Mirrorless Tidbits…


Samsung NX1 Used To Capture Madagascar In Detail

27 Impressive Numbers You Need to Know About The World’s Largest Digital Camera (Explora).
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II added to studio test scene comparison (Dpreview).
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 Mark II Review : Introduction (ePhotozine).
Proper Photographic Technique (Explora).
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Review (Dygadget)
Nauticam Housing for Canon EOS M3
new 15mmf4 Venus macro 1:1 review (SonyAlphaForum).
Stabilize and smoothen your videos with this magical tool! (TheNakedCameraso).
Sony A7R II vs Olympus E-M10 II: 5-Axis Stabilization Head-to-head (SonyAlphaCameras).

(PRESS TEXT) Metabones adds phase-detect autofocus (PDAF) support for Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Sony Alpha 7R2.

MetabonesMFT

Vancouver, Canada, September 18, 2015: Metabones® adds phase-detect autofocus (PDAF) support for Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Sony Alpha 7R2 to its EF-mount Speed Boosters and Smart Adapters through firmware update version 1.8, available from Metabones’ web site for download.

Free of any potential misalignment issues, on-sensor phase-detect autofocus is capable of attaining excellent accuracy. Overall, phase-detect autofocus offers a significant performance improvement over contrast-detect autofocus, and for shorter focal length lenses the autofocus speed approaches that found in digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. Performance, features and limitations of our solution are comparable to other on-sensor PDAF systems involving adapted DSLR lenses on mirrorless cameras, such as A-mount lenses on Sony Alpha 7R2 with LA-EA3 adapter, Four Thirds System DSLR lens on Olympus OM-D E-M1 with MMF-3 adapter or Canon SLR lens on EOS M3 with Mount Adapter EF-EOS M.

Limitations include:

  1. During video recording there is no AF (Olympus) or only slow contrast-detect AF (Sony).
  2. Continuous AF may have unsatisfactory performance (phase-detect AF) or not supported (contrast-detect AF).

Also added to Metabones firmware update version 1.8 is fast contrast detect AF for other Olympus cameras including E-M5II, E-M5, E-M10 and E-P5. Contrast-detect AF accuracy on Olympus is lens-dependent with most Canon-brand lenses introduced over the last 10 years working satisfactorily. However, some older Canon lenses and some third party EF-mount lenses may not be able to achieve pinpoint-accurate focus on Olympus cameras with contrast-detect AF. These lenses should be used on OM-D E-M1 instead.

In addition, AF support for JVC GY-LS300 is added to this new firmware version. Existing Panasonic contrast-detect AF support is enhanced with 24p added as a supported frame rate for single-autofocus (AFS) during video recording.

By simply downloading and running Metabones App Version 1.8, new autofocus support is added to the following Metabones products:

  • EF-E Smart Adapter Mark IV (model number MB_EF-E-BM4)
  • EF-E Speed Booster ULTRA (model number MB MB_SPEF-E-BM2)
  • EF-E T Smart Adapter Mark IV (model number MB_EF-E-BT4)
  • EF-E T Speed Booster ULTRA (model number MB_SPEF-E-BT2)
  • EF-Micro Four Thirds Smart Adapter (model number MB_EF-M43-BM1)
  • EF-Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster (model number MB_SPEF-M43-BM1)
  • EF-Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster S (model number MB_SPEF-M43-BM2)
  • EF-Micro Four Thirds T Smart Adapter (model number MB_EF-M43-BT2)
  • EF-Micro Four Thirds T Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x (model number MB_SPEF-M43-BT4)
  • EF-Micro Four Thirds T Speed Booster XL 0.64x (model number MB_SPEF-M43-BT3)

The following discontinued products must be updated by factory service. Please contact Metabones customer service for details.

  • The original EF-E Smart Adapter
  • EF-E Smart Adapter Mark II
  • EF-E Smart Adapter Mark III
  • The original EF-E Speed Booster

Masaya Maeda (Canon) says: “we will come out with a mirrorless camera that you would really like”.

Bildschirmfoto 2015-09-16 um 21.22.51

Masaya Maeda from Canon got interviewed by David Pardue from Imaging Resource. And there seems to be great news coming from Canon very soon. Mr. Maeda said:

Going forward, and this would be a repeat of what I said before, but we will put more effort into mirrorless, and also, naturally, we will continue to expand the EF-M lens group. In the very near future, I think that Canon will come out with a mirrorless camera that you would really like.

David from Imaging Resource added a note based on his impressions:

[This is very interesting indeed. While the EOS-M3 only recently came to the US, it sounds like a significantly more capable M4 may not be too far in the future. Mr. Maeda’s particularly emphasis that I would like it suggests it will be a model aimed particularly at the enthusiast market. We wonder what features it might include; improved AF seems like a must-have.]

This could be a new EOS-M4 but I think it could also be a much more high-end camera with 4K recording and DSLR style. Let’s see if I am right with my guess. And I think it’s highly likely the new Canon Mirrorless camera will be announced at PhotoPlus.

