Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 GM and FE 85mm f/1.8 Prime Lenses Announced

The Sony FE 100mm f/2.8i STF GM OSS Telephoto Prime Lens

Sony announced two new full-frame prime lenses for their E-mount cameras. The FE 100mm f/2.8 G Master and FE 85mm f/1.8 prime lens. These lenses will start shipping in March 2017 and you can already pre-order them through B&H. The Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 (SEL100F28GM) will be available for $1,500 USD and the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 telephoto prime lens (SEL85F18) for $600 USD.

Sony Launches New G Master Brand of Interchangeable Lenses

Sony Electronics has just introduced their flagship G Master™ brand of interchangeable lenses.

Sony’s new brand includes three new E-mount full frame lenses including a 24-70mm constant F2.8 standard zoom, an 85mm F1.4 prime and a 70-200mm constant F2.8 telephoto zoom.   Representing the ultimate blend of high resolution and beautiful bokeh, the new lenses feature Sony’s innovative optical element technology, design and calibration.  This allows them to produce still image and video content with a level of detail and expression that has never before been possible.

“The new G Master brand represents the finest and most impressive group of lenses that Sony has ever brought to market,” said Neal Manowitz, Vice President of Digital Imaging at Sony Electronics.  “With our knowledge of what the future will bring for digital imaging, we have designed these lenses and can ensure that the G Master brand will inspire and ‘wow’ photographers and videographers for years to come.”

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.

Pictures from the Sony A7s

Sony A7s as a stills camera

It's no secret that I love my Sony A7s full frame camera. I've bought it to use it as a filmcamera, but it makes me forget about the photographic capabilities this little mirrorless gem has. Even though this camera "only" has 12.4 megapixels, it actually exceeds my former photo cameras who all start at 16 megapixels. I always looked at it as a fantastic filmcamera with a nifty function to take pictures. You know, like some of the older video cameras that have the ability to take a "picture" at the press of a button during filming. These pictures never looked good and it's save to say this feature never got really popular on video cameras.

Sony Announces 4 New Full-Frame FE Lenses!

Joyful news from Sony today! They added 4 new full-frame FE (E-mount) lenses to their line-up. A fast (f/2) 28mm lens, 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens, Sony-Zeiss Distagon 35 1.4 FE Lens and a 24-240mm OSS Lens. Especially this last lens caught my eyes.

I was seriously missing a good all-in-one lens from Sony when it comes to the full frame E-mount selection. Having a 24mm on the wide end of a full-frame camera is very decent but having the ability to zoom in to 240mm makes it very interesting, especially with added features like optical image stabilization and no less than five aspherical elements. It's also dust and moisture protected. Sounds like a perfect companion for my beloved Sony A7S full-frame mirrorless camera. It isn't a cheap lens, but considering the other options you have right now when you need a nice amount of zoom power on your full-frame camera (like the Sony FE 70-200mm f/4.0 G OSS lens or going with a Metabones Mark IV adapter and Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens), the price doesn't look that bad anymore. On the contrary!

Below you will find all information about these new FE Sony lenses. And perhaps nice to know, you can pre-order all these lenses right now!

Announced: Sony a7S Mirrorless Digital Camera

Sony a7S Mirrorless Digital Camera

Product Highlights

• 12.2MP Full-Frame Exmor CMOS Sensor
• BIONZ X Image Processor
• Gapless On-Chip Lens Design
• 3.0" 921.6k-Dot Tilting LCD Monitor
• XGA 2.36M-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder

• 4K and Full HD Video Recording in XAVC S
• Full Pixel Read-Out, S-Log2 Gamma
• Expandable Sensitivity: ISO 50-409600
• Fast Intelligent 25-Point AF System
• Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC

The Sony Alpha a7S Mirrorless Digital Camera features a full-frame 12.2MP Exmor CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processor to enable notable video and still image quality with an expansive dynamic range, low noise, and extended sensitivity to ISO 409600. At the sensor level, this full-frame sensor features a unique on-chip gapless lens design, which incorporates small lenses between neighboring pixels in order to increase light-gathering efficiency and promote greater image quality across the entirety of the sensor plane. The sensor and processor combination also avails a wealth of speed throughout the camera system, including a top continuous shooting rate of 5 fps, support for 4K video recording, and a fast 25-point contrast-detection AF system with sensitivity to -4 EV.

Beyond its still image performance, the a7S is also quite adept in regard to recording video. It supports recording uncompressed 4:2:2 4K video to an optional external recorder, as well as full HD 1080 video in the high-quality XAVC S format at 50 mbps in multiple frame rates. Extending the video recording capabilities is support for the S-Log2 gamma, which helps to expand the effective dynamic range during recording, as well as picture profile options, time codes, and zebra and marker display aids. Sound can be recorded in the AAC/Linear PCM format via the internal stereo microphone, with a built-in headphone jack for on-board monitoring, or via an external microphone.

Rounding out the a7S's imaging capabilities, both a 3.0" 921.6k-dot tilting LCD monitor and 2.36 million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder are available for image monitoring and review. Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, with support for NFC, is available, too, for instant sharing of imagery from the camera as well as remote camera control from a linked mobile device.

