Digital Cameras

Sony Product Feature Video Highlights Flagship a99 II Camera

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 26, 2016 | 0 comments

For those with an affinity for the finer things in life or who simply need unparalleled shooting capabilities, there exists the Sony a99 II which was announced last week. As a recap, the full-frame 42.4-megapixel A-mount camera features:

high-speed high-precision Hybrid Phase Detection AF, AF/AE tracking in 12fps continuous shooting, body-integrated 5-axis image stabilization, and advanced 4K movie functions.

To go along with the camera’s reveal, Sony has a new product feature video which highlights what the camera offers.

Sony Announces Flagship 42-Megapixel Full-frame a99 II A-mount Camera

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 19, 2016 | 0 comments

Earlier this morning, Sony unveiled the a99 II, their newest flagship full-frame camera. Jon Fingas writing for Engadget:

Sony is launching the A99 II, a 42.4-megapixel pro cam that incorporates many of the upgrades you’ve seen in recent Alpha DSLRs and mirrorless models… and then some. To start, it promises to be an autofocusing champ. This is the first full-frame Alpha to use 4D Focus tech, delivering a hybrid autofocusing system that melds 79 dedicated phase detection points with 399 focal plane phase detection points. Between this and the lack of a moving mirror, Sony is promising “full-time” autofocus that can track fast-moving objects — important when you can shoot up to a brisk 12 frames per second (8FPS in live view).

Sony a6300 Firmware Update 1.10 Arrives

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 5, 2016 | 0 comments

Those lucky enough to own the highly awarded Sony a6300 need to make note of firmware update 1.10. The just-released firmware is pegged around 255.22 MB so make sure you set some time aside to download and install. According to Sony:

10 Bit vs 8 Bit – Sony FS5 vs. a7S II vs. a7R II – Is 10 Bit Always Better?

by Sohrab Osati | May 27, 2016 | 0 comments

A title that’s a mouthful, I know. So instead, let’s have Dave Dugale explain:

You know how everyone says 10bit is better than 8bit when it comes to heavy grading, today I am finally testing that. It makes sense but I wanted to see it. Anytime I’m curious usually something unexpected happens.

Tests not about detail/sharpness, not about the codecs or subchroma. Not talking about rolling shutter, etc.

I compared the Sony a7Sii to the Canon C100, Sony FS5 and the Red Scarlet Dragon.

Sony a6300 vs Canon 80D Epic Shootout

by Sohrab Osati | May 19, 2016 | 0 comments

If you’ve ever wondered how the well-received Sony a6300 would do against the Canon 80D, then wonder no more. Thanks to Michael Andrew, (aka Michael The Maven) who is a self-proclaimed freelance producer, photography instructor, tech innovator, and when needed, disaster aid specialist, we now have a very in depth video that pits the two cameras against one another.

Having just finished the lengthy video (just a hair over 26 minutes), I can tell you that Michael does a great job at highlighting what makes each camera unique while pitting them against one another. In fact in some instances, the clear winner depends on your needs as a photographer/videographer. As he says in the beginning of his video, just because a certain feature is touted by a company, it doesn’t mean the end results will be as claimed during real world usage which can produce vastly different results.

Another aspect of the video that I quite enjoyed is that for those of us who are less trained in the arts of photography like yours truly, Michael actually explains each test and fills you in on what’s taking place inside the camera. It’s also great to watch Michael perform the tests versus it being purely from his perspective which gives you a better feel for the testing conditions and how you could reproduce some of the same tests if you wish. Perhaps this says it all but nonetheless, the highly informative video will give you lots to think about.

For a mirrorless camera, it’s the first one I’ve seen out-focus a DSLR in most conditions.

Sony a6300 High 8 Frames Per Second Speed & Focus Test With the 85mm G Master

by Sohrab Osati | May 3, 2016 | 0 comments

I’ve been covering reviews of the Sony a6300 fairly extensively for no other reason than my own personal lust over it.

And that’s just a few of the pieces I’ve covered. You can look for more a6300 coverage here. So when I ran across the video which is after the jump, I of course had to post it. At first glance, the video is a no brainer to post. Professional photographer Jason Lanier using the a6300 to shoot a beautiful model on the beaches of Santa Monica. What’s not to like right? But the real reason I’m posting the video is that it goes behind the veil a bit on professional photography and how the photographer and model work together to create some stunning shots. I’ve always been that geek who gets just as much joy as watching a movie as watching extensive behind-the-scenes footage which show you how the film comes together.

The bonus is that it’s using the a6300 and that we see the photographer working from a documentary like perspective and then immediately see the photos he’s taken of the situation that’s unfolded. To equate it back to behind-the-scenes footage, it’s the equivalent of seeing the difference between a take on set and the final finished product.

This video was recorded at Jason’s Portfolio Building Workshop in Los Angeles in April 2016. The video shows 12 different sets of consecutive images being taken with the A6300. No images were deleted from the sets. This illustrates the speed and accuracy of the A6300 with the 85mm G Master with a very dynamic and busy background.

The video is after the jump.

