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Field Test: The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV in Mexico

29 Feb

A year of field tests have taken DPR Editor Barney Britton and series director Eric Becker into some challenging shooting environments, so for a change of pace, at the end of last year the pair took the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV to the sun-soaked Yucatán peninsula. There they put Sony’s pocket compact through all of the rigor that any traveler might – from shooting in underwater caves to selfies amidst historic Mayan ruins. Watch the video and see Sony’s travel cam in its natural environment.

See more Field Test videos

This is sponsored content, created with the support of Sony. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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CP+ 2016: A look inside the G Master lenses at the Sony booth

27 Feb

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Earlier this year, Sony announced a trio of new lenses dubbed G Master, which include the Sony FE 24-70 F2.8 GM, the Sony FE 70-200 F2.8 GM and the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM. These three lenses helped to fill noticeable gaps near the higher end of Sony’s lens lineup.

And, no, we didn’t Photoshop in that gap in the lens lineup above just to make a point.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

The G Master lenses are chock-full of new and advanced technologies meant to maximize image quality, autofocus speed and accuracy, durability, and bokeh. Let’s take a look inside…

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Here’s the 24-70mm F2.8 GM lens cut in half. This lens comprises 18 elements in 13 groups, and features three aspherical elements, including an extreme aspherical (XA) element – more on that later. An ED (extra low dispersion) and Super ED glass element help minimize chromatic aberration while maintaining high resolution and bokeh characteristics. We believe it – our initial samples show very well-controlled chromatic aberration, and bordering on eye-popping sharpness even on a 42MP sensor, when shooting this lens wide open.

A 9-bladed aperture helps confer a circular shape to out-of-focus highlights, but it’s the autofocus system in this lens that most excites us. A Direct Drive SSM (super sonic wave motor) positions a relatively small group of focus elements accurately and quickly, and when we say quickly we mean with nearly unprecedented speed for this type of lens. We’ve become fans of Direct Drive SSM for AF ever since we saw the speed it confers in the FE 35mm F1.4. Focus, including continuous tracking, is nearly instantaneous on this 24-70 GM, which is fairly unexpected considering its counterparts in the DSLR arena. Focus is also both smooth and quiet, making it a great lens for video as well as stills.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

The new XA (extreme aspherical) element is claimed to reduce aberration and deliver high resolution throughout the entire zoom and aperture range, across the entire frame. Sony claims to have achieved this via extremely high surface precision, maintained to within 0.01 micron tolerances. This should help reduce imperfections that can lead to onion-ring bokeh, typically an issue with aspherical lenses.

And speaking of high precision, Sony claims to iterate their internal development of optical design by looking at actual lens MTF performance at 50 lines/mm. That doesn’t mean the lens only resolves to 50 lines/mm, it means that Sony’s threshold for acceptable performance in designing these lenses is quite high. Judging from the sharpness wide open on an a7R II, we’re inclined to believe it’s working for Sony.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Sony has also recently announced the FE 85mm F1.4 GM, shown here cut in half. This lens comprises 11 elements in 8 groups, and features a new XA (extreme aspherical) element as well as three ED (extra low dispersion) elements that help optimize both resolution and smooth transitions to out-of-focus areas. It’s also got a ‘Nano’ anti-reflective coating on its front element to reduce flare and ghosting, particularly useful for maintaining contrast in backlit portraits.

The 85mm GM lens utilizes a ring drive SSM (super sonic wave motor) to drive the lens’ large, heavy focus group. In other words, this lens is much like some of its DSLR counterparts in terms in focusing speed – very fast, but not quite as fast – in our initial impressions – as Sony’s own Direct Drive SSM combined with a relatively small focusing group in the 24-70mm F2.8 GM. Two position sensors support accurate positioning of the focus elements, which should ensure accuracy of focus.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Particularly nice is the 11-blade circular aperture in the 85mm F1.4 (and 70-200mm F2.8) GM lenses. The more blades you have, the more circular the aperture remains even when stopped down significantly – especially with the curved blades typical of almost all lenses today. Most modern lenses have between 7 and 9 blades these days, with 9 blades being reserved more pro-level lenses. 11 takes it a step further and, indeed, the opening retains a circular, less polygonal shape as you stop down (here it is in action). This should ensure circular out-of-focus highlights and increased quality of bokeh, even at smaller apertures.

