New Stuff From Sony and Sigma!

The rumors have been flying around the Web that Sony was going to introduce a mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera system, similar to their NEX cameras, and that's what they've done. Sony has just announced the A7 and the A7r. The A7 will have a 24 MP sensor and the A7r will sport a 36 MP sensor with no anti-aliasing filter for maximum sharpness. Both models will have a built-in OLED EVF finder. The cameras will feature a tiltable LED screen, focus peaking, and weather-sealing. The cameras will accept current NEX APS-C lenses, though some vignetting will occur, and Sony will also offer an adapter so you can use full frame lenses from their regular full-frame cameras. The A7 body will sell for $1698 and the A7r body will sell for $2198.

Sony will also introduce a handful of new lenses for the cameras: a Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS, a Sony G 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS, a Zeiss FE 35mm f/2.8, a Zeiss FE 55mm f/1.8, and a Zeiss FE 70-200mm f/4 OSS. This promises to be an exciting new system for pro photographers. Full frame images with smaller cameras and lenses. What's not to love?

And finally, Sigma is introducing a new lens, the 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art lens. The Sigma Art lenses emphasize image quality and sharpness, so this will probably be a lens to check out. It will have a fairly large filter size of 82mm, which means that they will have more room to play with in refining the optics for maximum effect. The physically smaller the lens, the less room you have to correct for optical problems. This lens will compete directly with the Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens and it will be interesting to see how they compare. No word yet on its price.

Zeiss Introduces a New Normal!

Something interesting has happened to lenses and cameras. It turns out that high-pixel-count digital sensors are a lot more demanding of their lenses than the needs of film ever were, and for most camera companies, their latest camera sensor's resolutions have blown past the ability of their lenses to resolve fine details. In other words, new lenses need to have much higher resolution to match the needs of the digital sensors in the current cameras, not to mention the sensors of the future. For instance, when Nikon introduced the D800 and D800E, they also published a short list of their lenses that would best work with these two cameras. Not all Nikon lenses have the resolving power to take advantage of this new 36 MP sensor.

So this means that lens manufacturers are going back to their drawing boards, or CAD programs, and inventing entirely new lens designs that are able to resolve image details like never before. And Zeiss is one of those companies. Zeiss has created a new lens called the Otus 55mm f/1.4. It's fairly big for a "normal" lens, weighing more than 2 pounds, but it does have 12 elements in 10 groups, so there is a lot of glass in there. Resolution has been optimized across the field of view, even at the open apertures and at any distance. The mechanical construction has been brought to its highest possible standards. Zeiss' goal with this lens was to create the highest quality lens in the world. Only time will tell if they succeeded.

The Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 lens will be available in Nikon and Canon mounts and will sell for just under $4000, which makes it one of the world's most expensive normal lenses. By the way, Otus is the Latin name for a type of owl that has excellent night vision.

International Street Photographers Day

 Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Tomorrow, which is Thursday the 22nd of August, is International Street Photographers Day, so go out and do some street photography! It's also Henri Cartier-Bresson's birthday, so think of him while you are doing it!

A Closer Look at the Fuji X-M1

I mentioned this new camera, the Fuji X-M1, the other day, but I didn't really look at it all that carefully. Seemed at first glance to be just another boring camera, but maybe I was still reacting to Leica's X Vario/ Mini-M debut. So now after reading up on it a bit more, it turns out to be more interesting than it first appeared. The X-M1 continues the updated retro look of the other X-series cameras, like the X-Pro1, X-E1, and the X100S. While it is true that it doesn't feature an optical or LCD viewfinder or manual-oriented dials and switches, it manages to fit in with the rest of the X family quite nicely.

I like the new selection of colors it will be offered in and I really like the smaller size. That's a direct benefit of leaving off the viewfinder; you can cut down on the size of the body. People are now used to using the rear LCD screen for composing anyway. And I like that it uses the same 16 MP sensor as the two models above it in the line-up. So people can approach the X-M1 in at least two ways. You can see as the entry-level camera that it can be used like; its controls are intended for easy full-auto and point-and-shoot use. Or you can see it as a back-up body or stroll-around camera that will deliver images nearly identical to those produced by its higher-priced and bigger siblings. Plus, it has built-in WiFi for connecting and downloading images to your phone. And the prices is pretty good. The X-M1 body goes for $699 and the kit with the new 16-50mm zoom lens goes for $799. This is a smart, well-considered camera offered at an attractive price point. Fuji continues to follows its own lead in matters of camera design and execution, and I think they deserve a lot of praise for that. I wonder what they have planned for next?

Zeiss Launches New Lenses

Zeiss is launching a new line of lenses for Sony E-mount and Fuji X-mount cameras. Called the Touit series, named after a small Central American parrot, the first lenses are a 12mm f/2.8 and a 32mm f/1.8. Known for their image quality and their impeccable construction quality, Zeiss is making a smart move in making lenses for these two camera formats. Both Sony, with its NEX 7 and NEX 6, and Fuji, with its X-Pro 1 and EX-1, are making serious in-roads into professionals' camera arsenals, much to the chagrin of Canon and Nikon, so having top quality lenses for Zeiss for these cameras is just going to make them even more desirable. I'm sure they won't be cheap, but serious A-level equipment seldom is cheap.