100mm F2.8 STF G Master with Highest Ever Quality Bokeh for an α Lens
/Sony has just announced a new lens - The 100mm F2.8 STF G Master with Highest Ever Quality Bokeh for an α Lens - It's a bit of a mouthful and bokeh quality is subjective in my opinion BUT it's nice to see Sony continue to offer high quality lenses at various focal lengths. I'd love to see a serious telephoto 300+ and a few more slightly more affordable options like the $600 85mm f/1.8 that is coming soon.[gallery td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="13657,13658,13659"] Preorder - More InfoB&H Photo Sony 100mm f/2.8 STF G Master Lens $1498.00B&H Photo Sony 85mm f/1.8 Lens $598.00
PRESS RELEASE
Sony Introduces 100mm F2.8 STF G Master™ with Highest Ever Quality Bokeh for an α LensNew Full-frame 85mm F1.8 Mid-telephoto prime lens and Compact Radio-Controlled Flash announced as wellLAS VEGAS, Feb. 7, 2017 – Sony Electronics, a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has today introduced two new lenses for their popular line of E-mount interchangeable lens cameras.Sony’s new lenses include one of their flagship G Master Series – an FE 100mm F2.81 STF GM OSS mid- telephoto prime lens (model SEL100F28GM) built to deliver breathtaking bokeh with a unique STF™ (Smooth Trans Focus) design, and a new compact, lightweight FE 85mm F1.8 mid-telephoto prime lens (model SEL85F18) that is a welcome addition to the bag of any hobbyist or enthusiast photographer looking to create amazing portraits.They have also introduced a new powerful, compact flash (model HVL-F45RM) with radio-controlled wireless communication that is ideal for professional shooting with Sony’s lineup of α7 full-frame cameras.FE 100mm F2.81 STF GM OSS Telephoto Prime LensA specially designed mid-telephoto, full-frame prime lens, the new 100mm STF is built to produce truly unique, magnificent and beautiful bokeh while maintaining the exceptional standard of resolution that is showcased by Sony’s entire line of flagship G Master series lenses, making it a powerful photographic tool for any portrait, fashion, nature or wedding photographer.These impressive defocus capabilities are made possible by the lens’ advanced optical structure, as it features a newly designed 11-bladed aperture and a unique optical apodization lens element. Similar to a neutral density filter that increases in density towards the edges, the apodization element creates beautiful transitions of in-focus to out-of-focus areas within an image, making for exceptionally soft, smooth bokeh that adds depth and dimensionality. This allows the subjects to stand out against beautifully defocused elements in both the foreground and background, producing an image that is naturally pleasing to the eye. The design of the lens also ensures that vignetting is kept to an absolute minimum, ensuring optimum image quality.Additionally, the new 100mm lens supports both contrast AF and focal-plane phase detection AF2, and has a high-precision, quiet direct drive SSM (Super Sonic Motor) system that ensures exceptionally fast and accurate AF performance. The SEL100F28GM also offers up to 0.25x close-up capabilities with a built-in macro switching ring, built-in Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization, a customizable focus hold button, AF/MF switch, aperture ring and more. It is dust and moisture resistant as well3.FE 85mm F1.8 Telephoto Prime LensThe new 85mm F1.8 mid-telephoto prime lens offers an extremely versatile, lightweight and compact telephoto prime lens solution for a variety of Sony camera owners ranging from working professionals to emerging enthusiasts that have stepped up to full-frame or APS-C cameras for the first time. With its wide F1.8 aperture, it can produce impressive, exceptionally sharp portraits with soft background defocus that take advantage of its 85mm focal length and wide F1.8 maximum aperture.The new prime lens features a 9-bladed circular aperture mechanism that ensures smooth, natural looking bokeh, and a double linear motor system to allow for fast, precise and quiet focusing. It also has a focus hold button that can be customized and assigned together with functions in the camera body like the popular Eye AF feature. There is a smooth, responsive focus ring and AF/MF switch as well, and the lens is also dust and moisture resistant 3.New Compact Radio-controlled FlashSony’s new HVL-F45RM flash enhances the radio-controlled lighting system capabilities of their growing system, offering a compact professional shooting solution when combined with the currently available wireless remote controller FA-WRC1M and receiver FA-WRR1.The new flash, which is designed to complement the compact bodies of Sony’s E-mount camera lineup including full-frame α7 models, produces a maximum lighting output as expansive as GN45 4. This ensures sufficient illumination even when shooting with bounce lighting or high-speed-sync (HSS) flash. The radio capabilities of the HVL-F45RM allow it to be used as a transmitter or a receiver at up to 30m (approx. 98 feet5), making it an ideal fit for creative lighting with multiple flashes. Additionally, unlike optical flash systems, radio-control flashes do not require a direct line-of-sight between components to function properly, while also minimizing any impact that bright sunlight has on signal transmission and control.The HVL-F45RM flash has an impressive battery life of up to 210 bursts, and can tilt up to 150o vertically, a complete 360o horizontally and up to 8o downward to maximize versatility. Usability has been maximized with a new large, bright and highly visible LCD display, an LED light, dust and moisture resistant design3 and a revamped menu system that mimics those of Sony’s newest camera systems.Pricing and AvailabilityBoth of the new lenses and the new flash unit will ship to authorized dealers throughout North America.The new FE 100mm F2.8 STF OSS GM Telephoto Prime Lens will ship this March for about $1,500 US and $2,050 CA.The new FE 85mm F1.8 Mid-Telephoto Prime Lens will ship this March for about $600 US and $800 CA.Replacement lens hoods for each of the new models will also be available for purchase as well.The new HVL-F45RM flash will ship this May for about $400 US and $550 CA.
