My respect for Zeiss as a company just grew even more today after reading this letter on their Twitter page! They apologize for the lack of availability of their Batis lenses. And the good news is that they managed to increase the production of the Batis lenses and expected delivery is now 2-3 months. Thanks Zeiss for finally answering the customers request!

Here is the official Zeiss press text:

Batis store links:
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.

Sony FS7, FS5, A7Rii and Canon C100 Camera Test from The Delivery Men on Vimeo.

Best lenses for the Sony A77 II: 48 lens roundup (DxOmark).
Reflecting on mirrorless: 12+ months with my Sony A7s (Longexposures).
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 adapted to the a7II (Tyson Robichaudphotography)
Sony A7s ii 240 Fps Slow mo with davinci 12 optical flow (SonyAlphaForum)
Infrared and Sony (SonyAlphaForum).

Thomas: “I was a Nikon DSLR guy for a long time now but i tend more and more to Sony mirrorless (as Sony is also my origin in photography, started with the great A200 and owned also a A450, A55 and A850). So i tried more often to get the A7 series cameras to shoot with. Recently I had the A7S Mark II and the 24-70 F4 to use. A really great Combo. I wrote a Blogpost about it here:
http://www.tommayphotography.com/2015/12/19/sony-a7s-mark-ii-and-sony-zeiss-fe-24-70-f4-hands-on-review/”

Lyubo: “Here is our latest video from the past winter, shot on the A7s. https://vimeo.com/149380782
We are two brothers that spent the last winter in the Austrian glacier, Kitzsteinhorn. My brother jump on the big jumps and I do the filming and editing”

Sony Japan did yet not disclose any details about when they will resume the RX1RII camera shipment. So far Amazon US states the camera will ship within 1-2 months. And Michael told us this:

@SonyAlphaRumors our shipment at #pchproshop was delayed to March ! Customers are canceling orders and some look to Leica Q…

— Michel Fourkas (@skiiiiizo) 13. Januar 2016

The only official note we got so far from Sony says that shipment in Japan has been postponed (reason unknown). But at the same time we noticed that US and EU stores have no camera in Stock anymore. I hope Sony will give us some official answer soon.

In th meantime here is a new Sony RX1R II Hands-on Review (vs. original RX1R, AF test, pics)

SAR reader Mistral75 (Thanks!) spotted the details of the new Laowa STF(!) 105mm f/2.0 (T/3.2) lens:

After the [shoplink 43950 ebay]Laowa 60mm f/2.8 Macro 2:1 (here on eBay)[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 43951 ebay]Laowa 15mm f/4 Shift Macro 1:1 lenses (here on eBay)[/shoplink], the Chinese company Anhui Changgeng Optical Technology Company Limited, better known as Venus Optics (see http://www.venuslens.net/about), will announce shortly a new 24×36 lens: the Laowa STF 105mm f/2 (T/3.2).

It is a portrait lens with an apodization filter that gives a more progressive and velvety bokeh than an ordinary lens (STF stands for Smooth Trans Focus). This is the same principle as for the [shoplink 43952 ebay]Minolta AF / Sony 135mm f/2.8 [T/4.5] STF[/shoplink] and close to that of the Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD.

Click on images to enlarge:

The Laowa has the advantage over the Sony of being one EV brighter. Hereafter its main features:

– 11 elements, including the apodization filter, 1 element made of glass with high refractive index and 3 elements made of low dispersion glass, in 8 groups
– Manual focus (the apodization filter is hostile for phase-detection autofocus)
– Minimum focusing distance: 90cm
– Maximum magnification: 0.16x
– Filter diameter: 67mm
– Dimensions: 76 mm (maximum diameter) x 98.8 mm (length) (depending on lens mount)
– Weight: 746 g (depending on lens mount)
– Available mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony A and Sony E
– Available in black and silver
– Launch date: January 18, 2016
– Price in China: the equivalent of €500-550 (probably more in Western countries)

Image samples:

You can find more details and many pictures taken with the lens on two threads from the Chinese forum Xitek:

http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1533456-1-1-1.html

http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1444928-1-1-1.html

In addition to the pictures in the threads referenced above, sample images are available for download from:

– https://yunpan.cn/OcuWqL82CSKLPX password: 9351. 9 pictures taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III (full-resolution jpeg files)

– https://yunpan.cn/OcuWqBwTM7s9Bw password: CFAE. 1 picture taken with a Nikon D800 (full-resolution jpeg file) and 9 Canon RAW files (CR2)

You will also find a number of images (pictures of the lens, optical formula, MTF curves and a dozen of sample images as full-resolution jpeg files) in the dedicated Flickr album I have set up: https://flic.kr/s/aHsksPyYgn.

Kind regards
Mistral75