Sony Alpha a7RII (ILCE-7RM2) Mirrorless Digital Camera Announced!

Sony's new flagship: the Sony A7RII (model: ILCE-7RM2)

Sony has just announced the A7RII Alpha mirrorless digital camera and it's amazing! A big step up from the Sony A7R, with impressive ISO (although the Sony A7s still takes the lead on that one), 5-axis image stabilization like on the Sony A7II and it can capture 4K (QFHD 3840×2160) video  internally! It also features the world's first back-illuminated full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor which is able to capture 42.4MP approx. effective megapixels. Sony never cease to amaze me.

Sony a7S Hands on Review - Footage Available for Download

Sony Alpha a7S mirrorless digital camera unboxed

Introduction

In the beginning I was a bit skeptical. Could this little camera really produce good quality video? Well, I found out quick enough, the answer is YES. For the last few years I've mostly been using the FS100 and was very happy with the results I got. I did need some time getting used to this little "brick camera", but more because of the form factor and different way of shooting. Before the FS100 I've been working with heavy ENG shoulder mounted cameras that were all about getting your shots and quickly moving on. With the FS100 and cameras of a similar kind, you'll need to put effort in each and every shot to get the most out of it and I've learned to appreciate this kind of filming. Going from the FS100 and now to the Sony a7S I further complete the transition to a whole new way of filming.


Sony a7S first impressions

While taking the Sony Alpha a7S mirrorless digital camera out of the box I noticed that it came with two Sony NP-FW50 batteries, which is a nice bonus. The camera is compact but still feels good in the hand. It's not too light and the LCD screen can be tilted. The viewfinder is surprisingly good and way better then I expected. I can actually use this! Thanks to a few customizable buttons on the body and a dedicated dial for shutter, exposure and aperture it's very easy to use this camera in manual mode and quickly adjust settings. There are a lot of options to go through in the menu so finding that one setting you're searching for can take a bit more time in the beginning. Nevertheless I'm glad the camera has so many options available.

REVIEW - SEL1018 Sony E-mount Super Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

Sony 10-18mm f/4 OSS Alpha E-mount Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

It's been a while since Sony announced their new batch of E-mount lenses, but today I'm finally able to do a hands-on review of the much anticipated Sony 10-18mm super wide-angle E-mount zoom lens, compatible with the Alpha NEX cameras and NEX Camcorders. Now, I won't be doing this review from a scientific point of view. I'm a photographer and filmmaker and personally care more about how it is to work with in the field and seeing the results created with my own camera and settings, then talking about specs and lab-results. So if you were hoping to see some nice colour boards, diagrams, graphs and lab experiments, I'm very sorry to disappoint you! Luckily there are many sites out there that can show you exactly that and they can certainly be interesting to see. A comparison (with video) between this 10-18mm ultra wide lens and the Sony 16mm pancake lens with VCL-ECU1 ultra wide converter will be posted soon.

First impressions

SEL1018 in use on the Blackbird stabilizer

When I opened the box and took out the lens, I was pleasantly surprised with how light-weight the lens actually is. It weighs only 225g. This is perfect for using it on a Sony Alpha NEX Mirrorless Digital Camera and even better for using it on a NEX-FS100 or NEX-FS700 in combination with a handheld stabilizer / Steadicam.

The second surprise was the build quality. Except for the lens hood, there's little plastic parts to be found. The zoom and focus rings operate very smoothly, but unfortunately there are no markings on the focus ring and it doesn't have stops. However, it works and responds much better then the focus ring on the Sony 18-200mm NEX lens, which feels a bit more electronic-ish. When using the zoom ring to go to 10mm ultra wide, the lens will extend slightly. This is the opposite of what you might expect normally. The drawback of this, is that the lens will retract a bit when mounting the lens cap when you're in full wide. The lens is quite small when you compare it to a similar lens like the Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens and it's only half the weight. The lens has a filter thread in front, so you can add a 62mm Variable Neutral Density filter or 62mm UV filter if you want. An option that was seriously lacking when using the ultra wide converter with the 16mm pancake lens.

Sample images
Now before talking further about specs and performance of this lens, I'm going to share some sample images I took with this lens on a Sony NEX mirrorless digital camera.

Tulip Fields of Holland - NEX-5N Pictures

Typical Dutch landscape with the windmill in the background

Last weekend I took some pictures of the tulip fields in Noord-Holland. All pictures were made using a Sony NEX-5N with E-mount 18-200mm lens. I love what this little camera (more lens then camera actually!) is capable of and it's an absolute joy to work with.

Sony 500mm F/4 G Lens Coming - CES 2012 - UPDATE

Sony Alpha 500mm f/4 G SAL500F4G Lens (image: www.ephotozine.com)

At CES 2012 Sony displayed a chrome 500 mm F/4 G lens, that's currently in development. The SAL500F4G. << UPDATE: You can buy it now from B&H for $12,999.99 >>