And why go from 9 to 11 blades, skipping 10? Odd numbers of aperture blades are generally better for their more favorable sunstar rendition, creating sunbursts with twice the number of rays as aperture blades when stopped down. Even-numbered designs only create sunbursts with as many rays as aperture blades, so while a 10-blade aperture would produce 10-ray stars, an 11-blade aperture would produce 22-blade stars. Of course, longer focal lengths and circular aperture designs are less prone to creating sunstars at all – and we have no idea if this was the actual thinking behind the choice – but it’s still nice to see the general trend toward odd numbers of aperture blades.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Pictured here is the new FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS telephoto zoom lens Sony recently announced, cut in half of course. This lens, like the 24-70mm GM lens, features XA, Super ED, and ED glass elements to help achieve high resolution and desirable bokeh characteristics. It’s got 23 elements in 18 groups. A ‘Nano’ anti-reflective coating ensures reduced flare and ghosting. An additional fluorine coating to the front of the lens help keep it clean, and the lens is dust and moisture resistant.

OSS (Optical Steady Shot) is built into the lens, despite the availability of IBIS in a7-series cameras, because for longer focal lengths, it’s beneficial to do a certain amount of the stabilization in-lens, because of how much the sensor would have to move to compensate for even slight angular displacements. The two systems – OSS and IBIS – theoretically work together to provide even more effective stabilization than any one method might provide.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

The autofocus system on the FE 70-200mm GM OSS is quite intriguing: it’s a floating focus system, which sees its debut in an ? lens. This floating system design contributes to its impressive minimum focusing distance of 0.96m, and also helps control aberrations that might otherwise be problematic when focusing at close distances.

Pictured on the left is the more traditional ring-drive SSM motor that’s required to drive the large, heavy glass elements typical of this type of lens. The double linear motor of this system, pictured on the right, allows for effective ‘wobbling’ actuation (typically used in contrast-only AF), which is useful when shooting video. The entire focusing mechanism is also very quiet – and smooth – which ensures AF performance is optimized for both stills and video shooting.

The 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS lens also functions with Sony’s newly announced 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, which may somewhat make up for the lack of longer telephoto lenses (for the time being anyway).

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Lifting our heads back up from the tech demos and turning our attention to other things (wait, where’d Rishi go?), we see that in typical trade-show form, Sony’s provided some subject matter for eager attendees to test the latest tech. But if you were to show up to CP+ hoping to capture some model mayhem using the new GM lenses, you’d have to make do with the 85mm F1.4 GM, the only new GM lens available in front of this display.

And don’t worry, if you’re already missing the lens-cut-in-half thing, you can get your fix when our Editor Barney returns with many more things cut in half later this week. Like nicely packed, and then cut in half (naturally) sandwiches.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

At first glance, the 85mm F1.4 GM looks a little unwieldy on an a7-series camera, but in hand, the pair balance remarkably well. The lens has a pleasingly solid heft to it without feeling too front-heavy. At 820g, it’s significantly heavier than, say, Nikon’s counterpart (595g), but our initial impressions are that the sharpness wide open – even off-center – and lack of chromatic aberration might make the weight more than worth it.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Beyond the price of a CP+ admission ticket, there’s no charge to try out the new 85mm F1.4 GM – but to get one of your very own, you’ll need $ 1800 when it goes on sale in March. Also of note for video shooters is the ability to de-click the aperture dial for smoother operation.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Although you’re a little ways away from the real models, you can try out the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM on some beleaguered Sony reps behind the counter. And though it appears a bit hefty on the smaller a7-series bodies, it balances well – particularly if you have a vertical grip attached. At 886g, it’s not unreasonably heavy, and the extra heft may be well worth it anyway – our preliminary impressions are that this is the sharpest 24-70mm zoom (particularly wide open) we’ve ever seen.

It will be available in March for $ 2200.