Shape bokeh is a fun way to add a creative flare to your DSLR photography. You can create shape bokeh with any DSLR camera and prime lens. Many photographers use a 50mm lens for shape bokeh photography (which is what I used for this post), but don't feel limited this option.For the upcoming Valentine's Day, I'm sharing DIY heart shaped bokeh! The first step is to create a heart bokeh filter for your prime lens. Trace the lens you're going to use on black construction paper or card stock. Cut out the circle. Punch or cut out a heart in the center of the circle. If you're using a paper punch, you may need to fold the edge of the circle to center the punch.I cut the circle small enough that I can fit it right on the lens as you see pictured below. I have always used this method for shape bokeh with no problems. Some photographers create a paper cylinder or paper handles to attach to the bokeh filter, which works well, too.
The second step is to gather your supplies. In addition to the heart filter, you'll need Christmas lights or another light source that will create bokeh. You'll also need a light source for your subjects. The ambient room lighting may work just fine. A speedlite works well, too. I have a couple of 
The fourth step is to dial in your camera settings. Switch your DSLR camera to manual mode. Open your aperture as wide as possible. I shot with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, so I set my aperture to 1.8. Then I set my shutter speed to 1/80. The subject lighting source you use will determine the best ISO for the particular shot. I used a few different lighting setups, so my ISO is not the same for every shot. In some instances, it's as low as 200 while for other shots, I dialed it up to 400 or 800.Attach your homemade heart bokeh filter to your prime lens. Keep in mind when you shoot in portrait orientation, you'll have to rotate your heart filter accordingly. Otherwise, the hearts will be sideways!You're ready to start creating heart bokeh! I recommend trying a few shots of the bokeh alone to get comfortable with your camera settings. Heart bokeh is beautiful on its own. You may create some photos of it that you really love. Try switching your lens to manual focus and experiment with creating hearts in different sizes.
One popular bokeh background technique is to make is look as though the bokeh is coming right out of a glass, jar, or vase. You'll have to position your lights carefully, so the hearts match up with the glass or jar. You can edit a few stray hearts out of the background, but the more you do to position the lights properly, the less editing you'll have to do.I started with a heart mug because it seemed fitting to have the hearts coming out of a heart mug for Valentine's Day.
A clear glass or vase also works well because it looks like the hearts are right in the glass. In this first shot, I used a clear stemless wine glass.
I absolutely love colored glass and have a number of colored Ball jars and other glass pieces around my house. I used a blue Ball jar for a few shots because I love pairing turquoise and red. Green or purple glass would be so pretty, too.
I added a string of fairy lights to the Ball jar to bring a little more light into the shot and get some hearts right in the jar. I purposely made this shot a little fuzzy to get the fairy light hearts to pop and to heighten the whimsical aesthetic.
Playing around with my blue Ball jar was so much fun I decided to create a shot with it with a regular red bokeh background. The fun of a bokeh setup is that there are so many possibilities. If you have an idea for a shot, give it a try!
I've seen a few similar images to the book image I've shared below and was excited to try this technique myself. I switched up the red Christmas lights for a pastel strand. I tried shooting with a few different books and liked the results best with a larger book because you can see more bokeh IN the heart. Larger pages also make it easier to get some color on the top interior of the hearts, as you see below. My favorite shot worked best as a square crop, but a wider landscape composition is perfect for a heart book shot as well.You may need to tape your pages into place, particularly if you use a book with glossy pages like I did. Painter's tape is ideal because it's less likely to damage the pages than something like packing tape. I would still remove the tape (carefully!) as soon as you're finished with your photography.
Over the last couple months, I've bought a few new items for photography shoots, including a set of Scrabble letters. I create a lot of styled shoots for different seasons and holidays for 
Finally, I created a little wedding setup with a couple Playmobile figures. My husband and I used this set for our wedding cake topper, so I'm a little biased in my preference for this shot. BUT I'm really happy with the overall composition and the lighting on the figures.
Again, a DIY heart shaped bokeh background is so versatile. It allows for endless fun possibilities for creative photography. I've included a couple more red non-heart bokeh background examples. The first one features the Canon FD 28mm f/2.8 lens, which I use with a Canon AE-1.
The second one features one of my husband's Warhammer figures. You'll have to make up your own story as to why he's riding a tank with a red bokeh background behind him.
A 365 day photography challenge is the perfect way to work on your photography skills while documenting more of the little moments in life. Even with the best of intentions, it’s difficult to stick to such a big commitment. As with many long-term challenges and resolutions, most people give up within the first couple weeks. The following tips will help you get the most out of your 365 day photo challenge and complete it successfully.