–

found via CanonWatch.

Sony A7sII gets listed at Amazon US and Digitalrev. Preorder start on September 17.

A7sII_amazon

Nice, we have a new A7sII with real 14 Bit RAW recording but …we cannot preorder it yet! You will have to wait exactly 24 hours from now (time of writing) to preorder it. The camera is now listed in many US stores like Amazon US (Click here), FocusCamera (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). It’s also listed in Asia at Digitalrev (Click here).

P.S.: European folks should check out the Smayang 8mm E-mount Gold Box deal that starts at 18:00 at Amazon Germany (Click here).

 

Sony makes us “WOW” by adding 14 BIT uncompressed RAW on the A7s and A7rII!

Bildschirmfoto 2015-09-15 um 15.01.42

Ah right in time! After months of pressure Sony today released an official statement that will excite all E-mount camera owners! They confirmed the new A7sII has real 14 bit uncompressed RAW! The A7rII and other E-mount cameras will get it too via future firmware upgrade! And to make that day even more perfect Sony said eight new FE lenses will be announced til early 2016. What more could you wish today from Sony? Ah yes, better battery life, better lens quality control, better support in US, better heat issue handling, better….ok you got me :)

Here is the full Sony press text via SonyAlphaRumors:

Sony Electronics, a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has today announced user selectable Compressed and Uncompressed 14-Bit RAW image capture will be featured in the new ?7S II once it arrives in stores this October.

Additionally, they have announced plans to add user selectable compressed or uncompressed 14-Bit RAW still image capture via firmware update to additional cameras beginning with the recently introduced ?7R II full-frame mirrorless model.

“The voice of our ? community remains the most important guiding force of our product development plans,” said Neal Manowitz, Deputy Vice President for Digital Imaging at Sony Electronics. “The addition of Uncompressed 14-Bit RAW processing is a direct result of customer feedback. Widely requested by photo and video enthusiasts, we believe the choice of RAW processing types will further elevate the performance of these extraordinary cameras.”

The ?7S II and ?7R II are compatible with Sony’s growing lineup of ? -mount lenses, which now totals 63 different models including 12 native ‘FE’ full frame lenses. By early 2016, Sony will add an additional 8 new lenses to its FE full frame lineup, bringing the FE total to 20 lenses and the overall ? -mount assortment to over 70 different models.

Olympus discloses details about their E-M1 and E-M5II firmware upgrade coming in November.

Bildschirmfoto 2015-09-15 um 08.19.00

 

Olympus unveiled that it plans to release a new firmware upgrade for the E-M1 and E-M5II sometimes in November. This is the official press text:

New main features added in firmware upgrade

1) Focus Stacking Mode (OM-D E-M1 only)
Focus Stacking Mode let you shoot macro photos that are completely in focus at all depths. A single press of the shutter button captures 8 shots with different focal positions, automatically merging them into a single shot on the camera. Depth of field larger than that of minimum aperture and high resolution without diffraction can be achieved.

2) Focus Bracketing Mode
This function captures up to 999 shots with the focus position for each shot being changed, allowing you to use photo retouching software to merge the images with larger depth of field that cannot be achieved in focus stacking mode (8 shots).

3) S-OVF (Simulated OVF)
S-OVF enables a view that is similar to that of an optical viewfinder.
Exposure compensation and white balance are purposely not shown in S-OVF so that users who are comfortable with the optical viewfinder in DSLR cameras can use the camera in the exact same way.

4) Movie-Exclusive Picture Mode: Flat (OM-D E-M5 Mark II only)
Movie-Exclusive Picture Mode Flat provides beautiful post-editing or grading color by lowering the contrast to minimize highlight blowouts and loss of detail in shadows.

5) Synchronized PCM Audio Rec. with Movie Recording
Functions have been added for shooting movies when connecting Olympus Linear PCM Recorder LS-100 via USB cable. Slate Tone can be added to make it easier to synchronize the audio and image after recording is complete, and a function for synchronizing the start of audio recording with movie recording on the camera is also available.

6) Enhanced functions on Olympus Capture Version 1.1
You can customize the display of items on the Super Control Panel so that only the required functions are displayed, and you can change the layout for easier access of the most frequently used functions. Direct PC saving is also available and the transfer speed is made faster by saving images directly to a computer without recording to an SD card. Transfer speed is improved up to 4 times faster than before. Tether shooting capabilities are also expanded. Features such as Keystone Compensation are now available to operate via a computer by connecting the camera to a computer.

7) MF Clutch and Snapshot Focus Disable
You can change settings from the menu to disable MF Clutch and Snapshot Focus.

8) Latest firmware for M.Zuiko Pro and Premium lenses
Along with this latest firmware upgrade, latest firmware for the M.Zuiko Pro and Premium lenses will also be released. Aperture drive has been improved for smooth exposure control even when shooting movies in situations with sudden changes in brightness. It also supports for disabling the MF Clutch and Snapshot Focus.