Sony α6300 4D Focus Performance Test

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2016 | 0 comments

Jim Fisher from PC Mag recently called the Sony a6300 a:

Strong, forward-thinking mirrorless camera

and named the camera their ‘Editors Choice.’ Engadget also chimed in, calling the camera in their review a:

small, sleek, fast and, most importantly, captures impressive photos and video. Paired with the right lenses, the A6300 has no trouble matching up with its more expensive Alpha relatives or even some mid-tier DSLRs.

One of the most impressive features of the a6300 is its 4D Focus. During their time with the E-mount camera, Edgar Alvarez from Engadget wrote:

Nevertheless, the prowess of the A6300 is helped by its 425 phase-detect points, compared to the 179 found on the A6000. That, combined with the 4D Focus, makes the A6300’s AF twice as fast as the A6000, according to Sony. And it shows. As someone who’s tested a handful of cameras over the past several months, Sony’s latest mirrorless shooter is definitely the fastest one I’ve tried.

Now it’s one thing to read about how autofocus works on the a6300 and it’s another thing to see it in action. A new video from Sony does just that and shows off how the camera’s focusing feature performs.

Sony’s autofocus (AF) system “4D FOCUS” is further enhanced with the α6300.

Thanks to the new “High-density Tracking AF Technology”, the α6300’s precise AF tracking allows focus to be maintained even on subjects that make fast, complex movements. This video shows AF performance test both in stills and movies.

Sony goes to compare the a6300 against a more expensive DSLR (which they don’t name) in a side-by-side comparison which I’m less concerned with, especially when they don’t name the competitor piece. However putting that side and just looking at the a6300 by itself in the video, you can’t help but be impressed. That video awaits you after the jump.

Sony a7 II Gets $200 Official Price Drop

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 27, 2016 | 0 comments

Today is the day of price drops. First Amazon lowered pre-order pricing of the Xperia X and Xperia XA line and now Sony has their own official price drop. Those interested in the mirrorless body only Sony a7 II can scoop one up for $1,498.

With Sony killing their retail and online stores, you’ll have to make the purchase from Amazon or B&H Photo with the latter of the two able to have the camera at your house by Friday for Prime users.

4K Time Lapse: Houston After Dark, Shot on Sony a7R II

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 27, 2016 | 0 comments

I have to say, I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to time lapse videos. Working routinely on a 5K display also tends to make even 1080p videos look lacking so adding 4K to anything makes me that much happier. Jonathan Irvin:

This is my first attempt at turning a time-lapse sequence into a little feature. I really love doing them and I hope you enjoy!

And for the equipment and gear, Jonathan used

the Sony A7Rii and the 24-70 f4. I used the Sony Time Lapse app in camera in custom mode to output raw files. I edited in Lightroom and LRTimelapse. Final edits were made in Final Cut Pro.

Perhaps most impressive about the time lapse is how fantastic the night scenes look. The blacks are pure black and the brights are simply gorgeous, thanks to the camera pulling in all available light. The video can be seen after the jump.

Sony World Photography Awards Winners Announced

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 26, 2016 | 0 comments

I didn’t even know this was a thing before now and I’m blown away by the quality of entries.

Now in its ninth year, the Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s largest photography competition, recognising and showcasing the best photographic talent across all levels, genres and areas of expertise from the past 12 months.

The winning images are taken from a record-breaking 230,103 images which were entered into the awards’ Professional, Open, Youth and National Award competitions from over 180 countries. The total number of entries received by the Sony World Photography Awards since its launch in 2007 has now surpassed 1 million images, reinforcing its position as one of the most respected and influential photography competitions in existence.

So who took top spot from the coveted awards?

The Honorary Judging Committee has selected Iranian photojournalist Asghar Khamseh as the recipient of the most coveted prize, the L’Iris d’Or Professional Photographer of the Year. Kei Nomiyama, Japan, wins Open Photographer of the Year.

More after the jump.

Sony a6300 Called a “Strong, Forward-thinking Mirrorless Camera”

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 21, 2016 | 0 comments

Rave reviews keep pouring in for the Sony a6300. Most recently, Engadget called the 4K capable camera a “step forward for mid-tier mirrorless cameras,” and now PC Mag is following up with similar sentiment. Here is Jim Fisher:

Sony waited more than four years between the release of its flagship APS-C Alpha NEX-7 and its replacement, the Alpha 6300. The new model doesn’t offer a boost in resolution, but it enhances the excellent autofocus system found in the midrange Alpha 6000 at Amazon and also adds a weather-sealed design, 4K video capture, and a crisper EVF. It’s our Editors’ Choice for premium mirrorless cameras, ousting the Samsung NX1 at Best Buy, a camera we no longer recommend buying

By now it’s quite clear that the a6300 takes beautiful photos but some lesser talked about features of the camera include Wi-Fi and apps.

Integrated Wi-Fi is a strong point of Sony’s camera system. The Alpha 6300 can pair with an Android device via NFC, or with an iOS device by connecting to its broadcast network. Once connected you can copy images and MP4 videos to your smart device, connect the camera directly to the Internet to download apps, or use your phone as a remote control. You can copy images shot in Raw—they’ll be converted to JPG for the transfer—but you can’t move XAVC S videos, so don’t have dreams about wirelessly beaming 4K video from camera to phone.

