NEW SONY FLASH - F60RM with wireless

Sony Brings Radio to Flagship HVL-F60RM FlashThe HVL-F60RM External Flash from Sony is the new top of the line flash. similar to F45RM, the F60RM offers several improvements in operability, performance, and build quality that make it a worthy upgrade. The most significant upgrade is the implementation of Sony's 2.4GHz Radio System, which allows it to function as either a controller or remote flash from up to 98' away with full TTL support, including high-speed sync. It is also fully compatible with all existing Sony flash components, including the F45RM External Flash and WRC1M Wireless Radio Commander.Sony continues to fill out the accessories and lenses that professionals require. In my opinion, the ecosystem is on par with Sony and Nikon for any studio and/or portraiture work.Full Specs of the F60RM Flash

• 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver with 98' Range
• Compatible with Sony ADI / P-TTL
• Guide Number: 197' at ISO 100 and 105mm
• Zoom Range: 20-200mm (14mm with Panel)
• Quick Shift Bounce for 90° L/R Pivot
• Tilts from -8 to 150°
• Wireless TTL Ratio Controller/Remote
• LED Light and AF Illuminator
• Quick Navi Interface with Dot Matrix LCD
• Recycle Time: 0.1-1.7 Seconds
• Price: $599.00

B&H Preorders are not live yet - sign up for notificationAdditional Battery pack available Compatible Cameras:

• a9
• a7R III
• a7R II
• a7S II
• a99 II
• a6500

Sony a7III, a7RIII & a9 Time Lapse Options

UPDATE: April 10, 2019 - Sony released firmware 3.0 which includes in-camera intervalometer. learn more.  You may still want the MIOPS device below which does offer additional features and advantages.Sony ditched the internal apps for the a9, a7RIII and a7III - if you want automated time-lapse functionality you will need a separate device - I share some options for time lapses with Sony a9, a7iii and a7Riii.Time-lapse captured with Sony a7Riii and Miops Mobile Remotehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Xo0eVldWQ

Scroll to the bottom for a few tips for shooting a time lapse -

S&Q  - Slow and Quick on the dial(Free)

Pro

• Free

• Nothing required

• Creates a video in camera, no software required

Con

• Limited to 1080p

• Slowest limited to 1fps, no pause between captures - not good for longer time lapses

• Limited editing with the video file

Standard Intervalometer ($25)Pro

• Cheap and simple to operate

• Powered by 2 aaa (easy to find or carry backups)

Con

• Cheaply made

• Limited control - basically delayed start and fire every x seconds/minutes/hours

• Limited feedback on progress - countdown only

• Dangles from camera (unless you spend more for the wireless version)

Wired: Cheap, less than $20Wireless: Ziv TRS-10 Timer Remote for $87Miops App + dongle ($35) Buy dongle from Amazon| MIOPS WebsitePro

• Over a dozen ways to trigger your camera from simple trigger, intervalometer, sound motion etc

• Helpful feedback during time-lapse or with trigger on screen

• Build scenarios for additional and powerful customization (e.g. setup a trigger that with a noise above x db will start a timelapse)

• Exposure ramping options for day to night time lapses

Con

• Your phone is tethered to your camera

• Your phone is dangling unless you clip it in the hot shoe or on the tripod

Recommended hotshoe phone holdersCheap: DSLR Hotshoe cellphone holderRock solid but pricey: MeFoto Sidekick + hotshoe mount

Miops Mobile Remote ($99) Buy remote from Amazon | MIOPS WebsitePro

• Low energy Bluetooth connection

• Control camera remotely - smartphone does not need to stay on or connected

• Over a dozen ways to trigger your camera from simple trigger, intervalometer, sound motion etc

• Good feedback on progress of timelapse

• Build scenarios for additional and powerful customization (e.g. setup a trigger that with a noise above x db will start a timelapse)

• exposure ramping options for day to night time lapses

• Very portable remote (tiny, really)

• Great battery life and auto shut off (when not running a timelapse)

Con

• Expensive

• Orange light flashes brightly when triggered - fine during the day but too bright at night- I cover mine with a lens cloth to hide the light

• USB charging

• Occupies hotshoe or you can let it dangle which is awkward

Time Lapse Tips:

• Full Manual Settings

• Manual focus

• A 2-3 second gap between shots

• Playback at 24fps means 24 shots will equal 1 second of video.

