Venus Optics Laowa Aksen 45mm f/2.8 1-5x & 17.5mm f/1.7 5-10x Parfocal Ultra Macro APO

By Louis Ferreira | Published: July 31, 2026


Venus Optics announced the Laowa Aksen 45mm f/2.8 1-5x & 17.5mm f/1.7 5-10x Parfocal Ultra Macro APO, which can be purchased directly or through B&H Photo below:

Venus Optics Laowa Aksen 45mm f/2.8 1-5x Ultra Macro APO Lens (Sony E)
Create extreme close-ups in tack-sharp detail with the Laowa Aksen 45mm f/2.8 1-5x Ultra Macro APO Lens from Venus Optics. This compact ultra macro lens boasts a 1:1 to 5:1 magnification ratio, allowing you to photograph subjects larger than life. It offers a fixed 1.6″ working distance from the front of the lens and maintains sharp focus throughout the magnification range thanks to the internal parfocal zoom design. Thanks to the compact form factor, this lens is easy to use whether shooting handheld or on a motorized focus stacking rig.

Apochromatic Correction
The Aksen series is engineered to eliminate chromatic aberration, even at higher magnifications. The apochromatic correction effectively prevents color fringing, allowing you to capture more details and texture without distortion in your final image.

Parfocal Internal Zoom
Adjust your magnification without moving your camera or subject thanks to the innovative parfocal zoom design. The Aksen maintains sharp focus across the entire magnification range, while the internal zoom allows you to shift magnification without disturbing your lights or hitting your subject. Because the weight distribution also remains identical, this lens is ideal for videography as well as macro photography. Exposure changes are the only thing that needs to be compensated for as you magnify your subject.

Additional Details

  • Eleven-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing focus falloff when using shallow depth of field.
  • Standard focal length benefits the high magnification design by providing greater depth of field compared to telephoto or long lens designs.
  • When adapting the Aksen to medium format cameras, there will be varying levels of vignetting depending on the magnification.
  • Lightweight physical design makes the lens easier to use handheld and offers more room for illuminating subjects.

Venus Optics Laowa Aksen 17.5mm f/1.7 5-10x Ultra Macro APO Lens (Sony E)
Capture tiny subjects in tack-sharp detail with the Laowa Aksen 17.5mm f/1.7 5-10x Ultra Macro APO Lens from Venus Optics. This compact ultra macro lens boasts a 5:1 to 10:1 magnification ratio, allowing you to photograph subjects larger than life. It offers a fixed 0.9″ working distance from the front of the lens and maintains sharp focus throughout the magnification range thanks to the internal parfocal zoom design. Thanks to the compact form factor, this lens is easy to use whether shooting handheld or on a motorized focus stacking rig.

Apochromatic Correction
The Aksen series is engineered to eliminate chromatic aberration, even at higher magnifications. The apochromatic correction effectively prevents color fringing, allowing you to capture more details and texture without distortion in your final image.

Parfocal Internal Zoom
Adjust your magnification without moving your camera or subject thanks to the innovative parfocal zoom design. The Aksen maintains sharp focus across the entire magnification range, while the internal zoom allows you to shift magnification without disturbing your lights or hitting your subject. Because the weight distribution also remains identical, this lens is ideal for videography as well as macro photography. Exposure changes are the only thing that need to be compensated for as you magnify your subject.

Additional Details

  • Eleven-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing focus falloff when using shallow depth of field.
  • Wide-angle design benefits the high magnification design by providing greater depth of field compared to telephoto or long lens designs.
  • When adapting the Aksen to medium format cameras, there will be varying levels of vignetting depending on the magnification.
  • Lightweight physical design makes the lens easier to use handheld and offers more room for illuminating subjects.








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HUGE NEWS: Sony Proposes Complete Buyout of Tamron – What it Means for the E-Mount Ecosystem

By Louis Ferreira | Published: July 30, 2026


HUGE NEWS: Sony Proposes Complete Buyout of Tamron – What it Means for the E-Mount Ecosystem

Get ready, E-Mount shooters, because the camera industry landscape is about to experience a massive seismic shift. Reuters and multiple other outlets have confirmed that Sony has officially submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Tamron in its entirety, aiming to make the beloved third-party lens manufacturer a wholly-owned subsidiary.

