the way, it has a new Sony manufactured 46MP backlight sensor and a superb speed. Dpreview writes:

“The Sony a99 II showed it was possible to offer high resolution images and fast shooting, but the D850 takes this a step further.”

That said, I don’t agree with some of the bloggers claiming that Sony is now “afraid” of Nikon. The D850 is still a very different kind of camera from a Sony FF mirrorless (OVF vs EVF, no stabilization vs on sensor stabilization and so on).

I made a quick roundup chat with my Sony sources and they all had a common line:

Sony for sure knew about the D850 since a very long time (after all Nikon needs Sony sensors). And the upcoming Sony A7rIII is not going to play “against” the D850. It will be simply something else: It will be a sort of A9 with a sensor that has more Megapixels than the D850. And the A7rIII will also have a couple of features not present on the A9 yet.

My hope is that the A7rIII will be launched soon even if so far rumors pointed towards an early 2018 shipment start only.

Question for SAR readers: What features should the A7rIII have to “wow” you?

Choosing your next Sony Alpha APS-C E-Mount Lens

Sony A9 Field Test Part III: Hiking California’s iconic Mount Whitney (Imaging Resource).
User Review of the Fujifilm GFX – Compared to Hasselblad X1D, Leica, and Sony (Fujirumors)
The Sony Star-Eater Issue (Michael Frye).
A full switch to Sony (Emin Kuliyev)
Aputure LS-Mini20 Led Light (Personal View).
Chris Burkard on the Power of Sharing Experiences (ALC).
The New WD My Passport Ultra-Portable Storage Drives (Explora).

We have our own Facebook camera groups and pages you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony A9 group and Sony A9 page.
Sony A7rIII group and Sony A7rIII page
Sony A7sIII group and Sony A7sIII page
Sony A7III group and Sony A7III page
Note: In groups you can post your own stuff like images, news and questions. While on pages you will read the specific camera news from SAR.

Oprema officially launched the new Biotar 58mm f/2.0 E-mount lens. It will be sold with the 75mm Biotar on this Kickstarter page.

Press text:

(Koblenz, Germany) An updated version of the Biotar 58mm f2 will join the already announced Biotar 75mm f1.5, as the first two pieces in Oprema Jena’s lineup of modern remakes of classic lenses, the company announced today.

Oprema is offering 58 people the chance to get the Biotar 75 and Biotar 58 – both originally produced by Carl Zeiss — as part of a special rewards bundle in the current Kickstarter campaign for the Biotar 75. The 58 Biotar 58s will be pre-production models with serial numbers between 1 and 58. A pledge of $1,999 USD would allow someone to get both lenses at $2,500 less than the combined projected retail price for the lenses.

The Biotar 75 is expected to go on the market next summer at a projected retail price of $2,499, with the Biotar 58 following by the end of the year at a projected retail price of $1,999.

“This shows that Oprema is not a one-time activity but a strategic effort to bring those great lenses back to live,” said Dr. Stefan Immes, who heads Oprema. “We are following our plan.”

To see the Kickstarter, go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/315452809/the-rising-all-star-team-returns-legendary-biotar

The Biotar 58/2 will be available with mounts for:
Canon
Nikon
Sony-E
Leica-M (rangefinder coupling supported)
Fuji X
M42

Sony just published a new video introducing the 4K Super Motion Camera:

The Sony CMOS sensor keeps all captured data, allowing you to play it back at a later date. Sony isn’t attempting to create a high-speed 4K camera. The 4K “Super Motion Camera” can capture up to four hours of video footage from the moment it is turned on, allowing camera owners to produce complete slow motion footage of nearly any sporting game. The engineers’ interview of the development of “game-changing”