Image source: SLRclub.

We have three sites with interesting test on the new Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 FE lens.

Leica Boss is the first site mentioning an important flaw of the otherwise great Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 FE lens:

“That problem is some significant color shifts that are in a bizarro “target” pattern that can make correction an absolute nightmare.” It can be fixed “with some effort by using Adobe Labs “Flat Field” plugin for Lightroom“. But overall you shouldn’t be worried because “In the vast majority of images, this color shift will not be visible.“

Photographyblog writes:

At f/2.8 it may not be as bright as some people might wish, but at a mere 120g and 3.6cms in length, it makes for a very portable full-frame package when mounted on the A7/A7R, delivering great image quality with the minimum of fuss, including some lovely bokeh effects when shooting wide-open.

Dearsusans writes:

Although much of the Zeiss DNA is present (fantastic optics, crappy lens cap ) there is also a touch of modern Leica fluidity in this lens. Fantastic sharpness and clarity are delivered with the mellow smoothness that makes my eyes water. This is the antithesis of the Distagon 21/2.8 and its ruthless scrutiny into every detail and occasional harshness (don’t hate me ).

SAR note: I own the that lens and had little time for testing yet. I actually like the lens performance and havent’ noticed the flaw mentioned by Leica Boss on any of my (few) pictures. But I still think the lens price is too high for what it does. Hope third party lens makers will soon give us cheaper FE lens alternatives.
—————————————————

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Lawrence: “Some people are wondering how loud the shutter sound of the a7R actually is. I did a quick comparison between the a7R and some other cameras (M3, E-M5, OM-2)”–

——————–
SAR editor’s note: All SAR reader are free to submit links or full articles to be posted on SAR. Just contact me at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!
——————–

Pascal: “my A7r finally arrived and what a machine it is ! It is the first camera I have owned (Nikon D800e included) that gives that elusive medium format look to photographs. I was expecting a lot from it but it delivers even more. What a fantastic machine. The more I use it, the more I love it !  If you’re interested, here’s my review (with more to follow) : http://www.dearsusan.net/2013/12/07/sony-a7r-first-impressions-the-magnificent-seven/”

Chad: “First paid work with the A7 at http://chadwadsworth.blogspot.com/2013/12/first-paid-work-with-sony-a7.html”

Mike: “Bokeh comparison: Sony A7, Nikkor 50mm 1.4D vs Fuji X-E1, Fuji FX 35mm 1.4: http://www.mikekobal.com/blog/?p=9907”

Marcus: “I have added a Album to Facebook and uploaded some pictures in flickr from the A7.
https://www.facebook.com/marcus.rosth
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrosth/

Sanji: “You posted a video unboxing I did of the Sony A7R. Well now I have a follow up in the form of a full blown review having purchased the camera. It’s done using a bunch of lenses – m-mount, zeiss, sigma, canon from 15mm to 300mm. It would be great if you could share this with your readers as I believe they will find it entertaining and very useful.
Sony A7r, Fuji X-E2, Panasonic GH3 – DOF and Noise comparisons (<a href=”http://soundimageplus.blogspot.be/2013/11/sony-a7r-fuji-x-e2-panasonic-gh3-dof.html”>Soundimagesplus</a>).You don’t need to wait for FE lenses to have a good time with the A7R :)
http://sanjio.com/wp/blog/2013/11/22/sony-a7r-review/”

Buzz: “Confessions of a Camera Addict — How Sony Breaks My Bank: http://www.the.me/confessions-of-a-camera-addict-how-sony-breaks-my-bank/#ixzz2ms88Kmub”

Tobin: “Hot on the heals of my riveting A7R shutter sound comparison video, here’s an in depth review of the A7R and various Leica R lenses, includes usability, size comparison etc.
http://tobinators.com/blog/index.php/2013/11/everything-else/sony-a7r-review/
Eddy: a number of people have been complaining about the battery life of the A7R. My experience is otherwise: last Saturday I went to the Zoo in Antwerp, to try the A7R. I had the 24mm f2 and 70-400 GII with me, including the LA-EA4, AF was used all the time. I had only one spare battery with me and changed this only when I was back at home. I had 777 images (RAW+JPEG) on my memory card… So this is about double of the ‘official’ battery life.
What might be the difference: I immediately put the camera in ‘airplane mode’, which cuts the WiFi and NFC. I know from my smart phone that  those options can draw a lot of energy. Also I put the ‘Auto Review’ to off. I guess these small tweaks can make a big difference.
I assume that the official battery life is measured with everything turned on. And that some people who are complaining, base their judgement on these official figures, not on real life tests like mine.
I’ve also put this info into this thread:
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/battery-life-a7-a7r_topic103190.html”

Paul: “Just find some lightroom developed samples on web (In Chinese) text: http://www.dcfever.com/sony/readnews.php?id=9490&page=4
sample gallery: http://www.dcfever.com/cameras/viewsamples.php?set=937”

Michel: “I’ve shot a few pictures of some of my manual lenses on the Sony A7. I hope this gives an idea about the size of various combinations. Here is the album: http://imgur.com/a/IhReb”

Alik: “I’ve got some low light test shots of the Sony A7r. The high ISO performance is kind of mind blowing. In the next day or two I’ll also be doing a speed comparison video for the Metabones EF to E mount adapter. I hear it’s a littler slower. I’d like to see. I’ll let you know when that’s done. But check out my samples images. http://alikgriffin.com/sony-a7r-mirrorless-review-and-sample-photos. You can get full size original images by clicking them.”

—————————–

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.