Manfrotto Befree Advanced Alpha Edition


If you are looking to accessorize your Sony alpha camera and do not have a tripod yet than the Manfrotto Befree Advanced Alpha might interest you. It’s an interesting design, but I kind of wish it was carbon fiber. You can see the details below and Manfrotto will sell it here soon.

Product Information:
The Manfrotto Befree Advanced Alpha travel tripod is a special version of the Befree Advanced Lever dedicated to all Sony α camera users who want maximum performance and stability in all shooting positions.

The plate is designed to match Sony α7 and Sony α9 camera bodies*, to ensure perfect grip, even in the most angled camera shots. The front jut of the plate physically blocks the camera, preventing any play both on tilt and rotational movements, always keeping the camera stuck to the head plate. The result is impressive camera stability, which takes image sharpness to the highest level. The plate is also fully compatible with the world’s most widespread standard head attachments: Manfrotto RC2and Arca-swiss style. With this aluminium plate fixed to the camera, all Manfrotto heads and almost all tripod heads on the market featuring Arca-style attachments can be set up rapidly and effortlessly, without disassembling components. Read More »

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Native Sigma FE Lenses Now Available For Preorder


Most of the Sigma Art lenses that were announced a few days ago are now available for pre-order at B&H Photo.

14mm F1.8 DG HSM | Art $899
20mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art $899
24mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art $849
35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art $899
50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art $949
70mm F 2.8 DG MACRO | Art New Design
85mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art $1,199
105mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art New Design
135mm F1.8 DG HSM | Art $1,399

Sony a7III: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony HVL-F60RM: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Sigma MC-11 Firmware Update 1.09


It has become compatible with the SIGMA 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM | Art for SIGMA.

● With the SGV lenses*1 listed below, it has improved AF performance in the peripheral areas of the image as well as when the “Eye AF” function is selected.
● With lenses that are not compatible with the MC-11, it has corrected the release time lag which occurred during flash photography.*2
※ Before updating the MC-11 firmware, please ensure SIGMA Optimization Pro has been updated to ver. 1.4.1 or later for Windows, and ver. 1.4.0 or later for Macintosh.
*1 SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, SIGMA 135mm F1.8 DG HSM | Art, SIGMA 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM | Art, SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Art, SIGMA 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary
*2 Please note that this does not guarantee accurate operation with all the lenses that are not compatible with the MC-11.

Download Here

Sigma MC-11: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Venus Optics Unveil The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra-Macro

Venus Optics unveil the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra-Macro, an affordable extreme macro option for full frame cameras
Featuring a small lens barrel, lightweight design and extended working distance, the new Laowa lens provides an extreme macro photography option for DSLR & Mirrorless cameras.

Anhui China, Mar 27, 2018 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique macro lenses (60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro & 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro), is proud to add another member to their macro products line, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra-Macro Lens.

The new Laowa 25mm f/2.8 provides a magnification range from 2.5:1 to 5:1 and offers a flexibility for photographers to capture macro subjects with different sizes. The 8 elements in 6 groups design with 1pc of low-dispersion element, creates an outstanding image sharpness across different magnification and greatly reduces the chromatic aberrations and color fringing. The wide focal length gives a relatively deeper depth of field than lenses with longer focal length. This feature is particular essential for photographers who can then stack less images for achieving even sharpness across the frame.

Dedicated solely to macro applications, the lens is carefully designed with an extended working distance (40mm @ 5x) & small lens barrel. This design is aimed to provide sufficient room for lighting reaching the subjects. The lens weigh less than 400g and the compact size make it suitable for shooting both in the field and in the laboratory.

An optional rotating tripod collar is also released for photographers to benefit from mounting the lens onto tripods and compose at different angles.

Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K & Sony E mounts are available for order through Venus Optics official website (http://www.venuslens.net/) & authorized resellers. The suggested retail price (tax excluded) in United States is USD 399/pc. Pricing varies in different countries.

The new lens will be available to try in the UK Photography Show Birmingham during 17-20 March 2018.

Product Page
http://www.venuslens.net/product/laowa-25mm-f-2-8-2-5-5x-ultra-macro-2/

Specifications

Focal Length

25mm

Max. Aperture

f/2.8

Angle of View

10.3°

Format Compatibility

Full Frame

Lens Structure

8 elements in 6 groups

Aperture Blades

8

Min. Focusing Distance

17.3 (5X) – 23.4cm (2.5X)

Max. Magnification

2.5:1 to 5:1

Filter Thread

N/A

Dimension

82*65mm

Weight

~400g

Mounts

Canon/ Nikon/ Pentax/ Sony

Read More »

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Sony a7III PDAF Artifacting, Auto Focus Performance, Canon Lenses, Reviews, And More


DPReview published some photos from the Sony launch event of the Sony a7III and some readers have sent us the photos over the past few days, which we previously covered, but there seems to be some confusion that there is a problem. All cameras with PDAF will show these kinds of artifacts under the right circumstances, which is why some companies stick to CDAF. Contrast detect autofocus cameras don’t have this kind of artifacting, which are caused by phase detect pixels under very specific circumstances.

This kind of issue can’t be fixed with a Firmware update unless you’re going to blur the detail to remove these artifacts, which is something better left to photoshop. 99.9% of the time you will not see these and many other PDAF on-chip systems have demonstrated this issue over the years without photographers being affected. There is nothing unique here, but feel free to pixel peep. If you want to check out the full resolution photos Girls Face 1, Girls Face 2, Light 3.

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Sony a7III: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony HVL-F60RM: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Tokina FíRIN 20mm F2 FE AF Demo

The Tokina FíRIN 20mm f/2.0 AF was at CP+ and ValueTechTV took the time to do a quick AF test with the lens while there. The speed is on the slow side, but maybe it will improve before launch.

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