CP+ 2016: Sony stand report and G Master action

Last up is the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM. As you can probably tell from this image, the lens itself isn’t overly large, but it’s definitely got some weight to it. At 1480g, it’s around the weight of Canon’s equivalent lens, which means you’ll really want a grip on an a7-series camera to balance the weight well. The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS will be available in March, and the price is still TBD.

Overall, the G Master lenses appear to be solid additions to Sony’s FE lens lineup, potentially addressing the need for professional-level lenses for the system. We’ve shot a few shots with these lenses on a 42MP a7R II, and it’s clear from the sharpness and chromatic aberration results, as well as AF speeds, that Sony is clearly targeting professionals, and high-end enthusiasts, with these lenses. And we expect them to compare favorably against even the best counterparts offered by the stalwarts in the industry. We’ll reserve judgement until we’ve had time to do more rigorous, side-by-side testing, but for the time being, it’s safe to say we’re very impressed.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony develops 22MP smartphone sensor with on-chip AF processing and video IS

17 Feb

Sony has announced a 22.5MP Exmor RS imaging sensor for smartphones. The new stacked 1/2.6″ CMOS sensor, called IMX318, is smaller than most used by current smartphones and includes on-chip processing for AF and video image stabilization. Sony has used pixels measuring 1.0µm, allowing for a smaller sensor with higher resolution to be included in likewise slimmer mobile devices. For comparison, this sensor is 20% smaller than the 1/2.3″ chip commonly used in smartphones.

Like many current smartphone sensors, the IMX318 uses phase-detection AF elements combined with contrast-detection to create ‘hybrid AF,’ and the company claims AF reporting 0.03 seconds. According to Sony, IMX318 has such an efficient data interface that pixels can be read at 30 fps from across the entire surface. This allows the company to use the whole 22.5MP resolution for video recording – although the footage is scaled to 4K – and full resolution stills to be captured during video shooting. HD movies can be recorded at up to 120 fps, and 720p footage at 240 fps.

While this sensor is most suitable for the smartphone market, the technology could soon move into larger sensors for compact, mirrorless and DSLR cameras. IMX318 will go on sale in May, according to Sony, at a price of ¥2000/$ 17.50/£12.30 per unit. For more information see the Sony website. Below, you can see the sensor’s image stabilization system in action.

Press release:

Sony Announces a New Type 1/2.6 22.5 Megapixel Exmor RS™, the Industry’s First*1 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with Built-in Hybrid Autofocus and 3-Axis Electronic Image Stabilization

Tokyo, Japan – Sony Corporation (“Sony”) is announcing the commercialization of a new Exmor RS™ image sensor for smartphones and other devices that require increasingly better cameras and thinner form factors. The IMX318 is a type 1/2.6 stacked CMOS image sensor with 22.5 effective megapixels, and it boasts a more compact size, greater image quality, and higher performance. This new Exmor RS is the industry’s first*1 to be equipped with built-in high-speed hybrid autofocus (“AF”), as fast as 0.03 seconds*2, and built-in 3-axis electronic image stabilization technology for video. Sony aims to begin shipments for this new CMOS image sensor in May, 2016.

*1: According to Sony research (as of February 16, 2016)
*2: The time it takes to bring the picture into focus when the distance from the sensor surface to the subject is reduced from 2m to 2cm, given high-light conditions (2,000lux or higher).

The IMX318 boasts a stacked structure and the industry’s smallest unit pixels, which measure 1.0?m (micrometers) in size. With this, the image sensor achieves a compact, type 1/2.6 size suitable for inclusion into smartphones, while still realizing a high resolution of 22.5 effective megapixels, among the top in the industry. This new image sensor not only boasts enhanced resolution, but it also matches its predecessor in image quality despite the IMX318’s smaller size and unit pixels (IMX230 predecessor model: type 1/2.4 sensor with 1.12?m unit pixel size). Additionally, Sony has succeeded in equipping the IMX318 with cutting-edge digital imaging features, namely high speed built-in hybrid AF and 3-axis electronic image stabilization for video, a first*1 for the industry. With this image sensor, the user can capture image stills of those decisive moments reliably in high quality, as well as high resolution video without fear of blur.