• Most viewers only want to see a single scene for 10-15 seconds

• Make sure camera is VERY stable. If on soft ground/snow/ sand it is possible that the camera will drift a little during the timelapse and that will be visible in playback.

New Firmware Update for the Sony a9 - What does it mean for the a7RIII?

 Sony has announced a major firmware update for the Sony A9 - More about the functions and enhancements, as well as the link to download the update, can be found below along with some quick thoughts about what this might mean for Sony a7RIII users.

Firmware version 2.00 provides the following benefits:

Continuous AF Enhancements:

Enhanced performance of continuous autofocus on moving subjectsEnhanced stability of the AF-C when zooming

Added Functions:

Adds the function to assign Protecting images to custom KeyAdds the function to transfer (FTP) protected files at onceNote: Only for images protected using version 2.00 or higher.Displays wired LAN MAC addressInputs IPTC metadata to filesNote: IPTC information must be created beforehand using the IPTC Metadata Preset software.Inputs camera serial number to metadata

Other Improvements:

Improves operational stabilityImproves accuracy of the overheating warning functionUpdate: https://alphauniverse.com/stories/sony-announces-a9-firmware-update-2-00/

Sony a7RIII Photographers

I hope we will see some of these benefits in a future FW update too. The a9 and a7RIII share many similarities including FTP transfer and similar AF systems. So far I have been extremely happy with the AF but additional improvements are always welcome. I have tested the FTP transfer and while it is cumbersome and actual transfer can be slow it is possible to set up a home FTP network or connect to one through a wifi hotspot and upload a few photos as a backup. FTP allows for full RAW transfer. With the Wifi, you are limited to jpegs. Being able to one-click mark images for transfer would be a huge time saver.Let me know of any questions. Thanks!

Sony a7R III - Early Review vs a7R II

B&H Photo is including a free FAST SD Card with preorder! 

I was part of a small pool of press who received an a7R III for an afternoon and evening of shooting. What follows are my thoughts - an early review of the a7R III and the Sony 24-105 f/4 OSS G Lens.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WqGcLm_QE

The Sony a7R II was a warning shot to Canon and Nikon to stop underestimating mirrorless. The a7R II took the lessons learned with the original a7R and provided a high megapixel camera (42.4MP) with enough autofocusing power to easily work with many Canon lenses while offering the best dynamic range in its class, a stabilized sensor, and beautiful 4k video (not cropped)! The result is that over the last two years we have seen Canon and Nikon sales stagnate while Sony has moved into 2nd place, past Nikon. Though the a7R II sold well (and

continues to sell well

) and did entice a noticeable portion of photographers away from their DSLRs, the A7R II was not perfect. It had several drawbacks - poor battery life, a single SD card slot, just 5fps paired with a small buffer that, when full, greatly reduces camera functionality and, with the sacrifices made for the smaller body, a less desirable in-hand feel which lacked a dedicated focus point selector. The menu was a mess too. And, a few more issues that caused pro photographers concern, not directly related to the camera, too many Sony repair center horror stories and a lack of native Sony glass. I can't offer a critique of the repair department at this time except to say that Sony has recently added

Pro level repair centers in New York and LA

and clearly sees this as a priority. And, during the two years since the A7R II was released, Sony has released over a dozen lenses and now offers high-quality glass from wide to telephoto. Though, they are still missing some longer telephoto options and don't have much 3rd party support there either.