The Alpha 6300 ships with the Smart Remote app pre-installed. It’s a basic remote app that lets you view the feed from the camera, adjust EV compensation, and fire a photo, all from your smartphone’s display. I recommend connecting to the Sony PlayMemories store (via the Alpha 6300 and your home Wi-Fi connection) and updating the app. The update adds support for full manual exposure control, as well as the ability to tap your smartphone’s screen to select a focus point. It requires you to create an account, but the update is free.

Perhaps one of the most raved about features of the a6300 includes Sony’s new 4D Autofocus system.

The Alpha 6300 features the most advanced autofocus system that Sony has put in a mirrorless camera to date. There are 425 phase detect focus sensors that work in conjunction with 169 contrast detect areas. The focus area covers almost the entirety of the frame, a big plus for tracking moving subjects—there’s less chance that your subject will move out of the area of the image covered by the focus system.

Even though the 6300 is a little slow to turn on, requiring about 1.8 seconds to do so, the focus system is lighting fast—it can lock onto a stationary subject almost instantly. That comes into play when utilizing its fast frame rate—11.1fps—which tracks subjects as they move. The hit rate wasn’t perfect in our tests, but it was very good. The Alpha 6300 has a second high-speed mode, clocking in at a more modest 8.2fps.

After the jump, let’s talk about 4K video.

Sony a6300 vs a6000 Comprehensive Comparison and Review

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 14, 2016 | 0 comments

The Sony a6300 is shaping up to be a camera that punches well above its price limit. Writing for Engadget, Edgar Alvarez had this to say about the camera during his review:

Sony has done a tremendous job with the A6300. It’s small, sleek, fast and, most importantly, captures impressive photos and video. Paired with the right lenses, the A6300 has no trouble matching up with its more expensive Alpha relatives or even some mid-tier DSLRs.

But before the a6300, there was the a6000 which was also well received. In fact, seeing how different the two cameras are in some ways, Sony for the time being is opting to sell both. Better yet, with the introduction of the new camera, you can find some pretty great prices on the a6000 which begs the questions, what are the differences between these two E-mount cameras?

After the jump, a video by Maarten Heilbronn which highlights some key differences between the two.

First Full-Frame Sony a99 Successor Details Leak

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 11, 2016 | 0 comments

You know the drill about leaks so if you haven’t already, have yourself some grains of salt prior to reading this. According to a source who has been fairly accurate in the past, the successor to the full-frame Sony a99 (pictured above) is bound to have some big impacts on the photography world.

The next generation flagship mirrorless camera from Sony will be a giant leap. It will drop a huge bomb in the imaging industry. It will not be A7III or A7RIII. It will be a new model above A7 series. I would say A9 (let’s name it as the new model). So the new A9 will have dual XQD card slot, no CFast version, only XQD. A9 can do UNLIMITED RAW burst, UNLIMITED. The camera wont pause for buffering

Many including yours truly believe that we’ll see a Sony a99 successor likely around September and this wouldn’t be a bad feature to kick things off with. Other obvious features to expect will be native 4K video and Sony’s 4D autofocus system which has been praised in the a6300. I do wonder if Sony will stick with their current naming strategy and call the successor the Sony a99 II or if we’ll see it as an entirely new camera.

Sony RX10 III – Super Slow Motion with Super Telephoto – “Ski”

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 1, 2016 | 0 comments

Sony unveiled their Cyber-shot RX10 III earlier this week. In addition to its massive 25x optical zoom, the new camera also boasts some impressive video capabilities like 4K video and the ability to shoot at high frame rate.

Realize the new imaging expression by the combination of Super Slow Motion and Super telephoto lens.

The stacked CMOS sensor enables shooting at an extrahigh frame rate up to 960fps (40x) high-speed shooting of exceptionally clear, smooth close-up action, all the way up the ultra-telephoto range, at sports events, etc. So the camera can capture great close-ups of faraway players on fields in arenas in super slow motion detail.

The video is after the jump.

Sony RX10 III Camera with 25x Optical Zoom Announced

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 29, 2016 | 0 comments

Sony today announced their latest RX Cyber-shot camera, the RX10 III (DSC-RX10M3). All things aside, their new monster camera offers:

25x super-telephoto zoom lens with an incredible focal range of 24-600mm and silent shutter capability

which is absolutely insane. Other highlights include:

Featuring newly developed ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-600mm F2.4-4 large-aperture high-magnification zoom lens
High-fidelity capture of image detail and fast readout with 20.1MP 1.0-type stacked CMOS sensor with DRAM chip and BIONZ X processor
4K recording with full pixel readout and no pixel binning and extensive video functions including S-Gamut/S-Log2 for compatibility with professional movie editing workflow
Ultra telephoto super slow motion recording at up to 1000fps
Fast Intelligent AF achieves 0.09-second fast autofocus to capture decisive moments

Let’s talk more details about the Sony RX10 III after the jump.