I already started collecting all of the current deals and rebates on photo gear for the upcoming holiday season (including Black Friday and Cyber Monday) into one place – there is now a new tab in the navigation called “Deals“:
Bookmark this page as I will be updating it in the next few weeks.
The new Sony a7 II is for now officially announced only in Japan and will start shipping on December 5th, 2014. The latest Sony mirrorless camera with with 5 axis in-body stabilization will most likely start shipping worldwide in January, 2015. The European price will be 1,800 EUR.
A new firmware for the Sony A77 II camera will be released in December, 2014.
With the introduction of the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II lens, Sony also announced the development of two new Vario-Sonnar T * models:
The new lenses will offer faster AF, better performance and will be dust and water proof. Shipping is expected to start in Spring of 2015.
Here is the updated Sony lens roadmap:
In addition to the a7 II camera, Sony announced also a new 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II lens (SAL70300G2) with a minimum shooting distance of 1.2m and 4 times faster AF tracking performance compared to the current SAL70300G model. Shipping will start on February 28th, 2015. The Japanese price is 132,000 yen (around $1,100).
Sample photos and lens MTF charts can be found here.
Fujifilm announced two new macro extension tubes: MCEX-11 and MCEX-16 (more information available here).
There are also new firmware updates for the X-E2, X-Pro1, X-E1 and X-T1, X-T1 graphite cameras.
Fuji also has a new HS-V5 for Windows tethered shooting software.
The previously rumored Sony a7 II mirrorless camera with with 5 axis in-body stabilization is now officially announced only in Japan for now. Shipping will start on December 5th, 2014. The new camera will be announced for the rest of the world in few months.
Sony a7 II camera specifications (sample photos can be found here and here):
Foto Hans Keuzekamp in the Netherlands received their first shipment of the 28MP Samsung NX1 mirrorless camera. For US availability, check B&H, Amazon and Adorama. Here are some sample pictures taken with the NX1:
The German TV and flash manufacturer Metz has filed for insolvency (insolvency is not the same as bankruptcy). Approximately 600 jobs would be affected.
Just yesterday the company announced up to $90 mail-in rebates on their flashes in the US.
The current Sony a7 model
Update: the new Sony a7 II camera is now officially announced.
In the next few days Sony will announce a new a7 II full frame camera (ILCE-7M2) with 5 axis in-body stabilization that will replace the current a7 version. This is what we know so far for the new model:
