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Sony announces new ultra-wide FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM zoom
Sony has announced the Sony FE12-24mm F2.8 GM zoom. Specifications Sony E mount full-frame 35mm 17 elements in 14 groups, 3 XA (extreme aspherical), 2 Super ED, 3 ED elements, fluorine front coat, Nano AR II coating 122-84 degree angle of view (diagonal) F2.8 to F22, 9-aperture blades, rounded Floating mechanism for improved resolution at close distance 0.28m (0.92 ft) minimum focus Dust and moisture resistant Four XD Linear motors for quiet AF Customizable Focus Button Rear filter holder option 137 x 97.6mm long x diameter 847g (29.9 oz) £2,899 / US$2,998 includes case Announced 7 July, 2020 Please support this site and buy through our preferred retailers WEX Photo (UK) B&H Photo…
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Sony UK announce Summer Cashback
Sony UK has announced a Summer Cashback promotion. For example the Sony A7R IV has £300 cashback (see below). Terms and conditions apply. Wex Photo (UK) Park Cameras (UK) Sony are also offering a one year extended warranty, check eligibility here.
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Sony FE 85mm F1.8 lens review: Excellent image quality at a reasonable price
Overview Announced in early 2017, the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 is a short-tele designed for the company’s mirrorless full-frame a9/a7 models. It will of course also serve double duty on the APS-C a6000 series, where it’s more or less a 135mm equivalent. Although not a premium G-master model like the F1.4 version announced the year before, it’s a lot smaller and lighter and still has some features that might be considered “premium.” This includes a near-silent, twin-focus drive system using a stepping motor, a focus-hold button that can be customised, weather sealing and a nine-blade circular aperture. It’s also quite nicely made, with a mainly metal exterior and a large…
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Sony a9 II announced with new improved body design and enhanced connectivity features
Introduced today, the new Sony a9 II follows a familiar body design to its predecessor but includes some design cues from the Sony a7R IV, including a larger grip and improved button design, refined (larger) joystick design and a lock button for the exposure compensation dial. Other refinements include an upgraded Bionz x processor, improved IBIS up to 5.5-stops (from 5-stops), upgraded weatherproofing, a shutter mechanism tested in excess of 500k cycles (in line with Nikon and Canon pro-models) and an improvement in the burst rate to 10 fps when used mechanically, up from around 5 fps. Continuous shooting with the electronic shutter remains at 20 fps, however, the dual…
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Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4S lens review: Compact and capable performer
This is what you’ll get if you buy one of the mirrorless Nikon Z 6 or Z 7 cameras as part of a kit, but as one of Nikon’s S series of primes it’s meant as a ‘premium’ model. While we’ve yet to see what one of the ‘standard’ models is like build-wise, this sober-looking lens is a step or two above the DX equivalent zooms in the company’s range. It’s nicely made but it’s not quite up to the pro-oriented build of the Nikkor Z 24-70mm F2.8 S (reviewed here). Still, with a part-plastic part-metal outer, this is intended as lightweight and compact design. It even has a retractable…
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Sigma fp announced: The world’s smallest full-frame camera
Sigma has announced the world’s smallest full-frame camera, the ‘fp’. Despite owning the Fovean sensor design company, the new fp model features a 24.6MP BSI-CMOS Bayer design. The body is highly compact, measuring just 113 x 70 x 45mm and weighs just 370g. However, it is intended as a modular camera – there will be a range of grips, a flash bracket and a viewfinder eyepiece available. In order to retain its compact dimensions, the new fp camera adopts only an electronic shutter – there is no mechanical shutter – a first for this type of camera. Naturally, the camera features an L-mount and the lenses announced earlier by Sigma…
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Sigma to add 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art of full-frame mirrorless
Sigma is adding a new ultra-wide 14-24mm F2.8 lens to its Art series for full-frame mirrorless cameras. the 14-24mm DG DN Art. It will be available in Sony E-mount and Leica/Panasonic L-mount versions. The optical design is similar to the existing 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM Art for DSLRs, but it’s not identical. That model uses a 17-element design with three FLD (fluorite-like) elements and two SLD-type elements. The new 18-element design utilises five SLD and one FLD and three aspherical including the large diameter first element. The position of the remaining two has not yet been disclosed. The new lens is sealed and features a rear filter holder. It weighs…
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Hasselblad X1D II 50C camera and XCD 35-75mm F3.5-4.5 zoom announced (Updated)
Hasselblad has announced an update to its cropped medium format mirrorless camera, in the form of the new X1D II 50C. Although it shares the same 50MP cropped (essentially 44 x 33mm) MF CMOS sensor as the original, it has some improved features and a new processor to speed up operation. This includes quicker start-up (now just under 4 seconds, from my time with the camera at the London launch) and continuous shooting now at 2.7fps, while black-out times between shots have also been reduced, claims the company. Other improvements include a new, larger 3.6-in 2.36-million-dot touchscreen at the rear with some menu and UI changes. The viewfinder display has…
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Nikon to add Eye AF option in firmware update
If the Eye AF feature is as good as that found on the Sony a7 (later models) and a9, and the new Canon EOS R which has seen a fair amount of negative press (and mostly unwarranted in my opinion), then it will be a highly- prized option.
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Nikon announces availability of ultra-wide 14-30mm F4 S zoom for Z-mount
Nikon has officially announced the Nikkor Z 14-30mm F4 S lens, the first ultra-wide, moderate speed zoom for its full-frame mirrorless system. The Nikkor Z 14-30mm F4 S was previously disclosed in a ‘roadmap’ during the launch of the new system at Photokina 2018. Weighing just 485g (17oz) and measuring 85mm (3.5 ins) long when retracted, the new lens is relatively light and compact, especially when compared with the current Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm F4G ED VR for DSLRs. With a nearly flat front element the new lens also supports screw-in (82mm) filters, a world’s first for the focal length at the time of publishing according to Nikon. The…
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