Hands-on with the Sony a7R III

https://youtu.be/FXejdcGKNIYThe AF improvements are huge! The a7R II AF does well but it wasn't something I would want to use to photograph any action or sports. Now, with the speed improvements in the a7R III, Sony states the AF is twice as fast as the previous model. This coupled with a greatly improved eye-AF system results in an incredibly capable camera that makes nailing focus easy. Again and again, I watched it accurately track erratically moving dancers and the eye-af worked great for nailing portraits of still or moving subjects - as long as an eye was somewhat visible.  No, it wasn't perfect - I saw AF confusion a few times but overall the AF hit rate was much higher than a comparably priced DSLRs AND the eye-AF made it easy- I don't even need to move the focus point near the eye - the camera just finds it and locks on. The Sony A7R III is now a camera capable of handling real action.

Walking portraits - with eye-af focus was idiot proof and easily locked onto and tracked the eye closest to you.

Improved Ergonomics and Usability

Sony A7RII Focus Point Selector

Custom buttons on the a7R III

Sony a7R III Dual Card Slots

Sony a7R III Battery - Doubles Battery Life

The dedicated joystick (focus point selector) for selecting AF point and a touch to AF LCD screen make this camera MUCH more user-friendly. Along with a dedicated AF-on button as well as an AEL button (that I recommend you assign Eye-AF) greatly increase the usability of this camera.  Overall, the ergonomics of this camera are improved, including the location of the record button. However, if you don't like the small grip size or feel that the space between grip and lens is tight on the a7R II or a9, you will still be disappointed as the a7R III is virtually identical to the a9 and feels the same in my hands. One item I noticed - the customizability of many buttons has been further improved with a huge list of assignable functions.Dual Card Slots! SD, not XQD. One is UHS-II, and I recommend Sony 64GB SF-G Series UHS-II SDXC. You can set the cards up to record RAW to one and JPEG to the other or stills to one and video to the other or simultaneous write (backup) or relay - as one card fills, it switches seamlessly to the other.Battery life has more than doubled from the Sony a7R II. The Sony a7R III uses the new A9 battery, the Sony NP-FZ100, which more than doubles battery life.I shot 1845 photos with the a7R III and 20 minutes of video - that used less than 50% of the battery! And, almost this entire time when I wasn't taking photos, I was playing with the menu and connecting to wifi. We should also see a serious improvement in cold weather performance (I will be testing the A7R III in Alaska in early December). Sony has also added a USB-C 3.1 port and the standard micro USB which means additional charging options while shooting, tethering or connected to a remote trigger or intervalometer. You can also use the a9 battery grip with the a7R III.The 10 FPS makes this a much more versatile camera making it capable of handling sports and action. Having the same speed silently with the electronic shutter is also impressive, though limited, as I do see some rolling shutter issues with moving subjects - this sensor cannot be read-off as fast as the a9 (which exhibits no rolling shutter in silent mode). The buffer and write speed to the card has been improved. In general, this is a much more responsive camera than the a7R II but, when you do fill that buffer up with uncompressed RAWS and shooting simultaneously to two cards, you will be waiting some time. I have only tested with two SD cards so will be reporting on this in more detail in my detailed review. 

10fps of a spinning dancer

Upgraded a7R III Menu - now color coded

 The viewfinder upgrade, now like the a9, is larger with a higher resolution screen and is bright and beautiful. It is a welcomed improvement.Image and video quality do not look drastically different from the already excellent a7R II. I will be testing more with side by side comparisons against the a7R II, Canon 5D Mark IV and Nikon D850 in the near future.The menu is still a bit of a mess, but borrowing from the a6500 and a9 systems it is now color-coded, with more helpful icons and a "my menu" section where you can place your frequently used items.No access to the play memories store - so timelapse fans will need to buy an intervalometer. BUT with the additional USB-C port you can charge the camera while running longer time-lapses. All other apps you may have used on the Sony a7R II or other models is not available in the a7R II. I do not know why they have made this choice.

Should You Buy the Sony a7R III?