Main Features

1. The industry’s smallest unit pixel size at 1.0?m, achieving compact size (type 1/2.6) while realizing 22.5 effective megapixels high resolution

As smartphones grow ever thinner, so too are image sensors growing increasingly more compact. In line with this trend, Sony has developed a miniscule 1.0?m pixel sensor that, despite its small size, realizes high image quality. To accomplish this, Sony employed manufacturing technology that improves light utilization efficiency, as well as circuit design technology that eliminates noise, a root cause of deterioration in image quality. With this innovation, Sony has realized an image sensor that delivers high quality images, while also boasting small optical size and a high resolution of 22.5 megapixels. Night shots have long been a weak point for the compact cameras used in smartphones, with the lack of light translating into excessive visual noise. The IMX318 addresses this weakness and realizes beautiful photography in nighttime conditions.
*
No drop in image quality from the IMX230 predecessor model (Left: 1.12?m unit pixel size) to the IMX318 (Right: 1.0?m unit pixel size), despite the latter’s smaller size

2. The industry’s first*1 image sensor with built-in hybrid AF, as fast as 0.03 seconds*2, and 3-axis electronic image stabilization

Hybrid AF
Hybrid AF, which merges image plane phase detection AF with contrast detection AF, has previously been realized through the combination of an image sensor and an application processor. But with the IMX318, Sony has created the industry’s first*1 stacked CMOS image sensor with hybrid AF built into the sensor’s internal signal processor. The IMX318 leverages Sony’s high-speed AF technology that has been honed over many years, boasting an AF as fast as 0.03 seconds*2 (and as fast as 0.017 seconds when shooting video at 60fps). With this power in hand, the user can capture those decisive moments reliably in focus, whether shooting stills or video.
*
When shooting with hybrid AF: 0.03 seconds
(Time required for focusing)
Image plane phase detection AF: Utilizes dedicated image plane phase detection AF pixels embedded throughout the image sensor pixel array.
Contrast AF: Works off the contrast of the subject.

3-axis electronic image stabilization for video
With the IMX318, Sony has also created the industry’s first*1 stacked CMOS image sensor with image stabilization functionality built into its internal signal processor. This sensor leverages the image stabilization technology that Sony has cultivated over its years developing cameras, realizing smooth 4K*3 videos with little camera shake by making effectively use of the signal output obtained from the external 3-axis (pitch, yaw, and roll) gyro sensor*4. Sony’s unique image stabilization technology incorporated into the IMX318 corrects not only camera shake, but also lens distortion, making for more beautiful videos. Furthermore, because image stabilization is achieved by processing within the hardware of the image sensor, less power is used than when it is accomplished by software processing in the external application processor. Since it enables smooth video shooting, this image sensor is suited for incorporation into not only smartphones, but also a variety of other products that tend to generate substantial camera shake, such as aerial drones used for image capture.

*3: QFHD (3840 x 2160)
*4: Gyro sensor: instrument that determines angular velocity through inertia.

3. 4K and high frame rate video recording, through high-speed communications leveraging the latest MIPI specifications

Sony elected to adopt the MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) Alliance’s latest C-PHY 1.0/D-PHY 1.2 specifications for this image sensor’s interface. With this interface, the IMX318 is able to achieve more power efficient and faster data transmission from the image sensor to the application processor. As a result, even at the high resolution of 22.5 megapixels, transmission is realized for all pixels at 30fps. This enables seamless switching between high resolution video and still image photography, realizing the best of both worlds. Since the image sensor can transmit greater-than-4K resolution images for all pixels to the application processor, the user can capture 22.5 megapixel still images even while in the middle of recording video in 4K*3 at 30fps

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DxOMark Mobile report: Sony Xperia M5

16 Feb

In terms of processing power, look and feel the Sony Xperia M5 is categorized below Sony’s Xperia Z flagship line of smartphones. However, like the Z-models it’s dustproof, waterproof and has a lot to offer in the photography department. The rear camera offers a 21.5MP Sony Exmor sensor with on-chip phase detection combined with an F2.2. lens, as well as 4K video recording. Scoring 79 in DxOMark’s Mobile testing, it sets the bar as the best mid-range device in DxO’s rankings – on par with previous-generation flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Read DxOMark’s Sony Xperia M5 report

