UDPATE: That weird Sony A7 LV left-hander camera is indeed an anticipated fool’s days joke! Kameraexpress made the effort to send me super realistic “leaks”. To make it credible they indeed 3D printed a Sony camera with grip on the left side. They even went so far to make an official “product page”: kamera-express.nl/sony-a7l-v-pre-order.

Chapeau for their effort!

My thoughts:

The new modular Grip sling has been successfully funded on Kickstarter (Click here to back it).

Three more hot Kickstarter projects:

1. If you need a flexible, portable high quality 4k Laser projector to show your images and videos than check out the new JMGO N1 Ultra on Kickstarter (Click here). It’s the first gimbal and easily portable 4K Laser projector.
2. The new Benro Theta has collected voer 1 million Dollars on Kickstarter (Click here)!
3. Duovox successfully funded their new Night Vision and Sony Starvis powered Monocular on Kickstarter.

Laowa announced the new Laowa 28mm f/1.2 FE lens you can buy now at VenusLens worldwide shop (Check it out to see full specs and image samples).

Sample Photos:
https://bit.ly/3FXsgyc

Product Images:
https://bit.ly/3Zr4pO6

Within hours (March 29 at 3pm London time) Sony will announce the new ZV-E1 Full Frame E-mount camera. it’s basically an A7sIII powered vglogger camera.

A ZV-E1 tester shared the following info about the camera:

• ZV-E1 has new touch screen with swipe up feature
• new display menu screen with quick buttons
• new “Dynamic Stabilization” mode
• “cinematic mode” (built in black bars feature)
• z battery
• touch screen record button
• front tally light
• Quick touch zoom buttons (1.5x, 2x)
• It does have the a7rv autofocus.
• I personally didn’t have any overheating issues with the unit I used

This is their new EF to E-mount adapter (press text here):

• Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. will start selling the mount adapter “SZ Mount Converter EF-FE (TA-019)” that allows Tokina’s EF mount lenses to be used with Sony FE mount cameras from March 24, 2023.
• Equipped with electrical contacts for autofocus and AE.
• Switch between mode 1 for still image AF and mode 2 for movie AF shooting.
• Recommended for use with models that support focal plane phase detection AF (α7II or later, α6100 or later).
• Two lens mount indexes, EF and EF-S, are supported.
• Equipped with a USB-B terminal inside the mount. Supports firmware update.
• Released on March 24, 2023, suggested retail price: ¥ 38,000 (excluding tax)

This is their new Dot Sight SZ Super Tele Finder Lens (press text here):

• Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. will start selling the dot site “SZ Super Tele Finder Lens (TA-018)” that allows you to quickly check the shooting range with a super telephoto lens from March 24, 2023.
• A dot sight for super-telephoto shooting, developed by Kenko Tokina Group’s “scope” technology. The dot sight is bright and easy to see, and the brightness can be switched in 10 steps. In addition, the attached long plate allows you to freely change the mounting position.
• Released on March 24, 2023, suggested retail price: 59,800 (excluding tax)

I damn hate this AI tools. I hate it because it forces me to change view on how images are created, I hate it because it’s another step into a world were digital “fakes” will dominate authenticity. But I know there is nothing I can do to stop this.
Looking back, I hated the switch to digital photography, I hated to know that good Photoshoppers became more important than good Photographers, I hated the narcissism and lies of influencer photography.

The only good thing about AI photography is that it actually is the culmination of a decade long trend away from classic photography towards a completely “Imagined” one. The “Lie” finally becomes clear and obvious!
And don’t get me wrong, there can be good ART in this, but it’s not photography as we know it.

After playing for two months I feel like I learned the following:

• Most “mass” photography will be replaced by AI imaging (Stock photography, social-viral shit, magazine and website photos and so forth)
• Real photos will soon be edited through AI tools instead (or in combination) with classic Photoshop workflow tools
• Authenticity might soon become even more valuable than before. Having a real hard proof of a photo (for example as a chemical film or polaroid) may be more appreciated than before.

So the upcoming months I will try to dig into those AI tools to learn how I can edit my Sony A7RV photos to create some different kind of imaginary. I will also shoot more with my Mamiya 7 as a silent sign of interior rebellion :)

I will show you my findings on my Youtube channel. So please subscribe if you are interested into wondering this deep Rabbit Hole!