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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Sony Unveils 50mm f/1.8 and 70-300mm G OSS Full Frame Lenses

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Sony-FE-70-300mm-f4.5-5.6G-OSS-Lens-and-Sony-FE-50mm-1.8-Lens

Sony has unveiled a pair of new full frame lenses – the FE 50mm f/1.8 lens and the FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G OSS lens.

The new 50mm f/1.8 lens isn’t quite in the “nifty fifty” price range of others, but it still isn’t too expensive at just $248. It has a 7-blade aperture and a nice, large manual focus ring for better control. It also features a 49mm filter thread. The Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 lens will ship in May 2016 and is available for pre-order here at B&H Photo.

The new 70-300mm lens adds to Sony’s G line and features built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, two ED glass elements, four aspherical elements and a Nano AR coating to reduce ghosting and flare. It also features a 9-blade circular aperture and a 72mm filter thread. It has a minimum focusing distance of 3′ and a focus limiter for faster AF when shooting beyond three meters.

Priced at $1198, the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G OSS lens will ship in May 2016 and is available for pre-order here at B&H Photo.

 

Sony RX10 III Unveiled with 24-600mm Zoom Lens

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Sony RX10 III

Sony has introduced a third camera in the RX10 lineup and adds an incredible zoom lens for massive telephoto reach. The Sony Cyber RX10 III features the same 1″ format 20MP sensor as found in the RX10 II but uses a new 24-600mm equivalent f/2.4-4 lens for the added reach (as compared to the 24-200mm f/2.8 equivalent lens on the RX10 II). [Read more…]

Sony A6000, A5100 and A7 Cameras Firmware Update 3.10

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Sony A6000

Sony has released a firmware update for for the A6000, A7R II, A7R, A7S A7 II, A7 and A5100 cameras. The firmware version 3.10 adds new lens support, phase detection AF support (for compatible cameras) and movie AF support for the new 85mm f/1.4 GM lens.

It’s good to see Sony supporting older cameras after the new whiz-bang models come out. You can download the new firmware by searching for your specific camera model here on Sony’s website.

Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 Lens Gets the Mark II Treatment

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Mitakon-Speedmaster-35mm-f0.95-Mark-II-lens

Chinese lens maker Zhongyi Optics has updated its Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 with a new Mark II version. The good news is that it is smaller and lighter but ZY Optics also claims it offers drastic improvement in sharpness and better control of chromatic aberration.

As with its predecessor, this is designed as a lens for mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors. It is available for Sony E, Fuji X and Canon EOS-M mounts. It looks like ZY Optics swapped the Micro Four Thirds mount on the Mark I for the Canon EOS-M mount on the Mark II model. More good news is that the price remains $599 – like its predecessor. [Read more…]

Deal: Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 Lens for $699

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Sony Sonnar T 55mm f1.8 ZA Zeiss Lens

ebay (via GetItDigital) has the Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA lens for Sony E-Mount cameras for $699 (reg. $999) in limited quantity. The last time they had this lens at this price, it didn’t last long. Check it out here on ebay.

Note: This is labeled as a gray market lens. ebay seller GetItDigital has a positive feedback rating of 99.6% at the time of this post.

Sigma Unveils Affordable 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Mirrorless Cameras

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Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens 2

While Sigma stole headlines earlier this week with its new 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens, it also announced a fast and affordable 30mm lens for Sony E and Micro Four Thirds lens mounts. The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens is the first truly affordable f/1.4 lens in the mirrorless market at just $339. [Read more…]