On November 7, 2023 Sony announced the A9III. The unusual news is that exactly 6 months have passed without any announcement of new cameras. Now, I know the next camera announcement is coming this month but we are getting the ZV-E10II…not exactly a camera we Alpha shooters were hoping to get after a half year long wait :)

The only comfort I can give e you is that in Q3 Sony will announce at least two new Full Frame cameras. And in Q4 we should get more. So patience my friends…. patience!

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Maybe Sony took some time to implement the new 4.0 CFexpress standard on their future A7sIV, A1II and A7V. Only this week we finally got the very first new 4.0 generation CFexpress Type A cards are in Stock at Amazon US! Those are the options:

• 480GB for $319
• 960GB for $519

If you need a “never ending” power source check out the new NP-F970 USB-C Rechargeable Camera Battery you can get now at Smallrig (Click here).

Mamiya 645 to Sony E Shift Adapter – Adapt Mamiya 645 Lenses to your Sony E Camera with Shift!

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
The Sony “G Master II Trio” with Allison Anderson
7artisans 50mm f/1.8 Lens Review – Real World & Lab Photo & Video (Jason Hermann).
Sony f/2.8 GM vs. f/4 G Lens Showdown—Which Holy Trinity to Pick? (Explora).
New DJI Mic 2 Wireless System Features Noise Cancelling & 32-Bit Float Internal Recording (42West).
A Glossary of Storage Terms and Acronyms (Explora).

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I kindly invite you all to follow our Discord channel, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

We have our own Facebook camera groups you can join to discuss the upcoming new cameras in detail:
Sony Alpha group. Sony A1 group. Sony A9 series group. Sony A7r series group. Sony A7s series group. Sony A7 series group.

The brand new Exascend 1TB CFexpress Type A card is now in Stock at BHphoto (Click here). This card supports VPG400 ans is therefore more expensive than the OWC CFexpress Type A cards that are in Stock at Amazon US (on preorder but not in Stock at BHphoto, Adorama)

Why buy such cards?

No Sony camera yet has the hardware to support these Generation 4.0 cards. But there are three good reasons why to buy them anyway:

1. Those cards are backwards compatible and will work just fine on any Alpha camera on their max speed possible (900MB/s)
2. When you download the file to your computer it will be running at max speed of 1620MB/s Write via the new 4.0 card readers
3. I suspect that future cameras like the Sony A1II and Sony A7V will support those cards. So if you buy those cards now you are future proof if you switch to a future new Sony camera!

There is an interesting discovery made by one of our readers:

I wanted to show you potential proof, that the Sony A9 III sensor might be ‘welded’ from two smaller sensors. As a part our test of this camera we always do 3-minute long ‘dark’ exposures to see how a device would behave in an astrophotography applications.
Here’s a 3-minute exposure with the lens cap on taken with an A9 III at ISO 51200: pliki.optyczne.pl/SA93/darki/SA93_i051200.JPG

You can clearly see a line in the middle of the sensor that may (but we obviously can’t be sure) suggest, that the A9 III sensor is actually two smaller sensors ‘welded’ together. For context – Arri does that with their larger format cameras. The Alexa LF has a sensor that’s two ‘standard Alexa sensors’ joined together. And for Alexa 65 they weld together 3 standard sensors.  And they’re pretty open about this, so such technology is proven to exist.

Here’s the chapter of the test containing the dark frame analysis: optyczne.pl/499.7-Test_aparatu-Sony_A9_III_Szumy_i_jako%C5%9B%C4%87_obrazu_w_RAW.html

Now, I do not have the engineering skills to investigate this. It seems very unlikely to me that two sensors were welded together. But perhaps some Sony engineers reading this post can give us an answer to this phenomenon?

DxO just released the brand new Nikon collection 7 (Click here to see all new features). You can download a free trial version here.

Nik Collection 7 by DxO, with a New Faster and Smoother Workflow

Paris (France): DxO Labs, the company that is standing at the forefront of photo editing technology, presents the latest edition of Nik Collection, the photo editing suite of seven premium applications which, extend the capabilities of programs such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Affinity Photo, and DxO PhotoLab.

“Nik Collection exists to accelerate visual creativity in any photography workflow. With version 7, not only have we maximised performance, but we’ve introduced new selection tools that deliver a remarkable level of control,” Boris Oliviero, Product Director.

New Options for Nik Color Efex

• Nik Color Efex now features an extended HSL filter for extending colour range selections. complete with a new Vibrancy slider.
• Dynamic Filters enables you to stack and reorder filters and even create local adjustments.
• Access Nik Viveza plugins as filters from within Nik Color Efex introducing a fluid and simplified workflow.

U Point Local Adjustments now have Powerful New Adjustment Tools

Nik Collection’s signature U Point technology gets three new tools to give users outstanding precision when making selections for local adjustments.

• The new Polygonal Tool allows photographers to quickly select irregular shapes.
• Control Points can now be modified into any elliptical form.
• Luminosity Masks can be used for accurate and faster selections by targeting levels of brightness.

Work Faster with Speed Upgrades

• Images now launch up to 30% faster, enabling a more efficient workflow.
• New Switch To, feature enables you to seamlessly move between plugins.
• Quick Export lets you output images without leaving the plugin or app, allowing you to make fast comparisons of image versions.
• New look and functionality for the library with a Quick Search tool and the ability to organise users presets and filters for faster access.

Other Changes

Nik Perspective has been removed from Nik Collection 7. With parallel installation, owners of Nik Collection 6.3 will still be able to continue to use Nik Perspective.

Price and availability

Nik Collection (Windows and macOS) can now be purchased at: www.dxo.com
Nik Collection 7 upgrade £145 €159 $159
Nik Collection 7 full version £79 €89 $89