See the full report on DxOMark Mobile

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Ultra-compact: Sony Cyber-shot RX1R II review

15 Feb

Sony CyberShot RX1R II Review

The Sony Cyber-shot RX1R II is a full-frame, 42MP compact camera with a fixed 35mm F2 lens. The successor to the 24MP RX1R, the Mark II inherits a lot of technology from Sony’s flagship a7R II mirrorless interchangeable lens camera.

Between the continuing evolution of the RX100 and a7-series’, Sony is on a big roll when it comes to small tech. And in this case, ‘small’ doesn’t mean ‘insignificant’. With many of its recent cameras, Sony has achieved the miniaturization of technology and functionality traditionally reserved for bulkier DSLRs and the like.

With the Cyber-shot RX1R II for example. Sony has somehow managed to cram a high-res electronic viewfinder, a Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm F2 lens and the same full-frame 42MP BSI CMOS sensor and autofocus system from the a7R II into a coat-pocketable body. For many photographers that probably sounds like a dream come true, but as you might expect, there have been a few compromises along the way.

Key features

42MP BSI CMOS full-frame sensor
BIONZ X processor
Fixed ZEISS Sonnar T* 35mm F2 lens
Hybrid autofocus system
Variable low-pass filter
Tilting 3″, 1.23 million dot LCD
Pop-up 2.36M-dot OLED electronic viewfinder
1080/60p video recording
Wi-Fi with NFC

Though the RX1R II bears more than a passing resemblance to its predecessor, there are a lot of changes. And since the introduction of the RX1 and RX1R back in 2012, Leica introduced the Q, a full frame compact with a fixed 28mm F1.7 lens. Though it sits above the RX1R II in price and offers a wider lens, a lot of photographers will see them as natural competitors – at least in spirit. Take a look at how they compare.

	Sony RX1R	Sony RX1R II	Leica Q
MSRP	$ 2799	$ 3299	$ 4250
Sensor	24MP CMOS	42MP BSI CMOS	24MP CMOS
Low-pass filter	No	Variable	No
ISO range (expanded)	50-102400	50-102400	100-50000
Lens	35mm F2	35mm F2	28mm F1.7
Min. focus distance	14cm	14cm	17cm
AF system	Contrast det.	Hybrid	Contrast det.
AF points	25-pt	399-pt	49-pt
EVF resolution	No EVF	2.36M-dot OLED	3.68M-dot LCOS
LCD	3″ 1.23M-dot fixed	3″ 1.23M-dot tilting	3″ 1.04M-dot fixed touchscreen
Burst rate	5 fps	5 fps	10 fps
Video	1080/60p	1080/60p	1080/60p
Wi-Fi	No	Yes, with NFC	Yes
Battery life (CIPA)	220 shots	220 shots	N/A
Dimensions	113 x 65 x 70mm	113 x 65 x 72mm	130 x 80 x 93mm
Weight	482 g	507 g	640 g

For some more preliminary impressions of the RX1R II, check out Barney’s Gear of the Year article, and the accompanying video below.

Now, let’s get to the full spec sheet of the RX1R II.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Kipon to produce Canon EF to Sony E-mount adapter with AF and slot-in ND grads

12 Feb

Chinese lens adapter manufacturer Kipon has said it is producing a new model that will allow Canon EF lenses to fit on Sony E-mount mirrorless bodies while maintaining their AF functionality. The Kipon EF-S/E AF ND lens adapter also comes provided with a slot-in four-stop graduated neutral density filter that can be fitted into the body of the ring. Sitting between the optics and the camera, the filter will be protected from stray light and in theory will remain clean, so it should deliver better image quality than had the same filter been fitted over the front of the lens.

The company has not released very much detail about the forthcoming adapter, but it does promise that the phase detection AF system will operate at ‘high speed’. Perhaps significantly, the company is showing a picture of the adapter alongside a pair of slot-in filters, so we might hope that other filters will become available at a later date.