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's new NEX E-mount 10-18mm, 16-50mm power zoom and 35mm F1.8 lenses

Three new Sony E-mount lenses: the 16-50mm power zoom, 35mm f/1.8 lens and 10-18mm super-wide lens

Sony has announced three new E-mount lenses at Photokina 2012 for their NEX cameras. A 35mm F1.8 prime lens, a 10-18mm super-wide zoom and a 16-50mm power zoom lens.

<< Now in stock: The Sony 10-18mm f/4 Alpha E-mount Wide-Angle >>

NEW: Sony NEX-EA50

The Sony NEX-EA50 NXCAM Camcorder

Just announced: the Sony NEX-EA50 NXCAM Camcorder with Power Zoom Lens!
<< Pre-order today: Sony NEX-EA50 at B&H for $4,500 >>

This new E-mount camcorder which is similar to the NEX-FS100 looks very promising and comes with a completely redesigned E-mount 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Power Zoom Lens. That's right, this camera has a zoom rocker! Now here comes the best part. It will even work with primary lenses and manual zoom lenses by cropping the image sensor in real-time without compromising the quality of the footage, thanks to using a much higher resolution sensor (then 1080p) to begin with. Make sure to also read the B&H InDepth article about this new camera. The NEX-EA50 has a shoulder pad which can be extended to balance the camera on your shoulder.

Review: Blackbird Camera Stabilizer

The Blackbird Full Kit after unpacking everything

A few days ago I was asked by Camera Motion Research if I would like to try out their Blackbird Camera Stabilizer. A fantastic offer I just couldn't refuse, being the camera stabilizer fanatic that I am! And before I knew it, UPS came to my door and delivered the Blackbird.

Short Movie: Old Jet Fighter (MiG-21 F-13)

MiG-21 F-13 jet fighter

Old picture of the actual aircraft in use!

Two weeks ago I was filming in Noord-Holland and when we drove from one location to the next, someone spotted something very unusual in the backyard of an old farmhouse. This old jet fighter from the Czech Air Force, I believe a MiG-21 F-13 Fishbed. I thought it was pretty unusual so we stopped and I went to see if anyone was home. Luckily the owner answered the door and I asked him if it was OK to film his jet fighter in his backyard. He had no problem with it, so I went back to the car to change lenses on the camera.

NEX-5N with 18-200mm lens - Footage

Location to capture footage with the Sony NEX-5N

Two days ago I was at the beach and decided to bring my Sony NEX-5N with me and shoot some footage with it. Just to see what this camera is capable of. I simply used the internal microphone and recorded in AVCHD, 50i 24M (FX). Lens I used was the Sony E-mount 18-200mm from my NEX-FS100.

Importing the footage into FCP is the same as with the NEX-FS100 and editing is simple and fast. I decided to leave the footage ungraded and just show what the camera is capable of. You can see the result in the video below.

The New NEX-FS700 (Pictures & Info)

The new Sony NEX-FS700

Sony has just announced the new NEX-FS700.
This is a new Super 35mm camera in their cinema cameras line-up. It's 4K-ready with a new 4K “Exmor” Super 35 CMOS sensor (Total 11.6 million pixels). The 3G-SDI output enables easy integration with highest quality recording formats. It also has super slow-motion capabilities, 10x at full HD or 40x at lower resolutions. The FS700 shows a new top handle which looks a lot sturdier. For anyone owning a Sony NEX-FS100, it will be good to know that the new FS700 has built-in ultra-thin ND filters!

Video: NEX-FS100 on the Pocket Dolly

I've made a short movie called "Deserted Mall"with the NEX-FS100 and the Kessler Pocket Dolly.

Click here to watch it on YouTube.

Although I had some troubles in the beginning (3x Unboxing of the Kessler Pocket Dolly), I finally was able to start using the Pocket Dolly on a short movie!

I didn't really had a plan when I went filming at the mall, but just went with the flow. It was on Boxing Day and it was very quiet there at the time. I spent about an hour filming on different locations and ended up with enough footage to make this short movie. It's the first video I created with the Kessler Pocket Dolly. In editing I decided to go for the 'Deserted Mall' theme and luckily I had enough footage without people walking around on camera.

Details Firmware Update NEX-FS100 (Early 2012)

Information about the first firmware update for the Sony NEX-FS100.
Looks very promising and I'm especially looking forward to the additional 4x and 8x Expanded Focus magnification (with selectable focus area) and that the camera will work on both 50 and 60hz systems!

Scheduled for early 2012. No cost. You will download package from FS100 webpage, connect PC to camera via USB and run user installable update.

Sony NEX-FS100 Nikon & Sony 18-200mm Lens Comparison

Quick (and simple) comparison video between the Sony E-mount 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS and the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II on the Sony FS100. The Nikon lens was placed on the NEX-FS100 with a Novoflex adapter. No camera or color settings were changed between shots, only the lenses.

Click here to watch it on YouTube