For the SonyAddict community, this is undeniably the biggest news of the year.

Sony and Tamron already have a deeply intertwined history. Sony currently holds about a 15% stake in Tamron, and that close relationship has paid huge dividends for E-mount users. For the past several years, Tamron has practically defined the “affordable pro” tier for Sony alpha cameras. Lenses like the legendary 28-75mm f/2.8 (and its G2 successor), the phenomenally versatile 35-150mm f/2-2.8, and their incredibly popular lineup of lightweight telephoto zooms have been massive hits.

In many ways, Tamron has been doing too good of a job. Their lenses have consistently offered near G-Master optical performance, incredibly snappy autofocus, and significantly lighter builds—all at a price point that makes Sony’s first-party glass look painfully expensive.

So, why buy the cow when you are already getting the milk for free?

According to reports, this acquisition proposal—rumored to be valued around ¥200 billion (approx $1.3B USD)—is a strategic move for a few reasons. Firstly, activist investors like Effissimo Capital Management have recently increased their stake in Tamron to over 17%. Sony’s move could be a protective play to secure their vital lens partner before another entity forces unwanted changes.

But more importantly, acquiring Tamron outright allows Sony to absorb all of those juicy lens profits. By bringing Tamron under the corporate umbrella, Sony eliminates their most competent low-cost competitor on the E-mount and gains total control over Tamron’s incredible optical R&D and manufacturing pipelines.

What happens to Tamron lenses on the E-Mount now?

If this deal goes through, it’s highly unlikely Sony is going to kill off the Tamron brand. Instead, we might see Tamron officially repositioned as Sony’s “budget” or “enthusiast” tier, sitting just below the premium G and G-Master lines. This would give Sony a complete, vertically integrated monopoly on every price tier of the E-mount ecosystem.

The bigger question is what happens to Tamron’s development for competing systems like Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, and Canon RF. Sony might just lock all future Tamron development exclusively to the E-mount, using their new subsidiary as a massive competitive advantage against the rest of the market.

We will be covering this acquisition closely as the special committee at Tamron reviews Sony’s proposal.

What do you think, Sony shooters? Is this a massive win for the E-Mount, or are you worried about losing the independent competition that made Tamron so great in the first place? Drop a comment below!

via FujiAddict, Reuters

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Sony FX5 Facing High Demand and Delivery Delays

By Louis Ferreira | Published: July 30, 2026


Sony FX5:  B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

The Sony FX5 is facing high demand and Sony Japan has released an official statement about the demand which you can read below:

Announcement Regarding the Supply of the Professional Camcorder ‘FX5’
Thank you for your continued patronage of Sony products.

We began accepting orders for the professional camcorder “FX5” on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, and have received significantly more orders than we anticipated. As a result, there may be a delay in delivery.

We are currently working diligently to meet our customers’ requests as much as possible, so please bear with us for a little while longer.

via Sony

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OL: Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD Review – Versatile With Compromises

By Louis Ferreira | Published: July 29, 2026


Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD:
B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

The Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD came out a while ago, and it was a great travel lens, but Optical Limits just got around to reviewing it, and they do not seem to be impressed. You can read the full review here or check out an excerpt below:

“image quality is actually decent in the broader center. The border/corner quality is good in the middle zoom range if you stop down a bit, less so towards the long end, though. And better stop down quite a bit at 18mm to avoid field curvature effects. Auto-correction has to work hard fixing lateral CAs, vignetting, and distortions.”

Pros

  1. The zoom range … of course
  2. Compact and lightweight for what it is
  3. Fast AF

Cons

  1. Optically a bit … meh

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More 7Artisans AF 10mm f/2.5 MAX Full-Frame Fisheye Information

By Louis Ferreira | Published: July 28, 2026

Additional 7Artisans AF 10mm f/2.5 MAX Full-Frame Fisheye Information

  • Focal length: 10mm
  • Maximum aperture: f/2.5
  • Lens type/format: Full-frame autofocus fisheye
  • Angle of view: 185°
  • Optical construction: 11 elements in 8 groups (includes 2 ED/extra-low dispersion elements + 1 aspherical element)
  • Aperture blades: 9 (produces 18-point starbursts)
  • Minimum focus distance: 0.15 m
  • Autofocus motor: STM silent stepper motor (fast, quiet, suitable for stills and video)
  • Weight: 510 g
  • Body construction: Full metal
  • Available mounts: Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica L
  • Other notes: AF/MF switch; aperture ring; firmware upgrade support; compact design for a full-frame fisheye