The Kipon EF-S/E AF ND adapter will go on sale from 15th March 2016, and will cost $ 428.

For more information visit the Kipon website.

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‘We want to make lenses that can be used forever’: Sony engineer discusses G Master lenses

10 Feb

‘We want to make lenses that can be used forever,’ says a senior engineer behind Sony’s new G master lenses. At the launch of the ‘G Master’ range of high end lenses, we spoke to Motoyuki Ohtake, Distinguished Engineer in Sony’s Lens Design Department about the process and the philosophy behind the latest lenses.

The development process series involved re-thinking several parts of the design and manufacturing process, he says.

Motoyuji Ohtake, Distinguished Engineer, Opto Design Department, Core Technology Division, Digital Imaging Business Group at Sony.

To understand how the lenses came about, he explained the usual process of lens development. ‘Sometimes we propose a new lens but often it comes from the product planning department [the marketing department that assesses potential requirements and demands]. We then make a series of rough designs, some are big, with high optical performance, others are more compact but maybe not so optically strong. We discuss which design to proceed with, based on what we think is the optimal balance or cost, performance and size to make the perfect product.’

After deciding which of the initial designs to pursue, there’s a great deal of collaboration between teams, he explains: ‘we work with the mechanical team, the lens motor team, the lens control team, the lens element team and maybe the equipment team who will have to prepare the manufacturing process.’ Each of these team feeds its expertise into the design. ‘Maybe the optical team proposes a new lens design and the motor team tells us which motor is best. Or warn us if the focus will be too slow. They feed back about the mechanical aspects,’ he says.

The G Master series required many of these teams to re-think their parts of the process, from design to manufacture.

Re-thinking basic assumptions

‘For the G Master lenses we decided we would assess the spatial frequency at 50 lines per mm,’ says Ohtake: ‘Usually lens makers, including ourselves, evaluate lenses at 10 and 30 lpmm (or 10, 20 and 40 for Carl Zeiss-branded optics).’

‘At the start of the process we all agreed we should change the spacial frequency [to a more challenging target],’ he says: ’but which is best to get good performance? We could design for 100 lpmm but the lens would become very bulky and long – which might not be a very practical lens. A balance of the size and the optical performance was very important.’

The target of 50 lpmm wasn’t dictated by the company’s 40MP camera or 4K video, he says. ’All our FE lenses were designed for at least 40MP. Because we have an image sensor team within Sony, we get to see the sensor roadmap, so we’ve been designing for this all along with FE. With the G Master we’d like to make lenses that can be used forever.’

A focus on bokeh

But it’s not just the more stringent frequency assessment that was developed for the G Master lenses, Ohtake explains: ‘We had to discuss what good bokeh means. We have some designers from Minolta who understand that the spirit of the ‘G’ lenses was good bokeh in the background but we had no way to evaluate that.

‘We looked at what is considered good bokeh and how it affects not just the background rendering but also the transition from perfectly sharp to out-of-focus regions. We developed a way to evaluate bokeh and were able to make a simulation. This meant we didn’t have to build a lens to see how it performed, we could now computer model it before taking a design too far.’

This is a significant change, Sony says, as it means bokeh can be one of the primary design considerations, rather than being something that can only be adjusted later in the process, once the main aspects of the design have been settled upon.

Another piece of the puzzle – shape and smoothness

This analysis of the factors that affect bokeh showed that both the precision of the lens molding and the smoothness of the lens surface could have an effect.

‘Traditionally it was very hard to achieve both: current technology gives a roughness on the scale of 20-30nm on the aspheric surface. Improving this usually involved polishing, which can then lead to the lens element being slightly unevenly shaped.’

‘We developed a new way of making the lens element and a new molding process, including a new machine. Now we can get roughness down to around 10nm and get a more accurate shape to the aspherical surface.’

AF technologies

Ohtake wouldn’t budge when we asked which his favorite lens was, but immediately reached for the 85mm F1.4 when we took this group shot.

The first three G Master lenses use three different AF motor technologies between them – emphasizing Ohtake’s point that different technologies work better in different contexts.

