Sony 20-70mm f/4.0 G lens could be announced on January 17

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I got word form one source that Sony will announce the new 20-70mm f/4.0 G lens on January 17. The price should be around 1600 Euro/Dollars. This is nearly twice the price of the Zeiss 24-70mm f/4.0 lens. But the new Sony lens will be the world’s first standard zoom with 20mm at the wide end. For some photographers this lens could be enough wide to replace the classic duo: 16-35mm and 24-70mm zooms. Moreover I have been told the Image Quality on this lens is very high and definitely a big step forward compared to the Zeiss.

I got no info about other new products but there is a fair chance the new 16-35mm f/2.8 II GM and maybe a new camera will be announced soon after sometimes in February!

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Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art review by CameraLabs: “excellent quality across the frame”

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Preorders: Sigma 50mm lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, FotoErhardt, Fotokoch, WexUK.

CameraLabs tested the new Sigma lens and concluded:

In a market flooded with standard lenses, the Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG DN Art makes a compelling case for itself, delivering excellent quality across the frame, attractive rendering and fast focusing, all in a solid, weather-sealed barrel at a reasonable price. Owners of Sony and Panasonic mirrorless cameras should be very happy.

Crucially it also slots comfortably between existing options, providing a taste of the high-end without breaking the bank. Sure, Sony’s 1.2 G Master and Panasonic’s 1.4 Pro may slightly out-perform it in some respects, and in the case of the Sony, boast a slightly brighter aperture too, but Sigma’s now made it much harder to justify spending over double on them.

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If you’re coming from the other-end, the Sigma will deliver a step-up in sharpness and especially rendering over budget models, although it feels churlish to complain too much about lenses costing as little as $200. These entry-level models are also not only more affordable, but smaller and lighter too, making them more attractive particularly when paired with more compact bodies.

Sony owners also still have the option of the old Zeiss 55 1.8 which costs a tad more and boasts excellent sharpness – albeit not the most attractive rendering – in a surprisingly compact barrel.

As I said at the start, there’s no shortage of options around this focal length, but I’d now go for the Sigma over the 55 Zeiss unless size was a critical decider. Also keep an eye on prices of the original 50 1.4 Art for DSLRs, as bargains may be had, especially in the used market.

Ultimately with most 50mm lenses either targeting budget or premium buyers, the Sigma 50 1.4 DG DN Art becomes a welcome mid-range alternative at a price point with relatively few direct rivals. We’ve waited a surprisingly long time for the native mirrorless successor to Sigma’s classic for DSLRs, but it’s finally here and doesn’t disappoint.

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Quick post to thank all sources!

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I wish all my reliable sources a Happy New Year! I thank you for your trust..and for confirming that 2023 will be again very exciting for us Sony Alpha shooters ;)

I am already working on the next bunch of rumors because it really looks like we will get some new stuff soon!

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Happy New Year!

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Just a quick message to wish you all Happy new Year!

From a Sony Alpha perspective we should soon see the first announcements. Expect both…New cameras and lenses!

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Tamron 150-500mm review at Opticallimits: “very capable super-tele zoom lens”

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Opticallimits tested the Tamron telezoom and concluded:

The Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD is a very capable super-tele zoom lens. Its center quality is certainly good enough for the purpose it is meant for. In the lower focal length range, it touches excellent quality in the center and it’s still very good at 500mm. The outer image field is a bit of a mixed bag. At 150mm, the sharpness is very good but it suffers from rather heavy field curvature mostly visible at close to medium focus distances. The field curvature is gone at 250mm and the borders/corners are pretty good until 400mm. They do soften at 500mm, though. That being said – keep in mind that the border/corner quality is mostly irrelevant with such a lens. The lateral CAs are well controlled and eliminated via auto-correction anyway. The lens also shows fairly high image distortion in RAW files (only). The vignetting characteristic is a tad high in RAW mode but no issue after correction, of course. The bokeh has two aspects. The general blur is actually pretty smooth, whereas out-of-focus highlights can be rather nervous.

The build quality left a positive impression despite the extensive use of plastics. It feels solid and there is no wobbling whatsoever, even when extended to 500mm. The small focus ring isn’t the best in the business but the zoom ring is surprisingly smooth despite the heavy weight of the inner lens tube. We liked the push/pull zoom lock mechanism – which is also needed due to the extending zoom design here. The AF speed depends heavily on the used Sony camera. It’s not a speed demon on older bodies but if you own the latest and greatest, the AF is impressively fast and noiseless. The VC image stabilizer gave us about three f-stops which is decent enough given the long focal length.

In our book, the primary differentiator of the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD is the compact size. It is much more backpack-friendly than the big Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS. Some users will also appreciate the shorter minimum focal length, which is certainly making it somewhat more versatile. However, the king (the Sony lens) isn’t dead yet.

Tamron 150-500mm FE at BHphoto. Amazon US&EU. Adorama. Fotokoch DE. Parkcameras UK.

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