Breaking conventions with its ultra-wide 185° field of view, this lens opens up a visual world you’ve never seen before. Equipped with a high-performance autofocus motor, it focuses quickly and smoothly, operating quietly and without noise. It accurately captures dynamic moments and meets the smooth focusing needs of video shooting, significantly improving shooting efficiency and experience. The large F2.5 aperture, combined with a minimum focusing distance of 0.15m, creates a strong “near is large, far is small” perspective effect, making the foreground subject stand out and the background story vividly presented. Nine aperture blades produce 18-pointed starbursts, enhancing the overall visual depth of the image. Its compact and lightweight design of 510g makes it a reliable creative partner in your backpack. Designed to inspire creativity, it is the ideal choice for landscapes, architecture, environmental portraits, and creative perspective works.

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via Photorumors

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Pixboom Spark 4K Global-Shutter S35 Cinema Camera E-Mount 1000 FPS in 4K and 1800 FPS in 2K

By Louis Ferreira | Published: July 26, 2026


Pixboom Spark 4K Global-Shutter S35 Cinema Camera: B&H Photo

Pixboom Spark 4K S35 Cine Camera Overview

4K High Frame-Rate Capture
Capture stunning slow-motion imagery at rates up to 1000 fps in 4K and 1800 fps in 2K using the Spark 4K Global-Shutter S35 Cinema Camera from Pixboom. Ideal for revealing the details of fast-paced action, the Sony E-mount Spark camera features a Super 35 BSI sensor with global shutter for crisp, distortion-free images, even in low-light capture. It has a 3.5″ touchscreen control panel and comes with a 2.5TB Pixboom Pro SSD card.

Global Shutter for Crisp Imaging
The Spark camera’s global shutter captures all the image sensor information at once, capturing clear, crisp images. It eliminates any “Jello” effect, distortion, and motion skewing that can occur with a rolling shutter camera, even with fast-paced motion and panning shots.

Interchangeable Lens Mounts
An interchangeable mount system enables you to select from a wide range of lenses with your Spark camera. The Sony E mount included with this camera can be swapped out by the user with separately available ARRI PL or Canon EF lens mounts, each offering full power and data transfer.

High-Speed BSI Sensor with Prerecord
Thanks to a BSI (back-side illuminated) sensor, the Spark can capture images using just 25% of the light normally required. The two-second prerecord function continuously buffers footage, preserving any spontaneous, unrepeatable moments that could otherwise be lost.

Customizable ROI
Customizable ROIs (regions of interest) enable you to capture high frame rates in various aspect ratios, including 3:2 Open Gate, 16:9, 2:1, 2.37:1, and ultrawide 4:1.

Durable Build with Multiple Interfaces
The Spark camera’s durable unibody aluminum design incorporates multiple professional interfaces, including 12G-SDI and HDMI with up to 4K output, LTC timecode, genlock, and USB-C for wired control. An active cooling system maintains an optimal operating temperature with minimal noise.

Pixboom Pro Card
In addition to the 12G-SDI and HDMI video outputs, the Spark camera can record to the included 2.5GB Pixboom Pro SSD card.

Dual Control with Touchscreen and Buttons
The Spark uses Pixboom OS for an intuitive control experience, using either the 3.5″ fixed touchscreen or the physical buttons for a more tactile feel. The versatile touchscreen also provides viewing and playback functions.

Wireless Control
The iOS/Android Pixboom Control app lets you monitor and adjust your Spark remotely via a Wi-Fi connection with 1080p video preview. Use your mobile device to adjust camera settings, start/stop recording, and monitor your composition – ideal for complex setups, remote positions, or when operating solo in challenging environments.

Anamorphic De-Squeeze
In-camera de-squeezing enables you to view your anamorphic capture in your chosen aspect ratio without any post-production processing.

Dual ISO
A 400/1600 dual-native ISO provides 13 stops of dynamic range at both settings, enabling clean image capture across all lighting conditions.

Power Options
Power your Spark camera using the power supply or the built-in plate and a separately available V-mount battery.

Samples

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