The 24-70mm F2.8 uses a Direct Drive SSM system (piezoelectric element). This is very fast, very quiet and very precise. We used a linear motor for the 24-70mm F4 but this lens has a heavier focus element, so direct drive was a better choice.

The focus element in the 85mm F1.4 was even heavier, however. ‘For the 85mm we use a ring type focus motor. This is very good for heavy lens elements and our lens software team developed a good algorithm so that it works well with contrast-detection autofocus’ (a traditional weakness for ring-type designs).

Finally, the 70-200mm uses a combination of a linear actuator and a ring-type focus motor. ‘The focus group had become too heavy so we separated the two focusing lenses. One is very heavy, so we used a ring type motor for that one, then used a linear motor for the other. The ring type is used to quickly achieve approximate focus and the linear motor is used for the high precision aspect.’

Still correct to optically correct

Discussing the idea that bokeh and sharpness have previously been in conflict, we asked Ohtake about other trade-offs. We’ve been told that the ability to correct lateral chromatic aberration in software makes lens design easier, since you don’t have to correct it optically, which can quickly complicate the lens design and detract from other parameters.

Not for G Master lenses, he explains. ‘Light doesn’t separate nicely into red, green and blue’ (the color channels that most cameras capture, and which can be adjusted, relative to one another, to correct lateral CA). It’s a continuum with each wavelength being displaced slightly differently. ‘To get the really high contrast we wanted in G Master, we had to suppress it in the lens.’

The future of APS-C

We also asked Ohtake about Sony’s APS-C lenses for E-mount. His team likes designing APS-C lenses, he says: ‘The focus elements are light, so it’s easier to design. We have all these focus motor technologies in-house and we’d like to try them in APS-C lenses if that’s what the Product Planning team says is required.’

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Sony Xperia Z5 camera review

09 Feb

The Sony Xperia Z5 currently shares the top spot in DxoMark’s mobile rankings with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. With a 23MP BSI CMOS sensor, F2.0 lens and hybrid AF system it’s easy to understand how it might have ended up at the top of the rankings. Our full review digs into image quality as well as our experience using the Z5 for photography. Read more

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Heavy hitter: Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM first shots

06 Feb

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Sony has made some strong claims about its new G Master lens series. Unveiled earlier this week, the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM is one of three in the lineup to make its debut, giving Sony’s full-frame mirrorless customers a fast, constant standard zoom for the first time. We had a few moments to shoot with the lens at Sony’s press event in New York, and while we only provide a small sampling of shots at this time, we will be updating this gallery as soon as we can.

Our initial impressions are extremely positive: sharpness appears to rival prime levels wide open, and there’s very little axial chromatic aberration to speak of. Sony’s claims may not be exaggerated at all.

We need to make a note about lens corrections: it seems that the camera we were handed had vignetting and chromatic aberration corrections turned on. The way this feature works is that these corrections are applied even in Raw mode (technically, vignetting correction is applied prior to writing the Raw file, while chromatic aberration correction information is embedded in the Raw and irreversibly applied by ACR).

The good news is that we’ve looked at Raw conversions from third-party converters that ignore the CA correction profile, and CA from this lens appears to be very minimal. Watch this space for more sample images, hopefully very soon.

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‘We want to make lenses that can be used forever’: Sony engineer discusses G Master lenses

05 Feb

The development process series involved re-thinking several parts of the design and manufacturing process, he says.

Motoyuji Ohtake, Distinguished Engineer, Opto Design Department, Core Technology Division, Digital Imaging Business Group at Sony.

The G Master series required many of these teams to re-think their parts of the process, from design to manufacture.

Re-thinking basic assumptions

A focus on bokeh

Another piece of the puzzle – shape and smoothness

This analysis of the factors that affect bokeh showed that both the precision of the lens molding and the smoothness of the lens surface could have an effect.

AF technologies

Ohtake wouldn’t budge when we asked which his favorite lens was, but immediately reached for the 85mm F1.4 when we took this group shot.

The first three G Master lenses use three different AF motor technologies between them – emphasizing Ohtake’s point that different technologies work better in different contexts.