I have spent only one day with the camera, but based on my experience, if you have been waiting for a Sony camera that can truly replace your DSLR or you are an a7r or a7ii shooter, this is a camera I can happily recommend. Should a7R II users consider upgrading? I have decided to upgrade based on the increased AF and usability of this camera. I love the a7R II image quality and for landscape or general travel it has been a fantastic camera but anytime I found myself shooting portraits or action (wildlife in Tanzania last year) I was frustrated with the usability of the camera - slow to move focus point, slow to respond after shooting a burst. The upgrades the camera provides in this area are enough for me to make the move. Pair the new Sony a7R III with the new 24-105 f/4 G OSS lens and you have a fantastically versatile camera.Videographers should you buy the Sony a7R III? - No, you should wait and see what the A7S III will bring - hopefully 4k at 60fps.Should you buy the a7R II or the a7R III - With only a slight difference in image quality it comes down to speed and useablity. Do you need the increased speed of AF and do you want a camera that is the more DSLR like in its control and operation? The existing Sony a7R II is still a fantastic camera and an excellent value.I love answering your questions and will be back with more hands-on and answers to your questions in the next couple of weeks. Be sure to watch the linked video and leave your question in the comments.

Preorder the a7R III from B&H Photo 

A FEW RAW FILES FROM THE SONY A7R IIISAMPLE IMAGES

UPDATED: Sony 24-105 f/4 Specs, Thoughts and Preorder Links

a7R III - 42MP, 10fps, double the battery life and dual card slots!!!

Sony has just announced the a7R III

Here is what you need to know

Sample Videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmLgLAIX028&feature=youtu.behttps://youtu.be/xVjo2G-c01sSample Photos

Adobe Lightroom 6.10.1, CC 2015.10.1 and Camera Raw 10.1 Adds Support for Sony A9

Adobe released updates this week for Lightroom 6.10.1, CC 2015.10.1 and Camera Raw 10.1. Included are updates supporting the Sony a9 (Read Toby’s Review of the great Sony A9!) and Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 Lens as well as bug updates for a smoother performance.Installation InstructionsPlease select Help > Updates to use the update mechanism in the Creative Cloud app.Buy the Sony a9 now at:

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[quote_box_center]New Camera Support in Lightroom CC 2015.10.1 / 6.10.1

• Panasonic LUMIX DC-ZS70 (DC-TZ90,DC-TZ91, DC-TZ92, DC-T93)
• Sony A9 (ILCE-9)

New Lens Profile Support in Lightroom CC 2015.10.1 / 6.10.1

Mount	Name
Sony FE	Zeiss Batis 2.8/135

Customer reported issues resolved 

• Edit in Photoshop Erroneous Message Fixed
• Fixed issue causing color cast on images from some Fujifilm X series cameras shot in CH/CL modes.
• Fixed issue where images taken on the Fujifilm GFX 50s with top 3 extended ISOs appear over exposed.
• Fixed issue where some images converted to DNG from the Hasselblad H6 contained a color cast.
• Fixed issue with Hasselblad X1D images losing highlight details at high ISOs.

Known Issues 

• We have an issue where customers are unable to use the Develop module with GPU enabled.  This only occurs when using an AMD graphics card using driver Version 17.4.4 (released 4/23/2017) on Windows.  Please see this note for more details and workarounds.

[/quote_box_center]

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[quote_box_center]New Camera Support in Camera Raw 9.10.1 

• Panasonic LUMIX DC-ZS70 (DC-TZ90,DC-TZ91, DC-TZ92, DC-T93)
• Sony A9 (ILCE-9)

New Lens Profile Support in Camera Raw 9.10.1

Mount	Name
Sony FE	Zeiss Batis 2.8/135

Customer reported issues resolved 

• Fixed issue causing color cast on images from some Fujifilm X series cameras shot in CH/CL modes.
• Fixed issue where images taken on the Fujifilm GFX 50s with top 3 extended ISOs appear over exposed.
• Fixed issue where some images converted to DNG from the Hasselblad H6 contained a color cast.
• Fixed issue with Hasselblad X1D images losing highlight details at high ISOs.

Known Issues 

• We have an issue where customers are unable to open Camera Raw with GPU enabled.  This only occurs when using an AMD graphics card using driver Version 17.4.4 (released 4/23/2017) on Windows.  Please see this note for more details and workarounds.

