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

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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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Sony Driver Loader For MacOS 10.13


If you have had trouble updating your camera in OSX 10.13 than Sony has a driver loader just for you, which can be downloaded here. I try not to update my Sony cameras on Macs when I can, because Sony doesn’t write the best software for Mac and I have actually had a few cameras get bricked by their buggy software on OSX in the past which was a non-issue when I had a local Sony store, but it closed so I can’t easily swap a bricked camera anymore.

Download Here

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Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 FE Might Be Announced Tomorrow


Photorumors reported earlier today that Voigtlander might actually release their Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 FE tomorrow. It was announced by Cosina during CP+ 2017 alongside other Voigtlander lenses that are already available. This is a redesign of the classic lens for M-mount, which was a fun lens with a lot of character. This lens will be like other FE mount Voigtlander glass featuring:

  • EXIF transmission to camera body
  • Support for five-axis image stabilization
  • Manual focus
  • 1/3 step aperture selection

Hopefully, it is reasonably priced, because I would love to pick this lens up for my Sony a7RIII to see what results I get.

via Photorumors

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Sony RX0 vs GoPro Hero 6 Continued

If you compare the Sony RX0 and GoPro Hero 6 at most tasks the GoPro Hero 6 is going to win if the environment is well lit, but once the light is reduced the Sony RX0 clearly pulls ahead. Even though the Sony FDR X3000 is designed to be the GoPro’s natural competitor the RX0’s form factor begs for them to be compared, which is why vlogers/bloggers keep comparing these two cameras.

Sony RX0: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
GoPro 6: B&H Photo/Amazon/Adorama
Sony FDR X3000: B&H Photo/Amazon/Adorama

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