Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4 Coming Soon

Nokishita is reporting that Zeiss will release a Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4 around the first half of 2018 (Maybe February), which will round out the Loxia line up. Currently, Zeiss makes a 21mm, 35mm50mm, and 85mm Loxia Lens, which they sell separately or as a bundled with a case, but without the 85mm.

The Specs for the Loxia 25mm f/2.4 are:

  • Filter diameter is 52 mm
  • The shortest shooting distance is 25 cm
  • (Test lens) Weighs about 393 g

It seems that Zeiss is preparing to announce the wide-angle lens for Sony E mount. Although it is unconfirmed information, it is said that it is planning to sell at 1299 euros in Europe.”

via Nokishita

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Optical Limits Verifies That The Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Has Made The Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 Irrelevant


Camerasize Comparison

Sony outdid themselves with the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 and Optical Limits (Formerly Photozone) is now the second site to confirm this fact. Sony’s standard 85mm f/1.8 is practically perfect and it cannot be beaten for the price. The lens is pin sharp wide open and has almost no distortion. Even the G Master barely beats the significantly cheaper Sony FE 85mm f/1.8, which makes it hard to recommend the G Master unless you need the f/1.4 aperture.

Sony FE 85mm f/1.8: B&H Photo/Amazon/Adorama
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8: B&H Photo/Amazon/Adorama
Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM: B&H Photo/Amazon/Adorama

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Camera Store TV’s Best & Worst of 2017: Sony a7RIII and Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Recognized

TCSTV’s Best and Worst list is often quite amusing and interestingly, this year TCS included a lot of other vloggers in their best and worst of video this year. TCSTV seemed to really want to use the Sony a7RIII to close out DSLR’s on their best of list this year, but Chis just couldn’t help himself and included the D850 as a last hurrah for the format. TCS seems to believe that DSLR is done innovating and I couldn’t agree more. Canon and Nikon really need to do something exciting soon or risk Sony and Fujifilm seriously eroding their share of the market year over year from 2017 forward. 2018 will likely be the year mirrorless cameras take over photography with the GH5s, a7SIII, a7III, X-H1, GFX R, X-T3, X-T100 and Canon/Nikon mirrorless potentially coming out.

Best cameras:
Nikon D850
Sony a7RIII
Fujifilm X-T20

Best Lenses:
Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4 ASPH.
Fujinon MK18-55mm T2.9
Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

Best Video cameras:
Panasonic GH5
Panasonic EVA1
Canon C200

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The Sony a7RIII and a7RII Explored by The Last Word


The Last Word is an excellent resource for technical camera measurements and Jim has been picking apart various aspects of the Sony a7RIII lately along with the a7RII. If you’re interested in technical analysis there is no better free site on the web today to get into the technical side of how cameras work. Jim’s testing has even lead to a workaround for star eater for the Sony a7RII, but it doesn’t work for the a7RIII, which is probably due to the camera having enough processing power to still do spacial filtering in burst mode.

I normally include these kinds of posts in round-ups, but Jim has turned out so much useful information that I think I will make The Last Word into a semi-regular post with the newest stuff indicated somehow. He has been dissecting all the of the latest and greatest cameras on the market along with anyone willing to help. This level of analysis isn’t for everyone, but it can be very helpful when trying to get the most from your camera.

Sony Pixel Shift
Sony a7RIII pixel shift
Sony a7RIII pixel shift red sharpness
Sony a7RIII pixel shift real world false colors and dynamic range

Sony a7RIII Star Eater
Sony a7RIII eats stars
A visual look at a7RIII star-eating
Sony a7RII and a7RIII star-eating under the microscope
Star-eating test methods
a7RII star-eating histograms
a7RIII star-eater green channel histograms
Testing for a7RIII star-eating by direct search
a7RIII star spreading
Sony a7RIII star spreading — raw composites
Sony a7RIII raw spatial processing
a7RIII star-eater questions answered
Sony a7RII star-eater workaround

Electronic Shutter
How fast is the Sony a7RIII silent shutter?

Know your RAW: 14-bit, 13-bit, and 12-bit RAW (Compressed vs Uncompressed)
Sony a7RIII precision
Sony a7RIII photon transfer curves

Dynamic Range and ISO Explained
Sony a7RIII EDR vs ISO setting
a7RIII vs a7RII low-ISO EDR

Long Exposure
Sony a7RIII read noise vs exposure time
Sony a7RII long exposure battery current draw

Hands-on
Shooting an event with the a7RIII
Another event with the a7RIII

Join our Sony a7 Owners Group and Sony a7 Page, also follow SonyAddict on Facebook and Twitter.

Sony a7RIII: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Camera Labs Lengthy Sony a7RIII Review

Camera labs released their very lengthy Sony a7RIII review clocking in at over an hour in length for all three parts. Gordon Laing seems every bit as impressed with the a7RIII as everyone else calling it an all-around camera that no longer has the speed limitations of the old high-resolution cameras. These lengthy camera labs reviews aren’t for everyone, but they cover almost every aspect of the camera, but if you want their quick take there is this video.

Join our Sony a7 Owners Group and Sony a7 Page, also follow SonyAddict on Facebook and Twitter.

Sony a7RIII: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 FE Announced and Coming in February


Large diameter & compact wide angle lens which refined the flavor of classic lens with latest optical technology and revived to the present age. Unlike modern performance-based lens design, it embodies the beauty of lens character and depiction by intentionally leaving aberration.

Main Features:
● With Sony E mount compatible electronic contact, lens usage status is reflected in Exif information of shooting data. In addition, because it incorporates a distance encoder, it supports 5-axis camera shake correction on the camera body side. You can also enlarge the display by operating the focus ring.

● Symmetrical Lens Construction Reconstructed with the latest optical technology while adopting a traditional symmetrical lens configuration to obtain a unique and beautiful depiction. By adopting ultrahigh refraction glass, we have realized a large aperture with compact size.

Optimized optical design In addition to securing full-size image circle, it adopts optical design optimized for Sony E mount sensor. You can enjoy soft delicate descriptions reminiscent of classic lenses with stable image quality.

● Manual Focus capable of reliable focusing The total metal helicoid unit processed and adjusted with high precision and the high quality grease that produces moderate torque realize smooth operation feeling. It enables delicate focus adjustment. Read More »

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