Sigma announced a new 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM lens for Sony and Pentax DSLR cameras. The old 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens ($669) will be discontinued.
Specification (for Sony mount):
Press release:
The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the new Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM for Sony, and for Pentax
This large aperture standard zoom lens is designed for digital SLR cameras and covers a focal length from 17mm wide angle. It is a compact lens with an overall length of just 91.8mm (3.6”). This lens offers a large aperture of f/2.8 throughout the entire zoom range, making it ideal for many types of photography such as portraiture and landscapes. Two FLD (“F” Low Dispersion) glass elements, which have performance equal to fluorite glass, compensate for color aberration. Two glass mold and one hybrid aspherical lens, provide excellent correction for field curvature and astigmatism. The Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghost. This lens has superior peripheral brightness and provides sharp, high contrast images even at the maximum apertures. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. Incorporating HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), the lens provides fast and quiet AF. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 28cm (11”) throughout the entire zoom range and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5. The rounded 7 blade diaphragm creates an attractive blur to the out of focus images. The inner focusing system eliminates front lens rotation, making the lens particularly suitable for use with the supplied petal-type lens hood and circular polarizing filters.
Sony 4K home cinema projector coming in January for £18,000:
In a recent interview, the Canon 1Dx developers mentioned medium format camera is not completely out of the picture:
"While we hear the voices, we want to see what the actual sales numbers will be for the 1D X and so determine how many 10,000s of customers we might be losing if we do not introduce a higher resolution camera and if the projected profitability of a higher resolution 24x36 mm format camera will justify development, marketing, and manufacturing investments , or if there is a sustainable market for the even greater costs of development, marketing, and manufacturing medium format cameras and lenses - an area where we have no internal expertise."