[/quote_box_center]

Sony A9 Goes to the Races and Starts Shipping Now

As an update, the Sony A9 starts shipping starting tomorrow, order now and get your brand new a9 soon! If you haven't yet, check out Toby's review of the sportier A9 everyone has come to love. At 20fps and speedy autofocus, it pushes the envelope for what's possible.Buy it now at:

  https://vimeo.com/216570035As you can see in the Sony a9’s speedy video above we recently had the 143rd Kentucky Derby on May 6th and veteran journalist Nick Didlick came toting a rolling case filled with Sony a9 mirrorless cameras using G Master lenses. With Six Sony a9s making the trip to Churchill downs it became a baptism by fire for the new 20fps mirrorless camera. After strong storms through the past week the A9’s would be shooting in rough, wet, conditions with little light from strong clouds making shooting at speed a challenge.Shooting solo, the plan coming to the race was four cameras set as remotes with a mid-range zoom and the other a longer telephoto. For walkaround gear, Didlick focused on the new 100-400mm G Master with a 2x converter for head on shots. A 24-70mm G Master worked as an all purpose lens on the second a9 to complement the telephoto, and he carried a 70-200 f/2.8 G Master lens as well. Overall he covered his bases nicely for somewhat wider shots to the closest portraits of the horse and jockies.Logistically with the small size of the a9 and lenses, it’s actually a relatively small and lightweight setup considering the competition for Didlick. Six Cameras and eight lenses plus accessories fit into one case making it a cakewalk to cart around Churchill Downs. Even out on the track, Didlick was carrying three a9s with their remote setups while others struggled with two DSLRs. The a9’s set to fire as a remote lasted six to eight hours on one battery making no need to hurry to check on them through the day as well.This Kentucky Derby was the Sony α9’s first major foray into big-time sports photojournalism. With Didlick’s guidance, the camera lived up to its potential. You can check out some of the day’s photos below.

Photos by Nick Didlick/VisualMediaProducer.com 

Sony a9 Review

Every once in awhile there is a product that comes along that really pushes the technology envelope and causes us all to rethink what is possible. The original iphone is one example - is the Sony a9 another?

https://youtu.be/KWTmpD8zG9sORDER >> - B&H LINK for Sony FE 100-400   PRICE:  $2,499.00ORDER >> - B&H LINK for Sony a9  PRICE:  $4,499.00

Sony a9 FULL RAW FILES FOR DOWNLOADI spent a day shooting with the Sony a9 - about 4500 photos at various events that Sony had setup for us and I am ready to share some thoughts.Blackout-Free Continuous Shooting at up to 20 fps for just over 200 raw images or nearly 400 jpegs - It’s absolutely works and if desired, completely silently. This is amazing and yes as a few of you commented in my earlier videos - it’s not the first the camera to be able to shoot silently but it is the first to do so on this level with this AF performance, nothing else is close in the mirrorless world to this AF performance, low light performance and speed, silently and when we compare to DSLRS you need to spend at least a $1,000 more for a 1DX Mark II or D5 and they aren’t as fast and maybe even have fewer hit rates.The AF system in this camera is impressive - nearly edge to edge coverage with over 360 AF points - I watched it again and again accurately track fast moving subjects, intersecting subjects, erratically moving subjects and the in focus rate I had with this camera was astounding. Between the 20fps and the AF system it's unlikely you are going to miss a shot because of the camera. And the whole operation is fast - we had hockey at one end of the rink and figure skating at the other, for awhile I was in between and if I glanced over and saw a figure skater about to jump - I could bring my camera up to my eye, get focus and fire off a series of images without missing the actual jump!It feels nicer in the hand and as an a7RII user I am really jealous of that little joystick for focus point selection and the bigger brighter viewfinder. I have additional specs on the website along with additional sample photos including full RAW images for download but I want to take a few minutes and answer a few questions people posted on my earlier videos.silent shooting which is also electronic shutter has previously exhibited some serious drawbacks like rolling shutter - in still images if you or the subject is moving everything gets slanted - it’s not good. I didn’t see it in a full day of shooting with the a9 unless I tried hard to make it happen - swinging the camera back and forth. Image quality and dynamic range have also suffered in previous models when shooting silent and I am happy to say I could not see any differenceOverall High ISO performance is excellent - very similar to the a7RII which I compared it to.Battery life - I shot over 4,000 images on a single battery, other reviewers have gotten even higher numbers - I suspect not having to physically move a shutter makes a huge difference in the power required. Dual SD card is nice although they need to tweak the options for setup - it’s not very logical at the moment. The screen is touch sensitive, like the a6500 which means it's just ok - I don’t love it, always feels a little off to me but the touch to focus generally works well.It’s not all wonderful -Video system no S-log is a lame move and looks like Sony is holding back to protect their a7S line or a future a9S - something new for Sony as they typically have been the manufacturer to put it all in - this is not as strong a hybrid shooting machine because of it.More importantly They are still lacking a few of the longer fast lenses that pro photographers desire - though with this excellent ISO performance the new 100-400 should satisfy some AND Sony support system is nowhere near what Canon CPS offers thought Sony made it a point to talk about the changes they will make to their support system in the US and abroad in the coming year but I do think many pros will wait to see how that works out.And while this camera might not be as game changing as the iphone was for the smartphone market it certainly signals a serious shift and showcases just what is now possible - I don’t think it will be much longer before this sound is a thing of the past.I’d love to know your thoughts - what is most exciting to you about this camera? What do you think is the biggest issue? Leave your thoughtful comments below! If you found this video helpful give it a quick thumbs up and don’t forget to subscribe and follow me on instagram for more content between these videos.

Sony a9 - 20fps in Silent Mode Demonstrated

The new Sony α9 is capable of shooting 20 fps and can do so completely silently. Watch/listen to the demo I shot in my hotel room last week with the Sony α9  hands-on-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6iHmGp4nMo 

Sony a9 - Just Announced | Hands-on!

Sony is going after Canon/Nikon in a BIG way.   While Sony cameras continue to sell well - their aps-c line and full frame, the sidelines of sporting events are still dominated by Canon and Nikon. The newly announced Sony a9 hopes to change that. With the a7R II and a7S II already pushing Sony full frame sales above Nikon for the 2nd spot, this is an exciting announcement.I am here in New York for the Sony a9 announcement and hands-on shooting.  I just recorded my thoughts in a short videohttps://youtu.be/1AixQ_rbqko

Highlights of the Sony a9

• World’s First1 full-frame stacked CMOS sensor, 24.2 MP2 resolution
• Blackout-Free Continuous Shooting at up to 20 fps for up to 241 RAW/ 362 JPEG images
• 4K video and 1080 at 120fps
• Silent, Vibration-free shooting at speeds up to 1/32,000 sec
• 693 point focal plane phase detection AF points with 60 AF/AE tracking calculations per second and 93% AF frame coverage
• Extensive professional features including Ethernet port for file transfer, Dual SD card slots and extended battery life (2.2x a7 series battery life)
• 5-Axis in-body image stabilization
• Nub (joystick for selecting focus point)
• Touchscreen LCD
• Upgraded viewfinder - bigger/brighter
• Addition of My Menu section to save your favorite menu items

Preorders start 10am Fri Apr 21  - B&H LINK for Sony a9  PRICE:  $4,499.00Also announced -

Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens

• E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
• Aperture Range: f/4.5-5.6 to f/32-40
• One Super ED Element and Two ED Elements
• Nano AR Coating and Fluorine Coating
• Direct Drive SSM Focus System
• Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization
• Zoom Torque Adjustment Ring
• Internal Focus, Focus Range Limiter
• Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction
• Nine-Blade Circular Diaphragm

Preorders start 10am Fri Apr 21 - B&H LINK for Sony FE 100-400   PRICE:  $2,499.00